Aspiration Review | Eco-Friendly Online Banking & Investing

Your checking account is the centerpiece of your financial life. It’s how you get your paycheck, how you pay your bills, and, if you’re like most people, the balance in your account tells you when it’s time to stop spending.

But when was the last time you checked to see if your checking account is right for you? The answer for a lot of people may be never.

If you haven’t shopped for a new account in the last decade, a couple you should absolutely consider are The Spend & Save account from Aspiration. And see how they compare to other accounts on our list: Best Checking Accounts.

What Is Aspiration?

Aspiration is a financial services company that's dedicated to fighting climate change. Deposits never go towards funding oil companies. And through the "Plant Your Change" program, customers can opt to have a tree planted every time their debit card is swiped.

For Plus customers, Aspiration will also buy carbon offsets to counter the climate impact of your gas purchases. The company also offers fantastic APYs on savings and pays cash back of up to 10% at companies that are part of the Conscience Coalition.

Related: What is Socially Responsible Investing?

What Does It Offer?

Aspiration is currently offering some of the best APYs and cash back rates that we're seeing anywhere. Here's a closer look at what the company offers.

Aspiration (The Free Plan)

The free plan lets you decide what you want to pay. Aspiration called this “pay what is fair,” even if it's nothing. This plan has the following features:

• Deposits won't fund fossil fuel exploration or production
• 55,000 free in-network ATMs
• 3-5% cash back on Conscience Coalition purchases
• Personal impact score to help you shop to match your values
• Option to plant a tree with every swipe

Aspiration Plus (The Paid Plan)

The paid plan is $7.99/mo or pay $5.99/mo if you pay annually. The paid plan comes with fewer restrictions and more benefits.

• Deposits won't fund fossil fuel exploration or production
• 55,000 free in-network ATMs
• 5% APY on the first $10,000 of savings
• 10% cash back on Conscience Coalition purchases
• Personal impact score to help you shop to match your values
• Option to plant a tree with every swipe
• One out-of-network ATM reimbursement monthly

Is Aspiration Plus Worth The Subscription Fee?

Speaking from a purely financial point of view, if you're able to spend a lot from the group of Conscience Coalition companies, the 10% cash back may make the Plus plan worth it. Eligible companies include:

• Warby Parker
• Feed
• Blue Apron
• Cloud Paper
• Dropps
• Lola
• Alltrue
• Girlfriend Collective
• And many more

Only the Plus plan includes carbon offset on purchases. That alone might be enough of a personal difference to push you into the paid plan.

To earn the top APY for your plan on up $10,000 in deposits, you'll need to spend $1,000 or more during the month with your Aspiration debit card. If you don't meet that minimum spending requirement, you'll earn 0.00% APY on the free plan and either 0.25% (on balances up to $10,000) or 0.10% (on balances above $10,000) on the Plus plan. 

Limits On Cash Access

One possible issue with the Spend and Save Account is getting physical cash. Since you can’t go into a branch, you’re going to face certain limits. These include: 

• $5,000 per day external transfer limit
• $500 cash limit
• $2,000 PIN limit
• $2,000 signature-based limit

Usually, these limits won’t be a problem, but if you want to buy a used car using cash (for example), you might be hard-pressed to get what you need from your account.

Welcome Bonuses

Aspiration is currently offering a cash bonus on both of its accounts for new customers who spend at least $1,000 during the first 60 days. Here are the bonus offers as of writing:

• Aspiration: $150
• Aspiration Plus: $200

You can also check out other bank bonus offers here.

You can open an Aspiration Spend and Save Account here >>

Investing And Retirement

Aspiration also offers sustainable investing products for both a regular brokerage account and Traditional or Roth IRA accounts. They currently only offer one investment product for socially responsible investing. This is a sustainable investment portfolio that you can invest in for as little as $10.

The product looks at multiple environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors to find companies whose management understands that smart, long-term thinking is not only the right thing to do, but right for their bottom line.

Check out Aspiration's Investments here >>

Are There Any Additional Fees?

When it comes to choosing where to put your money, you want to avoid as many fees as possible. The good news is that the Spend and Save account has no monthly fees and no overdraft fees.

It's also one of the few banking products that has no international or domestic ATM fees. The Plus plan will even reimburse you up to once per month if the other bank charges you a fee for an ATM withdrawal. 

There are some transaction fees to be aware of, however:

• Returned item fee (check or debit): $4.50
• Stop payment: $1.19
• Domestic wire in: $2.06
• Domestic wire out: $4.50

How Does Aspiration Compare?

Aspiration's cash back rates are fantastic, but they're only available on eligible Conscience Coalition companies. If you don't spend a lot of money with those companies, you might want to look for a bank that pays cash back on every purchase instead.

You might have also noticed above that there are some limits on how much interest your account actually earns. If you have over $10,000 in your account, your APY drops significantly. If you have more cash than that, you're better off using another high-yield savings account that doesn't have limits on its top APY.

How Do I Open An Account?

The Spend and Save account has a $0 minimum balance, but you need $10 to open the account. You must be at least 18 years old and a US citizen or permanent resident to open the account.

You can open an Aspiration Spend and Save Account here >>

Is My Money Safe?

Yes, deposits in your Aspiration account are FDIC Insured up to $2.5 million per depositor by being swept to FDIC Member institutions. This is common practice for other cash management accounts like the ones that Fidelity and Schwab offer.

How Do I Contact Aspiration?

The main drawback to the Spend and Save Account from Aspiration is that it doesn’t have any branches. You can call them to get customer service, but you can’t walk into a branch.

This could prove to be a bit of an issue if you’re a baller who regularly gets large checks. Why? When you get a check over $5,000 you have to mail the check to Aspiration’s partner bank at:

Coastal Community Bank
PO Box 2103
Everett, WA 98213.

If you need to speak with an Aspiration customer service representative, you can call 800-683-8529. Their customer service hours Monday through Friday: 6 AM - 6 PM (PT) and Saturday and Sunday, 8 AM - 4 PM (PT). 

Is It Worth It?

Overall, the Spend and Save plans may be an awesome centerpiece to your financial life, but it is not perfect.

Brick and mortar banks may still make some sense for you to consider, especially if you deal with cash on a regular basis.

If access to physical currency isn’t too important to you, the plans from Aspiration could be a great choice, especially if you care about the environment.

Open The Spend and Save Account Here >>

Aspiration FAQs

Here are a few of the most common questions that we hear people asking about Aspiration:

Is Aspiration a bank?

No, Aspiration is a fintech company that partners with member FDIC banks to provide banking services to its members.

Does Aspiration offer early direct deposit access?

Yes, you can receive your direct deposit funds up to two days early when you send it to your Aspiration account.

Which ATM network does Aspiration use?

Aspiration customers get free access to all ATMs that are part of the Allpoint network.

Does the Aspiration debit card come with purchase protection?

Yes, purchases are covered against theft or damage for up to 90 days.

Aspiration Spend and Save Features