Sometime not too long ago, my sister-in-law was over at my house and noticed a huge stack of credit and debit cards on my dining room table – probably 75 of them at least. It’s an admittedly laughable amount of cards for anyone to have.
“You have a problem,” she opined.
That’s a fair assessment – I definitelydo have a problem. But in my defense, not all of those cards were active. Most of them were debit cards that I acquired over the years from opening different bank accounts.
That’s because, over the past 4 years or so, I’ve been regularly opening (and closing) different bank accounts to earn lucrative sign-up bonuses – typically between $100 to $500 per bank account. It’s a world that a lot of people don’t know about, but just like with credit card signup bonuses, many bank accounts do the same thing, offering signup bonuses if you open new accounts and meet certain requirements.
And opening up all of these bank accounts has been lucrative. In 2019, I made over $4,000 from bank account bonuses. My wife earned almost as much as I did, bringing in over $3,000 from bank account bonuses on her end. I did the math and since I started taking advantage of bank account bonuses back in 2016, my wife and I have made over $14,000 – all just from strategically opening up new bank accounts!
That’s pretty astounding. When you think about it, doing this has turned into a fairly lucrative side hustle of sorts for me. And it’s something that a lot of people could do too.
In today’s post, I want to go over my past year of bank account bonuses, provide some detail about the strategies I used to do this, and explain how you can incorporate bank account bonuses into your own life. You can then use this extra income to pay off debt, invest with, or use it for other purposes.
Note that bank account bonuses are a big topic – far too long for me to fully explain in this single, relatively short post. I wrote a massive, in-depth guide to bank account bonuses that you should read if this is something you are interested in doing and that you don’t know much about.
My Bank Account Bonuses For 2019
I hit the bank account bonus game hard last year. In 2019, I opened a total of 24 bank accounts for myself. My wife opened 19 bank accounts for herself. Altogether, we made $7,577 in bank account bonuses – enough to fund a really fancy trip if we wanted to use it that way.
I keep track of all of my bank account bonuses in a spreadsheet, a copy of which you can download here. It’s a simple spreadsheet that lists the name of the bank, when I opened the account, when I closed it, how much I made from each account, and when I earned the bonus. I also color-code the spreadsheet so I can easily remember things (yellow means I haven’t received the bonus, green is to remind me when to close accounts). Feel free to take this spreadsheet and modify it for your own purposes.
For those that do not feel like downloading the spreadsheet, below is a table I’ve created that lists all of the bank account bonuses I earned in 2019. Note that there are several bank accounts that I opened in the last few months of the year where the bonus will post in 2020. I’ve left those off this table since I count the bonuses in the year that I earn them.
| Bank | Bonus Amount |
|---|---|
| Wells Fargo | $200 |
| TIAA | $150 |
| BMO Harris | $200 |
| Bank of America | $100 |
| Varo | $100 |
| PNC | $300 |
| Ally | $123 |
| Swell Investing | $50 |
| Royal Credit Union | $200 |
| Marcus by Goldman Sachs | $100 |
| HSBC Checking | $200 |
| Chime | $300 |
| HSBC Savings | $125 |
| Aspiration | $100 |
| Ellevest | $100 |
| Coin | $50 |
| Matador | $40 |
| SoFi Money | $75 |
| Lili | $15 |
| Citi Bank | $500 |
| Minnesota Bank and Trust | $350 |
| Bell Bank | $205 |
| Simple | $250 |
| Flagship Bank | $100 |
| Lana | $25 |
| Associated Bank | $175 |
| US Bank | $300 |
How Was I Able To Earn So Many Bank Account Bonuses?
At the outset, if you’re going to get into the bank account bonus game, you absolutely need to be organized. This is not something you can just muck your way through – if you do that, I guarantee you’re going to mess up along the way. Using a spreadsheet like the one I created is a good way to stay organized. I also recommend creating checklists in an app like Evernote or Taskade so you can mark when you’ve met each requirement (I use Taskade to keep track of my bank account bonus tasks).
Beyond being organized, there are also a few things I have going for me that make it easier for me to earn bank account bonuses. These include the following:
1. I Can Easily Meet Direct Deposit Requirements
Most bank account bonuses will require you to meet some sort of direct deposit requirement. Generally, to meet this requirement, you have to have a certain amount of money come to your account from an outside source, usually through an employer direct deposit to your account.
For the past year, I’ve had it really easy because my wife uses a payroll system for her business called Gusto. This payroll system allows us to change her direct deposit anytime we want. We can also divide up her paycheck into different bank accounts, which makes it easy for us to meet the requirements for multiple bank account bonuses at the same time. If you have a payroll system that lets you easily change your direct deposit, then you should absolutely take advantage of bank account bonuses.
