Aspiration Banking Review: Putting Your Money to Work for the Planet

Aspiration Spend & Save accounts

Aspiration’s Spend & Save accounts¹ <p>The Aspiration Spend &amp; Save Accounts are cash management accounts offered through Aspiration Financial, LLC, a registered broker-dealer, Member FINRA/SIPC, a subsidiary of Aspiration Partners, Inc. (“Aspiration”). Aspiration is under separate ownership from any other named entity. The Aspiration Save Account’s up to 3.00% Annual Percentage Yield (“APY”) is variable, subject to change, and is only available to customers enrolled in Aspiration Plus after conditions are met. Aspiration’s Cash Back program is subject to change at any time and without notice, including reversal of rewards for abuse, fraud, and other illicit activity. Cash Back rewards are generally credited on the first day of each calendar month. Aspiration Standard customers receive up to 3-5% cash back while Aspiration Plus members receive up to 10% cash back. Everyday cashback is earned through Aspiration’s Impact Measurement Scores. Aspiration Debit Cards are issued by Coastal Community Bank, Member FDIC, pursuant to a license by Mastercard International Incorporated. Aspiration is under separate ownership from any other named entity. Aspiration is not a bank.</p> charge between $0 to $7.99 in monthly maintenance fees and offer savings growth potentials in the form of annual percentage yields (APYs). On top of that, if you’re looking for a greater purpose in your banking, these accounts can provide it.

Aspiration aims to help you save money and save the planet at the same time. This account provides a debit card and earnings on your savings, but also tracks the environmental impact of your purchases, plants trees through rounded-up purchases, and avoids contributing to oil and gas production.

I’m pretty intrigued by the Aspiration Spend & Save accounts, to be honest. While the APR on savings isn’t as high as the maximum you can get from some high-yield savings accounts, you might prefer to earn a little less in exchange for knowing the good that your money is doing in the sustainability arena.

Aspiration Spend & Save account basics

APY	Up to 1.00% (as of 10/28/24) on balances up to $10,000 with $500 per month in qualifying debit card transactions2 <p>The Aspiration Save Account’s up to 3.00% Annual Percentage Yield (“APY”) is variable, subject to change, and is only available to customers enrolled in Aspiration Plus. APY Terms &amp; FAQ.</p>
Minimum balance for APY	$0
Minimum deposit to open account	$10
Monthly maintenance fees	“Pay What Is Fair” (PWIF) structure, starting from $0, so you’re not obligated to pay a monthly account fee
ATM access	Fee-free ATM access with 55,000 Allpoint ATMs ATMs outside the Allpoint network are subject to fees
Transactions per month	No limit
FDIC insured	Yes
Cash back	3-5% cash back on purchases through Conscious Coalition merchant network

Aspiration Spend & Save Plus basics

APY	Up to 3.00% on balances up to $10,000 with $500 per month in qualifying debit card transactions
Minimum balance for APY	$0
Minimum deposit to open account	$10
Monthly maintenance fees	$7.99 (or $5.99/month if paid annually)
ATM access	Fee-free access with 55,000 Allpoint ATMs Get one out-of-network ATM reimbursement per month
Transactions per month	No limit
FDIC insured	Yes
Cash back	10% cash back on purchases through Conscious Coalition network

What is Aspiration?

Aspiration is a fintech company that was founded in 2013. It’s not a bank, but works with Coastal Community Bank to offer its banking accounts.

Aspiration Spend & Save accounts work as hybrid savings and checking accounts. Deposits in these accounts are protected by insurance from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) up to $1.25 million through its banking partners ($250,000 per account, per bank, and Aspiration partners with five banks at this time).

Aspiration is a registered broker-dealer and member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC).

The company is committed to helping bring about a more sustainable future that protects our environment. Its financial products do offer decent benefits like paying interest on your savings, but where it really shines is its focus on avoiding fossil fuel investments and encouraging more climate-friendly action by customers.

In general, though you can’t earn quite as much on your money at Aspiration as with some other online banks, its eco-friendly initiatives like earning cash back on your debit card for spending at sustainable retailers are very appealing. Let’s dive into some of the features you may appreciate, as well as some downsides.

