Earn up to an $805 bonus with a new SoFi checking/savings account (best-ever)

SoFi has recently increased a stackable offer that can give you up to $805 back when opening a new checking/savings account.

The shopping portal Swagbucks is offering a 50,500-point (~$505) bonus for opening a new SoFi Checking/Savings account by clicking through the portal link and making a $400 direct deposit within 45 days. Once the Swagbucks are credited, they can be redeemed to your PayPal account as cash via a PayPal gift card or redeemed for merchant gift cards as well. I signed up for this offer when it was 25,000 SB, and it was easy money.

The Swagbucks promo will stack with SoFi’s direct $300 sign-up bonus for a total of up to $815 back when opening a new online account and completing a qualifying direct deposit.

This offer is the best that I’ve seen for SoFi from Swagbucks. The previous best offer that I recall seeing is $415, so $505 is terrific.

It’s worth noting that the amount of these SoFi/Swagbucks bonuses is sometimes targeted, so you may see a different amount than $505. If so, let us know in the comments.

The Deal

• Open a SoFi Checking/Savings account and get a $50-300 bonus when completing qualifying direct deposits (see table below for amounts).

See Doctor of Credit’s list of what SoFi considers a direct deposit

• Stack with Swagbucks for an additional ~$505/50,500 points when opening a new account through the portal and completing a direct deposit of at least $400 within 45 days.
  • $5 for opening the account, $500 for making a direct deposit of $500 within 45 days.

Direct Link to Offer 

Key Terms

Swagbucks

• Existing accounts are not eligible to earn 50,500 SB.
• Must open a new account and set up a Direct Deposit to earn SB.
• Qualifying Direct Deposits must be made from the enrolled member’s employer, payroll, or benefits provider via ACH deposit. SB will appear as Pending for 32 days.
• Must enter valid sign-up information, including funding information, to earn SB.
• Must be the first deposit to earn.
• This offer may only be redeemed once (1) per user.

SoFi Checking

• Promotion Period: 12/7/23 12:01AM ET to 1/31/2026 11:59PM ET.
• Must be a new user to SoFi.
• In order to qualify for a bonus of either $50 OR $300, SoFi must recognize receipt of at least one Eligible Direct Deposit (as defined below) from an Eligible Participant, the first of which must be before the end of the Promotion Period. The amount of the bonus, if any, will be calculated during the Direct Deposit Bonus Period as described and defined below.
• Eligible Direct Deposit means a recurring deposit of regular income to an account holder’s SoFi Checking or Savings account, including payroll, pension, or government benefit payments (e.g., Social Security), made by the account holder’s employer, payroll or benefits provider or government agency (“Eligible Direct Deposit”) via the Automated Clearing House (“ACH”) Network.
• Deposits that are not from an employer or government agency, including but not limited to check deposits, peer-to-peer transfers (e.g., transfers from PayPal, Venmo, etc.), merchant transactions (e.g., transactions from PayPal, Stripe, Square, etc.), and bank ACH funds transfers and wire transfers from external accounts, or are non-recurring in nature (e.g. IRS tax refunds), do not constitute Eligible Direct Deposit activity. SoFi Bank shall, in its sole discretion, assess each account holder’s Eligible Direct Deposit activity to determine eligibility and may require additional documentation to complete this verification.
• The Direct Deposit Bonus Period begins when SoFi receives an Eligible Direct Deposit of $1 or more within the Promotion Period and ends 25 calendar days later (the “Direct Deposit Bonus Period”), subject to the Bonus Terms. For the avoidance of doubt, the Direct Deposit Bonus Period shall not extend beyond the Promotion Period.

• Once the Direct Deposit Bonus Period has elapsed, SoFi will determine if you have met the offer requirements and will deposit any earned bonus into your checking account within seven (7) business days. For example, if SoFi receives between $1,000.00 and $4,999.99 in Eligible Direct Deposits during the Direct Deposit Bonus Period, you will receive a one-time cash bonus of $50.
• Bonuses are considered miscellaneous income and may be reportable to the IRS on Form 1099-MISC (or Form 1042-S, if applicable).

Quick Thoughts

$300 from SoFi and $505 from Swagbucks is the best offer that I’ve seen for a new SoFi checking/savings account, by almost $100. In order to max out these offers, you have to sign up for the checking account through the Swagbucks link and then make a total of $5000 in direct deposits.

In terms of timing, if you make your first direct deposit on November 28th (for instance), then you have until December 23rd to meet the $5,000 in combined total direct deposits to qualify for the full $300 bonus. It doesn’t need to happen all in one shot, but it does need to happen within 25 days of the first direct deposit. Each deposit needs to be at least $1,000 to be considered qualifying. Note that the money doesn’t need to stay in the account in order to qualify towards the $5,000 total.

SoFi is known for being fairly strict with what it considers a direct deposit (see DOC methods list here). I was able to trigger both Swagbucks and SoFi by making a $5,000 transfer from Wells Fargo and putting “Payroll Direct Deposit T. Steinke” in the reference (this was based on a few positive comments I saw in the DOC thread). But, of course, YMMV.

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