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5/12/25
NEW for Dog Owners: Patter's $2 Instant Signup and Referrals!
https://gopatter.page.link/89eQ - code dYDhs
Update: It looks like they paused or shut this one down. Presumably due to the viral effect.
A new app hit Referral World today called Patter. It's an iOS and Android app geared towards dog owners that offers rewards for doing things like walking your dog! In addition to these rewards, you can get a $2 instant signup bonus when you download the app and enter code dYDhs during signup. $2 referral bonuses as well, and you can cash out to Amazon, Uber, Starbucks and several other gift cards once you reach $10. More info here.
5/11/25
Happy Mother's Day!
RWN wants to take a moment and wish all moms, parents, and caregivers a Happy Mother's Day! May your sacrifices and unwavering love never go unnoticed!
If you're pampering a mom or a mom (hopefully) getting pampered today, here are a few resources for Mother's Day deals and specials:
I also want to honor the moms we lost, including my own. This is the first Mother's Day since losing my mom in January. Sending hugs to those of you who lost your mom. And to my mom: Happy Heavenly Mother's Day, I love you with my whole heart! 
Mom and me, 2023
More Scammery from Abound!
Once again, Abound emailed me today sending the same canned response that my account is "under review" and will be for 3-4 weeks. They've sent me this same canned reply multiple times over the past 4 weeks and apparently didn't realize that they've already shut down my account and locked me out of it completely.
I also realized why they're claiming 3-4 weeks. This is typically the time that partnered retailers pay the cashback portals their cut. What a great way for Abound to ensure that members don't cancel the trials/offers/purchases they've done while also not paying them!
Special thanks to RWN supporter, Morgin D, who sent me screenshots of Abound's partnered retailers. Please consider using Morgin's Citibank link if you haven't signed up yet ($100 referral bonuses, no spend or deposit requirement) More info on Citi here.
If Abound has scammed you by freezing your account reason and/or refused to pay you your owed signup and/or referral bonuses, you may want to consider informing the retailers Abound is partnered with. These partners include:
1-800 Flowers
25Home
Airalo - International eSim
Amazfit
American Blinds
American Standard
American Tourister
Artium Academy
AshaPops
BestVetCare
Bharat Bazar
Biocare
Booking.com
Budget Pet Care
Chepoair
ContactsDirect
Data Camp
Dinnerly
Disney Bundle
Distacart - Authentic Indian Products
Els Pet
EntirelyPets Pharmacy
Eufy
Everyplate
ExpertRating
EyeBuyDirect
FILA Smart Watch
Fytoo Optical
GeekBuying
Giant Food
Giftcards.com
Glasses.com
Grand Patio
Hertz
HINOMI
Hotel.com
Hulu
iHerb
Instacart
Keds
Kiwi.com
LensCrafters
Logitech
Lycamobile
Marble Lotus
Mayo Clinic Diet
Merrell
Mint Mobile
Modi Toys
Mondly by Pearson
Monoprice
My Pet Health Store
OneTravel
Paramount+
Paw.com
Polaroid
PowerStep
Purple
Qatar Airways
Radisson Hotels
Raymour & Flanigan
Roborock
Rug Source
Sesame Care
Shark
Simply Guitar
SmartBuyGlasses
STARZ
The Ayurveda Experience
TicketNetwork
Tineco
Tribesign
Trip.com
Tru Supplements
TWOPAGES CURTAINS
Ugreen
Ultra Mobile
Umbra
UpGrad KnowledgeHut
Vahdam India
Verizon Wireless
Visible - Powered by Verizon
Vooglam
Weee! Indian
Wolverine
Yesglasses
5/10/25
Abound Scammed Me. You too?
Follow-up to my article earlier this week ("The Silent Struggles of a Referral Marketer!"). It's official: Abound scammed me out of nearly $360 in confirmed bonuses and the pending bonuses from the 373 people I referred since signing up last month. I published this post today about it; the tl;dr is that after I completed two offers to trigger the signup bonus - Amazon Music trial and Starz subscriptions - as well as referred others, Abound put a hold on my account and prevented me from cashing out my earned bonuses with no justification. Reading reviews, I have found that they did this to others as well. After a month of assuring me that the hold would only be for 3-4 weeks and my account would be reactivated, they did the opposite and closed my account completely yesterday.
Within an hour of publishing the post today, I've already received feedback from RWN supporter Morgin D.:
Companies that pull stunts like this are the lowest of the low in my book. And sadly, Abound is not alone in doing this to us. Grifin also pulled a similar stunt on me in late March (see my article below) where they suddenly started enforcing a $1K lifetime earnings cap without informing any of us who had already reached it and not only stopped paying referral bonuses but also stopped paying signup bonuses for people who signed up through us. It's times like these where I wish there were a Referral World Union to hold these companies accountable for contract breaches and deceptive tactics.
