Author Topic: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized  (Read 381769 times)

kpd905

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #350 on: September 04, 2018, 02:31:49 PM »
I see citi bank is offering a $400 bonus for a 15k deposit after 60 days.  Does anyone know how long you have to keep the account open?  I couldn't find it anywhere in the small print.  I know chase makes you keep the account open for 6 months.

Citi will take 90-120 days to actually pay you the bonus, so you need to keep the account open until they do.  Luckily, you can drop your balance to $10k after 60 days to keep it fee free, rather than keeping the whole $15k in there.

Gatzbie

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #351 on: September 08, 2018, 11:17:01 AM »
Due to 401k kicking in soon (75% of paycheck will be going bye bye). Will meet direct deposit goal for checking account bonus at US bank but not enough to avoid monthly fee. Anyone familiar with alternate methods for direct deposits besides paycheck deposit by employer? Considering using PayPal as it might count.

Resource I found to meet direct deposit requirement (many other banks listed on here):
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/knowledge-base/list-methods-banks-count-direct-deposits/#US_Bank
USBank has a way to keep the account fee free regardless of deposit if your credit score is high enough
https://www.usbank.com/bank-accounts/checking-accounts/credit-score-checking-account.html

Awesome. Thank you for letting me know about this opportunity. Going to call in and check on this as I'm pretty sure I would qualify.

Livingthedream55

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #352 on: September 25, 2018, 07:40:06 AM »
Apologies if this is elsewhere in this thread - but I didn't read the 8 pages of posts!

If I set up a recurring deposit from Ally to Santander (to fulfill current $300 new account bonus offer) will that "count" as a Direct Deposit?

I'm still working but setting up DD's through work is cumbersome.

Thanks

Slee_stack

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #353 on: September 25, 2018, 02:15:21 PM »
I just dipped my toe into the Bank Account churning waters.  I'm starting with the Chase $300 Business Checking offer.

I've travel hacked for quite some time, but never looked too closely at bank account bonuses.

Seeing this topic a few times on MMM forums here, I'm inspired to make a few extra bucks.  Thanks OP and anyone else posting!

ThatGuy

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #354 on: September 25, 2018, 05:00:02 PM »
Apologies if this is elsewhere in this thread - but I didn't read the 8 pages of posts!

If I set up a recurring deposit from Ally to Santander (to fulfill current $300 new account bonus offer) will that "count" as a Direct Deposit?

I'm still working but setting up DD's through work is cumbersome.

Thanks

This will help in the future, unfortunately there aren't any data points for the transfer you're asking about.

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/knowledge-base/list-methods-banks-count-direct-deposits/


FIREball567

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #355 on: September 25, 2018, 06:40:58 PM »
I just dipped my toe into the Bank Account churning waters.  I'm starting with the Chase $300 Business Checking offer.

I've travel hacked for quite some time, but never looked too closely at bank account bonuses.

Seeing this topic a few times on MMM forums here, I'm inspired to make a few extra bucks.  Thanks OP and anyone else posting!

If I have a personal checking account with them, will I qualify for the business checking bonus?

katsiki

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #356 on: September 25, 2018, 07:36:34 PM »
I just dipped my toe into the Bank Account churning waters.  I'm starting with the Chase $300 Business Checking offer.

I've travel hacked for quite some time, but never looked too closely at bank account bonuses.

Seeing this topic a few times on MMM forums here, I'm inspired to make a few extra bucks.  Thanks OP and anyone else posting!

If I have a personal checking account with them, will I qualify for the business checking bonus?
Yes.

Michael in ABQ

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #357 on: September 29, 2018, 06:23:41 PM »
An old credit union I use in Portland, OR is offering $50 for opening a new account through the end of October. It is open only to someone who lives or works in Washington or Oregon (not all counties but pretty much the ones on the west side of the state).

