Key Takeaways

• Apps offer sign-up bonuses, typically cash or gift cards, to attract new users.
• Common apps with sign-up bonuses include cashback apps (Rakuten, BeFrugal), survey apps (Swagbucks, InboxDollars), and financial apps (Robinhood, Upromise).
• Be wary of scams and read the terms and conditions before signing up.

What is an App Signup Bonus?

A signup bonus is a reward that an app gives you for joining their platform. They usually offer you free cash prize to attract you. But some apps provide you with free gift cards. Either way, it's a welcome gift, and thank you for becoming a player or client.

Knowing which apps offer sign-up bonuses lets you avoid the ones that don't. We've assembled a list of apps that give you money for signing up. This will save you time when you're looking for the app with the best deal. Keep in mind, that some of these rewards may have an expiration date. If you’re interested, move fast.

RebatesMe

As a RebatesMe member, you can earn up to 40 percent cash back when you shop at qualified stores. They are affiliated with over 6,500 stores, so you're bound to come across one.

RebatesMe offers a ten-dollar sign-up bonus. But there is a stipulation: you must spend ten dollars through their platform to qualify for it.

Swagbucks

Swagbucks is a rewards app that allows you to earn points for completing tasks. These tasks include:

• watching videos
• shopping online
• uploading receipts
• playing games
• taking surveys
• printing coupons
• competing daily goals

You earn SB points, which you can cash in for cash or gift cards.

You will receive a ten-dollar cash bonus when you sign up for the platform.

Rakuten

Rakuten was Ebates am dos a cashback app that offers rewards for online shopping. Rakuten has over 2,500 stores and offers cash back for everything from travel to clothing. You earn rewards while you shop.

Rakuten sends you to various stores, and the stores pay you a commission on what you buy. Rakuten then shares the commission with you in the form of cashback.

If you want to start using them, they offer a signup bonus. When you sign up, you receive an extra ten percent cash back on purchases made in your first seven days.

Robinhood

Robinhood is a unique brokerage account. It offers financial services like commission-free investing from your smartphone. Some of its services include:

• stock investments
• crypto trading
• retirement accounts

Robinhood has been in business for over ten years. Trading with Robinhood is free. It was launched to provide free stock trading for regular people.

Right now, they are offering a signup bonus for a limited time. When you transfer an outside brokerage account to Robinhood, you’ll receive a one percent bonus with no cap.

It doesn't matter if you transfer $2,000 or one million; you receive a one percent bonus.

BeFrugal

BeFrugal is another cashback and coupon platform. You can earn up to 40 percent cash back. BeFrugal works with over five thousand retailers.

It pays you with:

• direct deposit
• PayPal cash.
• Venmo
• Zelle
• gift cards

BeFrugal gives a ten-dollar signup bonus. To qualify, you must earn at least ten dollars in cash back within one year of signing up.

Most people have a PayPal account of their own and receiving money won't be a problem.

InboxDollars

InboxDollars is similar to Swagbucks, but it gives a few more ways to make money; besides the offerings, you can also earn money from reading emails. More if you complete the offer. But they claim they don't flood your inbox.

Like Swagbucks, they reward you for playing games. Some of the games InboxDollars has are:

• Monkey Bubble Shooter
• Mahjong Solitaire
• Outspell
• Candy Jam
• and more

You can join InboxDollars for free. They currently have a five-dollar signup bonus.

MyPoints

MyPoints lets you earn free money by:

• shopping
• taking surveys
• playing games

MyPoints operates under the point system, but these points can be turned into money. The point system gives you several opportunities to win points. Each one is a different amount. Point amounts are:

• up to 20 points on purchases made online
• up to 2,300 points per survey
• up to four points per game played

All points can be cashed out for money. MyPoints has a five-dollar bonus when you sign up.

Upromise

Upromise helps you save money for college or help pay back student loans. It’s basically a rewards program that lets you earn cashback on everyday purchases. You then put the cashback proceeds to college expenses.

Upromise has various partners like:

• retailers
• restaurants
• service providers

These partners offer cashback rewards when you make an eligible purchase. These earnings are deposited in your Upromise account.

