PerkStreet 2% Cash Back Opportunities

Philip Taylor, this is a terribly misleading article considering it is dated March 2013. They no longer have the 2% cash back on every non-pin purchase, they got rid of it last year.  See link below. And even when you get 1% cash back, they charge 10 percent for cash perks, so it's really a 0.9% return. When you factor in the 5k balance in there which earns NOTHING, that's another $50 a year wasted that I could have been earning with another bank. 

As for the 5% "categories" these appear to be limited to a secret smattering of online only merchants. I'm doubly annoyed that your promo article got me interested in signing up for a debit card that won't have nearly half the potential that you led me to believe it would. I hope others don't waste the time that I have wasted applying for an account I will hardly use. 

http://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/07/perk-street-does-away-with-its-2-percent-debit-card-rebate/

Phil, I read the terms and conitions and it appears as though you may be only eligible for the 5% spending categories if you put $5,000 in the account and leave it there as a minimum balance. The $5,000 will earn no interest, which means I am sacrificing $50 a year which I would have gotten from my bank. However, after $2,000 in qualified spending I will receive $100 in cash back from perkstreet, for which I would have received $40 from my other rewards cards, on average.

For people who are going to be able to attain $1,000 to $2,000 in annual spending within the limited categories, this is a net gain. However, my biggest gripe with perkstreet so far has been that the categories are a secret to non-members. So before I register for the card, how am I to know whether and how often I am interested in their 5% cateogories?  Also, when ssigning up for the card it was not even apparent to me that the minimum balance would be $5K.  I can't remember where I saw it, but it wasn't very apparent in the promotional literature.

 Phil and friends, 

Kyle from PerkStreet here. I just wanted to drop in and let you know that we have made some announcements about new features, including a new mobile app and savings account. This announcement came out today. I'll likely see comments left on the PerkStreet blog sooner, but of course, feel free to ask questions or comment here on Phil's blog as well.

Here's the announcement on our blog: http://dailyperk.perkstreet.com/perkstreet-mobile-app-savings-account-catcust/

-Kyle

Do they have international transaction fees?

Where they want me to buy to get the cash back is not where I want to spend to get the cash back.  So what freaking good is that?

Eh; I'll keep on using

1) Gas - PenFed 5% on Gas 2) SallieMae 5% on "Groceries" up to $500/month 3) Citi Forward 5% on Restaurants & Amazon etc 4) Fidelity AMEX 2% on all the rest all the while my money rests in 4.09 APY Consumers Credit Union Rewards Checking Account.

2% is an LOL-able cashback for a majority of spending IYAM + I get to manipulate up my credit score LOL again.

TJ, why would you use Perkstreet as your main spending account? I find that if you have more than $5k, you'd be better off having the money earn interest in an online savings account, an online money market account, or a Reward Checking Account (which as of Dec.21,2011 pays ~2.0-3.0% for upto $25k balances with e-statements, 1 ACH debit/or direct deposit, and usually 10 debit non-pin transactions..which most people use for like small change purchases), and, using your credit cards that pay anywhere from 1-5% in either cashbacks, rewards, points, miles? Plus, isnt the grace period on credit cards worth it? I feel you're throwing away $30-50 in interest (on $5k, 1%, taxes) to earn -4%-to-+1% rewards on purchases?? It really depends on how much you spend on credit cards per year, and in which categories, and when. Your interest would be more if you have a Reward Checking Account. Isnt the combo of the Citibanks, Discovers, Chases, BankofAmericas, AmericanExpresses, CapitalOnes, and others with either the broader quarterly 5% rotating categories, or the 3%, 2%, 1% rewards in everyday purchases or groceries and gas? [[FYI, while the 2% Charles Schwab Investment credit card stopped in April 2011, cardholders still earned 2% cashback on all purchases until FIA/BankofAmerica converted and changed the cards around September-to-October 2011 to the 3-2-1 cards.]]

Phil, I would love to click on the link in your article to apply for a checking account at Perkstreet, BUT! What prevents me from doing so is the new swipe fee regulation in place now and how this will affect the decision to perhaps drop the cash back opportunity.

As it is, USAA opted to drop their debit cash back program in lieu of charging monthly fees on their checking accounts.

Any insights here?

Tim was incorrect - it doesn't have to go in a brokerage account, it can go in a fidelity mysmart checking account which you can immediately transfer to your bank account, or use your fidelity debit card and get the cash at an ATM.

RB - if you need a news article, here's one: Charles Schwab Stops Offering 2 Percent Credit Cards

Schwab killed their 2 percent back in April. Thanks so much for your accountability. ;)

As for brokerage cards, I can't see many regular consumers wanting one of those. Not practical.

Charles Schwab's also credit card has also offered 2% cash back on all purchases since its inception a few years ago. I guess you can post any lie these days in a "news article" online with no editors and no accountability.

Actually the Fidelity Investments American Express Card has been offering 2% cash back on all purchases for years and still continues to do so to this day. The money has to go into a brokerage account, but you can withdraw it for cash whenever you want.