Cushion App Review – All Your BNPL Accounts in One Place
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Our bills often become unmanageable with online shopping apps and Buy Now Pay Later programs. A direct debit for a Netflix subscription plan, a notification from Amazon, and a text from Klarna can all get too confusing and time-consuming.
Nobody likes to handle bills and subscriptions. It requires time, energy, and a lot of paperwork on what is due and when. Let me introduce you to an app that can handle everything for you.
Meet Cushion. The app will help organize, pay, and build credit using your bills. It helps you easily build credit while also making it easier for you to handle your bills. The app aims to streamline your finances and manage purchases. In this Cushion app review, we dive deeper into how it works and whether it is worth paying for.
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What is Cushion?
Cushion, founded in San Francisco in 2018, emerged from a frustration shared by many - excessive bank fees. The founder and CEO, Paul Kesserwani, was inspired to create Cushion when he tried to assist his parents in contesting their bank fees and realized he had incurred over $400 in charges he believed were unjustified. Upon successfully negotiating refunds for these fees, he recognized the potential to help other consumers who might also be overcharged. Thus, Cushion was born as a platform dedicated to identifying unnecessary charges and advocating for refunds on behalf of its users.
Though it initially began as a fee negotiation service, Cushion has evolved significantly since its inception. As of 2023, it has transformed and expanded its services to offer a broader range of financial assistance. Cushion now assists customers in managing their bills efficiently and handles Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) purchases while helping users build their credit profiles. Some of its key features include automatic bill tracking and payment, utilizing a Cushion card for bill payments, and consolidating BNPL accounts into one convenient location. This transformation showcases Cushion's commitment to empowering users with tools and services that enhance their financial well-being and simplify their financial management.
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How does Cushion work?
Cushion is available online for use with a computer or tablet. However, you can get the full experience by downloading the app for your smartphone, which is the optimal way to use Cushion. Here's how it works:
- Linking bank accounts. Users typically start by linking their bank accounts to the Cushion platform. This allows Cushion to access transaction history and identify potential fee refunds.
- Fee identification. Cushion uses algorithms and artificial intelligence to scan users' transaction history for various types of fees, such as overdraft, maintenance, ATM, and more. The platform highlights fees that may be eligible for dispute.
- Negotiation. Cushion's team, or its automated system, contacts the user's bank or financial institution on the user's behalf to negotiate fee refunds. They may use a combination of personalized negotiations and regulatory guidelines to advocate for refunds.
- Refunds. If successful, Cushion secures refunds for the disputed fees, and the refunded amount is typically credited back to the user's bank account.
- Reporting. Users can access the Cushion platform to view the progress of fee disputes, track successful refunds, and monitor their financial accounts.
- Bill tracking. Cushion helps users keep track of their bills by automatically monitoring due dates and payment amounts. Users can link their bills to the platform, and Cushion notifies them when payments are due.
- Payment integration. The Cushion card or payment feature allows users to make bill payments directly through the platform, streamlining the payment process.
- BNPL management. For users with BNPL accounts, Cushion consolidates these accounts into one place, making it easier to manage and track payments. This helps users avoid missed payments and potential late fees.
- Credit building. Cushion offers tools or services aimed at helping users build their credit profiles, potentially by reporting on-time bill payments to credit bureaus.
To set up an account:
You will be asked to provide your phone number to open an account. Anyone over 18 with a phone number and a Social Security Number can open an account. Provide your number for verification, and you are all set.
Once you create an account, you can connect the service to your financial institutions, such as a checking, savings, or BNPL account. Once connected, you can use the Cushion card as a primary payment method. On the screen, you will see all the outstanding bills and their due dates in a well-organized manner. Whenever you pay the bill, it will be reported to Experian at the end of every month.
However, the only way to build your credit is to make payments using their Cushion card, which is acceptable everywhere. Cushion will only report the successful payments you make, which means that your late or missed payments will not be reported. Hence, the higher you spend on the Cushion card, the greater the impact on your credit score.
At the end of every month, Cushion will report the amount you spend on your Cushion card to the credit bureaus. If you have the BNPL Builder subscription, it will report the total amount paid through a verified Buy Now Pay Later provider using your Cushion card. This includes service providers like Affirm, Klarna, Sezzle, Afterpay, etc. If you are on the Cushion PRO subscription, it will report the total amount you paid through the Cushion card on all the subscriptions, bills, or Buy Now Pay Later. You will have complete visibility of what they report to the credit bureaus monthly.
How much does Cushion cost to use?
While organizing your bills on Cushion is free, building credit isn’t. It will help organize your bills and build credit, but you must pay for it. There are two plans you can choose from. One is the BPNL Builder plan, which costs $4.99 per month. It will allow you to build credit whenever you make the Buy Now Pay Later payments. Another option is the Cushion PRO, which costs $12.99 monthly. It allows you to build credit whenever you pay your bills, subscriptions, and BNPL.
Cushion features
Cushion has many features worth nothing, but most will only be available at a cost.
Fee fighter
The Cushion Fee Fighter is designed to be the advocate that you need to battle against unfair or erroneous bank fees. Link your bank accounts to the Cushion platform and the Fee Fighter will scour your transactions and interest charges to pinpoint transaction fees that appear to be unjustified or in violation of regulatory limits. Once identified, Cushion negotiates refunds for the disputed fees.
