(Update) Pepper Rewards App: Buy Gift Card Brands & Get Cashback

Also, it’s been said that Pepper purchases can trigger Chase Offers since the charge shows up with the merchant listed. For example, I have a Chase Offer for 5% back at Walmart, up to $5. I’ll buy $100 Walmart gift card in the Pepper app, and I’ll get the 5% (or 10%) back from Pepper, plus the 5% back from Chase Offers, plus my regular credit card rewards. (This is unlikely to work with most AmEx Offers due to the way their system works differently than Chase.)

Note: There are no official limits as to how much you can purchase per day in Pepper. Some mention a limit of $5k-$10k per 24 hours; it varies by user. From what I’m told, you can just keep buying until the account gets frozen, and then call in to verify and get unfrozen. (There should not be risk to the rewards points earned or referral credits accrued, from what I’m told.) They might increase your buying power through the verification.

My thanks if you enter my signup code 584255 during the initial signup process. No referral links or references in the comments below, please.

Post History:

• Update 4/10/25: Some people have been complaining that AmEx cards don’t work while others are having success. MEAB notes that Pepper has two payment processors, and AmEx works with one (PayArc) but not the other (Stripe). Also noted there is that the category has changed on one of the processors (PayArc) from Software to Advertising. And so some of the category bonus reports mentioned below might be out of date. You can see current Pepper deals here. 
• Update 11/6/24: The signup bonus for new members who sign up using a referral code has changed. Previously it was double points for 15 days while now it’s a flat $20 bonus after spending $200 (presumably the bonus gives you $20 in Pepper points to use on a future purchase). You can triple dip by, (1) signing up with a referral code for a $20 bonus (my code is 584255), (2) meeting the spend with an Amex card that has the $15 discount, and (3) buying gift cards which are already on sale.
• Update 9/13/24: 20% on Sling, Netflix, Google Play, Hulu; 18% Boscov’s, 10% instant discount on DoorDash up to $400 in purchases.
• Update 9/12/24: 15% Nike and 18% Foot Locker
• [Expired] Pepper: Get 12% Back At Amazon & More (No Limit)
• [Expired] Pepper: Get 12% Back At Sam’s Club, 20% Back At Grubhub, Belk, Victoria’s Secret & More
• Pepper: Get 14% Back at Lowe’s, Airbnb & More
• [Expired] Pepper: Get 10% Back on Amazon, 25% Old Navy, 20% Stubhub, 15% Nike, Groupon & More
• Update 9/8/24: 25% Old Navy, 15% Nike, 10% instant discount DoorDash, 20% CVS, 19% JCPenney, 20% Finish Line, 15% Groupon, 18% Champs, 15% Bed Bath & Beyond, 18% Adidas, 23% Fanatics, 20% Stubhub.
• Pepper: Get 10% Back on Amazon, 13% DoorDash, 21% Ulta, Sephora & More
• Pepper: Get 10% Back on Sam’s Club, 12% Southwest, 15% Wayfair & More
• Pepper: Get 10% Back On Sam’s Club & More (Unlimited)
• 9/1/24: Pepper: Save 20% On Google Play, Netflix, Hulu, Roblox, Gamestop, CVS & More
• [Expired] Pepper: Get 12% Back On Amazon, 13% Uber, Instacart & More
• Update 8/29/24: Save On Sam’s Club, Instacart, Delta, Meijer & More
• Pepper: Get 14% Back On Lowe’s, Airbnb, Delta, WayFair & Deals For Instacart, Petco, Etc.
• [Expired] Pepper: Save 10% On Amazon, 13% Instacart & More
• Update  8/26/24: 20% back on PetSmart and Finish Line; 15% back on Netflix and Old Navy; 10% back on Kohl’s
• Update 8/19/24: Pepper: Save On Giftcards For Delta, Airbnb, Sam’s Club, Netflix, Hulu & More
• Update 8/19/24: Pepper: Get 16% Back On Amazon Fresh (Unlimited)
• Update 8/18/24: 9% back on Meijer (up to $500 spend), 15% back on Instacart, REI, Sephora, Groupon, Puma, 10% back on Google Play, BBB, Wayfair, 20% back on Old Navy, Petco, Puma, Allbirds. These deals all end tonight 8/18/24.
