Affiliate links for the products on this page are from partners that compensate us and terms apply to offers listed (see our advertiser disclosure with our list of partners for more details). However, our opinions are our own. See how we rate banking products to write unbiased product reviews.
The bottom line: Aspiration Aspiration Spend & Save Account is a good institution if you want to support the environment with your spending and banking choices. It's one of the best eco banks out there.
Pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
|
|
Aspiration Spend & Save Account review
1.00% on the first $10,000 in savings bucket
$10
- Easy to support the environment with your account
- Low minimum opening deposit
- Earn interest on your savings bucket if you meet the requirements
- Pay what you think is fair each month, even if it's $0
- Early direct deposit
- $2.06 service fee for incoming domestic and international wire transfers
- $4.50 service fee for outgoing domestic wire transfers
- No out-of-network ATM fees
- No overdraft fees
- No physical locations
- Interest rate drops on savings bucket balances over $10,000
- Doesn't reimburse any fees charged by an out-of-network ATM provider
- $19.50 service fee for outgoing international wire transfers
- No option to overdraw from your account
- Combination checking and savings account, with separate buckets for each
- 55,000 free ATMs nationwide
- You choose how much you pay each month, and Aspiration will donate 10% of your monthly payment to a charity
- Earn 1.00% APY on the first $10,000 in your account if you spend $500 or more per month in debit card transactions
- Earn 0% APY interest if you don't meet the requirements or on balances over $10,000
- Earn to 3% to 5% cash back on Conscience Coalition purchases with companies such as Blue Apron, TOMS, and Warby Parker
- Your deposits won't fund fossil fuel exploration
- Earn a sustainability personal impact score, and see the impact scores of companies such as Amazon, Starbucks, Nike, and Chevron
- Opt to round up each purchase to the nearest dollar and plant a tree
- Deposits are FDIC insured through partner banks
The Aspiration Spend & Save Account is a hybrid checking/savings account. You keep all your money in one place, with separate buckets for checking and savings.
The Aspiration Spend & Save Account is a worthwhile option if you're looking for an account with low fees. You choose how much to pay each month, even if that amount is $0. If you do give to Aspiration monthly, the company donates 10% to charity.
You'll also earn a competitive interest rate on account balances under $10,000 if you spend $1,000 monthly using Aspiration's debit card.
Aspiration Spend & Save Plus Account review
up to $7.99 monthly service fee
3.00% on the first $10,000 in savings bucket, then 0.25%
$10
- Easy to support the environment with your account
- Earn interest on your savings bucket if you meet the requirements
- Low minimum opening deposit
- Early direct deposit
- $2.06 service fee for incoming domestic and international wire transfers
- $4.50 service fee for outgoing domestic wire transfers
- No out-of-network ATM fees
- Reimburses 1 fee per month charged by an out-of-network ATM provider
- No overdraft fees
- No physical locations
- $19.50 service fee for outgoing international wire transfers
- $5.99 (billed annually) to $7.99 monthly service fee
- Interest rate drops on savings bucket balances over $10,000
- No option to overdraw from account
- Combination checking and savings account, with separate buckets for each
- 55,000 free ATMs nationwide
- $5.99 monthly service fee if billed annually; If not, you'll pay a $7.99 monthly service fee
- Earn 3.00% APY on the first $10,000 in your account if you spend $500 or more per month in debit card transactions
- Earn 0.25% APY if you don't meet the monthly requirements on the first $10,000 in your account on account balances over $10,000.
- Earn 10% cash back on Conscience Coalition purchases with companies such as Blue Apron, TOMS, and Warby Parker
- Your deposits won't fund fossil fuel exploration
- Earn a sustainability personal impact score, and see the impact scores of companies such as Amazon, Starbucks, Nike, and Chevron
- Opt to round up each purchase to the nearest dollar and plant a tree
- Planet Protection: When you use your Aspiration card to buy gasoline, Aspiration provides offsets to counteract carbon impact
- Deposits are FDIC insured through partner banks
The Aspiration Spend & Save Plus Account charges $7.99 per month (or $5.99 per month if you choose the annual plan). But that fee opens the door to two main perks: more tools for positively impacting the environment (more on that below), and a competitive interest rate on your savings. You'll earn a high rate on the first $10,000 in your savings bucket if you meet the requirements. On any amount above $10,000, the rate drops.
Compare today's checking accounts
How to help the environment with Aspiration
The main thing that sets Aspiration apart from other banking platforms is its focus on the environment.
Aspiration is B Corp Certified and partnered with 1% for the Planet. This means that the company follows high standards for its commitments on environmental action. Here's what you can expect when you bank with Aspiration:
1. Guilt-free deposits
You may think your decision about where to bank only affects you. But you might not know how banks use the money you deposit.
