Churning Bank Accounts
Bank accounts are things that we all have. They offer us interest for leaving money in them. But not all bank accounts are created equal. Some offer incentives for opening savings, checking, or setting direct deposit up with them. Frequently offers will be something along the lines of deposit a new $10,000 and receive $100.
Personal Experience:
One of the things I learned about doing research was churning bank accounts to collect the incentive for opening the account. When I first looked at the offer, I was confused. It seemed like a lot of money for a small reward. But the longer I looked at it, the more I saw it as a temporary gift of a 10x on the interest rate.
Profitability:
Offers typically can’t be repeated often, usually needing to wait a few years before being able to again. Annual promotions also come up, but they don’t come out frequently. Typically if you are able to churn these accounts you can expect to make a few thousand dollars per year.
Pros and Cons:
Pros: Easy to generate cash
Cons: Takes a lot of cash to start, to re-start the cycle will take a few years
Recommendation:
I would definitely recommend churning bank accounts. While you will have to wait for offers to re-set. This is an extremely easy way to generate some cash as long as you have enough to complete the offer. Its important to emphasize that organization when doing this is important. Reading the terms and conditions and the fine print is extremely important. When you look at the Pros and Cons, you see more cons than Pros, but don’t let that stop you from doing this. Consider this as a research intensive side hustle that you do once every few years.