04 Apr 2012

The Author

Dan O'Malley

Chief Executive Officer

 

Dan believes banking needs change. Sustainable change. As an executive in the banking and credit card industries, Dan realized that financial services suffer from some serious incentive problems. Earning rewards for using a credit card encourages you to — surprise — use your credit card too much. And building big, expensive bank branches encourages under-investment in phone and internet customer service. Dan believes that organizations that create the right incentives can change industries for the better, even ones with as much need for help as banking. That’s why he founded PerkStreet.

Before PerkStreet, Dan co-founded Capital One’s Payments division, where he created the industry-changing decoupled debit card and launched the company’s prepaid business. Dan loves launching breakout new strategies, which he did in Capital One’s corporate strategy team and at Oliver Wyman, one of the world’s largest management consultancies. He also loves math (even if that makes him a dork), with a background in quantitative analysis and a BSE in Operations Research from Princeton University. Other loves? Baseball, cooking, and lightly roasted African coffees.

 

Photo by Bryce Vickmark Photography

PerkStreet’s Perks & Our Commitment to You
PerkStreet's Perks and Our Commitment to You

Today we’re rolling out the new perks program we announced a month ago. While change is never easy, we needed to adapt our perks program to maintain a sustainable business through a tough economic environment. It was tough to tell some of our longtime, loyal customers that they’re going to earn less. And we know it was tough to hear. We apologize for it.

The Changes (A Refresher)

We knew we would have to reduce value for some of you but we challenged ourselves to add value for most of you. We spent months with the data and found a way for 90% of you to earn more. Here’s a quick summary:


To recap, that’s:

  • Unlimited 1% cash back for non-PIN purchases
  • 2% for online purchases at some of your favorite retailers
  • 2% for in-store purchases at those retailers when your balance is above $5,000
  • 2% cash back when you and a friend both pay with your PerkStreet cards together at the same restaurant, bar, or coffee shop
  • 5% PowerPerks at places you choose every month
  • You can read “The Details” below to understand some of the fine print

 

Customers who opened an account prior to March 5th, 2012, will also continue to get the full 90-day unlimited 2% cash back sign up offer.

More Ways to Redeem Your Perks

The rising cost of MasterCard® Gift Cards was challenging the amount of cash back we could give since we don’t get a discount on them, unlike our retailer cards. But we know where our customers shop and we we’ve been able to expand the program to include many of these merchants. This allows us to keep giving the most back.

We’re nearly doubling the number of gift cards we offer. You’ll be able to redeem your perks at over 35,000 locations, including new options like Walmart, Applebee’s®, Sears®, Macy’s, and T.J. Maxx® — we’ll be adding more in the coming months too. Many of these options will be available electronically, which means you can access your perks even faster.

PerkStreet New Redemption Options
We know not all of our customers shop at these merchants, and you may want to preserve the flexibility to spend anywhere. We created an option that allows you to redeem perks directly into your account. For every $22 in perks you redeem, we’ll deposit a $20 account credit into your account. Why the difference of 2 perks? We get a discount when we buy gift cards. Without it, we’re not able to give customers as good of a deal on account credits.

Finally, many of you have asked to be able to see your per-transaction perks earning. So for all future transactions, the number of perks you earn will be visible in the “My Perks” section of MyPerkStreet.com. This will mean being able to see when and where you earned bonus perks after rewards are processed.

We set out to create a different type of institution, one where you have the ability to talk directly with the people and leaders inside the company. We appreciate that as a customer, you’re entrusting us with your money. We will continue to work to earn your trust every day and remain committed to helping people earn the most cash back for spending their own money.

The Details:

  • Redeeming for account credits has the effect of reducing your cash back rate. Remember you can always redeem your perks for retailer gift cards for no additional perks.
  • Like PowerPerks, there’s a limit of $5,000 in purchases per year that can earn 2% — $2,500 for online purchases and $2,500 for offline purchases.
  • As always, purchases of cash and cash equivalents are excluded from earning perks. This will now include transfers made via PayPal or Venmo, as well as state and federal tax payments.

174 Comments
  • Braheem Hazeem

    I do not like the fact you took the Master Card Perk redemption option away and now you charge $2 per $22 to transfer my Perks to my checking account.  BAD!!!

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Hey PerkStreeters, 
    It’s Kyle, the Editor of The PerkStreet Blog. I’m here to answer any questions you might have about the changes taking place. Even though we’re online-only, PerkStreet prides itself in making real people available to you, our incredible customers and community. If you’re confused about anything, please comment and I’ll do my best to clear up your confusion. 

    -Kyle

    Kyle Psaty
    PerkStreet Financial 

  • Jeremy

    When do you plan on creating a savings account? Mobile deposits? Mobile app? I opened for the perks but have been waiting a while for the other features other banks offer

  • http://www.JWesCampbell.com/ Wes Campbell

    I too would like a mobile app. Mobile deposits would be nice, but dealing with a small institution like this, it’s a stretch.

  • http://www.JWesCampbell.com/ Wes Campbell

    I too would like a mobile app. Mobile deposits would be nice, but dealing with a small institution like this, it’s a stretch.

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Hey Braheem, 
    Sorry to disappoint you with this. We definitely loved offering it, and many of us in the office certainly redeemed for it. But the cost to purchase and activate those cards in particular became unsustainable for our business. We are able to offer such a competative debit rewards program because we are able to procure the other gift cards and gift codes at a bulk-rate discount. With the non-branded cards, this just wasn’t  possible. 

    Hope this helps, 

    -Kyle

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Hey Braheem, 
    Sorry to disappoint you with this. We definitely loved offering it, and many of us in the office certainly redeemed for it. But the cost to purchase and activate those cards in particular became unsustainable for our business. We are able to offer such a competative debit rewards program because we are able to procure the other gift cards and gift codes at a bulk-rate discount. With the non-branded cards, this just wasn’t  possible. 

    Hope this helps, 

    -Kyle

  • Jimbojake

    Me either perk street has made things too complicated the appeal was a straight 2% cash back on everything no gimmicks
    Gift cards are a sucker play most gift cards are never used up they get thrown in a drawer and fees eat the balence up merchants who issue them know this I personally like to choose where I spend my money

  • Jimbojake

    Me either perk street has made things too complicated the appeal was a straight 2% cash back on everything no gimmicks
    Gift cards are a sucker play most gift cards are never used up they get thrown in a drawer and fees eat the balence up merchants who issue them know this I personally like to choose where I spend my money

  • Kathleen

    When will we get the option to deposit checks via computer? It takes forever to send in a check for deposits. I would sure love some better options.

  • Tammy

    I am still very happy that you continue to offer the amazon gift card option but why did you raise the dollar amounts for redemption so high now?

  • bettafan

    I agree with Jeremy – when will you offer Savings accounts and Mobile deposits???

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Wes and Jeremy, 
    We are working on rolling out savings and mobile. In the meantime, we’re encouraging folks to use their browsers to check account balances, make transactions and do everything you could do from your computer by way of your phone. Here’s a video we’ve made to help you get a quick link onto your iPhone home screen: http://www.perkstreet.com/answer.aspx?questionID=96

    -Kyle

  • Braheem Hazeem

    Kyle, it is WRONG to charge us $2 to redeem $22!!!!  Plus you advertise 2% Perks, but the average person can not keep the kind of deposit you require.   Now you are taking part of our 1% to to redeem our own money.   NOT GOOD!!  FIX IT!!!

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Good question, Kathleen. This deposit method requires the same kind of back end functionality that will power mobile remote deposit when that’s ready. We’re currently working to complete this software and add it to our offering, though we don’t have a timeline for roll-out currently. I can tell you personally that improving our depositing options is important to everyone at PerkStreet. We hope to have it to you soon. 

    -Kyle

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Hey bettafan, 
    Please see my below response to create a shortcut on your iPhone for mobile login. We’re working to get these two features to you as soon as we can, though we don’t have a timeline for releasing either. Thanks much for your question. 

    -Kyle

  • Lauren

    I’m just hoping you will do the opposite when the economy turns around

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Thanks Braheem, 
    I’m sure this is confusing at first glance and we want to be clear about why redeeming for 22 perks yields a $20 account credit. It’s no secret that PerkStreet boosts our ability to offer awesome rewards by issuing a lot of those rewards in the form of gift cards. We are able to procure the gift cards in bulk at a discount, paying about 90% of the face value for them. In order to be able to offer the account credit to everyone without it cannibalizing our business, we had to reduce the cash value of the redemption at a similar ratio. I hope this makes sense. The other redemption options are issued at a direct ratio (1 perk : 1 dollar cash). 

