Raisin is a savings platform that allows you to save money in different banks and credit unions from a single website. Right now, when you sign up for Raisin using a referral link, you can earn up to a $200 bonus depending on how much money you’re able to deposit in your Raisin account.
To earn your Raisin referral bonus, you have to do the following:
- Open a Raisin account and input a referral code when you open your account (my Raisin referral code is kevinh012937).
- Make a minimum initial deposit of $5,000.
- Maintain the minimum deposit deposit amount for a period of at least 90 days.
- Your bonus will post within 30 days of satisfying all terms to qualify for the referral bonus.
The bonus you can earn will depend on how much you can deposit into your Raisin account. Here’s what your bonus will be depending on how much you deposit and maintain in your account for 90 days:
- $50 for deposits between $5,000 and $9,999
- $100 for deposits between $10,000 and $49,999
- $150 for deposits between $50,000 and $99,999
- $200 for deposits of $100,000 or more
The good thing about Raisin is that you’ll earn 5% or more interest on the money you deposit into your account, so there’s no lost opportunity cost with depositing money in your Raisin account to earn a referral bonus. Indeed, Raisin is the account I currently use as my primary emergency fund savings account because it gives me 5% or more interest on my cash in an FDIC-insured savings account. For most people, I think Raisin is a no-brainer. The fact that they’re offering a referral bonus for opening and depositing money into your account makes it even more of a no-brainer.
In this post, we’ll briefly discuss what Raisin is (I have an in-depth post I wrote about Raisin if you want to get a better understanding of what it is and how it works). I’ll also walk you through how to earn your Raisin referral bonus.
What Is Raisin?
I’ve gone into a lot of detail about Raisin in my Raisin review post, so if you want to learn more about Raisin, I definitely recommend you check out that post. It should answer any questions you have about Raisin and how it works.
Briefly, Raisin is a platform that allows users to save their money in different banks and credit unions from one central website. While Raisin itself is not a bank, any money you put into the Raisin platform is kept in federally insured banks and credit unions and all of your money is secure and federally insured.
This is what Raisin says on their website about what they are:
Raisin is not a bank. It is a digital savings marketplace where you can fund federally insured deposit products with a wide range of maturities and APYs (annual percentage yield) offered by our partner banks and credit unions, allowing you to design a savings strategy customized to your earning and liquidity needs.
Source: https://www.raisin.com/en-us/faq
Basically, Raisin is a place for banks to advertise their high-yield savings account products. Banks pay Raisin a fee to advertise on their platform – part of their marketing expense. In return, the banks get a group of customers eager to save their money with them. As a customer, you get the best interest rates since the banks are competing for your business. It’s a win-win for everyone.
When you open a Raisin account, you’ll see a list of different savings accounts offered by the banks and credit unions on the Raisin platform. At the time I’m writing this, almost every bank and credit union on Raisin is offering high-yield savings accounts with 5% interest or higher. If you want, you can also split your money between different banks on Raisin. The main reason you’d do this is to earmark funds for different purposes (i.e. use one bank as an emergency fund, another for short-term savings, and another as a stupid mistakes fund). I believe you also get more FDIC insurance coverage by splitting your money between different banks since banks are only insured up to $250,000 per account holder, but as a practical matter, most people aren’t going to be saving that much money in cash.
Raisin also has a helpful FAQ on its website that makes it clear that even though your funds are being kept in custodial accounts, any funds you have with Raisin are still insured via pass-through coverage. Specifically, Raisin states the following on their website:
Although Raisin customers’ deposits are pooled in omnibus custodial accounts, there is no impact on the eligible deposit insurance coverage you receive from the financial institution holding your savings. This is because the government entities providing federal deposit insurance — the FDIC for banks and NCUA for credit unions — permit pass-through coverage. So your money has the same coverage in a custodial account as if it were held in an individual account in your name.
Source: https://www.raisin.com/en-us/faq
And perhaps most importantly, the reason why Raisin is so good is that it charges no fees. Raisin instead makes their money from partner banks paying them a fee to be listed on their platform. That makes Raisin perfect for me.
Raisin Referral Bonus: Step-By-Step Directions
With that background out of the way, let’s look at how to earn your Raisin referral bonus. Here are the step-by-step directions to earn your referral bonus.
1. Open Your Raisin Account And Use A Referral Code When Opening Your Account. To earn the Raisin referral bonus, first, you need to open a Raisin account and input a referral code during the account opening process. Here is my Raisin Raisin referral code: kevinh012937.
The account opening process shouldn’t take you very long. The only real decision you’ll have to make is which bank you’ll deposit your funds with. I used Western Alliance Bank because it had the highest interest rate at the time I opened it. What you see today will differ because the banks change and offer different rates regularly. My recommendation is to pick whichever bank is offering the best rate.
As I write this, below is what I see on the main Raisin signup page. Any of these banks should be fine. You’ll click the blue “Save now” button, then follow the application process. Remember to enter the referral code when it asks you. This is the most important thing you need to do or else you won’t be eligible for the bonus.
