Aspiration Banking Review – Smart Cash Management
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Aspiration’s checking and savings accounts are good places to put your money if you’re looking for free ATMs and no monthly maintenance fees.
9/10
Cost
9/10
Features
9/10
Ease of use
8/10
Services
8.5/10
In all of my reviews in the financial world, I can honestly say this is the first financial firm dedicated to doing the right thing. From offsetting the climate impact of the gas you buy to planting trees, and to sustainability initiatives to offering cash back for doing business with socially conscious companies (in what it calls a Conscience Coalition), Aspiration lets you know that if you trust your money with it, you’re joining a company with a conscience.
And that extends to its main account service, which it calls Aspiration Spend & Save. You pick the monthly maintenance fee you want to pay (or not pay) and can set it at $0 or any amount you think is fair. Let your conscience be your guide.
It’s like having Jimmy Cricket or an angel on your shoulder.
Good — and cheap — checking and savings accounts are easy to find. Aspiration does what many of them do, offering free ATMs and zero monthly fees. But what Aspiration does that they don't is it goes beyond, as we’ll show in this Aspiration review.
Jump To
What is Aspiration?
Founded in 2013 and opened for business in 2015, Aspiration, Inc. is an online company headquartered in Marina del Rey, California.
Aspiration isn’t a chartered bank but a nonbank financial service provider. As a financial firm, it combines checking and savings accounts in a cash management account.
That doesn't mean it isn't FDIC-insured like traditional banks. Deposits are insured up to $2.3 million per depositor.
One of its main consumer products is an interest-bearing deposit account called Spend & Save. It has a “Pay What Fair” promise where Aspiration customers choose the monthly account maintenance fee they want to pay, including setting it at $0 is.
The account also offers 3-5% cash back on purchases at socially conscious companies it does business with, among other social goals it works toward.
Aspiration also offers an account with more services, called Aspiration Plus, which charges $7.99 per month or $5.99 per month if you pay annually. It pays 1.00% - 3.00% APY on savings and 10% cash back on purchases at select companies.
Better banking is here.
- No account fees
- Earn up to 4.50% APY
- Up to 2-day-early-paycheck
- No-fee Overdraft Coverage.
- Do it all in one app.
- Up to $2M of additional FDIC insurance through a network of participating banks.
How does Aspiration work?
Like any traditional or online bank, Aspiration provides a secure way to use your money. It has unlimited, fee-free ATM withdrawals at Allpoint ATMs. It offers a debit card through Mastercard. It features a high-yield savings account. All the things the big banks do. But it's not a bank.
Opening an account is easy. You start by giving the company your email address and setting up your account by depositing. A digital card is given to you instantly so you can start using your account immediately, and a physical debit card is mailed to you in 7 to 10 business days.
Before opening an Aspiration account, you must decide if you want its basic service or want to upgrade to a higher service with more benefits; that is what is called Aspiration Plus. The customer sets the basic plan cost, including as low as $0, while Aspiration Plus costs $7.99 monthly, and customers can’t decide to lower that price.
How much does Aspiration cost?
Aspiration has two kinds of accounts, one with no monthly fee and one with a set fee.
When opening an account with the fee, the first question you face is if you want to pay it monthly or annually:
- Monthly: $7.99
- Yearly: Charged at a rate of $5.99 per month
That decision may be easier in part because it doesn’t require going through the testing of your conscience to decide what fee, if any, you should pay for a bank’s services.
That moral conundrum can be yours with the basic Spend & Save account, which can be free if you want it to be.
Aspiration Spend & Save basic plan
Aspiration does what no other bank we’ve found does: It lets the customer decide how much to pay monthly for its basic service.
The company touts its “Pay What is Fair” account as a way to trust that customers will do the right thing and pay a fair monthly fee.
You can set the fee to zero and change it whenever and wherever possible.