    -Kyle

  • bridgedet

    I’m probably missing something, but where can I see the monthly PowerPerks list?  I found that really appealing when I signed on, but in reality, I never seem to know how to get them (beyond the first month, when I think I got an email stating that month’s PowerPerks).

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Thanks Tammy, 
    As we looked to add more places where you can redeem, we realized that the cost of maintaining an inventory of rewards options at so many different dollar amounts was becoming operationally complex and costing us money. We had to make the tough decision to offer more places to redeem while reducing the number of redemption values at places like Amazon. Sorry if this change is a disappointment, but we hope the added variety helps.

    -Kyle

  • Jodi

    I am able to redeem $20 in rewards per month roughly and I’m just an average user with less than a $5000 balance most of the time. Where else can you get rewards like that?? I for one am loving Perkstreet and though there can be improvements, as with any company, I am excited to see what comes next! Thanks Perkstreet!

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Hey Bridgedet, 
    We share PowerPerks each month here on the blog and on a special tab on our facebook page. We also include the current PowerPerks in the regular Perks Updates you get from us in email about how much you’ve earned. Also, here’s a link where you can check for the newest PowerPerks anytime. (You’ll notice we also host monthly polls there where our customers vote to elect the next month’s PowerPerks.) Here’s the link:
    http://blog.perkstreet.com/category/perkstreet/deals/

    FYI you can ask questions like this anytime here on the blog or at facebook.com/perkstreet. We are here to help with stuff like this every day. 

    -Kyle

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Thanks Lauren. We are hoping to make some announcements that should make PerkStreet better for you way before that! But thanks for sticking it out with us and waiting through the tough times. Your loyalty is absolutely appreciated. -Kyle

  • Zeta

    It is $2.00.  If you are earning points at 1% of purchases, you had to spend $2,200 to get $22 in rewards.  If you “lose” $2.00 in redeeming them, I don’t see the tragedy here.  Is your life so perfect that this rises to a concern for you?  Were you depending on that $2.00 to prevent falling off the edge toward financial ruin?  If that is the case, you can still get gift cards.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1457707073 Jessica Schlenker

    So … if you don’t shop at Walmart, Best Buy, Target, or Apple stores frequently, there’s no point in keeping $5k in the checking account, because you aren’t going to get 2% back? Am I reading that right?

  • Schaeffer20

    Still sounds like a good deal to me!  I buy quite a bit on Amazon and shop at Walmart about once a week. I enjoyed the freedom of the Debit Card but half the time I was using it at Walmart or Amazon anyway as “fun money”. No Big Deal!

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    That’s correct, Jessica. If you have a $5K starting balance, you automatically unlock 2% at the retailers you mentioned. But if you don’t shop at those places, the incentive may not be there for you. Regardless of balance, you will still be earning 2% cash back at Walmart.com, BestBuy.com, Target.com, Apple.com, iTunes.com and Amazon.com. I hope this helps clarify the changes. 

    -Kyle

  • Jamiekaufmann2

    Well shoot, I just caught on to all of this.  Good news is I no longer have to worry about the $5000 balance which I was trying to do.  And if it’s going back to 1%, then I guess I can just go back to using my Discover.  And Discover gives 5% on Amazon I do believe.  I feel like I jumped through a lot of hoops to get my PerkStreet account up and rolling and I was just now enjoying the benefits.  I understand it’s bad times, but I don’t see how PerkStreet is any different than the other guys now.  :(   If they decide to turn it around later, I will come back and jump the hoops again.

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Thanks Jodi. We are aiming to continue to impress you with regular improvements. Although our business certainly isn’t perfect for everyone right now, we hope to continue to close the gap. I don’t think we’ll ever be satisfied with the amount of rewards nor the quality of our customer service. We exist to serve you and reward you better. Thanks for the support and thanks for sticking with us. Your loyalty means a lot. 

    -Kyle

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Thanks Zeta, 
    Like our customers, we wish it were $0 and not $2, but we’re glad you can see the tradeoff here. Thanks for speaking up in this forum. If you have any questions, I’m here to help!

    -Kyle

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    I totally understand, Jimbojake. This is certainly not perfect for everyone. With that in mind, however, I want you to know that we’re committed to finding more ways to give our customers more rewards, as well as finding new and unique ways to drive non-cash value into your experience with us. We will also continue to seek out new redemption options to increase your ability to choose where you spend your perks at full face value. Please let me know if you have any questions. I’m here to help. 

    -Kyle

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    We’re glad to know you’re glad, Schaeffer20! Hopefully these improvements in your cash back earning will make it easier to use your PerkStreet card more frequently and encourage you to use it other places as well. Remember, the earning rate is still 1% cash back at all the other places you can use your PerkStreet debit card as “credit.”

    -Kyle

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Awe sorry Jamie! We don’t like to think our customers have to jump through hoops to join PerkStreet. We definitely understand that this change is disappointing to you. We emailed all our customers a month ago to let them know this was coming, and we definitely wanted to give you a heads up about all this. Sorry if it feels like we’ve sprung it on you. That was certainly not our intention. I hope you can continue to see the value of earning cash back rewards on debit and can find a way to make PerkStreet part of your regular spending. We’d love to keep rewarding you and value your business! If you have any questions about the changes, I’m here to help. 

    -Kyle

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1457707073 Jessica Schlenker

    Well. I shop at Walmart about once every three months, Target maybe once a year, and the other two not at all because I’m not an Apple girl, and Best Buy is overpriced on most goods. Amazon.com gets my business often, but I try to stay below what I have in gift cards.  If the Paypal part is also going to be screwed up, instead of just researching local credit unions, I’ll definitely be switching my account over. Pity. Elsewise, I’ve liked PerkStreet, but with all things being equal (which this definitely makes it equal or in their favor, not yours) … The local credit union is probably a better option for me.

  • Matt K.

    I earned hundreds of dollars in Perks that I was saving to spend via Mastercard on our upcoming summer vacation. Am I to understand that I can no longer redeem these Perks for a pre-paid Master card like I had planned?

  • guest

    What is the 5% category for April?

  • Matt K.

    I completely agree with Jamie’s sentiments. It felt like a lot more hoops to jump through than a normal bank and now that I’ve racked up the perks, the rules change and I don’t get to spend them how I planned. LAME. I get 40-60 emails a day and don’t have time to read all of them. I got caught on this one. I don’t see any advantage to staying on with Perkstreet now. Local is always better than far away when the rewards are equal.

  • Steve

    How long does it take for the email code to arrive? I redeemed some perks this morning and am still waiting for the code (almost 3 hours later).

  • Djlee72559

    I can live with the new program even though I don’t like it. But what upsets me is the fee for cash into my account. I have several hunded dollars in my account to use for a specific purchase and now it will cost $10 for every $100 converted when it actually costs you nothing to place it in my account.

  • Anonymous

    When are we able to split our money in our account into separate sub-accounts so we can budget using our checking and when will you be introducing a savings account? Thanks for all you do, even though I was a little disappointed because I was going to hit 5K this month because we are now debt free, I am still sticking around because I like the way you run your business and keep us informed.

  • Becky T

    The ONLY reason I opened this account was for the 2% perks.  Now that they are very limited, I will be closing my account.

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    That is correct, Matt, and I’m sorry we’ve interrupted your plans. You can, however, redeem those perks for a statement credit that will go directly into your account. I’m sure we’ve let you down with this, but if you have other questions, please ask so I can try to be of more help. 

    -Kyle

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Ace Hardware and Groupon were both elected in last month’s poll. Here’s a link to the new PowerPerks announcement: http://blog.perkstreet.com/shower-yourself-in-bonus-cash-back-with-april-powerperks/

    -Kyle

  • Neo

    Can the Amazon gift code be forwarded to a friend?

  • Heather

     I jumped through some hoops trying to open this account and move money over from my other accounts (between online transfers and sending checks via UPS) just to get my $5k balance only to enjoy the 2% deal for a couple months. But even if I found Perkstreet today, with the 1% deal, I’d still convert. Paying me $10-$15 a month to do my normal business is more than my local credit union was giving me for my savings account, and my local credit union does NOT have good customer service, whereas I get a real person with Perkstreet quickly.  I can also stay away from credit cards, which makes Uncle Dave proud.  If clients can legitimately get a better deal for themselves with another bank based on their needs and habits, then more power to them! But if people only jump ship because they want to pout, then I say get over yourselves. I think sometimes as a society we get so caught up on the “free stuff”
    offered that we get this sense of entitlement and lose perspective.

    I’m with Jodi, looking forward to mobile deposits, an iPhone app, and a savings account!

