Not that Albert now costs $8 a month to use, so this is no longer an app I recommend.
Albert is a cash management and financial budgeting app that is offering new users a signup bonus of $100. To earn your Albert referral bonus, you have to open a free Albert Cash account using a referral link, complete a direct deposit of $200 or more every 30 days for 90 consecutive days, and spend $100 using your Albert debit card every 30 days for 90 consecutive days. Here’s my Albert referral link if you’re interested.
I first wrote about Albert almost four years ago, before the app had even moved beyond its seed funding (you can read my Albert review post here). Back then, I was recommending Albert even though they didn’t have any referral bonus – I literally never received anything from Albert for recommending them.
My experience with Albert over the years has been excellent. It’s helped me keep better track of my finances, and importantly, helped me to save more money thanks to its smart savings feature. Recently, they launched a referral program where new users can get a signup bonus after opening an account using a referral link. That makes now a perfect time to sign up.
In this post, I’ll walk you through the exact steps to earn your Albert referral bonus.
What Is Albert?
Albert is a full-featured financial monitoring app. It’s similar to Mint or Personal Capital. You link all of your accounts in the app and Albert will track your net worth and account balances.
The best feature Albert offers – and the main reason I use it – is the Albert Smart Savings Feature. This is a feature where Albert will monitor your transactions, and using a special algorithm, Albert will then save small amounts of money for you each week. Apps like Digit have similar smart savings features, but Albert is better because it doesn’t charge a monthly fee.
The most recent addition to Albert is Albert Cash, which is a free checking account with no minimum balance requirement. All funds in your Albert Cash account are kept with an FDIC-insured partner bank, so your funds are safe and FDIC-insured (currently, Albert has a partnership with Sutton Bank, so all funds in your Albert Cash account are held with Sutton Bank).
If I was looking for a new bank account, the Albert Cash account is one I would be completely comfortable using as my primary bank account. One interesting feature of Albert Cash is its cash-back promotions. These give you pretty significant cashback if you use your debit card at certain stores.
Finally, Albert has a feature called Albert Genius, which gives you access to some premium features and a financial advisor. Albert Genius is not free and instead works on a pay-what-you-want model. I’ve never used this feature and I don’t plan to, but it is something that you may find useful depending on your situation.
Albert $100 Referral Bonus: Step-By-Step Directions
With that background out of the way, let’s get into the referral bonus. Here are the step-by-step directions you can follow to earn your Albert referral bonus:
1. Open a free Albert Cash account using a referral link. The first thing you’ll need to do is open an Albert Cash account. This is a free bank account that you can open when you sign up for Albert.
To open your account, first, download the Albert app using a referral link. Here’s my Albert referral link. The referral link doesn’t show the referral bonus at first, but once you start going through the signup process, you’ll see several screens that confirm the referral bonus.
The signup process to open your Albert Cash account is very simple. You’ll just follow all of the steps as they come up in the app. Just like with any bank account, you’ll need to provide information such as your address, SSN, and all of the other things that are legally required to open a bank account.
There are a few decisions you’ll need to make during the signup process as well. First, you’ll reach a screen that asks if you want to set up an investment account. I haven’t signed up for the Albert investment account, so I can’t speak to how good it is. You have to sign up for Albert Genius if you want to invest using Albert, so I recommend skipping this option by clicking “later.”
You’ll also get to another screen that asks if you want to sign up for Albert Instant Cash. This is a service they offer that lets you get access to a $250 loan. I don’t recommend using this service, so probably best to click “later” when you reach that screen as well.
Next, you’ll need to decide if you want to activate Albert’s smart savings feature. This is a feature I actually use. You link your credit cards and bank account to the app. Albert will then monitor your transactions and using that data, Albert will withdraw money each week that it doesn’t think you need and put it aside in a savings account.
It’s a free feature and a nice way to increase your savings without really noticing. I personally use Albert’s smart savings feature as part of my microsavings strategy (to learn more about my money system, check out The Financial Panther Money System). Apps like Digit and Dobot used to offer similar features, but either switched to a monthly subscription model or shut down.
The last thing you need to do is decide whether you want to sign up for Albert Genius. This is a monthly subscription service that will help you create financial plans and give you access to a financial expert. The subscription works on a pay what you want model, but you have to pay something per month if you want to gain access to it. I personally do not use Albert Genius and don’t understand the value it provides. When you get to the Albert Genius screen, set the monthly payment amount to $0 and the app won’t activate Albert Genius.
And that’s it! Once you’ve gone through those steps, your Albert Cash account should be set up and ready to go. You also won’t have to worry about any fees since you didn’t activate Albert Genius.
2. Complete A Direct Deposit of $200 Or More Every 30 Days For 90 Consecutive Days. Once you’ve set up your Albert Cash account, the next step to earn your Albert referral bonus will be to complete a direct deposit of $200 or more every 30 days for 90 consecutive days.