From now through October 31, when you refer someone who becomes a Unitus member and meets the requirements, you’ll get $50 and they’ll get $50.
Requirements
  • Join Unitus. Then, within 60 days:
  • Open a Unitus Checking account and debit card
  • Complete one debit card transaction

Membership must be established between September 4 and October 31, 2018. Minimum deposit of $50 is required to open an account plus a $10 one-time membership fee and $5 Prime Share deposit. We will deposit the $50 to your Unitus Checking account within 60 days of the opening of the account once a debit card transaction is completed within 60 days. Account must be open and in good standing for payment. Unitus may discontinue the promotion at any time. Must be 18 years or older. Account restrictions apply.

They also offer a savings account that pays 2.50% on balances up to $2,500 then it drops lower for balances above that.

If anyone is interested shot me a PM. I just stick your name and email in a form and I assume you'll get a link to sign up.

Rosy

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #358 on: September 30, 2018, 06:59:52 AM »
Thanks, @Michael in ABQ but the idea is to get a bonus of at least $200 generally speaking and to know all the details and fine print before you sign up - hence, you might look at doctorofcredit.com, specifically for the bank in question (like what fees apply and details on direct deposit requirements).
Then I browse their website myself - sometimes they offer fee-free accounts for people of a certain age or military or goodies like the 2.5% acct up to a low limit like you posted that might be of interest depending on your situation.

Bottom line, why take a potential hit on your credit for fifty bucks on which you are also required to pay taxes to the IRS. There are a lot of good offers out there, sometimes they come with obscure requirements and hoops to jump through and sometimes they come with a bunch of goodies and you just found yourself a new favorite bank to stick with.
In other words, I'd love it if the bonus were $200 and we'd both get $50 for the referral:)

tralfamadorian

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #359 on: September 30, 2018, 07:12:13 AM »
Just finished a set of churned accounts that required six months before I could close them. All posted the bonus except for Wells Fargo. On top of that, the card had been used nowhere except for Amazon and it was stolen for fraudulent charges. I’ve never had an issue with my Amazon account before and the card arrived in a pristine envelope so it makes me suspicious of Wells Fargo itself. Anyway, I will not be using them for churning again and cannot recommend them.

Rosy

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #360 on: September 30, 2018, 08:04:44 AM »
We did a cc bonus with Wells Fargo that posted the bonus promptly. Maybe you could review if you satisfied all requirements and then request your bonus. Give them two weeks and if need be let them know that you will report them, that usually does the trick.

The only bank I ever had issues getting a bonus from was Regions - took me three months to finally receive it after I showed proof (I'd printed the offer and kept a copy and was able to show I did all that was required).
I kept e-mailing them and went to my local branch three times - I saw it as a contract breach and I wouldn't have hesitated to report them, which I was getting ready to do.

Duke03

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #361 on: October 01, 2018, 05:57:10 PM »
The wife and I hit up Chase and Wells Fargo today for a combined total of $1600 in bonuses!!!  Looks like our Christmas budget will be covered as all the bonuses will pay out in December.  God Bless Chase bank....they are the gift that keeps on giving and giving and giving.  I think between Credit card bonuses and Chase bank account bonuses we've took them for over 10k this year!!!

kpd905

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #362 on: October 01, 2018, 07:22:23 PM »
@Duke03 did either of you get pre-approved for the WF Business Platinum card?  I was at Wells Fargo on Saturday and opened the business checking and the Platinum card, for an easy $1,000.

Duke03

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #363 on: October 01, 2018, 08:28:23 PM »
We both where approved for the card, but we are on the final home stretch of topping off our UR points with chase business cards..... have two more to get and didn't want to jeopardize that in any way.  We've double dipped the CIP twice and both have a CIU and going for two CIC cards in the next 3 months....plus the wife needs a southwest biz card.

chaskavitch

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #364 on: October 02, 2018, 01:22:53 PM »
Dang.  Wells Fargo just denied my application because I've opened too many new cards in the past 12 months.  On the bright side, they're the only ones who have done a hard credit check, so that's nice.

So far I've gotten a King Soopers Master card, the Ally associated card, and a Bank of America Master Card in the last 4 months.  Before that I'd opened a Discover card a year and a half ago, so I really didn't think that would register as "too many".  Ah well.

