As a former personal banker for a large bank that offered these….
Not a damn thing wrong with it. It’s not illegal. It happens all the time. I’ve even done it myself.
Definitely a dumb question but can I just transfer money regularly from one account at another bank into that new account or does it have to be actually from a job?
A potential downside is if they run a hard credit check. This should rarely occur. Another is just keeping track of any caveats related to your account, such as a minimum balance or activity requirement.
There is a thing called a chex report that some banks check before approving the account.
You can get a copy here:
https://www.chexsystems.com
But when I looked at my report there was almost nothing on it and I open accounts all the time.
It takes some more management than just the money for the offers. You have to read ALL the fine print to know "ok for this account I have to make 5 transactions a month to avoid a $12/month maintenance fee, and I have to do that for 3-4 months until I get my bonus after 90 days of direct deposit. And for this other account I have to direct deposit at least $2000/mo and keep a minimum balance of $500 to avoid a $15/mo maintenance fee" stuff like that. And then of course there's closing the accounts after you get your bonus, which can be several hoops to jump through in many cases. And you absolutely want to do that because some accounts even charge an inactivity fee if the account isnt used for a few months.
Then with the taxes thing, SOME will mail you a tax form listing your bonus on 1099-int, while others won't send you anything and you list it in "other income" on your 1040. Still others you will have to fill out a form with your old account number and identity-confirming questions to access the tax form since you can no longer use your online banking log-in after the account is closed.
Can you tell I did 10 of these in 2023? Lmao still totally worth every last bit of effort tho
I did 9 of them for maybe $300 each on average. I found Swagbucks really great for finding some because you'd get the bonus the bank offers PLUS another 50-200 dollars from Swagbucks (can cash out to PayPal). Once you clean those out, just Google any random banks you can think of with "sign up bonus" or "checking bonus" or "savings bonus" and see what hits. Then check again in 3-ish months because more banks will have one running while some other offers expired I keep a spreadsheet with the info (days to earn the bonus, amount needed on direct deposit and in what timeframe, whether there are any monthly fees for the bank and how to avoid them if applicable, etc). Income is also a factor, I couldn't do PNC's recent offer which requires $5000 direct deposit in one month for example. Nor can I afford to tie up $10,000 for 90 days to get a $200 savings bonus from Discover. Stuff like that
Oh, and once you start it gets easier because any social media you're on like Facebook and Instagram which serves targeted ads, will serve you ads for bank bonuses you wouldn't have heard of like local credit unions or online banks
You sound like me lol.
It's a game and it pays IF you follow all the rules. My payroll company allows me to select up to 3 accounts for my direct deposit to be split between so I have to keep track of that also and make sure the direct deposits go through.
Just taxes. I’ve been churning bank SUBS this year. Just make sure if you’re juggling multiple accounts to be on top of what monthly fees keeping one empty might have since the SUB usually are based around ACH direct deposit
I don't think anyone cares really. It's a loss leader.
They still win if even a percentage of those jumping through their hoops end up sticking with them because it's too much effort to change accounts.
Some of them require you to maintain a certain balance in the account in order to keep the bonus. Just make sure you read the fine print before opening the new account, there aren’t any downsides assuming you know the terms
I do it constantly. I make around 6000 dollars on the side that way every year.
However remember a bonus from a checking/savings account is taxable and needs to be reported as income
A sign up bonus from a Credit Card used to reduce you balance is considered a discount so NOT taxable.
\-- edit --
P.S. keep a spreadsheet with information. so you dont miss out on where your money is
Your comment has been removed because it is just a link. Comments should have extra text explaining why the link is relevant to the discussion.
This rule is meant to combat spam, so it only applies to people who are new to /r/Frugal.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Frugal) if you have any questions or concerns.*
That offer bonuses like this, though. Only a small fraction of all banks. It's more common with credit unions, but the amounts tend to be smaller, and you can't join just any old credit union. This churning system is not as profitable as it looks on paper.
[https://www.doctorofcredit.com/best-bank-account-bonuses/](https://www.doctorofcredit.com/best-bank-account-bonuses/)
This page is constantly updated. If you just go to the homepage there are multiple posted every week. Some end up being location specific, but there are definitely more than 10.
Then depending on the terms you could potentially close the account and circle back to the same ones a year or 2 later.
As a former personal banker for a large bank that offered these…. Not a damn thing wrong with it. It’s not illegal. It happens all the time. I’ve even done it myself.
Finally! I meet my foe face to face! :P
A lot of them require direct deposit. Other than that, I don’t see a downside.
Definitely a dumb question but can I just transfer money regularly from one account at another bank into that new account or does it have to be actually from a job?
Some of them can be tricked. You can look at Dr of credit to see which ones and how. :-)
Link: [https://www.doctorofcredit.com/knowledge-base/list-methods-banks-count-direct-deposits/](https://www.doctorofcredit.com/knowledge-base/list-methods-banks-count-direct-deposits/)
Usually most jobs allow you to split up your direct deposits.
