Can you withdraw money from a greenlight card

When you're in need of cash, whether it's from an unexpected expense or a sudden job loss, heading to the ATM and withdrawing money from your credit card sounds like a quick fix.

This is called a cash advance, and although many credit cards allow you to do this, the negative financial consequences should make you think twice.

Below, Select explains what exactly it means to use your credit card to borrow cash as an advance, and why it's not worth it.

How cash advances work

Cash advances let cardholders borrow money against their card's line of credit. They essentially act as a short-term loan and can be accessed by withdrawing cash at an ATM with your credit card's PIN number, by requesting one in-person at your bank or by writing a convenience check (if your card provides them) to yourself and then cashing or depositing it.

You can check your credit card statement or call your card issuer to find out your cash advance limit.

Why they aren't recommended

 Here are two reasons why experts don't recommend cash advances.

1. They're very expensive

The cost to withdraw money from a credit card can add up quickly. Since you are borrowing the money rather than withdrawing like you normally would from a checking account, the credit card company will charge you fees and interest rates until you pay back the loan. And unlike having at least 21 days to pay off a credit card purchase in full before incurring interest, there is no grace period for cash advances. That means you will be charged interest starting from the date you withdraw a cash advance.

The fees to consider on cash advances are the monthly payment, the interest rate on that monthly payment, the cash advance fee (usually 3% or 5% of the total amount of each cash advance you request) and the ATM or bank fee (depending on what method you choose). Keep in mind that the interest rates for cash advances are usually steeper than the rate you pay on purchases or balance transfers.

For example, the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express (which requires good or excellent credit and ranked as Select's best credit card for grocery shopping) has a variable APR of 16.99% - 27.99% on purchases, but a 28.24%APR on cash advances (see rates and fees). Terms apply. But on a card such as the Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card (which is a good choice for fair and average credit applicants to earn cash back), the APR on purchases and balance transfers is the same as the cash advance APR: 28.49%%.

2. They can impact your credit score: Cash advances from your credit card won't show up on your credit report as their own line item, but they can harm your credit score if the amount you withdraw causes the percentage of available credit you're using, also known as your credit utilization rate, to increase. This could tell lenders that you are using more credit than you should while not paying it off.

For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, click here.

Information about the Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card has been collected independently by Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of the card prior to publication.

Editorial Note: Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editorial staff’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party.

When it comes to prepaid debit cards for teens and kids, there are few brands as well known as Greenlight card.

From its low monthly fee, to its feature-filled product offering or its ease of use, Greenlight is a great option for parents looking to teach their children about responsible financial habits and how money works in the real world.

However, just because Greenlight stands atop the debit card for kids market doesn’t mean it is always your best choice. Other prepaid cards offer similar features at different price points better adjusted to your needs and situation.

So, if you don’t want your child using a Greenlight card right out of the gate, there are several Greenlight alternatives that might be better suited to your needs!

In this article we’ll take a look at some of these alternatives to Greenlight and help you decide which is best for your family.

Best Free Debit Card for Teens

Best Premium Featured Paid Debit Card for Kids

What Are Prepaid Debit Cards for Kids?

A prepaid card is a type of payment card that can be loaded with funds in advance and then used to purchase goods or services without incurring debt from the issuer.

The most common type of prepaid cards is a prepaid debit card (which acts like making bank account withdrawals when purchasing goods and services).

Prepaid cards for a child allow you to avoid non-sufficient funds fees or overdraft charges because they can only spend what they have on the card.

What is the Greenlight Debit Card for Kids?

The Greenlight app offers a feature-filled financial platform meant to help parents teach their kids important personal finance skills and build useful money habits including how to save, earn, invest, spend and give money responsibly.

The Greenlight app and prepaid card function as a purpose-built solution for families to learn about money through use of a prepaid debit card with parental controls, notifications and safety features.

Further, the Greenlight prepaid card and app offers a parent account for establishing chore plans and administering weekly allowance payments for successful completion of assigned tasks.

