In this review of the Drop App, we’ll evaluate whether it’s a legit cashback app that’s worth your time.
Choosing a cashback platform can be very tricky. Each one looks to cater to different types of customers. Some platforms draw people in by offering high cashback percentages, some have a large number of offers available, and others are heavily focused on specific brands and services.
The Drop app has taken an entirely different approach – their service is focused on people who want to get cashback as passively as possible. Supposedly, you can earn reward points just by linking an eligible credit or debit card and shopping.
With more than 3 million active members, a lot of people are big fans of this platform.
To see whether the hype is justified, I tested all the key features of this app.
In my full Drop app review, I will tell you all about how much cashback you can earn, how easy the app is to use, and whether it truly is the most passive cashback app out there.
Without further ado, here is our full Drop app review:
What is the Drop App?
In operation since 2015, Drop is a loyalty rewards app created in Canada by Derrick Fung (also known for founding Tunezy, a social media platform for independent musicians.)
The Drop app differs from its many competitors in 2 key ways.
For one, it is more hands-off than its competitors – you do not need to scan any barcodes, coupons, or loyalty cards to earn points. You also do not need to browse through a large number of offers to find the ones that will give you the most value.
Instead, the app automatically presents you with a daily, fully personalized list that is always relevant to your brand preferences.
Another key difference between Drop and its competitors is that it is tailored for millennials – a generation that is not so familiar with traditional saving methods like coupons, vouchers, and loyalty cards.
From the very start, the idea behind the Drop app was attractive to investors – for launching the app, Drop managed to raise CA$1 million in funding. The launch was an immediate success, as the company was named as one of the most innovative technology companies of 2016.
Having successfully tested the waters in Canada, Drop expanded to the US market in 2017. For the expansion, Drop secured funding of $5.5 million from Sierra Ventures. The deal also saw Mark Fernandes (managing director at Sierra Ventures) join the board of directors of Drop.
But, enough about the history of the company for now, let’s see how the Drop app works.
How to get started with the Drop app?
Now, I will show you how exactly does the Drop app function and how to use the Drop app features most effectively:
Download the free Drop app
You can find the Drop app for free both for Android (on the Google Play Store) and iOS (on The App Store).
As of 2021, Drop is available to use only in the US and Canada.
Use a referral link if you have one
The Drop referral program works by rewarding bonus points worth $10 for accounts that sign up via a referral link. If you do not have a friend already using Drop, try browsing around online side-hustle communities like the r/beermoney subreddit.
Drop referral links regularly pop up in these communities as both the referrer and the person being referred receive bonus points. It is a win-win for both parties involved.
Link a credit or debit card to the app
Yes, you are going to have to link a credit card or a debit card to effectively use the Drop app.
Otherwise, you wouldn’t be able to automatically earn points with this app.
The app works by tracing the shopping activity related to the linked card and automatically adds reward points according to your purchases. As I already mentioned, Drop is about being as hands-off as possible.
The fact that this app must be linked to a payment card will be off-putting for some people. There are a lot of folks who won’t share their card credentials online no matter what. And, that is absolutely understandable.
That said, Drop takes security measures extremely seriously. The company uses Transport Layer Security encryption protocol to ensure that all user data is securely transmitted.
Not only did I test the Drop app myself, but I also went through dozens of online reviews.
So far, I haven’t heard of a single incident where the security of someone’s banking details were under threat due to this app.
Browse the Limited Drops
Once you have signed up and linked an eligible debit or credit card, the app will present you with a list of Limited Drops.
Limited Drops are brands, partner stores, services, or products affiliated with Drop.
Purchasing something that is in the Limited Drops list will get you Drop points automatically. Just make sure that you use a credit or debit card that is linked to your Drop account. You do not have to pre-select or highlight anything from this list. As long as you shop for something that is on the list, you will get your points.
The list of Limited Drops is fully personalized, which means that you will only see offers that are relevant to your shopping habits and brand preferences. Before making a shopping trip (Drop supports both physical and online purchases), I would advise quickly checking your Limited Drops list to see whether a store, service, or brand happens to be on the list.
