Can You Really Earn Money By Switching Your Bank Account? Here’s the Scoop

How much do you like your bank?

I’ve been with my bank for five years now and while I’m satisfied with the service, I’m not a fan of some of the fees they charge customers and the low-interest rates for their savings accounts.

No bank is perfect, which is why you don’t have to be extremely loyal to any one financial institution. It’s nice to know that some banks will actually pay you a bonus to open an account with them.

It’s completely legit as long as the bank is real. Some people actually make opening new bank accounts for extra cash into a lucrative side hustle.

If you’re interested in learning more about this fun way to earn extra money, I’ll share a few places to get started after outlining how to make the most of these offers and understand the fine print.

So, How Does This Work?

In order to earn signup bonuses for opening a bank account, you must read the fine print and follow all the rules. Most banks have specific steps you need to follow in order to earn the money.

This usually involves opening a bank account and setting up direct deposit as a bare minimum. Some banks prefer your direct deposit transactions meet or exceed a minimum amount. Banks will rarely allow you to stack direct deposit amount transaction amounts to add up to the minimum amount required but this may be a possibility if allowed.

Other times, banks may want you to use your debit card for the new account to make a certain number of transactions during a certain time frame.

Most financial institutions have deadlines for their offers which is the most important requirement. For example, if you don’t set up direct deposit within 60 days, you may not be able to receive the cash bonus.

This is why it’s important to read carefully and get organized when you’re considering taking advantage of some of these opportunities.

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How Can You Maximize Your Earnings?

Usually, you can close the bank account after you receive your cash bonus as long as the bank doesn’t require you to keep the account open for a fixed amount of time.

Also, don’t forget to learn more about the actual account terms. Some checking accounts have fees and minimum balance requirements and you want to make sure you meet those requirements so opening the new account doesn’t cost you extra money.

A few banks consider PayPal deposits as a direct deposit so if you get a deposit with your traditional employer and get paid via PayPal for a side hustle for example, you can probably open two different bank accounts at the same time to double your earnings by taking advantage of both offers.

Some banks also encourage you to save by offering incentives. If you have a decent-sized emergency fund, you can temporarily move your funds to another bank and earn hundreds of dollars after maintaining your balance for just 3 months as an example.

Even if you’re earning $150 after 3 months (as an example) just for keeping a high balance in your new savings account, it might be more than you’ll earn by keeping your money in a high-yield savings account for that short amount of time.

The Best Banks to Start With

If you’re interested in opening an account with a new bank in order to earn a cash bonus, here are some of the best offers to consider.

Chase Bank – Earn Up to $350

There are three options to earn with Chase bank.

1.) Chase offers customers $200 for opening a Chase Total Checking Account. In order to earn the bonus, you must deposit $25 or more when opening the account and you should set up direct deposit within 60 days of opening the account.

As long as your direct deposits are more than $500, you won’t have to deal with a monthly service fee for this account.

2.)Want to earn another $150 from Chase? Open a savings account and deposit $10,000. Keep them money in the account for 90 days and Chase will give you a $150 cash bonus.

3.) The third option to earn money with Chase bank is by opening a Chase Premier Plus Checking Account to earn a $300 bonus.

In order to receive the bonus, you need to make an initial deposit of at least $25 and set up direct deposit within 60 days of opening the account.

U.S. Bank – Earn $50 Annually

This opportunity encourages that you save money. If you open a U.S. Bank Package Checking Account, enroll in the S.T.A.R.T. program, set up automatic transfers and save $1,000 then U.S. Bank will provide you with a $50 rewards card.

If you keep that $1,000 for a year, you’ll get another $50 rewards card.

Bank of West – Earn Up to $200

Receive a $150 cash bonus when you open either a Signature or Easy checking account with Bank of West. In order to receive the cash bonus, you need to direct deposit and receive deposits of at least $250 twice.

The direct deposit can be payroll, social security, pension, or other government benefits.

You can also receive a $50 bonus by request if when you receive and use a new Bank of West debit card linked to a new checking account for 10 or more debit purchases within a certain time frame.

HomeStreet Bank – Earn Up to $300

There are a few different ways that you can earn extra money with Home Street Bank.

First, you can get $100 for setting up direct deposit. You can also get $80 for using your Visa Check Card ($2 per purchase up to $80), and you can also earn $75 for using online bill pay (15 per payment up to $75).

As an added bonus, the bank will give you $25 for giving them your old checks and debit card from your old bank and $20 for signing up to receive FREE e-statements.

If you take advantage of all of these offers, you could easily earn up to $300 total.

PNC Bank – Up to $300

Open a Virtual Wallet account with PNC Bank and you can take advantage of one of these offers:

1.) Receive $50 when you establish total qualifying direct deposit(s) of $500 to the new account and make at least 10 purchases with your PNC Bank Visa® Debit Card.

2.) Receive $200 when you establish total qualifying direct deposit(s) of $2,000 to the new account and make at least 10 purchases with your PNC Bank Visa® Debit Card.

3.) Receive $300 when you establish total qualifying direct deposit(s) of $5,000 to the new account and make at least 10 purchases with your PNC Bank Visa® Debit Card.

These accounts also pay interest. The offers with PNC banks are valid until the end of this year but they may be new offers to take advantage of in future months.

Who is This Best For?

Taking advantage of bank account bonuses for opening a new checking or savings account is a low effort way to earn extra money on the side.

Plus, the income can come in handy when you might need it most like after the busy holiday season when your funds are drained or when you have a large annual expense coming up.

It’s best to try this small side hustle out if you are good at staying organized and can easily meet the requirements that each bank has.

From there it's very easy money.

Have you ever earned extra money for opening a bank account before?