Best Reward Debit Card
 

Tell me what's the best reward debit card out there.

For moderate spending on the debit card, I vote Citi ThankYou. If you have a Citibank account ($6k minimum) and use most of their services (direct deposit, overdraft protection, savings, etc.) you will get:

a. 800 points per month regardless of Debit Card usage
b. 1 pt for every $2 spent as a "Credit Card"
c. 1 pt for every $3 spent as a "Debit Card"

The key here is the free points. If you can also get a Citi Credit card, I would recommend that you use it to earn more points. (I have a Citibank account. I earn 15,000 or so TY points last year and I hardly used the debit card at all.)

What is the best car?
Who is the prettiest woman?
What is the best airline?
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Post a question with some details! Post what you are looking for! Don't waste people's time with a post like this. It does not give any specifics and the chance of getting a useful response are slim to none. Help us all out, be very specific. Thanks.

DrB is right...You have to figure it out based upon your preferences:

1. What's your minimum balance?
2. What type of rewards interest you? Cash, Merchandise, or Travel?
3. Do you need a bank in your city of residence?

Start with Citibank, US Bank, Bank of America, Chase, and WellsFargo. Determine which banks fit your criteria above. Pick the best bank for you. My personal recommendation is Citibank as a starting point.

When people post an unconstrained question like this, it's usually because they haven't done the research to know that "best" is a function of X, Y, and Z. So, by not specifying X, Y, and Z, they're indirectly asking for help understanding that too! : )

For example, from my research, I happen to know that the best rewards credit card (measured in the dollar value of the annual reward) for a person is largely a function of their spending profile -- specifically, how much they spend per month in various rewards spending categories like gas, grocery stores, drug stores, restaurants, office supply stores, home improvement, travel, etc. Additionally, for the frequent flier, the best credit card is also a function of how many miles one flies, one which airlines, the kinds of flights on which they'll redeem their miles/points, etc.

I haven't researched debit card rewards programs, so I don't know what the inputs are to the "best debit card for me" calculator. From what y'all know, what are the most important inputs?

I dont think anyone going to find any debit cards that even come close to credit cards rewards.

Citibank AA debit cards is 1 mile per $2 dollar spent on premium version.
Citibank free "Thank you" debit card is between 2-3 dollars per point depending if you use the card as debit or credit card.

U.S. Bank, Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Key Bank rewards debit cards all fell into one of the above 2 reward structure depending if they are giving you airline miles rewards or there own program.

The exception to the above rule would be BOA "Keep The Change" which can be very worthwhile for the first 90 days as they match 100% the change. This reward is only good for small purchases too because for purchases of $20 a 5% cash back bonus at supermarkets would beat this debit card even. But for small $1-2 pruchases nothing comes close while durning the 90 day match period.

Echoing the other replies to your post. The frequent posters in this forum are VERY helpful, but you need to give them some more information so they can help you.

For example, do you want cash rewards? Mileage rewards? Are hotels more important than airlines?

I'm sure if you can clarify your needs, someone will come to your rescue.

This one is a bit more complicated because there are other factors related to getting the account, e.g. location of the bank, annual fees for the card, bank account fees, etc.

For example, if you have $6k at Citibank you can earn up to 800 automatic points per month + debit card spending. If you go below $6k you pay a fee.

If you have $100k at Citibank you can earn up to 1200 automatic points per month + debit card spending.

citi aa debit
 

just for the info, the platinum version of this card is 1 point for every dollar spent...so therefore is u spend over $1600 a month this might be a better option than thank you

anyone have any knowledge about daul enrollment...perhaps the idea of having the aa debit card but being enrolled in thank you rewards to collect the free points based on how many accounts you have

Hi Greg...Your checking account must be enrolled in Citi ThankYou Rewards OR AA Rewards.

I had the premium AA Debit Card for a couple of years. However, I very rarely use a debit card for purchases. Therefore, the automatic TY points worked out better for me.

Being in the industry that I am in, I know a lot about what can go wrong with a debit card. I have many debit cards and they are all in the same place, a safe from the day they are received, never to be removed again. I have some ATM cards that I do carry for cash access at an ATM. Of course the only ATM card one needs is a Compass Bank ATM as it has absolutely no fees, rebates all ATM charges anywhere in the world and the checking account is totally free and comes with free checks for life. An ATM is an ok card to have but the debit card is only for people who cannot get a credit card IMHO. So if you want a debit card, there are three options:
1. Compass Bank (free everywhere and free checks for life)
2. Citibank (Thank you points so you do not have fees)
3. Airline Debit Card (just for the person who wants airline rewards and cannot get a credit card, just choose the program)

The only debit card that I carry now is my Fidelity AMEX Platinum. I carry a Citibank Debit Card in my briefcase. The rest are at home. I do not like to have other debit cards on me. If I am traveling and something goes wrong, I can get cash through the hotel or a bank.

I would prefer to use a credit card because of the enhanced purchase protection.

Debit cards are financial suicide. They lack any decent consumer protections. I've never heard any plausible reason for using one over credit cards.

Got one, when a merchant doesnt take credit? Never say never.

Ken in Phx

I really like the rewards on my Morgan Stanley debit card:
http://www.morganstanleyindividual.c...ts/msdmscc/cr/

It also has a feature called "delayed debit" which acts like a credit card, leaving the money in the account until the end of the month, then pays itself off.