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

[marshdesign]

not sure if this was mentioned before but r/churning is a great spam free resource for finding bank and credit card deals on Reddit.

[hgjjgkj]

Just looked at my spreadsheet of bank bonuses and the wife and I are up a cumulative $4000 with a few hundred pending this year so far before taxes. Got to love DoC!

How did you manage such a high total? The bonuses I see are typically around 300 dollars max, meaning you would need around 13 bank accounts/ card bonuses to hit 4k between the both of you. How did you find so many and how did the constant credit pulls not hurt your credit score?

[Paul der Krake]

Just looked at my spreadsheet of bank bonuses and the wife and I are up a cumulative $4000 with a few hundred pending this year so far before taxes. Got to love DoC!

How did you manage such a high total? The bonuses I see are typically around 300 dollars max, meaning you would need around 13 bank accounts/ card bonuses to hit 4k between the both of you. How did you find so many and how did the constant credit pulls not hurt your credit score?

Bank accounts usually don't do hard pulls. And even if they did, 6/7 inquiries isn't enough to do any real damage to a score.

[rageth]

Just looked at my spreadsheet of bank bonuses and the wife and I are up a cumulative $4000 with a few hundred pending this year so far before taxes. Got to love DoC!

How did you manage such a high total? The bonuses I see are typically around 300 dollars max, meaning you would need around 13 bank accounts/ card bonuses to hit 4k between the both of you. How did you find so many and how did the constant credit pulls not hurt your credit score?

Bank accounts usually don't do hard pulls. And even if they did, 6/7 inquiries isn't enough to do any real damage to a score.

^This.  I've opened 19 accounts for us since February, and only 1 was a hard pull.  The one hard pull was for Charles Schwab because it required opening a brokerage account along with checking, but that account is one that I'm going to keep because far and away the best account for international travel.  I found all of this information thanks to Doctor of Credit.  Doctor of Credit is a wealth of information about which banks are ChexSystems-sensitive, which aren't, which do hard pulls, which can be funded via CC, etc.

[CanuckExpat]

They will sometimes do a credit report pull in relation to overdraft. You should decline overdraft whenever you have the option

[jc4]

Since you guys are the experts on this stuff, I'm hoping you can take a look at my post:

https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/share-your-badassity/swingin-for-the-fences-first-at-bat-can-you-coach-me-(learning-to-churn-acct)

[gggggg]

Another noob churning question. When do you guys cancel some of the cards you've gotten, or do you just keep them all open?

[max9505672]

Is it not recommended to open the account by showing up in person to a branch? Is there any chance that the bank employee you meet will notice that you are opening the account for churning purposes only and could refuse to open the account?

I would open the account on internet, but usually, in order to waive the monthly fee, the bank requires that you have X amount of money in the account everyday of the month. The reason why I wanted to go directly to the branch is to be able to bring cash or a check and deposit it at the same time as I open the account to make sure I'm not getting charged the fees for the first month that can be quite high.

Do you guys know how to deposit large amount of money (ex. 4000$) on the same day that you open the account and doing it without physically meeting with a bank employee? Interac transfer usually have a daily maximum amount you can send and I don't see any other option.

[CanuckExpat]

I would open the account on internet, but usually, in order to waive the monthly fee, the bank requires that you have X amount of money in the account everyday of the month. The reason why I wanted to go directly to the branch is to be able to bring cash or a check and deposit it at the same time as I open the account to make sure I'm not getting charged the fees for the first month that can be quite high.

There's usually a grace period of X days after opening the account to get the minimum bank account balance. Some banks it's also average monthly balance, so you can deposit more later.

Other banks let you do online funding by credit card. This is a double win since you can meet minimum spending requirements.

[max9505672]

There's usually a grace period of X days after opening the account to get the minimum bank account balance. Some banks it's also average monthly balance, so you can deposit more later.

I just called my bank and I can transfer maximum 3000$ for each Interac transaction AND maximum 10000$/day. So I could do multiple tranfers up to 10000$, so that's not a problem anymore (in my case). Unless there's a ''settle'' time of more than a couple hours before the money gets transferred officially? I'm asking because 2 banks I want to churn here in Canada require minimum amount of X$ everyday of the month otherwise they'd charge you something like 15$. 15$/(300$-taxes) isn't negligible IMO.

