Usually it makes much more sense to use your credit card to make purchases, but there are some specific cases when using a debit card makes sense. The problem is that most debit cards do not have a rewards program, I decided to make a list of all the debit cards that do have a rewards program. The number of these cards has been declining in recent time due to Durbin Amendment which limits the swipe fees that can be charged on debit transactions.
Contents
Nationwide
- TAB Bank. 1% Cash Back on all purchases.
- UFB Direct Airlines Debit. You earn 1 American Airlines AAdvantage mile per $3 spent. There is no annual fee on this product.
- PayPal Business Debit Mastercard. You earn 1% cash back on purchases that are not PIN based.
- RadiusBank/SmarterBucks. 1% towards your student loans on all purchases that are not PIN based.
- Discover Checking. You earn 1% cash back on debit card purchases on up to $3,000 in spend per month.
- Point Rewards. There is a $49 annual fee. Card earns at the following rates:
- Earn 5x on subscription purchases
- Earn 3x on delivery and ride share
- Earn 1x on all other purchases
- Clinkle treats. This card has a bit of an unusual rewards program, every time you make 7 purchases you unlock a treat which can be sent to a friend. When your friend next makes a purchase, their treat will be unlock and some of their purchase will be refunded or they will receive another prize (e.g free Chipotle).
State Specific
Percentage Based
- CardCash Banks. There are a number of banks that are partnered with CardCash [you can view all of the banks offering this program by using this search string in google: “site:https://www.cardcash.us/”], which offers up to 1% cash back debit card purchases. Unfortunately this 1% cash back rate is extremely deceptive, as it’s tiered. Here is how much you’ll earn based on how much you spend:
- $700 & under: Nothing
- $700.01 – $1,000: 1%
- $1,000.1 – $1,500: 0.5%
- $1,500.1+: 0.25%
- Kasasa Cash Back Checking. Similar to CardCash in that a lot of banks are under the same program, you can earn up to 2% cash back using their debit card but you’re limited to a tiny amount of cash back every month (usually $5-$10).
- KeyBank Rewards Debit MasterCard & World Debit: Earn 1 point for every $6 spent. Points seem to be worth about 0.2¢ a piece according to PFdigest.
- [MA]Â Zeugma Rewards from Leader Bank. Earn 1% cash back on all signature purchases where you select “credit”. Paid out on the 15th of each month. Hat tip to Freequent Flyer book for making me aware of this card. You can also get an additional 10% cash back at some local retailers.
- Community America Credit Union. 1 point per $2 in spent on signature based transactions and 1 point per $5 points on PIN based transactions. Points are CUrewards points (more on this points in the future). H/T to PFdigest
- CashBACK Checking. This is similar to Kasasa & CardCash in that a lot of different banks offer it. Your capped at low levels of cash back each month and need to complete requirements to receive the cash back.
- [Select Areas of IA only] American Trust. 3% cash back on up to $500 in purchases ($15 cash back per month).
- [GA only]Â Bank of Georgia. 1% cash back on check card purchases. Limit of $25 cash back per month. You need to make 10 check card transactions per month, receive a direct deposit and be enrolled in eStatements every month to qualify. H/T to PFdigest.
- [OH] Bank of Akron. 1% cash back, limit of $10 per month. You need to make 12 debit card purchases (signature or pin-based), Access online banking & Enroll and receive monthly e-statements.
- [MD]Â MECU. Up to 3% cash back, limit of $12 per month.
- [OK] FSFCU. Up to 4% cash back, limit of $10 per month.
- [NY] Bank Of Holland. Up to 1% cash back, limit of $10 per month.
- [MA, NH] &Â Members First. Up to 2% cash back, limit of $10 per month
- [TX, UT or CO] SSFCU. 1x point per $2 spent on signature transactions (points worth ~1¢)
- CIBC US: 1% back (max $20 per month)
- Crypto.com: Has three different cards with varying rewards
- [NY, NJ, CT] Affinity FCU: 1% back (max $10 per month)
Fixed Value
- DHCU: You earn a different fixed value rate depending on what type of transaction it is.
