As the holiday season rapidly approaches, a lot of us begin to budget our finances to ensure that we can afford gifts for our friends & family. For some of us, that means scrapping some leisure activities or that meal out on Friday to save some extra cash. I’m the oldest of 5 children and know that the holiday season definitely finds me strapped for money. Fortunately, I’ve been able to utilize one of the overlooked assets of the travel hacking community to finance recreational trips & that extra beer at the bar in December: bank account bonuses.
Why Bank Account Bonuses?
I find that many of the available
sign-up bonuses across the banking industry are quite easy to obtain and put
cash in your bottom line quickly. Throughout the last few years, I’ve been able
to utilize bank account bonuses as a buffer to many of my side hustles I have
going. If you were worried about paying tedious manufactured spending fees or
simply want to make the rent burden a little less, checking/saving account
bonuses have you covered. Here are a few of the ways I’ve used checking account
bonuses in the past:
- Excursions on a cruise
- Student loan payments
- Wedding expenses
The best part about these bonuses-you are not tied into
travel partners or a specific points program. This is stone-cold cash that you
take home at the end of the day (minus some tax obligations, depending on the
bank in question). No matter how you decide to use the extra cash, it’s
definitely convenient to have these bonuses readily available at your disposal.
General Requirements of Checking
& Savings Account Bonuses
The checking & savings account
field tends to be a bit more competitive in their bonuses than credit card
companies of late, who have slashed benefits & point bonuses across many
major cards (looking at you, AMEX Platinum & Citi Reserve). The bonuses
associated with checking and savings accounts tend to range from $100-$500 and
will have steeper requirements as the bonus rises.
Keep in mind that in this hobby, your mileage may vary. Every
bank has a separate list of requirements necessary to reach their specific
bonus-it is vital to keep all of these in mind while meeting the requirements.
While every bank has different requirements for the customers
to earn the extra cash, here are a few that are standard across the industry.
Setup Direct Deposit
This is something that anybody with
a checking or savings account has heard before. Many bank bonuses will require
a direct deposit of a certain threshold as a requirement, e.g. two direct
deposits of $1500 or more in consecutive months after account opening. If you
do not want to change your direct deposit setup at work to accommodate this
requirement, there are ways around this.
I’ve found that simply initiating a
transfer from my personal checking account to the checking account associated
with this bonus often registers as “direct deposit”. Depending on the bank
& credit card, you may also be able to utilize your credit card and not
have this count as a cash advance, which could simultaneously help you meet
minimum spend on a credit card while satisfying bonus requirements for the
checking/savings account.
Debit Card Transactions
One of the
easier requirements of banking bonuses, this simply requires using your debit
card multiple times over the course of a month. A standard Wells Fargo
requirement would be 10 debit card transactions/month for three straight months
to earn the bonus (typically $200-300).
As many of us would prefer to use our credit cards instead of
debit, an easy solve for this is to simply load your Amazon account with the
minimum amount required per load ($.50). A simple $5/month to earn hundreds of
dollars doesn’t sound too bad to me!
Account Requirements-Don’t Get Hit
With A Dumb Penalty
With bank account bonuses, there are a few things to keep
top-of-mind that the banks may try to sneak past you. Similar to credit card
bonuses, it is imperative that you read the stipulations of the account you are
opening so you are not hit with a monthly account fee or the dreaded bonus
clawback, leaving you holding the bag with an account you would not have opened
without the bonus. Some of the various requirements a bank may stipulate to
avoid additional fees include:
·
Keeping an account open for a certain period of time
o Chase is
notable for doing this-if you do not keep your account open for 6 months or
more, they will take your checking/saving bonus back.
·
Minimum balance in the account
o Many
checking accounts require a minimum balance in order to avoid a small fee.
Ensure that you are at least leaving the minimum-required balance in the
account to not get hit with that pesky $5-10 monthly penalty.
·
Monthly direct deposit
o This is
exactly as it sounds-simply direct deposit the minimum requirement (in many
cases, $500/month) to avoid a service fee ranging from $5-15.
Every bank
is different. Some banks may simply require meeting one of the above three to
avoid a penalty; some require all of the above AND MORE. This is why reading
the fine print is so important when signing up for these accounts-we don’t want
to give back our hard-earned money!
Geographical Requirements
Before signing up for a
checking/saving account, be sure that the offer in question applies to your
specific geographical region. Many banks cater to a specific part of the
country and as such, their bonuses only apply to people in that area. I
recently found a great offer from Wells Fargo ($200 for 10 debit transactions/month
for three months) only to find that the offer was only good for residents of 9
different U.S. cities. Be sure to keep this in mind when deciding what bonus is
right for you!

Bonuses Are TAXABLE INCOME
Unlike our credit card bonuses
we’ve come to know and love, these checking/savings account bonuses are indeed
taxable. Most banks will issue a 1099-INT at the end of the fiscal year; again,
your mileage may vary on this. This may be the biggest drawback to the banking
bonus game; where we don’t have to worry about this when accruing miles &
points, the cash earnings we are getting from these are liable to Uncle Sam
& the IRS.

Where To Look For Offers?
When I’m looking for the best bank
account offers, I find that using a variety of methods tends to be my best bet.
If you live in an apartment complex, look twice before throwing out that large
stack of grocery flyers/local business advertisements. You never know when
you’ll find a juicy bonus offer-this is where I tend to find a lot of my local
banks (Chase, Huntington, Credit Unions, etc.)
You can also
use the built-in time you are looking for credit card offers with the major
banks as an excuse to venture (if you’ll pardon the pun) to the bank account
page and see if you are targeted for any specific offers. Many of the best bank
account offers come from targeted bonuses and as you’ll be on the bank’s
website anyways to service credit card needs, why not take a look at your
checking/savings account offers?
Summary-Earn That Cash!
As you can
see, it’s relatively easy to earn a little extra cash on the side to supplement
your travel hacking endeavors. Checking & savings account bonuses have
provided me with the extra juice necessary to go on that extra guided tour on
vacation, upgrade that seat I booked in economy or simply buy the next round at
the bar. Once you find the offer that works for you, you’ll have that extra
cash at your disposal in no time. Enjoy!
Cheers,
Tyler Henze
Very good suggestions. The one that stood out for me was the envelope system. You can't spend what you don't have.
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