Pei App Review: My New Favorite Cash Back App

Pei is my new favorite cash back app.

After you install it and link your cards, you’ll earn automatic extra cash back at tons of places where you’re already spending money.

And this is on top of the credit card rewards you’re already earning!

In this post, I’ll share how Pei works and how you can begin earning free money on the stuff you’d be buying anyway.

What is the Pei App?

Pei is an app that pays you an extra 1-20% automatic cash back when you use your linked credit card at partner stores.

(Use my invite code “hustle” for a $2.50 bonus when you sign up.)

Once you’re set-up, it’s very passive and hands-off. Just shop as you normally would, and transactions are automatically credited to your account.

Your rewards are redeemable for cash (via PayPal), Bitcoin, or gift cards — starting after you’ve earned $15 work.

How Pei Works

Pei has partnered with retail stores nationwide to offer extra cash back on your purchases. Once you install the app, you can see which stores nearby Pei will work at.

Here in Livermore, there were lots of options (all the blue and green dots on the map).

Many of these are stores I’m already spending money with, so signing up for Pei was a no-brainer way to pad my bank account.

The cash back varies by store, but so far I’ve earned cash back at:

• Trader Joe’s
• Target
• In ‘n Out
• Wendy’s
• Starbucks
• 7-Eleven
• Papa Murphy’s

It’s pretty cool, and I haven’t had any issues of transactions not being recorded or recognized. And there’s no receipts to scan.

Once you’re in, you’ll start to get notifications like this:

The Pei Sign-Up Process

So how to do you sign up for Pei? It’s quick and easy.

First, download the app.

(Use my invite code “hustle” for a $2.50 bonus when you sign up.)

Then, link your banking and credit card information. You’ll see that Pei uses bank-level security and encryption to protect your data.

Pei makes it easy to enter in your card information and get started. It will also send you a 2-factor authentication code for protection as well.

After that, you’re ready to go. Pei will automatically track your spending at participating stores and credit your account.

Cashing Out Your Pei Rewards

I’ve cashed out my Pei rewards a couple times so far, and both times were super easy. You can cash out once you hit $15 worth of points.

When you go to withdraw, you have 3 options:

1. PayPal
2. Bitcoin
3. Gift Card

The first time I redeemed for cash, in the form of a PayPal deposit. The money hit my account almost instantly.

Next, I wanted to test the gift card options. I was pleasantly surprised to see the gift cards even come with a 1-3.75% boost to value of the card.

Given my Amazon shopping habits, I chose the Amazon gift card, which came with a 2% bonus.

The next screen asked me to confirm my selection, and then sent me a text pin code to verify.

A minute later, the reward code had hit my inbox.

Pei Alternatives

While Pei is the best cash back app I’ve found, you can actually double-dip or stack rewards with other apps that pay you.

Drop

Drop works similarly to Pei, but only at a couple stores. After you create your account and link your card, you’ll pick your two favorite stores. (Target and Trader Joe’s for me.)

From there, you’ll earn an extra 1%-ish cash back automatically when you shop there. I was kind of surprised, but I’ve found my transactions are crediting both my Pei account and my Drop account.

Drop also has in-app offers where you can earn extra points. If you don’t redeem any of those offers, you’ll have to earn 30,000 points ($30) before you can cash out.

Click here to get the app and link your card.

Important: Use referral code Sidehustle when you join for 5000 free Drop points (worth $5)!

My beef with Drop is that the payout threshold is pretty high and it has a hard time recognizing Capital One transactions.

Ibotta

It’s possible to double-dip your Pei and Drop rewards even further with a couple receipt scanning apps. The first one I use is Ibotta, which has been around forever.

With this app, you add store-specific offers to your account in the app, and then snap a picture of your receipt. When you buy items matching the Ibotta offers, you’ll earn extra cash back.

It typically ranges from $0.10 to $3.00, but it adds up over time.

According to the company, Ibotta Savers who use the app every month earn an average of $130 a year!

Fetch Rewards

I like the Fetch Rewards app (iOS/Apple | Android) because it’s so easy. It’s not fully automatic like Pei above, but you can combine the two to earn extra cash back just by snapping a picture of receipt.

Fetch has partnered with over 250 popular brands, and when you buy any of those, you’ll earn points.

You can then redeem points for gift cards to retailers like Best Buy, Sephora, Staples, Gap, and more. (I’ve been cashing in for $10 Amazon gift cards.)

It’s also kind of a cool tool to track your spending across time and across different stores:

Get 4000 free points ($4) when you enter referral code FETCH4K! (Expires Dec. 31st)

Download now for iOS/Apple or Android.

Your Turn

What do you think of the Pei app and similar cash back apps?

I’m not one to turn down free money!

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