• Update 8/18/24: 9% back on Meijer (up to $500 spend), 15% back on Instacart, REI, Sephora, Groupon, Puma, 10% back on Google Play, BBB, Wayfair, 20% back on Old Navy, Petco, Puma, Allbirds. These deals all end tonight 8/18/24.
• Update 8/16/24: from 8/16 – 8/18 get 15% back at REI and 20% back at Old Navy, Puma, Allbirds.
• Update 8/15/24: Pepper App: Get 10% Back On Amazon & Sam’s/Walmart (Unlimited); 15% Nike; 17.5% Adidas
• Update 8/14/24: Pepper App: Save on Giftcards for Uber, IKEA, Chipotle, PetSmart & More
• Update 8/13/24: 10% back on Amazon, unlimited. They now have 15% back in Pepper points on Nike, Under Armour, Finish line with no limit. They also have Airbnb, Delta, Southwest, and Hotels.com at 10% back. Both of these are end today, August 13th.
• Update 8/12/24: Pepper App: Get 10% Back On Airbnb, Delta, Southwest, Hotels.com & More
• Update 8/7/24: 15% back At Rei, Abercrombie & Fitch, REI, Nautica; 20% back at Finish Line; these are through August 8th. 10% instant discount on Instacart through August 9th – this one is only up to $250 spend.
• Update 8/5/24: Adidas, Nike, Foot Locker are 14% back today with $500 limit for each. Under Armour and Puma are 20% back with no limit. These deals are valid 8/5 – 8/6. Bonus points will be awarded on 8/23.
• Update 8/2/24: 10% back on Southwest, today only, no limit
• Update 8/1/24: Get 15% back at Old Navy
• Update 7/26/24: It turns out not as bad as we expected: the new rate for Amazon, Lowe’s, Airbnb, Delta is 4x (4% back); Home Depot, Target, Instacart, Uber, DoorDash are 3x (3% back), Walmart and Best Buy are 2x (2% back). There are a whole bunch smaller merchants showing for 8% or 7% back: Petco, Petsmart, Under Armour and more are showing 8x; Nike, Adidas, and many more are showing 7%. It’s not clear whether these rates will be fixed or are all rates that will change daily/weekly. We’ll see how everything develops over time. In any case, for now, there are still many useful rates, though most people would still consider this an overall downgrade from what was before due to the top big box retailers being lower. One interesting angle is the bonus for a new member who signs up with a referral code (see below): previously reports indicated that the ‘double points for 15 days offer’ that new referees get does not work on special offers in the Pepper app (i.e. a special offer on a merchant for 10% did not get doubled to 20%). Going forward, given that these rates are all appearing as standard rates, presumably the doubling should work on all of these. For example, whereas previously Petco and Nike were 10% back for new members, they should now be 16% and 14%, respectively. And so there should end up being some upside with this change for the new member bonus. We’ll wait and see how this all develops. (I’ve updated the review, below, with the new info on how Pepper works.)
• Update 7/25/26: Pepper sent out an email with a “Rewards System Update” which says: “Starting July 26th, you will earn 20 points per dollar at minimum plus many merchants will offer boosted points of 3x, 5x, 7x, or even 10x. For example, at 5x merchants, you will earn 100 points per dollar. Points values remain unchanged: 10,000 points = $5.” I’m going to guess that top brands like Amazon, Walmart, Home Depot, etc, will be losing their consistent 5% back. Update: Just adding a clarification here for people like me who get confused by Pepper’s numbers: basically 20 points per dollar means 1% back. Presumably that’s going to be the default rate for Amazon, Walmart, Home Depot, etc. When we see a boosted offer at a given merchant for 10x that will mean (200 points per dollar which is) 10% back.  The value of your Pepper points don’t change at all, so if you have Pepper points from purchases today and prior you’ll continue to get the exact same value as before. Today, 7/25/24, is the last day we can get the 5% on everything (10% for new members). 