Extra services such as wire transfers are provided at cost, meaning it will only charge you what it costs Aspiration to provide the extra service. Some fees and expenses that go through third parties are unavoidable for its investment products, but Aspiration says it will try to negotiate and subsidize some of them.
Aspiration donates 10 cents of every $1 paid in fees to charities as a small incentive to get customers to pay something for its services.
Aspiration Plus plan
If you don’t want to go through the moral somersault of choosing a fee, you can pay $7.99 monthly for the Aspiration Plus account. It has more features than the basic account, which we’ll detail next, and the cost can be dropped by paying for a year of service. That drops the monthly fee to $5.99.
Better banking is here.
- No account fees
- Earn up to 4.50% APY
- Up to 2-day-early-paycheck
- No-fee Overdraft Coverage.
- Do it all in one app.
- Up to $2M of additional FDIC insurance through a network of participating banks.
Aspiration features
Before we go into the specific features that Aspiration Plus has that the basic Spend & Save plan doesn’t have, here are the features and perks they have in common:
- 55,000 free ATMs in the Allpoint network
- Deposits are fossil fuel-free, meaning money won’t fund fossil fuel exploration or production
- Option to plant a tree with every roundup
Here’s a breakdown of how they differ.
Account | Monthly fee | Conscience Coalition Cash Back | ATM reimbursement |
Spend & Save | $0 | 3-5% | $0 |
Aspiration Plus | $7.99 | 10% | 1 per month |
55,000 surcharge-free ATMs
Finding an ATM to withdraw your money is an important bank account feature. If your bank doesn’t have ATMs, it will often use a network of ATMs that also serve other banks.
Aspiration uses the Allpoint network. You won’t pay fees for using these freestanding, green-and-black machines to deposit cash or withdraw money. Checks can’t be deposited at the ATMs.
Allpoint Network ATMs are at many retailers nationwide, such as Target, CVS, Walgreens, Kroger, Safeway, and Circle K. Allpoint also has machines worldwide, though a 1% foreign transaction fee is charged.
You'll likely be charged a fee if you use another ATM type. Aspiration won’t provide ATM fee reimbursement fees, although the Aspiration Plus account will pay one out-of-network ATM reimbursement each month if you are in a bind.
Zero fees
Other than the $7.99 monthly fee for Aspiration Plus, Aspiration says it charges no other fees for basic services that other banks often charge. These include zero fees at Aspiration for:
- Overdrafts
- Check deposits
- Debit card use
- Inactive accounts
- Dormant accounts
For example, there aren’t any overdraft fees because Aspiration doesn’t allow debit purchases to proceed if the account doesn’t have enough money to cover the expense. That won’t be so good if you’re trying to buy lunch, but at least you won’t have to pay a non-sufficient funds fee for allowing a small charge to go through to have lunch.
Green benefits
Neither account uses deposits to fund fossil fuel exploration or production, but the Aspiration Plus account offers an extra service called Planet Protection. It adds up all of your gas purchases and automatically buys offsets to help counter the climate impact.
Both accounts allow you to pay for a tree planted with every roundup on your debit card.
The company also features a first of its kind: Your personalized sustainability score called Aspiration Impact Measurement (AIM). Watching where you spend can show how your daily spending impacts people and the planet. AIM provides scores based on the social and environmental impact of the businesses at which you spend your money, and with AIM scores, you can seek out those that are greener and better for the planet.
Cash back rewards
Both accounts pay cash back when using an Aspiration debit card as certain businesses do, but the Aspiration Plus account pays twice as much as the basic account.
To earn cash back (3-5% in the basic account and 10% in Aspiration Plus), customers must shop within what it calls the Conscience Coalition. These are companies that Aspiration has teamed up with that “do the right thing.” They include Warby Parker, TOMS, and Blue Apron.
A Warby Parker purchase, for example, includes 5% cash back. For every pair of glasses sold, the eyewear brand company also provides a pair to someone in need.