If you don’t have a payroll system that allows you to easily switch your direct deposit, you’re not out of luck. Banks have automatic systems that code transfers into bank accounts as direct deposits, which means it’s possible to “fake” a direct deposit by transferring money from one account to another. This is what I did for years before my wife got set up with Gusto and back then, I was still able to make thousands opening up bank accounts. I have suggestions on how you can fake direct deposits in my Ultimate Guide to Bank Account Bonuses.
2. I Have A Good Amount Of Cash Set Aside For Bank Account Bonuses
The second thing that I do to make it easier for me to earn bank account bonuses is that I have a decent chunk of spare cash that I can dedicate towards getting bank account bonuses.
A good strategy is to utilize some of your emergency funds for bank account bonuses. By doing this, you can get a higher rate of return on your emergency fund without any risk of loss. (Related: A Better Emergency Fund Strategy)
It’s possible to play the bank account bonus game without a lot of extra cash, but you’ll find you have more options if you have extra cash that you can use. I usually recommend having at least $5,000 that you can utilize towards bank account bonuses.
You Can Take it Slow
One thing to remember is that you don’t have to be as extreme as I am when it comes to this stuff. Obviously, opening up 20+ accounts in a year can be intimidating, especially if you’ve never done the bank account bonus strategy before.
When I first started, I only opened a few bank accounts per year, carefully making sure that I could meet any requirements. As I got more comfortable, I ramped it up to the amount you see now. If I find myself getting busier in the future, I’ll likely scale back my bank account bonus churning.
The key is to go at a pace that you are comfortable with and only jump in as much as you can handle. I’ve admittedly always been one to get pretty deep into these optimization strategies and money hacks, but that’s not what you have to do.
For most people just starting, I think doing a handful of bank account bonuses in a year is simple without getting too stressed out. Assuming you go for bank account bonuses that pay in the $200 to $300 range, you should be able to make $500 to $1,000 in a year without getting too overwhelmed.
Is It Worth It?
The short answer is, yes, I think almost anyone can earn $1,000 or so worth of bank account bonuses each year with very little trouble. Even if you think it’s not worth the hassle, the truth is, most bank account bonuses pay enough that the hourly rate you’re making is going to be $100 or more per hour.
As an example, imagine you find a bank account that is offering a $200 bonus. Even if you took two hours to do everything (which would be an unrealistically high amount of time, in my opinion), you’d still average $100 per hour. For most people, the hourly rate you’ll make is going to be much higher than that.
Indeed, bank account bonuses have gotten so good that I’ve even opened up bank accounts in other cities. Towards the end of last year, I opened up three bank accounts in-branch in cities that I was visiting but don’t live in. These bank accounts took me about 20 minutes to open and when you consider that all of them pay $200 or more, I’m looking at an absurdly high hourly rate just by stopping in and opening up some bank accounts in cities that I happened to be in.
For those of you who are searching for bank account bonuses, the absolute best resource for finding bank account bonuses is Doctor of Credit, who keeps a list of the best bank account bonuses that he updates each month. Doctor of Credit also maintains a list of methods that satisfy direct deposit requirements for various banks. This list isn’t always accurate or up-to-date, however, so you’ll want to review the comments and do your own research.
If you’re looking for a few easy bank bonuses that you can start with to get a taste of how this works, try the ones I list below. They have easy requirements and the accounts have no fees to worry about, so they’re good beginner accounts you can use to see if the bank account bonus game makes sense for you.
- Chime.You’ll get $50 when you open an account using my link and do a direct deposit of $200 or more. This one is really easy for beginners since the account has no fees to worry about and an ACH transfer from pretty much any bank will trigger the direct deposit requirement. The bonus also posts within a day or two of meeting the direct deposit requirement.
- SoFi Money. SoFi Money is offering $50 if you use my referral link and fund the account with $500 or more. This bank account also has zero fees, so it’s an easy beginner account to work with. This is actually one of my favorite bank accounts currently, so I’d recommend it as a primary bank account if you’re looking for a new checking account.
- Aspiration. Aspiration gives you $25 if you open a checking and savings account and fund the savings account with $50. Make sure to read the terms at the bottom because I think they change sometimes. The only issue is that Aspiration takes up to 8 weeks to post your bonus, so it’s not as fast as the others. It’s a 100% free account though, so you don’t have to worry about any fees.