Other banks let you do online funding by credit card. This is a double win since you can meet minimum spending requirements.

Can you please elaborate on that? Not sure I understand.

[CanuckExpat]

There's usually a grace period of X days after opening the account to get the minimum bank account balance. Some banks it's also average monthly balance, so you can deposit more later.

I just called my bank and I can transfer maximum 3000$ for each Interac transaction AND maximum 10000$/day. So I could do multiple tranfers up to 10000$, so that's not a problem anymore (in my case). Unless there's a ''settle'' time of more than a couple hours before the money gets transferred officially? I'm asking because 2 banks I want to churn here in Canada require minimum amount of X$ everyday of the month otherwise they'd charge you something like 15$. 15$/(300$-taxes) isn't negligible IMO.

Other banks let you do online funding by credit card. This is a double win since you can meet minimum spending requirements.

Can you please elaborate on that? Not sure I understand.

Didn't realize you were in Canada, sorry, situation can be very different with regards to bank bonuses, fees, and maintaining initial deposits.

Some bank account bonus opportunities in the US at least, also let you do your initial deposit by a credit card without it being considered a cash advance.
Many people also open credit cards for bonuses, in miles or dollars, which require you to do a certain amount of spending on that card. If you can fund a bank account with the card to help meet the minimum spending, plus get a bonus from the bank account, that is ideal.

[max9505672]

Didn't realize you were in Canada, sorry, situation can be very different with regards to bank bonuses, fees, and maintaining initial deposits.

Some bank account bonus opportunities in the US at least, also let you do your initial deposit by a credit card without it being considered a cash advance.
Many people also open credit cards for bonuses, in miles or dollars, which require you to do a certain amount of spending on that card. If you can fund a bank account with the card to help meet the minimum spending, plus get a bonus from the bank account, that is ideal.

I get it! Yes, right, great deal in that case. I'll have to check if it is possible here in Canada.

Any fellow Canadian knows?

Is it also possible to Interac transfer money to yourself (one bank account to another)?

[johnny847]

EDIT: Sorry, didn't realize you were in Canada

Is it not recommended to open the account by showing up in person to a branch? Is there any chance that the bank employee you meet will notice that you are opening the account for churning purposes only and could refuse to open the account?

I've had this happen once before at a Chase branch. I went to a different Chase branch and it definitely seemed like the banker realized I had gotten four bonuses from them before but I think in the end she wanted her commission/bonus/whatever for opening new customer accounts.

I would open the account on internet, but usually, in order to waive the monthly fee, the bank requires that you have X amount of money in the account everyday of the month. The reason why I wanted to go directly to the branch is to be able to bring cash or a check and deposit it at the same time as I open the account to make sure I'm not getting charged the fees for the first month that can be quite high.

Do you guys know how to deposit large amount of money (ex. 4000$) on the same day that you open the account and doing it without physically meeting with a bank employee? Interac transfer usually have a daily maximum amount you can send and I don't see any other option.

Usually banks say average daily balance, not min daily. But even if they say min daily, most banks will waive the fee for the first month, sometimes two, because they know it takes time to get it all set up to avoid the fees.

[TomTX]

Just looked at my spreadsheet of bank bonuses and the wife and I are up a cumulative $4000 with a few hundred pending this year so far before taxes. Got to love DoC!

How did you manage such a high total? The bonuses I see are typically around 300 dollars max, meaning you would need around 13 bank accounts/ card bonuses to hit 4k between the both of you. How did you find so many and how did the constant credit pulls not hurt your credit score?

There are a fair number of $500 CC offers, including one in my .sig

Do that for you, and wife - that's a quarter of the total already. Each of you only have 1 hard pull. Have to spend $4k in 3 months, though.

[TomTX]

EDIT: Sorry, didn't realize you were in Canada

Is it not recommended to open the account by showing up in person to a branch? Is there any chance that the bank employee you meet will notice that you are opening the account for churning purposes only and could refuse to open the account?

I've had this happen once before at a Chase branch. I went to a different Chase branch and it definitely seemed like the banker realized I had gotten four bonuses from them before but I think in the end she wanted her commission/bonus/whatever for opening new customer accounts.

