Frequent Miler's latest team challenge, Million Mile Madness, is happening now! Follow us as Greg, Nick, and Stephen compete to earn 1 Million SAS miles by flying 15 airlines before November 23rd. Who will complete the challenge with the most Speed, Affordability, and Style?
SoFi has recently increased a stackable offer that can give you up to $530 back when opening a new checking/savings account.
The shopping portal Swagbucks is offering a 23,000 point (~$230) 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 last year and it was easy money.
The Swagbucks promo will stack with SoFi’s direct $300 sign-up bonus for a total of up to $530 back when opening a new online account and completing qualifying direct deposit.
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 ~$230/23,000 points when opening a new account through the portal and completing a direct deposit of at least $400 within 45 days.
Key Terms
Swagbucks
- Existing accounts are not eligible to earn 23,000 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 first deposit to earn. T
- This offer may only be redeemed once (1) per user.
SoFi Checking
- Promotion Period: 12/7/23 12:01AM ET to 12/31/24 11:59PM ET.
- Must be a new user to SoFi.
- In order to qualify for eligibility for a bonus, SoFi must receive at least one Direct Deposit (as defined below) from an Eligible Participant, the first of which must be received on or after 12/7/2023. Direct Deposits are defined as deposits of $1,000.00 or greater from an enrolled member’s employer, payroll, benefits provider, or government agency via ACH deposit. Deposits that are not from an employer, payroll, benefits provider, or government agency (such as check deposits; P2P transfers such as from PayPal or Venmo, etc.; merchant transactions such as from PayPal, Stripe, Square, etc.; and external bank ACH transfers not from employers) do not qualify for this Direct Deposit Promotion. The amount of the bonus, if any, will be calculated during the Direct Deposit Bonus Period as described and defined below.
- The Direct Deposit Bonus Period begins when SoFi receives a Direct Deposit within the Promotion Period and ends 25 calendar days later (the “Direct Deposit Bonus Period”). For the avoidance of doubt, the Direct Deposit Bonus Period shall not extend beyond the Promotion Period. The bonus amount will vary based on the total amount of Direct Deposits received during the Direct Deposit Bonus 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 Direct Deposits during the Direct Deposit Bonus Period, you will receive a one-time cash bonus of $50. A member may only qualify for one bonus tier and will not be eligible for future bonus payments if Direct Deposits subsequently increase after the Direct Deposit Bonus Period.
| Total Direct Deposit Amount in Direct Deposit Bonus Period | Cash Bonus Tier |
|---|---|
| $1,000.00 – $4,999.99 | $50 |
| $5,000.00 or more | $300 |
- The Direct Deposit Bonus Period begins when SoFi receives a Direct Deposit within the Promotion Period and ends 25 days later (the “Direct Deposit Bonus Period”). For the avoidance of doubt, the Direct Deposit Bonus Period shall not extend beyond the Promotion Period. The bonus amount will vary based on the total amount of Direct Deposits received during the Direct Deposit Bonus 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 Direct Deposits during the Direct Deposit Bonus Period, you will receive a one-time cash bonus of $50. A member may only qualify for one bonus tier and will not be eligible for future bonus payments if Direct Deposits subsequently increase after the Direct Deposit Bonus Period.
- SoFi will credit members who meet qualification criteria within seven (7) business days of the end of the Direct Deposit Bonus Period.
- 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 $230 from Swagbucks are about the par for offers that we’ve seen recently for a new SoFi checking/savings account. In order to max out these offers, you just have to sign-up for the checking account through the Swagbucks link and then do a total of $5000 in direct deposits.
In terms of timing, if you make your first direct deposit on September 28th (for instance), then you have until October 21st 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 just 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). Last year, 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.
SoFi offers up 4.6% APY for account holders who do a monthly “direct deposit,” so it can be a decent option if you actually need an online checking account. I have an account and the 4.6% APY rate is kept active by doing an electronic transfer using Plastiq.
Want to learn more about miles and points? Subscribe to email updates or check out our podcast on your favorite podcast platform.
Hello, You mentioned that ” The money doesn’t need to stay in the account in order to qualify towards the $5,000 total.” once DD $5K settled in the account in a few days then Can I withdraw the same $5K out to other bank and would I still get $300 DD bonus? Thank you.