Aspiration $200 Checking Bonus, Direct Deposit Not Required

Update 5/16/21: Clicking through Swagbucks (7,000 or $70) shows the $150/$200 offer so shouldn’t be an issue stacking.

Update 3/22/21: There is now a $200 bonus for the Plus offer and $150 for the regular account, not sure if this can be stacked with any Swagbucks/MyPoints offer currently.

Hat tip to reader Yao K

Update 2/26/21: This is now $150 on Swagbucks. MyPoints is also showing this offer at 26,000 points, which is worth at least $164 Hat tip to reader Julian

Update 11/25/20: This is 8,000 through Revenue Universe again.

Update 11/15/20: There is also a $150 checking bonus. This requires an Aspiration Plus account that has a $7 monthly fee. Doesn’t look like that offer is available through Swagbucks either so probably best to just wait for one of those offers to return.

Update 9/16/20: This is showing as 8,000 Swagbucks through Revenue Universe Double check your own offer though as some people are reporting that the Aspiration bonus is now $50. No end date listed Hat tip to reader Matt

Offer at a glance

• Maximum bonus amount: $100
• Availability: Nationwide
• Direct deposit required: None
• Additional requirements: Make $1,000 in debit card purchases
• Hard/soft pull: Soft pull
• ChexSystems: Unknown
• Credit card funding: Unknown
• Monthly fees: Optional
• Early account termination fee: Unknown
• Household limit: None listed
• Expiration date: April 30th, 2020 None

The Offer

Direct link to offer

• Aspiration is offering a bonus of $100 when you open a new Spend & Save account and complete the following requirements:
  • Open and fund an account with $10 or more
  • Use your Aspiration debit card to make at least $1,000 worth of cumulative transactions within 60 days of account opening

The Fine Print

• Offer is only valid for customers who open a new Aspiration Spend & Save Account.
• Secondary owner joining an already established account as a joint user does not qualify for promotion.
• Offer only applies to the original recipient of this email and is non-transferable. Account must be created with this recipient email address.
• Customer must complete the following activities: (1) Between 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time 4/7/2020 and 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time 4/30/2020, open and fund an Aspiration Spend & Save Account with a deposit of $10 or more, and (2) by 11:59 Pacific Time on 7/15/2020, use your Aspiration debit card to make at least $1,000 worth of cumulative transactions.
• $1,000 transaction minimum refers to net purchases (purchases minus any credits or returns).
• Allow up to July 31st, 2020 for the $100 offer credit to post to your Aspiration Spend & Save Account.
• Aspiration Spend & Save Account must be open and in good standing, in the sole determination of Aspiration, through the date of the credit.
• All applicable account terms, fees, and charges are subject to change.
• This offer may be modified or withdrawn at any time without notice.
• Offer may not be combined with other offers.
• All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them

Avoiding Fees

Monthly Fees

Aspiration checking works on a pay what you want model, so you can choose anywhere between $0 and $20 per month.

Early Account Termination Fee

I wasn’t able to find a fee schedule, so I’m unsure if there is any early account termination fee or not.

Our Verdict

They have offered a $100 bonus in the past but that required a direct deposit but not the $1,000 in debit card transactions. For most people hitting the debit card transactions is probably easier, although that will take away from possible credit card spend. I will be adding this to our list of the best checking account bonuses.

Hat tip to reader Wilbert

Useful posts regarding bank bonuses:

• A Beginners Guide To Bank Account Bonuses
• Bank Account Quick Reference Table (Spreadsheet) (very useful for sorting bonuses by different parameters)
• PSA: Don’t Call The Bank
• Introduction To ChexSystems
• Banks & Credit Unions That Are ChexSystems Inquiry Sensitive
• What Banks & Credit Unions Do/Don’t Pull ChexSystems?
• How To Use Our Direct Deposit Page For Bank Bonuses Page
• Common Bank Bonus Misconceptions + Why You Should Give Them A Go
• How Many Bank Accounts Can I Safely Open Within A Year For Bank Bonus Purposes?
• Affiliate Links & Bank Bonuses – We Won’t Be Using Them
• Complete List Of Ways To Close Bank Accounts At Each Bank
• Banks That Allow/Don’t Allow Out Of State Checking Applications
• Bank Bonus Posting Times

Post history:

• Update 9/16/20: This is showing as 5,600 Swagbucks through Revenue Universe Double check your own offer though. No end date listed Hat tip to reader Joe C
• Update 8/27/20: $50 referral no longer showing, so go through Swagbucks instead.
• Update 7/20/20: You can stack the $100 checking bonus with a $50 referral bonus. The $50 referral bonus requires $250 in card spend (less than the $1,000 in spend required for the $100 bonus). If you do this you won’t be able to get the Swagbucks bonus of up to $56, but obviously you’re giving an extra $50 to the person referring you (if they make 3 referrals they get an extra $100 as well). You can share your referrals in this linked post. Keep in mind the referral link doesn’t state the $100 bonus and the person referring you needs $10 in their account as well. Because of all that it might just be easier to do the Swagbucks version. Hat tip to reader Pete D
• Update 6/11/20: This is showing as 5,600 Swagbucks through Revenue Universe Double check your own offer though. No end date listed Hat tip to reader Joe C
• Update 5/31/20: Deal is back and valid until 5/31/20.
• Update 5/14/20: Offering $46 via Revenue Universe today.
• Update 5/5/20: Showing up as $38 via Revenue Universe now.
• Update 5/4/20: Showing as $32 in Swagbucks via Revenue Universe again.
• Update 5/1/20: Terms now say that it expires May 15th, 2020. I’d still go through Swagbucks/Revenue Universe for the extra $32.
• Update 4/21/20: Reposting as people are seeing up to $32 on Swagbucks. Make sure you go through Revenue Universe and make sure the $100 bonus shows.
• Update: Despite the terms saying only available to the original recipient of this offer, the offer is advertised on Swagbucks (get an extra 1,400 or $14) and Aspiration has sent direct messages to readers on Twitter clarifying it’s available to everybody. The terms might be referring to the actual sign up process as the first step of the process is asking for your e-mail. Hat tip to reader Kyle
• Warning: This is a targeted promotion. The terms in the fine print state: Offer only applies to the original recipient of this email and is non-transferable. Account must be created with this recipient email address.