The beauty of Upromise is it lets you pay back student loans or save for college without having to make changes to your lifestyle. You’re going to buy from these businesses anyway, why not save?

Upromise gives you a $30 signup bonus. Be aware that to transfer this bonus to your 529 account you must meet the minimum transfer amount.

Tada

Tada offers you cashback on groceries. You can purchase the groceries online or in a brick-and-mortar store and receive up to 20 percent cash back. Just click Activate Cash Back wherever you shop for instant rewards.

Tada can be added to Chrome or download the Tada app for on-the-go shopping.

You’ll receive a ten-dollar cash-back sign-up bonus on your first order.

KashKick

Kashkick is a U.S.-based app that’s

• free
• legit
• trustworthy

Kashkick is a survey and gaming app, but it differs slightly from the other survey or game apps. Kashkick provides you with various ways to earn money. They have financial partners that include:

• Chime
• Varo
• Lifelock

Additional activities are always changing. You also get free money for signing up. When you sign up, you receive one dollar. This may not seem like a lot, but according to the app, you have the potential to earn $500 monthly.

Opinion Inn

Opinion Inn is an online survey platform. Once you sign up for an account, you’ll complete surveys and receive compensation in the form of:

• cash rewards.
• gift cards
• other rewards

Opinion Inn brings together businesses and consumers. The consumers provide feedback on products and services.

Opinion Inn pays you to open an account. Their signup bonus is ten dollars.

Cash’em All

Cash’em All is a free app that lets you make money playing games. Cash’em is not a game it’s a platform that hosts games. Some of these games include:

• Candy Crush
• Pocket Monsters
• Coin Master
• Idle Restaurant

With Cash’em All, you earn coins and cash them in for money. It offers a free signup bonus of 4,444 coins. It also allows you to earn an extra 250 coins by referring a friend. But it doesn't stop there. Moving forward, you'll receive 25 percent of your friends' extra coins.

Make use of your referral link and get rewarded with your unique referral code.

Point Club

Point Club is a survey app. You can make money by taking surveys. Technically, you're earning points, but you can convert those points into rewards.

Some places to convert points include:

• Visa prepaid card
• Amazon
• Nike
• Walmart
• iTunes
• Starbucks
• movie or retail vouchers

Surveys can earn you anywhere from 200 to 5,000 points.

Their current promotion is a signup welcome bonus. Sign up and confirm your email and receive 5,000 points. That’s equivalent to five dollars. 

Frequently Asked Questions

There are several ways to earn a little money, such as signing up for apps. Some are sign-ups for games or cashback, and some are in the financial world. But regardless, you might still have some questions about signup bonuses. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions.

Are all bonuses legit?

All bonuses are not legit. If you see a bonus like $700 from a gaming or cashback app, it’s probably a scam. Some online bank account will have high signup bonuses, but if they do, they want thousands of dollars deposited to qualify. Be suspicious of flashy high bonuses and read their terms and conditions before signing up.

Are signup bonuses good to do?

Signup bonuses are good if you are interested in the product. Ensure you read the fine print. If you make a mistake, the bonus could be voided. You should stay organized if tasks to keep the bonus need to be completed within specific dates.

Do bonuses for trial offers make sense to do?

Trial offers make sense to do for a bonus. But if you’re not interested in the product, ensure you cancel before you’re charged. Always read the terms and conditions before signing up for a free trial.

Honorable Mentions Worth Looking At

There are some apps that don't technically have a signup bonus but because they give you free stuff if you join, they needed to be on a list.

Keep in mind that offers change weekly, so if you're interested in a product, check back to see the latest offer.

Webull

Webull is a popular trading and investing platform. It allows you to earn 5% APY on uninvested cash in your Webull account. There are no fees attached and no minimum balance. But that’s not why they’re an honorable mention. Right now, they are offering an IRA transfer offer.

When you transfer from a traditional IRA, Roth IRA, or rollover IRA to Webull, they'll add funds worth 3.5 percent for all transfers and 3.5 percent for new contributions.

Now, that's a great signup bonus.

Fundrise

Fundrise might be for you if you’ve ever wanted to get into investing. They have several ways to build a portfolio. These include:

• real estate
• private credit
• venture capital

What's great about this is you can start with as little as ten dollars. It only takes five minutes to set up your account, so it’s no fuss and you’re investing.

