Best rewards checking accounts

Rewards checking could make your banking more rewarding.

Looking for a checking account that offers more than the basics? Whether you want to use your checking account to get cash back or earn interest, a rewards checking account could be the answer.

But not all rewards checking accounts are created equal. They tend to come with different features, perks and sometimes fees. So before you give up on your basic checking account, it’s important to understand and compare your options.

Let’s take a closer look at what rewards checking accounts are and what they typically offer. We’ve also rounded up our top picks for best rewards checking accounts so you can start looking into what might be best for your financial situation.

• What are rewards checking accounts?
• How do rewards checking accounts work?
• Best rewards checking accounts for cash back
• How we picked the best rewards checking accounts

What are rewards checking accounts?

A rewards checking account is a type of checking account that offers incentives, or rewards, that are designed to keep you engaged with your bank.

Like a regular checking account, you’ll be able make deposits, write checks, access ATMs or pay with a debit card. Depending on the bank, you could also earn cash back, interest on the money you keep in the account or other rewards and perks.

But in order to take advantage of these benefits, you may have to meet some requirements like making a certain number of debit card purchases, spending a minimum amount of money each month or keeping a certain amount of cash in the account at all times.

How do rewards checking accounts work?

Get cash rewards

The simplest type of rewards checking comes in the form of cash back. Just like you would with a cash back credit card, you’ll earn cash back when you make purchases with your debit card.

Some banks offer a smaller amount of cash back on every purchase, while others may offer a higher amount of cash back, but only in certain bonus categories.

Earn interest

You might also come across rewards checking accounts that offer unusually high interest rates, or APYs, but they tend to require more effort on your part. To qualify, you might have to meet  certain requirements such as setting up direct deposit, making a certain number of debit card transactions, spending a minimum amount of money or scheduling online bill payments or other automatic withdrawals.`     

But spending money just to earn a higher interest rate could cancel out any gains if your balance is shrinking while you’re earning rewards.

Another note of caution: Some rewards checking accounts limit how much interest you can earn by establishing a maximum balance. So even if you have a lot of money just sitting there, only a small portion of it might qualify for that higher rate.

Get unique rewards

In addition to cash back or earning interest, with a rewards checking account you could also earn welcome bonuses when you open a checking account, enhanced credit card rewards, airline miles instead of interest or Bitcoin instead of cash back. Some might offer the chance to win a sweepstakes or allow you to earn cash back while supporting causes that are important to you.

Best rewards checking accounts for cash back

Here are few cash-back rewards checking accounts to consider:

Discover Cashback Debit

Discover Cashback Debit, the rewards checking account from Discover, offers simple cash back with no fees. You’ll earn 1% back on up to $3,000 each month in purchases that you make with your debit card.

That might not sound like much compared to a cash back credit card, but it’s more than most checking accounts offer. There are also no monthly service charges or insufficient funds fees.

This could be a good option for people who want a simple, no hassle rewards checking account.

How we picked the best rewards checking accounts

To find the best rewards checking accounts, we looked at the different types of rewards they offer and the various requirements to earn them. That helped us establish a baseline to determine the best offers. From there, we identified the bank accounts that excelled at each type of reward.