- SoFi Invest. This is not a bank bonus, but rather it’s a brokerage account bonus that works the same way as a bank bonus. For this one, you need to fund your SoFi Invest account with $5,000. You’ll then get $50 in free stock, which you can then immediately sell and turn into regular cash. You don’t need to invest the money you deposit into the account, so you can just put it in and then take it out later. This one is an easy $50 for a few minutes of work if you have the cash to spare. It’s also 100% free, so there are no fees to worry about.
More Recommended Ebike/Scooters
Check out these other ebikes and scooters I've reviewed:
- Urban Arrow Ebike – Last year, I made one of the largest purchases I’ve ever made – I bought a $9,000 electric cargo bike from Urban Arrow. In my Urban Arrow review, I will discuss what it is and why I decided to buy this bike, as well as discuss how impactful a bike like this can be on your journey to financial independence.
- Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Ebike – The Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is a fat-tire ebike that I’ve had the pleasure of riding for a while now. It has amazing power, great looks, and awesome range. If you’re looking for a great fat-tire ebike that offers a lot for the price, the Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is definitely one for you to consider. Check out my Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Review.
- Hovsco HovBeta Ebike – The HovBeta is a folding ebike with great specs and a lot of interesting features, and importantly, it’s sold at a good price point. I’ve had a blast commuting with it and using it to do deliveries with DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. Check out my Hovsco HovBeta Ebike Review.
- Vanpowers Manidae Ebike – The Vanpowers Manidae is a fat tire ebike that I’ve been riding as my primary winter commuting bike and have also been using it to do food delivery with apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. After clocking in a decent number of miles with this ebike, I wanted to write a post sharing what my experience with the Vanpowers Manidae ebike has been like. Check out my Vanpowers Manidae Review.
- Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding EBike Review – A Great Value Folding Ebike – The Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding Ebike is an entry-level folding ebike that offers a lot of value for the price point. I’ve been riding the Sohamo S3 for a while now, putting the bike through its paces, and I have to say, this bike has exceeded all of my expectations. Check out my Sohamo Review.
- KBO Flip Ebike – The KBO Flip is an excellent bike. I’ve had a great time riding it and think it’s a versatile bike that can be used for a lot of purposes and can fit a variety of lifestyles. It’s worked out great for me as a general commuter bike and as a food delivery bike. Check out my KBO Flip Review.
- Hiboy P7 Commuter Ebike – The Hiboy P7 is an excellent electric commuter bike that’s offered at an affordable price point. The range and speed of this bike are both very good, so you won’t have any trouble getting anywhere you need to go with it. As a food delivery vehicle, this is also good – with how much range it offers, you’ll be able to work all day on a single charge. Check out my Hiboy P7 Commuter Electric Bike Review.
- Himiway Escape Ebike – The Himiway Escape is an interesting bike for anyone looking for a moped-style ebike. If you’re a gig economy worker, the Himiway Escape is particularly interesting and it’s possible to think of it as an investment, especially if you can opt to do deliveries with the Himiway versus using a car. It’s not cheap, but you can definitely make your money back when you compare the mileage you’ll put on your car versus using an ebike. Check out my Himiway Escape Bike Review.
- Espin Sport Ebike – The Espin Sport is a good ebike for someone who is looking for an ebike that feels and rides more like a regular bike. There are many ebikes that are really only bikes in name. In reality, they’re basically electric mopeds. The Espin Sport, by contrast, is a bike you could probably ride without the battery and you’d feel like you’re just riding a regular bike. Check out my Espin Sport Review.
- Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
- Varla Falcon Scooter – The Varla Falcon is an excellent scooter that offers a good amount of power at a lower price point compared to more powerful scooters. It’s not exactly an entry-level scooter, nor is it a high-powered scooter. I think it fits somewhere in-between those two categories – an intermediate scooter if I had to give it a category. Check out my Varla Falcon Review.
- Hiboy S2 Scooter – The Hiboy S2 is an excellent entry-level commuter scooter that's perfect for someone looking to save some money in transportation costs and improve their commute. Check out my Hiboy S2 Review.
- Hiboy S2R Scooter – The Hiboy S2R is one of the more interesting electric scooters I’ve been able to test out. It’s not a high-powered scooter, but for an everyday transport option, it’s very useful, especially given some of the unique features that it has. Indeed, for the price, the Hiboy S2R might be the best value scooter I’ve used. Check out my Hiboy S2R Review.
- Fucare H3 Scooter – The Fucare H3 is a fun scooter and I’ve enjoyed testing it out. For a daily commuter or quick trips or errands, the Fucare H3 is probably the scooter I’ll use. It’s portable and easy to maneuver, so it’s just easier to take on the road when I need it. Check out my Fucare H3 Scooter Review.