If Abound has pulled a similar stunt on you, please contact me at [email protected]
5/9/25
Fetch's Increased $4 Referral Bonuses [US, Puerto Rico]!
https://fetchrewards.onelink.me/vvv3/referraltext?code=XRGUGB (code XRGUGB)
The receipt-scanning/cashback app, Fetch, started a new promo today, which runs through 5/14: get a $2 signup bonus when you sign up and scan your first receipt. Get a $4 referral bonus for each person who uses your link.
Fetch is a great way to score gift cards and other cashback rewards by scanning your shopping receipts and connecting your Amazon, Walmart, and email accounts to the app. For more information about Fetch, see my featured post here. For similar receipt-scanning and cashback apps, see my Featured Cashback Bonuses post.
5/8/25
Goodwall Ends Promo!
Checking my Goodwall app this morning, I noticed that the promotion which went viral the other day has ended - either prematurely, or due to the max overall awards being reached. If you got in on this promotion, you SHOULD be able to receive your bonus if you haven't received it yet (YMMV).
5/7/25
Promos Ending Soon!
The following increased bonus promotions are ending soon:
ShopBack [Ends tomorrow; US, AU, DE, HK, IDN, KOR, MY, NZ, PH, SG, TW, TH, VN] - https://app.shopback.com/35CNxEV4eSb - code wBUA8m - Through 5/19, ShopBack is offering a
$5$20 signup and unlimited$5$30 referral bonuses! I've already earned $8.7K in potential referral bonuses and withdrew over $890 this month! More info here.
RebatesMe [Increased Bonus 5/4; Worldwide] - https://www.rebatesme.com/r/tsiyb9 -
$5Increased $40 cashback bonus when you sign up using my referral link and spend $15 within 30 days and earn $10+ cashback within 90 days. Unlimited $40 referral bonuses as well! There's no expiration date listed with this but I don't expect this promo to last more than 1-2 weeks max. More info here.
You can always keep updated on promotions ending soon, along with new apps and increased promotions in my featured post here.
I Can Help You Refer Helium if you Signed up Through Me [US]!
If you signed up through me for Helium on April 23rd when I first started promoting it, and you still haven't filled your 10 referral spots, I can help you fill them! I quickly maxed my spots on 4/23 and since have helped RWN supporters Brett N., Dee W., Tricia K., and Cee D. fill their spots.
If you'd like to take me up on this offer, email me at [email protected] and be sure to include the following (first-come, first-serve):
The name you used and the email/phone number you used to sign up
A screenshot showing you signed up through me on 4/23 (a dated welcome email from Helium, for example).
Your Helium referral code.
More info on Helium here.
I Scored Another $200 Overnight!
https://www.referralworldnews.com/citi
And I woke up to another $200 in Citi bonuses paid overnight! A huge "THANK YOU" if you're one of the 17 who signed up the past few weeks using my link, and best of luck as you refer it!
If you haven't signed up yet and want to earn up to $2,000 in referral bonuses, simply use a referral link and open a Citibank Checking account. Choose the version that says, "Earn $325..." You don't need to fund the account and can skip that screen when asked. Once you've done this, watch for your referral link, emailed in 1-4 weeks. The subject line will read, "[Your name], earn up to $2,000 on qualified referrals!"
While there's no signup bonus, you can earn a $325 bonus from Citi by receiving two or more deposits within 90 calendar days of account opening, totaling $3,000 or more. Qualifying deposits include recurring paychecks, pension, Social Security payments, and PayPal, Venmo, and Zelle transfers! You can use your Zelle/PayPal/Venmo account to send funds to your Citi account. In the case of PayPal, you'll want to ensure you're using ACH transfer.
More info on this Citi promotion here, and see more bank bonuses with tips to trigger them here.
Goodwall Pays [Worldwide]!
https://goodwall.onelink.me/45N9/aj5m7ysv
I just signed up for a new viral app promo this week from Goodwall, offering $5 signup and referral bonuses. And I've already received and redeemed $50 in bonuses!
If you haven't signed up yet, this one's really simple! Here are the steps (also found in my featured post here):
1) Use my link to download the app
2) Sign up manually using your email or phone (they also have Google/Facebook auto-signup options, but don't do these because you need to be able to verify the email they send).
3) Complete any challenge! I triggered this by searching "BestPhoto2025" and uploading a photo. Easy-peasy!
Once you complete your challenge, you'll receive your signup bonus within 24 hours which can be withdrawn to PayPal or Chimoney.