From there, parents can show their kids how to use the included investing platform (on a higher plan through Greenlight + Invest and Greenlight Max) to invest in stocks for kids and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

This can show real-life lessons of compound interest and encourage children to save and invest funds regularly.

Our Investing & Prepaid Card for Kids Pick

Greenlight | The Investing App and Prepaid Card for Kids

4.8

For up to five kids: $4.99, $9.98 or $14.98/mo

• Greenlight offers flexible parental controls for each child and real-time notifications of each transaction.
• Greenlight is the only debit card letting you choose the exact stores where kids can spend on the card.
• Parents can use this app to teach them how to invest with a brokerage account through Greenlight Max and Greenlight Infinity plans

Pros:

• Best-in-class parental controls (can prohibit specific stores)
• Can add brokerage account to invest in stocks
• Intuitive Parent & Kid apps
• Competitive cash back & interest rates

Cons:

• High price points
• No cash reload options
• No parent / child lending

What Are the Best Greenlight Alternatives to Consider?

Below, we’ve compiled a list of the best alternatives to Greenlight that should work for your needs. Look at each and compare which one makes the most sense for your needs.

1. Copper Card

• Available: Sign up here
• Price: Free
• App Store Rating: 4.8

Copper Banking was founded with the mission to help teens gain real world experience by giving them access to their money in a way that traditional banks aren’t able to do.

The Copper app and debit card teaches teens how to make smart financial decisions by creating a platform for parents and teens to connect.

With the Copper app, you get easy snapshots of your accounts and, with the Copper Debit Card, it’s easy to shop in-store, online or with Apple or Google Pay.

Plus, users get exclusive access to engaging content curated by a team of financial literacy experts who provide advice and tips on how to take control of their financial future.

Copper is founded on the belief that teens should have equal access to financial education and should be empowered to learn by doing. Cause you’re never too young to get your money right.

Copper Banking Features: 

• Send/Request: Teens and parents can easily send and receive money all at the touch of a button
• Spend: Spending using Apple or Google Pay or using the Copper Debit Card. Get a snapshot of all your teen’s spending in an easy-to-read dashboard.
• Save: Gain quick snapshots of your teen’s savings and helpful tips on how to save even more. Set up savings bucks and save for the things that you want.
• Learn: With the help of Copper’s team of financial literacy experts, gain bite sized tips on how you can maximize your money and prepare yourself for your financial future.

Read more in our Copper Banking review.

Best Free Debit Card for Teens

Copper Banking | Banking Built for Teens

4.8

Free Debit Card for Teens

Copper is the digital bank and debit card for teens built with the mission of creating a financially successful generation.

• Send/Request: Teens and parents can easily send and receive money all at the touch of a button
• Spend: Spending using Apple or Google Pay or using the Copper Debit Card.
• Monitor: Get a snapshot of all your spending in an easy-to-read dashboard. 
• Save: Gain quick snapshots of your savings and helpful tips on how you can save even more. Set up savings bucks and save for the things that you want. 
• Learn: With the help of Copper's team of financial literacy experts, gain bite sized tips on how you can maximize your money and prepare yourself for your financial future.

Pros:

• Free debit card (no fees)
• Allowance administration
• Financial education resources

Cons:

• No investment account
• No chores tracking or assignment
• No parental controls beyond notifications

2. GoHenry

• Available: Sign up here
• Monthly Fee: 1 month free, then $3.99 per child/month
• App Store Rating: 4.7

GoHenry is a banking app for minors that competes with Greenlight debit card and comes paired with prepaid debit cards for parents to oversee and manage their children’s account balance.

You have an online account which comes linked to individual accounts for each of your children allowing you to lock and unlock each prepaid card.

You can manage all of the money held in each account through the company’s app and online account portal.

Each child will receive their own GoHenry debit card which comes paired with parental controls you can set for your children.

What’s nice about GoHenry is the ability to spend only the money available on the prepaid card, meaning you don’t need to worry about costly fees for overdrafting or accruing debt.

