Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized

[kpd905]

Thought it would slow down this year but so far it's shaping up to be the best bank bonus year. Anyone else having good luck so far?

We have $2,000 paid so far, and another $1650 pending.  I might start moving some money around for savings bonuses soon, I have been letting our cash build up a bit.

I was planning on moving an IRA to grab a bonus last month, but my balance dropped under the threshold for the bonus, so I have to wait for the market to bring it back up.  Already maxed out the contributions for the year.

[MasterStache]

Thought it would slow down this year but so far it's shaping up to be the best bank bonus year. Anyone else having good luck so far?

We have $2,000 paid so far, and another $1650 pending.  I might start moving some money around for savings bonuses soon, I have been letting our cash build up a bit.

I was planning on moving an IRA to grab a bonus last month, but my balance dropped under the threshold for the bonus, so I have to wait for the market to bring it back up.  Already maxed out the contributions for the year.

I've looked into the investment bonuses but haven't taken a plunge on any of them. So far this year we're at $2400 paid out with $3900 pending. That doesn't include a $500 bonus my spouse is doing on her own to help build up her savings. Hoping they all pay out.

[CanuckExpat]

Penfed Access America $200 bonus looks quite nice and easy: https://www.penfed.org/offer/d/checkingpromo


Deposit $1200, make 5 debit card purchases within 90 days, get $200 bonus within 120 days of account opening.
Avoid monthly fee by keeping $500 in account.
Tie up $500 for 4 months, get $200.. you can calculate the APR :)
(There is $5 you will semi permanently tie up in order to keep your penfed account open)

$400 for two player mode
$600 for three player mode
etc..

More details here: https://www.mymoneyblog.com/penfed-credit-union-200-checking-bonus.html

[billy]

When I opened penfed savings they did a hard credit pull and another hard pull for credit card the same day.

[DadJokes]

I'd rather not take a hard credit pull for $200 when I'm still working on credit card churning, but most of the DPs I'm seeing on DoC suggest that it's a soft pull.

[MasterStache]

Didn't appear to be a hard pull for P2. I already had a savings account that I apparently had forgotten about. Ha, whoops. Opened checking no problem. You can also fund up to $600 ($500 checking, $100 savings) with a CC which makes it an even better deal.   

[katsiki]

No hard pull for Penfed either but I was an existing member.  They are a good CU also so may be worth it to keep the membership and/or checking account long-term.

Still hoping they bring back a really competitive rate on their 5/5 ARM but I think that ship sailed a few years ago.

[kpd905]

No hard pull here for Penfed x 2.  I misread the terms and had direct deposits set up before realizing that it is just "deposit", that makes things easier.  I have my direct deposit split 9 ways right now to hit requirements for a bunch of accounts.

[Morning Glory]

I got signed up for penfed yesterday. Actually got a weird error screen when I tried to sign up but then today I got an email saying it worked and was able to set up online banking. Just waiting for the micro deposits from discover and then I can fund the $1200. I could do this one for DH as well since it doesn't require dds.

Also found out I can do Wells Fargo again this year. The waiting period is one year after the bonus posts, which was some time last June. Going to wait until after July 1 to be safe.

[Michael in ABQ]

I tried to sign up for PenFed but they denied my account. My credit report with Equifax is screwed up. I can't access it or unfreeze it without mailing them a letter with copies of two forms of ID. Probably why I got referred to the fraud protection department with Bank of America when I tried to sign up for a rewards card with them.

I guess trying to do this stuff while deployed overseas without access to my cell phone is just not going to work.

[DadJokes]

I did Penfed x2.

Almost as good as the combined $400 bonus is the fact that I was able to put $1,200 on the credit card between the two of us. With spending way down right now, it's been tougher to make a large minimum spend.

