Checking Account Review
Aspiration Banking Review (2021) — Are Recent Changes for the Better?
There was once a time when I thought perhaps I had too many bank accounts. Yet, since then, I’ve only found more attractive accounts to open. One of the additions I made to my roster back in 2018 was Aspiration.
Not long after I opened an account, several things started to change with my account — first for better and then, later… not so much. Most recently, in March and April of 2020, Aspiration made two more rounds of adjustments that I think further degraded their banking product. At the same time, the company does maintain a unique mission and approach.
With that preview out of the way, let’s take a closer look at what Aspiration still has to offer customers and what makes/made them stand out in the increasingly crowded field of online banking services.
Editor’s note: this article was updated in July 2021 with the latest info.
What is Aspiration?
Aspiration is an online banking services company with some high, well, aspirations. With taglines such as “Do Well. Do Good.” and “Save Money, Save the Planet,” the company puts as much of an emphasis on charity and ecological impact as it does on personal finance health. In fact, humanitarian and Oscar-winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio is among Aspiration’s investors.
There are many areas where Aspiration’s Earth-saving endeavors shine through, such as their Redwood Fund and Redwood IRA products that promote sustainable investing. Additionally the bank donates to various causes and makes it easy for its customers to do the same. However, for the rest of this review, we’ll be looking specifically at Aspiration’s banking features and how they compare to other offerings.
A brief, oversimplified history of Aspiration and its many changes
First, early in 2019, Aspiration announced it was changing a few things about its accounts. For one, instead of a single account they dubbed “Aspiration Summit,” the bank created Aspiration Spend and Aspiration Save accounts. The biggest positive to this change was that the bank doubled its APY from 1% to 2%. However, to earn this interest, funds would first need to be placed into the Save account. Additionally customers would need to deposit at least $1 a month into any of their Aspiration accounts (or have a balance of at least $10,000 or higher for a minimum of one day per month) in order to earn that 2% APY. Failing to do so will, sadly, result in a 0% interest rate for the month.
Unfortunately, this structure changed again in August 2019. Following a quarter-point Federal Reserve’s rate cut, Aspiration announced that it would still offer 2% APY… but only to customers who deposited at least $1,000 a month — a far higher threshold than the previous $1. Alternatively, if you have a balance of over $10,000 for at least one day during a given month, you’ll earn 1.5% APY. Again, failing to meet either of these requirements will result in 0% APY for the month.
Subsequent changes and restrictions arrived in September 2019 and again in March 2020 that further complicated the Aspiration product and made it more difficult to earn interest. Finally, with the introduction of Aspiration Plus, that tier of service became the only way for Aspiration customers to earn any interest on their funds.
We’ll talk more about my feelings on these changes a bit later.
What Aspiration Currently Offers
Since Aspiration’s accounts have changed frequently, here’s a quick rundown of what basic banking features are currently offered as of July 2021:
- 0% APY on savings for customers without Aspiration Plus
- 0.25% APY on balances up to $10,000 for customers with Aspiration Plus
- 1.00% APY on balances up to $10,000 for customers with Aspiration Plus who spend at least $1,000 or more a month on their debit card
- 0.1% APY on balances over $10,000 for customers with Aspiration Plus
- Access to more than 55,000 free ATMs via the Allpoint ATM network
- Aspiration Plus customers also get one free out-of-network ATM fee reimbursed each month
- Cash back on debit card purchases (0.5% on purchases select brands, 3-5% on purchases from select Conscience Coalition members — Aspiration Plus customers get 10% back from select Conscience Coalition members)
- No mandatory fees
- Plant Your Change charity round-up option
- FDIC insurance up to $2 million per depositor
Aspiration Zero Credit Card
Branching out from its banking accounts, Aspiration is currently in the process of rolling out a credit card called Aspiration Zero. That name alludes to the fact that the goal of the card is to help customers achieve carbon neutrality by planting a tree for every purchase made using the card. What’s more, the card will reward users who do manage to reach carbon zero status — which is determined by the number of purchases they make/trees they plant.
By default, the Aspiration Zero will earn cardholders 0.5% cashback on their purchases. However, this increases to 1% back for those who make at least 60 qualifying purchases per month. Alternatively, those who opt into Aspiration’s Plant Your Change program and round-up their purchases accordingly will begin earning 1% cashback after making 30 qualifying purchases per month. Also of note, the card will carry a $60 annual fee. Currently, Aspiration is rolling out the Zero card to those on the waitlist.
Once again, while the spirit behind the Aspiration Zero card is noble, it really doesn’t make sense from a purely monetary standpoint. Not only do customers need to make up to 60 purchases a month to unlock an earnings rate that’s the bare minimum for most rewards credit cards but they’ll also need to pay a $60 annual fee on top of that. Therefore, there are likely better ways to earn rewards and still make a positive environmental impact.
