Are Hunting Bank Promotions Worth Your Time - Clocking In

[@RJFinancial]

Start earning here - www.profitablecontent.com

[@mlj_the_shield]

Lastly, if you're willing to spend 21 minutes of your time watching this video, you have time to do bank bonuses.

[@darcybuchanan7157]

😂 but listening to RJ rambling is entertaining the bank might not be.

[@lopezzepol1]

Actual comment: for lower spenders, I’ve noticed bank bonuses tend to be more profitable than credit cards. But even if you’re a high or medium spender, bank bonuses can still be good suplemental money made

[@benchoflemons398]

Banks are definitely better. CCs are only good for travel

[@RJFinancial]

I agree. Cards are much tougher to hit spends and inquiries add up. Bonuses are low spend, low effort, and more options. I could hit large card offers constantly until I got the third house... now it won't stop lol

[@lopezzepol1]

@@RJFinancial so based RJ! Now get back to the office, the shareholders NEED you!

[@mlj_the_shield]

@@benchoflemons398 USBANK cards are generally $200 SUBs each, AAA Daily Advantage - $100, Citibank $200, Capital One $200, Discover $100 (w/referral). None of these had very high spend requirements, and Chase has a ton too. Now I'll give you once you already have these cards and use them there's no more bonus coming, but at least the bonus is tax-free. Affinity FCU had a bit higher spend req for its $200 as well.

[@wanderingdoc5075]

I've found that between research, opening accounts, phone calls, linking accounts, babysitting ACHs, sometimes going to branch and talking to bankers, call to close account, filing CFPB reports, gathering tax docs I spend about 30 hours a year on this hobby, to earn about $8000 in bonuses. $267/hr but that's before taxes. More like $200/hr. And I think like most hobbies we enjoy we actually underestimate the time we spend on this hobby. RJ you got some sun! ☀️

[@RJFinancial]

That's fair, doing an all in total. Great return, considering a lot of this can be done while you do other things like a real job

[@mlj_the_shield]

#5 - The Biggest thing to consider of all. My wife and I did $7900 in 2023 in bank signup bonuses. We try to figure out or mid six figure taxes (on our Adjusted Gross Income/AGI) to be as close to 0 as possible. That $7900 after taxes really ended up being about $5500 roughly, and we did get a tax penalty for underpayment. Or at least the IRS threatened that they'd be sending us a bill for that; it's now 6 months later. But my point still stands. If you constantly get back large tax refunds (you're doing it wrong if so) but you might be ok here. But $250 is not really $250; more like $175 or less. Also RJ with his rose colored glasses doesn't factor in things like gasoline or vehicle wear & tear for the trip to Citizens, but I digress. I'll leave this on a positive note though - the $325 is a true non-taxable bonus and we always warmly welcome and love credit card bonuses..

[@RJFinancial]

lol sure, you can add in gas and the milage to be more accurate. I factor in that if it's a roadtrip. Going down the road aways, part of being in a car first world I guess

[@newagain9964]

True u have to factor in taxes. Ur gas and car maintenance costs…bruh. Where u driving/flying to get bonuses??

[@lopezzepol1]

@@mlj_the_shield taxation is theft!

[@MuscleMan500]

@@RJFinancialYou didn't factor in the caloric energy it took to walk from your home to your car either

[@dizzyg6862]

$9900 in bank bonuses last year and only had to go into branch twice. The first time was smooth sailing and the other was a denial after reviewing my lengthy Chex report. The banker actually deserted me and sent the branch manager over to tell me they couldn’t open the account. 😂

[@RJFinancial]

That's awesome. He went and cried to his boss then hid in the break room. Also, amazing total sir

[@mlj_the_shield]

What did the manager say exactly? Great story!

[@AnthonyVenture]

RJ in the wild! Love it! There will be a time where I start hunting these bank bonuses, I think it’ll be worth the time for probably quite a while I’d imagine. This was very fun though to show where some things can go wrong or just add time while hunting! Great insights and perspectives RJ!