You open a GoHenry account, receive your children’s debit cards in the mail 7-8 business days later, set up an automatic weekly allowance transfer into your children’s accounts and can set up one-off or weekly spending limits.

This will keep your children’s spending in check and you can block/unblock the card as needed as well as choose the stores where your kids can shop.

With time, the controls provided by the app and the guidance you offer can help your kids to earn, save, spend and give with good money habits.

GoHenry is one of the best debit cards for kids for customer service. They offer 24/7 phone availability, email access and social media engagement, ensuring users can solve their problems quickly and with little hassle.

The product has no minimum age requirements, but recommends starting at 6 or later.

Learn more by reading our GoHenry debit card review.

GoHenry | Kids' Debit Card & Financial Education App

4.8

• A financial app and debit card designed to give young people ages 6 - 18 a bright financial future
• Kids can earn allowance, complete chores, set savings goals, give to charity and bank with GoHenry
• Use the app to build a solid financial education

Pros:

• Parental controls at store category level
• Can implement chore and allowance system
• Financial literacy resources

Cons:

• High price point for multiple children
• No paired investment account

Related: GoHenry vs. Greenlight

3. BusyKid

• Available: Sign up here (Devices: Android, Apple iOS/iPhone/iPad)
• Price: $3.99/month, $38.99/year (up to 5 cards)
• App Store Rating: 3.7

Are you looking for a way to teach your kids about money through chores, earning an allowance and managing their money on prepaid debit cards for kids?

BusyKid is an award-winning, parent-approved app that educates kids about money and personal finance while competing with Greenlight debit card. It’s a way to teach your children how to manage their allowance and learn important money lessons.

The BusyKid Visa Prepaid Spend Card lets them spend their money in stores or online with just one swipe of the card. You can even set up automatic savings. The product has no minimum age requirements, but recommends starting earlier than later.

Your child will be able to earn real money by completing chores and tasks around the house each week while learning valuable financial skills like budgeting, saving and giving back.

Plus they’ll have fun earning rewards from brands like Disney on BusyKid’s weekly challenges!

BusyKid is an easy-to-use, interactive kid chore app with a debit card that will help them learn and practice important real-life lessons from the palm of their hands.

They can earn, save, invest, donate or spend – all while having fun! And it couldn’t be more simple.

Parents set chores and allowance gets directly deposited each Friday!

• Earn – Kids can earn by completing tasks assigned by parents
• Save – They can save up to 10% of their weekly allowance automatically
• Donate – They can give back by donating 1% of what they make to charity
• Spend – When they’re ready for independence, BusyKid has a Visa Prepaid Spend Card so kids are never without cash in hand.

In order to get paid, parents need to approve the Payday text message sent through the app each Thursday if your kids are to be paid on Friday.

Some fees apply for various actions you can take through the app and with the card as well.

Finally, BusyKid also allows children to invest their earnings through the app. Doing so requires setting up a separate Stockpile custodial account.

BusyKid | Chores and Allowance App w/Debit Card

3.6

$3.99/mo or $38.99/yr (up to 5 BusyKid Cards)

BusyKid is an award-winning, parent-approved app that educates kids about money, providing four primary features:

• Earn - Kids can earn by completing assigned tasks
• Save - Can save ≤10% of their allowance automatically
• Donate - Can give ≤1% of what they make to charity
• Spend - Visa Prepaid Spend Card available so kids are never without money

Pros:

• Offers investment app
• Combines several kid-focused financial needs in one app

Cons:

• Charges a fee
• Lower customer ratings than competitors

Related: Best Investment Accounts for Kids

4. FamZoo

• Available: Sign up here
• Monthly Fee: Free trial, then $5.99/month per family
• App Store Rating: 4.6

FamZoo is another competing Greenlight service for parents interested in opening prepaid debit cards to manage their children’s spending.

It works by having parents release money into their child’s account and then having the card work with a loaded balance. Money can be loaded onto the cards at any time.

FamZoo acts like a regular checking account with a linked debit card except FamZoo makes sure the account can’t be charged an overdraft fee, saving you money.

