MyCardBlog

I have a post about how to make money from by taking the advantage of sing-up bonuses (click here). However, you will always see “Free checking with direct deposit” or “$100 bonus when you open a new account with direct deposit”. Most of banks require direct deposit if you want to get sign-up bonus. The reason is very simple: banks exactly know the influence of bank account with the rest of your financial life. They hope you can use their other services like mortgages, personal loans, auto loans, student loans and other financial products. They assume that you are too lazy to go to contact your payroll office to have your direct deposit redirected to another bank account. It’s true we don’t want to change our bank account frequently. However, we are not satisfied with merely one bank account. There are so many sing-up bonuses from so many banks. Then an “unofficial payroll office” is a must in order to jump in so many deals. ING and PayPal are most discussed and used direct deposit tools.

According to the definition from electronicpaymnet.org, a direct deposit is simply an electronic transfer of funds to your account. This is usually done by a method known as ACH transfer. Unless a real person is looking at the detail of the ACH transfer, there is no real way to automatically tell if the ACH is a payroll deposit or not. Most of the time a bank will count these non-payroll transfers as a direct deposit, which allows you to avoid service fees and/or collect promotional bonuses based on the use of direct deposit. (For more detailed information please refer to electronicpayment.org.)

After searching on the internet via Google, I summarized some most common banks that count ING or PayPal ACH transfers as direct deposits.

Bank of America (ING, PayPal)

Bank One (ING, PayPal)

Chase (ING)

Citibank (ING, Paypal)

Citizens Bank (ING)

Commerce Bank (ING, Paypal)

Compass Bank (ING)

E-Trade Bank (ING)

HSBC (ING)

PNC Bank (Paypal)

Principal Bank (ING)

SunTrust (ING, PayPal)

USAA (ING)

Wachovia (ING, no PayPal)

Washington Mutual (ING, Paypal)

Wells Fargo (no ING)

You can set direct deposit alert on Chase checking account. If the ACH transfer is counted as direct deposit, they automatically send you an email to confirm that. Of course, the prerequisite is you should set the alert by yourself. Please note that you should never call your bank to verify whether or not ING & PayPal are counted as Direct Deposit.

There are a lot of articles telling you how to invest with only $100. There is an article at MSN.com says $1 in 1972 will turn into $30 or more around 2000. Yes, it’s true. However, we can’t wait so long. Considering the inflation rate, it’s quite possible that the purchase ability of $30 in 2000 will be less than $1 in 1972. So here I summarize a way to get huge rewards for just only $100. This idea has been in my mind for a long time since I just started writing blog. Of course, it will take you a lot of time to finish this “investing project”.

Note: Only nationwide offers are considered. The financial institutes listed below are always offering sing-up bonuses. So you don’t have to worry about the expiration date. When you are ready for the next step, you’d better google the current bonus before opening a new account.

Open a MyAccess Checking Account at Bank of America and you will get $100 in about 45 days. (If you are lucky enough, you will get $200. I got $200 but I don’t know why.) No direct deposit required, and no monthly fees associated with this account.

Then you will have $200 in hand. You can open a checking account at Wells Fargo and Wachovia. Either of them will give you $50 bonus. The required minimum initial deposit is $100 each. So after 2 month, you will get $300.

The nest step is to open an account at ING? You can get $25 bonus which is available in 30 days.

Ok, right now, you have the “direct deposit machine” to play direct deposit at Chase. Open a Chase Free Checking account with direct deposit with $100 initial deposit. (Use the account at ING to send a small amount to the account monthly.) You will have $100 bonus 30 days later. (If you can find a $125 coupon, you will get $125.)

So you will have $425 at this time. You might want to choose LaSalle to get another $100. This time they require $250 at checking and $100 at saving to qualify for this offer. Present customers are also eligible for this offer as long as you open the account with new money.

Then you will get $525 after you get $100 from LaSalle. You can open a Citi Ultimate Saving Account to get $50 bonus. You can also get $25 from E*Trade Complete Saving Account and Capital One Money Market Account. They both require $1 to get the bonus. So you will have $625 after you get all the bonuses.

Of course, you can get $50 from ShareBuilder with lots of promotion codes available. Considering the commission fees should be deducted, you will get $30 from it. So you can get $655 at this time. You can also participate in the Keep the Change program at BOA which will bring $250 to you in a year.

At last, you can also get $250 potential money by referring your friends to open accounts at ING. Anyway, after the “Investing Project”, you can get as high as $1155! It’s an unbelievable amount!

Just received an email from Chase about the promotion will be launched on November 22, 2007. From November 22, 2007 to December 31, 2007, you can get up to $75 cash back by using Chase Visa Check Card. When you make $250 in qualifying purchases, you can get $10 cash back. When you make $500 in qualifying purchases, you can get $25 cash back. When you make $1,000 in qualifying purchases, you can get $75 cash back. Qualifying purchases made with your Chase Check Card that earn cash back include signature-authorized and contactless check card payment authorized through Visa processing system. If you use your PIN to make purchases, the amount charged on your check card is not qualified. (You should use it as a credit card. You can ask the cashier to charge it as credit card at checkout.) ATM transactions are also not qualified. Of course, purchases made online are qualified. Because you have no way to put your PIN online.

The following holiday-related merchant categories that are valid for this promotion include: Department Stores, Miscellaneous Specialty Retail Stores, Discount Stores, Other Direct Marketers, Sporting Goods Stores, Gifts, Cards, Novelty Stores, Women’s Ready-to-Wear Stores, Family Clothing Stores, Catalog Merchant Stores, Shoe Stores, Jewelry Stores, Men’s/Women’s Clothing Stores, Miscellaneous Apparel/Access Stores, Women’s Access/Specialty Stores, Miscellaneous General Merchandise Stores, Hobby, Toy and Game Stores, Sports/Riding Apparel Stores, Children’s/Infants’ Wear Stores, Men’s/Boys’ Clothing/Access Stores, Record Stores, Combination Catalog and Retail Stores, Miscellaneous Specialty Retail, Book Stores, Electronics Stores, Stationery Stores, Variety Stores and other categories as deemed holiday-related at the discretion of Chase.

