I routinely see great incentive deals from banks to open a credit card or deposit account (checking/saving). I suppose that unless there's a significant bonus offer from a MSC, I can make more money from applying directly to the bank, and I don't need to complete a report. With that said, why would anyone open one of these accounts as part of a mystery shop assignment?

I did a savings account shop. It was fairly easy, I needed the account anyway for rental property deposits and got paid for it. I wouldnt actually open a credit card acct though unless I was going to use the card anyway. I have done fair credit shops, where your info is blocked but you appear to apply for the card to see how they position it, ensure no discrimination etc. The only issue is I have had these cards issued instead of my app blocked and it takes follow-up for the client to reverse and close and remove the inquiry. They pay well and I didn't find the reports to be too long or demanding.

I was looking for a new credit card anyway, so when there was a shop to open one of the cards I was considering, I signed up. I basically got paid $225 to open a credit card I was going to open anyway. I had to scan some documents and fill out a report (20-30 minutes of work). I felt it was worth it. I can see why they have to pay that much, though... if I weren't in the market for a new cc, then there's not really any amount of money that would get me to apply for one. (Well... maybe a million dollars.. I'd take 3 shops, ruin my credit and retire from mystery shopping)

Why not get $50-$100 for opening a checking account with no fees and keeping it open for a few weeks? Also, some of these accounts will then qualify you to do well paid shops for "customers only." And the reports are so simple. BTW, there is NO CREDIT CHECK for a bank account opening.

Edited to add: check out the fine print on those deals from the banks. Most, but not all, require a large monthly direct deposit for a minimum number of months, and/or an opening deposit of $10,000-$20,000. On RARE occasions, better deals are available to people who have gotten codes via email or snail mail. There is a site, updated monthly with a list of the best bank opening deals AND the small print for each.

As for credit card deals...I search out the best cash and hotel and airlines rewards deals and open those account, and use them for my MS work as well as for all of my personal needs. EVERY penny on every card is paid off EVERY month. Accumulated cash rewards (from a card opened less than one year ago) are helping to pay about half of the cost for a cruise along the coast of Norway this summer. Hotel rewards points from my hotel shops pay for a nice US vacation each year and/or fund a few crucial nights on the road when I am doing a lucrative MS video route. Points from doing online surveys buy me at least one night per year at a higher end Hilton Hotel.

Just be a savvy shopper.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/05/2017 09:07PM by walesmaven.

@walesmaven wrote:

Why not get $50-$100 for opening a checking account with no fees and keeping it open for a few weeks? Also, some of these accounts will then qualify you to do well paid shops for "customers only." And the reports are so simple. BTW, there is NO CREDIT CHECK for a bank account opening.

Edited to add: check out the fine print on those deals from the banks. Most, but not all, require a large monthly direct deposit for a minimum number of months, and/or an opening deposit of $10,000-$20,000. On RARE occasions, better deals are available to people who have gotten codes via email or snail mail. There is a site, updated monthly with a list of the best bank opening deals AND the small print for each.

As for credit card deals...I search out the best cash and hotel and airlines rewards deals and open those account, and use them for my MS work as well as for all of my personal needs. EVERY penny on every card is paid off EVERY month. Accumulated cash rewards (from a card opened less than one year ago) are helping to pay about half of the cost for a cruise along the coast of Norway this summer. Hotel rewards points from my hotel shops pay for a nice US vacation each year and/or fund a few crucial nights on the road when I am doing a lucrative MS video route. Points from doing online surveys buy me at least one night per year at a higher end Hilton Hotel.

Just be a savvy shopper.

Yes, I do know there isn't a credit check required to open a deposit account, but I am sensitive about too many ChexSystems inquiries. (Chex is the equivalent of a credit check but for a deposit account.)

Recently, I have participated in some great bank bonuses for opening credit or deposit accounts... we're talking hundreds of dollars for each account. I don't have an issue with maintaining whatever minimum amount is necessary to avoid monthly fees, but even if I did, I would still be further ahead to just pay the monthly fee, collect the bonus and then close the account after the minimum required time.

As an example, I recently opened a Wells Fargo checking account directly with WF (actually two- one for me and one for my spouse). The minimum required opening deposit was $25, and the monthly fee was waived if I used the debit card at least ten times/month. (Easy peasy- I just swiped the card an extra time whenever I made a gas or grocery store purchase.) The bonus was $250 per account.... so $500 between the two of us. Obviously, I'll receive a 1099 for this money at the end of the year, but I would have to pay taxes on it anyway, if I was paid by a MSC. I found the necessary code online.