  • Digitaldiva

     My code usually takes 1-2 business days, as described on the site.

  • Alan

    So the 2% was why I switched to Perkstreet 6 months ago and now they’re stripping that away….

    They limit the money I can transfer out of my account via online transfers… They never stated these limits up front. This has severally handicapped access to my money.

    I guess I need to start looking for another banking option yet again…

  • Alan

    You said you were working on those features last year…. Why not give us TANGIBLE information?

  • Braheem Hazeem

     This is wrong!! 

    Let me be clear I love my Perks card,but taking away the Master Card feature is simply a bad decision and needs to be reversed, or DO NOT charge us 10% to redeem our own money!!

  • Alan

    Ughhhh… You’re right. What’s the advantage to “Perks”street when the “Perks” really aren’t better than what I can get at a local bank. I’m fine with putting up with the lack of face to face interaction and not having access to all of my money at once due to being an online bank because of the perks, but the perks are certainly disappearing…. Why stay now?

  • http://twitter.com/IamEricT Eric T

    Thank you. The Netflix CEO could learn a thing or two from you about how to honestly communicate with customers regarding changes in service. Kudos.

  • Jeannot

    An outstanding rewards program has been turned into a mediocre mess, full of arbitrary restrictions. The old customers should have been grandfathered in, or given a longer period to clean up after yourselves and go. I’ll be switching direct deposit right away and consume the balance swiftly.

  • RobW

    This is really disappointing.  The entire reason I moved my account to PerkStreet was the 2% cash back.  I always make sure my balance is over the $5K.  It was simple and easy.  I’m likely going to be leaving for better options soon.

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Thanks Steve. Gift code redemptions typically arrive within 1-2 business days. Hope this helps. 

    -Kyle

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Thanks Steve. Gift code redemptions typically arrive within 1-2 business days. Hope this helps. 

    -Kyle

  • Sethklampman

    Why have you gotten rid of the lower denominations for Amazon gift cards?  

  • Sethklampman

    Why have you gotten rid of the lower denominations for Amazon gift cards?  

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Thanks Djlee. We know the reasoning behind this could be confusing. PerkStreet is able to offer awesome debit rewards because we issue a lot of those rewards in the form of gift cards. We are able to get the gift cards in bulk at a discount, paying less than 100% of the face value for them. In order to be able to offer the account credit to everyone without it cannibalizing our business, we had to reduce the cash value of the redemption at a similar ratio. I hope this makes sense. So you’re clear, redeeming for gift cards still means getting $1 for every 1 perk. Hope this is helpful.

    -Kyle

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Thanks Djlee. We know the reasoning behind this could be confusing. PerkStreet is able to offer awesome debit rewards because we issue a lot of those rewards in the form of gift cards. We are able to get the gift cards in bulk at a discount, paying less than 100% of the face value for them. In order to be able to offer the account credit to everyone without it cannibalizing our business, we had to reduce the cash value of the redemption at a similar ratio. I hope this makes sense. So you’re clear, redeeming for gift cards still means getting $1 for every 1 perk. Hope this is helpful.

    -Kyle

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Thanks for sticking by us, jbwolves. We appreciate your business and respect you as a customer. I can say that I personally have a meeting this afternoon about our new digital envelopes budgeting free beta launch, which we are trying to get into your hands as soon as possible. Keep an eye on the blog for your chance to sign up for this new integrated budgeting product. The savings account is something we’re also working on, though we don’t have a timeline for it. 

    -Kyle

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Sorry to hear that Becky. We’re committed to treating you well and respecting your business as long as you remain a customer. That said, we want what’s best for our customers no matter what. If you do move on, we’ll be sorry to see you go and we’ll miss your business. Our company is all about helping people live better financial lives, and if we’re not the best place for you to do that, we need to keep working on it. But we certainly would not hold any hard feelings about our inability to live up to your needs and expectations. I hope you’ll consider the value of the unlimited cash back on debit that we offer before moving on.

    -Kyle

  • Tim

    Im confused about the Paypal part. Are yall saying payments made using Paypal do not earn perks, or just money transfers? I purchase everything online with Paypal, and some monthly subscriptions have to be set up for payment with Paypal.

  • Forget THis

    There is no reason to stay now.. I’ll be leaving and I suggest you do the same.  Why put up with the major inconvenience of an online only bank only to almost nothing in return???

  • Bobby

    Definitely a big switcheroo from when i signed up last fall.  Nothing different or special here.  No reason to stay and no reason for Dave Ramsey to recommend.  Thanks for manning up though Kyle.

  • Whatever

     Pff, what do you two work for perk street?  You don’t get 1% back here, you get .9% now with the $2 charge… Might as well go with fidelity or chase or  any of the other REAL companies that offer 1, 1.5 and even 2% back and DONT GIVE YOU THE BAIT AND SWITCH

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Absolutely, Neo. We know a lot of our customers like to gift their perks to friends and family. Forwarding the code to a friend should allow them to redeem that code through their own Amazon login. Of course, the codes can only be used once, but we don’t care who uses it!

    -Kyle

  • Goodbye

    By charging $2 your effective cash back rate goes to 0.9% thats a loooong way from the 2% WE WERE ALL PROMISED

  • Lame

     Me too, I bill many tens of thousands of transactions a year and I came here to get 2% of that back NOT 0.9%!  I thought I had found the perfect bank, guess not.

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Hey Alan, 
    We’re definitely sorry to be disappointing you with this news, and are doubly upset that you only found out about it today — a month after we made the public announcement. Apologies aside, if you’re struggling to move money effectively between your PerkStreet account and other accounts, you should know that PerkStreet’s transfer limits are designed for our security and yours, and that we have no limits on transfers initiated from external accounts. In other words, if you’re hitting your limits at myperkstreet.com, then those limits will increase over time. In the meantime, you can log in to your other bank’s website and either push or pull money into (or out of) your PerkStreet account with no limit and no charge on our end. Hope this helps. We definitely don’t want you out there frustrated with your experience when there are ways to avoid that frustration. 

    -Kyle

  • Exactly

     Exactly, all the other banks and cards offer 5% in certain categories and at certain stores.  Of course these other banks also capped your earnings, I came here to avoid all that and get a great %2 flat rate on all my purchases.  Now this bank is just selling a useless gimmick like everyone else.

  • No way

     I know, this bank is barely worth the hassle for 2% for 0.9% NO WAY

  • Useless

     Who cares?? Who has time to chase the few dollars your going to get back from those categories?  How much money does the avergae person spend at ACE and Groupon in a month??

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Hey Alan, 
    We have been working on these features for some time; you’re right. But due to the complexities of developing mobile for banking (which I can tell you from experience are a whole lot different than building mobile for other applications), as well as the security and risk concerns we must tackle, the mobile app has been delayed. We are frustrated with this fact. We want mobile ourselves, and we REALLY want to be able to tell you it’s ready. But it’s not. And it wouldn’t be fair to set your expectations without knowing we would meet them. Due to a tough rate environment, creating a savings account that we can be proud of has also proved challenging. These things are coming. And when they arrive, they will be good. But until they meet our expectations we don’t want to set yours unfairly. I hope this makes sense. 

    -Kyle

  • Sd1021

    Hi Kyle- I used the UPS delivery for the first time last week, most of the time my checks are direct deposit, but why does it sit on hold for 5 days?? ( the check was over 5k). My other banks deposit next day.

    I was impressed with the quick delivery and post, but the completion is very delayed.

  • http://www.realscottsdaleliving.com Jon Griffith

    Yeah.  Chase.  That’s a company I’d want to do business with.  Are you serious?

  • Irene

    Kyle, I see the Walmart card available for $100. Are there lower value cards for that store that are just out of stock?

  • Pff

    You sound like a shill.. no big deal?  2% at a few locations with a cap on your earnings and a 10% charge to redeem your perks instead of 2% cash back everywhere WHICH IS WHY MOST OF SIGNED UP sounds GOOD TO YOU????

    Maybe you should see if you can get your perks in monopoly money since you seem to like “fun money” so much

  • Question

    Does “iTunes” mean I can get perks back on purchasing stuff through iTunes? (Music, Apps, etc)

    I too am slightly disappointed with these changes, however I understand why they were made. It is also quite disappointing to see the Mastercard go away, especially since it takes $100 in perks to get a Wal * Mart card.

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Thanks much, Eric. I cannot tell you how nice it is to read this comment. I’m sure our CEO, Dan, is also happy to see your response here. We do what we can to learn from our own mistakes and those of others. While we’re certainly not perfect, we’re committed to delivering an experience to you that’s as close to perfect as we can make it every step of the way. Call it “Perkfect!”

