Let’s be honest. We’re not exactly loyal when it comes to loyalty rewards programs. Smart consumers are always on the lookout for newer, bigger — and most importantly, easier — ways to be rewarded for our spending habits.

Enter Drop. Launched in Canada in 2016, Drop is a free mobile app that lets users earn points from select partners for everyday spending. All you have to do is link your credit and debit card to the app and, voila, Drop works seamlessly in the background to give you points as you shop. When you reach the benchmark point count (which can be as little as 2,000 points for a $2 gift card at Amazon), the points can then be redeemed instantly for rewards at major retailers like Starbucks and the Gap.

Am I advising you to ditch your Starbucks Reward or Cineplex Scene card? Not at all (after all I’m Canadian and too nice for that sort of thing). Rather, Drop works in conjunction with your favourite reward programs, so in many cases you essentially get rewarded twice for each purchase.

Another thing that makes Drop especially appealing: it also offers rewards for debit card spending, a market that was all but ignored by loyalty programs until now.

Ready to give it a try? I was seriously impressed by how fast the sign-up process was.

How to Sign Up

Reading this on your desktop or laptop? Click here to get the app.

Mobile?

1. Look up “drop” on your Google Play or iTunes and download the app.

2. The app will then open and ask you to link up your credit and/or debit card (the app uses bank-level security and encryption to guard your data).

3. After entering your financial data, choose five retailers from whom you wish to receive points. Choices include Starbucks, Tim Hortons, Uber, the LCBO and more. Be very careful! You can only choose five retailers and once you select them you can’t change your selection. The points you earn vary by retailer too. For example, I chose LCBO (2 points per dollar spent), McDonalds (5 points), Tim’s (5 points), Uber (2 points) and Walmart (2 points).

One thing I found interesting is that the retailers where you amass points are sometimes different than where you can use your gift certificate rewards. For example, though you can’t earn points for spending on Amazon, you can choose to redeem points for a gift certificate at Amazon.

4. Once your choices are locked in, Drop gives you the option to sign up for emails to get special offers to earn additional points. Even if you don’t sign up for emails, you’ll still be eligible to receive promotions via the app. I got several offers, including 200 extra points at Tim Hortons, immediately after I signed up.

5. Spend and earn points. You can check your point count and redeem points for a gift certificate on the app at any time.

My Drop Usage

Right now I have my Amazon credit card connected with Drop (where I get 2 points per dollar on Amazon purchases and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases). The value of each Drop point is $0.001 (1,000 points = $1). To make the most of my Drop points, I started grocery shopping at Walmart to increase my point count and I also took advantage of a one-time, 500-point bonus offer for Tim Hortons. In July, I earned 960 points from my Amazon card but I earned 2096 points (the equivalent of $2.10) from having my credit card connected to Drop.

Value of Drop points earned in one month: $2.10

Value of credit card points earned in one month: $9.60

Total value earned in one month: $11.7

The app is available for download in Canada on both iOS and Google Play and it’s expected to arrive shortly in the US. It’s a wonderful way for GreedyRates readers to maximize reward earnings without getting another credit card. We can all appreciate the rare value of getting something for nothing.

About the author:

Sandra MacGregor has been writing about finance and travel for nearly a decade. Her work has appeared in a variety of publications like the New York Times, the UK Telegraph, the Washington Post, Forbes.com and the Toronto Star. She spends her free time travelling, and has lived around the globe, including in Paris, South Korea and Cape Town. You can follow her on Twitter at @MacgregorWrites

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