SoFi Money: Earn Rewards That Will Beat Your Credit Card
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I’ve been writing about money since 2013, and I’ve seen a lot of financial products hit the market over the years. When it comes to rewards, credit cards have been the way to go ever since the Durbin Amendment of the Dodd-Frank Act killed off most debit card rewards programs.
But banks are starting to bring these programs back, and SoFi Money has some of the best offers around.
Sign Up for SoFi Money and Earn Up to $125
Bank account bonuses aren’t uncommon, but they’re not always easy to get. With the SoFi Money sign-up bonus, you can earn up to $125 in cold hard cash by simply doing what you’d normally do when switching bank accounts.
If you want to get even more value, you can also sign up for a SoFi Invest account, which allows you to trade on your own or via the broker’s robo-advisor. Enroll through a friend’s referral link and start with $1,000 in your account, and you’ll receive $50 worth of your favorite stock. The service also runs promotions from time to time to give you more opportunities to earn bonuses.
Get Up to 15% Back With a SoFi Money Debit Card
Like most debit cards, SoFi Money doesn’t offer a flat rewards rate on every dollar you spend. But if you spend with select popular retailers, you’ll receive 10% cash back.
As an example, customers will earn that rewards rate on Netflix, Disney Plus and Spotify streaming subscriptions through Dec. 31, 2020, up to $50 total. Once that promotion ends, another new set of retailers will replace it. And through Feb. 7, 2021, you’ll get 10% back on DoorDash, Postmates, UberEats and Grubhub, again up to $50 in total cash back.
What’s more, your SoFi Money debit card offers more cash-back deals with local restaurants and retailers, which you can view in the SoFi mobile app.
All you have to do to qualify to earn cash back is have at least $500 in direct deposits every month on your account — which, again, is something many people typically would do with their primary bank account anyway.
Checking and Savings Rolled Into One
It’s always a good idea to have both a checking and savings account, but getting the benefits of both in one account could help simplify your money management.
For starters, it’s important to note that SoFi Money isn’t technically a checking or savings account. Rather, it’s a cash management account with a brokerage. Of course, your money is still protected by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), which insures up to $500,000 in securities and cash — $250,000 of that amount being cash, which is what you’d get from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) with a traditional bank account.
SoFi Money Benefits
That said, here are some of the features and benefits you’ll get when you use SoFi Money for your banking needs:
Earn 0.25% APY when you meet the $500 monthly direct deposit requirement — the average rate for an interest-bearing checking account in the U.S. is 0.04%, according to the FDIC.
Earmark funds for different savings goals with up to 20 different “Vaults.”
Pay no ATM fees in a wide network of 55,000 Allpoint ATMs.
Transfer money to other SoFi Money members instantly, similar to PayPal or Venmo.
Round up debit card purchases to the nearest dollar and have it automatically transferred to one of your Vaults to compound savings.
No monthly fee.
With all these benefits on top of the rewards, you’ll have a difficult time finding an account from a traditional bank that will give you more value.
Is SoFi Money Right for You?
SoFi Money offers some incredible features that are tough to find with banks and credit unions. If you like the idea of any of the account’s benefits, it might be worth a test-drive.
However, there’s one area where it might fall short for some is that it’s an online-only account. If you deposit a lot of cash or prefer in-person service, you might want to pass on this one.
Even if you’re not completely sure it’s right for you, open an account and try it out. At the very least, you could get an easy $150 cash bonus in the process.
While we work hard on our research, we do not always provide a complete listing of all available offers from credit-card companies and banks. And because offers can change, we cannot guarantee that our information will always be up to date, so we encourage you to verify all the terms and conditions of any financial product before you apply.