Since Drop is affiliated with major brands from a variety of categories, it is highly likely that you will have a relevant Limited Drop available every time you shop.
Start earning Drop points
The app highlights how much you can earn from using a Limited Drop.
For example, a purchase at a beauty store can get you 10-20 Drop points per every dollar spent.
Purchases made for everyday items like groceries tend to pay less than that. You can expect to earn something like 2 Drop points per dollar spent.
I specifically avoided mentioning any brand names, as the amount of Drop points you earn at a specific brand or store is never set in stone. So, be on the look for offers that will earn you the most points.
Keep an eye out for boosted offers
Using the Limited Drops system is a great way of passively getting a gift card reward here and there. But, if you really want to maximize your earnings with this app, you will also want to use the Drop app promotions.
Drop app promotions are called Boosted Offers. Boosted offers are limited offers that can instantly get you an above-average amount of Drop points. You can find these offers in the “25,000 points and more” tab of the Drop app.
Since 1000 Drop points are roughly equal to $1, using the boosted offers on the regular can be very helpful for racking up extra points.
That said, do not expect to find a lot of boosted offers for super basic items like everyday groceries. From my experience, boosted offers tend to be for services that you do not use daily. This means that you need to choose wisely to get the most value from these offers.
For example, making a hotel booking through a certain online booking platform can get you an instant 30,000 Drop points.
Another real-life example – using a featured cryptocurrency app can get you 50,000 Drop points.
In monetary value, these offers would be worth $30 or $50 respectively. Not bad, but it wouldn’t make sense to start making random hotel reservations or getting into cryptocurrency just for some Drop points.
Still, it is not hard to take a daily glimpse at offers that are currently boosted by Drop. If you get lucky, you just might stumble on an offer for a service you were planning on using anyway.
Redeem rewards for your Drop points
Once you have accumulated enough Drop points, you are eligible to redeem various gift cards in return for your Drop points.
Unlocking low-level rewards (in the range of $2-$25 or 2000-25,000 Drop points) will acquire you to use the in-app Drop shop first.
In all honesty, I am not a fan of this kind of system.
Sure, the amount of offers available in-app range from groceries to electronics and it is not hard to make that one purchase needed to unlock the rewards.
But still, keeping some of the supposed shopping rewards behind a paywall leaves a slightly bitter taste in my mouth.
Luckily, when it comes to higher-level rewards, you can spend your points immediately. High-level rewards are gift cards that can be redeemed for 50,000 or more Drop points.
My personal experiences with the Drop app
I always test all the cashback platforms I write about. After all, good marketing can make any cashback app seem like an easy way of earning money. Online reviews can also be bought. This means that the only way of evaluating an app is using it for a while.
First impressions of Drop were positive – all the features are well-organized and the overall feel of the app is very clean. Many cashback apps are very, very spammy.
Even if these kinds of apps can provide a solid opportunity for earning extra cash, you will trade the well-being of your device in return. Not a good bargain in my book.
The earning capabilities of Drop are also considerable – I managed to earn 4000 points or about $4 in my first week of using this app without changing any of my shopping habits. Nothing to write home about, but not bad either. Especially considering that we are talking about passively generated value.
During my third week, I also finally managed to come across a boosted offer that I could use.
I use a certain taxi service at least once each week. And, Drop held a promotion for the company I use. Long story short – I managed to get 20,000 Drop points for using a service I use anyway.
That said, I am well aware that this was blind luck. Still, this incident motivated me to look out for similar bonus offers. Who knows, maybe lightning can strike in one place twice.
What rewards are available at the Drop app?
Drop is a traditionalist when it comes to cashback app rewards – the rewards come in the form of gift cards.
Amazon, iTunes, Hotels.com, Best Buy, and Sephora are some examples of brands that offer gift cards in return for your Drop points. The list includes many, many more brands and is also constantly being updated with new names.
Amazon is the key player in this list for one reason – it sells millions of different products.
If an item is available to buy anywhere online, chances are that you can also get it on Amazon. This is great news for people who do not want strict restrictions on what they can get for their Drop points.
In that sense, an Amazon gift card is not that different from straight cash.
