Bank Bonuses

I read an article today about which banks are offering the best bonuses for opening new accounts. No thanks, I’ve wasted my time there before!

Sure, I’d love to have an extra couple hundred bucks deposited into my account! What I don’t want is all the hassle that comes with it.

I have direct deposit – if I didn’t, they’d charge me a monthly fee. The banks I’ve found that are willing to drop a couple hundred bucks into my new account also want me to have direct deposit – in fact, it’s a requirement, to get the money.

I can’t have direct deposit in multiple banks – maybe I could, but what a budgeting nightmare that would be – even for a lover of budgeting like me! This means, if I want the new account bonus, I have to change banks.

Changing banks would mean I have to fill out new paperwork for my direct deposit, change the account information for all bills that are set up for auto pay from that account and change the account information the IRS has on file, so I can get my tax refund and any additional stimulus checks that may be in our future! A lot of banks also want me to make a certain amount of transactions per month and I like to use my credit card for all possible transactions – the rewards are much better!

So the time and hassle it would take to get the couple hundred bucks isn’t worth it to me. I completely get it, if someone wants to take the time to jump through these hoops for the cash, but I would highly suggest they carefully read all the fine print and understand the terms that come with the cash BEFORE making the switch – then decide if it’s worth it!

What would you do for a bank bonus? Email me: bobbi@centsablechat.com