Swagbucks and MyPoints are ways to earn rewards (cash and gift cards) for online activities. They are owned by the same parent company, so their offers are often similar or identical. We prefer Swagbucks for most of our bigger bonuses for banking and they have offered bonuses for things such as driving for DoorDash or Uber and grocery shopping.
Swagbucks has 18 money-making offers available that will give you over $850 in rewards. Some of these offers require you to open a bank account, an investment account, or a credit card and make a minimum deposit or receive a direct deposit which is an easy way to make money online. For example, you can get $200 from Swagbucks if you open a Chime Bank account and receive at least 2 qualifying direct deposits in your account. You can also get $40 from Swagbucks if you open a Greenlight debit card for kids and make a $20 minimum deposit. You could even get $150 from Sofi Bank just for throwing $100 into your account after signing up as a new customer.
| Offer | Reward | Minimum Deposit | Bank Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chime Bank | $200 | $0 | 4.5 |
| Greenlight | $40 | $20 | 4.7 |
| SoFi | $100 | $50 | 5.0 |
| Abra | $40 + $10 bonus | $25 | 3.9 |
| Public | $16 + $5 bonus | $5 | 4.2 |
| Axos Bank | $150 or $200 | $750 or $1000 | 4.3 |
| Lili Banking Account | $50 | $25 | 4.2 |
| Charlie App Account | $10 | $0 | 4.6 |
| U.S. Bank Account | $100 | N/A | 5.0 |
| Copper Banking Account for Teens | $10 | N/A | N/A |
| Varo Banking Account | $120 | $25 | 4.7 |
| BBVA Banking Account | $50 | $25 | 4.5 |
Non-Direct Deposit Bank Offers
As I began my research, I noticed the offers for banks divided themselves into two categories – offers requiring direct deposit and offers not requiring direct deposit.
I do have direct deposits to my current bank account. But they are not usually large enough to meet the requirements detailed in the fine print of the offers. You can use services such as Brex Banking to do easy direct deposits if you do not have an employer who will do this.
If you do all the offers, you will get over $350 just for the non-direct deposit bonuses! To find these offers on the Swagbucks website, login to your account and click on Discover.
These offers are subject to change so always read the fine print on these offers.
Sofi $150 Bonus
A bank offering a hybrid of investing, credit, and cash banking, SoFi is proving a bit hard to navigate for me. This is the one I am trying out first. I signed up for my account a few weeks ago and I still cannot figure out how to fund it. It may be my bank (a smaller, local bank). Hopefully it will work for you. Since they offer hybrid banking, there are a number of offers for SoFi within Swagbucks and MyPoints. Make sure you are opening and completing the requirements for the bonus for the type of account which works for you. Read our full Sofi review here.
Swagbucks offer: Open an online account, deposit $100, get $150.
This is our favorite banking offer especially with the high interest they are paying out. Earn up to 4.20% APY on savings balances with direct deposits, and 1.20% APY on checking balances. Members without direct deposit will earn 1.20% APY on both savings and checking balances. FDIC insured up to $2M through a network of participating banks. Open a new account and deposit at least $100 to earn 15,000 Swagbucks. PLUS if you direct deposit $4,999.99 or more in 1 month, you are eligible to earn an additional $250 bonus into your SoFi account.
Axos Bank $150 Bonus
Axos Bank gives you all of the features of online banking with none of the fees. Open a bank account and deposit $750 or more to earn 15,000 SB (worth $150).
Swagbucks offer: Deposit $750, get $150.
Varo $52 Bonus
A mobile banking platform with no monthly fees and debit card, Varo provides the same protection as a normal bank account. It offers a little something when you sign up. Varo also has the options to save automatically by rounding up the totals on your purchases and saving the change or automatically setting aside a percentage of your direct deposits.
Swagbucks offer: Deposit $25, get $52
Charlie
An app intended to help young people get out of debt, Charlie helps debtors plan to be debt-free. The app also lays aside money (for debt or for savings) based on the rules set by the user. An example given may be: “Set aside $5 each time I spend at Target.”
