Extra Debit Card Review: Build Credit with a Debit Card

Extra Debit Card

$149 - $199 / year

8.5

Overall

8.5/10

Strengths

• Build credit with a debit card
• Earn 1% rewards points (but higher monthly fee)
• No credit check
• Keep your existing bank

Weaknesses

• Cannot be used outside the United States
• Cannot use it to withdraw cash
• Rewards require higher monthly fee

Learn more

Trying to build up your credit history and improve your credit score, when you have no existing history, is a huge challenge.

It’s a classic chicken & egg scenario – you can’t get a credit card without credit history and you can’t build a credit history if you can’t get a credit card!

The common solution is imperfect – you can get a store branded credit card (lower credit requirements but often don’t have the best benefits) or you can go with a secured credit card (higher fees).

There’s now a third option – a debit card that builds credit¹ and also earns reward points².

Best of all, you get to keep your existing bank.

How Does Extra Work?

You set up an Extra account and then connect your bank to your Extra account. They work with 10,000+ banks. Then they issue you a debit card that has a spending limit based on your bank account balance and other factors.

You use the debit card, they will cover the purchase and then pay themselves back from your bank account the next business day. At the end of each month, they report your total purchases that month as payments to two credit bureaus – Experian and Equifax.

In addition to building credit, Extra also offers 1% rewards points² on your purchases.

This is different than a secured credit card because you don’t have to give them a deposit. With secured credit cards, you typically give them a few hundred dollars and they give you a “credit limit” that matches. With Extra, you don’t have to give up a deposit.

The only cost to you is a subscription fee which starts at $149 per year. (more on this below)

Who is behind Extra?

Extra is run by The Aligned Company and their prior claims to fame included Down to Shop, which was a quirky video ecommerce platform. My takeaway from this is that they’re used to ecommerce and that fun approach could be a nice change of pace for a financial tech company!

Their banking partner is Evolve Bank and Trust, which is FDIC insured (#1299), but they are not a bank. They’re just a debit card linked to your bank.

For banking integration, they use Plaid. If your bank integrates with Plaid, which now numbers more than 10,000+ banks, then your bank works with Extra. Finally, the card you get is a Mastercard so it works anywhere Mastercard does (except outside the United States, Extra only works within the US).

👉 Learn more about the Extra Debit Card

Who Can Use the Extra Debit Card?

Practically any adult with a United States based bank account (again, they integrate with Plaid so it’s any bank Plaid supports) may be eligible for Extra.

Technically, you need to have a Social Security Number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number plus an address in the United States that they can send your card to. They will not send it to a Post Office box.

How do you know if your bank is supported by Plaid? You can check! Just go to https://get.extra.app/ and scroll down to the section that says “Does Extra Connect with My Bank” and enter your bank’s name.

Is it bad to have multiple debit cards? Not at all, it means you have multiple checking accounts and there are no restrictions when it comes to the number of bank accounts you can have. Unlike credit cards, where they are potentially lending you money, a debit card simply gives you access to your own money.

How Much Does the Extra Debit Card Cost?

For the basic level, Credit Building only, it is $149 a year. For Credit Building and Rewards, it costs $199 per year.

As for interest, the benefit of the paying back the card daily (and that it’s a debit card) is that there is no interest. You can’t carry a balance beyond the one business day so you’re never at risk of paying them a penny in interest.

Also, based on how they’ve structured the card, there is no credit check required (no impact to your credit score) and the daily payback means the impact to your credit utilization is negligible.

You can get just the Credit Building service or get Credit Building and Rewards.

Both are available on an annual and monthly subscription:

• For Credit Building only – $149 per year or $20 a month
• For Credit Building & Rewards: – $199 per year or $25 a month

In both cases, paying annually lowers the cost (especially for Rewards) so if you plan on using it for building credit, it makes sense to pay annually.

Is the Extra Debit Card Good?

It’s a good option if you want to build credit without running the risk of paying interest on your purchases because it is a debit card.

It also offers rewards, if you pay for the higher tier, which is uncommon with debit cards.

Finally, you can get the card without a credit check since it is a debit card, which will be a benefit to you.

The only downside is the cost – $149 a year.

Does Opening a Debit Card Affect Credit?

Generally no.

The reason why opening a credit card can affect your credit is because you are getting a short term loan with a credit card. When you pay for something with a credit card, the bank is lending you that money until you pay off your statement. If you carry a balance, they are effectively lending you money. When you apply, they do a hard inquiry on your credit report to determine if you qualify.

With debit cards, purchases are debited from your checking account immediately. There is no extension of credit. In some cases, when the checking account has overdraft protection, a bank may pull your credit report to determine whether or not to give you an account. This is rare and this is not something Extra does.

