Rockstar Review: Brightpeak Savings Rewards Program
This is part of our Rockstar Reviews series. Be sure to check out all previous products we’ve reviewed!
Hope it helps!
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Who they're for: Someone looking to stash away some $$$ in an emergency fund, as well as those who enjoy taking on a challenge! :) Ease of use: Similar to setting up any other online bank account, and the same with most other challenges/courses (i.e. giving name and email). What I like about them: They seem to really “get” the purpose of saving for emergencies, and they’ve partnered with Thrivent Federal Credit Union (brightpeak’s a division of Thrivent) to offer an emergency savings account in a way that I’ve never seen before: they literally reward you if you continually contribute money to your account every month! (See full details below, and here.) And the challenge, well, it’s a challenge – not much to not like :) What I don’t like about them: The interest rates aren’t that great for the savings account if you take away the cash contributions (so make sure to play by the rules so you can get the rewards!), and others might have a problem with the company’s Christian orientation (brightpeak is a division of Thrivent Financial– a membership organization of Christians).
You can learn more here:
Emergency Savings Account || $500 Savings Challenge
Two Ways to Amp Your Savings!
Hey guys! As mentioned above, we got a slightly different “review” for y’all today as we highlight two pretty awesome products offered from a company I recently came across – brightpeak financial. (All lowercase on purpose FYI – I know, it’s weird…) These two products are brightpeak's Savings Rewards program partnered with Thrivent Federal Credit Union’s Emergency Savings Share Account and brightpeak's "$500 Savings Challenge." Let’s start with the savings account, yeah?
The "Emergency Savings Account"
First, I love love LOVE that they actually call it an "emergency savings account". I’m all for labeling accounts per their use because it makes it that much more "real," and the fact they’re the only ones I know of who literally label it as so is beautiful. I also like that they only require a $1.00 minimum balance with the account since, you know, emergencies and all, and I also love that there are no fees whatsoever as long as you play by the rules. Which basically means no withdrawing or transferring out money more than once a month – which is smart, or else it defeats the purpose! But what I like the most is that they’ll actually HELP YOU top off your savings by rewarding you up to $100.00 for making a habit of saving!!! There are of course rules to that one too, but just like the others, if you’re committed to building up your stash for real, you’ll be just fine. All you need to do to qualify is contribute $50/month to your new account, and the longer you do it, the more money they will add to it. Here’s a nifty graphic that shows it pretty simply *assuming you contribute at least $50/month! *
Cons to the Emergency Savings Account?
There are only two that I can think of, other than having to manage another bank account:
- The interest rates aren’t that special if you take away the rewards. It pays out 0.10% Annual Percentage Yield (APY) for those accounts with $25-$999 in them, and 0.50% APY for those $1,000-$4,999. So the kicker here really is saving every month to get that reward.
- brightpeak is a division of Thrivent Financial**, which is a membership organization of Christians.** You might love that if you’re a Christian yourself, but if you’re not – or you’re anti-religion, it might skew you. And since Thrivent is a Fraternal Benefit Society, they are legally required to have a common bond – theirs is Christianity. So, you’ll have to check a box to identify as “Christian” in order to open an account. Don’t worry though, they don’t check that you go to church weekly ;)
Interested in learning more or signing up? You can do so here: brightpeakfinancial.com
brightpeak financial's "$500 Savings Challenge!"
If that's something that sounds intriguing to you, you can sign up and learn more here (it's free): $500 Savings Challenge
And those are the products of the week! Hope they help! ---------- PS: For a list of all our Rockstar Reviews, click here. This post was in partnership with brightpeak financial and contains affiliate links to the two products featured. Thank you to those who support our site by going through them when you find them helpful!