The terms have this to say as to what qualifies as a direct deposit:
The qualifying direct deposit must be made by the referred individual’s employer, payroll provider, or benefits payer by Automated Clearing House (ACH deposit). Bank ACH transfers, federal, state, or local tax refunds or credits, federal or state unemployment or short-term disability benefits, mobile check deposits, peer-to-peer transfers from services like Cash App, Venmo, or PayPal, or other similar deposits are not qualifying direct deposits.
The plain language of the terms would suggest that you need to do a real direct deposit. I was able to easily meet the direct deposit requirement for my wife’s Albert account because she uses Gusto for her payroll, which allows her to easily change her direct deposit information. Unfortunately, at this time, I’m not sure which other options trigger the direct deposit requirement. The initial data points seem to suggest that you’ll need a real direct deposit to trigger the direct deposit requirement. This is a new referral program, so we’ll likely have more data points in the future as people try different options and we see what works. Doctor of Credit has a good thread where people put data points in the comments, so you may want to check that out here.
To set up a direct deposit, you’ll need to get your account number and routing number. To do that, click on one of the buttons in the Cash account to set up a direct deposit. Then when it asks how you want to set up your direct deposit, click “manual.” It’ll then take you to a screen that shows you your routing number and account number.
3. Spend $100 On Your Albert Debit Card Every 30 Days For 90 Consecutive Days. Previously, Albert didn’t require you to spend anything on the debit card, but they updated their terms to require you to spend $100 on the Albert debit card every 30 days for 90 consecutive days to earn your bonus. It’s an annoying new requirement if you’re trying to earn the bonus. Your best bet is to pay a bill using your debit card. Utilities or your phone bill are easy ways to meet this requirement.
4. Your Bonus Will Post Immediately Once You Meet The Direct Deposit And Spending Requirements. After you complete your direct deposit, your Albert referral bonus should post immediately. The good thing is that since the bonus posts quickly, you’ll know whether your direct deposit worked. If your bonus doesn’t post, then you’ll need to try another direct deposit option.
Refer Your Friends And Family
Albert has a referral program that allows you to refer people using your own referral link. The person you refer will earn a referral bonus once they meet the requirements and you’ll earn a bonus for referring them once they meet the requirements.
This gives you a lot of opportunities to increase your Albert referral bonus earnings. For example, if you’re a 2-person household, you can sign up for an Albert Cash account using my referral link, then refer your spouse or partner. You’ll earn $100 for signing up with my link, then your spouse or partner will earn $100 for using your link and you’ll earn $100 for referring them. That’s $300 in total that you’ll earn – assuming you can meet all of the requirements.
The app makes it easy to track the status of your referrals also, so you won’t have to wonder whether your referrals worked or not.
You can increase your earnings even more if you have additional friends and family members you can refer. Albert allows you to earn up to $1,500 in bonuses, so I recommend taking advantage of your referrals while this program exists.
Final Thoughts
Albert is an excellent fintech app – it’s one I personally use every day. Indeed, I’ve been using and recommending Albert for years, even before they offered any sort of referral bonus.
Assuming you can meet the direct deposit requirement, Albert is a decent way to earn $100 without doing a ton of work. If you’re a two-person household, you can refer your spouse or partner and increase your earnings.
If you’re interested in learning more about how you can earn money from bank account bonuses, check out my post, The Ultimate Guide to Bank Account Bonuses. It’s a huge, in-depth guide that will help you understand how bank account bonuses work and how you can earn money from them.
I’ve also written an in-depth review about Albert and how I use it. Check it out here – Albert App Review: The Ultimate Review and Everything You Need to Know About This Savings App.
This post may contain affiliate links. Financial Panther has partnered with AwardWallet and CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Financial Panther, AwardWallet, and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact on how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies, or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
More Recommended Ebike/Scooters
Check out these other ebikes and scooters I've reviewed:
- Urban Arrow Ebike – Last year, I made one of the largest purchases I’ve ever made – I bought a $9,000 electric cargo bike from Urban Arrow. In my Urban Arrow review, I will discuss what it is and why I decided to buy this bike, as well as discuss how impactful a bike like this can be on your journey to financial independence.
- Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Ebike – The Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is a fat-tire ebike that I’ve had the pleasure of riding for a while now. It has amazing power, great looks, and awesome range. If you’re looking for a great fat-tire ebike that offers a lot for the price, the Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is definitely one for you to consider. Check out my Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Review.
- Hovsco HovBeta Ebike – The HovBeta is a folding ebike with great specs and a lot of interesting features, and importantly, it’s sold at a good price point. I’ve had a blast commuting with it and using it to do deliveries with DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. Check out my Hovsco HovBeta Ebike Review.
