Many banks offer free bonus money promotions for opening a new checking, savings, trade account, or credit card. Some of these banks require a minimum initial deposit or spend amount, while some require no action at all. Some bank bonus offers require that you set up payroll direct deposit with the bank, but some also have a workaround (depositing from other bank sources) allowing you to still receive the bonus without actually setting up direct deposit. And some banks require that you keep that account open for a certain period of time or keep so much money in the account for a certain amount of time.
Most banks also offer referral bonuses for referring your friends and family. After you set up your account, you will likely receive a link to share via email, social media, or on your very own personal finance blog. When PayPal first launched some 20+ years ago, they offered $5 referral bonuses, and I was in Heaven earning several hundreds of dollars for sharing the link with family and friends. Shortly after, ING Direct offered $25 per referral, and I was hooked on receiving free bank bonus money and referring friends to do the same.
Update: PayPal actually restarted their referral program (probably because there are so many competitors now) and are offering $10 for every friend, up to 10, with a limit of $100 per calendar year. If you don’t have a PayPal account, you can sign up here (it’s assuredly my referral link).
I personally have set up accounts on all of the following banks that currently offer free bonus money for setting up a new account to verify their legitimacy, and I can vouch that all of the offers below are legitimate offers. I will add more offers as I take advantage of them and delete offers if they are no longer available so all the bank bonus offers below should be active.
| Bank Name | Website Link | Bonus Money | Referral Money | Minimum Deposit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acorns | acorns.com | $5 | $900 for 5 referrals | $5 | |
| Capital One Quiksilver Rewards | capitalone.com | $200 | $150 | n/a | must spend $500 within 3 months for bonus |
| Chase | chase.com | $225 | $50 | $10 | Deposit $10 from Acorn, Chime, PayPal or Robinhood to workaround Direct Deposit. |
| Chime | chime.com | $100 | $100 | $200 | Received bonus the day after opening |
| Fundrise | fundrise.com | $25 | $25 | $10 | |
| M1 | m1.com | $50 | $50 | $100 | Receive bonus 7-14 days after deposit |
| NorthOne | northone.com | $75 | $75 | $50 | Set up as sole proprietor if you are not a business |
| Robinhood | robinhood.com | Free Stock | Free Stock | None | |
| SoFi | sofi.com | $25 | $50 | $10 | Bonus was instant after deposit |
| Varo | varomoney.com | $50 | $50 | $50 | Spend $20 via debit card within 30 days |
| Webull | webull.com | 3 Free Stocks | 2 Free Stocks | $0.01 | |
There is a Facebook group (Bonus Money USA $$$) that I’m a member of (and not associated with) where I learn about most of the new bank bonus money offers. The owner of the group, Richard, is very helpful in answering questions promptly. You’re welcome to join if you like.
Am I missing any free bonus offers or promotions from any online banks? Feel free to email me your referral link if so, and I will check them out and add them if I open an account.
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