"A lot of people think that when they're depositing money at a bank, it's sitting in the back in a vault," Andrei Cherny, CEO of Aspiration, told Personal Finance Insider. "But really, banks are taking your deposits and lending them back out, and a lot of it is going to oil and gas exploration and pipelines — the things that are driving a lot of the climate crisis. People oftentimes don't realize that their own dollars are being used in ways that are hurting the planet."
Aspiration doesn't use your deposits to fund projects that harm the environment, such as fossil fuel exploration.
2. Cash back
Aspiration gives you cash back when you swipe your debit card at a Conscience Coalition business, or a company Aspiration believes has a worthwhile mission, such as TOMs, Blue Apron, and Warby Parker.
You'll earn 3% to 5% cash back with an Aspiration Spend & Save Account, and 10% cash back with an Aspiration Spend & Save Plus Account.
3. Personal impact scores
The Aspiration app tracks your personal impact score, which is a numeric score based on how your money habits affect the environment. Cherny described the personal impact score as a "FitBit for sustainability" to Personal Finance Insider.
Aspiration assigns personal impact scores to companies, too. You can find scores for a couple thousand businesses. Here are some categories and examples of big-name companies with scores:
- Retailers (Amazon, Target, Walmart)
- Clothing retailers (Adidas, Gap, Nike)
- Restaurants (McDonalds, Panera, Starbucks)
- Hotels (Choice Hotels, Hilton, Marriott)
- Airlines (Delta, JetBlue, Southwest)
- Oil and gas companies (Chevron, Exxon, Shell)
If you're trying to decide where to buy lunch, for example, finding out one place has a better impact score than another could help you make your decision.
4. Plant trees
Aspiration gives you the option to round each debit card purchase up to the nearest dollar. With each roundup, Aspiration will plant a tree.
5. Planet Protection
When you use your Aspiration debit card to buy gasoline for your car, Aspiration purchases the amount of carbon offsets needed to neutralize the carbon dioxide produced by a tank of gas. To purchase carbon offsets, Aspiration contributes money to a company that saves energy for the planet, like wind farms.
Once Aspiration buys carbon offsets, you'll receive a push notification on your phone to let you know the transaction has gone through.
The Planet Protection feature is only available with the Aspiration Spend & Save Plus Account.
Other Aspiration features
Aspiration is an online-only banking platform, not a bank. There are no physical branch locations, but you can use 55,000 Allpoint ATMs for free.
Aspiration won't charge a fee for using an out-of-network ATM, but the ATM provider may. In this case, Aspiration won't reimburse what the provider charges — unless you have an Aspiration Spend & Save Plus Account, which refunds one fee per month.
The mobile app has received 4.3 out of 5 stars in both the Apple and Google Play stores.
You can contact customer support by phone or email. Phone hours are Monday through Friday, 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. PT, and Saturday and Sunday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. PT.
Your deposits are FDIC insured through Aspiration's eight partner banks. Each bank insures up to $250,000, so you can insure more money than you would with a traditional bank account.
Aspiration trustworthiness and BBB rating
The Better Business Bureau doesn't have a rating for Aspiration right now because the BBB is updating the platform's profile.
Aspiration has not been involved in any recent public controversies.
Aspiration review vs. Amalgamated Bank review
We've compared Aspiration with two other institutions that concentrate on a cause: Amalgamated Bank and City First Bank.
While Aspiration focuses on sustainability, Amalgamated Bank gives to numerous causes. You can read the bank's stances on various social issues on its website. With a Give-Back Checking or Give-Back Savings Account, you can choose from six charities, and Amalgamated will donate the equivalent of half the interest you earn to the cause.
You may like Amalgamated Bank if you want a bank that supports several causes, and if you want a choice about which charities donations support.
Aspiration hones in on the environment and takes things a step further with its Planet Protection program and personal impact points. So if sustainability is your passion, you might prefer Aspiration.
Aspiration review vs. City First Bank review
City First focuses on community development, specifically in the DC area. Your deposits are used to disperse loans, and 80% of City First loans go toward causes such as housing development, community services organizations, and charter schools.
If you care about the environment, you may like Aspiration. But if you're more concerned with community development and/or live in the DC area, you might prefer City First.
Frequently asked questions
Aspiration is an online-banking platform that support environmental justice. Aspiration has two hybrid checking/savings account options: Aspiration and Aspiration Plus. With the Aspiration Account, you can choose how much you'd like to pay, even if it's $0. With Aspiration Plus, you'll pay $5.99 per month (if you select the annual plan) or $7.99 per month.
Aspiration has eight partner banks. Money deposited into an Aspiration Account may be held at one of the following banks:
- Coastal Community Bank
- ProgressBank
- Amalgamated Bank
- EagleBank
- Manufacturers Bank
- C3Bank
- the Freedom Bank of Virginia
- Bridgewater Bank
If you would like to deposit money into an Aspiration Account, you may link an external bank account and initiate an ACH transfer or wire transfer. You may also send money through a payment app like Venmo.
Also keep in mind that Aspiration doesn't let you deposit cash at ATMs.
