Been noticing a lot of buzz lately about debit cards that build credit, and honestly, it's kind of a wild concept when you think about it. For years we've been told the only way to build credit is through credit cards or loans — but these new products are trying to flip that script entirely.

So here's the thing. Credit card debt in the US hit over a trillion dollars, and with APRs pushing past 20% now, people are getting crushed. Meanwhile, debit cards that build credit are popping up left and right, specifically targeting younger folks and anyone trying to recover from poor credit history. The main ones making noise are Extra, Sesame Cash, and Fizz. They all claim you can build credit without the debt trap that comes with traditional credit cards.

Let me break down how each one actually works. Extra connects to your bank account and sets a spending limit based on what you have on hand — anywhere from $100 to $1,500. When you swipe the card, they pay it off immediately and pull the money from your checking account the next day. No balance, no debt spiral. They report to Equifax and Experian every month. Catch? You're paying $20-25 monthly for the privilege, which adds up fast.

Sesame Cash takes a different approach. You deposit money as a security deposit, and they create a credit line based on that. Your spending on the debit card gets mirrored as a balance on that credit line, which then gets paid off automatically. Reports to all three bureaus. But there's a minimum spending requirement — either $500 direct deposit or $1,000 in transactions monthly, or you hit a $9.99 fee.

Fizz is the simplest — no fees, no complex setup. Download the app, connect your checking account, get your limit, done. Reports to all three bureaus. Only catch is it's iOS only right now.

Now, do these debit cards that build credit actually work? Early data suggests yes — Extra's study showed users averaging 48-point credit score increases over a year. Sesame Cash users saw around 35-point bumps. That's legit. Their approval odds for loans and credit cards doubled. So the mechanism works.

But here's where I have to be real with you — most financial advisors think these are kind of a waste of money. Yeah, they build credit, but you're paying monthly fees to do it. For the same goal, you could grab a secured credit card instead. You put down a cash deposit, get a low credit limit, and build history the traditional way. No monthly fees. Or if you're in college, student credit cards exist for exactly this reason. They come with rewards too, and yeah, there's overspending risk, but that's actually how you learn financial discipline.

The other angle nobody talks about much — you can build credit through regular stuff. Auto loans, student loans, rent reporting services. If you're already paying those, you're already building.

So are debit cards that build credit worth it? Depends on your situation. If you genuinely can't get approved for anything else and you're determined to avoid credit cards entirely, maybe. But if you've got other options, the fees probably aren't worth the convenience. It's a neat innovation, but it's solving a problem that honestly has cheaper solutions already sitting there.