I would open the account on internet, but usually, in order to waive the monthly fee, the bank requires that you have X amount of money in the account everyday of the month. The reason why I wanted to go directly to the branch is to be able to bring cash or a check and deposit it at the same time as I open the account to make sure I'm not getting charged the fees for the first month that can be quite high.

Do you guys know how to deposit large amount of money (ex. 4000$) on the same day that you open the account and doing it without physically meeting with a bank employee? Interac transfer usually have a daily maximum amount you can send and I don't see any other option.

Usually banks say average daily balance, not min daily. But even if they say min daily, most banks will waive the fee for the first month, sometimes two, because they know it takes time to get it all set up to avoid the fees.

Hancock Whitney hit me with the fee the first month, it took a week or so to get an ACH verified to get above the min balance.

However, one online chat and they reversed it.

[fh2000]

When can I close Citi checking accounts without bonus getting clawed back?

My Citi checking opened on 4/2/17.     $300 bonus received on 7/11/17
My wifie's Citi checking open 4/26/17.  $300 bonus received on 8/8/17.

Shall I wait at least 6 months from opening dates before I close these?

[kpd905]

When can I close Citi checking accounts without bonus getting clawed back?

My Citi checking opened on 4/2/17.     $300 bonus received on 7/11/17
My wifie's Citi checking open 4/26/17.  $300 bonus received on 8/8/17.

Shall I wait at least 6 months from opening dates before I close these?

You can close them as soon as you get the bonus, per this page: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/citibank-300-checking-bonus-15000-initial-deposit-no-direct-deposit-needed/

Also note that you can get them again after your account has been closed for 180 days.

[startbyservingothers]

Make sure to fully consider the tax implications when excessively signing up for bonuses.  Of course in general "Free Money" is typically good regardless of your Marginal Rate.  -  The biggest things to watch for is "Tax Cliffs"

The best example I can think of in this instance is the Earned Income Credit and Invest Income.

If the total of: All interest received, Bank Account Bonuses, and Gains from sell of stock* add up to be over $3400, then you are denied the EIC.   For a few select persons, not getting the EIC would cause them to "lose**" thousands of dollars.  I doubt most people here get big EIC returns (EIC mainly benefits people with children and incomes under $40K.), but understanding your tax situation is important regardless of your income.  Other credits like the Saver's Credit are smaller in size, but likely apply to a larger percentage of persons here.  (When a credit phases out at set income(s), then you either want to be within that income number, or well over it.  Otherwise you do a lot of work for very little gain.)



*Gains in a brokerage account.  Not gains in a retirement account.
** The EIC (Earned Income Credit) is basically wealth distribution.  Let's leave politics out of this thread, as there are other places to discuss.

[Paul der Krake]

I'm willing to bet that the number of people nationwide who are both savvy enough to churn $3000+ of bank bonuses AND receive the EITC can fit in a single school bus.

[slappy]

I actually had considered the impact of the bonuses on potential EITC. I planned to take as many as possible this year and then take next year off, since I was gong to try to qualify for the EITC next year. However, I think my income will end up being too high due to bonuses expected to be a bit higher next year.

[Cornel_Westside]

Hey guys, just wanted to let you know I just got a checking account bonus offer in the mail. I have a Chase ink business card that gives 5% off of internet so I use that to pay for my internet bill and nothing else. I don't have a business right now but you don't need one to open a business credit card. I may start something related to tutoring in the future. But you can open a business credit card as a sole proprietor if you want. The only downside is more liability in case of theft, so be careful with business cards.

I think as a result of that I got a Chase Total Business Checking Account offer. It's for 300 dollars if you open it and do 5 operations in the first 60 days, and debit card purchases count (as well as wires, ACH, etc). So I'm just going to get it and do 5 purchases and leave $1500 dollars in it (required to avoid a $12 monthly fee) for I think 3 or 6 months. I didn't see it in doctor of credit, so I thought I'd post it here. Seems like a great offer if they offer it to you. I have to bring my mail offer to a branch, but for half an hour of work it should be easily worth it.

Just found it on doctor of credit here:

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/chase-business-checking-200-bonus-no-direct-deposit-required-2/

It's only for 200 - in the mail it can be more. But anyone can get 200 by depositing 1000.

