Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Debit rewards

I bank through Chase Bank.  A few years ago they offered a rewards Debit card.  I would earn points for non-pin charges to my debit card, which I could then redeem for cash deposited to my account, gift cards to various stores or some travel options.  I took the cash deposited to my account and put everything I could onto my debit card to earn the points. I was charged a $25 yearly fee for the card, but I was earning about $225 a year in cash back, so it was very worth it and sure was a nice little perk.  Last summer Chase discontinued offering this, much to my dismay.  I tried to search and see if any other banks offer this reward type of Debit card but was unable to find anything.

I just came across an online bank called Perkstreet that offers online banking and a rewards debit card. I have done some checking into it and it does sound legit and something to consider.  I can direct deposit my paycheck and pay bills via the debit card (same way I do now with my current debit card) and use the card at all the stores and gas stations.  ATM's are all over the place, if needed.  There is no fee for the card as long as you are making a transaction each month.  At my rate of debit spending, I would earn about $300 a year in cash back rewards.  I could also earn higher rewards if my checking balance is at $5000.  While that is not possible right now, with my nearly $3000 savings balance added to it, it could be possible down the road, as I get it built up.  Has anyone had any experience with this bank?  I think my main concern is I would change over to it and a year from now they'd cut back or drop the rewards program.  If I did open a checking account with them I'd still leave my Chase account open and have just have the amount of my mortgage still direct deposited into my Chase account, so I could transfer easily online to my loan, like I do now each month.

4 comments:

  1. I've heard a lot about them, pros and cons. One of the cons was bad customer service but maybe they improved by now.

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    1. I've been reading as many reviews as I can on perkstreet, and they are good and bad, like you say. The one's that make me leery say that there is a max of $1500 (to start) per month to spend, but people didn't realize it and deposited more and their money got tied up for quite awhile. I'm a little confused by what I'm reading on it, so I might be misunderstanding what they are stating, but I could not have that happen, at all.

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  2. I dislike Us Bank with a passion but I keep my studio costume card with them, I just pay it off every month. But since I order about $12,000.00 worth of costumes a year I get cash back and it is nice. This last order of just under $2000.00 netted me $18.95. I like to cash it in at Christmas. If they quit offering this I will close it tomorrow.

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    1. Kim, is your US Bank card a debit card? It's hard to find debit cards that offer rewards.

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