Aspiration: Upgrade to Plus Account, Get $150 Bonus With $1,000 Spend

Update 11/30/20: Another round of these e-mails has gone out. End date to upgrade is today (11/30). Hat tip to adding pennies.

The Offer

No direct link, check email for this offer (subject: Black Friday: Shop. Repeat. Get $150.)

  • Aspiration is offering users $150 bonus when they upgrade to a Plus account and spend $1,000 within 60 days.

The Fine Print

  • Offer only applies to the original recipient of this email and is non-transferable.
  • Customer must: (1) between 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time 11/21/2020 and 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time 11/26/2020, enroll into Aspiration Plus through their account settings; and (2) within 60 calendar days of enrollment into Aspiration Plus, use their debit card to make at least $1,000 worth of cumulative transactions.
  • Transactions made using customer’s standard debit card will be eligible for the $1,000 transaction minimum, if the transaction is made after customer enrolls into Aspiration Plus.
  • $1,000 transaction minimum refers to net purchases (purchases minus any credits or returns).
  • Allow up to 90 calendar days from Aspiration Plus enrollment for the $150 offer credit to post to your Aspiration Account.
  • Account must be open and customer must stay enrolled in Aspiration Plus through date of credit in order to qualify for the credit.
  • Aspiration Plus is a paid service, with monthly or annual fee options. $7/month if paid monthly or $5.75/month if paid annually.
  • All applicable account terms, fees, and charges are subject to change. This offer may be modified or withdrawn at any time and without notice.
  • Customer is responsible for any federal, state, or local taxes due on the bonus and we will report as income to the tax authorities, if required by applicable law. Customer should consult a tax advisor.

Our Verdict

Looks like this deal was sent out widely; not sure if it was sent to everyone. It’s not a bad deal, but after digging into the math it’s not as rosy as it seems on the surface:

You might have to pay 3 x $7 $15 monthly fees before the $150 credit posts. You might get a 1099 for the $150, so let’s say it’s actually worth $100 (this will obviously vary by the person’s tax situation). You’re losing your regular credit card rewards on $1,000 in purchases which could be $20-$30+, depending on what your options are.

Overall, I’d probably do the deal, but it might not be a true $150 gain. A mitigating factor could be if you can spend the $1,000 at a merchant that typically would not accept credit card, that would make the bonus a better value.

See previous posts about Aspiration here. 

Hat tip to reader Casey k, Chase-ing UR points, and Kenny
    Chuck
  • On November 30, 2020, 18:12
Tags: aspiration

View Comments (308)

  • I got paid my $50 today. One day before my next renewal. I only paid 2x $7.99 renewal fees and whatever liquidation costs for the $1K spend. I didn’t have Point debit at the time to test if instant reloads worked for spend. Second time I’ve done an Aspiration Plus bonus promo.

    Still haven’t gotten paid for my fake DD promo yet.

      • There’s conflicting dates for the DD bonus payout of 8/1 and 8/15 so I would wait for the latter.

  • Received the email today (I did the $150 upgrade bonus last time): Get $50 for upgrading to Aspiration Plus. All you need to do is upgrade to Aspiration Plus within the next week then make $1,000 in purchases over the next 60 days.* The email mentions "$5.99/month for annual subscription (or $7.99/month if you pay monthly)" for upgrading to Aspiration plus.

    *Offer Terms and Conditions: Offer only applies to the original recipient of this email and is non-transferable. Customer must: (1) between 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time 5/4/2021 and 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time 5/11/2021, enroll into Aspiration Plus through their account settings; and (2) within 60 calendar days of enrollment into Aspiration Plus, use their new Aspiration Plus debit card to make at least $1,000 worth of cumulative transactions. $1,000 transaction minimum refers to net purchases (purchases minus any credits or returns) and does not include any cash transfers made between institutions or purchases made through a third party pay app such as Venmo, CashApp, etc. Allow up to 90 calendar days from Aspiration Plus enrollment for the $50 offer credit to post to your Aspiration Account. Account must be open and customer must stay enrolled in Aspiration Plus through date of credit in order to qualify for the credit.

    @chucksithe @will

    • Just got this too, but it's much too much work for a few bucks given the way they pay out these promos.

      • It would be worth if they actually had better 10% cashback partners. They need to work on that.

    • Got this email too. Won't do this again since I paid 4 months of service fee before I got the $150.

      • Likely not doing it, either bc I got one jerk supervisor last time who gave me grief as soon as he got on the phone. He told me that my cash app transaction didn't count. He actually asked for a receipt to prove that I purchased something, even though CashApp/xfers wasn't even mentioned in the TOS. I called back and got someone else who said that it did count and released my bonus. Not worth the hassle, especially considering that they kept cancelling my Plus subscription, which could have put the bonus in jeopardy. Xfers are prohibited this time around. They should just take their swipe fees and leave us alone LOL.