Stash

Stash is an investment app. It allows you to start investing in stocks and ETFs with no add-on commission fees. No matter what the amount you want to invest, you receive help along the way.

The reason they’re on the honorable mention list is that they give you a debit card. And you earn up to one percent in stock when you spend at a public company. You can also earn by shopping local, Just choose your stock reward in the Stash app.

You’ll also receive three percent in stock when you put streaming services on your card. These services include:

• Netflix
• Spotify
• Disney+
• Hulu

You basically can grow your wealth by swiping your card.

Dosh

Dosh is a cashback app. And you don’t have to use any coupon or scan receipts to claim your money. That’s because it automatically gives you cash back.

It’s easy to earn money in three steps:

1. Sign up
2. add credit or debit card to Dosh
3. shop, dine, or book hotels

Your credit and banking information is secure. It isn't stored with Dosh but with a leading banking vault, Braintree (owned by PayPal).

You don't have to worry about using codes; just swipe your card and go.

Chase Checking Accounts

Chase Checking makes opening an account easy and profitable. They're offering a coupon that, when used, can earn you big bucks.

When you open an account, with the coupon, and make a direct deposit totaling $500 you receive $300 in your new checking account. You have 90 days from the time you open the account to deposit the 500 dollars.

Every account is subject to approval. This promotion does have an expiration date, so you’ll have to act fast. Don’t forget to read the terms and conditions. You’ll probably have to keep your money in the account for a set number of days. And there are also monthly fees if your balance falls below a specified balance.

But still, $300 is worth it and belongs on the honorable mention list.

ySense

ySense is an online global app with multiple earning options. You can earn cash for taking paid surveys. There are other offers you can be paid for, including:

• trying products and services
• downloading apps
• signing up for websites
• watching videos
• more

Why does ySense have a spot on the honorable mention list? They have a great referral bonus. When you share ySense with friends or family, you’ll receive up to 30 percent of what they earn.

Current

Current is an online bank that offers many services. The best is that you can:

• get paid faster
• build credit history
• earn points
• and more

If you set up a direct deposit with Current, and you qualify, you can get paid up to $500 two days in advance. And there are no credit checks required to qualify for Paycheck Advance.

You also earn a bonus of up to four percent annually on your savings. You can buy and sell crypto with zero trading fees. You can pick from thousands of coins and start investing with as little as one dollar.

Current is FDIC insured, so your money is insured up to $250,000.

MobileXpression

MobileXpression is a market research company. It gathers data from users’ mobile devices in exchange for rewards. Once you install the app, you start earning rewards. And you don’t have to do a thing.

Once you install the app, it will run in the background of your device. It collects data related to your mobile usage behavior. Some of the information it collects is:

• app usage
• web browsing activity
• device performance
• location data

In exchange for allowing MobileXpression to collect this data, they reward you with the following:

• gift cards
• merchandise
• sweepstakes entries
• other forms of compensation

MobileXpression is currently offering a signup promotion. Install the software and receive a five-dollar gift card within one week. The longer you participate, the more you’ll earn.

Dave

Dave is a platform that helps you manage your finances. If you have your paycheck directly deposited to Dave, it will give you a two-day cash advance of up to $500. However, the average approved amount is $160, typically approved in five minutes.

Besides the cash advance, it also helps you apply for jobs with their Side Hustle Board. Dave also offers paid surveys.

And finally, it offers help when it comes to managing finances through Goals.

Dave is not a bank. However, its banking services are provided by Evolve Bank & Trust, which is FDIC insured.

Nielsen Panel

Nielsen Panel is like MobileXpression. With Nielsen Panel, you can download their app to your mobile device and begin sharing data.

By sharing your information, you are paid credits, which are redeemable in cash. Merchandise is also available. Nielsen Panel gives you several ways to earn rewards. They include:

• $60 yearly rewards
• instant win games
• survey and research opportunities

A desktop computer can also be used but this just pays you with sweepstake entries for cash giveaways: not guaranteed money.

Nielsen also offers surveys for radio and television.