[Review] Bumped: Rebate App That Pays in Stocks [UPDATE: has limits on earning!]

A while ago I reviewed Pei which is a rebate app that pays you cashback in cryptocurrency. Now we’ve a rebate app called Bumped that pays you cashback in stocks.  The stocks concept is an interesting one but is the app worth your time?

MASSIVE UPDATE: I’ve added info on the limits. It makes their program far less appealing.

Bumped customers apply for a brokerage account, link their debit or credit cards, and select their favorite participating brands. As they spend with those selected brands, Bumped gives them a percentage of their purchases back in fractional shares of stock.

https://bumped.com/

First things first, the major downside to Bumped the fact that there are tax implications. The fact that cashback is taxable because they chose to gimmick cashback as stock is kinda stupid and…not fun. Needless to say they require you to provide SSN and open brokerage account with them. Thankfully there is no fee associated with their brokerage account. Also, you can sell whatever amount of stock at any time.

The second major downside is probably the way Bumped is setup right now. There are currently 13 categories right now and you can only choose one brand from each of these categories. In other words, you can earn stocks related to at most 13 companies. You can choose a different brand within a category once per 30 day, up to 3 times a year.

If you can get past those two things then the good news is that Bumped is a smooth looking app that is pretty functional for a beta stage.

Here are the categories and their eligible stores in Bumped right now:

Burger: Jack in the Box (3%)  McDonald’s (3%) Wendy’s (3)

Coffee: Dunkin’ Donuts (2%) Starbucks (2%)

Drug Stores: CVS (2%) Walgreens (1%)

Family Dining: Applebee’s (2%) Chili’s (2%) Olive Garden (2%) Red Robin (2%)

Grocery: Koger Family of Stores (1%)

Home Improvement: Home Depot (1%)

Mexican Food: Chipotle Mexican Grill (2%)  Taco Bell (2%)

Music Subscription: Pandora (1%) Spotify (5%)

Pizza: Domino’s (1%) Papa John’s (5%) Pizza Hut (2%)

Superstore: Target (1%) Walmart (1%)

Telecommunications: AT&T (1%) T-Mobile (1%) Verizon Wireless (3%)

Video Subscription: Netflix (1%) Sling TV (5%)

Vineyards: Willamette Valley Vineyards (1%)

Limits

• reward limit to $50 per purchase or
• $250 per brand per year

Additionally some anti-MS precautions may be in place because I was told:

• Purchase of gift cards, pre-paid cards, or other cash equivalents are not eligible for reward
• We may ask for proof of purchase to verify some purchases prior to giving a stock reward.

Unfortunately, this will make the app far less appealing to many of you.

Overall Thoughts

Filing tax on cashback is kinda meh but options are good. 1% on Walmart and 2% on CVS is what most of you are going to be interested in. The limits are a huge bummer.