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It’s back! Get 40k Amex or Bilt Points to open Sofi bank account ( $500 direct deposit )

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This site is part of an affiliate sales network and may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened. This relationship may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Zachary Abel is also a Senior Advisor to Bilt Rewards. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.


A new round of Rakuten bonuses are hitting accounts targeting Direct Deposit for Sofi. My account was targeted with 40k – if you don’t have Rakuten, you can use my link to get $50 after spending $50. If you end up direct depositing more than the $500 needed to trigger the Rakuten bonus, you may get a further bonus from SoFi itself – details below.

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Rakuten Bonus: a few different options out there depending on how you’re targeted, but requires $500 in direct deposit

  • Earn $400 after $500 deposit
    • If you’re selecting Amex or Bilt points via Rakuten this would be deposited as 40k points

Terms:

  • DIRECT DEPOSIT ONLY –
    • Defined as:
      • recurring deposit of regular income to an account holder’s SoFi Checking or Savings account, including payroll, pension, or government benefit payments (e.g., Social Security), made by the account holder’s employer, payroll or benefits provider or government agency (“Direct Deposit”) via the Automated Clearing House (“ACH”) Network during a 30-day Evaluation Period (as defined below)
    • Deposits that are not from an employer or government agency, including but not limited to check deposits, peer-to-peer transfers (e.g., transfers from PayPal, Venmo, etc.), merchant transactions (e.g., transactions from PayPal, Stripe, Square, etc.), and bank ACH funds transfers and wire transfers from external accounts, or are non-recurring in nature (e.g., IRS tax refunds), do not constitute Direct Deposit activity
  • Rakuten bonus paid after $500 deposit within 45 days of clicking the link
  • 1/12/24 to 12/31/25

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Sofi bonus structure that stacks with Rakuten:

In addition to the Rakuten bonus, Sofi will pay you a bonus depending on how much you Direct Deposit.

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Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

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Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card


4.8
Rated 4.8 out of 5
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is a great starter card that earns Premium Ultimate Rewards that can be transferred into over a dozen partners many of which are US based including Hyatt, Southwest, United, IHG, and Marriott.

Welcome Offer

Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening 

Annual Fee

$95

Points Earned

Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards

  • 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
  • 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
  • 3x on select streaming services
  • 3x on online grocery purchases
    • (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
  • $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
    • The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
  • 2x on all other travel
  • 10% Anniversary Points Boost
    • each account anniversary you’ll earn bonus points equal to 10% of your total purchases made the previous year
  • Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
    • Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
  • Complimentary DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees & lower service fees for a min. of one year when you activate by 12/31/27. Plus, a $10 promo each month on non-restaurant orders
  • $95 Annual Fee

We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.

Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.

Main Cast: 

Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.

Supporting Cast:

Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on. 

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.

If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex®  and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners

Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.

The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.

4 Comments

  • Jordan December 11, 2025

    Rakuten: http://www.rakuten.com/r/JORDAN48587
    Earn $50 dollars after your first qualifying purchase of at least $50 in the first 90 days! Take advantage of the extra cash back or American Express points!!

  • mag December 11, 2025

    Rakuten shop and earn Amex MR points! Sign up using my link and each of us will get $50 bonus* to spend! It’s a great time to join Rakuten and earn bonus points for your holiday shopping!

    Link: http://www.rakuten.com/r/GAMIJW

    *Qualifying purchases must be made within 90 days of joining and total $50 in order to get the $50 bonus.

  • Jordan June 7, 2025

    Rakuten: http://www.rakuten.com/r/JORDAN48587
    $30 dollars after your first qualifying purchase of at least $30 in the first 90 days. Take advantage of the extra cash back or American Express points!

  • tjp74 June 5, 2025

    I’ve had SOFI checking account opened years ago and still has it. I guess I won’t be able to open another one?

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