    Thanks again, 
    -Kyle

  • http://www.realscottsdaleliving.com Jon Griffith

    “the average person…”  

    The average person is broke because they’re too concerned with rewards and less concerned with hard work and saving for their future.  If you were disciplined enough to even save 2% of your cash back you would have to spend $250,000 to save $5,000.  How long would that take?  And would you really save your rewards?  Not likely…if you’re “the average person.”  I hardly think $20 per $1000 spent is going to make you rich.

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Good question, Seth. Rolling out all these new places where you can redeem would have  strained our ability to deliver the rewards cheaply and quickly from an operational standpoint if we didn’t simultaneously eliminate some of the different denominations. It’s really a question of total inventory of gift cards and gift codes. In order to keep things running smoothly, we opted to eliminate some of the denominations and offer more redemption places. I hope this helps. 

    -Kyle 

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Thanks Tim. We definitely understand that a lot of people like using PayPal. Personally, I like it and was bummed about this change. But since every payment on PayPal is technically a transfer of funds, unfortunately it is possible for folks to effectively pay themselves on PayPal, earning rewards without spending money. By cycling lots of money through PayPal, people could earn tons of cash from PerkStreet dishonestly. I am certainly not accusing you of doing this, but because it’s possible, we have no choice but to cut PayPal out of our rewards-earning purchases. Sorry for this let down. Please let me know if you have other questions about this. 

    -Kyle

  • Heather

    I don’t see your need to attack someone for staying because PerkStreet still goes above and beyond what THEY need.  If this isn’t enough for you, then there’s nothing wrong with that, you have that freedom to find what does. Just like any of us do. But there are some of us who find this to still be above and beyond what we need, and there’s nothing wrong with that either. If you don’t want to stay, then don’t. But please don’t attack others for having a different lifestyle than you. It only reduces the credibility in any argument you make. The company changed their strategy to please 90% of clients, and the other 10% are the ones affected and therefore the loudest on this blog. And no, I don’t work for PerkStreet.

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Sorry we’ve let you down here, Bobby. And thanks for the props, personally.

    -Kyle

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Hey Exactly, 
    I should note here that PerkStreet offers 5% in categories chosen by our customers every month. Our 1% cash back earning rate still has no cap. I am in no way trying to argue with you, but even while you’re upset I feel compelled to make sure you understand what you are getting from PerkStreet. I hope this helps. If you have specific questions, I’m here for you. 

    -Kyle

  • hillbarbie

    The economy has caused things to change, this I understand!!!   I am sticking with you Perkstreet, getting paid for what you spend works for me!!!

  • Jamie Foley

    Kyle,

    Thank you so much for your fast, straightforward, and patient answers. The customer service you are providing here is second to none, and I thank you for it!

    I, for one, will not be cancelling my account because of these changes. I love that I can still get 1% on my debit card and not have to mess with paying a credit card bill each month.

    I hope that these changes don’t hurt Perkstreet too badly, and that you will be able to recover and thrive in the future.

    Thanks for all you do!

  • http://www.facebook.com/larry.barwick Larry G Barwick Jr.

    Hey Kyle & Friends at Perkstreet- I worked for over ten years in the financial services market designing and building things like mobile banking, web-based incentive programs, and many of the other great options Perkstreet current offers or is working to offer in the future. I just want to say “Thank-you” for your candid answers and your commitment to “get it right” prior to launch. 
    So many of the comments I’ve read here are fueled by self-centered views and lack any regard for the fact that Perkstreet has to be able to stay in business to provide us, the customer, any benefits at all. I appreciate all that you do, the benefits you offer (that far exceed any other institution I’ve found), and your method of communicating the truth about what’s going on at “our” bank. 

    Keep up the good work! 

  • ozarkmtmom

    I really did like the simplicity of just using the card and earning 2%perks, with out all the marketing. Thanks for the few months of 2% perk earnings It was great!

  • Matt K.

    I agree it was bait and switch. The economy was in the toilet worse than it is now when they started this promotion. Seems like they made a 2% cashback promise to get us in the door and now that they have built a large enough client base they are changing the rules for the sake of greater profit. Surely they ran the numbers at 2% when they put this business plan together. I don’t believe for a second they are just now figuring out that they can’t keep delivering on the 2% cashback.   

  • http://www.facebook.com/djeshelman DJ Eshelman

    I really appreciate your candidness here, truly.  However I have to wonder if I now have any benefit to continuing with you.

    I have a somewhat unique case in that I am a consultant and use the card for travel.  At first I thought the benefit of not having to deal with credit cards, fees or whatever would be beneficial, and I was ‘earning’ 2%, which in the past 8 months has gotten me $1000 or so to spend at Amazon.  So, something for nothing, right?  Well… no.
    See, I funnel more than $2000 every week thru this account, which means I either have to mail in checks (makes me nervous) or deal with the very frustrating UPS Store process every time I make a deposit.  The ‘transfer’ option is a joke, frankly. I usually spend more in a week than I’m allowed to transfer.
    My Chase account allows me to make deposits at the ATM, or use an Android app; but their reward system only works with their credit cards.

    I will not say anything about the cash back situation because frankly I accept your explanation, however, I would caution the further use of marketing at 2% or saying “cash back” as it approaches big-bank levels of dishonesty.

    I want to stay with you guys, but seriously- at this point, I’m having trouble justifying the additional effort I must go thru to now only get 1% (or .9% if I consider ‘cash’ the viable option).

    I understand why you met in the middle, but what if you had a premium option of some sort- for example, 2% for a balance of $6000 or maybe 3% for a balance of $10,000?

  • Dennis L.

    While the banks are charging their customers to use their debit cards and require direct deposit or keep a minimum balance I think PerkStreet still is the best way to go!

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Exactly. Starting today, all customers making iTunes purchases like music and apps will earn 2% cash back on those purchases. Sorry we’ve disappointed you with the other changes, however. Please let me know if you have any other questions. 

    -Kyle

  • ING_Guy

     Kyle, you never answered Jessica on the part about PayPal.  Please clarify that for us.

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Thanks Irene. Unfortunately, no, Walmart card redemptions begin at a $100 redemption value. They are not out of stock. 

    -Kyle

  • Naamamarom

     This is actually not true because of PayPal’s fee structure – each payment sent out carries a fee of 3.4% + 30 cent so they would actually be losing money.

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Thanks a bunch, Jamie. I’m proud to be here helping everyone transition on behalf of our company. Everyone here at PerkStreet answers email-based customer service questions submitted to help[at]perkstreet.com every week. (Even the developers, analysts and yes, the executives — who would never touch customer service at many of our competitors.) At PerkStreet, understanding and taking care of our customers is something we are ALL passionate about. I’m glad to read that you’ve noticed it :)

    -Kyle

  • Richard David Smith

     I still think Perkstreet is a good deal and recommend it to everyone I can.  I was using my bank debit card and getting nothing.  The Walmart.com and Amazon.com 2% will be a plus for me.  And Walmart offers lots of free ship to home on normal, everyday grocery and personal care items.  I get them there anyway. people should check it out – deliver to home at a Walmart price and save on gas too.
    I understand you are a business and need to make money.  No crime in that!  I still think Perkstreet is great.  The only suggestion is more choices for the Power perks – I haven’t found many that I use.  Thanks for a great service.
    For those of you that rent-lots of apartment complexes now offer online rent payments where you can use your debit card.  That adds up quick.  And for those that choose to use Discover – remember it’s a credit card, which isn’t a savings for you unless you diligently pay off the balance every 30 days before any interest kicks in.

    -Rick

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Larry, 
    Wow. I am blown away by this comment, but only because it’s not one I’ve seen often in our social channels. Internally, you can bet our devotion to our customers and to innovating as rapidly as possible is a major attracter of new talent into our ranks. There is a reason our Head of Customer Experience no longer trades derivatives, our COO no longer sells student loans, and our CEO no longer slings credit cards. These guys all left Big Banking on purpose. Even our VP of Banking Ops decided to join us from a community bank because she believes she can have a bigger positive impact here. If you’re ever interested in throwing your hat in the ring, email careers[at]perkstreet[dot]com. I can assure you we will always have a special place in our hearts for ‘reformed’ bankers.

    Thanks so much for taking the time to share what you know to be true in this forum. It means a lot to us. 

    -Kyle

  • Carolfiedor

    I like perkstreet. I joined cause I like the idea of the envelope system.  We all like to save money and have good deals but that isn’t always possible, sometimes there has to be changes made.  I am staying with perkstreet.  Thanks for all the hard work.