Adults are able to monitor the transactions being made. After a free trial, this app costs $5.99 per month, but the price goes down if prepaid in advance.

FamZoo is our top education choice because of its strong financial education library which improves its overall value.

The product has no minimum age requirements, but recommends starting earlier than later.

FamZoo | Preparing Kids for the Financial Jungle

4.6

• FamZoo is the prepaid debit card used by families to learn good financial habits from an early age.
• Comes paired with a financial app to track transactions

Pros:

• Prepaid card without overdraft fees
• Strong financial education resource library

Cons:

• No paired investment account

Related: Greenlight vs. Famzoo

5. Axos Bank First Checking

• Available: Sign up here
• Price: Free
• App Store Rating: 4.7

First Checking by Axos Bank is the ultimate starter checking account for teens which also comes with a debit card. The world of banking can be a little scary, but not with the simplicity and power of Axos’ First Checking Account.

The account competes with Greenlight by working as a joint account between a parent or guardian and their teen, allowing for easy-to-set, customizable parental controls with a debit card dashboard.

Parents and teens can manage almost every part of the banking experience through a convenient mobile app or through the online desktop portal. Perfect for modern families who always find themselves on the go.

The First Checking account from Axos Bank gives teens their first taste of financial independence by giving them their own checking account (which pays interest!) and free debit card for teens that has daily cash withdrawals limits of $100 and purchase limits of $500.

This provides safeguards against teens getting carried away with the money held in their account.

Further, you can have up to $12 of domestic ATM fee reimbursements per month, avoid any monthly maintenance, overdraft or non-sufficient funds fees—essentially making the account free!

The account carries the highest level of security through biometric authentication techniques like fingerprint readers, voiceprints and facial recognition (pending smartphone feature availability).

The product has a minimum age requirement of 13 and will convert to an Axos Checking Account after reaching the age of majority.

Read more in our Axos First Checking Account review.

Our Teen Checking Account Pick

Axos | Teen Checking Account w/Debit Card

• Joint checking account for teenagers ages 13-17
• No monthly maintenance, overdraft of non-sufficient funds fees
• Debit card with account alerts
• Earn up to 0.10% APY
• Up to $12 domestic ATM fee reimbursements per month
• Daily transaction limits ($100 cash, $500 debit)

Pros:

• Free (no monthly maintenance fees)
• ATM fee reimbursements (up to $12 per month)

Cons:

• No paired investment account
• No robust financial literacy resources

Related: Best Investments for Kids

6. Acorns

• Available: Sign up here
• Monthly Fee: Acorns Personal: $3/month & Acorns Family: $5/month
• App Store Rating: 4.7

Acorns has become one of the most popular financial apps for minors and young adults but also offers a robust money management platform extending beyond just investing.

The full suite of offerings compares favorably with Greenlight and includes the ability to establish custodial accounts for minors to invest, regular and retirement investment accounts for adults and a bank account with linked debit card.

If you sign up for the Acorns Spend product (available under the Acorns Personal and Acorns Family plans), it creates a bank account that carries FDIC Insurance protection for up to $250,000.

Further, it uses the Acorns “Round Ups” feature which rounds up purchases to the nearest dollar, investing the difference between the transaction amount and the whole dollar. The service claims to help users invest an average of $30/month using this feature.

While not a free stock trading app, Acorns does give you the following subscription options:

1. Acorns Personal ($3/mo):
   1. Acorns Invest: Invests spare change through the popular “Round-Ups” feature, earns bonus investments and provides access to financial literacy articles
   2. Acorns Later: Tax-advantaged investment options like IRAs
   3. Acorns Spend: Acts as your bank account, offering free withdrawals at over 55,000 ATMs nationwide and no account fees and the ability to earn up to 10% bonus investments
2. Acorns Family ($5/mo):
   1. Everything in Acorns Personal (Acorns Invest, Later and Spend)
   2. Acorns Early: This allows you to take advantage of the best way to invest $1,000 for your child‘s future and can teach you how to invest as a teenager or minor through opening a custodial account.