More Recommended Investing App Bonuses
For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:
- M1 Finance ($100) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
- Webull (20 free stock shares) – Webull's current promotion gives you 20 free shares valued between $3-$3,000 each if you open an account using my referral link. Here’s a guide I wrote about how to earn your free shares using Webull.
- Moomoo (15 free stocks) – Moomoo is a free investing app currently offering 2 different referral bonuses if you open an account using a referral link. Read my Moomoo referral bonus guide for more information.
- Robinhood (1 free stock) – Robinhood gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$225 if you open an account using my referral link.
- Public (1 free stock) - Public gives you a free stock valued between $3-$70 if you open an account using my referral link.
- SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with just $10 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
More Recommended Bank Account Bonuses
If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.
- SoFi Money ($325) – SoFi Money is a free checking account from SoFi. They’re currently offering a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi account with a referral link and deposit $10. You can also make an additional $300 as well if you complete a direct deposit. This is a good bank that is also 100% free, so you won’t have to worry about managing this account. Here’s a post I wrote with instructions on how to earn your SoFi Money bonus: SoFi Money Referral Bonus: Step By Step Guide.
- Fairwinds Credit Union ($175) – Fairwinds Credit Union is offering a referral bonus for users that sign up using a referral link. Fairwinds has no fees or minimum balance, so this is a particularly easy bonus to earn. Since this is a smaller credit union, my gut instinct tells me this offer won’t be around long, so if you’re in a position to meet the bonus requirements, grab this bonus before it’s gone. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Fairwinds Credit Union bonus.
- Upgrade ($150) – Upgrade is a free checking account that’s currently offering a $150 referral bonus if you open an account and complete a direct deposit. These bonus terms are easy to meet, so it’s well worth doing this bonus as soon as you can. Here’s a post I wrote with more details: Upgrade $150 Referral Bonus – Step By Step Directions.
- Chime ($100) - Chime is a free bank account that offers a referral bonus if you use a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $200 or more. In practice, any ACH transfer into this account triggers the bonus. This bonus is easy to earn and posts instantly, so you’ll know if you met the requirements as soon as you move money into the account. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Chime referral bonus that I recommend you check out.
- US Bank Business ($800) – This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, since there are no direct deposit requirements. In addition, you can open the Silver Business Checking account, which comes with no monthly fees. Check out how to earn this big bonus here.
- Fifth Third Bank ($325) – This offer is limited to customers in the following states:Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, West Virginia, and South Carolina. If you don’t live in one of those states, you won’t be able to open an account onlinebut you can still open an account in-branch if you happen to be visiting a city that has a branch. This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, especially since there are plenty of data points showing what will trigger the direct deposit requirement. In addition, you can open the Fifth Third Momentum Checking bank account, which comes with no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements.Read my guide on this bonus here.
- GO2Bank ($75) - GO2Bank is an easy bank bonus that I recommend people take advantage of if they have an easy way of meeting the direct deposit requirement. I like that it’s easy to open the account and that the bonus pays out quickly. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your GO2Bank $75 referral bonus.
- Current ($50) – Current is a free fintech bank that’s offering new users a $50 referral bonus after signing up for an account using a referral link. Current is an easy bonus to earn and also gives you access to three savings accounts that pay you 4% interest on up to $2,000. That means you can put away up to $6,000 earning 4% interest. That’s very good and makes Current an account I recommend to everyone. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Current Bank bonus.
- Novo Bank ($40) - Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. In addition to being a good bank bonus, Novo is also a good business checking account. It has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and operates a good app and website. Indeed, it’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog. Check out my post on how to easily open a Novo account.
- Varo ($30) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $30 bonus to new users that open a new Varo account with a referral link. The bonus for this bank is very easy to meet, all you need to do is spend $20 within 30 days of opening your Varo account. Check out my step-by-step guide to learn how to earn this bonus.
Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.
Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.
Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:
- SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link, and an additional $300 if you complete a direct deposit.
- 5% Savings Accounts. I'm currently getting 5.32% interest on my savings through a company called Raisin. Opening a Raisin account takes minutes to complete, it's free, and all of your funds are FDIC-insured. I explain how it works, why I'm now using it to store my emergency fund and any other cash savings I have, and why I recommend everyone check it out in this review.
- US Bank Business. US Bank is currently offering new business customers a $800 signup bonus after opening a new account and meeting certain requirements.
- M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $250 for opening an account.
- Personal Capital. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.
Feel free to send Kevin a message here.
