More and more bank account sign up bonuses and special interests require you to have a certain amount of debit card transactions to be eligible. AmEx has also announced two cards that have transaction play a part in the amount of rewards you’ll receive. Below we’ve outlined ways for you to hit these requirements without breaking the bank.
Contents
Debit Cards Only
Square Cash From $1
Similar to Circle Pay, but funds will go directly into your bank account. Minimum is $1.
Chime Card From $25
The Chime card is a reloadable debit card which can be loaded with other debit cards. Because of this it’s an extremely easy and cost effective way of meeting minimum debit card requirements. Unfortunately it’s not possible to use credit cards to load though so this will only work for debit card transaction requirements. More here. There is a minimum reload of $25 as well, so this isn’t a great option unless you actually use this card.
Amazon Reloads From $1
Be careful of doing too many of these in a short amount of time, as it can lead to your account being temporarily shut down. You can read more Chuck’s experience with this here.
Use The Self Check Out Lane At Supermarkets
By using the self check out lane at a super market you are able to put through one item at a time. This can help you meet purchase requirements in one shop. If you do this, please only do it when it’s not busy as it will quickly agitate those in line waiting to use the self check out lane you’re hogging.
Pay At The Pump
Most gas stations will allow you to pay at the pump for your gas. Just purchase gas in small increments.
Donate To A Charity From $1
A lot of charities accept donations as low as $1 when donating via debit card. This is because the fees associated with debit cards are smaller than those associated with credit cards and in some cases these charities have special agreements with the processors.
Apple Balance
You can load your Apple ID balance for as little as $1.
Final Thoughts
If you have any other suggestions/tricks that we don’t have listed, please share them in the comments below.
View Comments (269)
Effective May 30th, 2024 the minimum reload amount on one's own Amazon Gift Card Balance (the correct name) is $5.00. It's the same amount when purchasing an e-gift card that is sent to a recipient via text or email. Whether to yourself or someone else.
Thought about going to HD or Lowe’s and buying individual nuts or bolts. Less than a dollar each.
But then I'd have too many nuts and bolts.
For reloading an Amazon gift card - can you do all your reloads/transactions in one day, or do you need to space them out throughout the month?
My power company (Lansing Bureau of Water and Light) accepts debit card payments with no fees. A $1 payment went through. I'll double check that the bonus tracker counts these as transactions but feeling optimistic.
NYC property tax payments between 1 cent and 24 cents don't incur a credit card transaction fee / service charge.
At Walmart SCO u can do split payments on payment screen using partial card payments button, I forgot what the maximum was that I saw someone post, I want to say 12 different credit cards $1 each but I may be wrong coz that sounds redonkulously high lol
Minimum Amazon reloads are now $5.00, previously $1.00
Pepper Rewards app allows $1 Amazon gc to be bought btw
Our local animal shelter receives debit card donations
Patreon subscriptions is another option to spend minimum of $1
Does anyone know if it's considered a "debit card transaction" if I add a debit card to Robinhood and transfer money from it?