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How Aspiration accounts compare
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Aspiration Account
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Aspiration Plus Account
Editor’s Rating
1.00% on the first $10,000 in savings bucket
Editor’s Rating
3.00% on the first $10,000 in savings bucket, then 0.25%
Pros and cons
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
1.00% on the first $10,000 in savings bucket
Minimum Deposit Amount
$10
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
1.00% on the first $10,000 in savings bucket
Minimum Deposit Amount
$10
Details
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
1.00% on the first $10,000 in savings bucket
Minimum Deposit Amount
$10
Pros & Cons
Highlights
Additional Reading
The Aspiration Account is a hybrid checking/savings account. You keep all your money in one place, with separate buckets for checking and savings.
The Aspiration Account is a worthwhile option if you’re looking for an account with low fees. You choose how much to pay each month, even if that amount is $0. If you do give to Aspiration monthly, the company donates 10% to charity.
You’ll also earn a competitive interest rate on account balances under $10,000 if you spend $1,000 monthly using Aspiration’s debit card.
Aspiration Plus Account review
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
3.00% on the first $10,000 in savings bucket, then 0.25%
Minimum Deposit Amount
$10
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
3.00% on the first $10,000 in savings bucket, then 0.25%
Minimum Deposit Amount
$10
Details
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
3.00% on the first $10,000 in savings bucket, then 0.25%
Minimum Deposit Amount
$10
Pros & Cons
Highlights
The Aspiration Plus Account charges $7.99 per month (or $5.99 per month if you choose the annual plan). But that fee opens the door to two main perks: more tools for positively impacting the environment (more on that below), and a competitive interest rate on your savings. You’ll earn a high rate on the first $10,000 in your savings bucket if you meet the requirements. On any amount above $10,000, the rate drops.
How to help the environment with Aspiration
The main thing that sets Aspiration apart from other banking platforms is its focus on the environment.
Aspiration is B Corp Certified and partnered with 1% for the Planet. This means that the company follows high standards for its commitments on environmental action. Here’s what you can expect when you bank with Aspiration:
1. Guilt-free deposits
You may think your decision about where to bank only affects you. But you might not know how banks use the money you deposit.
“A lot of people think that when they’re depositing money at a bank, it’s sitting in the back in a vault,” Andrei Cherny, CEO of Aspiration, told Insider. “But really, banks are taking your deposits and lending them back out, and a lot of it is going to oil and gas exploration and pipelines — the things that are driving a lot of the climate crisis. People oftentimes don’t realize that their own dollars are being used in ways that are hurting the planet.”
Aspiration doesn’t use your deposits to fund projects that harm the environment, such as fossil fuel exploration.
2. Cash back
Aspiration gives you cash back when you swipe your debit card at a Conscience Coalition business, or a company Aspiration believes has a worthwhile mission, such as TOMs, Blue Apron, and Warby Parker.
You’ll earn 3% to 5% cash back with an Aspiration Account, and 10% cash back with an Aspiration Plus Account.
3. Personal impact scores
The Aspiration app tracks your personal impact score, which is a numeric score based on how your money habits affect the environment. Cherny described the personal impact score as a “FitBit for sustainability” to Business Insider.
Aspiration assigns personal impact scores to companies, too. You can find scores for a couple thousand businesses. Here are some categories and examples of big-name companies with scores:
- Retailers (Amazon, Target, Walmart)
- Clothing retailers (Adidas, Gap, Nike)
- Restaurants (McDonalds, Panera, Starbucks)
- Hotels (Choice Hotels, Hilton, Marriott)
- Airlines (Delta, JetBlue, Southwest)
- Oil and gas companies (Chevron, Exxon, Shell)
If you’re trying to decide where to buy lunch, for example, finding out one place has a better impact score than another could help you make your decision.
4. Plant trees
Aspiration gives you the option to round each debit card purchase up to the nearest dollar. With each roundup, Aspiration will plant a tree.
5. Planet Protection
When you use your Aspiration debit card to buy gasoline for your car, Aspiration purchases the amount of carbon offsets needed to neutralize the carbon dioxide produced by a tank of gas. To purchase carbon offsets, Aspiration contributes money to a company that saves energy for the planet, like wind farms.
Once Aspiration buys carbon offsets, you’ll receive a push notification on your phone to let you know the transaction has gone through.
The Planet Protection feature is only available with the Aspiration Plus Account.
Other Aspiration features
Aspiration is an online-only banking platform, not a bank. There are no physical branch locations, but you can use 55,000 Allpoint ATMs for free.
Aspiration won’t charge a fee for using an out-of-network ATM, but the ATM provider may. In this case, Aspiration won’t reimburse what the provider charges — unless you have an Aspiration Plus Account, which refunds one fee per month.
The mobile app has received 4.3 out of 5 stars in both the Apple and Google Play stores.
You can contact customer support by phone or email. Phone hours are Monday through Friday, 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. PT, and Saturday and Sunday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. PT.
Your deposits are FDIC insured through Aspiration’s eight partner banks. Each bank insures up to $250,000, so you can insure more money than you would with a traditional bank account.
Aspiration trustworthiness and BBB rating
The Better Business Bureau doesn’t have a rating for Aspiration right now. Keep in mind that a good BBB rating isn’t necessarily the end-be-all. You can talk to current members or read online customer reviews.
Aspiration does not have any public scandals, though, and it is a more environmentally conscious alternative to other banking platforms. If the fact that it’s a young business doesn’t bother you, you may still feel comfortable using Aspiration.
Aspiration review vs. Amalgamated Bank review
We’ve compared Aspiration with two other institutions that concentrate on a cause: Amalgamated Bank and City First Bank.
While Aspiration focuses on sustainability, Amalgamated Bank gives to numerous causes. You can read the bank’s stances on various social issues on its website. With a Give-Back Checking or Give-Back Savings Account, you can choose from six charities, and Amalgamated will donate the equivalent of half the interest you earn to the cause.
You may like Amalgamated Bank if you want a bank that supports several causes, and if you want a choice about which charities donations support.
Aspiration hones in on the environment and takes things a step further with its Planet Protection program and personal impact points. So if sustainability is your passion, you might prefer Aspiration.
Aspiration review vs. City First Bank review
City First focuses on community development, specifically in the DC area. Your deposits are used to disperse loans, and 80% of City First loans go toward causes such as housing development, community services organizations, and charter schools.
If you care about the environment, you may like Aspiration. But if you’re more concerned with community development and/or live in the DC area, you might prefer City First.
Frequently asked questions
Aspiration is an online-banking platform that support environmental justice. Aspiration has two hybrid checking/savings account options: Aspiration and Aspiration Plus. With the Aspiration Account, you can choose how much you’d like to pay, even if it’s $0. With Aspiration Plus, you’ll pay $5.99 per month (if you select the annual plan) or $7.99 per month.
Aspiration has eight partner banks. Money deposited into an Aspiration Account may be held at one of the following banks:
- Coastal Community Bank
- ProgressBank
- Amalgamated Bank
- EagleBank
- Manufacturers Bank
- C3Bank
- the Freedom Bank of Virginia
- Bridgewater Bank
If you would like to deposit money into an Aspiration Account, you may link an external bank account and initiate an ACH transfer or wire transfer. You may also send money through a payment app like Venmo.
Also keep in mind that Aspiration doesn’t let you deposit cash at ATMs.
Regular APR
19.74% – 26.74% Variable
Good to Excellent
Regular APR
19.74% – 26.74% Variable
Credit Score
Good to Excellent
Regular APR
18.74% – 27.49% Variable
Credit Score
Good to Excellent
