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$50 Checking Account Bonus With Perkstreet Financial

December 26, 2009 by Silicon Valley Blogger

The other day, I discussed the SmartyPig free savings account, which allows you to address your specific savings goals by allowing others to help contribute to your SmartyPig account. This time, I’d like to introduce a form of checking account (with debit card) that is non-interest bearing, but promises to be high on rewards. So how about receiving perks by using a debit card?

Let’s take a look at the checking account offered by Perkstreet Financial. It offers a number of perks in lieu of paying out an interest rate. If you’re someone who likes to bank online, who wishes to minimize the fees on your accounts, who uses your debit card often and who appreciates rewards and benefits as a banking customer, then maybe this checking account will fit your needs.

Perkstreet Financial Checking Account Features

Here’s what you’ll get when you open a Perkstreet checking account:

• You’ll receive a Perkstreet Financial Visa Debit Card that will give you 1% cash back, or free music or coffee. There are no limits on the rewards you receive, which you can easily redeem online.
• You’ll receive a $50 cash bonus for opening an account. This is a limited time offer (it will expire by the end of the year).
• You’ll get free checks, 24/7 live customer service, free online banking and bill pay.
• There are no account fees, no ATM fees, no minimum balance required.
• You only need $25 to open an account, which you can deposit via check or electronically.
• You can set up direct deposit and make easy online transfers between your Perkstreet checking account and external accounts.
• Your account has FDIC insurance and fraud protection, as is standard for bank accounts.

Checking Account Fees & Rewards

There are some fees you’ll need to be aware of here, such as a charge for overdraft protection ($30), a bounced check fee, a stop payment fee and a monthly inactivity fee of $4.50 per month. These are standard fees you’ll find assessed for most financial accounts, so watch out for these. On the flipside, there are the perks — if you’re a coffee or music lover, then you can get the equivalent of a cup of coffee (at $2) when you spend $200 on your debit card, or an iTune download ($1) when you spend $100. If you prefer a “cash perk”, you’re actually limited to receiving gift cards from certain merchants such as Amazon, Target and Best Buy.

So is this a good deal? It’s fine if you’re a debit card user. But you can certainly consider other alternatives to getting rewarded for your spending. For instance, I have the habit of accumulating credit card rewards and using cash back credit cards, which may offer better deals than Perkstreet’s debit card rewards. If you’ve got your credit card use under control, then consider those credit cards that offer higher rewards (3% to 5% on certain spending categories and 20% savings through online shopping) for your spending. But if you don’t trust credit cards, then you have the option of getting rewards through debit card spending via Perkstreet.

And as alternatives for your savings funds, you may also want to check into free high yield checking accounts and high interest savings accounts which are interest bearing accounts. You’d have to determine if these types of accounts are where you’d prefer to park your money.

Online Banking With Perkstreet Financial

For those curious as to how Perkstreet Financial Account Screens look like, here’s a quick look at some of them.

#1 Check your balance.

#2 Perform online bill pay.

#3 Review your transactions.

$50 Cash Bonus Details

Some details on the bonus:

1. The offer expires by the close of the year, so you’ll need to act fast.
2. Deposit at least $25 into your new account and keep your account active for 3 months.
3. You’ll receive $50 within 15 business days after the end of the 3rd month of owning your account.
4. The offer is good only for new checking accounts.

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