Financial benefits of Aspiration accounts

• High APYs with qualifying spending: Aspiration’s regular account offers up to 1.00% (as of 10/28/24) APY and its Plus account offers up to 3.00% APY on balances of up to $10,000 if you make $500 or more of qualifying debit card transactions.
• “Pay What Is Fair” fee model: Although the Plus account has a monthly fee of $7.99, the regular account allows you to pay what you want for its service, so it’s technically free. (I don’t know about you, but the “pay what you want” model kind of makes me feel more inclined to pay something, simply because it’s optional. Plus, 10% of these contributions go to support climate action organizaitons.)
• Phone protection benefit: If you pay your monthly phone bill with your Aspiration debit card, you may be covered with up to $600 in phone insurance. Terms and conditions of the program apply.
• Cash back: We’ll address this more in a moment, but you can earn between 3% and 10% cash back on debit card purchases with retailers with sustainability initiatives.

Convenience and security features you get with Aspiration

Here are some of the ways Aspiration can make life easier for you:

• Early paycheck deposit: Get your paycheck up to 2 days early via direct deposit.
• 55,000 fee-free ATMs: Get unlimited withdrawals at in-network ATMs.
• Mobile app: Manage your money on the go. Mobile app has ratings of 4.2 stars on Google Play and 4.7 stars on Apple App Store.
• FDIC insurance: Funds are protected up to $250,000 per account, per partner bank.
• ID theft protection: Aspiration Mastercard debit card offers identity theft protection.

Sustainability and Aspiration accounts

Check out Aspiration’s website, and one of the first things you’ll notice is its focus on the environment. The tagline on the page devoted to the Spend and Save accounts reads “The account built for the planet.” But what, specifically, does this mean? If anything, you want to avoid being “greenwashed” or convinced to do something that’s not necessarily better for the planet.

If you want to become more eco-friendly when it comes to your money, here are some of the ways Aspiration allows you to do so.

Your money won’t support fossil fuel use or production

With an Aspiration Spend and Save account, you have the guarantee that Aspiration’s partner banks won’t use your deposits to support the use of fossil fuels. These banks commit to not using customer deposits to lend to oil and gas exploration, production, or transportation, nor will it lend to support coal mining.

Extra cash back for purchases at Conscience Coalition™ businesses

There’s a broad range of merchants included in the Conscience Coalition™ list, and all of them have a socially or environmentally conscious philosophy. Whenever you use your Aspiration Spend and Save debit card for these purchases, you receive up to 5% cash back, and if you’re an Aspiration Plus member, you earn 10% cash back.

Some businesses and their efforts include:

• ZeroWasteStore — sustainable brand platform with plastic-free and carbon-neutral shipping
• Cloud Paper — tree-free paper products and carbon-neutral deliveries
• Dropps — biobased laundry and dish detergents that reduce single-use plastic

If you’re interested in using your spending to fuel positive change, these types of purchases can help. I appreciate the idea of earning cashback rewards on these eco-friendly purchases in part because it encourages more conscious spending, but also because it helps recoup the added expense of shopping with these merchants, since anything labeled within the eco-friendly realm tends to cost more.

Option to plant trees with every purchase

If you have the Aspiration debit card, you may opt to fund tree-planting with each purchase through the Plant Your Change (PYC) program. You can connect your debit card to this feature using Plaid, which will trigger a round-up on every purchase you make with the card. The rounded amount goes to tree-planting initiatives.

Carbon offsets for gas purchases

Do you ever feel guilty about the impact of your driving on the planet? I do, even though I’m a homebody and rarely travel very far. A way to lessen your environmental impact is by upgrading to Aspiration Plus.

The company tallies up your gas purchases and calculates the carbon dioxide equivalent emitted from your driving. Then, it purchases carbon offsets to counteract your estimated carbon emissions. While it’s still best to limit your driving, when that’s not possible you can use carbon offsets to help reduce that impact.

Personal sustainability score estimates

As an Aspiration customer, you also can view what’s called the Aspiration Impact Measurement (AIM). It examines your everyday purchases and gives you a grade for sustainability. While you shouldn’t feel ashamed of spending money, sometimes a bit of knowledge helps us make better decisions. I know whenever I bring awareness to my spending habits, I’m more able to make changes, and Aspiration is a company that helps customers do their part for the planet.

Who is Aspiration best for?

Aspiration’s accounts are best suited for people who are environmentally conscious and don’t want their deposits funding loans for oil and coal projects. You can do a lot of good through patronizing businesses that prioritize fair treatment of workers, planting trees, and eco-friendly products.