Why I Don’t Like the Drop App
In general, I found Drop to be a solid cashback app. That said, the app does have some considerable flaws. The following are the main disadvantages of the Drop app:
In-app purchases are needed for unlocking rewards worth less than 50,000 points
For unlocking the low-level gift card rewards, you first need to make a digital purchase from one of the brands affiliated with Drop. You also need to process your purchase directly via the Drop app.
This is not a massive time sink and you will probably easily find a product you need anyway.
Still, I was slightly disappointed to see that I had to take extra steps to unlock some rewards. Especially considering how vocal Drop is about their service being as hands-off as possible.
The Drop app only works in the US/Canada
As of 2021, Drop is only available in the United States and Canada.
If you are from another region, you are going to have to choose from some international alternatives.
Credit or debit card needs to be linked to use the app
As I already mentioned, there is a group of people that will not use this app no matter what. This is because the app does need a linked credit or debit card to work effectively.
This is a bit of a two-edged sword – the earning opportunities are more passive, but you are going to have to trust some sensitive information to the hands of Drop.
Why I Like the Drop App
While Drop is not ideal, the app still has some great features that set it apart from its competitors. Let’s look at some of the key advantages of the Drop app.
More hands-off than competitors
From the very start, Drop has promoted itself as the most passive of all cashback apps. This is only half-true, as you will still have to pay some attention and actively use the app to reap the most benefits.
That said, the accumulation of points in Drop is still more passive when compared to the main alternatives.
Great value of the boosted offers
An average shopper can expect to earn up to 5000 points in a week. So, about $5 a week back from your purchases. Not bad, but nothing groundbreaking either.
The real value of the Drop app comes from the limited boosted offers that can be very helpful for racking up a big number of points quickly. Nearly every similar app uses this kind of feature, but I found the amount of special offers in Drop to be way above average when compared to most of the alternatives.
Possibility of earning points by playing mobile games
Drop recently joined the ranks of cashback apps that reward you for playing mobile games. You can find all the currently featured games in a separate tab of the app.
As I mentioned, offering points and extra rewards for playing games is nothing groundbreaking. But what did surprise me was the sheer number of points that you can earn by downloading and playing some of these games.
For example, playing the strategy game “Rise of Kingdoms” can net you 28k in Drop points.
While I am not the biggest fan of mobile games myself, I must admit that this is not a bad bargain at all. After all, who wouldn’t want to earn a quick $28 for playing a lighthearted mobile game for just a few minutes each day?
Drop can be combined with other cashback apps
I was on the fence about whether to ignore this as an advantage or not. After all, we are talking about the Drop app in this review.
Still, we are about educating people on how to effectively gain the most value from cashback apps.
One of the best ways of doing this is surprisingly simple – use more than one app.
Let me give you a real-life example of how to double (or even triple) your earnings on everyday purchases. Let’s say you do all your grocery shopping in Walmart. Since Drop is compatible with Walmart, you will automatically redeem Drop points as you shop.
Now, you can turn your saving game up a notch by adding another shopping app to the mix. For example, use a receipt-scanning app and scan your Walmart receipts to earn more points in another cashback platform.
This is not against the rules of Drop. Over time, your earnings will add up.
As you use a multitude of apps during each shopping trip, you will eventually be eligible for several free rewards across multiple accounts.
Planning your shopping like this will naturally be a bit more time-consuming, but will also help you save money more efficiently.
Conclusion: Is the Drop app worth it?
In our Drop app review, we found a service that can reliably be used by people from the opposite sides of the cashback spectrum.
On one hand, you can earn some points on your account without doing anything except shopping.
This is the aspect of Drop that sets it apart from most of its competitors. This is also the feature that makes this app one of the best options for a casual user looking to earn a few passive dollars each week.
That said, the app also offers plenty of opportunities for hardcore cashback enthusiasts as well. I am talking about people who are constantly on the hunt for extra rewards and bonus rewards.
These types of users (I happen to be one of them) can choose from the more robust earning opportunities presented by Drop.
All things considered, Drop is a reliable app that is worth a try for anyone interested in cashback platforms.