[johnny847]

Hey guys, just wanted to let you know I just got a checking account bonus offer in the mail. I have a Chase ink business card that gives 5% off of internet so I use that to pay for my internet bill and nothing else. I don't have a business right now but you don't need one to open a business credit card. I may start something related to tutoring in the future. But you can open a business credit card as a sole proprietor if you want. The only downside is more liability in case of theft, so be careful with business cards.

I think as a result of that I got a Chase Total Business Checking Account offer. It's for 300 dollars if you open it and do 5 operations in the first 60 days, and debit card purchases count (as well as wires, ACH, etc). So I'm just going to get it and do 5 purchases and leave $1500 dollars in it (required to avoid a $12 monthly fee) for I think 3 or 6 months. I didn't see it in doctor of credit, so I thought I'd post it here. Seems like a great offer if they offer it to you. I have to bring my mail offer to a branch, but for half an hour of work it should be easily worth it.

Just found it on doctor of credit here:

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/chase-business-checking-200-bonus-no-direct-deposit-required-2/

It's only for 200 - in the mail it can be more. But anyone can get 200 by depositing 1000.

I've gotten $500 coupons for Performance business checking, which requires $50k balance to avoid fees. BUT, fees are waived for first two months. And you get the bonus within the first two months. So then you call to downgrade the account to total business checking, which requires only $1500 to avoid fees.

[lexde]

$300 WF biz account bonus posted within 5 business days. Easiest bonus ever.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Rosy]

Oh my, Florida banks are generous. $300 - Fifth Third - I'm actually switching my main budget account to them and keeping this account.
$300 - Hancock, somehow I never heard of them, but they have a branch down the street and easy, sensible requirements.
I'm happy to see neither of the two banks are requiring direct deposit for this particular bonus, which leaves my real deposit free to use for one more churn next year.

So for this year, I found:
NFCU - 2% APY -  10K CD - 5mo - $100+
Thrivent Sav acct - $50mo - $120
Fifth Checking - $300
Hancock Checking  - $300

Perk - switched to a different debit card at Mid Florida CU - free phone replacement, theft-repair insurance - saves $12 mo on each phone-$24 total or $288 annual.
Didn't realize I could have two debit cards. One rewards card - often double rewards:) and one with benefits but no rewards.

Mr. R. - Wells Fargo card - $200 bonus - zero percent interest for 12 mo (great!) and better rewards points
Mr. R. - Mid Florida card - $200 bonus - at a low interest rate (gotta have one of those)

Convinced Mr. R. to drop an old bank account that did nothing and move checking/savings to Mid FL to get 1% APY checking-min bal $1K and a 2% savings acct up to $4K - $100 in interest so far.
(Mine was $150 as of Oct, but I'm not counting it, since it was not a new move for this year)

TOTAL $1,608. - Wow, I'm surprised, I thought we only made like $600 or $800, it all adds up nicely:)

So all in all, even if it can barely be called churning, but there it is, a little extra money in our pocket and better money management overall. We'll see what we can find next year, but I'll continue to be super selective to fit our own criteria, with only the occasional churn if it suits our purpose.

@lexde - did you ever get all of your bonus money that was still pending?
 

[BTDretire]

OK, I'm looking at Opening a Suntrust account online.
_______________________________________________
Stipulations are:
Make $2,000 or more in total qualifying Direct Deposits10 OR
Keep a $2,000 minimum daily Select Checking balance OR
Maintain $10,000 total combined relationship balances linked across deposits, investments, mortgages and loans11 OR
Hold a SunTrust Mortgage with SurePaySM12 OR
Hold a Linked Small Business Checking account13
_________________________________________________
My understanding of those are, I can open Select Checking account, Deposit $2000 in the account, wait 60 days, receive my $200 and close the account.
 My question, Just $deposit $2000 for 60 days and that's it? I met all requirements?
Not all that sure about 60 days.
https://www.suntrust.com/Microsites/Checking/checking-offer/index.html
                   Thanks for verifying.

[lexde]

@lexde - did you ever get all of your bonus money that was still pending?
 

For WF, it posted immediately.

First Tennessee did not work since I was out of the targeted area despite allowing me to sign up with the code.

PNC I had to fight tooth and nail for but ended up getting $300 instead of the $400 I signed up for and didn't have it in me to keep at it for the full bonus.

I'm looking at IberiaBank $300 and 5/3 $300 too. Did you get the 5/3 bank bonus already? If so, how did it go?

