Best Rewards Checking Accounts [2025]: 5 Outstanding Options

Traditional checking accounts are convenient. They offer a simple way to receive, store, and spend your money. But what if you could sweeten the pot and earn a little extra through your checking account?

Rewards checking accounts like the Discover Cashback Debit account offer a way to earn cash back and even interest through your checking account, much like you could with a credit card or savings account, respectively. But rewards checking accounts vary in their terms, features, and earning potential, so make sure you look at cashback rates, fees, ATM access, and any interest rates offered before deciding.

Best rewards checking accounts

Best rewards checking account comparison

Discover Cashback Debit Account

Great for frequent debit card users

This rewards checking account from Discover is about as clear-cut as they come. Earn a set 1.00% cash back on your debit purchases every month, up to $3,000 in spending. If you can’t get or don’t want to use a cash back credit card, this account’s cashback rate gets you close to what you’d earn with one.

The Discover Cashback Debit account may be a good fit if you know you’ll use your debit card for $3,000 worth of spending every month, though not much more than that as you’ll stop earning cash back once you reach that threshold. At that point, it might be wise to start spending on a different rewards-earning card.

Beyond a handful of corporate offices and customer care centers, Discover has just one physical branch location (in Delaware). So, if you value face-to-face interaction or like to make deposits with a teller, this isn’t the account for you. However, you will have access to more than 60,000 ATMs that won’t require you to pay a fee to withdraw cash.

Visit Discover | Learn more in our Discover Cashback Debit review

Upgrade Rewards Checking Plus

Great for recurring expenses

What sets the Upgrade Rewards Checking Plus account apart from the others on this list is the opportunity to earn up to 2% cash back on debit card purchases. However, that elevated rate comes with some caveats.

For one, you can only earn that rate at certain merchants, namely drug/convenience stores, gas stations, monthly subscriptions, and utilities. Then, you only get that rate until you earn $500 worth of 2% cashback rewards; you won’t be able to get that rate again until the next calendar year. And what’s more, you’re required to make a direct deposit of at least $1,000 monthly to get that elevated earn rate.

All that being said, it is a nice little extra bump. You’ll earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other eligible debit purchases otherwise, so that puts this account largely in line with many others on this list. The 2% cash back gives it just a slight advantage for those who know they’ll spend at least $25,000 in the account’s bonus categories.

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Wealthfront Cash Account

Great for earning an APY

This isn’t technically a rewards checking account. In fact, it’s not even technically a checking account. And Wealthfront isn’t exactly a bank, either — it’s an investment management service that deposits your money with partner banks.

Launched in 2019, the Wealthfront Cash Account functions as a place to park money you don’t want to invest in a volatile market. It’s more akin to a high-yield savings account than a checking account, but it comes with a debit card, bill pay, direct deposit, and checking features, as well as ATM access like a standard checking account.

It has a notably high APY of 4.00%, though that is subject to change, as Wealthfront’s rate tracks the federal funds rate. This APY makes the Wealthfront Cash Account a worthwhile consideration for anyone interested in a rewards-like setup who’s not sure they’ll do enough debit card spending to make a cashback checking account worthwhile.

Essentially, all you have to do is let your money sit in the account and it will earn an impressive return, similar to earning cashback rewards. But if you need to use that cash, you can access it easily via ATM, check, or your Wealthfront Visa Debit Card.

Visit Wealthfront | Learn more in our Wealthfront Cash Account review

LendingClub Rewards Checking

Great for frequent ATM withdrawals

LendingClub’s rewards checking account is an interesting prospect because it earns both cash back on spending and an APY on your account balance. Granted, at up to just 0.15% (as of May 9, 2023), the APY isn’t terribly impressive. The federal rate sits at 0.42% (as of 12/16/24).

Even then, to get that maximum APY you need to have at least $100,000 in your account. If you have between $2,500 and $99,999.99, you’ll only earn 0.10% (as of 1/13/25) APY. But any interest is good interest. If you plan on keeping enough in your account to meet that minimum APY threshold, that little extra earning on top of the account’s unlimited 1% cash back on debit card purchases could make this account the right choice for you.

One feature that really sets this account apart is its unlimited rebates on ATM fees. If you plan to withdraw cash from ATMs with frequency, you’ll save a lot in fees and consequently have a great deal of flexibility in ATM access with this account.

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Quontic Cash Rewards Checking

Great for low opening deposits

With Quontic, we’ve got another 1% cashback rewards checking account. The low $100 minimum opening deposit makes it readily accessible — just open online through Quontic’s site, and you’ll be on your way.

Cashback rewards for debit card spending are deposited into your account at the start of each statement cycle but are limited to $50 per cycle. That means you won’t earn rewards on any spending above $5,000 in a given statement cycle.

There’s not much else to write home about when it comes to this account, but you will have fee-free access to 90,000 ATMs with many located in popular retailers like Target, Walgreens, CVS, and Kroger.

Visit Quontic | Learn more in our Quontic Bank review

How to choose the right rewards checking account

Choosing a rewards checking account might seem tough given how little distinguishes one account from another.

First and foremost, decide if a rewards checking account is even the right type of rewards-earning approach for your spending habits. If you’ve already put a lot of effort into earning credit card rewards and intend to continue doing so, there may not be much of a point to opening a rewards checking account over a different type of checking account — potentially one that earns an APY instead.

If you decide that, yes, you do want to earn rewards on your checking account activity, then decide which checking product has terms that will align with your rewards goals. For example, if you’re a frequent debit card user, choose an account offering a cashback rate that will optimize your money-spent to rewards-earned ratio. Get as high a rate as you can find on the type and amount of spending you know you’ll be doing on a regular basis.

If you don’t like doing your shopping with a debit card — perhaps because you’re racking up those credit card points I mentioned — it may be a better call to choose a checking account that earns interest (APY) on your account balance rather than your spending.

Bottom line

Rewards aren’t limited to credit cards. Setting yourself up with a way to earn on your checking account — whether through cash back or interest — can be a nice way to pad your pockets with minimal effort on your part beyond doing a little spending. Heck, with an interest-earning account, you can just let your money sit.

But whether you would benefit from a rewards checking account depends on how you use your checking. If you’re a frequent debit card user, go for it. That cash back is yours for the taking. If you prefer to spend on credit, you might get less value from your rewards checking account, so consider an interest-bearing checking account with a good rate instead.