- Vanpowers Manidae Ebike – The Vanpowers Manidae is a fat tire ebike that I’ve been riding as my primary winter commuting bike and have also been using it to do food delivery with apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. After clocking in a decent number of miles with this ebike, I wanted to write a post sharing what my experience with the Vanpowers Manidae ebike has been like. Check out my Vanpowers Manidae Review.
- Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding EBike Review – A Great Value Folding Ebike – The Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding Ebike is an entry-level folding ebike that offers a lot of value for the price point. I’ve been riding the Sohamo S3 for a while now, putting the bike through its paces, and I have to say, this bike has exceeded all of my expectations. Check out my Sohamo Review.
- KBO Flip Ebike – The KBO Flip is an excellent bike. I’ve had a great time riding it and think it’s a versatile bike that can be used for a lot of purposes and can fit a variety of lifestyles. It’s worked out great for me as a general commuter bike and as a food delivery bike. Check out my KBO Flip Review.
- Hiboy P7 Commuter Ebike – The Hiboy P7 is an excellent electric commuter bike that’s offered at an affordable price point. The range and speed of this bike are both very good, so you won’t have any trouble getting anywhere you need to go with it. As a food delivery vehicle, this is also good – with how much range it offers, you’ll be able to work all day on a single charge. Check out my Hiboy P7 Commuter Electric Bike Review.
- Himiway Escape Ebike – The Himiway Escape is an interesting bike for anyone looking for a moped-style ebike. If you’re a gig economy worker, the Himiway Escape is particularly interesting and it’s possible to think of it as an investment, especially if you can opt to do deliveries with the Himiway versus using a car. It’s not cheap, but you can definitely make your money back when you compare the mileage you’ll put on your car versus using an ebike. Check out my Himiway Escape Bike Review.
- Espin Sport Ebike – The Espin Sport is a good ebike for someone who is looking for an ebike that feels and rides more like a regular bike. There are many ebikes that are really only bikes in name. In reality, they’re basically electric mopeds. The Espin Sport, by contrast, is a bike you could probably ride without the battery and you’d feel like you’re just riding a regular bike. Check out my Espin Sport Review.
- Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
- Varla Falcon Scooter – The Varla Falcon is an excellent scooter that offers a good amount of power at a lower price point compared to more powerful scooters. It’s not exactly an entry-level scooter, nor is it a high-powered scooter. I think it fits somewhere in-between those two categories – an intermediate scooter if I had to give it a category. Check out my Varla Falcon Review.
- Hiboy S2 Scooter – The Hiboy S2 is an excellent entry-level commuter scooter that's perfect for someone looking to save some money in transportation costs and improve their commute. Check out my Hiboy S2 Review.
- Hiboy S2R Scooter – The Hiboy S2R is one of the more interesting electric scooters I’ve been able to test out. It’s not a high-powered scooter, but for an everyday transport option, it’s very useful, especially given some of the unique features that it has. Indeed, for the price, the Hiboy S2R might be the best value scooter I’ve used. Check out my Hiboy S2R Review.
- Fucare H3 Scooter – The Fucare H3 is a fun scooter and I’ve enjoyed testing it out. For a daily commuter or quick trips or errands, the Fucare H3 is probably the scooter I’ll use. It’s portable and easy to maneuver, so it’s just easier to take on the road when I need it. Check out my Fucare H3 Scooter Review.
More Recommended Investing App Bonuses
For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:
- M1 Finance ($100) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
- SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with just $10 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
- Webull (20 free stock shares) – Webull's current promotion gives you 20 free shares valued between $3-$3,000 each if you open an account using my referral link. Here’s a guide I wrote about how to earn your free shares using Webull.
- Moomoo (15 free stocks) – Moomoo is a free investing app currently offering 2 different referral bonuses if you open an account using a referral link. Read my Moomoo referral bonus guide for more information.
- Robinhood (1 free stock) – Robinhood gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$225 if you open an account using my referral link.
- Public (1 free stock) - Public gives you a free stock valued between $3-$70 if you open an account using my referral link.
More Recommended Bank Account Bonuses
If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.
- Upgrade ($200) – Upgrade is a free checking account that’s currently offering a $200 referral bonus if you open an account and complete a direct deposit. These bonus terms are easy to meet, so it’s well worth doing this bonus as soon as you can. Here’s a post I wrote with more details: Upgrade $200 Referral Bonus – Step By Step Directions.
- Ally Bank ($100) – Of all the banks out there, Ally is, without a doubt, my favorite. At the moment, Ally is offering $100 to customers who open an eligible Ally account and meet the requirements. Here are the step-by-step directions to earn your Ally Bank referral bonus.