• Update 7/25/24: 2x points on Nike, Regal, and Fandango (10% back), today only. 5% will be awarded for use immediately, the other 5% on August 7th.
• 7/25/24: 3x points (15% back) on Airbnb, no limit
• Update Update 7/23/24: 2x points on Delta (10% back), today only. No limit they now added a note about a $500 limit. 5% will be awarded for use immediately, the other 5% on August 7th.
• Update 7/20/24: 2x points on IKEA (10% back), today only. No limit.
• Update 7/18/24: 2x points on Gamestop (10% back), today only. No limit.
• Update 7/18/24: 2x points on Wayfair and Adidas (10% back), today only
• Update 7/16/24: 1.5x points on Amazon for July 16 and July 17 (7.5% back)
• Update 7/15/24: Double points at Fanatics today
• Update 7/14/24: Double points on CVS, up to $500
• Update 7/13/24: Double points on Grubhub, up to $500
• Update 7/12/24: Get double points on Chipotle (10% back in Pepper points) on up to $500 purchase. 5% you’ll get right away and the other 5% you’ll get on 8/1.
• Update 7/11/24: Get double points on Airbnb (10% back in Pepper points) on up to $500 purchase. 5% you’ll get right away and the other half on 8/1.
• Update 7/9/24: Double points on Google Play and Foot Locker, today only. The bonus half will be awarded on August 1st.
• Update 7/9/24: Double points on Kohl’s and  Bed Bath & Beyond, today only. The bonus half will be awarded on August 1st.
• Update 7/8/24: Double points on Nike, today only
• Update 7/3/24: Double Triple points on Uber and UberEATS today
• Update 6/26/24: Double points on Airbnb today, no limit
• Update 6/26/24: Double points on Amazon today, no limit – wow, 10% back on Amazon, on top of regular credit card points is awesome.
• Another update 6/25/24: They’ve now  increased the Uber/UberEATS deal to 15% (5% will post instantly and the other 10% on July 15th)
• Update 6/25/24: 10% back on Uber and UberEATS (5% regular earn + 5% bonus), deal valid today only. No limit
  Separately there are reports of a targeted 10% everywhere offer being sent out again via email.
• Update 6/24/24: 10% back at Lowe’s (5% regular earn + 5% bonus), deal valid today only. No limit.
• 6/14/24: 10% instant discount on Lowe’s and DoorDash at checkout. (That’s in addition to the regular 5% earn toward your next purchase.) These deals expire on June 16th at 11:59pm ET.
• Update 6/3/24: This week’s deal: Get $5 $2.50 bonus when you spend $100 at Airbnb, Delta, Southwest, Olive Garden, Cracker Barrel, Texas Roadhouse. That’s on top of the regular 5% earn.
• Update 5/30/24: Pepper sent out another targeted email to some existing users for  10% everywhere for 15 days. (Typically only new members who sign up via referral get 10% for 15 days, everyone else gets 5% always.)  Hat tip to soonerman32
• Update 5/24/24: 10% instant discount on UberEATS e-gift cards, up to $500 purchase. (That’s in addition to the regular 5% back in points.) Valid 5/24 – 5/27.
• Update 5/20/24: This week’s deal for 5/20 through 5/26, sent out via email: get $5 back with $100 in spending across the following merchants: Hotels.com, Petco, Fanatics, Wayfair.com. (That’s on top of the regular 5% earn rate.) Only purchases charged to the card will count toward the total. Limit 1.
• Update 5/19/24: There’s another targeted 10% everywhere offer that went out: “No code necessary. Get 10% back on all merchants. Offer valid from May 17, 2024 at 1200 AM ET until May 31, 2024 at 11.59 PM ET. Only purchases charged to the card will count toward the total. Points will be Issued on June 15, 2024, by 5.00 PM ET.” (New users who  sign up via referral code get 10% everywhere for 15 days. Regular earn is 5% everywhere. This targeted offer gives existing users 10% everywhere for May 17 – May 31.)