Duke03

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #365 on: October 02, 2018, 01:41:51 PM »
Dang.  Wells Fargo just denied my application because I've opened too many new cards in the past 12 months.  On the bright side, they're the only ones who have done a hard credit check, so that's nice.

So far I've gotten a King Soopers Master card, the Ally associated card, and a Bank of America Master Card in the last 4 months.  Before that I'd opened a Discover card a year and a half ago, so I really didn't think that would register as "too many".  Ah well.

Did you try Recon?  My advice is to tap the brakes a bit and let 2 or 3 months go by before you apply for your next account.  Remember it's a marathon not a 100 meter dash.

chaskavitch

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #366 on: October 02, 2018, 01:47:50 PM »
Dang.  Wells Fargo just denied my application because I've opened too many new cards in the past 12 months.  On the bright side, they're the only ones who have done a hard credit check, so that's nice.

So far I've gotten a King Soopers Master card, the Ally associated card, and a Bank of America Master Card in the last 4 months.  Before that I'd opened a Discover card a year and a half ago, so I really didn't think that would register as "too many".  Ah well.

Did you try Recon?  My advice is to tap the brakes a bit and let 2 or 3 months go by before you apply for your next account.  Remember it's a marathon not a 100 meter dash.

I don't actually know what that is, but I haven't read this entire thread yet if that's where the answer is.  I've just been applying for cards back to back to try to get bonuses by paying all of the copays for my maternity bills :)  I figured if I can squeeze a little bit of extra back out of the ridiculous prices of ultrasounds and blood work, I may as well.

Eilonwy

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #367 on: October 03, 2018, 09:41:07 PM »
I have a cautionary tale...

I bought a new (used) car awhile back, paying by check. The next day, my husband got a call from our bank, because we didn't have enough funds to cover the check. By sheer luck, I had put some money in our savings, which I didn't normally use because of the poor interest rate, and they were easily able to transfer the money, so there were no bad consequences or hassle, not even having to go to the bank.

I'm generally a pretty organized person, but I'd been moving a lot of money around and forgot to write down a transfer, and so I thought I had enough in my account.

We've been with this local bank for, I dunno, decades. If we hadn't been, if my husband hasn't insisted we keep a local bank that valued our business, we might not have gotten that call and it could have resulted in much expense and hassle.

I'm still doing some churning -- currently waiting on a $400 from Citibank. But much more cautiously, and making money is no longer my only  banking priority.

CanuckExpat

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #368 on: October 04, 2018, 12:28:35 PM »
I do recommend Ally combination of checking and savings account. No fees, and the savings account interest rate is relativity competitive (1.85% right now), if you have insufficient funds in your checking account for a transaction, they automatically transfer from savings to checking to cover the transaction, for no fee (up to five times a month, and then you get quite high fees). It's helpful if you keep some cash in savings.

Rosy

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #369 on: October 04, 2018, 04:09:03 PM »
Dang.  Wells Fargo just denied my application because I've opened too many new cards in the past 12 months.  On the bright side, they're the only ones who have done a hard credit check, so that's nice.

So far I've gotten a King Soopers Master card, the Ally associated card, and a Bank of America Master Card in the last 4 months.  Before that I'd opened a Discover card a year and a half ago, so I really didn't think that would register as "too many".  Ah well.

Do you read the doctorofcredit.com blog at all? Not only does he discuss each one of the bonuses offered, but he also has a separate section on the big banks - on Wells Fargo and Bank of America and Chase et al where he discusses what to look out for and what each bank is sensitive to.

Recon referred to reconsideration. You can always call the bank and ask for a reconsideration of their decision to turn you down for a credit card - sometimes it works. Wells Fargo can be a bit touchy that's for sure.

It may be a good idea to back off a bit for a short time - maybe pay the co-pay with an existing zero percent interest card.
If the hospital/lab gives you 90 days to pay you could open a new card within say 80 days (try to hit the statement cycle of your new bank at a good time) then pay with your new card.
That may be a long enough break to open one more new card this year without running into issues. There are a lot of good offers out there at the moment - good luck.