Ideally, it’s for people who also regularly spend $500 per month or more on a debit card. This would allow them to earn a higher APY on balances of up to $10,000. I might not be the best candidate for this reason, but if I truly wanted to focus on supporting sustainable and environmentally friendly practices, I’d probably be willing to make that effort to spend on my debit card to make the most of an Aspiration account.

Who shouldn’t use Aspiration for spending and saving?

Aspiration wouldn’t be a good fit for people who need a local branch for their banking needs, though, since it’s online-only. (Not a problem for me, but some people enjoy having a building to go to at times for their checking and saving.)

Earning a decent APY has restrictions

You also need to be aware of the requirements and limitations. To earn the higher APY, for example, you must spend $500 or more in qualifying debit card purchases each month. If you don’t, the APY will be either zero or very low, depending on whether you have an Aspiration Plus account.

Also, if you want to let your savings grow a lot, you might want to look elsewhere. The higher APY only applies to the first $10,000 in your Save account, so beyond that you’d want to put your money in another account that pays higher interest.

You can earn upwards of 4.5% and even 5% in some HYSAs at other online banks. I’d think carefully about this, because while 3% is a nice return on your savings, earning more isn’t a bad objective.

Compare Aspiration Plus vs. traditional savings account

Curious how much your savings of $5,000 could earn if you just made an initial deposit and didn’t add to the account for 10 years? Traditional savings accounts only pay an average APY of 0.43% (as of 11/18/24). The Aspiration Plus account, if you meet the debit spending requirements, has an APY that far surpasses that.

Here’s how much that higher APY could impact your savings account after one, three, and 10 years, assuming you don’t touch the money.

Visit Aspiration to get started.

Other Aspiration fees

Overdraft fee	N/A*
Stop payment fee	$1.19
ACH transfers	None
Incoming and outgoing wire transfers, both domestic and international	$10 for all
Foreign transaction fee	1%
Returned item charge	$4.50
Expedited debit card	$23.45 (3-5 business day shipping) $59.68 (1-2 business day shipping)
*Aspiration doesn’t allow transactions to go through that could result in a negative balance

Aspiration customer service

If you need to contact Aspiration customer service, you can do so in a few ways. Customer support is available by phone at 800-683-8529 between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. PT, Monday through Friday. You can also submit a contact form on Aspiration’s website to get your questions answered.

Alternatives to Aspiration accounts

If environmental issues are key to you and your finances, check out these banking options with similar values.

Clean Energy Credit Union

As you might have guessed from the name, Clean Energy Credit Union is focused on banking that supports clean energy. It offers checking and savings accounts, money market accounts, carbon zero teen accounts, and IRAs. From a financing standpoint, you can get loans for a range of clean energy projects like solar energy, electric vehicles, weatherproofing, and more.

Rewards Checking at this credit union pays up to 3.56% APY when you meet at least two of these criteria in any month:

• 10 debit card transactions
• $1,000 or more in direct deposits
• Outstanding Clean Energy Loan
• $2,500 or more in all accounts

Those criteria are a bit tougher to meet than those of Aspiration’s, and Clean Energy Credit Union savings doesn’t pay a significant APY either.

Greenpenny

Greenpenny offers checking and savings accounts, CDs, and financing for solar projects. The Greenpenny savings account pays a respectable 2.53% APY with just a $100 minimum deposit and no minimum balance. (It’s not quite 3%, but there are no spending requirements to earn it! You simply need to enroll in online banking and electronic statements.)

Another benefit of banking with Greenpenny is that it only invests in renewable energy projects, especially solar. It calls itself a form of “crowdfunding” focused on renewable energy, which is pretty cool. Even though it doesn’t have quite as many impressive-sounding initiatives as Aspiration, you can earn close to the same APY on your savings and know that your deposits help fund solar energy adoption.

FAQ

Bottom line

If you strongly believe in Aspiration's mission to help save the planet and fight climate change while using financial services or simply like the features the company offers, it’s a solid option. Before you commit to any new financial account, you should compare your options to make sure it’s the best fit for you.

I would definitely consider opening a Spend & Save account with Aspiration based on its robust offerings that benefit the planet. Plus, the savings APY is relatively high for an environmentally-focused financial services company.

You can compare Aspiration to our list of best banks to help you feel more comfortable with your decision before opening an account.