What’s Good About Aspiration
FDIC-insured
Before we go any further, rest assured that deposits to Aspiration are FDIC insured just like any other bank. That said, Aspiration is actually not a bank themselves and instead partners with banks to offer this insurance. In fact they actually sweep funds to several different banks, allowing for insurance on up to $2 million per depositor instead of the regular $250,000.
“Pay What is Fair”
Aspiration doesn’t charge many of the fees that traditional banks do. There’s no minimum balance fee, overdraft fees, maintenance fees, etc. Instead the bank asks its customers to sustain them by paying a monthly fee of their choosing — even if that amount is $0. Overall this is a good system that has the potential to save you money versus many brick-and-mortar banks.
Cashback on debit card purchases
Incidentally this is a feature of Aspiration I have yet to use but is definitely worth discussing. Along with the other recent changes to Aspiration accounts, debit card purchases now yield cardholders cashback. However, this particular feature has also continued to evolve.
The bank has developed its Aspiration Impact Measurement (AIM) that evaluates “how a business treats People (employees, customers and community) and the Planet (environment).” When the cashback debit feature was first announced, if you used your debit card to make a purchase at an establishment with a high AIM score, you’d earn 1% cashback. Meanwhile if the business had a lower AIM score or has yet to be evaluated by Aspiration, you’d earn 0.5% cashback on your purchase. Even back then it was a bit unclear what constitutes a high or a low score but, in any case, that system has changed.
Now, patronizing “businesses with the highest AIM scores” will earn you 0.5%. This time, however, they provide a list of stores eligible for this higher cashback rate (accurate as of July 19, 2021):
- AT&T
- Allstate
- Anthem
- Apple
- Boots
- CVS
- DirecTV
- Disney
- Drugstore.com
- Duane Reade
- Esurance
- Experian
- Microsoft
- Skype
- TurboTax
- USA Drug
- Unilever
- Walgreen’s
- Xbox
- YouTube
- Zagat
The good news is that, on top of that, Aspiration is also offering up to 5% cashback when you use your debit card to make purchases from members of the Conscience Coalition. Plus, those with Aspiration Plus can earn 10% cash back from these companies. Here’s a look at those participants (accurate as of July 2021):
- 5% cashback:
- Reformation
- Warby Parker
- United By Blue
- Parachute Home
- Causebox
- Cloud Paper
- Lola
- Goodwings
- Burst
- MiiR
- 4% cashback:
- TOMS
- Known Supply
- Soapbox
- 3% cashback:
- Arcadia Power
- Feed Projects
- This Bar Saves Lives
- Blue Apron
- Girlfriend Collective
- Imperfect Foods
- Dropps
Even as someone who doesn’t plan on really using this feature, the initial change was pretty disappointing. While I was thankful to have a bit more clarity on what qualifies for which tier — and there are at least a few places on the list where I shop with some regularity — cutting the cashback rates so dramatically (now down to 0.05% for most) makes this feature even less viable. However the addition of the Conscience Coalition bonuses is admittedly pretty cool even if the list is fairly short.
Ultimately if simple, straight-forward cashback checking is what you’re after, Discover offers 1% back on up to $3,000 in debit card purchases per month. Plus, if you trust yourself with a credit card, there are plenty of options that will likely earn you more than you’ll get on most Aspiration debit card purchasesunless you frequent the named companies often enough.
Plant Your Change
While we’re on the topic of debit cards, one newer feature of Aspiration is called Plant Your Change. When you opt into this, your Aspiration debit card purchases will be rounded up to the nearest dollar, with the spare change going towards planting trees. Aspiration says that they guarantee one tree will be planted for each purchase rounded up.
I know I said I’d only be looking at Aspiration’s actual banking features in this review. This one is borderline; however, since it is unique and involves your money, I figured it was worth highlighting.
High-ish APYs (that you now have to pay for)
As mentioned earlier, Aspiration previously offered up 1% APY on savings but has continually made earning that amount harder and harder since I initially signed up. The good news is that technically you can now get up to 1.0% APY … but, as you’ll see in the “Downsides of Aspiration” section, it’ll cost you.
Perhaps Aspiration’s APY be reinstated for its normal tier customers if the Fed were to reverse its emergency rate cut, but there’s no guarantee and I certainly wouldn’t count on it.
ATM access
Last but not least, Aspiration used to boast that it would allow its customers to use any ATM in the world for free. No, this wasn’t the result of some massive partnerships that span the globe. Instead it just meant that the company would reimburse any fees you may incur for using an ATM domestically or abroad. Sadly, this went out the window in April 2020 — with one exception for Aspiration Plus users.
Now, Aspiration is a member of the Allpoint ATM network, which gives customers access to more than 55,000 ATMs across the nation. While that’s not a bad thing on its own, the discontinuation of reimbursed fees from any ATM is a huge blow. That said, those who pay for Aspiration Plus can still get one free out-of-network ATM reimbursement per month.
Considering that the “any ATM in the world” feature was really one of the main reasons I signed up for Aspiration in the first place, no longer having this perk is enough for me to drop this point into the “downsides” section. But, for most users, I suspect that the Allpoint network will still more than suffice, so I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt.
