Pinata is a mobile app that claims you can earn rewards through your largest monthly expense: rent. It’s a very alluring offer, so I understand if you are very interested in this app.
However, I advise you to read this Pinata app review before you download it because it will show you the full details of what the app is all about so you will know exactly what to expect.
That way, you will be able to properly evaluate if this app is truly worth it or not. So, let’s go ahead and check out Pinata, shall we?
What is Pinata, and what does it offer?
Pinata is a reward and credit-building app that will let you earn rewards from your monthly rent.
It is indeed a legit app since you can really earn rewards by simply paying your rent. However, this doesn’t automatically mean the app is worth using.
To find out if you should use this app, you must first understand how it works. And the best way to do that is to examine the earning opportunities it offers so you will have a clear idea of how much time and effort is needed to earn rewards from it.
So, here’s how to earn from Pinata.
Option 1 – Paying Rent
One way to earn rewards from Pinata is by paying your rent. This opportunity sounds more complicated than it seems. You might think that to earn from this opportunity, you’ll have to pay your rent using the app. However, that’s not the case.
To earn from this opportunity, all you need to do is log in to the app during the day your rent is due and press a button to verify that you have paid your rent. Now, the app doesn’t know if you did pay your rent because it doesn’t go through any verification process to check for payments.
All it does is force you to log in to the app at least once a month to press a button, and later you will understand why. But for now, just know that it’s all you must do to earn. Once you “verify” your rent payment, you will receive 20 Pinata coins, which is the currency the app is using.
Later, I will explain what you can do with the coins you have collected.
Option 2 – Referral Program
The other way to earn from the app is through its referral program. If you’ve been a member of other rewards apps before, then you might be familiar with this opportunity. But if you aren’t, then let me explain to you how it works.
The idea is to invite other renters or even landlords to join Pinata. To do so, you just need to input your referral’s information (name and phone number) inside the referral section of the app. Once you do that and Pinata verifies that the person has indeed registered as a member, you will earn a reward.
If your referral is a renter, both you and your referral will receive 20 Pinata coins. If your referral is a landlord, the reward is different (refer to the photo below).
If you manage to invite your landlord (or even other landlords), you’ll receive 20 Pinata coins every rent day. You’ll also receive additional Pinata coins depending on how many units your landlord has for rent. This one is a bit hard to hit because, as you can see in the photo above, your landlord must have at least 100 units for rent before you will receive the bonus.
Inviting a landlord can be very rewarding, but it is not an easy thing to do, in my opinion. That’s because unlike renters, where the membership is free, a landlord must pay a subscription fee to join the platform. So, it won’t be that easy to convince a landlord to join the platform, in my opinion.
This is how Pinata can afford to give out free rewards to renters. They make money off of landlords and partner brands (which I will talk about later).
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How do you get paid?
As explained above, you will earn Pinata coins from the opportunities the app offers. But what can you do with the points you’ve earned? Well, you can redeem them for various gift cards or use them to make purchases from their marketplace.
Take note, though, that, unlike other rewards apps, Pinata only offers a few gift cards every week, and these are the ones that they feature. So, you’ll have to wait for the right gift card to be offered to use your Pinata coins.
The number of Pinata coins needed to redeem a gift card will depend on the gift card being featured. Some gift cards will only require 10 Pinata coins, and they are worth $5, while some will require more.
As for the marketplace, the app advertises that you can buy various products, but upon testing and based on feedback from other members, most of the items you can buy will just be discounts for products or memberships/subscriptions. You will still have to spend money to get the product or subscription/membership.
So, in my opinion, if you don’t want to spend money, your best use for your Pinata coins will be redeeming featured gift cards, which don’t come often. That is why I would say the payment system of Pinata is not great, in my opinion.
And if you are hoping to earn cash, then you will be disappointed because this app doesn’t offer any cash rewards. Instead, I recommend you check out the top sites that pay via PayPal if you want to earn cash.
How much money can you make?
While it may seem like you are able to earn decent money from the app since you are basically earning from something you have to do anyway (which is pay your rent), what the app really does is lure you into spending more money. Earlier, I explained that the app essentially forces you to log in at least once a month to claim your reward for paying your rent.
The reason for this, in my opinion, is that they want you to at least see all the offers from their partner brands because you might be tempted to avail of these offers. You need to remember that this is how the app makes money.
And for a brand to partner with them, the brand must also get something out of the partnership, which, in this case, will be sales (since most items in the marketplace will require you to shell out some cash). So, asking renters to log in at least once a month is a smart way of promoting offers, in my opinion.
That is why I would say that the app doesn’t have good earning potential, in my opinion. Sure, you’ll be able to redeem gift cards from time to time, but there are better apps that you can use if this is your goal, in my opinion.
Can you use it on a desktop?
Pinata is a mobile-only platform, so you will need to use a mobile device if you want to earn from it. The app will work with most devices, so Android and iOS users won’t have any trouble installing it.
It is also relatively easy to use, which is the best thing I can say about this app, in my opinion. You also won’t encounter any annoying pop-up ads while using it since that’s not how the app makes money.
Who can join Pinata?
Pinata is only available in the US, so if you live somewhere else, then this app is not for you. You also must be at least 18 years old to register as a member.
To sign up, you have to install the app first. Then, when you open the app for the first time, you just need to go through the registration process, which is fairly straightforward. As soon as you finish registering, you’ll be asked to indicate the day of the month your rent is due.
Pinata needs this information so that it will be able to “verify” if you paid your rent. Once you’ve done this, then everything is set up. You just need to log in during rent day to claim your reward.
But as you can see in the photo above, Pinata now has an option where you can become a premium member for $5 a month. This membership fee will give you access to a few benefits. Plus, this also makes the free membership a bit limited in terms of the benefits you can access.
If you want to access all the features of the platform, you must go for the premium membership, in my opinion. You'll be able to offset the monthly fee if you keep using Pinata for the whole year.
Can you get support?
If you have any questions about the app or your account, you can check out the Help Center found on the website or inside the app. It discusses some of the basic topics you need to know about the app.
But if you can’t find the answers you are looking for, you can just submit your inquiry to the support team. To do so, just click the “Submit a request” button found at the bottom of the Help Center page and fill out all the necessary fields.
Overall, I would say the app does provide the minimum required support to its members since it offers a convenient way for you to get in touch with the support team.
Final Verdict
Pinata is an app that will let you earn rewards for paying your rent on time. It has a couple of decent features, but it also has a few drawbacks you need to know.
Let me summarize its pros and cons to end this review so that you can get an overview of what it has to offer. Then, you can decide if it is an app that is truly worth using or not.
Pros:
- Offers a passive way of earning rewards
- The app is user-friendly
Cons:
- Limited earning opportunities
- Doesn’t offer cash rewards
- Limited reward options for free members
In my opinion, how good Pinata is will depend on what your goal is. If you just want to earn something from paying your rent, then this can be an option since it is the only app that offers this kind of opportunity (at least, one that I encountered).
Just be aware that you will not earn a lot from this app, so you will need to be extra patient. But if your goal is to find an app where you can earn extra cash, then this app is not for you because it has a very low earning potential and doesn’t offer cash rewards. Plus, the reward options it offers aren’t that good, in my opinion.
You are better off finding other apps to use, in my opinion. Or better yet, you can check out the top survey or GPT sites in your country instead. The sites (and apps) on this list all have good earning potential, so you will be able to earn a decent amount in no time.
Plus, you will definitely find a site you can join regardless of where you live.
If you have any comments, questions, or experiences with Pinata, I would love to hear from you in a comment below.