Let The Banks Pay You: Beginner’s Guide To Bank Bonuses 

Bank bonuses can earn you thousands a year.

The average bank bonus is $300-$500.

That comes out to thousands a year if you do several.

Most will require either a direct deposit or depositing a certain amount of cash, usually $1000+.

This can scare a lot of people away, but it shouldn’t.

Bank bonuses can make you a couple thousand a year again.

Remember, you will have to pay taxes on this money though.

I will discuss this later.

If you are new to bank bonuses, here is everything you need to know to quickly get started.

What are bank bonuses?

Like all businesses, banks have to spend money to acquire customers.

They can do this in many ways such as advertising.

Bank bonuses are one way they do this.

So, to get customers, they offer an incentive, usually between $100-$500.

This incentive is called a bank bonus.

Most people are loyal to their current bank, and do not want to switch banks, so this makes sense.

Types of Bank Bonuses

There are three main types of bank bonuses.

1. Checking Accounts Bank Bonuses

Checking account bank bonuses are probably the most popular bank bonuses.

Why?

Banks stand to make more money with checking accounts from fees and other activities.

These will generally require a direct deposit.

I will talk about the requirements to open bank bonuses below.

Because banks stand to profit from checking accounts again, these are probably the most lucrative, ranging from $100-$500.

2. Saving Account Bank Bonuses

Saving account bank bonuses will usually require you to deposit and leave a large amount of cash for a time period.

This amount is anywhere from $1000-$20,000, with the good ones being around $5000-$10,000.

So, first you will need the cash to deposit (again a lot will require at least $1000.

Second, you will probably need to leave the money for a certain amount of time, sometimes even a year.

Emergency fund money can be a good use for this.

If you are one of my readers who does not have an emergency fund yet, you can start out with as little as $1000 and then build up to 3-6 months later.

If you don’t have $1000, start with anything.

You can even start with $20-$100 and then build up to $1000.

I have been through it all, so you can do it too.

In any case, part of your emergency fund can go to a saving account bank bonus.

That is when they are worth it.

Not all bank bonuses will be worth your time.

A saving account bank bonus that pays $20 to leave $10,000 for a year is not worth it.

Your $10,000 could be earning more interest in a high yielding savings account.

You will always have to determine if any bank bonus is worth the opportunity cost when your money could be earning you more money in other ways.

I will talk about when to do bank bonuses and when not to later in this post.

3. Business checking and saving account bank bonuses

These are pretty lucrative if you own a business.

I find these to be the easiest bank bonuses as an entrepreneur.

Why?

These usually require no direct deposits.

Direct deposits are what make most bank bonuses inconvenient.

Most people cannot easily switch their direct deposit with their employer.

I will talk about ways to get around this later in the post.

These bank bonuses usually only require transactions on a debit card instead of direct deposit.

If you have a business, you should definitely look into this one.

Many people have side hustles that count as businesses.

How Do You Get Started With Bank Bonuses

1. Find a bank offering a bank bonus

First, you must find a bank offering a bank bonus.

I have listed the best sites to find bonuses at the end of the post.

You can use Google though and just type “best bank bonuses.”

Make sure to read later in the post to determine if the bonus is worth your time again.

2. Open bank account

This is self-explanatory.

Open the account.

3. Meet the requirements

There will be requirements to receive your bank bonus.

The next section will discuss most common requirements.

What requirements do you have to meet?

There are generally a couple of requirements to receive a bank bonus.

• Direct deposit requirements
• Depositing a certain amount of money
• Debit card transactions
• Must be a new customer to bank
• Keeping the account open a certain amount of time

1. Direct deposit

Direct deposit is the most common requirement for bank deposits.

To me, this is the biggest obstacle to getting a bank bonus again.

Most people cannot easily switch their direct deposit again.

This means you may need to “fake a deposit.”

Since most ACH bank transfers can look like a direct deposit, this is the most common way to “fake a direct deposit.”

Here is a post on it here.

Don’t be deterred by this.

A lot of transfer from banks like Ally count again.

2. Making a deposit

This one is not hard, but you have to have the cash, usually between $5000-$10,000.

Again, these are common for savings accounts bank bonuses.

You will also need to consider if the bank bonus is making you enough profit to leave your money again.

If your money will be earning more somewhere else, like a high yielding savings account, then the bank bonus will not be worth it.

I will talk about when a bank bonus is worth it and when it is not later in the post.

3. Debit card transactions

This is one of the easiest bank bonuses to earn.

You simply do a certain amount of transactions with your new debit card.

If you don’t want to take transactions away from things like earning credit card rewards, you can do something like buy small denominations of Amazon gift cards.