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Thanks Naamamarom, 
    While I’m not an expert on PayPal’s pricing model, I have heard from our risk and customer service teams that this is a serious concern for us and was something we had to do. Again, I love PayPal for its convenience, but if it was causing a potential leak in the pipeline that delivers tons of cash back to our customers then we felt we had to patch it up. Sorry I’m not more of an expert on the way PayPal works and don’t have a more specific answer for you. I’ll admit; this one’s a bit out of my league because of the PayPal nuance. 

    -Kyle

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Thanks Naamamarom, 
    While I’m not an expert on PayPal’s pricing model, I have heard from our risk and customer service teams that this is a serious concern for us and was something we had to do. Again, I love PayPal for its convenience, but if it was causing a potential leak in the pipeline that delivers tons of cash back to our customers then we felt we had to patch it up. Sorry I’m not more of an expert on the way PayPal works and don’t have a more specific answer for you. I’ll admit; this one’s a bit out of my league because of the PayPal nuance. 

    -Kyle

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    There are lots of people weighing in here, ING_Guy. I am answering questions in the order they are received and will get to everyone’s queries in time. Sorry I didn’t notice the original question. Thanks for your help spotting everything.

    Jessica is correct that PayPal transactions will no longer earn perks. 

    Since every payment on PayPal is technically a transfer of funds, it is possible for folks to effectively pay themselves on PayPal, earning rewards without spending money. By cycling lots of money through PayPal, people could earn tons of cash from PerkStreet dishonestly, by my understanding. I don’t know exactly how this kind of fraud is done, but I do know we had no choice but to cut PayPal out of our rewards-earning purchases. Sorry about that. 

    -Kyle

  • http://twitter.com/hawaii2000 mike swanson

    These changes don’t change how I feel about PerkStreet–still my favorite online bank. I do understand others upset over this. People are rarely happy when benefits are taken away or diminished. In the end though, PerkStreet still shines above the rest and I’m happy to remain a loyal customer.

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    DJ, 
    I really appreciate your taking the time to share your individual scenario so the rest of the community can benefit from the answer. (I’ll do my best to offer you the best advice I can here to continue that effort.)

    First of all, it sounds like the biggest issue you’re having with fully adopting PerkStreet has to do with difficulty depositing money into the account. There are lots of ways to get money into a PerkStreet account without hitting any limits. We wrote a whole blog post about that here: http://blog.perkstreet.com/how-to-deposit-money-quickly-and-easily-into-your-perkstreet-account/

    Direct deposits have no monthly limits and post the same day you’re paid, so that’s clearly the easiest. In your circumstance, as a consultant, that might not work for you. In your case, the easiest thing may be to transfer the money from another account’s online banking interface. I’m no expert on Chase and cannot speak for that company, but I would think you should be able to initiate a transfer to or from your PerkStreet account from within your Chase account after you verify with Chase that you own the PerkStreet account. PerkStreet does not limit transfers initiated by another bank, nor to we charge anything for those transfers. 

    PerkStreet’s transfer limits only apply to transfers initiated from within our online banking interface, and hitting those limits regularly will teach our automated system that this is a normal behavior for you, resulting in an automatic increase in the limit.

    Finally, to your question about why we didn’t simply raise the deposit limit to continue offering unlimited 2% cash back on all purchases, I can tell you we certainly debated that kind of change heavily. At the end of the day, however, I think we just felt that if 90% of our customers weren’t hitting our old $5K balance requirement, then raising the requirement just wouldn’t mean serving most people well. I hope this all makes sense. Thanks again. 

    -Kyle

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Good advice all around, Rick. Thanks for weighing in and helping folks. You’re making my job easier, and that means a lot. 

    -Kyle

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Thanks a bunch, Carol. We really appreciate your sticking by us and are looking forward to impressing you with our integrated envelope budgeting software as soon as possible. I have a meeting in 15 minutes about that very functionality, so you can expect to read about it on the blog in the next month or so. If we can launch it early, we will. 

    -Kyle

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Thank you, Mike. We exist to serve our customers well and we have a business goal to “fix banking forever.” With customers like you on our side, and the tenacity we have in our hearts to pursue this goal, I’m confident we’ll get there. Thanks so much for your support through the hiccups. 

    -Kyle

  • Leslie Dillman

    How do I find out who the merchants are each month that you can earn Power Perks for?

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Hey Leslie, 
    We always share them here on the blog around the start of the new month, and they’re also listed on a special tab of our Facebook Page. Additionally, they appear in the right side of your regular Perks Update emails. You can use this link moving forward to find the newest PowerPerks here on the blog. It gets updated every time we roll new ones out: http://blog.perkstreet.com/category/perkstreet/deals/

    -Kyle

  • Greg4byu

    Put me in the *extremely disappointed* camp.  I did not notice the changes until today.  I have $253 in perks, but if I get charged $2 per $20 then that means I really only have about $220 all of the sudden… unless I can figure out something to spend $253 at Walmart on.

    I too, have jumped through lots of hoops to get set up on Perkstreet and now I see no advantage in staying.

    Seems like bait and switch to offer 2% cash back and then a few months later change it to 1% with a $2 surcharge per $20.  Suddenly the 2% cash back that lured me to Perkstreet is in actuality only 0.9%

    Now I guess I’ll be jumping through hoops to get back to my local credit union!

  • Braheem Hazeem

     Greg, I am glad you jumped in.  Keep the heat on!!  I am not a bank hater, but this is why the average person hates banks.  There is NO reason for them to charge 10% to get our Perks.  Many folks saved up their Perks and Perkstreet changes the rules midstream.  AWFUL!!!!

  • CathyF7

    They’re not the only bank pushing out the mobile deposits… maybe it’s easier said than done!

  • Dave89

    I have to say, I am rather annoyed with the changes as well… The competitive edge that PerkStreet had was the 2% while $5,000+ was in the account. Now it’s only at 4 retailers that I get this offer? It makes PerkStreet worse than any other company. because PerkStreet is online only, and now the rewards are nearly the same as any other company.

    Bad move PerkStreet… Bad move.

  • Phwatk

    We opened an account on 3/6 and received and email on 3/13 that states 2% earned on purchases for the first 90 days… However I noticed the above statement “Customers who opened an account prior to March 5th, 2012, will also continue to get the full 90-day unlimited 2% cash back sign up offer.”  Do accounts opened after 3/5 continue to get the 90-day unlimited  2% as well?   Also, how do your customers vote on Bonus Merchants.
    Thanks

  • Tim

    This is extremely disspointing. could you get the risk department to put out something about this to explain it better. Im one of the people that had horrible time getting an account open with yall in the first place,but felt it worth it for the perks, now all these changes. not only are yall taking away my 2% on most physical purchases, your taking away the remaining 1% from my online payments as well. I dont plan on leaving because something is better than nothing, but this whole process from start till now is crazy.

  • Peter_SLC

    Like many others have said, I felt like I’ve had to jump through a lot of hoops to open an account here. Much more so, than any other bank I’ve done business with. Yea there is 2% some things still, but otherwise it is really just a 1% card. I have other 1% credit cards I can use that are less hassle. I’m thinking seriously about closing the account. I can maintain a min $5,000 balance, I’m really the type of customer you want. And not the type you want to drive away. 

  • hagebozu

    FWIW, I’m not happy about the $2 redemption charge for a $20 cash back.   But still, PerkStreet is a decent deal compared to Discover.   It’s a debit card, for heaven’s sake, not a credit card.    Sure, credit cards can give better cash back options, but they come at a price.   Most of them will also put you through hell to qualify, especially Discover.    And if you’re one day late with one payment, forget it!

    I keep one single credit card from a reputable regional which gives 1% cash back and charges an APR of 8% should I ever need it.    For everything else, I use PerkStreet.

  • Sgmfucrn-email

    Where does Perkstreet stand on the HR 4646?

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_THEQNHZK4OBXSSQFHEJTD2KNBM Chris

    America – Obama = Recovery.

  • Peter_SLC

    If 90% of your customer can’t hit the 5K mark, then 90% of your customers probably don’t have any money to buy other services from this bank. The 10% that lose out are the 10% who have money to buy your other services. 

    I would say in this scenario, the bank is making the 10% of customers who have more money to use other services from the bank unhappy. 

  • Almquist2007

    Attended the March 17th Dave Ramsey conference. Within his “workbook” on page 39, PerkStreet advertised “the only unlimited 2% cash back debit card” while bragging about being the “only account that helps with all of your baby steps” such as “- Build your emergency fund far more quickly; – Power your debt snowball with thousands more; – Put away for retirement and college’ – Pay off your home faster; – Give away hundreds every year”. Additionally PerkStreet advertises “sign up today at perkstreet.com/davelive to get your $25 bonus”.