[@wesmoffett9395]

Woohoo! Road trip with RJ😁 I had a bit of a runaround with Chase recently, no drop-in visit to open the recent $900 bonus, so I had to also make an appointment. The branch I chose happened to be almost next door to my fave Thai restaurant. That was an unexpected bonus right there. Anyway, the appointment went smoothly and i was rewarded with the $900 in a few months. All part of the game. Thanks for all your knowledge in helping us play along!

[@RJFinancial]

Love to see it

[@J0HN_3_16]

Listing bank account bonuses that don't require direct deposit wouid be useful.

[@RJFinancial]

Most of them do unless it's a business account. Even then, we can often spoof the DD if needed.

[@J0HN_3_16]

@@RJFinancial love to learn how that spoofing works.

[@kingsamvisuals]

I had the same thing happen opening the citizens person offer online. Opened in branch and then talked to 3 reps on 3 separate calls to confirm it's applied and the requirements are met. October payout. TD prints cards in branch. Citi prints temp cards in branch (no online purchases).

[@RJFinancial]

Annoying but worth it for the $400 personal offer

[@Lifeissorich.]

Most business accounts here in NC require us to open in branch. It's still the highest per hour rate for the least amount of work. Credit card bonuses are hard with the 4-6k spend until your making like 60k minimum and even then most in that income range would have to overspend to hit minimum spend. I had to always fund bank accounts or whenever. Making mid 90s now and I'd still really only spend around 1-1.5k per month so stretching to hit 4k spend bonuses and business cards requiring 6-8k in 3 months are out of the question without overpaying my taxes considering banks continue to lower their funding amounts.

[@RJFinancial]

Agree, couldn't consistently hit spends this high until I got a few houses. Now it won't stop. Funding is getting harder to find these days as well.

[@mlj_the_shield]

That's why I still do them - I don't have to leave my computer chair. I unfreeze my credit file / Chexsystems account first, open 3-4 accounts on a weekend, then let them sit for a few months. RJ has taught me the ways of not worrying about having a perfect credit file without any credit inquiries. I've done this for almost 2 years and still in the 830+ range. If you have the score, why not use it to make more $$$?

[@Doggieman1111]

This video is as exciting as field trip days were in elementary school!

[@RJFinancial]

lol they're always saying I should get out more

[@JacobsPointsAndProfit]

I’ve found that the research is what takes me the longest at my stage in earning bank bonuses. Started taking this seriously 3.5 months ago and already have $2,000 of bonuses posted between my wife and I and over $1,000 on the way in the next 30 days. I definitely spend more than 2 hours per bonus but worth it because I know I’ll get faster over time

[@RJFinancial]

I got you on the research brother. Blog posts and videos I try to lay it all out so you don't have to. Either way proud of you for getting started. Like anything, it does get easier

[@jimmyjames6492]

Thanks for the info + video!

[@tredaviouswhite8201]

Citizens bank is the ONLY bank that I’ve signed up for a promotional offer that didn’t automatically pay me. I didn’t even fight it. I was outside of their state coverage expecting my application to get denied. They accepted it, opened the account with the promo, used real DD for personal, and yet they didn’t pay. I let it go. Won’t be targeting them again.

[@RJFinancial]

It's worth a call next time for the $400. Sucks when banks don't pay and it does happen sometimes sadly. Either way still plenty of targets out in footprint

[@poesyfan28]

I churned bank offers last year… then turbo tax broke for me and my accountant wanted to charge me extra per each 1099 int so i havent done one this year

[@RJFinancial]

That's doing too much. It's no effort to enter in a 1099, sure they're a business but still

[@dizzyg6862]

HR Block takes 1099’s like a champ.

[@mlj_the_shield]

I used Freetaxusa for the first time in 20 years last year. Free for federal, 15 bucks for state and it gobbled up my 27 1099's like a champ. Super easy.

[@poesyfan28]

Appreciate the info!

[@akwarner99]

PNC will print a debit card in branch as well.

[@Slader77]

The title should have an “are” in the beginning right or am I reading to much into it?

[@ApprenticeOtaku]

Slightly off topic but what is the smallest amount of money you can add for an Amazon Reload? I keep seeing $5 but other people make it seem like they can do it for a much smaller amount.