[chasesfish]

Might have to move over to the PenFed bonus.  PNC can't seem to get their stuff together and send me a debit card pin # in two weeks.  Have been enjoying this churning

[Pizzabrewer]

I took a year off from bank account bonus churning and am starting to get back into the swing.  It seems there's a lot of ripe low-hanging fruit out there.  In the last 3 weeks I've opened:

$600 Citizens ck & sv
$600 Chase ck & sv
$400 Wells Fargo ck

Looking next at:
$400 BofA ck (just received email solicitation)
$200 Key Bank ck
$250 M&T ck
$400 Citibank ck & sv (iffy on this one, only $100 savings bonus for tying up $15k for 60 days plus the CITI problems)
and a bunch of others.

I should be able to keep opening one per week for a while, limited only by the cash I can tie up for savings bonuses as well as my ability to do DDs.  I'm laid off and collecting UI, fortunately it's been easy to change the DD info online.

Last time around I did a poor job of tracking everything.  Can anyone share a spreadsheet they've developed?  Even a screenshot would be good, I could cook it up from that.  TIA for any help.

[bacchi]

$400 Citibank ck & sv (iffy on this one, only $100 savings bonus for tying up $15k for 60 days plus the CITI problems)

More like 90 days and counting.

[CanuckExpat]

When I opened penfed savings they did a hard credit pull and another hard pull for credit card the same day.

I'd rather not take a hard credit pull for $200 when I'm still working on credit card churning, but most of the DPs I'm seeing on DoC suggest that it's a soft pull.

If you want to minimize chances of hard pull, make sure to opt out of overdraft protection when opening account

[slappy]

Not a bank bonus, but anyone doing the Penfed auto refi bonus along with the checking bonus? We have an auto loan that will be paid off in a few months. Assuming there is no prepayment penalty that goes along with the bonus, I was considering doing the refi and then paying it off in a few months.

[tj]

When I opened penfed savings they did a hard credit pull and another hard pull for credit card the same day.

I'd rather not take a hard credit pull for $200 when I'm still working on credit card churning, but most of the DPs I'm seeing on DoC suggest that it's a soft pull.

If you want to minimize chances of hard pull, make sure to opt out of overdraft protection when opening account

It's irrelevant, as it looks like the PenFed deal is already dead. The link here and from DoC goes to a 404 Not Found.

[slappy]

When I opened penfed savings they did a hard credit pull and another hard pull for credit card the same day.

I'd rather not take a hard credit pull for $200 when I'm still working on credit card churning, but most of the DPs I'm seeing on DoC suggest that it's a soft pull.

If you want to minimize chances of hard pull, make sure to opt out of overdraft protection when opening account

It's irrelevant, as it looks like the PenFed deal is already dead. The link here and from DoC goes to a 404 Not Found.

Bummer, I missed it. I had a feeling it would end early. The good ones always do.

[chasesfish]

That stinks to hear about Penfed.  Saw it lasted until June 15th and was waiting until I freed up some cash at the end of the month.  Have to confirm a monthly direct deposit did actually change before closing out my TD Bank account.

[MasterStache]

That stinks to hear about Penfed.  Saw it lasted until June 15th and was waiting until I freed up some cash at the end of the month.  Have to confirm a monthly direct deposit did actually change before closing out my TD Bank account.

I've come to learn that bank bonuses don't always linger for the entire allotted time. They shut them down pretty quickly when they get an influx of applications. It's good idea to jump on them as soon as they are available if you can.

[CanuckExpat]

$50 when you join Chime through referral link and deposit $200 within 45 days
Not as large a bonus as others, but very easy and very quick. They say the $200 needs to be direct deposit, but different kinds of ACH transfers seem to work. They pay out the bonus very quick, so you can see if your ACH worked, and try another if it didn't

I opened an account on May 23, transferred $200 from my Chase Business checking acount to Chime on May 28th, had $50 bonus the same day.
They require you to activate your debit card before you can transfer the funds out, so that seems to be the slowest part, waiting for the debit card to arrive in the physical mail. Once that is activated, you can ACH funds out as far as I can tell.