That is just one example of many, which leads me to my original question- why would anyone do a mystery shop for a bank rather than just open an account directly with the bank for the equivalent or better bonus?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/05/2017 09:37PM by mahemj.

Oh. One more thing. I don't have to pay self-employment tax on bonus money I receive from opening an account directly from the bank without being on an MS assignment. (Of course, I don't get to take a mileage deduction for driving to the bank, but that amount is insignificant in light of paying an extra almost 15% in SE tax.)

I know where the OP is coming from. I recently took a shop to open a credit card account at a local bank branch. Easy money, I thought. But when I went online to pick a card, I found I could get a $100 bonus from the bank just for applying online! Grrrr. Actually, it didn't turn out all bad. I found a type of card that rewards me for paying it off on time, so I should still get the free $100 in a year if I jump through all the hoops. But still.

I would do the credit card shop if I was in the market for a new credit card. Applying for credit affects your credit score.

I do bank account opening shops left and right. I do them because they are a source of income, do not affect my credit, and I get back the money that I use to open the shop.

@HonnyBrown wrote:

I would do the credit card shop if I was in the market for a new credit card. Applying for credit affects your credit score.

I do bank account opening shops left and right. I do them because they are a source of income, do not affect my credit, and I get back the money that I use to open the shop.

HonnyBrown, I'm just wondering why you wouldn't just apply for a credit card or a new deposit account on your own, taking advantage of an available bank incentive to open the account. Banks run incentive programs for new accounts all the time. I'm really trying to figure out what the upside is to opening an account as part of an MSC shop? Maybe I'm missing something.

I suppose if one could combine a shop with the bank's own incentive offer, that would really ring the bell. (In other words, get paid by the MSC for opening the account, in addition to collecting an account opening bonus from the bank itself...) Can you do this or would it invalidate the shop? Obviously, if the bank requires that the account is opened online with a special promo code, that wouldn't work if the MSC guidelines state the account must be opened in person at the bank.

If you are an existing customer, many bank offers don't apply. So, adding an acct as an MS would be an incentive over doing it alone.

@foodluvr wrote:

If you are an existing customer, many bank offers don't apply. So, adding an acct as an MS would be an incentive over doing it alone.

That's a great point. Thank you.

I don't need them. I'm happy with my credit card, which is at a $0 balance; and I love my accounts at BB&T.

When I open accounts, they are solely for income and I don't keep them.

Usually, with the bank promotions, you have to keep the account open for a certain period of time, which is after the fees hit. With mystery shopping, I can close the account in two or three weeks.

@mahemj wrote:

HonnyBrown, I'm just wondering why you wouldn't just apply for a credit card or a new deposit account on your own, taking advantage of an available bank incentive to open the account. Banks run incentive programs for new accounts all the time. I'm really trying to figure out what the upside is to opening an account as part of an MSC shop? Maybe I'm missing something.

I suppose if one could combine a shop with the bank's own incentive offer, that would really ring the bell. (In other words, get paid by the MSC for opening the account, in addition to collecting an account opening bonus from the bank itself...) Can you do this or would it invalidate the shop? Obviously, if the bank requires that the account is opened online with a special promo code, that wouldn't work if the MSC guidelines state the account must be opened in person at the bank.

@HonnyBrown wrote:

I don't need them. I'm happy with my credit card, which is at a $0 balance; and I love my accounts at BB&T.

When I open accounts, they are solely for income and I don't keep them.

Usually, with the bank promotions, you have to keep the account open for a certain period of time, which is after the fees hit. With mystery shopping, I can close the account in two or three weeks.

@mahemj wrote:

HonnyBrown, I'm just wondering why you wouldn't just apply for a credit card or a new deposit account on your own, taking advantage of an available bank incentive to open the account. Banks run incentive programs for new accounts all the time. I'm really trying to figure out what the upside is to opening an account as part of an MSC shop? Maybe I'm missing something.

I suppose if one could combine a shop with the bank's own incentive offer, that would really ring the bell. (In other words, get paid by the MSC for opening the account, in addition to collecting an account opening bonus from the bank itself...) Can you do this or would it invalidate the shop? Obviously, if the bank requires that the account is opened online with a special promo code, that wouldn't work if the MSC guidelines state the account must be opened in person at the bank.

