Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Acorns have teamed up to release the Mighty Oak debit card and banking platform — a financial tool designed to help you save for emergencies and invest all at the same time.
The card is tied to a high-yield checking account, the Acorns Mighty Oak Checking, which earns an annual percentage yield (APY) of 3.00% and a high-yield “emergency fund”, the Acorns Mighty Oak Emergency Fund, which earns 5.00% APY. Although you need an Acorns Personal Plus or Premium subscription to open the card (which costs $5 or $9 per month, respectively), the subscription cost can be waived for customers who set up a direct deposit of at least $250 per calendar month into their Acorns Checking account.
Account details and annual percentage yields (APYs) are accurate as of January 18, 2024.
Acorns Mighty Oak basics
The Mighty Oak Visa™ debit card is a financial tool designed for everyday spending and long-term savings. Issued through Acorns, this free checking account is linked to a brokerage account (the Acorns Invest account) that rounds up your purchases to the nearest dollar and invests the change. For example, a $3.75 purchase would round up to $4, with $0.25 automatically invested for you.
In addition to rounding up spending, you can also set up recurring deposits from each paycheck. Even small investments like $5 or $10 per pay period add up over time. You make these investments through Acorns’ portfolio of ETFs for diversified, hands-free growth.
Best of all, simply by signing up for an Acorns Mighty Oak debit card by March 31, 2024, you’ll be entered to win $50,000 through Acorn’s Mighty Paycheck Sweepstakes.
The Mighty Oak debit card offers competitive rates on balances to help your money grow. You’ll earn a 3.00% APY on your available checking balance and a 5.00% APY on any funds set aside in the card’s emergency savings bucket.
These rates are well above the FDIC’s national average rates for checking and savings accounts. If you kept $1,000 in your checking account and $10,000 in your emergency fund account for one year, you’d earn a total of $542 in interest.
Acorns plans
Acorns has three pricing tiers — but only the Personal Plus and Premium plans grant you access to the Mighty Oak debit card. With the Personal Plus and Premium subscriptions, Acorns will waive the monthly fee as long as you have the Mighty Oak card and an active direct deposit (of at least $250 per calendar month) set up with your Acorns Checking account.
- Acorns Personal. Costs $3 per month but does not come with a Mighty Oak debit card account or the ability to waive the monthly subscription cost.
- Acorns Personal Plus. Costs $5 per month and comes with Mighty Oak Banking, a taxable brokerage account, an IRA account, bonus investments matched and a learning portal to help you boost your financial confidence.
- Acorns Premium. Costs $9 per month and comes with everything in the Personal Plus plan, plus a GoHenry by Acorns debit card for kids, a $10,000 life insurance policy and a no-cost will.
Acorns account fees
The Acorns Mighty Oak debit card account has no overdraft, monthly maintenance or ATM fees. A monthly subscription fee of either $5 or $9 does apply, depending on the subscription you choose — but you can avoid these subscription fees by setting up a monthly direct deposit of at least $250 into your Acorns checking account.
Pros
- High interest rates. With yields significantly higher than national averages, the Mighty Oak debit card turns your regular checking and emergency fund accounts into potent tools for earning interest.
- Investment integration. The Real-Time Round-Ups® feature automatically invests your spare change. Also, use Paycheck Split to automatically invest a portion of every paycheck.
- No hidden fees. The card boasts an absence of hidden fees and offers access to a vast network of 55,000 free ATMs.
- Subscription fee waiver. Users who hold a Mighty Oak card and set up a direct deposit of at least $250 per calendar month into their Acorns Checking account can have their monthly subscription fee waived, adding value for regular users.
- Premium card design. The debit card you receive is a tungsten metal card that’s laser-engraved with your signature. It has a high-end feel compared to typical debit cards.
Cons
- Subscription requirement. You must have either a $5 (Personal Plus) or $9 (Premium) monthly Acorns subscription to access the Mighty Oak debit card.
- Account transition hiccups. Current Acorns Checking and Emergency Fund customers who want the Mighty Oak debit card must close their existing account and open a new one to get it. This means updating routing and account numbers for bills and direct deposits, which can be annoying.
About Mighty Oak
The Mighty Oak debit card is a part of Acorns’ larger ecosystem, which aims to simplify investing, saving and spending for its users. The card is designed to work in tandem with Acorns’ investment platform, ensuring every transaction contributes to your financial wellness.