• Update 5/18/24: Positive change: Starting on Monday 5/20, Pepper is simplifying the Pepper Points system whereby 1 point = $.01 instead of the complicated system until now where each point was worth $.25. The rewards system is still exactly the same with 5% earn rate on all purchases. And existing points will all be converted so that it all equals out the same.
• Update 5/21/24: 10% discount on Instacart gift cards. The discount comes off instantly at checkout. Valid 5/21 – 5/23, while supplies last. That’s on top of the 5% you’ll get back in Pepper points toward a future purchase (10% for new members). This deal is limited to one time use; max this out with a $250 Instacart gift card purchase since that’s the most you can buy in one purchase on Pepper.
• Update 4/21/24: Correction: users are now getting an email indicating that the 10% back is only on select brands (Nike, Petco, and a bunch more). And it’s only through April 30th, not May 31st. The email notes that they will honor all purchases made through 4/21/24 at 11:59pm ET, so that does give us a few hours now to take advantage of the 10% everywhere offer. (I’m not sure if it’s for everyone or only those who got the erroneous email.)
• Update 4/20/24: Some people are being targeted with 10% back everywhere through May 31, 2024. Others are being offered 10% back on specific brands.
• Update 4/15/24: From April 15 – April 21 users can earn 20 bonus Pepper Points ($5 credit toward future gift card purchase) when spending a total of $150 across multiple purchases at select merchants. Eligible merchants include Home Depot, Lowe’s, ACE Hardware, Autozone, T.J.Maxx, HomeGoods, Marshalls, and Bath & Body Works. Only purchases charged to the card will count toward the total (I believe this means that payment with Pepper Points or with Anywhere Cash don’t count). Limit one per user. Points will be issued on Monday, April 22, 2024.
• Update 4/5/24: DoorDash 10% instant discount, this stacks with the 5% back (or 10% for new users) and with regular credit card rewards. Might be limited to 1.
• Update 3/28/24: Two new deals:
  • Instacart is 10% off March 25 through March 31. Not sure if there’s a limit. This stacks with the 5% back (or 10% back for new users).
  • If you spend $150 on select brands, you’ll get 20 points (worth $5) toward a future purchase. Here is the brand list: Walmart, Target, Amazon Fresh, Meijer, Giant Eagle, Sam’s Club, Grubhub, UberEATS, DoorDash, Bob Evans, Seasons 52, Maggiano’s, The Capital Grille, Cracker Barrel, Fleming’s. Not sure if there’s a limit to this deal.
• Update 3/15/24: Two new tidbits, one for new users and one deal for all users:
  1. All users: Uber and UberEATS are now with a 10% instant discount on Pepper. You’ll see the discount directly at checkout. That’s on top of the regular 5% (or 10% for new users) you’ll earn back towards a future Pepper purchase and you’re regular credit card rewards. This deal is valid 3/15 through 3/17 and then again 3/21 through 3/24. Limited to one per person.
  2. New users: New users get double points on purchases made during the first 15 days when signing up with a referral code (mine is 584255); essentially you’re getting 10% back on all purchases instead of 5%. Getting 10% off Amazon, Walmart, Home Depot, etc (plus regular credit card points) is an excellent deal. (It’s not as good as the launch offer which was for 30 days, but 15 days is still nice.) Personally I purchased a number of thousands of dollars in Amazon and Walmart during my intro offer period. Note: the regular 5% will be available immediately for use, and the intro bonus 5% will become available after the 15 day period is over.
• Update 2/9/24: Pepper is running a sale for 15% off DoorDash, $7.50 off $25 Domino’s, $5 off $50 on Ulta, and a bunch more. I see these in my ‘Inbox’ in the Pepper app.
• Update 2/8/24: The promo for double rewards during the first 30 days will now be ending on 2/15/24. Those who sign up now will get the 30 day double, while those who sign up after 2/15/24 will not.