  • Upgraded to Plus 11/26/2020, spent $1,000 on 12/01 and have yet to receive bonus. Emailed them 3 times with no response. Guess I'll have to call!! Even have a case number in email. Anyone else having this problem?

    • Yes, you have to call. They seem to have issues following up via email---even the very helpful reps. I've only had 1 jerk. Everyone else is extremely pleasant. My bonus was in my account a few mins after I tt a supervisor last time.

  • Upgraded to Plus on Nov 27, 2020
    $500+$400+$100+$1 Spend on Cash app reload in Nov-Dec 2020
    Paid 3 months of "plus" - Nov, Dec and Jan ($15 for each month)
    Stopped renewal after Jan charge
    $150 “Aspiration Plus Promotion Credit” posted on Feb 25, 2021

  • They just had to get collect that fourth monthly fee first, lol. DP:

    11/24: Aspiration Plus enrollment. $7 fee.
    12/18: Real purchase of $1000+.
    12/24: $7 fee.
    1/5: $10.00 "Card Activation Promotional Credit" posted.
    1/24: $7 fee.
    2/22: 90 calendar days passed from Aspiration Plus enrollment.
    2/24: $7 fee.
    2/25: $150 "Aspiration Plus Promotion Credit"

    I've gotten a total of $310 (net profit of $282) from these folks since 8/16/2020 through this bonus and the earlier sign-up/referral bonus though, so I'm not complaining too much. Will likely downgrade and close that this has finally posted.

    • Cancelled auto renew on both accounts and immediately saw the price jack up to the $15 a month. Who is the target audience that is paying $15 a month for this horrible account?

  • My bonus says "pending" and my next monthly charge is supposed to be tomorrow (2/26) ... If I cancel auto-renewal while it still says pending, will they claw back the bonus?

    • I will let you know.... but, I think it is highly unlikely. You have met the requirements, otherwise they would not have posted/pended the bonus.

      At least two people here did it. Technically, when you cancel, your membership does not end until the end of the month.

      • Yeah, when I went to the Aspiration Plus section of settings, it said, "Renews: 3/26/2021" (Even though the 2/26 charge hasn't appeared, even as "pending," yet).

        How early do you have to disable auto-renewal, so that it won't charge the next fee?

        • You will get charged if the renewal date has moved to the next month. It takes a day or two to show up.

        • Mine renews on the 28th... and killed it on the evening of the 25th.

          Sounds like you are stuck with another month of premium unless you contact them and ask for a refund. Good luck.

  • Received the bonus today. Signed 11/24
    11/24, 12/24, 1/24, 2/24 - Charged $3.99 in fees. Not sure why I got $3.99 in fees
    Did $1000 Serve reload at Walmart, got $5 in credit.
    Targeted mail for activating and using new debit card, $10 in credit.
    2/25: $150 credit

    Net profit: $149.04

  • Received the bonus for me and P2.

    11/30 - Signed up for Aspiration Plus subscription from targeted email for $15/mo.
    11/30, 12/30, 1/30 - Charged $15/mo. Fees
    11/30-1/30 - Made $1k+ in debit card transactions via cash app and Venmo
    2/25 - $150 bonuses pending, auto renew disabled

    Net profit $105 each

    I cancelled auto renew because I don’t want to be charged $15 again on 3/1 and I still have Plus through the 28th, so my bonus will not be affected. Now, onto the direct deposit bonus.

  • P1:
    11/24/20 - Upgraded to Plus, $7 monthly charge immediately
    12/24/20 - $7 Monthly Charge
    01/24/21 - $7 Monthly Charge
    02/24/21 - $7 Monthly Charge
    Total of about $1064 in spend, 1 small credit but I met the $1000 req.
    Planted about $5 in trees before I noticed and turned that off.
    02/25/21 - $150 Bonus Pending
    Net: $150 - $28 - $5 = $117

    P2:
    11/24/20 - Upgraded to Plus, $7 monthly charge immediately
    12/24/20 - $7 Monthly Charge
    01/24/21 - $7 Monthly Charge
    02/24/21 - $7 Monthly Charge
    Total of about $1010 in spend including $600 in Plastiq last minute to meet req. Plastiq was rejected by recipient and ended up being reversed, decided to still run the bonus time out and see if it paid.
    02/25/21 - $150 Bonus Pending
    Net: $150 - $28 = $122

    Total Bonus: $239
    So looking forward to emptying these accounts and not looking at them again.

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