Cha-ching! That’s the sound of cash dropping into your account while you go about your daily routine. Money may not grow on trees, but it can grow quickly with a few smart money moves—like opening a high-yield or cash-back checking account.
At Capital Credit Union, we understand that financial success begins with foundational knowledge. You can maximize the value of your checking account by making your money work smarter.
Choose Wisely
Before you open a new checking account, do your research. Some accounts earn cash back on purchases, and some on your average daily balance. Find out if there are maintenance fees, account limits or monthly balance requirements. Evaluate and compare checking accounts to determine which is likely to provide you with the most benefit.
Capital Credit Union’s ChaChing™ account, for instance, offers a highly competitive yield*. In fact, our Annual Percentage Yield (APY) is more than 50 times*** higher than the national average! Plus, when you have an active checking account with us, you also qualify for loan rate discounts. As a community credit union, we make it easy for our members to earn more and save more.
You can open the ChaChing™ checking account with as little as $1. Of course, the higher your balance, the more cash back you’ll receive. Want to see how much you could earn? Check out our chart that breaks down how much cash back you could get based on a range of average daily balances.
One thing to note—some accounts have monthly caps on how much cash back you’re able to earn. Consider APY, monthly limits, fees, and minimum balance requirements when deciding which cash-back or high-yield checking account is more likely to provide the best value to you.
Learn How to Earn
Many checking accounts require you to meet monthly requirements to earn the high yield or qualify for cash back. Be sure you understand how these monthly qualifications work so you can maximize your earnings.
For example, to earn cash back with the ChaChing™ or MyDebit Rewards account, you need to meet a few simple requirements:
Setting up direct deposit is a win-win. You get money more quickly than waiting for a paper check. Plus, you’re one step closer to earning easy cash back.
Use Your Debit Card
There are two ways to meet this qualification each month: With the ChaChing™ account, you must use your card for at least 15 transactions of $10 or more each month or have a total monthly debit card spend of $500 or more.
The MyDebit Rewards account operates similarly. However, you only need to use your debit card for 10 monthly purchases of at least $10 or have a total monthly debit card spend of $500 or more.
Account Balance
For the MyDebit Rewards checking accounts, you also need to maintain an average daily balance of at least $100.
Check Spending Categories
Some checking accounts, like our MyDebit Rewards** accounts, pay you to shop. MyDebit Rewards offers cash back on each and every purchase you make. However, some cash-back checking accounts only offer cash back in certain spending categories, such as your restaurant or grocery store spend.
If your account has these limitations, be sure to check which categories or merchants are offering cash back each month. Then, if you are already planning to make a purchase in that spending category or with that specific business, be sure to use your debit card to earn the cash-back rewards.
Spending categories may rotate from month to month, so monitor your account frequently to ensure you’re getting the most out of your available offers. Another pro tip? Avoid making a purchase simply to earn cash back. If you’re planning to buy something specific, always compare prices to confirm you’re getting the very best deal.
Maximize Cash Back
Once you’ve learned how to earn, maximize your cash back by employing the right strategy. For example, since the ChaChing™* account pays dividends on your average daily balance it may be better to use your debit card for daily expenses rather than withdrawing large amounts of cash to cover incidentals. After all, the longer your money is in your checking account, the more it grows and the more cash back you’ll earn.
If your goal is to save the cash back you earn, consider linking your ChaChing™ or MyDebit Rewards account with your Capital Credit Union savings account. You can then transfer or automate your savings each month. As your checking account grows with your cash-back rewards, your savings can too!
Minimize Fees
You’ve strategized how to maximize your cash back. Now it’s time to minimize your losses. Once you’ve earned that cash back, hang onto it by avoiding common bank fees, like service or ATM fees.
Some cash-back checking accounts may have minimum balance requirements. If you fall below this threshold, you’ll likely incur a monthly fee. Every time you swipe your card at an ATM operated by a different financial institution, you’ll often have to pay two fees—one to the financial institution that operates that ATM and another fee to your own.