- Fairwinds Credit Union ($175) – Fairwinds Credit Union is offering a referral bonus for users that sign up using a referral link. Fairwinds has no fees or minimum balance, so this is a particularly easy bonus to earn. Since this is a smaller credit union, my gut instinct tells me this offer won’t be around long, so if you’re in a position to meet the bonus requirements, grab this bonus before it’s gone. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Fairwinds Credit Union bonus.
- Chime ($100) - Chime is a free bank account that offers a referral bonus if you use a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $200 or more. In practice, any ACH transfer into this account triggers the bonus. This bonus is easy to earn and posts instantly, so you’ll know if you met the requirements as soon as you move money into the account. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Chime referral bonus that I recommend you check out.
- US Bank Business ($800) – This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, since there are no direct deposit requirements. In addition, you can open the Silver Business Checking account, which comes with no monthly fees. Check out how to earn this big bonus here.
- Fifth Third Bank ($200) – This offer is limited to customers in the following states: Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, West Virginia, and South Carolina. If you don’t live in one of those states, you won’t be able to open an account online but you can still open an account in-branch if you happen to be visiting a city that has a branch. This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, especially since there are plenty of data points showing what will trigger the direct deposit requirement. In addition, you can open the Fifth Third Momentum Checking bank account, which comes with no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements. Read my guide on this bonus here.
- GO2Bank ($50) - GO2Bank is an easy bank bonus that I recommend people take advantage of if they have an easy way of meeting the direct deposit requirement. I like that it’s easy to open the account and that the bonus pays out quickly. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your GO2Bank $50 referral bonus.
- Current ($50) – Current is a free fintech bank that’s offering new users a $50 referral bonus after signing up for an account using a referral link. Current is an easy bonus to earn and also gives you access to three savings accounts that pay you 4% interest on up to $2,000. That means you can put away up to $6,000 earning 4% interest. That’s very good and makes Current an account I recommend to everyone. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Current Bank bonus.
- Novo Bank ($40) - Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. In addition to being a good bank bonus, Novo is also a good business checking account. It has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and operates a good app and website. Indeed, it’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog. Check out my post on how to easily open a Novo account.
- Varo ($25) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $25 bonus to new users that open a new Varo account with a referral link. The bonus for this bank is very easy to meet, all you need to do is spend $20 within 30 days of opening your Varo account. Check out my step-by-step guide to learn how to earn this bonus.
Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.
Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.
Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:
- SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link, and an additional $300 if you complete a direct deposit.
- 5% Savings Accounts. I'm currently getting 5.24% interest on my savings through a company called Raisin. Opening a Raisin account takes minutes to complete, it's free, and all of your funds are FDIC-insured. I explain how it works, why I'm now using it to store my emergency fund and any other cash savings I have, and why I recommend everyone check it out in this review.
- US Bank Business. US Bank is currently offering new business customers a $800 signup bonus after opening a new account and meeting certain requirements.
- M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account.
- Empower. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.
Feel free to send Kevin a message here.
Thank you for this blog. I have found it very helpful. I just want to let you know that this page is out of date. I used the referral link and there was never any information about getting a bonus, so I don’t think the link is working anymore. Also, if I refer someone now that I have an account, the bonus is only $100 and the required spending is $200 every 30 days for 90 consecutive days. Also, it says that bill payments don’t count toward that spending. Overall, this bonus seems like too much trouble to me with the changes they’ve made.
Thanks, I’ve updated the post with the new info.
First, I want to thank you for all the information and tips you provide. This is so awesome! I have been thinking about these bonus referrals and how to trigger them for awhile but I just now am starting the process and looking into them and putting in action. So when I came across your site I am amazed at your work and information provided for this. Who knew there be stuff like this on the internet? Haha I guess I am just little behind on times. My question I have though is I do have a business checking account thru bluevine when I go thru there and do send ach payment is that direct deposit with Albert? If not I know you said gusto payroll how do you initiate deposits thru a payroll service without having to enter tax info, hours and set up has to be done in advance? I am needing to initiate bonus soon because of my financial situation. I would greatly appreciate any advice information on this. Again thank you so much for information you have already provided!
The auto savings feature is great I didn’t even notice next thing I knew there was almost $500 in less than 4 months. But, another AWESOME feature this post never mentions and def a reason you would def want to dep some money into acct. is for the deals it offers at places that you shop at. Since you link up all your accts, it knows what you spend money on. I started using at the beginning of Nov. and just finished calculating cash back $48.00!! You do have to activate the offer before making your purchase.
Example
Shell gas $5 instant reward
Starbucks balance reload I do $25 every week $2.50 instant reward. This is why it is worth setting up that direct dep aside from bonus. You can unlock more savings such as 20% Walmart purchase.
pp!!
Thanks for pointing that out. I believe I do mention it in my Albert review post, but yeah, it’s another good reason to open an Albert account.