Free checking is going the way of the dinosaur today with most of the big banks getting rid of it. Banks are now charging monthly service and maintenance fee if your account drops below a certain balance. These new policy changes are making money for banks and taking away your precious dollars. In order to counteract this, a bank customer needs to take advantage of all of the perks that banks offer. One of the perks that can benefit most banking customers is rewards checking.
Rewards checking accounts offer perks like free money, monthly fees waived, refunds for ATM transactions, higher interest rates, and free online services. Some reward checking accounts even offer gifts to account holders. The only catch is that to qualify for rewards checking at many institutions you have to meet the account’s requirements. This normally entails enrolling in direct deposit, using your debit card 10 to 12 times a month, and getting your statement electronically. Trying to meet these requirements can be a real hassle if you aren’t a serial debit card user.
There is a company that offers a great service for rewards checking customers called MicroMaximus. Micromaximus is an on demand online service that allows you to schedule automatic debit card transactions for the month so you can qualify for rewards checking at your local financial institution. All of the transactions are done in $1 increments and can be scheduled in a few minutes.
Here is how the service works.
- Create an account on the MicroMaximus website. (Email and Password)
- Enter your debit card information. (Name, Address, Card Number)
- Schedule all of your transactions for the month. (Amount & Date)
The cost is minimal. You can schedule an unlimited number of debit card transactions for one account up to 30 days in advance for $1 per transaction. The purpose of MicroMaximus is to have you spend as little money as possible to meet the qualifications for your rewards checking account. The difference between interest rates for a rewards checking account and regular checking account can be quite substantial.
I tested out the MicroMaximus service to see how effective it was. The platform was user friendly and easy to use. I was able to add and schedule transactions really quickly with no instructions. I was able to schedule transactions in a matter of seconds.
In my opinion, this service is best suited for individuals with $10,000 or more in their checking accounts. Rewards checking accounts for big depositors can pay 3% or more in annual percentage rates (APR). On a $10,000 balance, that is more than $300 in interest accrued throughout the year. That makes a Micromaximus account well worth the investment.
Anybody with just a few hundred dollars in their checking account would not benefit from using the service as the transaction costs would represent a significant amount of their available balance and they likely would not qualify for the highest interest rate anyway.
In conclusion, this is a useful service for anyone that is looking to take full advantage of a rewards checking account. With the low interest rates paid on regular bank account products, you should do everything possible to maximize your account returns. If you are in the market for a rewards checking account in your area, check out Bankrate.
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