I grew tired of my brick-and mortar bank many years ago. I opened up an online account when they were first becoming mainstream. I started out with NetBank, which is now defunct. I moved on to Virtual Bank when interest rates were high and online banks were fighting for customers. Virtual Bank was one of the highest interest paying online banks for a few years, then they gave up. I moved all of my money out, but never closed the account. I thought that withdrawing my money did this but when I recently received an email about new fees, I looked into it and quickly closed my account.
This brings us to the present. While interest rates are low, banks need to find other incentives to earn your business. Per Street Financial does this with their rewards checking account. Here are some of the benefits of the PerkStreet checking account:
- FDIC Insurance up to $250,000
- Free online bill pay and banking
- No fees (as long as you use your account)
- 24/7 customer service
- Various deposit options (more on this below)
- Rewards (also more on this below)
The best feature of the PerkStreet checking account is the rewards program. You earn rewards for using your debit card as a credit card (meaning you select “credit” as opposed to entering your PIN). Here is the breakdown on earning cash back rewards:
- 1% on all non-PIN purchases
- 2% online when you shop at Walmart, Target, Best Buy, Apple, and iTunes (limited to $2,500/yr)
- 2% when you shop in store at Walmart, Target, Best Buy and Apple and you have $5,000 in your account (limited to $2,500/yr)
- 2% when both you and a friend split a bill and you both use your PerkStreet debit card
- Up to 25% through PowerPerks which are rotating categories
To redeem your “Perks” you can get $20 cash back for every 2 perks you redeem or you can redeem for gift cards from leading retailers.
Deposits to your account are easy too. You can mail in checks via UPS overnight which is free for you (PerkStreet) pays the fee or you can set up transfer between your PerkStreet account and other outside bank accounts.
Positives of PerkStreet
The two biggest positives of PerkStreet are the lack of fees and the rewards. You won’t have to worry about your account balance being too low and getting hit with a fee, because there isn’t one.
The rewards are great as well. Unless you have a rewards credit card or a debit card linked to a special checking account (meaning one that you have to keep a minimum balance on) you cannot earn rewards.
Other great positives include:
- Free Bill Pay
- Free Checks
- 42,000+ free ATM’s
- No credit check
Negatives of PerkStreet
There are three main drawbacks to Perk Street. I list them in order to most annoying to least, for my personal needs.
No Savings Account
Currently, PerkStreet only offers its reward checking account. They have a savings account as a high priority and I hope they ofer one soon. While it isn’t the end of the world to have both accounts at one institution, it would be ideal. With ING Direct, where I have another checking and savings account, my transfers between accounts are instant. By having accounts at different banks, it is not instant.
No Smartphone App
While this is not a deal breaker, it would be nice to be able to check my balance from my Smartphone and especially deposit checks from the app. Hopefully this too will be offered soon.
No Business Account
As with the note about no savings account, there is no business checking account either. It would be nice to have this option again, for ease of transfers.
Opening an Account
Opening an account is a breeze. You simply fill out the form online and decide how to fund your account. You can fund your new account with a debit or credit card or with another bank account. The minimum to open the account is $25.
The website is fast and is laid out nicely. I never have to spend a lot of time “looking around” for what I want to do. Everything about the website is intuitive.
Overall Feelings
Overall, the PerkStreet checking account is a great option for anyone looking for a great rewards checking account without extra fees. While the lack of a savings account is a negative, it isn’t enough to stop me from recommending the account. You can click on the following link if you are interested in opening a PerkStreet Financial checking account.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve been thinking about using Perkstreet. Right now we have a brick and mortar bank, which I like because I can access my money immediately and they offer a coinstar machine without fees to account holders.
We also have a money market account that I’m not to fond of. I may try Perkstreet to keep my extra income streams separate from my regular pay.
Justin@TheFrugalPath recently posted..Profit From Your Passion: It’s not always possible.
That’s actually a good idea. Back in the day, I had a friend that had his main bank account at the bank down the road. His savings account was at a bank 50 miles away. He refused to get an ATM card on the account. He set up an automatic transfer to this account as well. Because it was so inconvenient for him to get to his money, he would never touch it…it just continued to grow.
I’ve heard some good things about PerkStreet, though the having no business accounts is a big detractor for me. We need to have that for our business and like having all of our accounts in one place.
John S @ Frugal Rules recently posted..Carnival of Passive Investing #27
It is a downside to the account. Hopefully in time they will increase the account offerings.
I haven’t used a brick and mortar bank for over 5 years. Thanks for giving a breakdown of perkstreet financial.
Brick By Brick Investing | Marvin recently posted..Thrift Savings Plan F.A.Q.
Honestly I wouldn’t worry about the lack of smartphone app – the security on those devices is riddled with holes and I wouldn’t access my financials on one of those if my life depended on it.
I still use my brick and mortar bank though. I use it in combination with my online bank – excess cash goes into the higher interest rate online account. As for the perks – you’ll honestly do better with one of the national brand credit cards but if you want to keep it simple it sounds like PerkStreet can be a good choice.
JP Smith recently posted..Saving Money on Vacation
I’ve heard a lot of good things about Perk Street. Right now I’m using ING (well Capital one, now that they were taken over) and I’m happy with what they provide. The only thing I think I’d want from Perk Street is the digital check uploading (take a photo of the check instead of overnighting it to the company). I’d also want a savings account option, since the whole purpose of online banking for me is to save my money and not touch it.
KK@Student Debt Survivor recently posted..I’m Dating a Financial Stud!