In this post, I’ll walk you through exactly how to earn the Capital One 360 Checking referral bonus and cover the key things you should know before opening your account.
Capital One 360 Checking Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide
At the moment, Capital One is offering a $300 bonus when you open a new 360 Checking account using a referral link and complete the qualifying requirements. Here’s the step-by-step process to earn the bonus.
1. Open A New Capital One 360 Checking Account Using A Referral Link
Your first step is to open a new Capital One 360 Checking account using a referral link. Here’s my Capital One 360 referral link if you’d like to support this blog.
When you open your account with this link, you’ll be directed to a page that shows it’s a referral page and that you’ll earn $300 after completing qualifying activities.
The page will also have all the requirements you’ll need to meet to earn the bonus, so you’ll want to make sure to write the requirements down or screenshot the page. I usually set up a checklist in Evernote with all the requirements, which I cut and paste directly from the bank’s website. I then check off each requirement as I meet it. If you’re doing a lot of bank bonuses, I highly recommend having checklists like this so you can stay organized and know what you need to do.
2. Receive Two Qualifying Direct Deposits of $500 Or More
After opening your account, you’ll need to receive at least two qualifying direct deposits of $500 or more each within 75 days of opening the account.
Capital One defines qualifying direct deposits as recurring deposits, such as:
- Payroll deposits
- Pension payments
- Government benefit payments
- Other eligible ACH deposits from an employer or outside institution
The most direct way to complete this requirement is to temporarily update your payroll direct deposit at work. If your employer lets you split direct deposits, you can direct a portion of your paycheck into the Capital One account until you meet the bonus requirements.
For most people, though, changing your payroll direct deposit won’t be easy or might not be possible. In that situation, you’ll need to find a way to trigger the direct deposit requirement using a “fake” direct deposit. Based on recent datapoints, it appears that an ACH push from many banks will trigger the direct deposit requirements. Based on a cursory search, it looks like ACH pushes from banks like SoFi, Chase, and Ally have worked to trigger the bonus. Pushes from brokerage accounts like Fidelity also seem to work. My recommendation is to do multiple $500 ACH pushes from various banks to make sure that one of them works and triggers the bonus.
3. Wait For The Bonus To Post
Once you complete the direct deposit requirements, Capital One says the $300 bonus should be deposited into your account within about 60 days after the second qualifying direct deposit posts.
In many cases, people report receiving the bonus sooner than that, but I’d still plan around the official timeline. Basically, your bonus should post within about 2 months. Note that since it takes a while for the bonus to post, if you’re doing a “fake” direct deposit, it’s a good idea to do multiple ACH pushes from different banks if you can, just to make sure that whatever you do triggers the direct deposit requirement.
Important Things To Know
Before opening the account, there are a few important details worth paying attention to.
You Must Use The Referral Link
This bonus is specifically tied to the referral offer, so make sure you open the account through the correct referral page and verify that the promo code appears during signup. If you use a referral link, you’ll know since the page will say that you got referred by a friend.
Direct Deposits Need To Qualify
Not all transfers count as direct deposits, so if you’re doing an ACH push from an external bank account, either confirm that others have made it work with that bank account or do multiple ACH pushes from different banks to cover your bases.
The Offer Can Change At Any Time
Like most bank bonuses, Capital One reserves the right to modify or end the offer whenever they want. Because of that, it’s usually best not to wait too long if you’re already considering opening the account.
Is The Capital One 360 Checking Account Worth It?
Even beyond the bonus, I think the Capital One 360 Checking account is a solid checking account. The big thing is that it has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements, so it’s an easy account to manage.
I also like that Capital One has physical café and branch locations in some areas, which gives it a bit more flexibility than fully online-only banks.
Final Thoughts
The Capital One 360 Checking referral bonus is one of the easier bank bonuses available right now. As long as you can complete the two qualifying direct deposits, earning the $300 bonus is pretty straightforward.
What makes this offer especially nice is that the account itself is useful and easy to manage. Since there are no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements, it’s an easy account to keep around even after earning the bonus.
If you feel like supporting this blog, you can open an account using my referral link. Let me know if you have any questions.