However, that’s not the case with our ChaChing™ account. Simply meet the monthly qualifications, and we’ll waive nationwide ATM fees, up to $10 each month.
We firmly believe you should be able to keep what’s yours, so we avoid charging a monthly service fee as well. Whether you open a ChaChing™ or MyDebit Rewards account, you’ll get all the perks and benefits free of charge.
Ready to hear the sweet sound of cash back dropping in your account? Simply join Capital Credit Union to take advantage of our many great membership privileges, like cash-back checking.
Money certainly doesn’t grow on trees, but it doesn't have to when you have a cash-back checking account like ours!
*ChaChing™ Checking rate tiers are as follows: balances from $0.01 - $15,000 earn a dividend rate of 4.17%, resulting in an APY of 4.25%, balances of $15,000.01 and over earn a dividend rate of 0.15%, resulting in an APY of 0.15% if qualifications are met during the monthly cycle. No interest is earned if qualifications are not met. Rates and APYs may change after the account is opened and fees may reduce earnings. 0.50% loan discount on vehicle and personal loans requires an active checking account with at least $400 in deposits each month and 12 transactions of $5 or more during the month. $2,500 minimum new loan money or additional $2,500 to any existing Capital Credit Union loan required. Qualifying purchase transactions must post and clear the account during the monthly cycle. Transactions may take one or more business days from the transaction date to post to an account from the date the transaction is made. Debit card purchase transactions can be made by signature or Point-of-Sale (using a PIN to make a purchase at a merchant). Must post and clear account by 6pm on the last day of the month. Transfers between Capital accounts do not count as qualifying ACH transactions. Minimum to open account is $1. ATM fee reimbursements up to $10 provided only if qualifications are met within the monthly cycle.Maximum of 2 ChaChing™ accounts per membership share.***Comparison based on Capital Credit Union 4.25% APY as of Rates effective Rates effective 7/28/2026 versus .07 the national average checking accounts that earn interest sourced from FDIC National Rates and Rate Cap (Opens in a new Window)as of 09/15/2025.**Terms and conditions apply. When monthly qualifications are met, account holders earn: 1% cash back on up to $1,000 in eligible debit card purchases per statement cycle, and an additional 1% cash back on up to $500 in eligible Kwik Trip purchases per statement cycle. Cash back is not earned on amounts that exceed these limits or on returned, disputed, or otherwise excluded transactions. If monthly qualifications are not met, no cash back will be paid for that cycle. Closing the account before the end of the statement cycle will result in forfeiture of any cash back earned for that cycle. Eligible debit card transactions must post and clear during the statement cycle. Please allow one or more business days for transactions to post after the purchase date. Qualifying purchases may be made using either a signature-based transaction or a PIN-based Point-of-Sale (POS) transaction.Features: Earn up to $10 monthly reward for covered streaming services such as Netflix®, Hulu®, Spotify®, Apple®, Disney+®, Peacock®, Paramount+®, or Amazon® Media purchases. Streaming purchases must be made with your debit card associated with your MyDebit Rewards -Streaming Checking account. Account closure prior to end of statement cycle forfeits rewards for that statement cycle.
Qualifying purchase transactions must post and clear the account during the monthly cycle. Transactions may take one or more business days from the transaction date to post to an account from the date the transaction is made. Debit card purchase transactions can be made by signature or Point-of-Sale (using a PIN to make a purchase at a merchant). Must post and clear account by 6pm on the last day of the month. Transfers between Capital CU accounts do not count as qualifying ACH transactions. Minimum to open account is $1.Additional fees may apply. Speak with a Member Service Representative for more details.***Comparison based on Capital Credit Union 4.25% APY as of Rates effective Rates effective 7/28/2026 versus .07 the national average checking accounts that earn interest sourced from FDIC National Rates and Rate Cap (Opens in a new Window)as of 09/15/2025.†0.50% loan discount on vehicle and personal loans requires an active checking account with at least $400 in deposits each month and 12 withdrawals of $5 or more during the month. $2,500 minimum new loan money or additional $2,500 to any existing Capital Credit Union loan required.