[Rosy]

I'm looking at IberiaBank $300 and 5/3 $300 too. Did you get the 5/3 bank bonus already? If so, how did it go?

5/3 is on my to-do list for tomorrow, since in FL you can only sign up in branch. I looked and made sure it had been over a year since I closed my account with them.
I have an e-mailed coupon from them, hopefully it will be smooth sailing.

[HPstache]

Just got the ball rolling for my Key bank  $300 checking offer and will move on to the  $350 Chase checking / savings offer... hoping the bring back the $500 offer at some point before then.

[JohnGalt79]

Just got the ball rolling for my Key bank  $300 checking offer and will move on to the  $350 Chase checking / savings offer... hoping the bring back the $500 offer at some point before then.

Chase still has the $500 offer for checking/savings... it pretty much never stops.  Just search "Chase 500" on eBay - you can buy a coupon there for less than $1.50.

[kpd905]

Just got the ball rolling for my Key bank  $300 checking offer and will move on to the  $350 Chase checking / savings offer... hoping the bring back the $500 offer at some point before then.

I just got a $500 coupon in the mail, if you PM me your address I'll mail it out to you today.  It is good through January 2nd.  I already have a Chase account open right now, so I can't use it.

[Roots&Wings]

I'm looking at IberiaBank $300 and 5/3 $300 too. Did you get the 5/3 bank bonus already? If so, how did it go?

5/3 is on my to-do list for tomorrow, since in FL you can only sign up in branch. I looked and made sure it had been over a year since I closed my account with them.
I have an e-mailed coupon from them, hopefully it will be smooth sailing.

I'm in FL too, and for the life of me (and 5 different internet browsers) cannot get the $300 offer to show up (only $200). Huge favor for anyone in FL with the $300 offer displayed, if I PM you my email, would you be willing to put it into the "email my coupon" box?

Just opened Hancock Whitney $300 checking and SunTrust $300 checking (will try the downgrade from signature advantage to select before fees hit). Waiting for PNC $400 offer to show up again, missed it at 3 local branches.

[lexde]

I'm looking at IberiaBank $300 and 5/3 $300 too. Did you get the 5/3 bank bonus already? If so, how did it go?

5/3 is on my to-do list for tomorrow, since in FL you can only sign up in branch. I looked and made sure it had been over a year since I closed my account with them.
I have an e-mailed coupon from them, hopefully it will be smooth sailing.

I'm in FL too, and for the life of me (and 5 different internet browsers) cannot get the $300 offer to show up (only $200). Huge favor for anyone in FL with the $300 offer displayed, if I PM you my email, would you be willing to put it into the "email my coupon" box?

Just opened Hancock Whitney $300 checking and SunTrust $300 checking (will try the downgrade from signature advantage to select before fees hit). Waiting for PNC $400 offer to show up again, missed it at 3 local branches.

PM me your email address.
Edit never mind just use this when you go in!
http://www.hustlermoneyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Fifth-Third-Bank-US.pdf

[Roots&Wings]

^ I'll try that, thanks lexde! Good luck churning everyone!

OK, I'm looking at Opening a Suntrust account online.
_______________________________________________
Stipulations are:
Make $2,000 or more in total qualifying Direct Deposits10 OR
Keep a $2,000 minimum daily Select Checking balance OR
Maintain $10,000 total combined relationship balances linked across deposits, investments, mortgages and loans11 OR
Hold a SunTrust Mortgage with SurePaySM12 OR
Hold a Linked Small Business Checking account13
_________________________________________________
My understanding of those are, I can open Select Checking account, Deposit $2000 in the account, wait 60 days, receive my $200 and close the account.
 My question, Just $deposit $2000 for 60 days and that's it? I met all requirements?
Not all that sure about 60 days.
https://www.suntrust.com/Microsites/Checking/checking-offer/index.html
                   Thanks for verifying.

Also just saw this. BTD, I just opened Suntrust signature advantage ($300 bonus) and plan to call to downgrade to select ($2k account balance to avoid fees) before the signature advantage fees hit. It might end up being $200 select bonus, but others have had success, will see.

I'm ACHing $500 from another bank account + $1500 from Vanguard, which should meet both the $500 direct deposit and $2k minimum to avoid fees, and will then complete the 10 debit card transactions, and close after 180 days.