Need to borrow money quickly and cheaply?

Monevo is a marketplace where you can find a low-cost personal loan in just 60 seconds. Enter in how much you need (as little as $1,000 and as much as $100,000) along with your personal details and you’ll get an answer in just a few minutes.

Checking will NOT affect your credit score.

Learn more about Monevo

Extra Debit Card Pros and Cons

Extra Debit Card Alternatives

Like what the Extra Debit Card offers but not sure if it’s for you?

Paying $149 a year for the Extra Debit Card might be a good deal or a bad deal – but you won’t know until you see what you may get from alternatives – so here are a few options:

Self Credit Builder

Self, formerly Self Lender, offers a product called the Credit Builder Account* that works like an installment loan. If you’ve gotten a car loan, you’re familiar with installment loans – you make regular payments over a set period of time. (vs. revolving loans like a line of credit from a credit card.) Then, Self reports your payments to three major credit bureaus to build your credit.

The difference between Self and your car loan is that your payments can fund a deposit for a Visa^® secured credit card.** It works like this: if you’ve made three monthly payments on time, have $100 or more in your savings progress, and have your account in good standing, you can get the Self Visa Credit Card to help build your credit even more.

If interested, our full review of Self explains how it works in great detail.

Self requires a $9 non-refundable administrative fee up front, but you can unlock the savings you build at the end of your plan – minus interest and fees.***

👉 Learn more about Self

Kikoff

Kikoff is service that aims to help you improve your score through the use of their Credit Account ($500 line of credit without a credit check, but you can only use it in the Kikoff online store). They do this by focusing on three of the most important factors in your credit score – payment history, credit utilization, and account age. They report data to all three bureaus but they only report customer payments to Equifax and Experian. Many cards only report monthly payments to a single bureau.

The card has no expiration though it’s structured as a membership ($5 a month). If you don’t renew the membership, they stop reporting payments but the account stays open.

👉 Learn more about Kikoff

Chime Credit Builder

Chime is a fintech company that, among other services, offers a Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa Credit Card. The difference between this and a traditional secured credit card is that because Chime also offers a Savings Account, they can offer credit card services without requiring a security deposit.

If you have a Chime Spending account with a $200 qualifying direct deposit, you can use Credit Builder to start building your credit. It’s in essence looking at your cashflow to offer a bit of credit, which is then building your credit history.

Chime Credit Builder is free and reports to all three bureaus – Experian, Equifax, and Transunion.

Read our full review of Chime Credit Builder to get the details.

👉Learn more about Chime Credit Builder

Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by The Bancorp Bank, N.A. or Stride Bank, N.A., Members FDIC. The Chime Visa® Debit Card is issued by The Bancorp Bank or Stride Bank pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. and may be used everywhere Visa debit cards are accepted. Please see back of your Card for its issuing bank.

Grain

Grain does something similar in that they look at your primary checking account and then pre-approves you for a line of credit. They say they used your “cash flow” and not your “credit” to determine how much to offer you (max is $1,000). Then you use Grain as your credit card and you can build your credit history since this is a line of credit, which is reported to the bureaus.

Sometimes, based on your cash flow, you may not qualify for an unsecured line. In this case, they require a security deposit and so it’s similar to a secured credit card.

Grain doesn’t charge you a monthly fee but they do charge a 1% finance charge if you withdraw (similar to a cash advance) and there is interest on your balance, 15% APR with auto-pay and 17.99% APR without, as of 5/4/2022).

Final Word

If you have an existing bank you like and have trouble building a credit history, the Extra Debit Card can be a good option. The annual fee is is higher than some secured credit cards but you don’t have to put a large deposit and you won’t be subject to interest. The all-in cost may be lower depending on your usage.

The rewards points are a nice benefit but the higher annual fee might offset any rewards you get. If you pay annually, it’s only $50 per year more which you can “earn back” . Rewards is a feature that doesn’t often come with secured credit cards or many debit cards.

In the end, you’ll have to do the math and see if the fees justify the benefits of the card.

👉 Learn more about the Extra Debit Card

¹ The Extra Debit Card is issued by Evolve Bank & Trust or Patriot Bank N.A. (Member FDIC), pursuant to a license by Mastercard International. The bank does not sponsor spending limits or credit reporting. Loans provided by Lead Bank. Extra is responsible for credit reporting and reports on time and late payments, which may impact a credit bureau’s determination of your credit score.

² Rewards points only available with rewards plan.

*****Credit Builder Accounts & Certificates of Deposit made/held by Lead Bank, Sunrise Banks, N.A., SouthState Bank, N.A., First Century Bank, N.A., each Member FDIC. Subject to credit approval.