Financial
Pepper Rewards Review: Earn Rebates on Gift Cards from Top Brands
About a year and some change ago, out of nowhere, an app called Pepper seemed to be all the rage in the credit card reward and deal-finding corner of the Internet. Unlike some other apps I’ve seen mentioned that just seem too convoluted to be worth it, the premise of Pepper is super simple: buy gift cards and earn rewards. While there are some other sites where you can buy discounted gift cards or other apps (such as Ibotta and Fold among others) where you can earn cashback on gift cards, Pepper’s rate definitely stood out. However, since then, the app has undergone some changes
So, is Pepper still worth the hype? Let’s take a look at what the app offers as well as my experience with it.
Pepper Rewards App
Pepper Rewards App: A great purchase companion for those seeking savings
4
Referral bonus
Earn $20 after spending $200 in purchases during your first 15 days by using code 587870 at sign-up
Payments accepted
Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover
With the Pepper Rewards app, you can earn rewards when purchasing digital gift cards from numerous retail and restaurant brands — between 2% and 8% back, on average. These gift cards and rewards arrive instantly and rewards can be redeemed for gift cards in increments of $5 (10,000 rewards points). Plus, Pepper regularly runs specials where users can earn their standard points up front as well as bonus points at the end of the promotion. Those elements make this app a winner, even if it may not be quite as compelling as it was originally.
Pros
- Earn rewards on digital gift card purchases
- Plenty of brands to choose from
- Redeem rewards for more gift cards
Cons
- Rewards can only be used for gift cards, not cash
- Points expire after 60 days of no purchase activity
- Amazon gift cards no longer offered for purchase
Pepper App: How to Earn Rebate Rewards on Gift Card Purchases
Pepper versus Moocho
Before we jump into Pepper, I do want to mention that the app is actually a rebranding of a previous platform: Moocho. In fact, when I first started using Pepper, the transactions showed as Moocho on my credit card statements. Since then, the previous Moocho app has officially changed over to Pepper and the name on transactions has also been updated (for the most part).
Signing up for Pepper and adding a form of payment
Joining Pepper is a fairly easy process. First, you’ll need to provide your name as well as your email address. You’ll be asked to create a password as well. This is when you’ll enter a referral code if you have one — but more on that later. Then, you’ll also enter your zip code and your phone number (which you’ll verify via an SMS code).
After that, you’ll be ready to add a payment card to be used for your purchases. Pepper currently supports Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover. Also, the first time I used my card in the app, I was directed to Mastercard’s ID Check, which also required an SMS verification code. This hasn’t happened since, so I suppose it was just an early fraud check.
Once these steps are completed, you’ll be ready to start shopping.
Buying gift cards on Pepper
One of the most impressive things about Pepper is the number of brands it offers digital gift cards from. The list is honestly too long to write out here, but some of my favorites include:
- Sam’s Club
- Target
- Chipotle
- Delta
- Petsmart
- Red Robin
- Uber/Uber Eats
- Many many more!
While most of the gift cards can be purchased in amounts starting at $5, others have larger minimums. For example, Delta gift cards start at $50. From what I’ve seen, there’s also a $500 per card max on most options, but there are some exceptions.
To find a brand you want to purchase from, you can scroll through the options, filter by category, or simply do a search. Then, you’ll select the brand and enter how much you want to put on the gift card. After processing your payment, Pepper will present you with the gift card information, which you can either use online or in-store.
Personally, I like to take a screenshot of my gift cards right after I purchase them just so that I have a backup. However, you can access your purchased cards by tapping the profile icon in Pepper (bottom right corner), going to Transaction History, selecting the purchase, and then hitting “View gift card.” On that note, there’s also a convenient “Check balance” button here, which has worked pretty well in my experience so far.
Earning rewards
So why buy gift cards on Pepper? Well, every time you do, you’ll earn rewards — effectively like a rebate on your purchase.
Originally, by default, you’d earn 5% rewards on Pepper. But, this is no longer true across the board. Instead, you’ll find rates ranging from 2x to 8x — not to mention bonus deals. More on those later in this review.
In any case, these rewards are issued in the form of points, with users earning 20 points for every $1 they spend. So, a $50 gift card purchase at a 5x rate ((50*20)*5) would earn 5,000 points.
Then, these points can be redeemed in $5 increments. In this case, 10,000 points equals $5.
Maybe I’m alone here, but this math makes my head hurt a bit. Nevertheless, when you “2x,” that’s equal to 2% back while 5x is 5% back, etc. I think it’s easier to think of “x” as % earned instead of trying to figure out points and redemptions but you can also just trust Pepper to tell you what your points are worth.
Using rewards
As mentioned, with Pepper, you’ll earn points for each gift card purchase you make. Well, you can then use those points to purchase more gift cards!