For a limited time, the service also offers a $10 sign up bonus in money toward free stocks for people who open an account and $75 for establishing direct deposit and meeting certain conditions. Learn how to start investing money and bank.

Learn more in our Acorns review.

Our Micro-Investing App Pick

Acorns | Invest, Earn, Grow, Spend, Later

4.4

$3/mo for Acorns Personal; $5/mo for Acorns Family

• From acorns, mighty oaks do grow. Grow your oak!
• In under 5 minutes, get investment accounts for you and your family, plus retirement, checking, ways to earn more money, and grow your knowledge.
• Famous for investing spare change automatically through Round-ups, this all-in-one financial app helps younger generations start investing earlier.
• Bonus: Get $10 to start

Pros:

• Robo-advisor with affordable fees (on larger portfolios)
• Fixed fee model
• Round-ups

Cons:

• High fixed fees for small balances
• No self-directed investing options

Related: Best Acorns Alternatives: Micro-Investing Apps to Use

7. Current

• Available: Sign up here
• Price: Free
• App Store Rating: 4.7

Current is a banking app designed for all families. The Current app allows you to track your teen’s spending in real-time, set limits on how much they can spend, and even block specific merchants on Visa-enabled prepaid cards.

You also get the peace of mind that comes with knowing their money is safe because it’s not cash. Plus, the company doesn’t charge any fees or interest for student accounts so there are no surprises when bills arrive.

Current helps parents teach teens financial responsibility while giving them a way to learn without having cash around the house and all its temptations.

That means less worry for both parents and kids! With Current, your teenager will be able to do everything from paying friends back to buying groceries at the store–all safely with only her phone!

And teens will have the opportunity to learn financial responsibility and budgeting from an early age. This will allow them to grow their savings and move one step closer to financial independence.

The product has no specifically stated minimum age requirement, but the marketing points toward a Teen Account as the target audience. Therefore, you might be able to open an account below this age for your child.

Read more in our Current review.

Best for Transitioning to Adulthood

Current | Banking for All Families

4.7

Teen account: Free; Current account: Free

• Instant money transfers and spending notifications
• Develops financial responsibility for teens
• Parents can set spending limits and block specific merchants
• Families can control their money together, saving for goals and working toward financial goals

Pros:

• Free (no monthly maintenance fees) for teens
• Parental controls on teen accounts
• Get paid early on direct deposit paychecks
• 4.00% APY on Savings Pods

Cons:

• No paired investment account

8. Stash

• Available: Sign up here
• Price: Growth: $3 per month, Stash+: $9 per month1
• App Store Rating: 4.7

Stash is a leading all-in-one financial platform which offers a mobile-friendly banking account6. With no hidden banking fees, no minimum deposit or balance requirements, and no fees for ATM withdrawals7, Stash may be a strong choice for consumers looking beyond Greenlight who prefer to do their banking and investing all through the same platform2.

Plus, you’ll earn Stock-Back Rewards® at places like Walmart, Amazon and more when you make qualified purchases with your Stock-Back® card8.

If you are a young adult, you may want to use Stash to invest money with regular automatic transfers or even “round up” purchases you make on a linked debit card so that the spare change goes to your personal portfolio.

Stash also offers financial education resources that can help you improve your financial literacy. It covers numerous topics like investing, managing and planning money.

The specifics on the Stash banking account:

• Minimum Deposit and Balance Requirements: There’s no minimum daily balance requirement, but you do need to open a Stash Invest account to use your Stash Online Banking account7.
• Yield: None, but you’ll earn Stock-Back® rewards on every eligible purchase made with the Stock-Back® card8.
• Rewards and Incentives: Earn Stock-Back® rewards on every eligible debit card purchase. Earn 0.125% Stock-Back® rewards on everyday purchases and up to 5% Stock-Back® rewards on purchases with certain merchants that are eligible for Stock-Back® bonuses9. Plus, you can get paid up to two days early when you direct deposit your pay into your Stash banking account10 and enjoy access to thousands of fee-free ATM withdrawals7.
• Possible Fees: Fees for use of out-of-network ATM withdrawals2.