MasterStache

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #370 on: October 05, 2018, 05:19:27 AM »
I have a cautionary tale...

I bought a new (used) car awhile back, paying by check. The next day, my husband got a call from our bank, because we didn't have enough funds to cover the check. By sheer luck, I had put some money in our savings, which I didn't normally use because of the poor interest rate, and they were easily able to transfer the money, so there were no bad consequences or hassle, not even having to go to the bank.

I'm generally a pretty organized person, but I'd been moving a lot of money around and forgot to write down a transfer, and so I thought I had enough in my account.

We've been with this local bank for, I dunno, decades. If we hadn't been, if my husband hasn't insisted we keep a local bank that valued our business, we might not have gotten that call and it could have resulted in much expense and hassle.

I'm still doing some churning -- currently waiting on a $400 from Citibank. But much more cautiously, and making money is no longer my only  banking priority.

Hmm, my main bank usually deducts any transfers immediately from my account. I highly advise keeping a spreadsheet with pertinent info on it. It's a huge life saver for me. I also have a day planner on which I log any necessary transfers, etc. for that day. I try to have a record of every transaction that I can defer to if I have issues.

chaskavitch

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #371 on: October 07, 2018, 08:11:54 AM »
Dang.  Wells Fargo just denied my application because I've opened too many new cards in the past 12 months.  On the bright side, they're the only ones who have done a hard credit check, so that's nice.

So far I've gotten a King Soopers Master card, the Ally associated card, and a Bank of America Master Card in the last 4 months.  Before that I'd opened a Discover card a year and a half ago, so I really didn't think that would register as "too many".  Ah well.

Do you read the doctorofcredit.com blog at all? Not only does he discuss each one of the bonuses offered, but he also has a separate section on the big banks - on Wells Fargo and Bank of America and Chase et al where he discusses what to look out for and what each bank is sensitive to.

Recon referred to reconsideration. You can always call the bank and ask for a reconsideration of their decision to turn you down for a credit card - sometimes it works. Wells Fargo can be a bit touchy that's for sure.

It may be a good idea to back off a bit for a short time - maybe pay the co-pay with an existing zero percent interest card.
If the hospital/lab gives you 90 days to pay you could open a new card within say 80 days (try to hit the statement cycle of your new bank at a good time) then pay with your new card.
That may be a long enough break to open one more new card this year without running into issues. There are a lot of good offers out there at the moment - good luck.

We do have the Chase Freedom Unlimited card, which is 1.5% back all the time, so I've been using that one for all of my copays.  Better than nothing :)

I've looked at Doctor of Credit, but not in the last few months.  I'll check again and see what they've got up.  I'm hoping to get a rewards card with a bigger barrier of entry (spend $3000 in the first 90 days, rather than the $500/$1000 ones I've been doing) soon before my due date, so I can put my OOP max on there.  Otherwise I don't really spend $3000 on my cc in 3 months, so I can't apply for those big ones.

kpd905

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #372 on: October 07, 2018, 11:45:15 AM »

We do have the Chase Freedom Unlimited card, which is 1.5% back all the time, so I've been using that one for all of my copays.  Better than nothing :)

I've looked at Doctor of Credit, but not in the last few months.  I'll check again and see what they've got up.  I'm hoping to get a rewards card with a bigger barrier of entry (spend $3000 in the first 90 days, rather than the $500/$1000 ones I've been doing) soon before my due date, so I can put my OOP max on there.  Otherwise I don't really spend $3000 on my cc in 3 months, so I can't apply for those big ones.

Are you under 5/24?  If so, grab the Chase Sapphire Preferred if you don't have it already.  You'll end up with $590 cash back or $737 toward travel expenses after spending $4,000 and adding an authorized user in 3 months.