To do this, just select which brand you want to redeem your points for. Then, tap the ‘+’ icon next to where it says “Apply Points.” Currently, you redeem points in increments of $5. Once you’ve selected how many points you want to redeem, you can complete your transaction by covering the entire purchase in points or selecting a regular form of payment for the difference.
On that note, if you do choose the latter option you will still earn more points on the difference. For example, if you use $5 in points to purchase a $50 gift card with a 5x rate, you’d earn 4,500 points on the $45 you spent out of pocket.
While some might prefer to earn actual cashback instead, considering how strong Pepper’s lineup of brands is, I think that this points system works pretty well.
Point expiration
One negative change Pepper has instated since my initial review is that points can now expire. Luckily, though, this expiration is based on account activity.
If you go 60 days without making a purchase in Pepper, your earned points will expire. But, as long as you do make a purchase, including redeeming points for a gift card, they’ll continue to be available.
Although this change is somewhat annoying, it hasn’t impacted me yet. That said, Pepper does send out alerts to users when they’re nearing expiration.
Also, because this is the policy now, I would recommend that users cash out their points as soon after earning them as possible. That way, you won’t have to worry about losing your rewards.
Deals and specials
Even though Pepper’s rates are no longer 5x across the board (including several popular brands getting cut to 2x or 3x), this is made up for by some of the special promotions Pepper runs.
One style of deal is where Pepper might increase the rate on a certain brand from 2x to 10x for a limited time. In these cases, users will earn the 2x rate right away while the bonus points (the remaining 8x) will be applied at a date in the future. When taking advantage of these deals, Pepper will state when the bonus points will be applied to your account so you can keep track.
Another deal type is instant discounts. As that name implies, with these specials, you’ll save money on the gift card instantly. For example, as I write this, there’s currently a sale on Uber/Uber Eats gift cards for an instant 10% off. So, a $100 gift card can currently be purchased for $90. In addition to that discount, you’d also get 5,400 points ($90 at a 3x rate) for your $100 gift card purchase.
To stay on top of these deals, you can sign up for Pepper’s mailing list, opt into push alerts, or just check the Deals section of the app under “Inbox” tab.
Referral bonus and other offers
On top of their regular rewards, Pepper also offers some special bonuses. A prime example of this is their referral welcome bonus.
As of this writing (March 11, 2025), new Pepper users who sign up using a referral code and those who spend at least $200 in the app within their first 15 days will earn $20. Additionally, the person doing the referral will also earn 40,000 points (equal to $20). On that note, if you do want to try Pepper, you can use our code: 587870
Amazon update
In addition to getting a revamped app, updated points system, and adjusted earning rates, another big Pepper change recently occurred. In February 2025, the app informed users that they’d no longer be selling Amazon gift cards. The exception here is that the retailer will still be an option for those redeeming points, but you cannot purchase cards with a credit or debit card.
Obviously Amazon was one of the most popular options of Pepper, so this was quite a loss. Moreover, it does make me worry that other retailers could be pulled in similar fashion. But, for the time being, Amazon is the only notable one that this has happened to.
My experience with Pepper
Earning my rewards
Something I love about Pepper is the instant gratification of it all. As soon as you make a purchase, your points are applied — meaning that you can turn right around and redeem them for an additional card. To me, this is brilliant.
My Sam’s Club play
When I first downloaded Pepper, my initial idea was to buy Amazon gift cards, since those are practically as good as cash (apparently I wasn’t alone in that thought given the recent update). But, then I realized there was a supported retailer I shop at even more: Sam’s Club.
In turn, I’ve taken to purchasing Sam’s Club gift cards on Pepper just before I’m ready to check out. From there, I can even copy the gift card number and paste it into the Sam’s Club app as part of the Scan & Go checkout procedure. This has worked like a charm, allowing me to effectively earn up to 10% on my Sam’s Club purchases if I purchase during one of Pepper’s special deal times.
While I call this a “play” and it almost seems like a hack, actually, this is probably closer to how the app is meant to be used. Either way, this has been a winning strategy for me since Pepper first entered my life.
Final Thoughts on Pepper
“What can I say? I love Pepper! Well, at least I love Pepper now.”
That’s what I wrote when I first reviewed Pepper more than a year ago. I went on to explain that, “I’ve seen enough rewards apps in my day to know that they can start hot (no pun intended) but weaken over time. Therefore, while I’m excited about Pepper overall, I’m also bracing myself for disappointment.”
I suppose those words were pretty prophetic as we have seen Pepper evolve in not-so-exciting ways in recent months — culminating with the removal of Amazon as an option.
Having said that, overall, I still think that Pepper is worth your time. While the app isn’t as straightforward as it once was, I do think they’ve done a good job at keeping the value proposition intact by offer regular deals and specials (such as that 10x on Sam’s Club one I’ve been loving).
So, while it may not be the 5-star app I reviewed initially, I think it’s at least a solid 4-star platform now. In other words, I’d still recommend Pepper for the time being… barring any bigger updates.
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