Affiliate Links & Bank Bonuses – We Won’t Be Using Them

Very few bank bonuses have had affiliate links or even referral links in the past, the main one that sticks out is the Capital One 360. Because of this we haven’t had any formal policy on what we do in terms of using referral/affiliate links or not, generally I haven’t listed mine and instead allowed readers to add their own in the comments section.

Recently Chase launched an affiliate program for their Chase total checking account, which also comes with a $150 sign up bonus. This is an OK bonus, but given that Chase regularly offers $300 bonuses with the same requirements it’s really nothing special (just a friendly reminder, you can always view the best Chase checking bonuses here).

I’m not sure how much the Chase program pays, but for much the same reasons as why we decided to forgo credit card affiliate links, we will also be doing the same for bank bonus affiliate links. In case you don’t know those reasons, here they are:

  • Censorship. Usually when you agree to have these links on your site, you also agree not to discuss certain information. I’m sure Chase would prefer people didn’t use ACH transfers to meet the direct deposit requirement for example (although I have no idea what their content guidelines are).
  • Quotas. Sometimes these programs require you to meet a minimum number of referral/sales to stay active in this program. I don’t want to be thinking up creative ways to push bank bonuses onto my readers.
  • Bias. I don’t want my decision to recommend or not recommend a bonus being biased because I’m earning money if readers do sign up.
  • Perception of bias. I don’t want readers to think that my content might be biased due to me getting paid if they signed up, even if there is no actual bias on my behalf.

As always, I don’t judge any other bloggers who decided to use bank bonus affiliate links (or credit card links for that matter). I think it’s entirely possible to avoid most of those pitfalls I listed above and some bloggers do this quite successfully.

I’m fortunate in that this isn’t my full time job and my full time job pays a nice salary, writing this blog is just an extremely time consuming hobby on my behalf. If a bank bonus has a referral program, we’ll continue to invite readers to include their own links in the comments section.

If you’d like to support this site in other ways, you can. The best way to support this site is by sharing it with friends, family, people you work with and even strangers. You can do this just by telling them about it, sharing it on social media or even linking to it on forums (when appropriate and within the rules, please).

The other way you can support this site is by letting us know about any deals, tips or tricks that we’ve missed. We try to cover as much as we can, but the more people helping the better. You can contact us here. A simple thank you goes a long way as well, if you like anything that myself, Chuck, Miles Whip or Manasa writes then let us know about it. It always makes my day when I hear about a reader taking an amazing trip overseas which was in part thanks to this blog, at the end of the day that’s what makes this worth doing.

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36 Comments
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myearlyretirementjourney
myearlyretirementjourney (@guest_941770)
March 18, 2020 10:27

Well you got a huge thanks from me…slash this site sucked up my last 2 days… i opened like 6 accounts in the last 2 days… i don’t know why i never even thought to search for a site like this! saw you on another personal finance blogger’s site. i gave you a shout out on mine (but i have like 5 readers)

Chuck
Editor
Chuck(@chucksithe)
March 18, 2020 12:09

Thanks 🙂

Charles Mann
Charles Mann (@guest_685172)
December 5, 2018 02:21

The Good Doctor and his staff have continuously demonstrated the highest integrity and regard for his readers. Your loyal readers all salute you!

Robert
Robert (@guest_360931)
February 26, 2017 23:46

Hey DOC,
I just wanted to let you know that you are appreciated and you seem like a genuinely great guy. There are some other great blogs around too, but i definitely find a lot of information on your site that cannot be found anywhere else… Keep up the great work…

Admore
Admore (@guest_334749)
January 6, 2017 00:09

I turned off adblock after reading this, even though you have the annoying – inline ads that are never very relevant and always trying to distract me. You should feel honored 😛 I think I have ads turned off for 3-4 sites total!

Diana
Diana (@guest_234520)
March 18, 2016 18:12

Love your blog! It’s a breath of fresh air just finding a blog and full of passionate writers that focus on the content and strive to be honest and straightforward, which is a challenge when it comes to finances. To be honest, I was looking for your affiliate links in order to support the site, since all of you produce wonderful work! Regardless, thank you for doing what you do and helping all of us attain our dreams without wrecking our wallets. To be honest, my significant other and I just moved to another state, so it’ll give us a chance to visit our family and friends. Thank you guys for being awesome!

pcgeek
pcgeek (@guest_216715)
January 12, 2016 13:18

Great decision! Thank you

Joel
Joel (@guest_113930)
May 4, 2015 11:19

Great work – clear, informative and well organized

THANK YOU!

Jeremy
Jeremy (@guest_113904)
May 4, 2015 10:16

I very much appreciate your ethics, and I like that you cover a lot of valuable things like bank bonuses that many other blogs won’t cover because there’s not a financial incentive to do so.

After getting unbiased advice from you and FrequentMiler, it feels punishing to read other blogs that I looked at daily when starting out. One of those blogs in particular seems patently obvious as a medium to push lucrative credit cards than “big travel for small money” – it’s absolutely painful.

HoKo
HoKo (@guest_113495)
May 3, 2015 18:42

Applaud the decision on affiliate links 🙂

Paul
Paul (@guest_112983)
May 2, 2015 19:58

Keep up the good work. I found your blog by chance, and it has become my number one spot for information.
Thanks.