Using the 1.5% back card is better than nothing, but not by much.  The CSP can give you 14.75-18.4% back, depending on what you do with the points.

chaskavitch

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #373 on: October 07, 2018, 11:50:53 AM »

We do have the Chase Freedom Unlimited card, which is 1.5% back all the time, so I've been using that one for all of my copays.  Better than nothing :)

I've looked at Doctor of Credit, but not in the last few months.  I'll check again and see what they've got up.  I'm hoping to get a rewards card with a bigger barrier of entry (spend $3000 in the first 90 days, rather than the $500/$1000 ones I've been doing) soon before my due date, so I can put my OOP max on there.  Otherwise I don't really spend $3000 on my cc in 3 months, so I can't apply for those big ones.

Are you under 5/24?  If so, grab the Chase Sapphire Preferred if you don't have it already.  You'll end up with $590 cash back or $737 toward travel expenses after spending $4,000 and adding an authorized user in 3 months.

Using the 1.5% back card is better than nothing, but not by much.  The CSP can give you 14.75-18.4% back, depending on what you do with the points.

I've opened 4 cards in the last 2 years, which will drop to 3 before I'm due.  I'm already an authorized user on my husband's Sapphire Preferred card, so I never even thought of applying for one myself.  I kind of think of it as "our" card.

kpd905

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #374 on: October 07, 2018, 05:20:41 PM »
You can definitely get one for yourself then.  Otherwise if you foresee any travel in the next year (not sure with baby coming), then the Barclays Arrival+ currently has a 60,000 point bonus for spending $5,000.  After hitting the spend you'd have $700 toward any travel expenses, you just book the travel expense with this card and then zero out the expense with a statement credit.

MasterStache

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #375 on: October 10, 2018, 05:27:00 AM »
You can definitely get one for yourself then.  Otherwise if you foresee any travel in the next year (not sure with baby coming), then the Barclays Arrival+ currently has a 60,000 point bonus for spending $5,000.  After hitting the spend you'd have $700 toward any travel expenses, you just book the travel expense with this card and then zero out the expense with a statement credit.

Just make sure it will post as a travel related expense. Some rental companies, like VRBO, don't post as a travel expense.

kpd905

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #376 on: October 10, 2018, 10:34:33 AM »
Just make sure it will post as a travel related expense. Some rental companies, like VRBO, don't post as a travel expense.

True, I believe VRBO and AirBnB can post as Rental instead of Travel, so then the points could not be used toward that expense.

MasterStache

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #377 on: October 10, 2018, 01:03:27 PM »
Just make sure it will post as a travel related expense. Some rental companies, like VRBO, don't post as a travel expense.

True, I believe VRBO and AirBnB can post as Rental instead of Travel, so then the points could not be used toward that expense.

Actually I think AirBnB does post as travel. We used Barclays for a travel reimbursement, I believe, renting through AirBnB. It's very confusing.

HAPPYINAZ

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #378 on: October 10, 2018, 02:58:23 PM »
Airbnb codes as travel and is therefore eligible for charge removal with the Barclay card.  We just did that this weekend. 

SilverAg47

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #379 on: October 13, 2018, 09:04:47 AM »
So I have a $1,500 business bank bonus that will involve a $50 bank fee when I close the account later this year.  Is there anything I can do with that $50 fee in terms of taxes?  If I understand it correctly, a 1099-INT that is made out to my EIN instead of my SSN, would still be reported on Line 8a taxable interest and not on my Schedule C.  I'm thinking the only way to show the $50 fee would be on my schedule c, but I don't think I can do that, correct?

dragoncar

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #380 on: October 15, 2018, 03:14:04 PM »
I saw an ad for ally bank - 1% bonus for new money even existing customers.  I already use ally for high yield savings so... anyone planning to do this somehow moving money around? 

I love their example- $1000 bonus if you move $100k

tralfamadorian

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #381 on: October 15, 2018, 03:40:48 PM »
I saw an ad for ally bank - 1% bonus for new money even existing customers.  I already use ally for high yield savings so... anyone planning to do this somehow moving money around? 

I love their example- $1000 bonus if you move $100k

I saw this and also already use them for my default savings account. 1% and must be held in the account until 1/15/19. So that's a bonus 4% APR in addition to the standard 1.9% they have currently in their saving accounts so a total of 5.9%.

