(Expired) Earn up to a $650 bonus with a new SoFi checking/savings account

Update 8/20: Well, that was quick. The Rakuten offer is back down to $125/12,500 MR.

SoFi has recently increased a stackable offer that can give you up to $650 back when opening a new checking/savings account.

The shopping portal Rakuten is offering a $350 bonus for opening a new SoFi Checking/Savings account by clicking through the portal link and making a $500 direct deposit within 45 days. This $350 can then either be taken as cash or converted into 35,000 Amex Membership Rewards (MR) points, which is our preferred choice since we value MR at ~1.55 cents each.

The Rakuten promo will stack with SoFi’s direct $300 sign-up bonus for a total of up to $650 (or $300 and 35,000 MR) 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 Rakuten for an additional ~$350/35,000 Membership Rewards points when opening a new account through the portal and completing a direct deposit of at least $500 within 45 days.

Direct Link to Offer

If you’re not a Rakuten Member and would like to use one of our referral links, you’ll find them below:

Nick’s Referral Link

Greg’s Referral Link

Tim’s Referral Link

Stephen’s Referral Link

Key Terms

Rakuten

• Cash Back is only available for new SoFi Checking and Savings customers.
• Only one per account.
• Customer must click through the Rakuten link and complete a direct deposit with a minimum initial direct deposit of $500.00 into a new SoFi Checking & Savings account within 45 days of clicking the Rakuten link to qualify.
• Cash Back amount subject to change and determined based on date customer clicks on Rakuten link.
• Cash Back will be automatically added to your Rakuten account within 45 days after a direct deposit is posted to your SoFi Checking & Savings account.
• 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 (“Direct Deposit”) via the Automated Clearing House (“ACH”) Network during a 30-day Evaluation Period (as defined below).
• 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 Direct Deposit activity.

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.

• 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 $350/35K MR from Rakuten is one of the better offers that we’ve seen recently for a new SoFi checking/savings account, $120 above what’s currently offered via Swagbucks. In order to max out these offers, you just have to sign-up for the checking account through the Rakuten 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.

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