Stash | Investing Made Easy

4.6

Growth: $3/mo. Stash+: $9/mo.

• Stash is a personal finance app that simplifies investing, making it easy and affordable for everyday Americans to build wealth and achieve their financial goals.
• By signing up and making a $5 deposit, Stash will also provide a $5 sign-up bonus.

Pros:

• Robo-advisor with self-directed investing capability
• Fractional shares
• Offers values-based investment options

Cons:

• Smart Portfolios don't offer tax-loss harvesting
• Charges monthly fee

For additional details and disclosures, please see the fine print at the bottom of this article.

9. M1 Finance

• Available: Sign up here
• Price: Free trades, M1 Plus costs $125/year
• App Store Rating: 4.6

M1 Finance is an all-in-one super app that does it all, similar to Greenlight. The app allows you to invest, borrow and spend but also open a M1 Finance custodial account to allow your kids to use it as an investment app as well.

They even allow custodial IRAs, making this one of the best custodial accounts. The service requires you to sign up for M1 Plus to do this, however. Be sure to watch out for when the company puts this on promotion, making it free for you to try.

As for managing money and linked debit cards, if you hold money in the app’s free checking account, it comes with FDIC insurance coverage and is part of the entire safe M1 Finance financial app experience.

Read more about this app in our M1 Finance review.

Our Self-Directed Robo-Advisor Pick

M1 Finance | Smart Money Mgmt

4.3

• M1 Finance's Smart Money Management gives you choice and control of how you want to invest automatically, borrow, and spend your money—with available high-yield checking and low borrowing rates.
• Special Promotion: Open an account and get 3 months free of M1 Plus* ($31.25 value).

Pros:

• Robo-advisor with self-directed investing capability
• No trading commissions
• Offers generous cash back on Owner's Rewards Card

Cons:

• Limited trading windows
• High cost for M1 Plus service tier

M1 Plus is a $125 annual subscription offering products and services from M1 Spend LLC and M1 Finance LLC, both wholly-owned, separate but affiliated subsidiaries of M1 Holdings Inc. *Your free trial (a $31.25 value) begins the date you enroll in the M1 Plus subscription, and ends 90 days after ("Free Trial"). Upon expiry of the Free Trial, your account is automatically billed an annual subscription fee of $125 unless you cancel under your Membership details in the M1 Platform.

10. Chase First Banking

• Available: Sign up here
• Price: Free (no fees)
• App Store Rating: 4.8

Ready to teach your little ones about money, but not quite sure if you have the time, patience and expertise?

Chase First BankingSM offers simple banking for both of you in one location: the Chase Mobile® App—for free. Manage all accounts with this mobile app and encounter no fees as well as find yourself able to withdraw money on 16,000 Chase ATMs around the country.

At the heart of Chase First BankingSM sits one of the best free debit cards for kids and teens that works anywhere Visa is accepted.

Need insight and oversight into your child’s spending and saving? You can set spend alerts and limits as well as specific locations all in your Chase Mobile® app.

Teach your kids to spend, save and earn — all from the Chase Mobile® app. Chase First BankingSM helps parents teach teens and kids about money by giving parents the control they want and kids the freedom they need to learn.

To get started, you’ll first need to be a Chase customer with a qualifying Chase checking account.

Consider opening a Chase Total Checking SM or Chase Secure BankingSM account to qualify.

• Chase Total CheckingSM also grants access to 16,000 Chase ATMs and more than 4,700 branches as well as a $200 sign up bonus when you set up direct deposit within 90 days of coupon enrollment. You can pay $0 in monthly fees, subject to meeting certain conditions*.
• Chase Secure BankingSM offers the same Chase ATMs and branch locations as well as a $100 sign up bonus when you make stated qualifying activities and meet certain conditions.

Once you open a qualifying Chase Checking account, you may apply for a Chase First BankingSM account for your child.

Read more in our Chase First Banking review.