Up to 1.00% - 3.00% APY
The Aspiration Plus plan pays up to 1.00% - 3.00% interest, or annual percentage yield, on your savings in the Save Account. This account is separate from the Aspiration Plus account and isn’t offered as part of the basic Spend & Save account.
To earn 1.00% - 3.00% APY on the first $10,000 in your Save Account in a particular month, you must be enrolled in Aspiration Plus and spend at least $1,000 with your Aspiration debit card that month.
Aspiration also has separate investing and retirement accounts.
A mobile app
Both accounts work with the Aspiration app. It can schedule bill payments and deposit checks by snapping a photo, and Apple Pay and Android Pay are built into the app.
Checks larger than $5,000 can be deposited through the mobile app. However, the larger checks must be mailed to Aspiration’s partner bank for final processing. Instructions on where to mail it for processing will be emailed to customers who deposit a check for more than $5,000.
No checks, no matter what the amount, can be deposited at ATMs, though Aspiration says it’s working toward that goal.
If you pay a monthly bill with your debit card, Aspiration provides up to $600 in phone insurance.
Who is Aspiration best for?
Bargain hunters
With no ATM fees in its network, maintaining an account each month, or not having enough money in your account to cover a debit card expense, Aspiration offers plenty of chances to avoid paying fees for its services.
They come with considerations, however.
The free ATMs must be within the AllPoint ATM network. The basic Aspiration Spend & Save account is free, though you can pay a fee. Insufficient fund fees aren’t charged because Aspiration denies payments for debit card charges where insufficient money is in an account to cover them.
Socially conscious customers
Aspiration is socially conscious in many ways, encouraging its customers to be.
It plants trees if customers round up debit card purchases, doesn’t invest deposits in fossil fuels, and pays the carbon offsets (only in its Aspiration Plus account) of gas bought with its debit card.
And, as we mentioned earlier, it lets customers of its basic account choose the monthly fee for its services.
Who shouldn’t use Aspiration?
Customers needing a physical bank
Aspiration is not a bank and doesn’t have physical branches to visit. Aspiration can work well for you if you’re comfortable doing all of your banking online. If not, and you need to go into a physical bank to make deposits and do other forms of banking, Aspiration may not be right for you.
Customers who don’t do business with its partners
For the cash-back advantages Aspiration offers, you’ll need to do business with the companies that are part of its Conscience Coalition.
The rewards are 3-5% on the basic account and up to 10% on the Aspiration Plus account. Those are decent cash-back amounts, but only if you buy from the businesses it partners with.
Better banking is here.
- No account fees
- Earn up to 4.50% APY
- Up to 2-day-early-paycheck
- No-fee Overdraft Coverage.
- Do it all in one app.
- Up to $2M of additional FDIC insurance through a network of participating banks.
Pros and cons
Where you put your money is a personal decision. Here are some pros and cons of the basic Aspiration Spend & Save account, which could affect your decision when upgrading to the Aspiration Plus account.
Pros
- 55,000 ATMs. With 55,000 ATMs in the Allpoint network, Aspiration gives customers a free way to withdraw cash from their accounts. That’s a lot of ATMs, and most people should be able to find one near them since they’re at many stores.
- Zero fees. Aspiration doesn’t charge a monthly maintenance fee for its basic account, though it does ask customers to pay a fee that they think is fair. You may sleep well at night knowing you’re not paying such banking fees. Or you may not and pay Aspiration something for its services. The Aspiration Plus charges $7.99 per month, which drops to $5.99 monthly if you pay annually. That isn’t zero, of course, but it may ease your conscience.
- Green side benefits. Most of the green things Aspiration does for the environment won’t affect your bank account, so you won’t be paying for a service that most banks don’t provide anyway. Aspiration won’t use your money to fund fossil fuel exploration or production. However, it allows you to have a tree planted by rounding up your debit card purchases. Paying a quarter or so won’t bankrupt you, but it is your money, and you can keep your own change if you like.