The Downsides of Aspiration
About that monthly fee
In the “What’s Good About Aspiration” section, I explained the institution’s Pay What is Fair fee policy. While it’s true that you can elect to set this fee to $0, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Heck, I felt bad enough reducing their initial $5 a month fee recommendation to the $1 I landed on. But here’s the thing: there are other online banks that offer near what Aspiration does that don’t charge any fees and don’t even ask for voluntary payment. I suspect I’m not the only one paying a higher fee to Aspiration than they otherwise would just because of guilt, making this a slight negative to the service. Then again, Aspiration does give 10% of these fees to charity, so now I’m back to feeling bad that I even wrote this!
P.S. — whether you’re feeling more generous or decide it’s time to lower your fee, you can always do so by going into Settings > Fee Settings and adjusting from there.
Aspiration Plus
While we’re on the subject of fees, I should finally explain what Aspiration Plus is. Introduced in April 2020, this new tier of service currently comes at a cost of $7.99 per month or $71.88 if paid for a year upfront — although this number has changed numerous times already since the option’s debut. In any case, Aspiration Plus includes some added benefits for users. For one, as I’ve noted, it’s now the sole way to earn any interest on your money and also includes one out-of-network ATM fee reimbursement per month. Other benefits include an upgraded debit card made from recycled ocean plastics and up to 10% back on purchases from Conscience Coalition brands.
Aspiration Plus does also include their Planet Protection feature, meant to provide carbon offsets for your gasoline consumption. Considering that this option previously came at a cost of $5.99 or $59.99 a year, I do have to give Aspiration some credit for including it in this package — that is, assuming that the product hasn’t changed.
Complicated (and kind of ridiculous) APY structure
While the APY potential of Aspiration is a good thing, what you need to do to earn it is now a major negative. In fact, with each subsequent adjustment that Aspiration has made, they’ve only made it more difficult to earn any interest. What’s more, while most of these requirements were at least understandable — being based on the deposits that customers made — the latest iteration is pretty absurd to me.
Currently, only those who join Aspiration Plus will be eligible for any interest at all. Then, by default, these customers will earn 0.25% APY on funds in their Save accounts up to $10,000. In order to earn the advertised 1% APY, Aspiration Plus users will need to spend a whopping $1,000 a month on their debit card. By the way, this 1% also only applies to the first $10,000, balances over that only earn 0.1% APY regardless.
This is by far the worst APY structure that Aspiration has introduced and I can’t say enough about how much I dislike it.
Slow transfers
I’m not sure if I’m just impatient but it seems that external transfers to Aspiration take a bit longer than normal. Perhaps that’s because they don’t even display as pending in your account (you’ll have to hit the “transfers” tab to see it, assuming you initiated the transfer from Aspiration itself). This has led to a couple of times where I worried that something was wrong.
Of course this fear was only compounded when I got an e-mail from the bank saying one of the transfers I launched had failed. It turns out that was just a glitch that affected a few customers around the time of the big Save and Spend split, but it only made this speed issue more evident.
Less than stellar account statements
Once upon a time, when I was still able to trigger an ATM fee reimbursement, I wasn’t sure if the $4 ATM fee credits I was receiving were extra money or just leveling me out from a charge I didn’t see. Well part of the reason for the confusion is that Aspiration didn’t display all of the balance data that other banks would. Thankfully, this has since been corrected and a running tally now shows under your transaction both on mobile and on desktop.
At the same time, Aspiration’s account statements still leave something to be desired. To me, they’re oddly confusing and not really what I’m used to from banks. So while I’m thrilled that they finally fixed the balances issue, I hope statements also get a second look in the future.
Final Thoughts on Aspiration
There’s clearly a reason why Aspiration has been getting so much publicity in recent years. In addition to their unique business model and humanitarian/eco-centric efforts, they also offer a number of banking features that can help customers save money. At the same time, based on the numerous (and I do mean numerous) recent changes to their accounts, I can no longer whole-heartedly recommend them for your banking needs.
Although the promise of 1% APY and the ability to use any ATM in the world for free was what brought me to Aspiration, these main perks have now been reduced, eliminated, or attached to multiple strings. On top of that, while I’m glad their app and site now allow you to view running balance totals with transactions, there are still other aspects of their banking experience I find lacking — and for that they still request a monthly fee or demand one via the Aspiration Plus program.
To me, while Aspiration’s heart may be in the right place, the constant changes and increasingly complicated rules make the offering seem suspect. For example, in just over one month, the offering completely changed its model twice. Personally I feel bad for those who took the time to set up direct deposits of $2,000 or more in order to earn interest on their money only to now be told they need to spend $1,000 a month instead. This is not a small change and really seems like poor form.
For those reasons, I’d say it’s only worth setting your sights on Aspiration if their overall message is enough for you to overlook these downsides. If not, I’d try SoFi Money or Discover Bank instead.
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