[Jaayse]

I just want to say to OP, thank you for this thread.  Since I found MMM this year I have done the following:

$500 - opened chase checking and savings
$500 - opened capital one 360 MMA and savings
$500 - opened chase sapphire preferred and used repaid work expenses to get the spending
$150 - opened a T IRA 1 year 2% CD with Navy Federal for a $50 opening bonus and $100 bonus for a reoccurring $50 deposit in it every month for 6 months

So yes, in much less time than a year I made over $1600 by being organized!  Moving to Italy has slowed this down, but I did it all from between April and August.

[johnny847]

OP here. This year I'm doing really well. $3500 YTD. (And I'm not counting my non existent SO's bonuses).

$200 BMO Harris Checking
$300 Chase Total Checking
$500 Chase Performance Business Checking
$200 Discover Savings
$200 Discover AAA Savings
$200 Discover AAII Savings
$200 Fifth Third
$200 First Tennessee
$350 HSBC (I opened this last year, got the bonus this year)
$200 PNC Virtual Wallet with Performance Spend
$400 Regions LifeGreen Checking
$300 Wells Fargo Business Checking
$200 Wells Fargo Everyday Checking

[kpd905]

$200 Discover Savings
$200 Discover AAA Savings
$200 Discover AAII Savings

Nice to see that you got all 3 bonuses, I've seen recent data points confirming this.  How long did you keep the $20k in each account?  And did you do any internal transfers between accounts or just ACH pushes from a separate account?

[johnny847]

$200 Discover Savings
$200 Discover AAA Savings
$200 Discover AAII Savings

Nice to see that you got all 3 bonuses, I've seen recent data points confirming this.  How long did you keep the $20k in each account?  And did you do any internal transfers between accounts or just ACH pushes from a separate account?

Only a day.
I pulled the same $15k in and out, then pushed $5k to each of those, for $20k cumulative deposits for each (I didn't have $20k to spare for this). This was all from a separate account. I think I saw DP on DoC that external transfers weren't necessary, but I'd stick with external transfers

[Roots&Wings]

^ I feel totally stupid now having just transferred $20k to Discover savings. These are awesome tips, thanks!

[CanuckExpat]

I'm responding to a relevant comment from another thread here (to stay on topic there):

You used to be able to buy coins from the US Mint and then deposit the coins in your bank account. Those were the days.

It pays to have your finger on the pulse. Used to be "easy" and lucrative to MS, now it appears to be the Golden Age Of Bank Account Bonuses

Or perhaps it was. We were in for several thousand for the year in bank account bonuses (or like 20% of our retirement spending or something) and then all of a sudden we both started getting declined

Easy come, easy go

I never really got bank bonuses.  Sure you get $200, but you tie up 20k for six months.  That’s a 2% return

You have to do the math on each offer. I wouldn't pursue the one you posted for example.
But to pick a current real example: You can get $550 for tying up $10,000 for 90 days (or only $5,000 if you can make direct deposits into the account).

That's over 20% annualized, or double that with direct deposit (actually sounds too good, am I doing the math wrong?)

Many people, including me, keep liquid cash for certain purposes (liquidity, upcoming major purchase, emergency fund, or just for opportunity like this). The best you are going to earn in savings account is maybe 1.5%, and perhaps 2-5% on CD's or special account if you push it. So this seems tempting as way to put that money to use productively. Most bank bonuses are FDIC approved, and if you need the money in an emergency, you have full liquidity, you just lose the bonus, but in an emergency, I imagine you won't care

[tj]

^ Yep. You might get better returns by minimizing your cash and throwing it all into equities, but as a replacement for fixed income products, the bank account bonuses are far and away a no brainer.

[kpd905]

Most of the savings account bonuses require the money to sit for 3 months, not 6.  So if you use the same $15k to hit 4 bonuses a year, you end up with a 5.3% return, plus any interest the money might earn in the accounts.

The HSBC bonus CanuckExpat posted is a really good deal, you don't often see $350 for tying up $10k for 90 days.  The deal ends on Monday for anyone interested.

[dragoncar]

Thanks it’s ill look onto it further, sounds like my views are skewed by the types of offers I see in the mail

[Paul der Krake]

Postal forwarding services such as ipostal1.com or using friends' addresses in a different state in order to qualify for bonuses: genius idea or textbook address fraud?