    Sounded great so I went to perkstreet.com/davelive and signed up. Just received my debit cards and registered my account this evening. Then I find out it’s all a lie.

    1) The 2% has been reduced to 1%
    2) The Perks can no longer be used for all your suggested “baby steps” unless I forfeit $2 for every $20.
    3) And the $25 bonus??? NONEXISTANT!!!

    You have Dave Ramsey endorsing you and you’re all about deception. I’ve been registered for under 10 minutes. What kind of impression do you think I have about your organization?

  • APSTERNE

    I don’t see any mention of the cash deposit moneygram option listed as an available deposit option anymore. Given the extended hold placed on checks deposited during the first 30 days our accounts are open, I’ve used this deposit method several times. Please don’t tell me Perkstreet has yanked this away too????????????  Please clarify Kyle.

  • Mofekolu

    Best comment I’ve read yet! I still love PerkStreet too. As a single mom that won’t see $5k in her account anytime soon getting perks for Amazon and Walmart is superb. I never get anything from PNC or my Credit Union or ING all of which I’ve had accounts with for years. And PNC recently changed their reward program so only people with high yield accounts can benefit. I’m sticking with Perkstreet.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=5729071 Drew Sterne

    Kyle, Perkstreet isn’t a bank, right? It’s an ISO (Independent Sales Organization) which means you guys simply get a commission or a marketing fee for selling our deposits to Bankcorp, correct? This might explain the Perkstreet excuse factory for why all the sudden changes that are occurring. Sorry for my attitude, but you have no idea how much grief I had to go through to convince my girlfriend that Perkstreet was right for us and now I have egg (or worse) all over my face! We jumped through so many hoops to open the account (took close to 2 weeks to open) and after telling her this wasn’t a “bait and switch,” sure enough, Perkstreet seems to be the classic “bait and switch.” I’m an MBA and previously worked on Wall Street, so I understand the low interest rate environment is difficult to operate in….. however your CEO Dan O’Malley (?)recently went on record as saying there were no major changes expected then “boom” the floor falls out! I can appreciate what you guys/gals are trying to do, but Perkstreet’s debacle is nothing short of a textbook case of failed execution, which is surprising given that many in your customer base are highly educated, not stupid and will therefore likely leave in droves. I’m sticking around a bit longer because I want to see what stunt Perkstreet will try next. This post isn’t meant to sound hostile, but I really wonder if what you guys are trying to do is simply keep your assets below the $10 billion threshold so the Dobbin reg loopholes still apply for you guys. Will be a Harvard case study in my kids future textbook perhaps?  :)

  • Mofekolu

    Sorry Kyle, this was the deal breaker for me. Wish I would have read this before I sang your praises earlier. Changing the available denominations for Amazon just made it not worth it to me to spend mostly with Perkstreet. I don’t make a whole bunch of money like most if your commenters on here do so it would take me a lot longer to now build up $50 in perks just to get the Amazon cards I’ve loved so much. Wow this hurt.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=5729071 Drew Sterne

    Nevermind, I see it right here! It seemed to stand out before, but I didn’t find it right away for some reason. My apologies for littering the blog. :)

  • Phwatk

    We opened an account on 3/6 and received and email on 3/13 that states 2% earned on purchases for the first 90 days… However I noticed the above statement “Customers who opened an account prior to March 5th, 2012, will also continue to get the full 90-day unlimited 2% cash back sign up offer.” Do accounts opened after 3/5 continue to get the 90-day unlimited 2% as well? Also, how do your customers vote on Bonus Merchants

  • http://twitter.com/steveathanas Steve Athanas

    Well, I don’t want to just add complaints on to this list, but I have a few basic problems that have made me decide to leave PerkStreet.

    1. I understand costs being unsustainable – heck, if I didn’t get that, I wouldn’t have BEEN a PerkStreet customer. However, I find that retroactively not letting me spend my previously accrued points in the manner I intended (Cash Card redemption) is unfair. If you said I couldn’t redeem all new points to cash, I’d be more understanding.
    2. Dropping the $5000 2% limit is brutal – it was the biggest reason I was a customer to begin with. 1% is attainable with many other vendors. It will be easy to find a replacement that beats this. 

    When you combine these two things, I end up earning 1% and paying a 10% penalty to redeem as cash ($22 to get $20) which means my net rewards is 0.9%. I was previously earning 2.1%, after adding in PowerPerks bonuses. That’s a seismic shift that should make anyone reconsider their use.

    3. Restricting my redemption to only certain merchants might be fine for people who like to buy lots of stuff like stereos or trinkets, but I’m a SAVER who likes to travel. I like to save and go somewhere, not have a nicer TV. So giving me money to Best Buy or Amazon isn’t helpful. 

    Because I switched to PerkStreet from a card that got me travel (which is what I really want) I had always planned on using my Perks for airline tickets, hotel stays, or dinner out on vacation. In short, it made vacations or experiences attainable when they otherwise might not have been. This new program provides no such benefit, and I don’t really have use for the perks that are there now. It’s very restrictive. So I can’t even use my 0.9% as I see fit.

    I guess the net result is that I’m not going to be a customer any longer. While I like what PerkStreet has previously done, I’m not sure I find the new structure particularly compelling. Fortunately, we have a free market system, and I’m free to go elsewhere.

    I’d like to say I don’t harbor any ill will, but I kind of do – the changes essentially invalidate the money I’d already earned – so you’ve depreciated my perk value by 10%. That’s a slap in the face for some one who evangelized for your product to multiple other customers.

    While using debit instead of credit is great for some people, I get the feeling that most people who used the debit card (and certainly all those that maintained a $5000 balance) will probably be responsible credit users, and can earn way better rewards elsewhere.

    Goodbye, PerkStreet. Sorry it had to end this way. If you ever change your mind, look me up. I’m sure we can be friends again.

    -Steve

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Thanks Phwatk, 
    Based on our information, you qualify for the offer because you applied before 3/5. This means that you have been / will be earning 2% for your first 90 days. Enjoy! 

    As for PowerPerks voting, this happens during the last week of every month and the elected winners are honored at 5% in the following month. You can find the voting here at blog.perkstreet.com, or watch for it to land here:
    http://blog.perkstreet.com/category/perkstreet/deals/

    -Kyle

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Ugh sorry Tim. I know it’s disappointing. And I know we’ve let you down. We are sorry for that. If you have specific questions for our risk team, please ask away and I’ll do my best to track down answers for you. 

    -Kyle

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Peter, I can assure you that every one who has and uses a PerkStreet card is important to us. We don’t want to drive any of our great customers away; we appreciate your business and we understand that you have a choice when it comes to your checking account. If you have any questions I can answer for you to help you determine whether PerkStreet is still right for you, please ask. I’m here to help you. 

    -Kyle

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    PerkStreet isn’t a political entity. The company doesn’t vote for or against new rules, laws or regulations; we just abide by the laws and regulations that apply to us. Thanks for the question, Sgmfucrn. 

    -Kyle

  • Almquist2007

    Tagging onto Jessica’s comment… why would anyone use a PerkStreet debit card at Target for 2% back when you can just use a Target debit card connected to your bank and get 5% off all purchases? Am I missing something?

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Drew, you’re misunderstanding the structure of PerkStreet. We’re a financial services company that’s partnered with The Bancorp Bank to hold our deposits, provide our secure account opening, and supply some other services to our independent, privately-owned business. They also provide our full FDIC insurance. PerkStreet doesn’t get a commission for selling accounts. We own them. We design our own products and services and we market and deliver them. All the decision making about the changes occurring now was done by our executives and our corporate team (myself included). We certainly did not intend to bait and switch, and we gave a full 30-day notice of the changes despite the fact that we were not required to do so for many of these changes. Finally, while I cannot tell you how much PerkStreet has in deposits (again, we’re a private company), I can tell you that according to the website usbanklocations.com, The Bancorp Bank has roughly $3B in deposits. That puts The Bancorp Bank well below the $10B threshold for Durbin to apply to them, and therefore us, since part of those $3B in deposits belong to us. I hope this helps clarify the scenario. 

    Finally, I’m sorry that you feel you’ve let your girlfriend down. That stinks. I hope you’ll still be able to earn a meaningful amount of money with the rewards program as it currently exists. We believe it’s still the most exciting debit rewards program in the country, and we’re committed to continuing to serve you better as time passes. 