- 1 cent for approved DHCU Debit Card Transaction with Pin
- 5 cents for approved DHCU Debit Card Transaction with Signature
- 10 cents for approved DHCU Visa Credit Card Transactions
- Capital Bank:
- 25 cent for transactions over $75
- 10 cent for transactions between $1 and $74.99
- Anchor Bank:
- 5 cents for every transaction
- [TX, UT or CO] SSFCU. 10 cent for each transaction.
Prepaid Cards
- Kroger 1-2-3 rewards card. Not worth it. Earns 1 point per $1 spent on all purchases, 2 points per $1 spent at Kroger and 3 points per $1 spent on their own brand of products. Points are worth 0.5¢ a piece in grocery credit. You can fund for free via direct deposit, otherwise you have to pay $3 to load $10-$1,000 in store (cash only, they won’t accept credit cards).
- Vision Prepaid. Not worth it. 1% cash back on gas, has a bunch of fees on it as well.
Random Cards Not Offering Rewards On Spending
- Chime. Offers limited quantity offers on a regular basis, the offers can be hit or miss but there is no hard pull to get the card and there are plenty of money makers on there.
- Chase Disney Visa Debit. Doesn’t earn anything on every day purchases, does give you some discounts on Disney stuff though. Make sure you sign up for a Chase checking bonus first though.
- TD Bank. Their rewards debit card comes with a range offers that can save you money at select retailers.
- Bank of America. Offers BankAmeriDeals on debit cards which is similar to TD Bank’s program.
Final Thoughts
I’ll be adding to this list, a lot of smaller banks offer rewards earning debit cards. Hopefully I am able to find a diamond or two in the rough, if you know of anything that I missed then please let me know in the comments section below.
UFB Direct link no longer works, has it been discontinued? https://www.ufbdirect.com/personal-banking/checking/airline-rewards-checking
FutureCard debit card gives 5% back on certain categories (public transportation, thrift stores, bike shop, etc), 6% at certain environmentally friendly merchants, and 1% back on everything else: https://www.future.green/futurecard
Need a VISA debit with cash back to pay property tax. Any suggestions?
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/point-rewards-debit-card-earn-5x-3x-1x-49-annual-fee/
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/tab-bank-1-cash-back-on-debit-card-purchases-no-cap/
Chuck William Charles
William Charles What do you think about reposting this page – to crowdsource new datapoints?
Here’s a few:
(1) CIBC US now offers a 1% debit card (max $20 per month)
https://us.cibc.com/en/personal/checking.html
(2) Crypto.com has there debit reward card:
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/crypto-com-review-app-card-earn-and-referrals/
(3) Affinity
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/nj-ct-affinity-fcu-1-cashback-debit-card-max-10-cashback-per-month/
Every post is crowd sourced, I’ll add these in 🙂
PNC has something, no? https://www.pnc.com/en/personal-banking/banking/rewards/pnc-purchase-payback.html
Not really. It looks more like a card that gives you random offers per month. I wouldn’t call that cashback
PayPal Mastercard 2% cash back was just recently introduced…
This is a credit card and NOT a debit card. https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/credit-card/2-percent-cash-back-mastercard
Great post! Also, I have a 10 cents per transaction debit card with Langley Federal Credit Union, the LangleyPays Debit card. The free options to join the credit union are mostly VA based (specifically Hampton Roads in SE VA). The cheapest paid option to join the credit union is $5.
Discover is now 1%, and UFB appears to be 1 per $3, and makes no reference to the 1,000 for $1,000 DD. I was hoping to set it up for that DD bonus.
Thanks, updated post.
Does it makes sense to use a reward debit card through Plastiq/Radpad for paying rent? 1% will definitely beat a flat rate fee.
Or, like the keybank debit card, could you buy money order with it?
Randolph Brooks FCU in TX does