Sign up for ShopBack? Do This to Trigger Your Bonus!
https://app.shopback.com/7HEXLkTWYSb
In checking my referral tracking for Shopback, I noticed several folks completed some but not all of the steps. If you signed up, you will need to do the following to trigger your $20 signup bonus:
Add your PayPal email to your Shopback account so that you can withdraw
Spend $5 at ANY retailer trhough Shopback within 180 days (in total, can be from multiple smaller purchases).
Doing both of these things will trigger your bonus. Note that you will also need to earn $5 or more in cashback before you are able to withdraw your earned signup and referral bonuses. For more info and for boosted cashback recommendations, see my featured post here.
Another $50 from Solo [US]!
https://worksolo.onelink.me/7Viq/u1xpy1wo
Thanks to its current $10 signup, unlimited $50 referral bonuses, I scored another $50 in bonuses this month! Solo has a subscription model but if you work gig/delivery jobs - DoorDash or Instacart Driver, etc. - this app is a must-have, with great bonuses to boot! More info here.
Apps Left Behind, Pt 10!
This is the 10th installment of RWN climbing up on its soapbox to remind you of great apps that are still out there but not promoted as frequently. In a sea of fly-by-nighters, bait-and-switchers, and "New! New! New!" viral apps, these "tried and true" apps have been around the block, have proven themselves time and time again, but have flown under the radar in recent months (or even years):
BrandClub - https://brandclub.com/appshare?referralCode=091fefdc-867f-4190-bfe0-90bacc05ab29 - $2-$14+ signup bonus and unlimited $2 referral bonuses!
Just verify your account and connect one or more of your recently active Amazon, Best Buy, Chewy, Fred Meyer, Kroger, Ralphs, Safeway, Sephora, Target, or Walmart account(s). Hits your Brandclub account instantly and cashes out to PayPal/Venmo within 24 business hours. More info here.
Pogo [US] - https://pogocash.app.link/V79W9L - Sign up through my link or use code V79W9L to get 250 bonus points. 250 points for referrals as well.
Stash [Increased Promo] - https://get.stash.com/brett_19xm496 -
$20$30 of bonus stock when you join and add $5 to your personal investment or bank account from any source. Choose a$20$30 cash bonus or stock reward. I've already earned $420 from this promo! Stash frequently holds Stash Stock Parties, awarding members pieces of free stock! More info here.
The Silent Struggles of a Referral Marketer!
As you know if you've been following me in Referral World, referral marketing can be incredibly rewarding and lucrative: promote products you believe in, share your unique link/code with others to help them earn signup bonuses (as you earn referral bonuses), and watch the earnings roll in. Of course, there's a lot that we need to turn the other cheek to, "grin and bear it", cut our losses, etc. And sometimes these silent struggles seem to come at us from all angles. 
Here are some common hurdles we face as referral marketers:
Fighting the Algorithm… Every. Single. Day.
Just when we've figured out how to get visibility on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, etc., the algorithm changes. Suddenly, the content we spent hours crafting barely reaches anyone.
No warning, no explanation. Just a sharp dip in engagement and a painful blow to our potential income. And don't get me started on the violations these social media giants will issue referrers and referral groups with no rhyme or reason. Just the other day, several referral group admins paused their groups after hundreds of "cybersecurity" violations came in at once!Ghosts and Referees who Start but Never Finish
We answer questions, create step-by-step guides, respond to endless DMs, only to be ghosted - at worst - or have folks who click our links but don't do what's needed to trigger the bonus. Personally, this one doesn't bother me because I feel it comes with the territory. I spent years in retail and customer service, and equate this one to "window shoppers". Still, it's something all referrers face, no matter how much we go the extra mile in providing the steps to earn bonuses.Link Fatigue and Legitimate Skepticism
Referral World is filled with legitimate referral marketers, and unfortunately, bad apples (promoters, opportunists, and scammers). Because of this, legitimate referrers have to work even harder to convince others to use our links and codes and to trust us when we promote an app and provide bonus info, terms, including any "gotchas" the promotion may have. And we'll often run into situations where folks don't want to sign up simply because they've been burned before by an app or another referrer.Good Apps Until They Weren't
Referral Marketers are "middle-people". We don't work for the companies we promote, and we cannot control when a company decides to reneg on owed bonuses, switch up the terms after the fact, and just make life difficult all around for all parties.
Recent examples I've personally experienced include:Grifin - After a year of referring and earning over $3K in bonuses, Grifin decided to, without warning, impose a $1,000 earnings cap in late March. This was right in the middle of an increased March promotion I was referring. I still received referral bonuses up until that point, and I only learned of this cap after multiple referees contacted me, informing me they didn't receive their signup bonus. After a week of runaround from Grifin's customer support, they confessed that this newly-enforced cap was the cause of my signups not getting signup bonuses or me getting any referral bonuses. I fought them on this, and they agreed to honor the signup bonuses for those who signed up through me, but they have thus far refused to honor my owed referral bonuses.