One-stop shop for BNPL
If you enjoy using the services of Buy Now Pay Later service providers, Cushion is a great app. It is a one-of-a-kind app that keeps all the details of your BNPL purchases in one place. This will make it easier for you to keep track of the due dates for payment.
Supports several bank accounts
Cushion connects with your checking accounts, savings accounts, and even credit card accounts (goodbye ridiucuolous credit card interest charges!) that you can use for bill payments. You can also connect your subscriptions and BNPL accounts to make it easier for Cushion to track the bills automatically.
High-security standards
Not only does Cushion never sell your account information, but it also uses the same level of security used by other financial institutions: 256-bit SSL encryption.
Cushion Card
Cushion offers a virtual card that you can use, like a Debit card. The bills you pay using this card will be automatically reported to Experian and will help improve your score. You can also set the card as your primary payment method.
Credit builder
Cushion works as a credit builder and will help you improve your credit score every time you make a payment. Whether paying for a subscription or on your BNPL account, it will report to Experian each month and help improve your credit. The best thing? It will not report missed or late payments.
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- Easily Find & Cancel Unused Subscriptions
- Save Up To $729/Year with Truebill
- 80% Of Users Save Money
- Track Your Spending with Ease
Who does Cushion work best for?
If you use multiple apps and want to streamline your finances in one place, Cushion is worth the cost. It will most likely help manage all your accounts on a single app and make it easier to make bill payments. The more accounts you have, the more it will make sense. It is a one-of-a-kind BNPL app that helps monitor expenses actively.
Who shouldn’t use Cushion?
If you do not use BNPL for purchases or already have a good credit score, then it doesn’t make sense to use Cushion. If you feel you can track and make your bill payments on time, you are better off without it.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Can connect multiple bank accounts and BNPL accounts.
- Streamlines your finances.
- Helps build credit
- Will ensure timely payment of bills.
Cons
- You have to pay a fee for their service.
- Only the payments made through Cushion Card will be reported to the bureau.
- Only reports to Experian.
Use Rocket Money to Cancel Unwanted Subscriptions & Lower Your Bills
- Easily Find & Cancel Unused Subscriptions
- Save Up To $729/Year with Truebill
- 80% Of Users Save Money
- Track Your Spending with Ease
Cushion vs. Rocket Money vs. Trim
App | Types of services offered | Subscription cost |
Cushion | Credit builder and expense tracker | $4.99 per month for BNPL Builder, $12.99 per month for PRO |
Rocket Money | Internet, cable, phone, and banking fees negotiation | $3 to $12 month |
Trim | Internet, cable, phone, medical debt, credit card interest rates and fees, and banking fees negotiation | Free |
Rocket Money
Rocket Money is a budgeting app that scans your accounts for fees and higher rates. Rocket Money helps you negotiate lower bills with car insurance, subscriptions, and other services. While it also has a high percentage cost if you receive savings, it may be a better option for those working on getting their entire budget in one place and helping with more financial categories.
Rocket Money scans all your monthly expenses and alerts you anytime a large expense hits your account, a check clears, or other daily financial transactions. Not only will it negotiate bank fees for you, but it’ll also cancel or negotiate subscription charges.
Trim
Like Rocket Money, Trim works with numerous accounts, including subscription fees, utilities, bank and credit card fees, and medical debt. It can negotiate on your behalf and only charges 15% of savings versus the higher rates with other services. However, it doesn’t have the BNPL account monitoring that Cushion provides.
Trim has other unique financial services you may find useful, such as automatic savings transfers and LevelCredit. This service scans your utility bill payments and uses the information to build a positive credit history.
FAQs
Is Cushion a scam?
Cushion is a legitimate service and has helped a great number of people recover more than $12 million in refunded bank fees earlier. Cushion has now made a few changes to its services and helps people build credit, manage bills and handle expenses with ease.
How much does Cushion cost to use?
Cushion Organiser is the basic level service and it is free for all. It helps organise and track bills and BNPL accounts. However, if you want to build credit, you will have to pay for the subscription. The BNPL builder costs $4.99 a month and the Cushion PRO subscription costs $12.99 a month.
Will Cushion have a negative impact on my credit score?
When you add a new line of credit to the credit profile, you might see a temporary dip in your credit score but once you start making on-time payments using the Cushion card, your score will start showing an improvement.
Use Rocket Money to Cancel Unwanted Subscriptions & Lower Your Bills
- Easily Find & Cancel Unused Subscriptions
- Save Up To $729/Year with Truebill
- 80% Of Users Save Money
- Track Your Spending with Ease
The bottom line
As a consumer, you have many choices for budgeting and monitoring daily financial transactions. The Cushion is one of several available personal finance options, but it offers a one-stop service for managing your finances in one place. If you are someone who doesn’t enjoy keeping track of the bills, this app will do it for you. It can solve a messy problem and give you visibility in the bills while helping you build credit. The app is secure and easy to use, which can simplify your life, but it is a bit pricier and would be worthwhile only if you use many BNPL services.
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Writer
Vandita Jadeja is a financial writer and editorial assistant at Joywallet. She loves to read and write about money and brings 7 years of experience from the financial industry. She loves coffee, mountains and sunsets.
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