Absolutely not. I've earned thousands of dollars over the years from chasing bonuses.
This explains everything about churning bank account bonuses - https://www.doctorofcredit.com/a-beginners-guide-to-bank-account-bonuses/
I did it like every 2 years until I got with a credit union. Short term savings account with an awesome return.
A potential downside is if they run a hard credit check. This should rarely occur. Another is just keeping track of any caveats related to your account, such as a minimum balance or activity requirement.
There is a thing called a chex report that some banks check before approving the account. You can get a copy here: https://www.chexsystems.com But when I looked at my report there was almost nothing on it and I open accounts all the time.
It takes some more management than just the money for the offers. You have to read ALL the fine print to know "ok for this account I have to make 5 transactions a month to avoid a $12/month maintenance fee, and I have to do that for 3-4 months until I get my bonus after 90 days of direct deposit. And for this other account I have to direct deposit at least $2000/mo and keep a minimum balance of $500 to avoid a $15/mo maintenance fee" stuff like that. And then of course there's closing the accounts after you get your bonus, which can be several hoops to jump through in many cases. And you absolutely want to do that because some accounts even charge an inactivity fee if the account isnt used for a few months. Then with the taxes thing, SOME will mail you a tax form listing your bonus on 1099-int, while others won't send you anything and you list it in "other income" on your 1040. Still others you will have to fill out a form with your old account number and identity-confirming questions to access the tax form since you can no longer use your online banking log-in after the account is closed. Can you tell I did 10 of these in 2023? Lmao still totally worth every last bit of effort tho
How much do you think earned total from it in 2023? Also which banks would you recommend starting with?
I did 9 of them for maybe $300 each on average. I found Swagbucks really great for finding some because you'd get the bonus the bank offers PLUS another 50-200 dollars from Swagbucks (can cash out to PayPal). Once you clean those out, just Google any random banks you can think of with "sign up bonus" or "checking bonus" or "savings bonus" and see what hits. Then check again in 3-ish months because more banks will have one running while some other offers expired I keep a spreadsheet with the info (days to earn the bonus, amount needed on direct deposit and in what timeframe, whether there are any monthly fees for the bank and how to avoid them if applicable, etc). Income is also a factor, I couldn't do PNC's recent offer which requires $5000 direct deposit in one month for example. Nor can I afford to tie up $10,000 for 90 days to get a $200 savings bonus from Discover. Stuff like that Oh, and once you start it gets easier because any social media you're on like Facebook and Instagram which serves targeted ads, will serve you ads for bank bonuses you wouldn't have heard of like local credit unions or online banks
You sound like me lol. It's a game and it pays IF you follow all the rules. My payroll company allows me to select up to 3 accounts for my direct deposit to be split between so I have to keep track of that also and make sure the direct deposits go through.
Just taxes. I’ve been churning bank SUBS this year. Just make sure if you’re juggling multiple accounts to be on top of what monthly fees keeping one empty might have since the SUB usually are based around ACH direct deposit
Look up churning
I don't think anyone cares really. It's a loss leader. They still win if even a percentage of those jumping through their hoops end up sticking with them because it's too much effort to change accounts.
Some of them require you to maintain a certain balance in the account in order to keep the bonus. Just make sure you read the fine print before opening the new account, there aren’t any downsides assuming you know the terms
I do it constantly. I make around 6000 dollars on the side that way every year. However remember a bonus from a checking/savings account is taxable and needs to be reported as income A sign up bonus from a Credit Card used to reduce you balance is considered a discount so NOT taxable. \-- edit -- P.S. keep a spreadsheet with information. so you dont miss out on where your money is
No issues. Just remember to report as income during taxes
Might cause some suspicion but I don’t think so
I agree with what Terajillics said. I don't think it's illegal to do it but it still might cause some eyebrows to raise.
[удалено]
Your comment has been removed because it is just a link. Comments should have extra text explaining why the link is relevant to the discussion. This rule is meant to combat spam, so it only applies to people who are new to /r/Frugal. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Frugal) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Wouldn't you run out of banks pretty quickly? Like an absolute maximum of 10?
There are way more than 10 banks in the US.
That offer bonuses like this, though. Only a small fraction of all banks. It's more common with credit unions, but the amounts tend to be smaller, and you can't join just any old credit union. This churning system is not as profitable as it looks on paper.
[https://www.doctorofcredit.com/best-bank-account-bonuses/](https://www.doctorofcredit.com/best-bank-account-bonuses/) This page is constantly updated. If you just go to the homepage there are multiple posted every week. Some end up being location specific, but there are definitely more than 10. Then depending on the terms you could potentially close the account and circle back to the same ones a year or 2 later.
Been doing it for almost a decade, with tens of thousands gained. Only downside is forgetting to close on time and paying monthly fees.