PerkStreet Financial

David Seaman is a personal finance reporter based in New York and creator of the blog Credit Card Outlaw.

We’ve all been there: things start out so great, they are attractive, you care about them… but before you know it, they are taking money out of your account for reasons you don’t understand, they aren’t putting anything back into the relationship, and you begin to surf the Web at night looking for someone else.

I am talking, of course, about an abusive checking account. I have two checking accounts opened at major national “branch banks.” Neither account pays me a penny of interest. And both have rather draconian hoops to jump through if I am to avoid monthly service fees. They demand that I make at least one qualifying direct deposit into the account each statement period… but what do they give me in return? Nada.

At a certain point, you need to put your foot down. If they won’t give you what you need, go somewhere else. PerkStreet’s checking account, as you may know, offers a full 2% cash back on your purchases for the first six months (1% cash back thereafter).

If you aren’t ready for the Rolls Royce of rewards checking accounts, though, at least get something that pays you some interest.

ING Direct’s Electric Orange checking account pays 0.25% APY for balances under $49,999.99 and 1.20% APY for amounts above that — and it goes up to 1.25% APY if you have $100,000 or more in your account (I’m not exactly sure why someone would opt to keep so much money in their personal checking account, but that’s another story).

Similarly, if you are a Citi customer, look into their Citigold interest checking account — it offers 0.30% APY, but you need to have at least $100,000 “across all your linked Citi accounts” to qualify (otherwise, a $25 monthly fee may be imposed).

Now, before you think either of those interest checking accounts are great offers, consider this: you would need to maintain a minimum balance of $12,000 throughout the year just to earn $30 with that ING Direct account. As this checking account comparison bar graph on my blog shows, spending $12,000 per year on your PerkStreet debit card would earn you $180 cash back.

That’s $150 more than you’d be making with ING’s checking account.

Regardless of which company you move your business to, demand more from your checking account experience. It is one of the only bank account products you interact with on a daily basis, unlike a savings account or certificate of deposit. You probably pull your primary debit card out of your wallet at least five times per day.

So why are you willing to settle for anything less than extraordinary?

Related posts:

1. ATM and Card Safety Tips for Your Checking Account
2. Five things you should know before choosing a rewards card