Albert App Review 2024

Albert is a comprehensive money management app that makes it easy to spend, save, and invest on the go. Balances held in your Albert Cash account — Albert’s free checking account — are FDIC-insured up to $250,000, and there’s no minimum balance required to get started.

Albert is much more than a place to park your day-to-day funds, of course. With clutch features like early payday, instant overdraft protection, and automated saving, it’s built to help you take control of your finances.

You get the most out of Albert when you upgrade to the Genius subscription to unlock low-cost automated or self-directed investing and 24/7 access to a team of knowledgeable experts ready to answer your tough financial questions among other features. A Genius subscription costs $14.99 per month.

Key Features of Albert

Albert’s most important features include a cash account that’s appropriate for day-to-day money management, set-it-and-forget-it savings, an overdraft protection service, and an investment platform.

Albert Cash

Albert Cash is a cash account that comes with a debit card accepted by millions of merchants worldwide.

Key Albert Cash capabilities include:

• Get paid up to two days early when you set up direct deposit in the app
• No minimum balance requirements or minimum deposit requirements
• No monthly maintenance fee

Recurring Savings

Albert lets you set your own recurring savings schedule — setting aside a portion of every paycheck or a flat amount each month. You can set savings goals right in the app, from ongoing must-haves like building an emergency fund to more exciting objectives like saving for a vacation or a new car.

Either way, you receive annual bonuses on your Albert savings. That’s a powerful incentive to save more. And you don’t have to time your outbound savings transfers — unlike many traditional financial institutions, Albert allows unlimited withdrawals from savings.

Albert Instant

Albert Instant is a paycheck cash advance feature that allows you to access up to $250 from your next payday right now.

Albert automatically makes an advance — at no cost to you — if you overdraw your account. There’s no fee for the advance unless you want it instantly transferred; then, there’s a small fee.

Albert Instant transfers don’t require a credit check, and you’ll never pay a late fee. You don’t even have to remember to repay — Albert handles that automatically when you get paid or transfer funds into your account. You won’t pay interest on these transfers either.

Albert Genius

Albert Genius is a premium membership package that comes with a low-cost investment platform — described in more detail below — and 24/7 access to Albert’s team of in-house Geniuses.

Albert’s Geniuses are on standby to answer your financial questions. Ask about budgeting, credit, investing, major purchases — pretty much anything money-related — and get answers fast. 

Genius has some other notable benefits, including higher annual savings bonuses and access to Genius-exclusive content on Albert’s website. Choose from monthly or annual membership options starting at just $14.99 monthly.

Additional Albert Cash Features

Genius unlocks additional Albert Cash features:

• Earn cash-back rewards on eligible debit card purchases — users earn up to 20% cashback on gas, groceries, and other purchases
• Withdraw cash fee-free at more than 55,000 ATMs — find the nearest ones in the Albert app

Automated Savings

Albert’s automated Smart Savings engine analyzes your spending and income to find hidden opportunities to save more, then automatically squirrels those funds away. It’s available only with a Genius subscription.

Albert Investing

Genius members can access a low-cost, commission-free investment platform with a minimum investment requirement of just $1.

If you’re a hands-off investor, Genius’s powerful robo-advisor technology can construct a personalized portfolio to help you reach your financial goals and manage risk. Just answer a few simple questions to get started.

If you prefer to dive into the details of your portfolio, Albert can help too. Choose from an array of individual stocks and funds or opt into thematic investments, like women-led or environmentally friendly companies.

Either way, turn on the auto-invest feature to invest a portion of each paycheck or a flat amount of your choosing, or just invest as you can.

Albert Overview

Albert Overview is like a control panel for your financial life. It’s an easy-to-understand view of your key money stats: recent bills, purchases, savings transfers, etc. 

Albert Overview sends alerts whenever it spots patterns worth noting, giving you more visibility into your money habits and overall financial health. 