    -Kyle

  • Noneya

    But a lot of e-commerce sites use paypal to process payments, without even the need to sign up for an account. So using those sites I will no longer be able to gain perks?

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Thanks Drew and APSTERNE, 
    To verify, Moneygram deposit is NOT going away at this time. Thanks for helping me limit the confusion here. That’s the last thing we want. 

    -Kyle

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Ugh, Mofekolu. It hurts ME to read this. Please keep in mind that you’ll be able to earn 2% cash back now at Amazon. If you really do make a lot of purchases there, this will be adding up twice as quickly as the 1% cash back you earn on many of your other purchases. I’m sorry if we’ve let you down here with these changes. Man. This is a bummer. Please let me know if I can answer any further questions for you. 

    -Kyle

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    To be clear, Noneya, if the transaction comes through PayPal, it will not earn perks. Sorry for this new caveat, but the fraud risk to us appears too great for us to create any kind of exceptions to this rule. I hope this helps. Thanks for the question.

    -Kyle

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Thanks for your thorough and heartfelt response, Steve. 

    We are sorry we’ve let you down like this and left you feeling undervalued and underserved. Here on the blog, we’ve written about studies that show your emphasis on experiences over things could lead to a more satisfying existence for you, so your attitude toward discretionary spending is commendable. 

    I won’t argue with you about the idea that the new rewards program isn’t as good for you as it was. You’re right. It isn’t. All I can say is that PerkStreet isn’t done improving our product and service yet. We are dedicated to delivering new things you’ll be pleased with and to finding new and unique ways to drive more cash value into your relationship with us. We want to be good to you. All I can ask for is a second chance to meet your needs and expectations.

    As for your concern about the 22 perks for 20 dollars cash account credit option, I would personally suggest you redeem your rewards for gift cards or gift codes at full face value (1 perk = 1 dollar). You can get necessities like groceries, personal care products and appliances on Amazon.com now. Walmart.com’s selection is also massive. Our customers buy all kinds of things at these online stores, which heavily influenced our decision to offer 2% to everyone at those stores. 

    -Kyle

  • Steve

    I am one of those that has over $5,000 in my account and was enjoying those unlimited 2% perks, so I am a bit disappointed. However, I understand that over time companies need to change their offerings for many different reasons. I really want to applaud you for being so up-front and forthcoming about the changes and taking the time to make sure you iron out any bugs before launching the new program. I’m sticking with PerkStreet…I feel like they do more than just give you cash back rewards. I love the blog, i loved the Street Sense course and I feel like I matter any time I call customer service. I do look forward to a savings account at PerkStreet and maybe some type of budgeting software. Thanks!

  • Canaukgal

    Here is a suggestion, you can always purchase a WALMART gift card and use the gift card to purchase A WALMART VISA gift card.  This will allow you to still use the card on your vacations, etc …

  • Steve Lander

    You know, at first I was really excited by the prospect of the changes – transfer to account, stores like Walmart were added. The rate of redemption didn’t bother me, since I assumed I would be able to redeem at reasonable amounts to a store I frequent often. However, I’m finding that for certain Gift Cards (GCs), the amount at which you have to save in which to redeem can be exorbitantly high,IMO. 

    Example I have is Walmart – I was excited to see this added as it’s my primary grocery shopping location. I had every intention that when I would get to a reasonable amount in perks ($25/$50), I would just cash out a Walmart Gift Card and use it as my money for grocery purchases. Now, I see I have to wait until I get $100 before I can use it. For Walmart? How did that happen? I’m sure it came down to a negotiation of sorts (since Macy’s offers $25 GCs), but seriously?

    For the most part, the rest of the GC selection is mostly useless for me, since I don’t clothes shop often, I don’t eat out but rarely, and I try to squeeze every dollar I can out of my budget to pay down my debts as fast as I can. That means, I don’t have the ability to get the 2% back for having $5k in an account, since I never see close to that amount ever sitting in my checking. Almost 2 months later, I barely have enough to get something that’s $10, and that’s while I’m lucky to have the intro 2%, meaning it’ll take even LONGER to get to redeem a perk I can use (I’m estimating at my current consumption/rate, I could get the $100 Walmart Card around August 2014). I hope to be completely debt free about a year before then!

    For someone who is currently trying to get out of debt as fast as possible, it’s going to be a LONG time before I see Perks that I can actually USE! I may just have to suck it up and use the transfer back to the account, despite losing rewards in the process…

  • http://twitter.com/dmathanas dmathanas

    In full disclosure, I’m Steve’s wife and I have a bit of input on the Wal*Mart Visa card suggestion since this PerkStreet situation is something we’ve discussed ad nauseum at home over the last day or two.

    1) The problem with the Wal*Mart Visa card is that if you read the fine print, there’s an awful lot of effort to go through in order to be able to use it. We each got one a couple of years ago as a Christmas gift and the process to even use it was similar to a credit card application (without them actually checking your credit). That in and of itself makes it not worth it… it turns a reward into something that’s a pain in the rear.

    2) What was nice about the cash-back program was that we did not have to jump through hoops to have the freedom to purchase whatever we wanted to purchase. In your suggestion, we have to get a gift card to get a gift card to then turn it into whatever we want, whereas previously it was just straight cash. Boom and done.

    We are responsible spenders who do not spend more than we can afford, live by a strict budget, and are trying to make sure that we are allowing our dollars to work for us to get us the best ROI possible. Even Kyle from PSF agrees that the current options are not the best for us (see his response below). We like PSF as a company so we plan to monitor the program and return if it eventually meets our preferences/needs again, but for now it’s just not the best option for us.

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Thanks so much Steve. We are working to deliver the envelopes budgeting software as soon as possible, and I would definitely encourage you to check it out when it arrives. Have a great day.

    -Kyle

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1457707073 Jessica Schlenker

    Kyle,

    Thank you for the reply. Unfortunately, Paypal is how I pay for most things online, because it is safer-and-faster. How on Earth people can use it for cycling funds to themselves, I haven’t the foggiest idea … I use it for _buying things_. Well … Now that I know that, I will start the process of finding a new (local) bank or credit union.

    Best of luck.

    Jessica

  • Vickie

    all i use this account for is to have a card to purchase online with a small balance in my account in case my account gets hacked…there still is NO minimum balance requirement right? cuz my account gets pretty low at times before I transfer money over to it..

  • Sharon Rose

    I don’t think it’s right to charge me to get the cash on my perks that were earned before these changes took place.  It’s like giving me money, and then reaching back and taking it out of my hand.  I had no email warning me of these changes.
    It’s not worth the work any more, and it is work to have this account.  It took me 3 weeks to get my card.  Getting money into the account is a pain in the rear.  I have to mail checks and wait for days to see the money.  Even transfers take days to happen.  When I initiate a transfer on Friday, I don’t see the money until Tuesday.

    I will find another bank.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=5729071 Drew Sterne

    Kyle,
       Thank You for your reply.
    It’s a tough business you guys are in. I’m on your side (former banker, but who was one of the goodguys) and like how Perkstreet is trying to shake things up, but don’t think you folks will survive much longer. I guess it’s a bit of a gamble from mgmt’s perspective to tick off/agitate your biggest “fans” and hope that any gains Perkstreet makes outweighs the many account defections (and loss of goodwil) it appears you are/will be experiencing. I do appreciate how you respond/communicate with your customers via this blog, facebook, etc. while still managing to pretty much keep your cool!  It is a better approach than the big banks model.

    Hanging in there until ????? 

    Drew

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=5729071 Drew Sterne

    Kyle,

        Question: On 02/26/2012 I started the accounting opening procedures for a Perkstreet account. On 03/01/2012 (?) I received an email requesting additional information from myself and the 2nd account holder. (A copy of each of our drivers licenses, etc) The email stated that to compensate/reward us for our trouble, if we responded with these documents within 7 days, we would be entitled to a 5% cash back rebate for the first 30 days the account is open rather than the expected 2%. We made sure we met the requirements. After a small snafu with BankCorp’s fax machine and getting sworn at with profanity by (Lisa Kolb or Calb  4:05p.m. 03/04/2012 (?) Supervisor: Shawn Clifford) we finally got the account approved on 03/08/2012. Perkstreet then sent me a welcome letter dated 03/11/2012 and postmarked 03/12/2012 that I received 03/15/2012. I still have the letter, envelope, etc.

    My initial 30 day 5% bonus rate is set to end 04/08/2012, when it will then drop to the 2% rate for the remaining 60 days. Given that there seemed to be a pretty large lag in getting the checkcard, welcome letter kit, etc out to me, in the name of fairness,  is it possible to redate (adjust) the 30 day period given that it took Perkstreet 3 days to generate the letter, 4 days (1 day add’l) to get it out in the mail, then 3 days for it to travel in the mail? Otherwise I lose at least 7 days (~23.3%) out of my 30 which kind of stinks.