You can register your Chase Check Card at www.chaseholidaycash.com and use it from November 22, 2007. (By the way, I’m still waiting for the $50 bonus for spending $500.)

According to the Nilson Report, an industry newsletter, one in three Americans use Visa or MasterCard debit cards last year, up from 17% in 2000. Meanwhile, regarding to credit cards, the numbers have gone down to 73% in 2006 from 82% in 2000. Debit cards are still very popular with those who have not good credit. Capital One is testing a new kind of debit card which is supposed to change how banks and consumers approach debit cards.

The innovative idea of this card is: It can be linked to any bank account and used for purchases and ATM withdrawals. Most importantly, this kind of new card will give you rewards for using it to make purchases. The new Capital One MasterCard debit card will offer rewards nearly as generous as those consumers can get from their credit cards. There are two types of rewards: points, miles or cash back. Of course, there will be no fees associated with this card from CapitalOne unless the bank imposes its own fees.

According to the industry experts, this new debit card will be two to five times superior to the rewards you get with any other debit cards.

Only 20% of debit-card spending was on rewards debit cards in 2006, according to Aite Group. However, 84% of credit-card purchases will be placed on rewards credit cards as estimated by Aite Group (an industry research company). We might expect that this new debit card will bring more new debit card users. Especially for those can’t get a credit card.

Basics of Capital One MasterCard Debit Card

This card can be linked to any existing checking account and used for purchase and ATM withdrawals. You can select which bank account the card should pull money from, and you can change your selection as your needs evolve. This is great!

No fees associated with this card from Capital One unless the bank that manages the checking account imposes its own fees.

If the card is stolen or fraudulently used, cardholders should contact Capital One. Capital One will reimburse the fraudulent charges to the linked checking account within a day.

Capital One will offer a variety of co-branded cards issued in partnerships with retailers and card users will earn bonus points for shopping at these retailers; rewards will be redeemable for gift certificates at those retailers. You can also earn rewards as what you can get from credit cards issued by Capital One.

Wells Fargo is offering $50 for opening a checking account. TO qualify for this offer, you have to make $100 initial deposit. You will receive the $50 bonus within 30 to 45 days opening. This offer also doen’t require direct deposit. It’s totally free! And you have to open and fund this ccount before Nov. 30, 2007.

• Free Checking That’s Really Free — Enjoy no monthly service fees, no minimum balance requirements, and a Wells Fargo^® Check Card with no annual card fee.
• Free Access To Wells Fargo Online^® — Our top-ranked online service lets you view statements, monitor account balances, transfer funds, automatically track your spending, and more — anytime, anywhere you have internet access.

However, a hard pull will be likely to hit your credit report. When you want to apply for this account, please make sure to keep a copy of the offer page. (This reminder applied to all of the offers.) You may want to make more money by using credit card. To apply for this account, please click through this link.

LaSalle Bank is offering $100 for its new customers for opening both checking account and statement saving account. At the same time, you should use the Money Card debit card from Lasalle.

Important disclosure:

The minimum balance to open a checking account to earn the $100 cash bonus is $250. To be eligible for the Bonus you are required to sign up for a LaSalle Money Card debit card and open a new Statement Savings Account with a $100 minimum opening deposit. You are also required to make a purchase with your Money Card within 60 days of account opening. Bonus will not be considered part of the new checking or savings minimum opening deposit. Bonus will be credited to the savings account within 120 days from the date of account opening provided the stated requirements have been met. Bonus is limited to one per household, may not be combined with any other offer, is not transferable, and may be considered income to you for tax purposes. Offer available for a limited time and is for new accounts only with funds not currently on deposit.

You can choose to open Convenience Checking Account to avoid direct deposit. But you have to keep $250 daily balance to avoid monthly service fee. The application is a soft pull. You will receive the welcome package after your application is approved from which you can get the password to set up your account online. Remember to apply two accounts and use the debit card from LaSalle Bank.

If you have Citi CashReturns Card, you can make extra $100. LaSalle accepts credit cards to fund the new accounts (limit $1000). To take advantage of this offer, you can apply online, visit LaSalle bank branches or call 800-275-9072. You have to apply two accounts separately.

Wachovia is offering $50 for opening a new checking account with them. It’s really free. No minimum balacnce, no mothly service fee, and no direct deposit required. To qulify for this offer, you must be a new customer and open the account before 01/31/2008 with new $100 funds to wachovia. The offer code is “ATM2″. TO see details please see here. Wachovia is the fourth largest bank in US and ranked 47 in Fortune 500 in 2007. However, there are only 16 states have Wachovia banking center. TO find the locations of Wachovia banking center please see here.

I noticed the promotion several days ago. And I have a post about this promotion here. However, at that time, I was unable to get the promotion code to register my check card. According to the talk with Chase CSR, the promotion is targeted at those who didn’t use their check card for 3 months. However, this night I randomly put 2356325 as the promotion code, and my card was registered! Amazing! Then I also tried with 1234567 to see whether this will work or not. Guess what? You Chase Visa Check Card is registered to earn $50! SO my guess is you cna put in every 7 digit numbers to register your check card. Go ahead and try you luck!

To qualify for this offer, you have to make 15 signature based purchases from Oct 1st to Dec 15, 2007. Remember you can’t enter PIN when you check out, that won’t be considered as signature based purchase. To register your check card, please click here.