Most of the standard churning savings account bonuses are at least 12% so I will not be moving extra money to Ally but will enjoy the bump for the normal savings I deposit there on a regular basis.

1st half of the year churned accounts closed:
Chase Checking $300
Chase Savings $200
Memory Bank Checking $100
Wells Fargo Checking $200 (only bonus qualified for and not received)
Elements Financial Checking $200
Fulton Bank Simply Checking $150
SoFi Wealth $25
Total: $975

2nd half of the year in progress
Sandy Spring Bank $150
Capital Bank $200
TD Bank $300



dragoncar

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #382 on: October 15, 2018, 08:24:51 PM »
I saw an ad for ally bank - 1% bonus for new money even existing customers.  I already use ally for high yield savings so... anyone planning to do this somehow moving money around? 

I love their example- $1000 bonus if you move $100k

I saw this and also already use them for my default savings account. 1% and must be held in the account until 1/15/19. So that's a bonus 4% APR in addition to the standard 1.9% they have currently in their saving accounts so a total of 5.9%.

Most of the standard churning savings account bonuses are at least 12% so I will not be moving extra money to Ally but will enjoy the bump for the normal savings I deposit there on a regular basis.

I signed up ... it looks like they just take the highest-value savings account so you don't necessarily need to move money around for it to work, but if you keep multiple savings accounts it makes sense to consolidate.  I suspect they will just use the minimum daily balance between 10/31 and 1/15/19.

geekette

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #383 on: October 16, 2018, 12:24:54 PM »
I saw an ad for ally bank - 1% bonus for new money even existing customers.  I already use ally for high yield savings so... anyone planning to do this somehow moving money around? 

I love their example- $1000 bonus if you move $100k
I just tried to open an account and got a "You’ll hear from us in 3 to 5 business days." Hmmm...  I don't know if I got the hand in the face because my DH (who I listed as co-owner) probably has his credit locked, or because I guessed wrong what state I lived in 45 freakin' years ago. I know my family moved around that time, I just don't remember the exact timing.

Today has been a frustrating day (this is just the last straw).

dragoncar

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #384 on: October 16, 2018, 08:12:07 PM »
I saw an ad for ally bank - 1% bonus for new money even existing customers.  I already use ally for high yield savings so... anyone planning to do this somehow moving money around? 

I love their example- $1000 bonus if you move $100k
I just tried to open an account and got a "You’ll hear from us in 3 to 5 business days." Hmmm...  I don't know if I got the hand in the face because my DH (who I listed as co-owner) probably has his credit locked, or because I guessed wrong what state I lived in 45 freakin' years ago. I know my family moved around that time, I just don't remember the exact timing.

Today has been a frustrating day (this is just the last straw).

(un)fortunately, if you have CreditKarma or similar open, you can answer almost all of those verification questions.

I signed up a long time ago, but I didn't think there was any kind of credit/identity check beyond providing your SSN, but maybe things have changed.  I remember it being pretty instant

I still find it surprising you don't know which state you lived in 45 years ago.  You must move a lot

geekette

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #385 on: October 16, 2018, 10:41:04 PM »
Nope. My parents moved twice, from MD to VA, and then from VA to NC. I know I was in Jr. High for that first move (what’s now called middle school around here), so the move was right in the 2 year time span they listed. I still don’t know how they know where I lived when I was a kid.

I did verify with my mom that I guessed right, so it must have been my DH’s frozen credit that caused the problem.

FIREball567

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #386 on: October 17, 2018, 08:49:58 PM »
Is this considered self employment or a "side hustle"? I applied for a few bank bonuses in the past month but it's getting confusing to keep track of it all. I do have a spreadsheet of information which helps.

kpd905

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #387 on: October 18, 2018, 05:20:00 AM »
Income from bank bonuses is considered interest, so you'll pay federal and state tax, but no self-employment/FICA tax.

FIREball567

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #388 on: October 18, 2018, 05:59:43 AM »
Income from bank bonuses is considered interest, so you'll pay federal and state tax, but no self-employment/FICA tax.

