Green Dot Unlimited Cash Back Bank Account Visa® Debit Card review
You can get generously rewarded for everyday online purchases and for opening an online high-yield savings account.
Written by
Edited by
The Bankrate promise
At Bankrate we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions. While we adhere to strict , this post may contain references to products from our partners. Here's an explanation for .
Snapshot
3.2
Bottom line
The Green Dot Unlimited Cash Back Bank Account Visa® Debit Card is a unique blend between a prepaid card and an online bank account. It’s a good choice if you want to earn unlimited 2 percent cash back on online purchases.
Intro offer
N/A
Rewards rate
N/A
Annual fee
See Terms
Regular APR
N/A
3.2
Bankrate score
Remove a card to add another to compare
Remove a card to add another to compare
Green Dot Unlimited Cash Back Bank Account Visa® Debit Card overview
Debit card and checking account rewards are pretty rare but they can be a convenient way to earn some extra cash back. Just don’t expect to rake in as much as you would with a solid rewards credit card.
The Green Dot Bank Unlimited Cash Back Bank Account Visa® Debit Card earns an impressive 2 percent cash back on online and mobile purchases, plus it throws in a 2 percent APY savings account (on up to a $10,000). These are fantastic rates compared to checking accounts and savings accounts we’ve seen. Overall, the Green Unlimited Cash Back Card can greatly boost your rewards and savings potential.
-
Rewards
- Unlimited 2 percent cash back on online and mobile purchases
Expert Appraisal: Good
See our expert analysis -
Rates and fees
- Monthly fee: $7.95 (waived by spending at least $1,000 in the previous monthly period)
- Initial deposit: $20 to $500
- Early direct deposit? Yes (“ASAP Direct Deposit,” up to two days before payday)
- Out of network ATM withdrawal fee: $3 per transaction (50 cents for ATM balance inquiry)
- Foreign transaction fee: 3 percent of total transaction amount
- Overdraft fee: A $15 fee may apply to each transaction that brings your account to a negative balance
Expert Appraisal: Typical
See our expert analysis -
Other cardholder perks
- Additional savings account included (2 percent APY on up to a $10,000 balance)
- ASAP direct deposit (up to two days before payday)
Expert Appraisal: Good
See our expert analysis
GreenDot Unlimited pros and cons
Pros
-
You have access to an additional 2 percent APY high-yield savings account (on up to balances of $100,000)
-
You can deposit cash at thousands of major retailer locations.
Cons
-
There is a $7.95 monthly fee (waived by spending $1,000+ with your debit card during the previous month).
-
Merchant category codes (MCCs) and Green Dot Bank’s qualifying purchase definition exclude many rewards-earning opportunities.
-
You can find more lucrative credit card cash back programs that offer better redemption options and benefits.
Why you might want the GreenDot Unlimited
The GreenDot Unlimited has an appealing cash back rate on online purchases, as well as a high-yield savings account and easy access to free ATMs.
Rewards: High flat cash back rate
The GreenDot Unlimited Card stands out with its unique rewards structure that offers unlimited flat-rate 2 percent cash back on online and mobile purchases, a feature that sets it apart from similar cards in the market. This cash back rate is a competitive option compared to some traditional credit cards. If you shop online often, you have the perfect opportunity to earn rewards on everyday spending without the need for a credit check or traditional bank account.
High-yield savings account: Earn more than the national average
This card offers a highly advantageous option to open a linked savings account that provides an impressive 2 percent annual percentage yield (APY) on your savings, which is significantly higher than the national average for savings accounts.
This feature is exceptional, as it allows you to grow your savings while also having convenient access to your funds through the linked account. The high-yield savings account is a great addition to the GreenDot Unlimited Card, providing you with the opportunity to maximize your savings potential and earn competitive interest on your funds, further boosting the overall value and benefits of the card.
Accessibility: Access to thousands of free ATMs
The GreenDot Unlimited Card has exceptional accessibility, making it great to consider if you need a convenient way to access funds. It does not require a credit check or a traditional bank account, making it a decent pick for the underbanked and those with limited or no credit history. You can easily manage the card online as well, allowing for easy account management and access.
The card also provides access to a wide network of free ATMs, offering you the convenience of withdrawing cash without incurring additional fees. This feature makes the GreenDot Unlimited an attractive choice if you’re seeking a widely accessible card.
Why you might want a different cash back card
Even though the GreenDot Unlimited has a great rewards rate among other fantastic features, there are a few downsides to take note of, such as restrictions when it comes to earning rewards, limited redemption flexibility and many fees.
Earning cash back: Restricted to select online purchases
Unlimited 2 percent cash back is excellent, even for cash back credit cards. But cash back-earning purchases in the online and mobile spending bonus categories are limited by merchant category codes (MCCs) and Green Dot’s restrictive qualifying terms.
To receive the unlimited 2 percent cash back on online and mobile purchases, the merchant category code — a four-digit number used to classify businesses based on their primary products/services — must describe it as a strictly online or mobile purchase.
However, there aren’t many specific MCCs in Visa’s entire list specifically outlining goods and services that fit the description for online and mobile purchases. The card agreement says that depending on the retailer’s MCC, “some online and in-app purchases appear to us as non-qualifying purchases.” If the merchant’s code doesn’t categorize itself as an online or mobile merchant, then you won’t earn cash back.
For example, if you order from a brick-and-mortar bookstore online, its MCC doesn’t indicate it was an online merchant soyour purchase won’t earn rewards.