Cons
- No out-of-network ATM reimbursements. If you can’t find an Allpoint ATM with your Aspiration account, you may need to use an out-of-network cash machine. This can cost about $2.50 in fees, which Aspiration won’t reimburse you for. The Aspiration Plus account reimburses customers for one out-of-network ATM use per month, which is better than nothing, but it won’t help you much if its in-network ATMs aren’t near you.
- Cashback purchases. The 6% cash back on purchases with businesses is worthwhile only if you regularly buy their products.
Aspiration vs. competitors
Aspiration has lots of competition. Here are two. One is an online-only bank, and the other is a major bank with physical branches. Note that the ATM costs only for in-network ATMs; out-of-network ones will charge a fee.
Bank | Monthly fee | ATM cost |
Aspiration Spend & Save | $0 | $0 |
Aspiration Plus | $7.99 | $0 |
Chime | $0 | $0 |
Bank of America | $12 | $0 |
Chime
Like Aspiration, a new player in the banking world is Chime, which touts itself as an online bank. To access an ATM, Chime uses MoneyPass® and Visa® Plus Alliance ATMs. Deposits, including checks, are made through the app that you use on your smartphone.
One of the main features of Chime is that checking account customers can get their paychecks up to two days early through direct deposit. Most banks make funds available two days after an employer deposits money in a worker’s account.
It also has a program called SpotMe, where Chime covers a negative balance and pays a debit card transaction, with the customer’s next deposit used to cover the payment.
Chime may be similar to Aspiration, but it doesn't have the socially conscious features of Aspiration.
Bank of America
One of the biggest banks in the U.S., Bank of America is the epitome of a traditional bank. Its accounts may require minimum balances, but the bank has thousands nationwide branch locations for in-person customer service and can accept check deposits at any ATM.
Bank of America also makes transferring money between checking and savings accounts easy, specifically to provide overdraft protection if you are in a pinch. However, you will pay $12 for the transfers and $10 fees for straight-up overdrafts. It has additional fees that also make it more expensive than Aspiration. But Bank of America’s $12 monthly fee for its Advantage Plus checking account can be waived with a direct deposit of $250 or more monthly.
Bank of America also offers investment accounts, credit cards, and other accounts for those who want to have all their finances in one place.
FAQs
Is a minimum deposit needed to open an account?
Yes, $10 is the minimum deposit.
Where can I deposit a check?
The Aspiration mobile app allows checks to be deposited by taking a photo of each check. Checks can’t be deposited at ATMs, though the company says it’s working on adding that feature sometime in the future.
Can I get physical checks?
Aspiration gives one free set of 25 checks per joint account, upon request.
How do I avoid overdraft?
Aspiration doesn’t charge fees for accidental overdrafts. It helps customers avoid overdrafts by not allowing checks, ATM withdrawals, debit card purchases, and online transfers to be processed if there isn’t enough money in the customer’s account to cover them.
Better banking is here.
- No account fees
- Earn up to 4.50% APY
- Up to 2-day-early-paycheck
- No-fee Overdraft Coverage.
- Do it all in one app.
- Up to $2M of additional FDIC insurance through a network of participating banks.
Is Aspiration Online Bank legit?
Aspiration’s checking and savings accounts are good places to put your money if you’re looking for free ATMs and no monthly maintenance fees.
Its upgraded account, called Aspiration Plus, charges $7.99 per month but with more benefits that get you the bang for your buck. The basic Spend & Save plan doesn’t have a monthly fee, but customers are encouraged to “Do the right thing” and pay what they think is fair.
It's all part of a financial firm that hopes its customers are inspired and aspire to be socially conscious and improve our planet.
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Writer
Aaron Crowe is a freelance journalist who specializes in personal finance writing and editing. He has worked at newspapers, where he won a Pulitzer Prize, and has written for numerous online publications. These include AOL, US News & World Report, WiseBread, Bankrate, AARP, and many websites focusing on housing, credit and insurance. He lives in California with his wife and daughter.
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