A free, beginner-friendly primer · Updated 2026-10-26
Banks pay people to switch.You just don't know the rules.
Earn $500–$3,000 a year from US credit-card and bank sign-up bonuses, without hurting your credit. We explain how, in plain English.
How it works
Three steps. About 2–4 months from start to bonus payout.
Open
Pick a bonus from the catalog. Apply online — usually 5 minutes.
Hit the requirement
Spend $4,000 over 3 months, or set up a direct deposit. Things you'd do anyway.
Get paid
The bonus posts to your account. In today's catalog that is $300–$450 for a bank account and $100–$1,750 for a card.
Current picks
Five offers worth your attention right now.
How the money actually arrives
Three live offers from our catalog, step by step. Amounts and requirements are read straight from the catalog, so they always match the offer pages.
- OpenApply online. Chase reviews your banking history (ChexSystems).
- Meet the requirementOpen a new Chase Total Checking account and receive $1,000+ in qualifying direct deposits within 90 days
- Bonus paid$400
Watch for Point a paycheck at the new account. Transfers from your own accounts do not count as direct deposits.
Full walkthrough →- OpenApply online with promo code OFFER300 on the offer page.
- Meet the requirementOpen a new Capital One 360 Checking account with promo code OFFER300 and receive at least two qualifying direct deposits of $500 or more each within 75 days of account opening
- Bonus paid$300
Watch for It takes two separate deposits of $500 or more. One $1,000 deposit does not qualify.
Full walkthrough →- OpenA credit card application. Capital One usually checks all three credit bureaus.
- Meet the requirementSpend $500 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening
- Bonus paid$200
Watch for Put normal spending on the card and pay the full statement balance every month, so interest never eats the bonus.
Full walkthrough →All three together $900
Terms as of 2026-10-26, when we last checked these offers against the issuers' own pages. Approval is up to the bank or card issuer, and a bonus pays only if its requirement is met in time. How we verify offers →
The questions everyone asks first
If you have a question this doesn't answer, the full guide probably does.
Will this wreck my credit score?
Short answer: no. Each application is a small, temporary dip (5–10 points) that recovers in a few months. Responsible bonus hunters increase their score over time — more total credit, longer average age.
Is this affiliate marketing in disguise?
Not today. None of our links pay us anything yet, and every apply button goes to the bank's or card issuer's own page. If that changes, the affiliate disclosure page and the affected links will say so. Either way, a commission will never move a worse bonus above a better one, and our methodology is public.
How much time does this take?
About 30 minutes to open an account. Then the requirement happens through normal spending or a direct deposit you already get. Expect a couple of hours of your own time per bonus, start to finish.
Do I pay taxes on the bonus?
Bank bonuses: yes, treated as interest income (1099-INT). Credit card bonuses: usually no — the IRS treats them as rebates on spending. We cover the edge cases in the guide.
What if I mess up a requirement?
You don't get the bonus — but you don't get punished either. Worst case you close the account. If you track the bonus in your free account, the tracker works out the deadline from your opening date so you can see what is due before it is too late.
How is this different from a blog?
Blogs bury you in 3,000-word SEO posts. We write for humans who want a plan, not a history lesson.
Your first bonus is 30 minutes away
Start with a single, absurdly easy one. Build from there.