Aspiration Zero Credit Card Review

 

Aspiration Zero Credit Card Review

The Aspiration Zero card is how your purchases translate into trees planted In case you were wondering, the Zero in Aspiration Zero’s name comes from the idea that cardholders can help offset their carbon footprint with the card and become carbon neutral. 

To do this, for every purchase a customer makes with the card, Aspiration will plant one tree. According to the company’s estimates, planting 60 trees a month should bring most consumers to carbon neutrality. 

Of course, there are some asterisks to this figure as trees do take time to mature, so your actual impact could take a few years to catch up. 

That said, you can read more about Aspirations tree-planting partners and their reforestation metrics on their FAQ page — which I’ll link to in the description box if you’re interested.

Next, turning to the actual financial aspects of the card, Aspiration Zero does charge an annual fee Something important to know about Aspiration’s credit card is that it will cost you. 

At the time, the card’s annual fee is set at $60. While that’s fairly modest when compared to the likes of an Amex Platinum, Chase Sapphire Reserve, or even Capital One offerings like the Savor card, it’s still a yearly expense to consider before applying — especially since this fee is not waived for your first year like it is with some other cards. 

As for rewards, while the card does offer up to 1% cashback on purchases, you’ll need to unlock that earning rate via one of two methods While most credit cards offer 1% back by default, Aspiration Zero customers will actually earn a standard amount of just 0.5% back on purchases. 

However, as advertised, this can be increased to 1% if you met carbon neutrality. As mentioned earlier, for the sake of this card, that’s defined as planting a total of 60 trees per month. In other words, you’ll need to make 60 purchases per month in order to earn that 1% back. 

However, those who leave Aspiration’s Plant the Change feature on and round up their purchase to the nearest dollar in order to plant a tree the difference, can unlock the 1% benefit with 30 purchases per month, provided that round-ups are enabled for each. 

In either case, you can track your progress within the Aspiration app. Lastly, to entice new cardholders, the Aspiration Zero card also currently offers a welcome bonus Currently, customers who apply and are approved for the Aspiration Zero card can earn a $300 bonus after they spend at least $3,000 on the card within their first three months. 

By the way, a heads up, the $60 annual fee will likely not apply toward that minimum spend amount. As far as welcome bonuses go, this one isn’t terrible but it’s also not overly attractive either. Still, for those interested in the card’s other benefits, then this bonus could just be icing on the cake. 

Overall, while the Aspiration Zero card may be well-intentioned, prospective cardholders will need to weigh the potential environmental impact against the lackluster financial benefits of this offering. 

Setting aside the card’s tree-planting mission, the Aspiration Zero card is underwhelming to say the least. First, as I noted, 1% back is usually the baseline for most credit cards, so the fact that you need to make a massive 60 purchases per month just to achieve that level of cashback is disappointing. 

Plus you’ll need to pay a $60 annual fee on top of that, making this card a total non-starter from a financial perspective. Of course, that’s not really the point of this card or Aspiration in general. 

Still, I can’t help but feel as though some savvy credit card users might be better off maximizing rewards with other card options and using some of their earned funds to fight climate change as they see fit. 

But, those wanting a simpler solution and who like Aspiration’s tree planting plan may decide that the Aspiration Zero card is worth it to them — and who am I to disagree? 

Hopefully this gives you a better idea about what the Aspiration Zero card is all about but for more on Aspiration and their other offerings.

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