Also, wouldn't that create a clusterfuck of tax liabilities? Say I use my friend John's address in New York City to get a local bank bonus, surely the bank reports the 1099 to New York State and the city, then what? I'm not a resident of NYC, so I don't owe anything, but I assume that would trigger some wonky things if I either didn't file NYS taxes, or filed and said that it doesn't apply to me.

[tj]

Postal forwarding services such as ipostal1.com or using friends' addresses in a different state in order to qualify for bonuses: genius idea or textbook address fraud?

Also, wouldn't that create a clusterfuck of tax liabilities? Say I use my friend John's address in New York City to get a local bank bonus, surely the bank reports the 1099 to New York State and the city, then what? I'm not a resident of NYC, so I don't owe anything, but I assume that would trigger some wonky things if I either didn't file NYS taxes, or filed and said that it doesn't apply to me.

I would not be using someone else's address to open a bank account. I don't know if it's legally considered defrauding a bank, but it certainly doesn't sound like a genius idea.

[CanuckExpat]

You'll probably run into an ID / address verification problem anyways. When it doesn't match up with your credit or CHEX report they might ask for ID

[tj]

You'll probably run into an ID / address verification problem anyways. When it doesn't match up with your credit or CHEX report they might ask for ID

That too.

Whenever I've moved from one address to another and it hadn't been reflected on the consumer reports, I had to show a utility blll or some proof of my address.

[ThatGuy]

I have a couple of random tips for everyone.  If you're using an account at another bank to ACH push to meet DD requirements and plan on ACH pulling or pushing the money out don't use the same bank you used the first time.  For example, I will push funds from my Alliant account to my Chase account and then push the funds to my Ally account which is my primary account.

Someone asked if a DD from their spouses employer would work for the DD into their account.  I've been opening accounts for my dad and sister and using my paycheck as their DD and it's worked every time so far.  Just to clarify, they know the accounts are being opened in their name and they're receiving the bank bonuses.  I just do all the leg work so they have a little spending money.

Bank bonuses are fun but sometimes it's tedious and I take a break from it.  From what I've read here you guys are hard core.  Thanks for the tips, just thought I would add what little I've learned.

[Paul der Krake]

Someone asked if a DD from their spouses employer would work for the DD into their account.  I've been opening accounts for my dad and sister and using my paycheck as their DD and it's worked every time so far.  Just to clarify, they know the accounts are being opened in their name and they're receiving the bank bonuses.  I just do all the leg work so they have a little spending money.

Yup, same here. My wife is the only employee of her small firm (everyone else is a partner). It was already awkward when she elected to max out her 401(k) and everyone instantly knew, there's no way she's going to request direct deposit changes every other month.

Fortunately, my megacorp automated payroll allows my paycheck to be split across 6 accounts, so I never have to play the ACH roulette.

[Roots&Wings]

2017 Recap:

Chase checking: $300
Chase savings: $200
Santander checking: $225
BMO Harris checking: $200
TD bank checking: $300
Citibank checking: $300
Bank of America Checking: $300
M&T Checking - ezchoice: $150
M&T Checking - mychoice: $150
SunTrust Checking - Signature Advantage, downgrade to Select: $300
Hancock Whitney Access checking: $300
Discover savings: $200
Discover AAII + AAA savings: $400
BBVA Compass ClearChoice Free Checking: $200

2017 Total: $3,525

First year doing bank bonuses. Looking forward to churning some of these next year, hopefully with $400 Regions and PNC checking offers, when available. Learned a lot from this thread, thanks again!

[katsiki]

Someone asked if a DD from their spouses employer would work for the DD into their account.  I've been opening accounts for my dad and sister and using my paycheck as their DD and it's worked every time so far.  Just to clarify, they know the accounts are being opened in their name and they're receiving the bank bonuses.  I just do all the leg work so they have a little spending money.

Yup, same here. My wife is the only employee of her small firm (everyone else is a partner). It was already awkward when she elected to max out her 401(k) and everyone instantly knew, there's no way she's going to request direct deposit changes every other month.

Fortunately, my megacorp automated payroll allows my paycheck to be split across 6 accounts, so I never have to play the ACH roulette.

Thank you both for pointing that out!  I have been trying to find that answer...  Now, I can get DW a chase bonus using my DD.