More info:
https://www.mymoneyblog.com/chime-banking-review-referral-bonus.html
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/chime-referral-bonus-members-earn-25/

[MasterStache]

$50 when you join Chime through referral link and deposit $200 within 45 days
Not as large a bonus as others, but very easy and very quick. They say the $200 needs to be direct deposit, but different kinds of ACH transfers seem to work. They pay out the bonus very quick, so you can see if your ACH worked, and try another if it didn't

I opened an account on May 23, transferred $200 from my Chase Business checking acount to Chime on May 28th, had $50 bonus the same day.
They require you to activate your debit card before you can transfer the funds out, so that seems to be the slowest part, waiting for the debit card to arrive in the physical mail. Once that is activated, you can ACH funds out as far as I can tell.


More info:
https://www.mymoneyblog.com/chime-banking-review-referral-bonus.html
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/chime-referral-bonus-members-earn-25/

Hmm, I must have missed this some time ago. Looks like it's still going strong. Thanks for posting. I'll use your referral link to sign up.

[CanuckExpat]

$50 when you join Chime through referral link and deposit $200 within 45 days
Not as large a bonus as others, but very easy and very quick. They say the $200 needs to be direct deposit, but different kinds of ACH transfers seem to work. They pay out the bonus very quick, so you can see if your ACH worked, and try another if it didn't

I opened an account on May 23, transferred $200 from my Chase Business checking acount to Chime on May 28th, had $50 bonus the same day.
They require you to activate your debit card before you can transfer the funds out, so that seems to be the slowest part, waiting for the debit card to arrive in the physical mail. Once that is activated, you can ACH funds out as far as I can tell.


More info:
https://www.mymoneyblog.com/chime-banking-review-referral-bonus.html
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/chime-referral-bonus-members-earn-25/

Debit card arrived June 1st and I was able to use transfers out. Not a big bonus, but a very quick pay out.

I can verify pushes from Chase (business) and Ally bank count for the funding requirement.

[MasterStache]

Welp, I received the Chase biz CPC $1K bonus right on day 60 after my deposit. That was an awesome surprise. I'm not even a CPC client. Only wish my spouse would have signed up as well.

[cooking]

Can someone please explain to me if "direct deposit" includes something like a recurring transfer from funds in an account I hold in a different bank from the one I deposit into?  I don't get enough from paycheck deposits (and govt. deposits, etc.) to meet the high direct deposit requirements for some of the bonuses.  I know someone is going to refer me to the page on Doctor of Credit where it is supposedly explained.  I don't know if it's my stupidity or what, but I find that page completely confusing and I don't see any definitions there.  Can someone here please help me out with a simple explanation?

[jafr1284]

Currently working on bonuses from Wells Fargo, Citi, US bank, and HSBC. I expect to break $1000 in bonuses soon for this year.

Related to bank bonuses, but i'm also working on tradelines, but those are not bringing in as much because my credit limits are not that high and the cards are not very old. I am going to churn another card for points and tradelining this week! This stuff is a great way to make some extra cash :)

[CanuckExpat]

Can someone please explain to me if "direct deposit" includes something like a recurring transfer from funds in an account I hold in a different bank from the one I deposit into?  I don't get enough from paycheck deposits (and govt. deposits, etc.) to meet the high direct deposit requirements for some of the bonuses.  I know someone is going to refer me to the page on Doctor of Credit where it is supposedly explained.  I don't know if it's my stupidity or what, but I find that page completely confusing and I don't see any definitions there.  Can someone here please help me out with a simple explanation?

It depends on the combinations of the two banks, and it changes over time. Not guaranteed. Might work. Best bet is to check recent data points for the specific bank bonus you are trying to get. Ask here, or as you mentioned, check this: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/knowledge-base/list-methods-banks-count-direct-deposits/

Is there something specific about the article on DoC that you don't understand? A more specific question might help answer

[ostornadoe1]

Can someone please explain to me if "direct deposit" includes something like a recurring transfer from funds in an account I hold in a different bank from the one I deposit into?  I don't get enough from paycheck deposits (and govt. deposits, etc.) to meet the high direct deposit requirements for some of the bonuses.  I know someone is going to refer me to the page on Doctor of Credit where it is supposedly explained.  I don't know if it's my stupidity or what, but I find that page completely confusing and I don't see any definitions there.  Can someone here please help me out with a simple explanation?

