Signup Bonus — Hits and Misses
Saving
There are a lot of signup bonuses for savings vehicles, but most current ones require direct deposit, which I find too much of a bother to be worth it. For example, you can get $25 when you sign up for SoFi checking and savings and get $250 for direct depositing $5k. Deposits are insured up to $2 million, there are no account fees, and their rates are good with APY up to 4.5%. You can sign up here if you’re willing to deal with the direct deposit hassle; I’m not.
Hit: Save. Their Market Savings account was already my favorite savings vehicle — federally insured principal, tax-efficient gains, and a variable average APY of 2–3x what I’ve gotten anywhere else. So the signup bonus makes a good thing great. Using this link, they kick in the returns (you keep the returns not the principal) from an extra $5k. In practice, I’ve made over 9% of upside this year on an account with literally no downside (other than opportunity cost) for a total of $2,042.74 of riskless tax-efficient gains.
Investing
I prefer using my desktop whenever I want to be connected, so am not a particular fan of mobile-based trading apps. Robinhood is a popular one. They offer a stock worth between $5 and $200 when you sign up. Sounds good buuuuut… my enthusiasm fades with the small print. 98% get something worth $5–10. Meh.
Hit: Moomoo. Dumb name but great signup bonus. Deposit $5k, invest in something and keep it there for a few months. Get $50 cash and 16 free stocks. And this one seems to be exactly as good as advertised. So far, I wired $5k, bought 135 shares of Seneca Foods (SENEA), got $185.68 of free shares, and am awaiting the $50 to hit my account. All told, a $853.08 profit so far with just a two month commitment. 100% worth it. What did I get? 7 shares of GRAB, 7 shares of SABR, 1 of EXPE, and 1 of PLTR. I don’t plan on keeping any of them.
Drinking
I don’t drink, but I like having a full wine cellar for entertaining and for gifts. I’ve harvested a few signup bonuses but found a range of value in what various sites offer. Less good: Last Bottle. Use the link to get $10 off your first purchase. Meh. They currently offer a Chateau d’Arche ‘A’ Bordeaux Blanc 2020, which retails at $28, costs $23 online, but they’re offering for $16. A fun gimmick on their site is that they offer $50 in credit to the buyer of the actual last bottle of this offer.
Hit: Wine Access. This is one of the best signup bonuses around. They already have a good selection at prices that range from fair to excellent. And using this link, you get $50 in credit when you spend $150 (which also qualifies for free shipping. It can be combined with sales, so you can easily net great wines for around half of their regular price. For one example, this retails for $125. Wine Access offers it for 60% off. But combined with the $50 sign up bonus, your net cost for three bottles is $100, shipped free to your door for over 73% off.
Conclusion
It is always optimal to spend $0 and save 100% but signup bonuses can turn otherwise good opportunities into great ones.
