The Alliant Credit score Union Teen Checking Account earns a spot on our checklist of one of the best financial institution accounts for teenagers for a number of causes.
For starters, it’s just about fee-free. It may earn a good yield on all balances. It has an enormous community of fee-free ATMs and a beneficiant reimbursement fund for out-of-network ATM transactions. It’s super-mobile-friendly. And it has customizable parental alerts and day by day spending limits to maintain teen customers in verify.
If that appears like a great deal, there’s way more to know concerning the Alliant Credit score Union Teen Checking Account.
What Is the Alliant Credit score Union Teen Checking Account?
The Alliant Credit score Union Teen Checking Account is an curiosity checking account designed for teenagers and their mother and father.
It’s a joint account, which means an grownup guardian or guardian shares possession with the teenager. Children as younger as 13 can open an account with a guardian’s permission. As soon as the teenager account holder turns 18, the account mechanically converts to an grownup checking account. The teenager can then take away the grownup from the account or proceed with joint possession if they need.
The guardian and teenage each have full account possession and privileges on the account, however it has built-in spending limits to guard towards teen overspending. The guardian also can arrange transaction alerts.
What Units the Alliant Credit score Union Teen Checking Account Aside?
The Alliant Credit score Union Teen Checking Account stands out from different kid- and teen-friendly checking accounts in 3 ways:
- All balances earn curiosity with qualifying actions. All balances earn 0.25% APY in months once you full two easy qualifying actions. The primary is to choose into e-statements, and the second is to obtain no less than one digital deposit. You solely must choose into e-statements as soon as, so there’s actually just one recurring requirement to earn curiosity until you choose again out.
- Beneficiant ATM community and reimbursement. Alliant Credit score Union has greater than 80,000 fee-free ATMs in its community. It additionally reimburses out-of-network ATM transactions as much as $20 every month. So you must have little bother avoiding ATM charges.
- Cell-friendly banking options. Some credit score unions are behind the instances in relation to cell banking, however not Alliant. This account is appropriate with common cell wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay, plus cash-transfer apps just like the Money App, PayPal, and Venmo. And the cell app has just about all the identical cash administration and budgeting options as the online portal.
How one can Develop into an Alliant Credit score Union Member
If you happen to’re not already an Alliant Credit score Union member, you should turn out to be one earlier than you’ll be able to open an account. That requires you to fulfill one of many 4 {qualifications}:
- Work for an affiliated group. Alliant Credit score Union companions with greater than 100 corporations and organizations, together with massive ones like United Airways. Present and retired staff are eligible to hitch.
- Be associated to an present member. If you happen to’re associated by legislation or blood to an present Alliant member, you mechanically qualify for membership.
- Stay in an eligible neighborhood. Alliant serves about 30 communities in suburban Chicago, although not Chicago itself. A house deal with in any of those communities qualifies you for membership.
- Develop into a Foster Care 2 Success member. This can be a loophole that opens Alliant Credit score Union membership to mainly anybody. You need to fill out a separate kind to turn out to be a Foster Care 2 Success member, however Alliant covers the one-time $5 becoming a member of payment.
Key Options
The Alliant Credit score Union Teen Checking Account isn’t for everybody, however it’s a incredible match for a lot of, particularly those that love the personal touch of a credit score union however want the know-how many credit score unions simply can’t present. And that’s not the one function that makes the Alliant a great match.
Account Minimums & Charges
The Alliant Credit score Union Teen Checking Account has no minimal deposit or ongoing steadiness requirement, and there’s no month-to-month upkeep payment. Considerably unusually, there’s no stop-payment payment, both.
That doesn’t imply the account is 100% fee-free. See Alliant Credit score Union’s full schedule of potential account charges to get a way of what you possibly can find yourself paying.
Account Yield (Curiosity on Balances)
This account can yield 0.25% APY on all balances.
To earn mentioned yield, choose into e-statements (so that you received’t obtain paper statements anymore) and obtain no less than one digital deposit every month.
If you happen to don’t obtain an digital deposit in a selected month, you’ll earn no curiosity for the interval.
Contactless Visa Debit Card
This account comes with a Visa debit card that works at contactless fee terminals and integrates with common cell wallets like Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay.
ATM Entry & Charges
Alliant Credit score Union has greater than 80,000 fee-free ATMs in its community. It additionally reimburses as much as $20 in out-of-network ATM charges every month, which is unusually beneficiant for a checking account with no month-to-month upkeep payment.
Transaction Limits
The Alliant Credit score Union Teen Checking Account has three varieties of day by day transaction limits to forestall teen overspending:
- $500 in debit card PIN transactions
- $500 in ATM money withdrawals
- $5,000 in debit card signature-based transactions (utilizing the credit score possibility on the level of sale)
Inbound & Outbound Cash Transfers
Alliant Credit score Union permits each mother and father and youths to provoke inbound transfers from linked financial institution accounts, which is helpful for scheduled allowance and one-off or recurring chore funds. Solely mother and father can provoke outbound ACH transfers.
Paper Checks
This account comes with one free ebook of paper checks for the hopefully uncommon events when there’s no different possibility.
Cell Examine Deposit
Alliant’s cell app has an easy-to-use cell verify deposit function. Snap a photograph, fill out a few fields, and make your deposit — no stamped envelope or journey to the financial institution required.
