A checking account helps you manage everyday transactions, like paying bills and transferring money between accounts. But some checking accounts go above and beyond by allowing you to earn cash-back rewards on your spending, too.
Our team evaluated the top rewards checking accounts offered by federally insured financial institutions. We examined key metrics, including fees, minimum opening deposit requirements, interest rates, rewards structures, and more, to identify the five best rewards checking accounts available today. (See our full methodology here.)
Account details:
TAB Spend is a rewards checking account that offers an impressive 2.75% APY on balances and 1% cash back on all purchases. There is no minimum opening deposit requirement and no monthly fee associated with this account, though you’ll need to maintain a balance of $0.01 to earn interest.
Rewards details
Every purchase made using your TAB Spend Mastercard debit card qualifies for 1% cash back. Money transfers, peer-to-peer payments, and other non-purchase transactions are not eligible for cash back. Cash-back rewards are paid into your TAB Spend account monthly.
Read our full review of TAB Bank
Account details:
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Minimum opening deposit: None
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APY: 1% on balances of $2,500 or more
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Cash back rate: 1%-2%
LendingClub’s LevelUp Checking account earns an unlimited 1% cash back on qualified purchases and 2% cash back on Lending Club personal loan payments (provided they are paid by the due date).
There are no monthly maintenance or overdraft fees, and no minimum balance or transaction requirements. Account balances of $2,500 or greater earn 1% APY. Additional perks include early direct deposit, free credit monitoring with DebtIQ™, and unlimited ATM fee rebates on fees charged by other banks.
Rewards details
To start earning cash-back rewards, account holders must set up direct deposit and receive at least one direct deposit into their LevelUp Checking account each month. Eligible purchases include purchases at qualifying gas stations, grocery stores, and pharmacies.
Read our full review of LendingClub
Account details:
GreenFi (formerly Aspiration) is a climate-focused financial technology company. It offers a combination online checking and high-yield savings account that earns 3% unlimited cash back when you shop at 150+ climate-friendly brands in its Green Marketplace.
Additionally, you may choose to add your GreenFi debit card to the “Plant Your Change Service,” which rounds up transactions to the next whole dollar amount and transfers the difference to a GreenFi Plant Your Change Service Account.
Account holders can also earn 1% APY on savings balances up to $25,000. To qualify for interest, you must either have a qualifying direct deposit or debit card transactions of $500 or more each month.
Additional perks include unlimited fee-free withdrawals at over 55,000 Allpoint® ATMs and direct deposit up to two days earlier than your normal payday. Banking services are provided by Coastal Community Bank (member FDIC).
Customers who enroll in GreenFi Plus (for a monthly fee) can enjoy all the benefits of GreenFi Checking and Savings, plus up to 3.25% APY on savings and 6% cash back on all Green Marketplace purchases.
Rewards details
Every time you use your GreenFi debit card at a Green Marketplace brand, you’ll get unlimited 3% cash back on each transaction (or 6% cash back with GreenFi Plus). The marketplace includes a diverse selection of rigorously vetted, climate-friendly brands that are committed to fighting climate change. Cash back is credited to your account monthly.
Account details:
Axos Bank’s CashBack Checking account rewards customers with 1% cash back on qualifying purchases. There are no monthly maintenance fees associated with this account, and it comes with unlimited domestic ATM fee reimbursements and no ATM fees.
Rewards details
Account holders can earn up to 1% cash back on signature-based transaction purchases, up to $2,000 per month. In order to qualify for the 1% cash-back rate, you must maintain a $1,500 average daily collected balance. If your average daily collected balance falls below $1,500, you will earn 0.5% in cash back for the month.
Purchases made at supermarkets, super stores, grocery stores, wholesale stores, discount stores, USPS, and financial or money transfer institutions are not eligible. Additionally, purchases made using virtual wallets, funds transfer services, or other similar technology are not eligible.
Read our full review of Axos Bank
Account details:
Bank5 Connect’s High-Interest Checking account, which requires a minimum opening deposit of $10, provides 1% cash back when you purchase from participating retailers.
The account also earns a 2% APY on balances of $100 or more, with no monthly maintenance fees. Additionally, Bank5 Connect never charges ATM fees, and refunds up to $15 per statement cycle if other banks charge you for using their ATM.
Rewards details
Earn 1% cash back on your Bank5 Connect debit card purchases by shopping at participating retailers. Simply log in to your account using the Bank5 Connect mobile app or online banking platform and activate the offers that appeal to you. Cash back is deposited directly into your Bank5 Connect Checking account.
Read our full review of Bank5 Connect
Find the right checking account for you:
Our grading system, collected and carefully reviewed by our personal finance experts, comprised dozens of data points for today’s top checking accounts to develop our list of the best cash back checking accounts.
We evaluated these accounts according to several key metrics, including minimum opening deposits, monthly fees, interest rates, cash-back structure, maximum cash-back earnings, direct deposit requirements, and welcome bonuses.
The checking accounts on our list could earn a maximum of 32 points across all metrics. Here’s a closer look at the categories we considered:
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Minimum deposit to open: Many checking accounts require a minimum deposit to open an account. Accounts with no or low minimum deposit requirements were given preference in our rankings.
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Monthly fees: Many checking accounts come with monthly service fees that can eat into your account balance. We rewarded accounts that had zero monthly maintenance fees with the maximum number of points for that category.
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APY: We rewarded interest-bearing checking accounts with extra points.
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Cash-back rate: Cash-back rates vary across checking accounts. We awarded more points to accounts with higher cash-back rates.
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Cash back on all purchases or category-based: Certain checking accounts offer cash back on all purchases, while others only offer cash back on purchases made within certain categories. We gave more points to accounts that offered a flat rate on all purchases.
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Cash-back cap: More points were awarded to checking accounts with the potential for unlimited cash-back earnings, rather than accounts that capped the amount of cash back you could earn within a given period of time.
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Direct deposit requirement: Many checking accounts have extra requirements in place to earn cash back, such as a minimum number of direct deposits per month or statement period. We awarded additional points to accounts that did not have this requirement in place.
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Welcome bonus: The checking accounts on our list were awarded additional points for promotional bonuses for new accounts. Promotional bonuses are subject to change, but we awarded points for active bonuses at the time of publication.