Today is not the best time to be either a saver or an investor. Thanks to the actions of many central banks around the world, interest rates have been driven to record lows in an attempt to revive a weak economy. In addition, the stock and bond markets have seen an uptick in volatility as uncertainly about the future prospects of the economy creates an environment of fear. As such, there isn’t much of an incentive for anyone to save much money.
However, thanks to the growth of the internet, there have been some interest financial innovations for those people who are interested in earning a return on their money. One such innovation is the Perkstreet 2% Cash Back Rewards Debit Card.
Compared to credit cards, the traditional rewards for debit cards have been rather modest. Consider, for instance, credit cards like the Chase Freedom Card or the American Express Blue Cash Everyday Card. They both offer a cash back reward of one percent on everyday purchases. In addition, they offer cash back rewards of as much as five percent on select categories of purchases.
By contrast, most debit cards do not offer any cash back on purchases. However, the Perkstreet 2% Cash Back Rewards Debit Card is one of the first debit cards to have a rewards program on par with these credit cards. However, there are some caveats that savers need to consider before signing up with this program.
The Perkstreet Rewards Card is linked to a checking account that you open when you request the card. This account can be linked to any of your traditional banking accounts so that you can fund money into it as needed. However, it is important to realize that you will not receive any interest on the money sitting in that checking account; you only receive rewards on the money you spend, not the money you save.
This makes the Perkstreet account fundamentally different from other online checking accounts like Ally Bank and ING Direct. These accounts work like traditional banking accounts where you earn interest on your accumulated savings.
Of course, the interest rates on their checking accounts are not all that attractive at the moment. For Ally Bank, the current interest rate is 0.5 percent. For ING Direct, it is even worse at 0.2 percent. However, there are higher interest rates that you can earn with both Ally and ING Direct if you meet a minimum account size threshold.
In addition, you could link your online checking accounts with an online savings account, which has no minimum requirements and allows you to earn a higher interest rate immediately. For Ally, the current interest rate on their savings account is 0.89 percent, while ING Direct is currently sporting a 0.85 percent interest rate on its comparable offering.
The Perkstreet Rewards Card also has a minimum account requirement in order to get its best advertised rate of two percent on all purchases. Currently that amount minimum is $5,000. If you have less than that in your Perkstreet checking account, then the cash back that you will receive on your purchases will only be one percent.
There is no denying the fact that the Perkstreet 2% Cash Back Rewards Debit Card is one of the more attractive offerings in the debit card industry. For those who spend a lot of money in their checking accounts, you will be hard-pressed to find a better rewards program; for those who prefer to save their money, this may not be the best program for you. Therefore, before you make a decision about this product, think carefully about how you use your checking account. If you decide that this product is for you, rest assured that you have found an excellent cash back debit card.
Find out more about 2% Cash Back now.
Credit card offers that compare to this 2% debit card are the HSBC Mastercard and the Schwab. Capital One is also offering a 1.5% card with their No Hassle rewards program.