Unfortunately it completely depends on the bank that you are trying to meet the requirements for and those can change at a moment's notice.

Banks offer signup bonuses to try and attract new clients. They want people to direct deposit from their work and use their products. Fortunately for us, ACH pushes from other banks will typically meet these requirements, but not always.

The webpage that is linked above by canuckexpat for DOC is essentially a crowdsourced page of data points for what ACH pushes work and what doesn't work. For example, if you are looking to open an account with KeyBank to get a bonus, it looks like there are lots of datapoints of ACH transfers from other banks that count. So if you have a Wells Fargo account, you see that there are 8 data points of successfully getting the bonus for KeyBank when using an ACH push from WF to their new KeyBank account. So you can open a KeyBank account, push money from Wells Fargo to satisfy the "direct deposit" requirements, and you should receive the signup bonus.

[tj]

Open a HSBCDirect savings account, no minimum balance. get $125. Keep it open for 6 months or you have an early termination fee.

https://slickdeals.net/f/13983881-hsbc-direct-savings-account-earn-1-01-apy-extra-125-sd-bonus-member-fdic?src=SiteSearch

[bacchi]

Open a HSBCDirect savings account, no minimum balance. get $125. Keep it open for 6 months or you have an early termination fee.

https://slickdeals.net/f/13983881-hsbc-direct-savings-account-earn-1-01-apy-extra-125-sd-bonus-member-fdic?src=SiteSearch

Is HSBC still a pain to open?


P1:
Citi $500
WF $400
Regions $500 -- pending

Next is US Bank and ?HSBC?.

P2:
WF $400
Regions $500 -- pending


I'd like to do a BoA account because it makes it easier to open credit cards there. Still waiting on that offer email...

[tj]

I never tried the HSBC.  Don't know why it would be an issue since SlickDeals was paying rather than HSBC.

I have Wells Fargo ($400), US Bank ($300) and BBVA ($200) in process. I had issues signing up for First Fidelity Bank and UMB Bank. FirstBank closed my account after automatically opening it. Too many Chex I guess.  UMB still has my opening deposits, but locked out of online banking and won't tell me why. So its pretty annoying.

I just did the $100 for Service Credit Union and $125 for Sofi Money.

Service Credit Union had to be the quickest pay out and they have some decent interest rates.

5% (up to $500 for Primary savings account, anything above 0.25%)
3% (up to $3,000 for Holiday Club Savings account, anything above 0.25%).

Service CU Offer is now dead though.

[therethere]

Yup HSBC is still a pain to open. Took me almost 3 weeks to hear anything back after the application. And almost a full month and a half to get my first direct deposit in. Last time I did HSBC I had a hell of a time getting my money OUT. I've mentally prepared myself for the struggle.

[Catica]

Is it possible to do direct deposit from my employer to my husband's bank account?  He is self employed so has no way of doing direct deposit but if my earnings could go to his account we could take advantage of more bonuses.

Thanks

[MasterStache]

Is it possible to do direct deposit from my employer to my husband's bank account?  He is self employed so has no way of doing direct deposit but if my earnings could go to his account we could take advantage of more bonuses.

Thanks

Not sure. I will say that I am self employed as well and do not have access to a legitimate DD. It has not slowed me down one bit though. In fact I can't think of a single bank account I refused to open because it required a legit DD. Right now I'm at 30 bank accounts opened for the year between myself and P2.

[solon]

Is it possible to do direct deposit from my employer to my husband's bank account?  He is self employed so has no way of doing direct deposit but if my earnings could go to his account we could take advantage of more bonuses.

Thanks

I don't know why this would be a problem. I'm the HR manager at my company, and I have to enter direct deposit information for all our employees. All I do is enter the routing and account numbers, I don't have to verify ownership of the account.

[Catica]

Is it possible to do direct deposit from my employer to my husband's bank account?  He is self employed so has no way of doing direct deposit but if my earnings could go to his account we could take advantage of more bonuses.

Thanks

I don't know why this would be a problem. I'm the HR manager at my company, and I have to enter direct deposit information for all our employees. All I do is enter the routing and account numbers, I don't have to verify ownership of the account.