2. Make A Minimum Initial Deposit Of At Least $5,000. The next step is to deposit at least $5,000 into your Raisin account.
The bonus you can earn will depend on how much you are able to deposit into your Raisin account. Here’s what you’ll get depending on how much you deposit.
- $50 for deposits between $5,000 and $9,999
- $100 for deposits between $10,000 and $49,999
- $150 for deposits between $50,000 and $99,999
- $200 for deposits of $100,000 or more
Most people will have trouble reaching the $150 or $200 bonus amounts, but if you have the cash to hit those bonuses, I say go for it since the savings accounts on Raisin offer excellent interest rates. If you’re saving for a house or some other large purchase, using Raisin for those funds would be perfect since you’ll get a great interest rate and earn an easy bonus also.
That being said, for most people, going for the $50 or $100 bonus will be more realistic. So if you can set aside $5,000 or $10,000, it’s well worth doing for this easy bonus (and good interest rate in the account).
3. Maintain The Minimum Deposit Amount For At Least 90 Days. Once you make the minimum deposit for the bonus, you’ll need to maintain that minimum deposit for at least 90 days. This should be easy to do so long as you set aside money you won’t need for at least 3 months. The money you set aside will earn a good interest rate, so you’ll still get an excellent rate of return on your cash.
Mathematically, the best rate of return on the bonuses comes at the $5,000 or $10,000 mark. A $50 bonus on $5,000 for 90 days comes out to 4% annualized. A $100 bonus on $10,000 for 90 days comes out to the same 4% annualized. That’s on top of the 5% or higher interest rate you’ll receive on your funds, making this an excellent way to get a good, guaranteed rate of return on your cash.
Meanwhile, the $150 bonus for $50,000 for 90 days comes out to a 1.2% annualized rate of return, while the $200 bonus for $100,000 for 90 days comes out to just 0.8% annualized.
If you’re looking to optimize your rates of return, you’d want to keep $10,000 in your Raisin account and then use any extra funds to get other bank bonuses. But, that being said, keeping a lot of money in Raisin and going for those larger bonuses isn’t a problem if you don’t have a better use for the money since you’re going to get a high-interest rate.
4. Your Bonus Will Post Within 30 Days Of Satisfying The Terms. After you meet the 90-day requirement, your bonus should post to your account within 30 days. From there, you can move your money around to other banks if you want, but if you don’t have a better use for the cash, I’d recommend keeping it in Raisin since you’ll get the best interest rates.
Refer Your Friends And Earn More Raisin Referral Bonuses
After you open your Raisin account, you’ll receive a referral code that you can use to refer other people to Raisin. You’ll receive $100 for each person you refer that meets the bonus requirements. The limit on how much you can earn is usually $1,000 per year, but Raisin has currently raised its limit to $2,000.
Since Raisin is free and offers excellent interest rates on your cash, it’s easy to promote. There are also pretty much no hurdles to earning the bonus since all you have to do is open an account, use a referral code, and keep the money in your account for 90 days.
Final Thoughts
Raisin is my favorite savings account right now and is what I’m currently using as the place to store my emergency fund. The account works exactly like any other bank account and I can easily access my money whenever I want. And since I’m getting such a great interest rate from Raisin, I have no problem keeping a good amount of my net worth in cash.
When I signed up, Raisin wasn’t offering any referral bonuses, so I missed out on that. Now that they are offering a referral bonus to new users, I think it’s even more of a no-brainer for anyone looking for a good place to store some (or all) of their extra cash.
If you’re interested in diving deeper into the world of bank account bonuses, I highly recommend reading my Ultimate Guide To Bank Account Bonuses, which tells you everything you need to know about bank account bonuses and how they work.
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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.
- SoFi Money ($325) – SoFi Money is a free checking account from SoFi. They’re currently offering a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi account with a referral link and deposit $10. You can also make an additional $300 as well if you complete a direct deposit. This is a good bank that is also 100% free, so you won’t have to worry about managing this account. Here’s a post I wrote with instructions on how to earn your SoFi Money bonus: SoFi Money Referral Bonus: Step By Step Guide.
- Upgrade ($300) – Upgrade is a free checking account that’s currently offering a $300 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 $300 Referral Bonus – Step By Step Directions.
- 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.
Kevin, have you been following the Synapse collapse and ensuing fiasco with Evolve Bank, Yotta, Juno, and many other fintechs freezing funds? It appears that funds in these neobanks may not actually be FDIC insured just because their underwriting banks are. Many people have had accounts frozen for almost a month, may lose everything, and all federal agencies have washed their hands of responsibility.
Here’s one intro link. Jason Mikula has done a fabulous job commenting on his Twitter/X account. I’ll let you Google the rest.
I think it might be prudent to not recommend these neobanks for the near future. It’s exposing a massive regulatory and insurance loophole and the whole BaaS model may be at risk, and consumer funds with it.
https://fintechbusinessweekly.substack.com/p/ex-fdic-chair-mcwilliams-appointed?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=reader2