The SoFi Money Card is Adding Significant Benefits That are Worth a Look

It was recently announced that the SoFi Money card is adding significant benefits.

Benefits, that for some, may make the SoFi Money account a more attractive everyday money management option.

SoFi Money Account

If you’re not familiar with SoFi, or its SoFi Money account, you can read our piece “Open a SoFi Money Account and Earn an Easy $50, or More, with a $100 deposit.”

The quick version is, a SoFi Money account is an online money management platform that offers a variety of financial products to help members set and achieve financial goals.

The SoFi Money account isn’t a traditional checking account, nor savings account, but it has features of both and can be used as an everyday banking service if you’d so choose.

The major benefit is its high interest earning – currently 1.60% – on deposited funds.

You’re not going to get any rate near that with traditional banking accounts. And only high yield savings accounts will beat that if you’re looking for safe, easy-to-access options for your money.

But, enough about the SoFi Money account, let’s look that the SoFi Money card and its coming changes.

The Old SoFi Money Card

The previous version of the SoFi Money card was a basic Visa debit card associated with the SoFi Money account.

It was used as pretty much any bank debit card can be used, to make purchases and withdraw cash from an associated account – in this case, a SoFi Money account.

Aside from one significant benefit – no ATM fees, and reimbursement of ATM fees charged by other institutions when a SoFi Money® Visa® Debit Card is used at any ATM displaying the Visa®, Plus®, or NYCE® logo, even for overseas withdrawals – the card didn’t provide additional reasons to use it over a credit card.

Now that’s changed.

The New SoFi Money Card

The new SoFi Money card will be a World Debit Mastercard, rather than Visa, which will allow access to many benefits previously unavailable.

The new SoFi Money Mastercard benefits include:

• Cell phone protection – When you pay your cell phone bill with the SoFi Mastercard, you’ll receive up to $200 per claim with a $25 deductible on up to 2 claims per year on unlimited lines associated with the cell phone bill.
• Purchase assurance – Provides coverage for most new items purchased with your SoFi Money card that are damaged or stolen within 90 days of the date of purchase, up to $1,000 per claim.
• Extended warranty – Doubles the original manufacturer’s (or store brand) warranty. Coverage is for eligible items purchased with your Mastercard.
• Mastercard Airport Concierge – 15% off personal Meet and Greet agents to make the journey through the airport less stressful.
• Mastercard Golf – discounted access to golf courses, access to domestic and international golf travel packages and more.

The new SoFi Money card will also allow for contactless payments and mobile wallet support for Google Pay.

So, SoFi is providing its debit card benefits that mimic what can be found on many credit cards.

The move is definitely a positive for those who use their SoFi Money card to make purchases and pay bills.

And it is a motivator for those who’re hesitant to fully move toward using SoFi Money as their primary banking/money management account.

If you’re unable to apply for a credit card, or just prefer not to, then a SoFi Money account and its soon-to-be-issued World Debit Mastercard might be a good option for you.

I would encourage you to read our post “The Most Dangerous Bank Card” prior to committing to a debit card – from any financial institution – as your sole form of payment, though.

A Better Route

A better route is to have a solid rewards/cash back earning credit card coupled with a SoFi Money account (and its debit Mastercard) to provide a layer of safety, coupled with rewards earning while taking advantage of the high-interest rate of a SoFi Money account and the benefits of the associated debit card.

And, of course, you can use the SoFi Money account as a small money-maker if you have family and friends who may be interested in opening an account.

Referral bonuses can change at any time. Currently, when someone you refer opens a SoFi Money account with at least a $100 deposit you’ll get $25 and they’ll get $25.

If you want to give SoFi Money a try, you can use my referral link below to open an account. Make the $100+ deposit and you’ll get an extra $25 deposited to your account, while I’ll get a $25 referral fee. Thank you if you use my link.

SoFi Money Account Referral Link

Other SoFi products may provide larger referral bonuses.

Wrap Up

SoFi is changing the debit card associated with the SoFi Money account, and with that change comes a number of upgraded benefits.

When you use the SoFi Money World Debit Mastercard to pay, you’ll enjoy benefits such as extended warranties, purchase protection and even cell phone protection to name a few.

And your debit card will still provide the no ATM fee benefit that can be extremely lucrative, especially when used during overseas travel.

So give the new SoFi Money card and its benefits a look, and then review the benefits of a SoFi Money account to see if opening one is right for you.