Great, thanks!

[katsiki]

@Catica   I have also done my DD into spouse's account for bonus purposes.  No issues.  However, I think I have only done this twice so far.

[Catica]

@Catica   I have also done my DD into spouse's account for bonus purposes.  No issues.  However, I think I have only done this twice so far.

thanks, I'll give it a try.

[Morning Glory]

DH and I were both targeted for the Sofi personal loan bonus. I signed up with his referral link so we should each get $300 bonus and I will end up paying between$10-40 in interest, according to what DOC posted.  (I chose the minimum amount which was $5000, plan to pay back $4500 right away and the remainder after the bonus posts).  It feels weird because I have never done a personal loan before, but the requirements for this are easier than most checking/savings bonuses.  If mine works ok and I still have the link I will refer him and do it again.

I will let all of you know how it goes. If anyone wants to sign up with my link I can pm it to you.

[Morning Glory]

DH and I were both targeted for the Sofi personal loan bonus. I signed up with his referral link so we should each get $300 bonus and I will end up paying between$10-40 in interest, according to what DOC posted.  (I chose the minimum amount which was $5000, plan to pay back $4500 right away and the remainder after the bonus posts).  It feels weird because I have never done a personal loan before, but the requirements for this are easier than most checking/savings bonuses.  If mine works ok and I still have the link I will refer him and do it again.

I will let all of you know how it goes. If anyone wants to sign up with my link I can pm it to you.

Update:
Yesterday I had an email from sofi wanting more employment verification. I was able to send them a PDF from i2 verify (service my work uses for these kinds of things) and they were happy with that. Today I got a notification that I was approved. I esigned the documents and got notification that the loan funded and that it would be a day before the funds landed in my checking account.  We also both got confirmation this evening that we each earned the $300 bonus and that the bonus money would be direct deposited "within a few weeks".

I don't think I can refer him since he is a sahp without regular employment income. For credit cards I just use household income, not sure if I could do that for this one.

[kpd905]

@Aunt Petunia Did the $300 bonus show when you were signing up?  I saw some comments on DoC saying that it never showed and they had to email with the referrers info.  This seems to be happening if they are already a Sofi member.  I am definitely interested in doing this for an easy $600, and don't mind a hard pull since it won't count toward 5/24 status.

On a side note for this thread: we just cracked $5,000 YTD from bank bonuses yesterday(two player mode FTW), with another couple thousand already pending.

[Morning Glory]

The $300 bonus showed up after I selected an amount and length of time (I think on the same screen as the interest rate), but before I hit confirm.  DH and I both got an email about receiving the bonus as soon as the loan funded. We haven't actually received the bonus yet but I will post an update when we do. The money from the loan showed up in my checking account this morning. I was already a sofi member.

[MasterStache]

@Aunt Petunia Did the $300 bonus show when you were signing up?  I saw some comments on DoC saying that it never showed and they had to email with the referrers info.  This seems to be happening if they are already a Sofi member.  I am definitely interested in doing this for an easy $600, and don't mind a hard pull since it won't count toward 5/24 status.

On a side note for this thread: we just cracked $5,000 YTD from bank bonuses yesterday(two player mode FTW), with another couple thousand already pending.

I'll have to check out the loan bonus. It is peaking my interest.

We are up to just below 7K paid for the year with 2K pending. 2 player mode as well.

[slappy]

The $300 bonus showed up after I selected an amount and length of time (I think on the same screen as the interest rate), but before I hit confirm.  DH and I both got an email about receiving the bonus as soon as the loan funded. We haven't actually received the bonus yet but I will post an update when we do. The money from the loan showed up in my checking account this morning. I was already a sofi member.

The bonus requires the referral link, right? If so, I'll take a PM.

[Morning Glory]

DH and I were both targeted for the Sofi personal loan bonus. I signed up with his referral link so we should each get $300 bonus and I will end up paying between$10-40 in interest, according to what DOC posted.  (I chose the minimum amount which was $5000, plan to pay back $4500 right away and the remainder after the bonus posts).  It feels weird because I have never done a personal loan before, but the requirements for this are easier than most checking/savings bonuses.  If mine works ok and I still have the link I will refer him and do it again.

