I’m currently carrying a PerkStreet debit card around in my wallet and using it to earn cash back on my spending. I thought it would be a good time to check back in with the second part of my account opening process review for PerkStreet Financial’s online checking account. See part one of this review to catch up on what you missed, and see my full review of this account’s features, including the 2% cash back promotion.
PerkStreet recently updated their offering and now they offer 5% cash back in some spending categories. Read more about the 5% cash back offer from PerkStreet Financial.
In part one we covered the online application portion. Now we’ll review the rest: receipt of the debit card and PIN, funds transfer, and online account functionality.
Access Granted on Day 2 – Two days after applying for the account, if you are accepted, you will receive a second email from PerkStreet Financial detailing how to access your online account. When you log in to your account you will be able to change the ID and password. You’ll also be able to see several features available to you: billpay, financial dashboard, user options, and even a tab to click through to TurboTax to file your taxes.
Registering an External Bank Account – I decided that my first step would be to register an external bank account in order to move money into my PerkStreet checking account. When you first log in to your online account you’ll see a tab up top called “e-money mover”. Visit this page to register an external banking account.
If you’re like me, you’ll have money stashed elsewhere that you want to get into this account to start spending. The registration process is very similar to other online institutions. You will need to look for two small deposits that PerkStreet will make into the account. Once you see those, come back to your PerkStreet account and verify the transactions. Once you do that, your external account will be registered and you’ll be able to move funds between the two accounts.
Getting Your Debit Card and PIN – Once your application is accepted, you will be sent a debit card and PIN. Look for an email from PerkStreet letting you know about the card. Once you receive your card, you’ll be asked to call in and activate your card. It’s at this time that you can change your PIN. Once you do this, you’re ready to start using your card to earn perks.
Review Your Perks – I almost forgot to mention this, but there is a green “my perks” tab accessible from your online account where you can go to review and redeem your perks. FYI – It takes a few weeks for this information to transfer over from your checking account to the perks balance. This explains why I didn’t have many perks at this point. I was, however, happy to see a detailed information section which will allow you to reconcile your spending to the amount of perks earned.
Next Steps with my PerkStreet Financial Checking Account – Sometime over the next month or so I’ll begin checking out the BillPay feature on the account. You actually have to manually activate BillPay, which seemed odd to me. I’m hoping to actually try it out soon. Also, there is a tab called “services” which contains a link to a “financial dashboard”. Looks to be an online financial aggregator of sorts.
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So there you have it..the start to finish process of getting started with your own PerkStreet Financial checking account. As I’ve said all along, if you’re in the anti-credit crowd and want a way to earn some extra rewards for your budgeted spending, this is the account for you. I’ve moved my personal spending (gas, groceries, and dining) to this account and look forward to enjoying my perks very soon. If you have any questions about the account, let me know in the comments or shoot me an email.
Related Posts:
- PerkStreet Account Opening Process – Part 1
- Vanguard Roth IRA Account Opening Process
- Earn $60 Cash by Opening an EverBank Checking Account
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