Grownup Account Improve at Age 18
The Alliant Credit score Union Teen Checking Account mechanically upgrades to an grownup checking account when the teenager account holder turns 18. However the grownup account holder stays on the account till the teenager removes them. That’s a helpful function for teenagers who want their mother and father to have full entry to the account whereas they’re off in school.
Deposit Insurance coverage
The Alliant Credit score Union Teen Checking Account comes with as much as $250,000 in deposit insurance coverage by way of the Nationwide Credit score Union Administration, which is the credit score union model of the Federal Deposit Insurance coverage Company.
Execs & Cons
The Alliant Credit score Union Teen Checking Account isn’t the one teen checking account on the town. Relying on the place you reside, it could not even be the one teen credit score union account on the town. So it’s necessary to know the advantages and disadvantages of the account earlier than you open one.
Benefits
The Alliant Credit score Union Teen Checking Account has lots of perks for teen and grownup customers. Initially, it provides your child an in at a credit score union they will hopefully leverage their complete life. However even if you happen to aren’t on the credit score union band wagon, that’s not the one benefit.
- No month-to-month upkeep charges. This account has no month-to-month upkeep payment. Against this, some kid-friendly debit playing cards and financial institution accounts cost upkeep charges that eat into children’ balances, which is particularly problematic in the event that they don’t have an everyday paycheck to switch it.
- Curiosity on all balances. Alliant pays curiosity on all balances in its teen accounts in any assertion cycle throughout which you meet each required qualifying actions: opting into e-statements and receiving no less than one digital deposit. You solely must choose into e-statements as soon as, so it’s actually only a matter of getting that month-to-month deposit.
- No minimal steadiness. This account has no minimal steadiness, so that you don’t have to fret about saving up (or getting seed cash out of your mother and father) earlier than opening your first checking account.
- Large fee-free ATM community. Alliant Credit score Union has greater than 80,000 fee-free ATMs in its community. It additionally reimburses as much as $20 in ATM withdrawal charges per thirty days, sufficient to cowl anyplace from 5 to 10 withdrawals.
- Simple parent-child transfers. Alliant allows speedy parent-child ACH transfers. That’s an enormous perk for teenagers nonetheless counting on a weekly or month-to-month allowance.
- Cheap day by day spending limits and customizable transaction alerts. Alliant Credit score Union has cheap day by day spending limits: $500 for debit card PIN purchases, $500 for ATM withdrawals, and $5,000 for signature-based debit card purchases. It’s onerous to think about an adolescent needing to exceed these limits whereas dwelling at dwelling. And for fogeys who fear about their children’ spending patterns, Alliant’s customizable transaction alerts provide peace of thoughts.
- Free cease funds. Alliant Credit score Union fees nothing for cease fee requests. Hopefully, you received’t must take benefit fairly often, however it’s a reassuring function for fogeys who don’t but completely belief their teenagers.
- Cell-friendly banking options. Just about something you are able to do by way of Alliant’s net portal, you are able to do by way of its cell app. That features cell verify deposits and cell pockets funds.
Disadvantages
The Alliant Credit score Union Teen Checking Account has extra upsides than downsides, however think about these potential drawbacks earlier than you open an account.
- Requires Alliant Credit score Union membership to open. The grownup account holder should be an Alliant Credit score Union member to open a Teen Checking Account. It’s simple sufficient to hitch by first changing into a member of Foster Care 2 Success, however the requirement nonetheless provides some friction to the account-opening course of. There are many kid-friendly checking accounts with out that second software requirement.
- No rewards on spending. Debit card purchases earn no rewards. That’s a disadvantage compared to different kid-friendly checking accounts and debit playing cards, like Present.
- Not open to children beneath 13. Not like most kid-friendly debit playing cards and a few kid-friendly checking accounts, Alliant’s Teen Checking Account is open solely to children 13 and older. It’s not an excellent first cash administration software. To show youthful children monetary fundamentals, go for GoHenry or Greenlight as an alternative.
How the Alliant Credit score Union Teen Checking Account Stacks Up
The Alliant Credit score Union Teen Checking Account isn’t the one teen-friendly joint checking account that earns curiosity. See the way it stacks up towards one other common possibility, the Capital One MONEY Teen Checking Account.
| Alliant Credit score Union Teen | Capital One MONEY | |
| Ages | 13+ | 8+ |
| Month-to-month Price | $0 | $0 |
| Account Yield | 0.25% APY | 0.10% APY |
| Price-Free ATMs | 80,000+ | 70,000+ |
| Paper Checks | Sure | No |
Remaining Phrase
It’s uncommon to discover a checking account that pays any curiosity in any respect, not to mention a price increased than many big-bank financial savings accounts. It’s even rarer to discover a children’ checking account with a stable yield — the Alliant Credit score Union Teen Checking Account is among the many solely ones.
That mentioned, there’s extra to life than checking yield, and Alliant Credit score Union Teen Checking isn’t excellent. It has no rewards program, it isn’t open to children beneath 13, and it does require Alliant membership to open — although that’s not a very heavy raise.
Backside line: Don’t apply for an Alliant Credit score Union Teen Checking Account earlier than wanting into comparable options. You may discover that Alliant is really your best option — however you won’t.
The editorial content material on this web page isn’t offered by any financial institution, bank card issuer, airline, or resort chain, and has not been reviewed, accepted, or in any other case endorsed by any of those entities. Opinions expressed listed below are the writer’s alone, not these of the financial institution, bank card issuer, airline, or resort chain, and haven’t been reviewed, accepted, or in any other case endorsed by any of those entities.
