Greenlight Family Cash Card

The Greenlight Family Cash Card is a cash back rewards credit card from First National Bank of Omaha (FNBO). The card pairs with the Greenlight Debit Card for kids program and allows families to supercharge their savings with cash back on every purchase.

Greenlight Subscription Required

The first thing to know about the credit card from Greenlight is that it is not a standalone product. Parents looking to apply for the credit card must have an active subscription to Greenlight, the mobile app and banking resource for kids.

The Greenlight app and debit card provides a comprehensive banking solution for kids. Parents can assign and manage chores, pay allowances, and then monitor spending through the Greenlight app. Kids can learn financial responsibility by saving, spending, or investing their allowance funds, while parents can track spending, block “unsafe” categories, and set spending limits.

Those impressive tools come at a price, however. The lowest cost tier in the Greenlight app is $4.99 per month, although that fee covers up to five children on the same plan. Here is a quick breakdown of the Greenlight tiers, and what you can expect from each of them:

How to Earn Rewards

Eligible parents that open a new Greenlight credit card account earn up to 3% cash back on eligible purchases. That reward rate is based upon monthly spending, however, with the 3% top tier requiring significant spending:

• Earn 3% when you spend $4,000 or more in a billing cycle.
• Earn 2% when you spend $1,000 or more in a billing cycle.
• Earn 1% when you spend less than $1,000 in a billing cycle.

As mentioned, the 3% cash back level is pricey, to say the least. In reality, most families can realistically expect to earn 2% back, which is nice, but there are more robust offers elsewhere.

Cash Back Comparison

Here is how Greenlight stacks up when compared to two other popular cash back options:

	Greenlight Family Cash Card	Citi® Double Cash Card	Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards Visa®
Rewards	Earn 3% when you spend $4,000 or more, 2% when you spend $1,000 up to $4,000 and 1% when you spend <$1,000 in a billing cycle.	Earn 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases.	Unlimited cash back on payments – 3% on Home, Auto and Health categories and 1% on everything else
Annual fee	None	None	None
Requirements	Subscription	None	None
0% Intro APR	N/A	18 months on balance transfers	N/A
Prequalify	N/A	Yes	Yes

How to Redeem Cash Back

Redeeming rewards with Greenlight is simple, with just three options from which to select. You can redeem your cash back as statement credits, bank deposits, or auto-investing. The first two options are standard with most cash back cards, although the caveat is that you can add your rewards to your family’s “Parent’s Wallet” within the app. This feature lets you apply your rewards to your kids’ accounts.

The investing redemption option is also interesting. You can place one-time trades for over 4,000 stocks and ETFs. You can even set up auto-invest to put your investments on autopilot.

Other Card Features

Other notable features of the Greenlight Family Cash Mastercard include no hidden fees. You’ll pay no annual fee or penalty APR, plus you’ll enjoy no foreign transaction fees when using your card abroad or on a foreign website.

Cardholders also enjoy EMV chip technology, which adds additional layers of security when s hopping online and in-store, mobile wallet compatibility with Apple Wallet, Google Waller, and more, and Mastercard benefits and protections. The Greenlight credit card enjoys World Mastercard benefits, including:

Greenlight Ratings

How does the Greenlight cash back card stack up? Here is a selection of expert reviews for the card and Greenlight as a service:

Should You Apply for the Greenlight Family Cash Card?

If your kids already use Greenlight, should you consider applying for the credit card? Unless you are a big spender, probably not. For families planning to spend at least $4,000 on their new card every month, those rewards are very lucrative, especially since there is no cap on the total amount of rewards earned. That’s $48,000 in annual spending on the card – a huge tally – although that would also net you more than $1,400 in cash back as well.

Another card might make more sense for anyone spending less than those figures. Sure, you can earn the same 2% back as you would with Citi’s Double Cash Card, but that card offers 0% introductory APR on balance transfers and a much more robust redemption system for rewards. The same applies to nearly any other popular rewards card, meaning you might want to think twice before applying.

Still, if you already use Greenlight and want a simple way to earn cash back you can then use to fund your kids’ allowances or rewards; you might want to take a closer look. For everyone else, here’s our guide to the Best Cash Back Credit Cards.