Credit Karma Money is a free alternative to a regular checking and savings account at a bank. You can use your debit card at any Visa-accepting ATM, with a network of over 55,000 ATMs. To use the service, you do need a Credit Karma account, but that gives you access to your credit reports and scores.
Two account types are available from Credit Karma Money – Credit Karma Money Spend and Credit Karma Money Save.
Credit Karma Money Spend is a good free checking account that doesn’t charge you monthly fees or overdraft fees. Paychecks and other direct deposits could also come up to two days early.
Credit Karma Money Save is a savings account with no minimum deposit to open and no monthly fee. It has a higher interest rate than many traditional banks, but you can get a higher rate with other online savings accounts (examples here).
Credit Karma Money Spend is 100% free to open with no hidden fees or penalties. Enjoy no minimum balance requirements, no overdraft fees, and free withdrawals from a network of over 55,000 Allpoint ATMs.
Credit Karma Money Pros & Cons
How Credit Karma Money Works
Credit Karma is a finance company best known for giving you free access to your credit score and report. Credit Karma Money is the company’s platform for moving money, and it includes both a checking account and a savings account.
With Credit Karma, you can use any of the 55,000 Allpoint ATMs in the U.S. for free.
In the Apple store, the Credit Karma mobile app has 4.8 out of 5 stars, and in the Google Play store, it has 4.7 out of 5 stars. You can link your TransUnion credit report to your Credit Karma Spend Account. Then, you can check the Credit Karma app to see your credit score, upcoming bills, payment due dates, minimum payments due, and balances you still owe.
Through Credit Karma’s partner banks, the FDIC will cover up to $5 million of your deposits.
About Credit Karma Money Spend
Credit Karma is best known for its credit monitoring services, but it now has a checking account to help people improve their finances.
There are no penalties, minimum balance requirements, or overdraft fees with a Credit Karma Money Spend checking account. Opening the account is free, and it comes with a Visa debit card that can be used at any merchant that accepts Visa cards. You can also pay bills, make withdrawals, and make deposits.
Credit Karma Money Spend Features
Credit Karma Money Spend has several features for its users, such as:
- Overdraft fees are usually charged if you use your debit card or write checks without having enough money in your account to cover the transactions. Credit Karma doesn’t charge an overdraft fee.
- Free ATM Transactions: If you have a Money Spend debit card, you can get money out of any of the 55,000 Allpoint ATMs that are part of the network for free. ATMs like these are easy to find at well-known stores like Target, CVS, Kroger, and Walgreens.
- With Early Payday, you can get your paycheck up to two days earlier than usual.
- In-App Controls: The Credit Karma app lets you see and control everything that happens with your account and debit card, like transactions and money transfers.
- Instant Karma: When you use your Credit Karma debit card to buy something that is eligible, you have a chance to win an Instant Karma purchase reimbursement. You can possibly win an Instant Karma purchase reimbursement of up to $5,000. It’s a great way to make extra money and save it.
Who Is Credit Karma Money Spend For?
The Credit Karma Money Spend account is great for people who don’t want to pay minimum balance fees and prefer debit cards to credit cards.
Also, it’s a simple account that’s free to open and easy for first-time account holders to use.
Is The Credit Karma Money Spend Account Worth It?
If you don’t like the way most traditional banks operate, you should consider the Money Spend account. It has many of the same features as a regular checking account, without many of the common fees. Monitoring your credit with Credit Karma is a nice extra.
More About Instant Karma
The Instant Karma feature of Credit Karma makes it possible for you to win cash. You could win an Instant Karma purchase reimbursement when you make a debit transaction with your Credit Karma Money Spend account. Or an Instant Karma monthly cash boost of up to $20,000 when you make a deposit into your Credit Karma Money Save account.
Make debit purchases with your Credit Karma Visa Debit Card – like a cup of coffee, a flatscreen TV, or even a spin bike – for a chance to win a cash reimbursement.
Make a deposit of at least $1 into a Credit Karma Money Save account for a chance to win the Instant Karma savings boost.
Credit Karma Money Safety & Security
- The funds in your account are FDIC insured up to $5 million
- Instantly lock your debit card with a tap
- Easily dispute transactions right in the Credit Karma app
How Credit Karma Money compares
We’ve compared Credit Karma Money to two other options with early direct deposits: Chime and Capital One 360. See current Chime offers here and current Capital One 360 offers here.
On all three platforms, you can open a checking account and a savings account for free every month.
You can deposit cash with Chime and Capital One 360, but not with Credit Karma Money. Chime and Capital One 360 are also good options for travelers because they don’t charge fees for transactions made outside of the country. Capital One 360 makes it easy to save for different goals by letting you create and name different pots in your savings accounts, like “Travel” or “Emergency Fund.”
But you might prefer Credit Karma’s Instant Karma feature, which gives cash rewards to certain customers at random.
Bottom Line
Credit Karma Money is a good choice if you want to get paid up to two days early and keep track of all your money in one app. While there are other online savings accounts with better rates (see them here), the Instant Karma feature from Credit Karma Money is a fun way to win some extra cash.
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Recently, I opened a Credit Karma Spend and Savings account and deposited $6000. However, my accounts were locked with a message stating, “Your account is currently frozen for your protection. Contact support for details.” I reached out to support via chat, email, and phone, but they did not provide any information on the matter. They said a specialized team was reviewing it, and they couldn’t offer an estimated time for resolution or any way to escalate the issue. My account has been blocked for over 3 weeks now.
Based on my experience, I suggest avoiding Credit Karma’s Spend and Savings account if you need access to your funds for emergencies or regular use. I wouldn’t recommend this service and would give it a rating of 0 or negative stars.