Green Dot Unlimited Cash Back Bank Account Visa® Debit Card review

The Capital One Quicksilver Secured Cash Rewards Credit Card is a solid option to pair with the Green Dot Unlimited if you haven’t built up a prime credit score just yet. You can earn unlimited 1.5 percent back on all purchases, so you can use this card for purchases you don’t make online with the Green Dot Unlimited Card. 

Plus, if you’re a traveler, you can earn unlimited 5 percent cash back on hotel and rental car purchases booked through the Capital One Travel portal, which boosts your rewards potential even more.

The Green Dot Unlimited earns a fairly high flat cash back rate on online purchases; however, other rewards checking accounts can earn more versatile cash back across a wider pool of purchases. The Discover Bank checking account earns 1 percent cash back on up to $3,000 debit card purchases each month — not just online or mobile purchases — with no monthly fee. But if you prefer unrestricted rewards, the Green Dot Unlimited Card may suit you better since there is a spending cap with the Discover Bank checking account.

Overall, if you spend more cash online than you do in person and prefer a higher rewards rate with no monthly spending limits, the Green Dot Unlimited should be your choice — but if you don't spend much online and prefer to earn rewards on all purchases and not just specific categories, the Discover Bank checking account would be a better fit for you.

In most cases, you might be better off with a cash back credit card when it comes to rewards. Many cash back cards carry extra benefits and earn more rewards over a larger range of purchases. For example, the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card can earn unlimited 2 percent cash rewards on all purchases, while the Green Dot Unlimited Card only offers rewards on online and mobile purchases. Plus, you can earn a welcome bonus with a fairly low spending requirement — unlike the Green Dot Unlimited, which doesn’t offer a welcome bonus. 

However, neither the Wells Fargo Active Cash Card nor the Green Dot Unlimited offer much in perks, but the Green Dot Unlimited might have an edge since it offers a high-yield savings account. Basically, if you want the freedom to earn 2 percent cash back on all of your purchases, the Active Cash is the way to go, but if you want access to a high-yield savings account, the Green Dot Unlimited is a better option.

Green Dot Bank’s Unlimited Cash Back Bank Account Visa Debit Card offers a credit limit in the amount of your initial deposit ($20 to $500).

The primary criteria for a rewards or cash back card’s rating is its rewards value. This includes the card’s average rewards rate, estimated annual rewards earnings, sign-up bonus value and reward redemption value.

To estimate a card’s average annual rewards earnings, we first calculate its average rewards rate based on how much it earns in different bonus categories and how closely its categories align with the average person’s spending habits, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

The most recent BLS data estimates average total spending in 2022 was $72,967 per consumer. We then narrow our focus to which purchases are likely to be put on a credit card and earn rewards, subtracting expenditures like housing, vehicle purchases and education. This gives us a total “chargeable” annual spend of around $22,500.  

Some of the major spending categories that contribute towards the annual spend include:

• Groceries: $5,700
• Dining out: $3,600
• Entertainment: $2,400
• Gas: $3,100
• Apparel and services: $1,900

Using this data, we assign a weighting to each of a card’s bonus categories. For example, a card’s grocery rewards rate receives a 22 percent weighting based on how much of the average person’s budget is spent on groceries. We also estimate the redemption value of points or miles from various issuer, airline and hotel rewards programs.

This weighting and rewards valuation allows us to estimate a card’s average annual rewards earnings — how many points or miles you’d earn with a given card if your spending was about average and you used the card for all of your purchases, as well as what those points are worth. We also use point valuations to determine a card’s sign-up bonus value.

With these calculations complete, we assign each card a score based on how its average rewards earnings, sign-up bonus value, rewards rate and redemption value stack up against other rewards cards.

We also rate cards based on how much it costs to keep them in your wallet or carry a balance. 

To start, each rewards or cash back card is scored based on whether it offers an intro APR and how its ongoing APR compares to the rates available on other rewards or cash back cards. 

We also score each card based on how its annual fee influences its overall value. 

We consider a card’s annual fee in two ways — how it ranks relative to the fees you’ll find on other cards in the category and how it impacts a card’s overall rewards value. Cards with an annual fee will always be at a slight disadvantage in our scoring system since annual fees inherently cut into your rewards value, but if a card offers terrific value via its ongoing rewards and perks, it can earn a high score even if it carries a high annual fee. 

With this in mind, we rate a card based primarily on how its ongoing rewards value and ongoing perk value (such as annual credits or bonuses) stack up against other cards in the category when you subtract its annual fee.

We rate each card’s flexibility based on the restrictions it imposes on earning and redeeming rewards and factor this rating into a card’s overall score. 

Flexibility factors include whether a card only allows you to earn a high rewards rate on a small amount of spending or requires you to meet a certain earning threshold before you can redeem rewards. We also examine whether your points are worth less when you redeem for some options versus others and whether a card gives you the flexibility to transfer rewards to airline and hotel partners. 

We also score each card’s set of features – its perks and benefits — against five tiers of features to provide a rating. 

We break down these tiers as follows:

• Tier 1 has less than standard card features (an ultra-streamlined card that offers basic utility and next to nothing in the way of ancillary benefits. 
• Tier 2 includes the benefits you’d expect on standard Visa or Mastercard credit cards, such as free access to your credit score, car rental insurance and $0 liability for fraudulent charges. 
• Tier 3 includes “prime card” or better-than-average card features like cellphone insurance, lost luggage insurance, concierge services and purchase protection. 
• Tier 4 includes luxury features such as airport lounge access, elite status with an airline or hotel and credits for expedited security screening membership programs. 
• Tier 5 includes the sort of exemplary benefits you’ll find on top-tier luxury cards, such as high-value travel credits, cardholder memberships and other unique and valuable perks.