Swagbucks offer: Deposit $10, get $10
BBVA Online Checking $50 Bonus
The BBVA Online Checking account promotes it is fee-free. Their website shows the various fees of other online banks for checking. This fact makes it easy to sign up for an account for a short-term in order to get a little bonus. An initial deposit of $25 is required to open a free account.
Note: the fine print of this offer warns of an automatic paper statement fee of $3 per month. You can opt out of it, but you must opt out in order to avoid the fee.
Swagbucks offer: Open an online account, deposit $25, get $50.
Oxygen $30 Bonus
Another online personal or business account without fees, Oxygen is a debit-card based banking system. Both the business account and the personal account have a cash back program attached. They also have a referral program which can net you $50 for each friend who meets the requirements of a new account up to $500 every 6 months. The friend also gets a $50 reward.
Swagbucks offer: Open an online account, deposit $20, get $30.
Copper $25 Bonus
Actually a bank targeting teens, MyPoints still offers real money to give Copper a try. Braces and awkward disposition are not a requirement. As I was researching their website, I discovered they offer teens rewards for learning about finances. Financial literacy and bonus money – win, win!
MyPoints offer: Open an online account, deposit $10, make one purchase get $25.
Lili $40 Bonus
An account marketed to freelancers, Lili is a debit-card based banking option. Fee-free banking and automatic savings options are great features of this bank. They also have a referral program which can net you $50 for each friend who meets the requirements of a new account. There is a $500 lifetime cap on rewards.
Swagbucks offer: Open an online account, deposit $200, get $40.
Direct-Deposit Bank Offers
Some may not have direct deposit high enough to qualify for most of these bank offers below. But if you do have a direct deposit set up for your account, these offers may be a wonderful way to make extra cash for switching your bank account. We recommend opening a Brex account or checking to see what will count as a direct deposit.
Note: It requires work to switch not only the bank account over, but also the direct deposit. Take that into consideration when deciding if these offers are right for you.
$100 or $50 Swagbucks with Current Fee-Free Banking
A modern banking option, Current is offering many of the fee-free banking benefits of the other banks detailed in this list. I like the ability to automatically save and create “pods” for specific savings goals. They also offer some banking options for families with teens.
Swagbucks offer: Open an account, have a direct deposit of over $250 in the first 30 days, get $100.
Chime
Another fee-free debit based account, Chime also offers a Savings Account when you sign up for their Visa debit account. They also offer automatic savings options to help you save money effortlessly.
Swagbucks offer: Open an account, have a direct deposit of over $200 in the first 45 days, get $125.
MyPoints offer: Open an account, have a direct deposit of over $200 in the first 45 days, get $135.
Rakuten offer: Open an account, have a direct deposit of over $200 in the first 30 days, get $40.
Is Swagbucks legit? Will I get paid?
Swagbucks is a legitimate company. Let’s say Bank A will pay Swagbucks $60 for a new customer, and then Swagbucks promises you $50 of that. That means both Swagbucks has to track that you opened the account, and Bank A has to track that someone from Swagbucks opened the account, and they both have to agree that Swagbucks user was you specifically. We recommend using the same email that you used to open the bank account that you use with your Swagbucks account.
We love to stack and use Swagbucks when they offer a bonus that is stacked on top of another bonus, and not instead of another bonus. For example, with Plynk they may only offer 3500 SB right now (worth ~$35), but at least it is on top of the standard $50 bonus. That way, it’s just gravy on top, instead of a possible net loss by making you miss out on an alternative bonus if the tracking goes awry. I usually avoid Swagbucks if they tell me I’ll be disqualified from the standard bonus.
How much are Swagbucks worth?
Thankfully, their redemption options are relatively easy to understand. 2500 SB is worth approximately $25 via various options. 2500 SB = $25 cash deposited directly into your bank account or brokerage account, no fees, uses Plaid service. You can also redeem it for Paypal cash, Uber, Airbnb, and Amazon gift cards at sometimes a discount of 10% making it worth more than your typical cash back bonus redemption.
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