You’ll also receive alerts about overdrafts, unusual purchase transactions, bill hikes, hidden fees, and recurring subscriptions you might not need. According to Albert, these alerts save the typical user $250 per year on average. That’s a nice little boost to your net worth.

How Does Albert Work?

Albert is a user-friendly mobile app that makes it easy to spend, save, invest, and get financial advice on the go.

You can access everything Albert has to offer right from your phone or by using the Albert Cash debit card, which boasts fee-free cash withdrawals at more than 55,000 ATMs and is accepted by millions of merchants worldwide, with a Genius subscription.

Advantages of Albert

Albert has lots of clutch features and capabilities to help you get control of your finances.

• Automated Savings Makes It Easy to Put Money Away. Albert’s Smart Savings algorithm always looks for ways to boost your savings. Based on your income and spending patterns, expect multiple small savings transfers per week — adding to your financial buffer while you go about business as usual.
• Get Paid Up to Two Days Early. Albert delivers your paycheck up to two days early if your payer qualifies. All you have to do is set up direct deposit and Albert does the rest.
• Virtually No Balance Minimums. Albert Cash doesn’t require a minimum opening deposit or ongoing balance, and you can start investing with Albert for just $1.
• No Obligatory Cost for Albert Instant. Albert Instant transfers cost nothing as long as you’re willing to wait two to three days to get your money.  If you need the money fast, there is a small fee.

Disadvantages of Albert

Albert doesn’t have many downsides. Two points of note are the unavoidable monthly fee for Genius and the absence of long-term credit products (yet).

• Genius Has an Unavoidable Monthly Fee. Albert Genius is a membership program that requires a monthly fee of $14.99. That’s a small price for what you get, but it’s notable nonetheless.
• No Long-Term Loans or Lines of Credit. Albert doesn’t yet offer any long-term loans or lines of credit. You can’t get an auto loan, credit card, student loan, or mortgage here. That could change in the future, of course.

How Albert Stacks Up

How does Albert compare to the competition? Let’s take a look at how its core features compare to Chime, another popular personal finance app.

FAQs

Still have questions about Albert? We have answers to common queries about this financial app.

Is the Albert App Safe?

Yes — as safe as any financial app can be, at least. Albert uses bank-grade encryption to protect your money and takes a host of other precautions to shield you from identity theft. 

Plus, balances held in Albert Cash and savings are FDIC-insured up to $250,000, the current statutory maximum.

Is Albert Genius Worth It?

Albert Genius costs $14.99 per month.

In return, you get access to a low-cost, low-minimum investment platform, additional cash and savings features, and 24/7 advice from Albert’s in-house team of Genius advisors. These friendly humans stand ready to help you with just about anything money-related — for a small fraction of the cost of traditional human financial advisors.

Sounds worth it to us.

Does Albert Give You Money?

Albert’s Smart Savings engine automatically socks away money you don’t need right now, padding your emergency fund and helping you make progress toward longer-term financial goals.

Albert delivers cash-back rewards on eligible debit card purchases — an average of $2 back per tank of gas and $1.50 back for every fast food order. 

Albert is always on the lookout for hidden costs too, from subscriptions you might have forgotten about to unexpected bill hikes to hidden fees. The app alerts you whenever it spots a situation where you may be spending too much so that you can take action fast. This feature alone saves the average Albert user $250 each year.

You can also look forward to annual cash bonuses on your savings balances. Not bad, not bad.

How Long Does It Take Albert to Verify Transactions?

It depends on the transaction type and merchant. If you ever have a question about verifying a particular Albert transaction, don’t hesitate to reach out to the Genius team — that’s what they’re there for.

Final Word

Albert is a super-useful money management app that can help you take control of your financial life. Whether you use it to manage your day-to-day spending, save for a rainy day, invest for the long term, or all of the above, it’s hard to find fault with Albert. Why not give it a try today and take the first step toward better financial health?