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Capital One SmartCents Review

Article Submitted by: Sam Cass
Savings - Checking - CDs


Capital One's new SmartCents checking account facilitates savings based on debit card usage. The account also matches savings and provides bonuses based on certain behaviors - direct deposit, online bill payment.

 

Submitted: Sep 24, 2009    Views: 251    Comments: 0    Likes: 1   


Capital One's new SmartCents checking account facilitates savings based on debit card usage. The account also matches savings and provides bonuses based on certain behaviors - direct deposit, online bill payment.

Here are the features of the account:

  • Free checking—no monthly maintenance or activity fees,
    and no minimum balance required.
  • Save automatically. Every time you make a debit card purchase
    or pay a bill online, Capital One will transfer 50¢ of your money from your
    SmartCents checking account to your linked savings account.
  • Get matching contributions—Capital One matches 100% of your eligible
    SmartCents transfers for the first three months, then 5% after that.
  • Get an extra $30 easily—$15 for your first direct deposit and
    $15 for your first online bill payment.

In addition to opening the checking account, you will also have to open a Capital One savings account. The savings account is also free with no minimum balance.

This isn't really a rewards checking account but more like a transactional savings account.  It's similar to Bank of America's Keep the Change program in which debit card purchases are rounded up and the difference placed into the purchaser's savings account.

Is this a good deal? Seems okay to me. They'll match 100% for three months and then 5% after that. If you're a high debit card user then you can earn a 5% return on your money by being in the program. Capital One's savings rate also pays a respectable return of 1.6% APY (as of 9/24/2009). That's not terrible according go the Top 30 Best Savings Rates table. If you get the Capital One/Costco account then the savings rate goes up to 1.75% APY (as of 9/24/2009).

So a decent rate combined with a 100% and 5% bonus to put money into the account and an extra $30 for setting up direct deposit and bill pay seems like a pretty good deal.


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