That’s a pretty bold statement but I believe that PerkStreet ^[2] and their rewards checking account ^[2] beats all other checking accounts … even the checking accounts from some pretty heavy hitters in the banking industry. It all boils down to rewards and even on the lowest rewards tier, PerkStreet ^[2] just makes more sense for the vast majority of all people.

Ally Bank ^[3] does have a great checking account ^[2] with a lot of features in demand by many, many customers. ING Direct ^[4] also has a great checking account. Ally has some great CDs and CD rates and I really love my Ally Raise Your Rate CD ^[5]. ING carved out a great niche with their Electric Orange ^[4] checking account ^[2] after having one of the best savings accounts ^[6] and they DO have a fabulous Kids Savings Account ^[7] (sure beats a piggy bank).

These banks may pay interest on your checking account’s average daily balance but they don’t beat the rewards that customers can get from using their PerkStreet ^[2] account to make their normal purchases using their debit card ^[2] (non-PIN purchases).

For example:

PerkStreet

Spend just $300 week making your normal purchases like food, household items, clothing ^[8], utilities, etc and you’ll earn $156 with PerkStreet ^[2]. Maintain over $5,000 in that account and you could earn even more. That doesn’t include PowerPerk Purchases where you get 5% cash back (up to $250/yr) on rotating categories, either.

Your earn rate is as follows:

• 1% unlimited cash back for all non-PIN debit card purchases (read Why Do I Get Rewarded for Non-Pin Debit Card Purchases? ^[9])
• 2% cash back on online purchases at: Amazon.com^®, iTunes^®, Target.com, Apple.com, Walmart.com and Bestbuy.com. Online purchase bonus perks are limited to $2,500 in spend every calendar year.
• 2% cash back in-store, when you have a Current Account Balance of $5,000 or more at: Walmart, Target^®, Best Buy^® & Apple^® stores. Offline purchase bonus perks limited to $2,500 in spend every calendar year.
• 2% unlimited cash back when you and a friend use your cards together at the same restaurant, bar or coffee shop. Transactions must occur within 60 minutes of each other to qualify.
• 5% cash back on special categories and merchants announced every month via Twitter ^[10] (@perkstreet ^[2]), on their Facebook ^[11] page or other company communications. PowerPerks bonus perks limited to $5,000 in spend every calendar year.

Ally Bank

Maintain an average monthly balance of $5,000 in your Ally Bank ^[3] checking account ^[2] and you’ll earn a whopping $25 for the entire year … regardless of what you spend. Average $15,000 in your checking account ^[2] and you’ll earn a bit higher interest rate but you’ll still only earn $135, just a fraction of what you’d earn with PerkStreet ^[2].

ING Electric Orange

ING ^[4] makes a big deal about fees and their lack of them (for the record, the other banks have similar fee models and structures). Now, I hate fees as much as the next person, but with their paltry interest rates, you’d earn approximately $13 with a $5,000 balance, $37.50 with an average monthly balance of $15,000.

There are multiple opportunities to earn PerkStreet ^[2] rewards

Even someone who claims to spend very little money each week has to purchase things like:

• Food
• Gasoline and transportation expenses
• Medicines and health care
• Utilities
• Cell phone ^[12]
• Entertainment
• Cosmetics
• Paper products
• Household products
• Insurance
• Haircuts or styling
• Gifts ^[13]

Why not get cash back from PerkStreet ^[2] on those purchases?

About the author

Ron has written 1083 articles on The Wisdom Journal.

The founder and editor of The Wisdom Journal ^[14] in 2007, Ron has worked in banking, distribution, retail, and upper management for companies ranging in size from small startups to multi-billion dollar corporations. He graduated Suma Cum Laude from a top MBA program and currently is a partner in a national building materials company.

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