Aspiration Basic vs Aspiration Plus vs Aspiration Zero
Aspiration is a cash management company, as opposed to a traditional bank. It’s an online company that presumably gives a lot of perks to the customers. What sets Aspiration apart from the other companies is its environmental consciousness – you have the opportunity to help save the environment while using the provided services. It offers cards that you can use to your advantage. Depending on your goals, you can get a specific cashback percentage. Of course, you can choose different account levels from which you’ll get all sorts of benefits.
Aspiration – is for those who are environmentally aware and want to be rewarded for acting against the climate crisis by planting trees and participating in planet protection programs.
The Aspiration Accounts Comparison
| Aspiration | Aspiration Plus | Aspiration Zero | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Pay What Is Fair, even if it’s $0 | $7.99/mo. $5.99/mo if you pay annually | $60 annual card fee |
| APY* | 3.00% | 5.00% | 5.00% |
| Cashback rewards | Up to 3-5% (on Conscience Coalition purchases) | 10% (on Conscience Coalition purchases) | 1% (unlimited, on every dollar spent) |
| Credit needed | Accepts all | Fair, Good | Good, Excellent |
| Planet protection | No | Yes | Yes |
| Plant a tree with every card swipe | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Welcome bonus* | $150 bonus after you spend $1000 within 60 days | $200 bonus after you spend $1000 within 60 days | $300 bonus after you spend $3000 within 90 days |
| Card Issuer | Radius Bank | Radius Bank | Beneficial State Bank |
| Card network | Mastercard | Mastercard World | Mastercard |
| Card type | Debit Card | Debit Card | Credit Card |
| APR | 0% | 0% | 11.65% to 21.45% |
| Out-of-network ATM fee reimbursement | No | Yes, 1 | Yes, 1 |
| Purchase protection | No | Yes | Yes |
| FDIC insured | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| More details | Aspiration Debit Card | Aspiration Plus Spend & Save | Aspiration Zero |
| Application | Claim this offer | Claim this offer | Claim this offer |
Best for
- People who are looking to gain more interest;
- Cashback returns;
- Contributing to saving the environment;
- The versatility of payment options;
- Variety of choices.
Aspiration Advantages
A welcoming bonus gift. If you spend 1,000$ at a minimum in the first 60 days, you’ll receive a welcome bonus. The entry-level customers will get 150$, Plus customers will get 200$, and Zero – $300. It’s a great bonus feature to get you started.
Account options. You have three main accounts to choose from when opening one: Basic, Plus, and Zero. When you choose a standard account, you won’t be required to pay a monthly fee. However, when you use a Plus account, you’ll pay 7.99$ monthly or 5.99$ monthly paid on an annual basis. You will also get a debit card upon the account activation.
Cashback on purchases. When you make purchases with your debit card, you can receive a 3% to 10% cashback, but you would have to use your card at the businesses of Conscience Coalition. It consists of companies that do things for charities of social and environmental nature. Examples would be TOMS Shoes, Blue Apron, or Warby Parker.
Funding with the right intention. Aspiration is a company that has meaningful intentions concerning your money. As told by the team, the money you spend won’t go to fuel production. Any time you swipe your card, you help the environment. With the spent money, you contribute to the planting of the trees. Also, you help neutralize every mile driven by an average car.
Planet protection. If you’re a Plus user, you can help match the carbon output for every gas you purchase. It does the matching by buying the carbon offsets. Your spending and 10% of Aspiration’s earnings will go to charity.
Annual percentage yield interest on savings. On the first 10,000$ of your spending, you can receive a specific amount of APY interest. If you use a Save Account, you can save 3% on APY and 5% if you’re a Plus user.
Paying what is fair. You can pick your monthly fee amount with the basic Spend & Save account. You can even choose to use it without any fee. It’s a policy that offers versatility concerning its fee structure.
Availability of using ATM withdrawals with no fee. As an Aspiration user, you have access to more than 55,000 Allpoint ATMs. If you use a Plus account, you will get one offline ATM fee monthly.
An Aspiration app. You can use an app on many mobile devices that use iOS or Android. The app can help you transfer checks with your phone.
Aspiration Disadvantages
Extreme spending requirements. As we mentioned earlier, you can get APY on savings after your first 10,000$. The downside is that not everyone has that much money to spend. Aspiration focuses more on the high-earners over those with lower-paying jobs.
No APY interest earnings for a Basic Plan membership. If you’re using a free tier account, you won’t be able to earn any interest. You would need to open an Aspiration Plus Account. For 1% interest, you would have to spend at least 1,000$ a month. If you earn over 10,000$, you will only receive 0.1% APY. If you spend less than 1,000$ a month, you will get 0.25% APY for the first 10,000$.
No overdraft coverage. There’s no option to get overdraft protection, so you can’t transfer your money to cover any overdrafts. It can be a dealbreaker for some customers that may face inconveniences while paying bills. If you have these issues, it may not be for you.
No way of cash deposit. The team doesn’t work with cash deposits into the Spend & Save account. On the other hand, they are presumably planning to add that option.
What makes Aspiration unique
Environment focused. Aspiration is a company that heavily focuses on social and environmental issues. It tends to help improve the environment and save from climate changes that can cause disaster. It’s conscious of the gas use that affects the environment as well.
Spend & Save features. Aspiration has a CMA for customers called Spend & Save. As the name suggests, it lets users spend and save while getting a lot of benefits. Also, you have the option to choose the monthly fee amount. The thing is that you don’t even have to pay for it. The opening should be at least 10$ though.
Leveled card products. You will receive a debit card or a credit card that gets a cashback on various purchases. To earn money, you can spend it on any of the companies that belong to the Conscience Coalition. Depending on what company you’ve chosen, you will get a specific cashback amount. The percentage may vary from 1% to 10%.
Cashback on impact. Next to that, you can get a cashback by having the companies with high Aspiration Impact Measurement scores. It varies on how much they focus and contribute to society and the environment. The high-score companies earn 0.5% cashback for the customers.
Competition and Alternatives
| Rewards/ Key Feature | APY | Monthly fee | Best for | Application | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pink ACE Flare | Get a $100 bonus | Up to 6% | See terms | Breast Cancer Foundation support | Claim this offer |
| Stilt Debit Mastercard | No SSN required | – | $0 | Immigrants, suitable for everyone | Claim this offer |
| Greenlight | 1 month free | – | $4.99 – $9.98 | Teens to learn financial literacy | Claim this offer |
| NorthOne Business Card | 1 month free | – | See terms | Freelancers, startups, business owners | Claim this offer |
| Coinbase Visa | Get $5 in Bitcoins | – | $0 | Cryptocurrency fans and beginners | Claim this offer |
Bottom Line
The Aspiration team strives to make a better world for everyone. If you’re a user that wants to help improve environmental issues while improving your banking experience, Aspiration might be for you. It’s very beneficial to customers that want to help save the planet. Before signing up for Aspiration, you should set your priorities straight. Make sure that your company and earnings suit the requirements when applying.