[@RJFinancial]

It's $5. Amazon raised the minimum awhile back

[@profitcutie]

Great video Ryan!💙

[@rambosidi7634]

Yep

[@evangibson8020]

Based RJ

[@blakeharper3733]

What tracker do you use for the bonus? Just excel?

[@RJFinancial]

Yes docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fGBNh3ns2gLgYnyZCPwz7D30HmAXC5cl/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=100737229651824038814&rtpof=true&sd=true

[@ctbt1832]

TD bank print your debit card in the branch

[@Tonystew42]

Wild that you've never had them make a card in-branch before, I've done 5 accounts in-branch and 3 were able to print/press a card for me: Associated, Banterra, and Regions.

[@mlj_the_shield]

I couldn't believe that either. That's actually pretty cool.

[@RJFinancial]

Only had it at Citizens oddly enough. I don't go in branch much though

[@mlj_the_shield]

Just watched the entire video. I have several comments. I'll go from good to bad on these.

[@djpuplex]

It's been a lot easier in the past. Citizens has been purging churners they closed me after opening.

[@RJFinancial]

This one took some doing as you can tell. I'm also doing the personal savings account bonus then I'll it and the checking. Think we'll have to start going in branch to open each year

[@mlj_the_shield]

I did the Citizen's personal $300 + $100 last year (x2 for Player 2, my wife). I was not a fan of doing 50x2 Amazon reloads. Question - were you churning a business or personal account?

[@mlj_the_shield]

#1 - This obviously is basically a worst-case scenario. Wife and I did $7900 in bank bonuses in 2023 and I did *zero* in person. Factoring in the drive + chatty ass RJ to another banker; I'm surprised he got out of there that quickly.

[@RJFinancial]

Yep, it was worst case. Most are much easier, even in branch. At some point I was committed to making the vid. Don't know if it helped my argument

[@mlj_the_shield]

@@RJFinancial I'd follow this up with a super duper easy "can of corn" one, like Fifth 3rd. Time to open and get paid out = super fast. Do the worst case then the best.

[@kcihtred2]

getting $200 an hour to bullshit and talk about a hobby? I am game

[@RJFinancial]

Most don't even take this much work. See you over on the second channel

[@mlj_the_shield]

#3 - The $325 CC bonus was for a 5k spend in the first 90 days. RJ barely mentions this, but do make sure you have something you need to buy to meet the requirement. Minus (-1) star for RJ not telling us what the credit card rewards were for this "Business Everyday Points(tm) Credit Card. It reads "1.5% on your everyday business expenses". Is that lunch? Food? Office Supplies Only? Can I pay my cable bill with this? Would 5k spend on property taxes get me 1.5%? So many questions.

[@RJFinancial]

Turns out you only get the 1.5x after you spend the first $5k. I redeemed them to the bank account. It's 1.5x on everything if you wanted to use the card after that.

[@mlj_the_shield]

@@RJFinancial Outrageous! This will be remediated November 5th when Trump is reelected.

[@mlj_the_shield]

#4 - It is so odd to see RJ outdoors. Or 21 minute videos. But again, this was absolute worse case scenario. I don't do any of these bonuses if I have to set foot outside or drive to a bank/credit union like a pleb.

[@RJFinancial]

I even opened the windows in the car, which I normally do but seems out of character

[@mlj_the_shield]

@@RJFinancial When I come up to Michigan I'll show you the land yacht Audi A8L. You'll want to sell your GM car immediately though. :)

[@Another_Bad_Creation]

Too long!

[@RJFinancial]

I agree, however I'm not sure what to cut to try to show how it actually went

[@mlj_the_shield]

The outdoors shots was a nice change though. Plus the different view at the end. RJ's chatty man, what can I say?

[@tredaviouswhite8201]

Citizens bank is the ONLY bank that I’ve signed up for a promotional offer that didn’t automatically pay me. I didn’t even fight it. I was outside of their state coverage expecting my application to get denied. They accepted it, opened the account with the promo, used real DD for personal, and yet they didn’t pay. I let it go. Won’t be targeting them again.

[@Slader77]

The title should have an “are” in the beginning right or am I reading to much into it?

[@RJFinancial]

Fair enough, updated