So I can count this as income in a solo 401k?

tralfamadorian

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #389 on: October 18, 2018, 06:51:34 AM »
Income from bank bonuses is considered interest, so you'll pay federal and state tax, but no self-employment/FICA tax.

So I can count this as income in a solo 401k?

No.

lexde

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #390 on: October 25, 2018, 01:34:44 PM »
Seems like most of the good bonuses are gone for now. I got out of bank account churning for a few months but changed employers and can change my legitimate DD accounts instantly and on my own now so I’m looking forward to being able to get a lot more of these done soon! :-) Congrats to everyone who has broken $1k this year!

kpd905

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #391 on: October 25, 2018, 07:42:23 PM »
We recently broke $5k for the year, with another $2k currently pending, though some of those might pay out in 2019.

@lexde I don't know what state you are in, but have you done Citi, Chase, Capital One and Wells Fargo already? 

lexde

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #392 on: October 25, 2018, 07:44:37 PM »
We recently broke $5k for the year, with another $2k currently pending, though some of those might pay out in 2019.

@lexde I don't know what state you are in, but have you done Citi, Chase and Wells Fargo already?
Citi is on my list now. I’ve done Chase (biz and personal), WF (biz and personal), Suntrust, Hancock Whitney. I’m probably around $1600 already this year and may go for a few others too before the year is done. :-) took a break when my eFund got wiped and I couldn’t park cash. Now it’s back so I’ll be starting up again!

Pizzabrewer

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #393 on: October 25, 2018, 10:11:28 PM »
Discover Savings is another good one.  It pays the bonus super-fast (within a few days after meeting the requirements) and even has a decent interest rate.

KPD, how was your experience with Citi?  There are lots of horror stories on D of C about them.  I don't like the idea of tying up money for that long to begin with and I'd hate to be skunked on the bonus after waiting 5 months.

MasterStache

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #394 on: October 26, 2018, 05:36:26 AM »
Seems like most of the good bonuses are gone for now. I got out of bank account churning for a few months but changed employers and can change my legitimate DD accounts instantly and on my own now so I’m looking forward to being able to get a lot more of these done soon! :-) Congrats to everyone who has broken $1k this year!

Yeah, I'm experiencing a bit of a lull as well. I'm not going to complain as we broke the 5K threshold this year. I might try the Discover savings bonus as it seems to be pretty easy.

jim555

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #395 on: October 26, 2018, 06:10:43 AM »
Finally finished up the HSBC $350 deal and closed the account.  I did a $10K 8 month CD with them.

kpd905

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #396 on: October 26, 2018, 10:24:12 AM »

KPD, how was your experience with Citi?  There are lots of horror stories on D of C about them.  I don't like the idea of tying up money for that long to begin with and I'd hate to be skunked on the bonus after waiting 5 months.

I would definitely go with Citi only after all other options have been exhausted.  Many people end up having to call in multiple times or file CFPB complaints just to get their bonus.

I received the $200 bonus recently without any trouble, so that was pretty surprising.  My wife's account should potentially get the bonus within a month, so we'll see if we have to fight for that one.

MasterStache

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #397 on: November 05, 2018, 12:55:42 PM »
How is everyone coming along this year? Only a couple months left and things have been pretty slow lately in the bank bonuses category for me. I did open a Discover savings and did the initiate transfer/cancel transfer method and got the 200 bucks in literally 1 day. Working on player 2 for the time being. All said and done we will probably top 6K in bank bonuses this year.

therethere

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #398 on: November 05, 2018, 01:01:04 PM »
I did about $800 worth since June. Still waiting on the rest of my money to be "free". With the lower market recently I'm hoping to throw most of that money into VTSAX. As I was kicked myself having 25k tied up in banking bonuses the past 3 weeks! I'm thinking I will start again next year when there's a chance we won't be in the 22% bracket.

katsiki

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Re: Bank account churning: how to make $1600 in a year by being organized
« Reply #399 on: November 07, 2018, 01:54:55 PM »
Citi just posted for me.  Yay!  Hoping it posts also for spouse.  Thanks @kpd905 !  Pretty sure I heard about citi from you here.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!