Heritage Bank 1.02% APY Rewards Checking Account on up to $25,000 – Available Nationwide (Requirement Change)

Update 12/2/21: January 1st, 2022 and the requirements will be changing. No longer requiring 10 debit card purchases, but will require $500+ in debit card spend instead.

Update 7/18/21: Rate is now 1.02%

Update 3/15/20: Due to Federal Reserve rate reductions in March, our eCentive rate will be reduced as of April 1, 2020. Our current rates remain in effect through March 31, 2020. Rates advertised here are updated daily.

Update 12/2/19: Rate decreased from 3.33% to 3.03%.

Offer at a glance

• Interest Rate: 3.03% APY
• Minimum Balance: None ($100 minimum to open)
• Maximum Balance: $25,000
• Availability: Nationwide
• Direct deposit required: Optional
• Additional requirements: Yes, see below 
• Hard/soft pull: Soft
• Credit card funding: Yes, up to $1,500 with a Visa credit card Credit card funding no longer allowed
• Monthly fees: None 
• Early Account Termination Fee: $30 fee if account is closed within 6 months of opening
• Insured: FDIC

The Offer

Direct Link to offer

• Heritage Bank offers their eCentive rewards checking account with an interest rate of 3.33% APY on balance up to $25,000 and ATM fee waiver.

Heritage Bank is a bank in the midwest with locations in Minnesota and Iowa. This account can be opened online for any US citizen nationwide.

To be eligible for the 3.33% rate, you need to do the following:

• Enroll in e-statements
• Have at least one direct deposit or automatic payment (ACH) each month
• Make 10 or more debit card payments and/or purchases that will post to your account each month (excluding ATM transactions)
• [Login once per month – this is mentioned in the video but not on the offer page]

The Fine Print

• Any portion of the balance above $25,000 will earn .15% APY
• If qualifications are not met, account will earn .05% APY
• When you meet the eCentive Account qualifications we will refund up to $25.00 per statement cycle of domestic ATM fees and MasterCard cross border/currency conversion fees for foreign debit card transactions.

Avoiding Fees

There is no monthly fee. There is an early termination fee of $30 if the account is closed within 6 months.

Full fee schedule can be found here. There is a $10/month dormancy fee which will apply after 12 months. Won’t apply to anyone using the account who will be making debit and ACH transactions, but it’s worth keeping in mind if you end up not using the account.

A reader notes that you must always leave $.01 in the account, else they’ll close it automatically after a few days, and will result in a $10 fee if you want to reopen.

Our Verdict

Comparing this other high interest checking and savings accounts, this comes out as one of the best available options. There aren’t many other options which have a $25k allowance, and the 3.33% rate is better than most. Plus, the qualifications should be fairly easy to meet. It is worth noting, however, that with general interest rates climbing, these rewards checking become less enticing.

We’ll add this to our List of Best Savings Account options.