Are you looking for a banking account that adds an element of luck to your savings?
Well in this video, we’re going to take a look at PrizePool and what the app has to
offer.
Hey everyone, this is Kyle from Money@30 and on this channel we look at personal finance
from a Millennial perspective, including app and tool reviews like this one.
A few months back, I reviewed a prize-linked savings account called Yotta, that enables
customers to enter weekly drawing for cash prizes.
Well, I recently came across another app with a similar idea: PrizePool.
So how does PrizePool work and can you really win cash with it?
Let’s take a look at a few things you need to know about the app
The first thing to know about PrizePool is that you can link an existing bank account
and set up one time or recurring transfers
Like many other apps, PrizePool utilizes Plaid so that you can securely link an external
account.
In turn, this makes transferring money over to PrizePool a bit easier.
What’s more, in addition to making one-time transfers, you can also set up recurring transfers
to take place weekly, once every two weeks, or monthly.
However, from what I can tell, there’s not a ton of customization here, with each option
defaulting to a set day or date.
Also, at this time, PrizePool only allows you to link one external account, which is
bummer for someone like me who has… a lot of banking accounts.
In fact, in order to change which account you have linked, it seems as though you’ll
need to contact them.
I don’t know why this is so difficult but i hope it’s something that gets adjusted
soon.
Meanwhile, now is a good time to mention that deposits are held with Evolve Bank and Trust
and are FDIC insured up to 250,000 per desposit
Next, with PrizePool, you’ll accrue tickets daily based on your account balance
To have a chance at winning money with PrizePool, you’ll of course need to earn some entry
tickets.
In this case, you’ll actually add tickets to your collection on a daily basis, with
the number of tickets you earn corresponding to your account balance.
For example, if you have $100 in your account, then you’d rack up 100 tickets a day.
Your earned tickets will continue to accrue until the end of the four-week set, at which
point your ticket balance will reset.
As for how you can win money with PrizePool, there are drawings each week as part of a
four week series
Every Friday afternoon, PrizePool holds its weekly drawing.
Currently, for weeks 1 through of 3 of the series, the grand prize winner will take home
$500 while other cash prizes range from 10 cents to $100.
Then, on the fourth week of the series, the top prize now climbs to $10,000.
Thanks to a recent update in the app, you can now view the total prize, odds of winning,
and series schedule in PrizePool.
By the way, even you don’t win one of the cash prizes, you will score bonus entry tickets
instead, with these bonuses amounting to either 10x, 5x, or 1x your PrizePool balance.
On top of what you might win from drawings, PrizePool also pays out Savings Bonuses at
the end of each month
Regardless of whether you win money with PrizePool or not, you won’t be left empty handed.
Thanks because the app offers a monthly Savings Bonus, which is currently the equivalent of
0.3% APY.
While this may sound like PrizePool is paying your interest, they point out that this is
not exactly the case… but the results are pretty much the same.
And although 0.3% isn’t much, it’s actually in line or better than what some other digital
banking services that don’t have prize-linked elements are currently offering, making this
a pretty decent deal.
Finally, another unique aspect of PrizePool is their referral program
In a bid to help bring more users to the app, PrizePool offers an interesting referral program.
At this time, those who refer friends will earn 10% of what they’re friend wins while
the referred friend will also score a 10% bonus.
I realize that sounded confusing, so here’s an example: If someone you referred wins $100
on PrizePool, you’d earn $10 and their winnings would be boosted to $110.
According to PrizePool, these referral bonuses will apply for as long as you’re both using
the app.
To find your referral code and link, just scroll down to the Invite Friends section
on your PrizePool dashboard.
Overall, I’ve been enjoying using and winning with PrizePool over the past couple of months,
although I’m interested to see what’s ahead for the app
Since opening my account in June 2021, I’ve already won $3.60 on PrizePool despite holding
a modest balance of only around $140.
This works out to a pretty impressive effective APY, sitting at 18.44% after my latest $1
win.
However, as the app grows in popularity, I do wonder if the increased competition will
mean lower rates of return.
Furthermore, with PrizePool announcing plans for a debit card that will earn customers
bonus tickets, I have some concerns about the drawings potential being flooded.
That said, at a time when banking interest rates are super low, apps like PrizePool and
Yotta offer fun alternatives that may just pay off.
Hopefully this gives you a better idea of what PrizePool is all about, but for much
more on the app, I’ll have a link to my full written review in the description box
down below.
Also if you like this video, please hit the thumbs up button, leave a comment, and be
sure to subscribe because we have new videos every week.
So thanks again for watching and I’ll see you next time here on Money@30