On top of that, certain online purchases don’t qualify no matter the MCC:
- Airline purchases
- Person-to-person transactions (services such as PayPal and Venmo), digital wallets (such as Apple Pay and Google Pay), digital and gambling currencies (such as casino chips, lottery tickets and in-game currency purchases for mobile and online video games) and traveler’s checks
- Prepaid cards, such as gift cards
- Bill payments
- greendot.com and Green Dot mobile app transactions
That means that even if you shop on Amazon.com or make in-app purchases, you can’t earn cash back while guarding your card with a digital wallet or another third-party P2P payment service. This strips away a strong layer of identity theft protection when you’re shopping online — which is especially concerning since debit cards don’t have the same protections as credit cards.
Redemption: Limited flexibility
Cash back can only be added to your account after 12 months of use, meaning upon your account anniversary each year. You then have one year to redeem the rewards before they expire. This is remarkably less flexible than how many rewards credit cards operate. Usually, you receive your new rewards and can redeem them shortly after each month’s billing statement.
Rates and fees: Monthly fees plus many others
Once you consider the $7.95 monthly fee, any returns you make from cash back take a huge cut. It would take spending $397.50 each month on online or mobile purchases to break even. Otherwise, you can spend $1,000 each month to waive the monthly fee and save nearly $8 of rewards. If you usually spend less than $1,000 with your debit card each month, you’ll be losing almost $100 in rewards each year in monthly fees.
To decide if these rewards are worthwhile, you should evaluate your budget and gauge how much you spend shopping online and via mobile each month.
The Green Dot Unlimited Cash Back card also carries a number of other fees, many of which are common, but avoidable with the right product.
- Monthly fee: $7.95 (waived after spending $1,000+ in the previous monthly period)
- Out of network ATM withdrawal: $3 per transaction ($0.50 for ATM balance inquiry)*
- Teller cash withdrawal fee: $3 per transaction*
- Replacement card: $5
- Foreign transaction fee: 3 percent*
- Paper check fee: $5.95 for 12 checks (No bounced check fee)
- Overdraft fee: A $15 fee may apply to each transaction that brings your account to a negative balance
- Minimum balance requirement: N/A
*On top of other ATM and merchant fees, etc.
Green Dot may place limits on the number of checks or the dollar amount that you can deposit (outside the direct deposit). Depending on the retailer you deposit cash at, they may also have their own limits and could charge up to a $5.95 deposit fee.
How the Green Dot Unlimited Cash Back card compares to other cash back debit and credit cards
The Green Dot Unlimited Cash Back card offers a high cash back and APY rate compared to other rewards debit cards and savings accounts at its level. In fact, we’ve found the Unlimited Cash Back Account’s 2 percent APY is much higher than the 0.61 percent average savings account APY (as of Sept. 9, 2024) as we’ve reviewed.
Unlimited Cash Back Bank Account by Green Dot
Annual fee
Intro offer
Rewards rate
Recommended Credit Score
A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.
Annual fee
Intro offer
Earn a $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months
Rewards rate
Earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases.
Recommended Credit Score
A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.
Annual fee
Intro offer
Rewards rate
Earn unlimited 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of trip options. Terms apply. Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase, everywhere.
Recommended Credit Score
A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.
Best cards to pair with the GreenDot Unlimited
The GreenDot Unlimited could pair well with an unlimited cash back card on all purchases.
Who is the GreenDot Unlimited right for?
The GreenDot Unlimited Card could be quite useful for some, but if you can't relate to any of the personas below, then it would be best to consider another card.
Bankrate’s Take — Is the Green Dot Unlimited Cash Back card worth it?
The Green Dot Bank Unlimited Cash Back Bank Account Visa debit card’s 2 percent cash back on mobile and online purchases, plus 2 percent high-yield savings account APY, are a notch above competing accounts’ rates. Unfortunately, the seemingly broad bonus categories are narrowed a bit by the issuer’s definition of a qualifying purchase. These restrictions and a monthly fee make other rewards debit cards more lucrative options.
But as with other rewards checking accounts, you should view Green Dot’s debit card as an added perk rather than a deciding factor in where you bank. Cash back credit cards are ultimately a better use of your rewards spending.
All information about the Green Dot Unlimited Cash Back Bank Account Visa® Debit Card and Discover Bank checking account debit card has been collected independently by Bankrate and has not been reviewed or approved by the issuer.
We rate credit cards using a proprietary card scoring system that ranks each card’s estimated average rewards rate, estimated annual earnings, welcome bonus value, APR, fees, perks and more against those of other cards in its primary category.
Each card feature is assigned a weighting based on how important it is to people looking for a card in a given category. These features are then scored based on how they rank relative to the features on other cards in the category. Based on these calculations, each card receives an overall rating of 1-5 stars (with 5 being the highest possible score and 1 being the lowest).
We analyzed over 150 of the most popular rewards and cash back cards to determine where each stacked up based on their value, cost, benefits and more. Here are some of the key factors that influenced this card’s overall score and how the score influenced our review:
Frequently asked questions
* See the online application for details about terms and conditions for these offers. Every reasonable effort has been made to maintain accurate information. However all credit card information is presented without warranty. After you click on the offer you desire you will be directed to the credit card issuer's web site where you can review the terms and conditions for your selected offer.
Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, and have not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. The information, including card rates and fees, is accurate as of the publish date. All products or services are presented without warranty. Check the bank’s website for the most current information.
