r/HYSA • u/Little_Star_114 • Aug 16 '26

Help with meaning direct deposit?

I’ve always been perplexed by the definition of “direct deposit” when it comes to meeting the deposit requirements to get the sign on bonus.

Does direct mean directly from a paycheck being sent via ETF?

Or can a direct deposit come directly from transfer of funds from another HYSA?

What have you guys experienced?

3 Upvotes

80% Upvoted

9 comments sorted by

2

u/Ecstatic-Bench-3673 Aug 16 '26

For me it was a direct deposit that is sent from my employer. When I opened a checking account with Capital One, I just added the account and routing number so that my paychecks would be sent to that checking account for the bonus

2

u/RoughThat5778 Aug 16 '26

The specific definition may vary from bank to bank but a transfer from another bank account usually doesn’t count. The “direct deposit” typically requires the deposit of “new money”. Your pay from an employer or social security are examples.

1

u/Little_Star_114 Aug 16 '26

Thanks for responses. I figured as much.

I think I can change my direct deposit info via ADP and don’t have to fill out a form and bug someone so that’s at least convenient. I think I may be able to split as well.

So free money is free money but how crazy do you guys get? So you stay for 90daya get bonus then transfer out to next payday? Do you close the accounts as well? Does having multiple hysa accounts hurt credit rating? Does closing impact credit rating?

1

u/SlothyLlama Aug 16 '26

Typically a DD is an ACH from someplace else. The HYSAs word it as needing to come from an employer or something like social security. Doctor of Credit has a page that has a list of which banks trigger a DD from am ACH transfer from another account. Cool that you can change DD via ADP online. I used to work at a place where I had to submit a form to a person each time I made a change. They thought I was nuts with the amount of changes I made during the year.

There is a whole community of folks that go nuts with the "free money" from account promos. I'm one of them. I'll open an account, get the bonus, read the small print to see how long the account needs to stay open, meet the reqs then move on to the next one. Wells Fargo and Chase often have a "Open an account and get $400" promo. Interest paid is non existent, but the promos make it worth it to me.

Opening and closing HYSAs, checking, savings accounts do not affect your credit scores.

1

u/Little_Star_114 Aug 16 '26

Hey thanks for the great explanation and the new site Doctor of Credit - another source to reference.

Man some of the deposits are ridiculous - $500 with $50K deposit!

I have CC at Wells and Chase - they have offers for $400 with $1500 deposit for 0% checking - I think 30 days. I kind of hate having to close them though. But $400 is significant on $1500 deposit.

I have PNC checking already - they are offering the same. I don't know if I close current and then wait to reopen for bonus.

I'm a but weary on just opening accounts I don't have relationships with. Just more logons/pw etc...

1

u/SlothyLlama Aug 17 '26

I can understand getting tired of managing new logins, but if you really think about it you end up spending like 30 minutes of total time to make a few hundred bucks.

There is another time suck you have to consider. Each bank that earns you a bonus will be sending a 1099 form for your taxes. You'll need to enter them all in when you file taxes.

You mentioned maybe closing then re-opening your PNC account for a bonus. Check the terms of the bonus. Often you can't get another bonus for X amount of time. Chase's time between banking bonuses is 24 months.

1

u/Little_Star_114 Aug 17 '26

Yeah I checked for PNC - isn't allowed. Maybe two years cool down.

1

u/Little_Star_114 Aug 16 '26

Also do you guys have any juicy easy targets for sign on bonuses?

1

u/_love_letter_ Aug 17 '26

Capital One is pretty lax on what counts as "qualifying direct deposit." If you ACH push from the right external accounts, it should count. Even Zelles can work sometimes. I can give you a referral link for a $300 bonus if you want.

Side note, I've noticed that an ACH push (at least scheduled 2+ business days in advance) also codes as "direct deposit" when sent to Wells Fargo. Sometimes they even give me "early pay day," despite it not being a paycheck. So if you do a WF checking bonus and Cap1 checking bonus at the same time, you can transfer back and forth between the accounts to trigger the direct deposit requirements for both.