There's nothing wrong with an app having a yearly or even a lifetime cap. But Grifin continues to mislead referrers by including our referral codes prominently in the app and emailing us promos stating we WILL receive referral bonuses even though we reached this cap and will not be paid. Meanwhile, this $1,000 cap is buried in a link that's towards the bottom of their terms. I've reached out (again) twice last week asking whether they'd be fixing this "bug," but both inquiries have gone unanswered.
Abound - This app used to be Times Club and was dependable and quite popular in the early 2020s. Towards the end, there were multiple referral tracking and payout issues, along with poor customer service.
Fast forward to last month when Abound resurfaced in Referral World. Referrers like myself gave them a second chance, but the issues that plagued Times Club are still occurring. I received word that Abound started placing accounts on hold without explanation, which also happened to me. Despite my earning over $260 last month and withdrawing $30, Abound put a hold on my account with absolutely no justification, and while their support team has been prompt in responding to my email inquiries, the "support" has consisted of them telling me, "We’d like to inform you that your account is still under review by our Fraud and Compliance team due to some activity that requires further verification." They've also been copy/pasting canned responses stating it will take 3-4 weeks, even though it's already been 4 weeks. And yet in the past 4 weeks, they haven't reached out to me for any verification information whatsoever.
Fundrise - This app, while legit, hasn't been easy to deal with. First, they claimed that we can only refer close family/friends that we know personally, to which I pointed out that this claim is nowhere in their written terms. And while they've been paying me owed bonuses, there's apparently a tracking issue the past couple weeks where I have to keep sending them the name and email of the people I referred in order for us to receive our owed bonuses. The issue was escalated a couple of weeks ago, but as of now, there's no explanation as to what happened or if/when the bug will be resolved.
If you signed up through me for Fundrise the past few weeks and invested $10 or more but didn't receive your signup bonus yet, PLEASE email me at [email protected] so I can pass on the information and get us our owed bonuses. Please be sure to include your full name and the email address you used to sign up in your email.
Final Thoughts: It's More Than a Side Hustle
Referral marketing has its rewards. It offers freedom, creativity, and financial opportunity. But behind every referral link/code/post is someone pouring their time, energy, and heart into making it work. The next time you scroll past someone’s affiliate post, remember: we're not just “selling” - we're hustling, educating, experimenting, and hoping each app and promotion honors their word and pays off.
If you're a fellow referrer and any of this resonates with you, just know you're not struggling alone. Keep going. The benefits far outweigh the struggles, the work you do matters, and you're not alone!
Did You Know?
Did you know that while I publish a new issue of Referral World News each week, I update each weekly post daily? Bookmark https://www.referralworldnews.com and check back throughout the week for the latest articles and updates!
Recap of Last Week's RWN:
New: GoodWall's EASY $5 Signup & Ref. Bonuses [Worldwide]!
RebatesMe More Than Quadrupled Their Bonuses [Worldwide]!
Ending Soon & Something New (May the 4th be With You)!
Huge Thanks, I Reached $20K! $10 Bonuses End Tomorrow [US]!
May's List of 100+ Legit Bonus Opportunities!
I Scored Another $600 Overnight!
Stash's 12-Hour StockParty (Ends at 11:59 PM EDT)[US]!
Promos Ending Soon!
Current Doubles Bonuses for New and Targeted Members [US]!
MoneyLion Keeps on Roaring, Another $240 in Two Days [US]!
One is Back with a New Name and New Bonuses [US]!
My List of April's Biggest Earners is Here!
Joko's No Joke, Yo [US, France]!
Do Not Refer Grifin if you earned $1K or more in bonuses [US]!
Don't Sleep on New Apps!
DoorDash's Coveted Increased $30 Bonus Promo Returns [US, CAN, AU]!
One Spot Left for Rare $50 Signup Bonus [US]!
Apps Left Behind, Pt 9!
Have a Referral News Tip?
Please email me at [email protected] if there's any new app or referral news you think I should know about and/or would like to see featured in Referral World News! If you're a subscriber and it's an app I don't have yet, I may surprise you by including your link in the featured article!
Check out my profile, where you can follow me and find my latest posts! You can also follow me on FB (#1 and #2) Find more of my referrals at https://www.referralworldnews.com/referrals.
RWN's FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/referralworldnews/
RWN's Bluesky Page: https://bsky.app/profile/referralworldnews.com
