What is DasherDirect...?
...and is it worth signing up for it...?
...here are the pros and cons of using DasherDirect
but first, here is an update that DasherDirect will be going away in January 2025
What's replacing it?
So I guess this is goodbye...
so long DasherDirect
I'm assuming the replacement will work similarly to DasherDirect
What is DasherDirect?
The DasherDirect debit cardDasherDirect is DoorDash's debit card for dashers that gets you cash back on certain purchases and also circumvents the $1.99 cash out fee you would otherwise pay for cash outs after your dash.
Each time you dash, the pay goes directly into the DasherDirect account and is available right away.
You have to be a DoorDash driver (Dasher) to sign up for it. Here is more information directly from DoorDash if you'd like to sign up.
This is not a sponsored post, just some quick pros and cons after using DasherDirect for now over two years.
DasherDirect sign up
I decided to sign up for DasherDirect in June of 2022 when DoorDash offered 10% back on gas, which seemed great at a time when gas prices were off the charts.
Sign up was super easy, I simply followed the steps on DoorDash and was sent a card in the mail within 10 days. I had to make the card my default payment on the DoorDash app in order to get money deposited into the account after each dash.
This essentially allows you to have access to all your DoorDash earnings right after you dash so you don't have to worry about that dreaded $1.99 per cash out if you used your regular debit card as cash out method.
DasherDirect has an app just like any other bank account where you can access your money, make transfers, etc.
Here are my pros and cons after using the DasherDirect card as my main card on DoorDash.
DasherDirect pros
The fact that I got 10% back on virtually any gas station was fantastic. It even worked at big box store gas stations like Sam's Club (and I assume Costco) so I didn't have to go to more expensive gas stations just for the card to work.
I even got that 10% cash back on snack and drink purchases at gas stations so that was great. I was able to swipe to redeem the cash back amount right away in the app.
Unfortunately, the 10% has now ended so you're left with a 2% back at gas stations and select stores. You're still getting a good deal because the money of each dash goes directly into your DasherDirect account so you don't have to pay the $1.99 cash out fee if you were to use your regular debit card that's not the DasherDirect card.
Is it still a good deal? It can be for a couple of reasons:
You can use your DasherDirect account to squirrel away money for tax season since it's a separate account from any other debit or credit cards you may have. You can leave this money undisturbed and just use it for specific purchases and purposes.
You still get 2% back at some gas stations and some fun places so that's better than most of your debit cards.
You don't have to pay $1.99 to cash out any more.
DasherDirect cons
Before I signed up for DasherDirect, I had two payout accounts, one for Instant cashouts if I was strapped for cash where I had to pay $1.99 to cash out and one that went straight to my bank account for free weekly.
Sometimes (rarely) I'd just let the money I earned dashing sit and it would get transferred for free once a week with a two day window of when it would hit my account.
However, if DasherDirect is your payout method, you don't have a choice in terms of which account you cash out to, everything always goes directly into your DasherDirect account without you having to hit a button cashing out.
Of course it's not the biggest deal. If you have a bill coming up and you go out to dash to get that cash, you'll just have to remember change your instant payout method to the other account before you go out to dash and pay $1.99 to cash out at the end of the night.
Or if you forgot to change the account before you went out to dash, you'll have to go into the DasherDirect app and transfer it to the account or withdraw cash from DasherDirect and deposit it into the account that's gonna have the bill. There's obviously no ATMs specific to DasherDirect but there are quite a few in network at some CVS stores where you won't have to pay a withdrawal fee. I've not found that to be a problem.
You can of course set it back to your other accounts at any time but you won't be able to split it between another account and DasherDirect.
I found that to be annoying, especially on weeks where I knew I had bills to pay out of my other bank account but all my money from my dashes had automatically been deposited into my DasherDirect account.
That's why I use DasherDirect as my account to squirrel away money for tax season since I have both UberEats and Instacart earnings linked to my regular bank account.
You can of course set DasherDirect as the account from which you pay all your bills but that becomes dicey if you don't go out to dash and make money one week and don't have other deposits coming into that account.
If you have another job, you can also use your DasherDirect account to have money deposited into it. It's just like a regular bank account that way.
If you're planning on using DasherDirect at gas stations, be aware that most gas stations require at least $150 in your account.
I once had $120 in my DasherDirect account and stopped to get gas only to get denied at the pump because I had insufficient funds on my card so I had to use one of my other card.
I of course missed out on that 10% cash back at the time so be aware that if you plan on using the card at gas stations, make sure you have a minimum amount that's well over $100.
I think that's a con since you want to be able to use the card when you're out dashing and sometimes you just don't have that much money on it but definitely enough to cover the gas.
Penalties for inactivity
I was recently informed that I had to pay $2 for account inactivity and was then informed that I didn't need to do anything to close the account. I then went out for a dash and it deposited money into my DasherDirect account, thereby reactivating it so that was a little confusing.
Anyhoo...
The verdict on DasherDirect
DasherDirect functions like a bank account where you can transfer money into and send money out of but personally, I never really got into it as an account from which I pay my bills or have any other money deposited.
I rarely used an ATM for cash withdrawals but I there is a relatively extensive network of ATMs that the app shows you so that's not been an issue.
For me it works as a type of savings account for tax season but since I sometimes don't go out for DoorDash, I wouldn't risk having it as my account from which I pay bills since sometimes DoorDash isn't busy and I don't make enough money on just DoorDash to cover all my bills.
I'd definitely say sign up for DasherDirect if you've been cashing out at $1.99 frequently because you don't want to have to keep paying that. If you didn't really make use of DoorDash's cash out function before, there isn't a huge benefit to signing up, especially since it no longer offers the 10% back on gas purchases.
Here's the link again if you're interested. This is not an affiliate link, it's just more info about DasherDirect from DoorDash.
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