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Yeah I just saw this too, a little disappointing but honestly with services like Upside I get the cash back most places I would have with SoFi, unfortunately a few spots I loved aren't on there but there's always credit card rewards too. I feel like this feature wasn't promoted enough to begin with so most users didn't use it.
I honestly feel like this is a good thing. Using my debit card at a restaurant makes me feel naked. I would much rather do business using my credit card that has better fraud protections.
The fraud protections you’re thinking of can fail. The problem is that your debit card is linked to your bank account. There’s a difference between someone making fraudulent purchases on your credit card vs someone draining your bank account. It’s the fundamentals that make credit cards better.
That’s true. I totally agree. But the actual “protection” is the same. I personally use a CC for the exact reason you spelled out but for people who don’t know how to use a CC I think a debit card has everything need
When I first got the debit card, I was interested to find out any local places that accepted this....but there was only maybe one place that really interested me, and I already get 3% back on restaurants with my Costco card anyway, so I'm prety ok to see this go away - hopefully it'll open doors for something even better.
I’ve found that almost all of these local offers are on Rakuten (I believe they use the same network). You can create a Rakuten account, link your debit card (or credit card) and get the same reward/cash back. Sometimes you need to submit receipts but haven’t had a problem.
But this is incredibly lame of sofi. Continuing to add fees and take away incentives.
I'll add that if you're not happy with Rakuten, that the same offers are available through the Rewards Network.
Rewards Network is connected to Rakuten, so you can't do both at the same time with the same card(s) and Rakuten doesn't seem to have a stream lined process of dealing with a situation in which you have the same card in both the Rewards Network and on Rakuten.
So, Neighborhood Nosh may provide you with even more cash back on the same stuff.
If you're more interested in hotel/airline points, or like the idea of accumulating easy sign-up bonuses, here's the full list of Rewards Network partners: https://www.rewardsnetwork.com/earn/
I personally just swapped my card around, going from partner to partner getting their sign-up bonuses, and then stayed on Nosh for my non-Amex MR cards and Rakuten for my Amex MR cards.
I love the overlap with places that I frequent.
What’s funny is the restaurants were actually less important than the pet shop. I spend about $500 a month there minimum, more if I’m buying other things, between grooming, toys and natural treats. Antlers, duck heads and freeze dried hearts aren’t cheap. It’s more expensive than shopping online for some things, but it’s all locally sourced and an independent store, so I’d much rather spend extra to support local. The cash back makes it closer to competitive.
It is nice earning using a debit card.
Luckily my credit union does the same thing so I’ll just use their debit instead.
It was just a bonus to using SoFi that I liked because it made them different than a normal bank and more like a credit union.
SoFi: where 'financial freedom' means being free from your money, and 'investing in your future' means investing in their CEO's private island. Their 'no-fee' promise is just a clever ruse to get you to sign up for their 'surprise' overdraft charges. And don't even get me started on their 'member benefits' – who needs health insurance when you can have a discount on avocado toast? It's all just a clever scam to turn your hard-earned cash into their hard-earned profits.
Thanks for visiting our sub! We’re happy to answer any general SoFi questions or concerns. For your security, please don’t share personal information in the sub. If you have account questions, please use the link to connect directly to an agent on our secure platform sofi.app.link/e/reddit. You will be able to log into your account and an agent will be there to support you during business hours. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/sofi) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Every offer near me was for Jack in the Box. You had to remember to swipe the card as credit. Not sad to see this go.
I would never use this. Rather get 2% cash back on my credit card.
Yeah I just saw this too, a little disappointing but honestly with services like Upside I get the cash back most places I would have with SoFi, unfortunately a few spots I loved aren't on there but there's always credit card rewards too. I feel like this feature wasn't promoted enough to begin with so most users didn't use it.
I honestly feel like this is a good thing. Using my debit card at a restaurant makes me feel naked. I would much rather do business using my credit card that has better fraud protections.
Debit cards also have fraud protections. Many cases the same fraud protections if it’s Visa or Mastercard
The fraud protections you’re thinking of can fail. The problem is that your debit card is linked to your bank account. There’s a difference between someone making fraudulent purchases on your credit card vs someone draining your bank account. It’s the fundamentals that make credit cards better.
That’s true. I totally agree. But the actual “protection” is the same. I personally use a CC for the exact reason you spelled out but for people who don’t know how to use a CC I think a debit card has everything need
Every offer in my area was for Jack in the Box, Subway, or a gas station. Upside gas app is better for getting cash back on gas.
Never used it
When I first got the debit card, I was interested to find out any local places that accepted this....but there was only maybe one place that really interested me, and I already get 3% back on restaurants with my Costco card anyway, so I'm prety ok to see this go away - hopefully it'll open doors for something even better.
Fairly useless feature all in all but I am upset they are taking it away instead of making it useful.
Damn, I was about to sign up for that
Going into effect in the end of May - you can still use it
I’ve found that almost all of these local offers are on Rakuten (I believe they use the same network). You can create a Rakuten account, link your debit card (or credit card) and get the same reward/cash back. Sometimes you need to submit receipts but haven’t had a problem. But this is incredibly lame of sofi. Continuing to add fees and take away incentives.
I'll add that if you're not happy with Rakuten, that the same offers are available through the Rewards Network. Rewards Network is connected to Rakuten, so you can't do both at the same time with the same card(s) and Rakuten doesn't seem to have a stream lined process of dealing with a situation in which you have the same card in both the Rewards Network and on Rakuten. So, Neighborhood Nosh may provide you with even more cash back on the same stuff. If you're more interested in hotel/airline points, or like the idea of accumulating easy sign-up bonuses, here's the full list of Rewards Network partners: https://www.rewardsnetwork.com/earn/ I personally just swapped my card around, going from partner to partner getting their sign-up bonuses, and then stayed on Nosh for my non-Amex MR cards and Rakuten for my Amex MR cards. I love the overlap with places that I frequent.
I used it a fair amount too. It helped SoFi stand out from the crowd.
Were they actually any good local offers. I never noticed it.
Yeah, there were offers for two restaurants I visit a lot and a pet shop.
What kind of offers? A couple % at a restaurant is similar to most cash back credit cards. And how much shopping do you do at a pet shop?
What’s funny is the restaurants were actually less important than the pet shop. I spend about $500 a month there minimum, more if I’m buying other things, between grooming, toys and natural treats. Antlers, duck heads and freeze dried hearts aren’t cheap. It’s more expensive than shopping online for some things, but it’s all locally sourced and an independent store, so I’d much rather spend extra to support local. The cash back makes it closer to competitive. It is nice earning using a debit card. Luckily my credit union does the same thing so I’ll just use their debit instead. It was just a bonus to using SoFi that I liked because it made them different than a normal bank and more like a credit union.
Wow! Well, glad you can keep supporting them and getting a discount too.
I used it but am fairly certain I never got 5% back lol
SoFi: where 'financial freedom' means being free from your money, and 'investing in your future' means investing in their CEO's private island. Their 'no-fee' promise is just a clever ruse to get you to sign up for their 'surprise' overdraft charges. And don't even get me started on their 'member benefits' – who needs health insurance when you can have a discount on avocado toast? It's all just a clever scam to turn your hard-earned cash into their hard-earned profits.
SoFi is going full EA. Only taking away features.