Drop Spending App Cap Added
In previous posts I have shared my frustrating experiences with the Drop spending app. After debuting with what seemed like an amazing deal for customers, they changed their terms without notice to exclude manufactured spending and then later locked many user’s accounts. My account was locked even though I had not engaged in any manufactured spending.
Now, it seems like Drop has made yet another change to solidify their profitability. According to Doctor of Credit, Drop’s terms now limit users to a total of 5,000 points ($5) per week in rewards for their normal spending. Special targeted offers are excluded.
Drop users are limited to earning a maximum of 5,000 Drop points per calendar week (Sunday – Saturday) in connection with Drop’s ongoing (as opposed to one-time) offers. Drop maintains the right to review the accrual of points and to determine, in Drop’s absolute discretion, if certain transactions qualify for Drop Offers. Certain spending including, but not limited to, repeat purchases, high-value purchases, purchases of gift cards, and purchases made for commercial, non-personal or non-household purposes, may not, at Drop’s absolute discretion, be considered Qualifying Transactions and may be ineligible for Drop points. Drop may reverse point accruals that have already been processed if a transaction is deemed by Drop, upon review, to not constitute a Qualifying Transaction. Drop may also disable accounts that engage in repeated non-Qualifying Transaction activity.
As you can see they also added even more language to protect themselves when they lock your account and take your points. The language that any “high-value purchase” could be denied is particularly troubling, although with the cap I suspect it doesn’t matter all too much.
Unlocking Accounts
On the good news front or perhaps because they realized they were in the wrong, Drop has unlocked many accounts that were previously frozen. I was delighted to find my account had been unlocked and decided to cashout my roughly $250 worth of points. I do not plan to use this app anymore given the actions of the company up until this point and the sad cap on earnings.
Conclusion
Drop is a perfect example of a company that launched a product without thinking it through completely. In their maturing process they certainly made a lot of people mad, but at least now they are more honest with what they will payout on and what they won’t. Hopefully new customers won’t have the same issues in the future.
What do you think about this new cap? Was your locked account unlocked? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments.
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[…] Drastic Drop spending app changes: new cap & other terms added. […]
your post says per month but the screenshot from their terms and conditions says per week… hopefully it’s per week then that would be $20 a month
Yes the limit is per week. I have fixed the post.
They made such good, wholesome people like us angry.
I have 41,000 points frozen. Now my account shows 1,000 points (from sign-up referral) and all other points have vanished with no trace.
file a claim with CFPB https://www.consumerfinance.gov/complaint/ since they changed terms of service after you had earned all those points. The worst that will happen is that CFPB does not rule in your favor. Good luck.
#TurningAProfit
Once a company falls into my time waster category they are gone forever.
> launched a product without thinking it through completely
This is how the tech world works: fail fast, iterate, reboot. They made it clear they were in preview mode since you needed an invite or code to sign up. Take it or leave it for what it is, we aren’t entitled to it working in a certain way we can game. That’s great you got $250 from it!
they launched it w/o any disclaimer about earning pts by buying GCs. They chg’d their T&Cs after the purchases but retro’d the earning. Thats fraud.
File a case with the CFPB https://www.consumerfinance.gov/complaint/ if you want to pursue them paying out on the terms they operated when you earned your points. If they ripped you off, as they did me, by claiming *new* terms that did not apply when the points were earned, then you have a case and they will need to pay up. Points earned going forward under their new terms will need to abide by the those terms and payout accordingly.
Repeat transactions and large purchases are also sketchy as well. They need to clearly define the maximum amount they will pay regardless of number of transactions or large purchases and not be ambiguous about shutting down your account just because of a large purchase. Or having to make multiple individual purchases. Last year’s company Christmas Party liquor bill was $15,000 and because I spend a large dollar volume should not jeopardize my account. They should just say too bad, we only pay out on the first 5k/week instead of restricting how you can use your card.
Hey it says per month, so $20 a month. Mine was locked and now unlocked. I will unlink any card before making a large purchase though. $5 at 2% is $250 on Amazon or just under $500 at 1.1% places in spending per week. I don’t spend that much, but some may though.
5,000 pts is $5 not $20
Drop users are limited to earning a maximum of 5,000 Drop points per calendar week (Sunday – Saturday) in connection with Drop’s ongoing (as opposed to one-time) offers.
Therefore, 5,000 points/week (or $5 max per week) x 4 weeks = max earnings of $20/month. Math.
This is my mistake. I accidentally put the word month when the limit is per week. I have fixed the post.
I believe the cap is $5 per week, not month