    Don’t mean to be a whiner, but is this something you think can be rectified?

    Many Thanks!

  • Teck

     I do not see the trade off.  Although it is $2 to redeem for $20…think of how much that would be if you were redeeming $100.  We are earning 1-2% but paying 10% to get that cash we earned.  On the other hand, We could have an account that doesn’t earn anything.  So I guess I am upset about paying to get money that wasn’t mine to begin with.

  • Brian

    When Perkstreet mentioned these changes a month ago, we started planning on how best to handle our accounts.  On April 4th, our $5k “buffer” in Perkstreet was transferred back to our ING savings account, where at least it’ll earn a little something.  We’ve decided to keep Perkstreet as our checking account (why go through the hassle of changing direct deposits, autopays, etc.) but to shift all our card spending to credit cards.  Perkstreet’s main function for us will be to write our mortgage checks, pay our utilities that don’t take card payments, and to pay off our credit card balances.  No, we don’t ever carry credit card balances.  For what it’s worth, we’ve earned about $2750 in flights and cash back in roughly 4 months, just for signing up for various credit cards…in over a year of using Perkstreet, we earned about $500.  

    Obviously, there are people out there for whom this strategy would be a very bad idea.  If you can’t manage your spending to the point that you never, ever carry a balance on a card, then by all means, do like Dave Ramsey says and only use debit cards.  But my guess is that most of the $5k balance holders are the kind of people who can pay their bills in full and on time.  Food for thought.

  • dmfrhf

    I just wanted to add a comment here. Change is hard, but life isn’t life without its changes. I personally have been very pleased with Perkstreet and especially it’s outstanding customer service. I have banked with large banks before and I have not found the kind of customer service and interaction I have found with Perkstreet. That to me is worth sticking with Perkstreet even in spite of the changes.

  • BC

    Kyle, can the Walmart gift cards be used at Sam’s Club too?  Also, would non-PIN debit purchases at Sam’s Club stores count as part of the 2% Walmart cash back with balances of 5k+?

  • Daniel

    Just noticed that Amazon.com redemption minimum has increased to $50. Not happy.

  • P.S.

    One other downside is that I’ve found that Direct Deposits that would generally post on a Saturday or Sunday pend until the next business day. _All_ my brick and mortars have courtesy posted the deposit on Saturday (if it falls on a Saturday or Sunday (or Holiday Monday). As I am currently shoestringing it from check to check, this has proven to be a serious issue, and yet another reason for me not to remain an active customer.

  • Richard

    I left BOA to come to Perkstreet. I work for county government and will probably never have a $5k balance. I am still happy with my 1%…especially since BOA was killing me with fees(ex-an EXTENDED overdraft fee?). I am disappointed with the charge to have my perks put into my account. I think we should be allowed to have the perks we have already accumulated put into our account without a fee. The change would become effective as of April 1. I have been using the perks as a secondary savings account for emergencies. But I will be staying with PerkStreet since with my small cash flow I can’t get anything like it even from credit unions. And I truly enjoy the very professional customer service.

  • Phillip Luther

    Something about that math is funny; can you show your work?

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    There is absolutely no minimum balance on PerkStreet’s accounts, nor do we have any plans to add one at this time, Vickie. Thanks for asking for clarification on this point, as it’s something we’re proud to be able to continue to avoid — even while many of our competitors roll them out.

    Thanks much. Hope this helps. 

    -Kyle

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Sharon, 

    On behalf of the company, I’m sorry. It’s frustrating for us to frustrate you. We want all our customers to be able to use our products smoothly — to earn money for what they buy without it feeling like work. I would point to the fact that funds transfer hold times are typical throughout our industry and many banks won’t even allow you to make ACH transfers from their online banking interfaces, because of the security risk. Have you tried setting up direct deposit into your account? That money is available the same day you’re paid. Here’s a blog post explaining the fastest and easiest ways to get money into your account: http://blog.perkstreet.com/how-to-deposit-money-quickly-and-easily-into-your-perkstreet-account/
    I hope this helps, and I hope you’re able to find a way to make our account work for you so you don’t experience any further frustration. 

    -Kyle

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Thanks Drew, 
    Please email us at Help[at]PerkStreet[dot]com and I’m sure our excellent customer service team will give your situation a thoughtful review. I can’t be sure how this will shake out, but we definitely value you as a customer. 

    -Kyle

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Teck, I appreciate your looking at this from both sides. We absolutely wish it was more affordable for us to do the account credit. Thanks much for your comment and please let me know if there’s anything I can help you with. 

    -Kyle

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Thanks much, dmfrhf. Thanks for commenting. 

    -Kyle

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Thanks Daniel. As I’ve stated in a few other places here in the comments, adding all the new redemption places we did meant adding quite a lot of inventory to our gift card and gift code selection, and it required a bit of a build-out in our redemption department. In order to remain operationally efficient, we reduced some of the skews of options and a few of our longtime redemption options. When we added all the new options, we needed to remove a few of the old options. I hope this makes sense and helps you understand our motivation in making these changes. We thought more places to redeem would be important to our customer base. 

    Thanks much, 

    -Kyle

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    This is the first I’m hearing of this circumstance, Daniel. (Probably because I’m guessing it’s fairly uncommon for an employer to post a Direct Deposit on a weekend.) At PerkStreet, when our payday would fall on a Saturday, our accounting department simply processes payroll on the Friday before. PerkStreet does make an effort to post direct deposits on the same day they’re made available from employers. I’ll bring this up in a meeting soon, but in the meantime, you might want to also speak with your payroll department if this is posing a problem for you. Props to you for living within your means and creating a zero-balanced budget. Keep fighting the good fight in your financial life. We’re cheering for you. 

    -Kyle

  • http://Twitter.com/KylePs80 Kyle Psaty

    Awesome question, BC. The answer to your perk redemption question is YES. The Walmart gift cards we’re offering may be used at Walmart, Walmart.com, Sam’s Club or SamsClub.com. However, it looks like you’ll only be able to earn 2% at Walmart.com (or Walmart w/ $5K balance). Hope this helps. 

    -Kyle

  • Robert

    So, what is with the money issue?  Are you saying that since they charge 2 dollars to redeem cash?  So, if I decide to cash in 22 dollars and the two dollars get taken away, does that mean, I will only get 20 dollars in my account?

  • Jimmy

     Expand Does anyone have any experience with the PayPal Debit Card?  It looks like they are giving 1% on everything without the hassles of the PerkStreet Banking System.  I have used PayPal for online orders, but wondered if anyone out there had used their debit card.

  • Jimmy

    Jessica, have you ever used Paypals Debit Card? 

  • http://twitter.com/arowls Andrew Rowls

    Have the perk redemption requirements changed, too?  I used to be able to redeem as few as $15 in perks for an Amazon.com coupon; now, the minimum for Amazon.com is $50.  The other redemption options also seem to have ridiculously high minimums — some as high as $100.

  • Guest

    Right on, paypal rules, much easier!

  • http://twitter.com/arowls Andrew Rowls

    Did the perk redemption minimums change, too?  I used to be able to redeem as little as $15 for an amazon code, now the minimum is $50.  Other options also seem to have very high minimums — some as high as $100.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=5729071 Drew Sterne

    Thanks Kyle! Perkstreet fixed the situation and made me happy. It’s not so much the money as it was there (your) “can do” attitude. Kudos to Perkstreet on this one!

    -Drew-

  • http://www.facebook.com/subillusion Tim Danner

    I know I’m weighing in on this a little late, but I felt compared to give my 2% … errr… I mean 2 cents. :-)

    Just a little suggestion for Perkstreet:
    Rather than have perks redeemed for gift cards as face value, and burn “extra perks” to redeem for cash, why not go the other way?

    i.e. 20 Perks = $20 in your account, but 45 Perks = $50 gift card?

    I know it’s a subtle difference, but it will make a world of difference to many, especially potential customers.  Rather than feel like they are being “cheated” or “charged” for cash, those customers will still get cash.  On the other hand, it makes it more enticing for those of us who are fine with the Amazon.com gift cards.  In fact, many will actually feel like they’re getting more value from the card.  A much different outlook on what is essentially the same thing.

Account

The DailyPerk is here to help you find ways to live better for less.

Get a head start by grabbing a PerkStreet debit card with awesome cash back rewards!

Credit card style rewards for spending on debit? See, we’re helping already!