Update 1/24/24: Bonus is now $200. No referrals in the comments below, please go to this post to find referrals (closed for new comments). Direct deposit of $1,000+ required this time.
Update 12/27/23: Down to $100.
Update 10/15/23: Extended until Extended to 11/30
Update 8/30/23: Extended to 09/30. No referrals in the comments below, please go to this post to find referrals.
Update 8/3/23: Extended until 8/31
Update 7/12/23: Referral bonus has increased to $150 for the new member. Referrer gets $50. Valid through July 31, 2023. Terms link I don’t see the Swagbucks offer right now. (ht Steve)(Some people might prefer the $500 checking+credit line offer instead of this checking offer. See also this comment.)
Update 12/22/22: Referral reduced to $50.
Update 10/28/22: Extended until 1/31/2023.
Update 10/26/22: Premier savings account has been increased to 3.5% (note: that account is not available for Upgrade checking customers)
Update 10/24/22: There’s also $100 Swagbucks bonus on the Upgrade checking account (slightly better on MyPoints). Reports in the comments indicate it’s possible to stack the referral bonus and the Swagbucks bonus, YMMV.
Update 10/14/22: Upgrade is now offering a 3% APY account with no monthly fee as well. Making it one of the better high yield savings accounts.
Update 9/30/22: Extended until Oct 31, 2022.
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $100
- Availability: Nationwide
- Direct deposit required: No
- Additional requirements: See below
- Hard/soft pull: Soft pull
- ChexSystems: Unknown
- Credit card funding: Up to $500 with a debit card
- Monthly fees: None
- Early account termination fee: None
- Household limit: None listed
- Expiration date:
July 14th 31st, 2022 August 31st, 2022September 30, 2022
Contents
The Offer
Direct link to offer (find referral links in this linked post)
- Upgrade is offering a $200 referral bonus (for both the referrer and referee) when the person being referred opens a new rewards checking account and complete the following requirements:
- Make 3 debit card purchases within 60 days of account opening
The Fine Print
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
This account has no monthly fees
Early Account Termination Fee
According to the fee schedule there is no early account termination fee.
Our Verdict
Credit Karma has been offering a $500 bonus when you open a line of credit. It’s not 100% clear if you can do this $100 referral bonus and then that $500 bonus (some discussion of it here). If you can only do one then that $500 bonus will be a much better offer.
Hat tip to Ryan Michael Bednarski
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
10/17: Account opened
10/18: $25 Push from Wealthfront
10/19: $976 Push from Wealthfront (Didn’t work)
10/21: $399 Push from Schwab (Didn’t work)
10/24: $25 Push from Discover
10/29: $951 Push from Discover, Tracker disappeared, received email about accessing “top tier benefits” but nothing about rewards
10/31: $200 Bonus posted
Anyone who referred others: can you see any information about the person/people you referred? Or does it just show up with the number you referred?
Just the number. No info at all. Theo
08/29: Account opened
09/06: $1000 Venmo cashout
09/11: $1000 Push from Schwab Brokerage
09/13: $1001 Push from Fidelity CMA
10/07: $200 Refer A Friend Bonus posted
Sorry for the convoluted DP. I got worried when it didn’t post in the first day or 2 based on other DPs. Looks like it might be taking a bit longer for others lately as well.
Thanks for whoever’s link I used. Check to see if it was yours!
Venmo didnt work
10/16/24 Real DD worked, email rec’d same day letting me know I qualified for bonus
10/17/24 Next night, got the bonus at night same time as early real DD (Wednesday)
“Thank you for contacting the Upgrade Team. We are happy to hear that you are interested in Upgrade! We understand you are curious about our application process. We can certainly clarify how we complete a soft credit pull or hard credit pull.
Checking your rate won’t impact your credit score. When you check your rate to see what offer(s) you may qualify for, we perform a soft inquiry on your credit report, which won’t impact your credit score. Soft inquiries can only be seen by you.
When you accept your offer and submit your bank account information, we perform a second soft inquiry which also does not impact your credit score. Once your request for credit is funded, we perform a hard inquiry on your credit report, which may impact your credit score and can be viewed by third parties.”
That sounds like their approval process for loans.
“checking your rate won’t impact your score.”
“when you accept your offer…”
I had no hard inquery for a checking account. Signed up about a month ago.
My bonus deposit tracker disappeared the day I got my legitimate work DD. Haven’t gotten any emails or updates. Has this happened to anyone?
Bonus deposit tracker also disappeared for me. No updates but hopefully in a day or two.
10/03 Venmo did not work even though was coded as PPD
10/15 Chase Business ACH “employee payment” did work – triggered direct deposit tracker and received text same day that direct deposit was received
10/17 received $200 bonus
Wise seems to say that the money will transfer “In seconds”, which makes me suspect that they’d do a RTP instead of a PPD. I assume a RTP wouldn’t trigger the bonus. Does anyone know a way around that? Any way to “force” Wise to use PPD? I’ll try checking after business hours or something.
Wise has multiple options when transferring. Your claim seems to contradict what is stated on the website. “On many popular routes, Wise can send your money within one day, as a same day transfer, or even an instant money transfer.“
Opened 8/12
$1050 Venmo 9/5
$250 Ally 9/27 (as of this date the direct deposit tracker did show $1,050/$1,000 direct deposit and ultimately don’t think it was necessary but I was a bit concerned since others saw their bonuses post much faster)
$200 Bonus posted 10/7
Where’s the direct deposit tracker?
DP:
Note: I only pushed $500 due to cash settlement timing with my CMA account!