Mighty Oak was created in partnership with Dwayne Johnson. In his early 20s, Johnson was cut from the Canadian Football League and only had $7 in his bank account.
“I’ve been there, and know what it’s like to count every dollar and save every last cent possible to provide for my family and myself,” said Johnson in a press release.
How Mighty Oak stacks up
When compared to traditional banking and other fintech solutions, the Mighty Oak debit card stands out for its integrated investment features and high APYs. Here’s how it stacks up against some of the best checking accounts and savings accounts.
Mighty Oak vs. Chime®
Chime* is a fintech platform that helped revolutionize the banking scene a few years back. The Chime® Checking Account is known for having a feature called “SpotMe®”¹, which will spot eligible members up to $200 when they need that little extra cushion to cover an expense. The Chime Checking Account also has no monthly fees and comes with early paydays (up to 2 days early with direct deposit)². Another option is the Chime® High-Yield Savings Account, which earns 2.00% APY³ — but note that it doesn’t have any investing features and you must have a Chime Checking Account to open a Chime Savings Account.
Mighty Oak vs. SoFi Bank
SoFi offers a hybrid bank account, called the SoFi Checking and Savings Account, which has no account fees and earns 0.50% APY on checking and up to 4.60% APY on savings when enrolled in direct deposit, the savings yield drops to 1.20% if deposit requirements aren’t met. Plus, you can get a $50 to $300 cash bonus after opening an account, depending on the direct deposit amount within a 25-day evaluation period (expires June 30, 2024) and earn up to 15% cash back on purchases made at qualifying local businesses with the SoFi debit card.
This account also has Roundups, which allows you to automatically round-up your debit card purchases — but the spare change can only be transferred to your savings Vault, not to an investment account.
Mighty Oak vs. Varo
Varo is another banking platform that offers a checking and savings account combo. The Varo Online Bank Account doesn’t earn interest, but it has no hidden fees, receives paycheck direct deposits up to two days early and gives you the ability to earn cashback on select purchases.
The Varo Savings Account earns a 3.00% APY to start, then qualify to earn 5.00% APY on balances up to $5,000 the next month after receiving qualifying direct deposit(s) totaling at least $1,000 and ending the month with a positive balance in both the Varo Bank Account and Savings Account (balances over $5,000 earn 3.00% APY).
Varo is also well-loved for its Varo Believe Credit-Builder Card
*
The information for the Varo Believe Credit-Builder Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
, which helps you improve your credit score when making everyday purchases, and its instant cash advances, which can float you money until your next payday. But it doesn’t have any investing features.
Read more: How many checking accounts should you have?
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
If you’re already an Acorns customer or are thinking about becoming one, opening a Mighty Oak debit card can be a great way to automate the process of saving and investing part of your paycheck.
You can add money to the Mighty Oak debit card via direct deposit, electronic ACH transfers or by transferring money from an existing Acorns investment account.
While there are no traditional banking fees like overdraft or minimum balance fees, the Mighty Oak debit card requires an Acorns subscription at the $5 Personal Plus or $9 Premium tier. But this subscription fee can be waived for customers who set up a minimum monthly direct deposit of $250 into their Acorns Checking account.
*Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services and debit card provided by The Bancorp Bank N.A. or Stride Bank, N.A.; Members FDIC. The secured Credit Builder card issued by Stride Bank, N.A.
¹Chime SpotMe is an optional, no fee service that requires a single deposit of $200 or more in qualifying direct deposits to the Chime Checking Account each at least once every 34 days. All qualifying members will be allowed to overdraw their account up to $20 on debit card purchases and cash withdrawals initially, but may be later eligible for a higher limit of up to $200 or more based on member’s Chime Account history, direct deposit frequency and amount, spending activity and other risk-based factors. Your limit will be displayed to you within the Chime mobile app. You will receive notice of any changes to your limit. Your limit may change at any time, at Chime’s discretion. Although there are no overdraft fees, there may be out-of-network or third party fees associated with ATM transactions. SpotMe won’t cover non-debit card transactions, including ACH transfers, Pay Anyone transfers, or Chime Checkbook transactions. See Terms and Conditions.
²Early access to direct deposit funds depends on the timing of the submission of the payment file from the payer. We generally make these funds available on the day the payment file is received, which may be up to 2 days earlier than the scheduled payment date.
³The Annual Percentage Yield (“APY”) for the Chime Savings Account is variable and may change at any time. The disclosed APY is effective as of September 20, 2023. No minimum balance required. Must have $0.01 in savings to earn interest.