4. Be a new customer

Most banks will require that you are a new customer.

5. Keep the account open for a certain amount of time

Most banks will require that you keep the account open a certain amount of time.

This can be 3 months to even a year.

You will pay closing costs or may lose your bonus if you do not do this.

This means that you will need to cover bank monthly fees.

I will discuss these fees later in the post.

What to Do Before You Open A bank Bonus

1. Make sure it is a soft pull and not a hard pull on your credit report

When banks pull your credit report, there are two kinds of pulls:

• hard pull
• Soft pull

A soft pull does not go on your credit report.

Inquiries can lower your credit score, so make sure it is a soft pull.

2. Make sure the fees are worth it

Most bank account bonuses require that you keep the account open for a couple of months.

Most banks charge monthly fees.

A lot of banks waive these fees if you keep a certain amount in the account.

You have to make sure these fees (if they are not waived) are worth it.

3. Can you fund the account with a credit card

Most people involved in bank bonuses are also involved in earning credit card rewards.

I will be adding both to the Beginner’s Guide.

If you can fund a bank account bonus with a credit card, it will help you meet your minimum spend for lucrative credit card sign up bonuses.

Read here how credit card rewards can make you thousands a year.

3. Know if the opportunity costs are worth

Your money that could be earning more from other activities like high yielding savings accounts or credit card rewards could be better used elsewhere.

Make sure this opportunity cost is worthwhile.

4. Know that you will have to pay taxes

Credit card rewards are considered a rebate, so you are not charged taxes.

Bank account bonuses are considered income, so you must pay taxes on them.

5. Consider location

Some banks are national and take clients from any location even if they have no regional location.

Other banks require that a bank be in your state.

6. Consider household

Some banks will not let people with the same address get the same bank bonuses.

Other banks have no limit on how many household members can get the bonus.

If you are in two player mode, you and your spouse can both get the same bonus at some banks and double your profit.

Things To Note After Bank Bonus

1. When will you receive your money

‘You need to find out when you will receive your money.

The bank will usually give you a time frame.

You can follow forums on sites like Doctor Of Credit or Reddit.

2. When can you close the account

Most banks will state that you must keep the account open for a certain amount of time.

If you close early, you could lose your bank bonus or have to pay a closing fee.

3. Can you get the bonus again

Some banks are once in a lifetime bank offers.

Others will let you get a new bonus later.

Where To Find Bank Bonuses

The following sites are great resources for finding bank bonuses:

• Doctor Of Credit
• Hustler Money Blog
• Danny The Deal Guru
• Bankrate

When bank bonuses are worth it

• You can meet the requirements (direct deposit, large cash deposit, minimum period to keep money in bank, etc)
• You can get fees waived or your profit covers fees..
• You don’t mind paying the taxes.
• The opportunity cost is worth it (your money earns more with a bank bonus than on other things).

Tips To Do Bank Bonuses

• Stay organized: Keep spreadsheet with date opened, earned, and closed
• Take a screenshot of bonus offer
• Set up calendar reminders
• Start slow
• Make sure you can meet requirements

Easy Bank Bonuses To Start With

Here are easy bank bonuses to start with:

• Aspiration Bank
• Chime (Go through Swagbucks & get extra $150 when available)
• Sofi Money

Summary

Honestly, I only started doing bank bonuses in the last couple of years and will speed up my efforts this year.

I watched people make thousands during that time.

I saw one blogger make around $10,000 in 5 years.

Don’t be like me.

Bank bonuses are not as hard as they seem.

You can start now.

The average bank bonus is $300.

If you do several of these a year, you really can make a couple of thousands of dollars.

I will be adding bank bonuses to our Beginner’s Guide as well as credit card rewards.

Adding Pennies is about putting money back in your pocket.

I want to pay off my debt and be completely debt free.

It is no small number either.

Remember, being debt free is the key to financial freedom.

Don’t be discouraged by the amount of debt.

I know people who have $100,000 in student loans, a car note, and a mortgage.

Over time, you can pay anything off.

If you do bank bonuses, like other ways of putting money in your pocket (Ibotta, Swagbucks, etc.) make sure to have a goal for your extra money.

It could be putting more money toward retirement, getting a bigger emergency fund, or (like me) even paying off debt.

Remember, something cheesy like receipt scanning apps that earns $100 extra a month is $1200 extra a year.

It may be taboo to use things like that but as long as it earns money with little time and change in your day, it is free money.

If you have not started with bank bonuses, try some of the easy ones listed above.

Take your time starting out.

Have you ever done a bank bonus?

Was it worth it?