I will let all of you know how it goes. If anyone wants to sign up with my link I can pm it to you.

Update:
Yesterday I had an email from sofi wanting more employment verification. I was able to send them a PDF from i2 verify (service my work uses for these kinds of things) and they were happy with that. Today I got a notification that I was approved. I esigned the documents and got notification that the loan funded and that it would be a day before the funds landed in my checking account.  We also both got confirmation this evening that we each earned the $300 bonus and that the bonus money would be direct deposited "within a few weeks".

I don't think I can refer him since he is a sahp without regular employment income. For credit cards I just use household income, not sure if I could do that for this one.

Update: husband and I each received the $300 bonus today. (Him for referring me and me for opening the account). Very easy for the amount of money involved. I think we will see more of these now that interest rates are so low.

[tj]

For the experienced bank acct churners here, if an offer allowed credit card use for initial funding, does that code as a charge with the issuer or a cash advance? Assuming it codes as a cash advance, what's the point of funding this way? (If it codes as an expense, obviously that's amazing...)

Depends on the credit card. I always use Bank of America Premium Rewards and it codes as a purchase.

[anonymouscow]

This isn’t a big bonus, if it’s not okay for me to post then let me know and I will remove it. For those that don’t know Netspend has a prepaid card and a savings account that earns 5% on the first $1,000.00. I think to keep it fee free you have to make one transaction every three months or something to that effect. I deposit a dollar each month and withdraw it right away.

“Share a referral
All they need to do is activate and load their Card with $40.00 and you'll each get a $20.00 credit.“

https://www.netspend.com/get-a-prepaid-card/?aid=RAF_1&site_id=RAF_MOB_URL&uref=3009167687

I also saw this when I last logged in, so if you already have an account you can make a quick $5.00.

“Get $5 when you add check funds of $100 or more.
Add check funds[1] anywhere with our Mobile App[2] and a few taps. Plus, when you enter promo code PROMO5 you'll get $5 added to your Account when you successfully add check funds of $100 or more.”

I am pretty sure you can refer other people even if they live in the same house, so you could sign up and get $20, refer your spouse and get $20, they get $20, both deposit checks and each get $5, so that’s $70.00 and all you have to do is deposit two $100.00 checks.

[anonymouscow]

I am doing this bonus for Aspiration, I don’t have direct deposit or lots of money to park somewhere, so I do the ones I can.

$100.00 if you spend $1,000.00 on your debit card in 60 days.

If you use a referral link (you can go to doctor of credit and there is a page for people to post their codes if you don’t want to use mine), and spend $250.00 then you each get $50.00.

https://my.aspiration.com/app/token/referral/WSXQ0GZQ1GS1CHH1

[elysianfields]

I tried to sign up for PenFed but they denied my account. My credit report with Equifax is screwed up. I can't access it or unfreeze it without mailing them a letter with copies of two forms of ID. Probably why I got referred to the fraud protection department with Bank of America when I tried to sign up for a rewards card with them.

I guess trying to do this stuff while deployed overseas without access to my cell phone is just not going to work.

@Michael in ABQ Word to the wise: Google Voice.  For 99% of my needs it has worked great as my "American cell phone" while living overseas (I'm in the U.S. Foreign Service).

You should still contact Equifax and get that pooch unscrewed, if you haven't already done so.

[Morning Glory]

I still don't have my bonus from pen fed. Comments on doc suggest that it takes 6 months to receive.

I got targeted for a re-opening bonus from stash invest, $40 for depositing $10. It was buried at the bottom of a long email with a title that was something about debt and Covid. Small potatoes I know, but it only took 5 minutes to set up. If you have had stash and closed it then watch for these emails.

I am also doing one $500 DD to each of our sofi money accounts to get $75 each. We already had the accounts so all I had to do was change my DD.

I have heard about the net spend but never done it. I think I read somewhere that you could have up to five accounts.