Estate planning options at Upgrade

Rewards Checking Preferred

Checking account with an Upgrade Visa Debit Card, no monthly maintenance fee, and cash back on eligible debit purchases. FDIC insured through Cross River Bank. NO POD BENEFICIARY: Upgrade's help center answers "Can I add a beneficiary to my checking/savings account?" with "At this time, we are unable to add beneficiaries." No trust titling either. The only non-probate path is a joint holder — and Upgrade only permits ONE joint Rewards Checking Preferred account, and a joint holder must be named on the original application because a joint holder cannot be added to an existing account. So if the account was opened solo, it stays solo and the balance goes through probate.

Performance Savings

Companion savings account to Rewards Checking Preferred (requires an open Rewards Checking Preferred account). No POD beneficiary and no trust titling — Upgrade "cannot add beneficiaries" on any checking or savings account. Performance Savings runs through the Custodial Deposit Program: Cross River Bank may, "as your agent and custodian," place or move funds among participating banks and credit unions, each providing FDIC or NCUA coverage up to $250,000 per ownership category per institution. An executor should therefore ask Upgrade for the program statement showing where the funds are actually held.

Premier Savings

High-yield savings with extended FDIC/NCUA protection through the Cross River Bank custodial deposit/sweep program. No POD beneficiary and no trust titling. A joint holder is the only non-probate option: Upgrade permits only ONE joint Premier Savings account, and the joint holder must be on the original application — one cannot be added later. Because this is often where a household parks the largest Upgrade balance, it is also the account most likely to force a probate filing.

Everyday Savings

High-yield savings account paired with Rewards Checking Plus. SINGLE ACCOUNT HOLDER ONLY — no joint holders are permitted. Combined with Upgrade's inability to add beneficiaries, that means an Everyday Savings balance has no survivorship path and no POD path at all: it is a probate asset in every case, with no estate-planning workaround available inside Upgrade.