I suppose. However, in my experience, banks generally give a new account owner two free months before fees kick in. Many banks require that new accounts be open for only three months to prevent reversion of the incentive bonus. And, the biggest monthly fee I've ever seen was $30, with many of them in the $10-$15/mo fee. Therefore, the most one would generally have to pay to be able to keep the incentive bonus is a one-time $30 fee. That, to me, is worth not having to write a report for a MSC and jump through all their hoops, but I recognize that everyone's goals are different. Combine that with potentially finding a higher new account incentive bonus than the fee offered by a MSC, and I'm back to my original question.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/06/2017 01:11AM by mahemj.

@mahemj wrote:

I routinely see great incentive deals from banks to open a credit card or deposit account (checking/saving). I suppose that unless there's a significant bonus offer from a MSC, I can make more money from applying directly to the bank, and I don't need to complete a report. With that said, why would anyone open one of these accounts as part of a mystery shop assignment?

Why not do BOTH? I have opened bank accounts as part of a mystery shop, and I received the bank bonus (in one case $300) PLUS the bonused shop fee ($150). And now I'm doing several teller shops every month which are almost always heavily bonused (around $50 each). All this for minimal work.

That's so awesome, Kenzie. Do you know if MSCs generally allow a shopper to also participate in the bank's incentive program, or is it something that just slips through the cracks, and the MSC never finds out?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/06/2017 01:26AM by mahemj.

@mahemj wrote:

That's so awesome, Kenzie. Do you know if MSCs generally allow a shopper to also participate in the bank's incentive program, or is it something that just slips through the cracks, and the MSC never finds out?

I don't know if MSCs have different rules about it. The guidelines for that shop did not say anything about the bank incentive/sign-up bonus. I honestly can't imagine that any MSC would have an issue with it. I mean, if you meet the requirements you automatically receive the bank bonus. And MSCs rarely care what you do with your account after you open it.

The banking MSC that I do jobs for pay well when they are bonused. However, I will not do their cc or bank account opening jobs. You can open a cc for this same client and receive the same incentives albeit online. For this particular client, I know you do not receive anything when applying in person; at least in my area. I have received many offers from banks. The last one was for $350 for a checking account. You must fund $10,000 cash and keep that balance for 3 months or do 5 debit transactions per month and maintain xxx per month, blah, blah. Hope this makes sense, I am sleepy.

Kenzie, you took the words right out of my mouth. If $300 is good, $350 is better. Also, not every shopper has the cash to open an account for the high minimums that some of those bank incentive deals offer. So, in that case, $50 is better than $0. Meanwhile, I am off to open a credit card account that will give me over $500 in travel benefits if I charge x dollars within 3 months. I will use it for all of the non-prepaid items on my three week cruise that is already half paid for by similar credits from a different travel rewards card.

When you open an account during a mystery shop, you're still opening it directly through the bank and if the account qualifies for a bonus, you can still get that. Unless you're referring to bonuses you can only get by opening the account online?

I just opened a new credit card at a bank branch as part of a mystery shop and I still qualify for the opening bonus (spend a certain amount within the first three months and get a certain amount of points/cash back). So I'm getting both. To me, that's worth it. I wouldn't do a ton of credit card opening accounts all at once, of course, but doing one every so often is fine for me.

For the banks I've seen, to get the incentive, the account has to be open and active past the grace period.

I haven't seen any restrictions in guidelines to prevent a shopper from taking advantage of incentives.

@mahemj wrote:

I suppose. However, in my experience, banks generally give a new account owner two free months before fees kick in. Many banks require that new accounts be open for only three months to prevent reversion of the incentive bonus. And, the biggest monthly fee I've ever seen was $30, with many of them in the $10-$15/mo fee. Therefore, the most one would generally have to pay to be able to keep the incentive bonus is a one-time $30 fee. That, to me, is worth not having to write a report for a MSC and jump through all their hoops, but I recognize that everyone's goals are different. Combine that with potentially finding a higher new account incentive bonus than the fee offered by a MSC, and I'm back to my original question.

You can totally do the bank bonus and the shop. You mentioned the recent Wells Fargo bonus. I was going to apply for the bonus anyway and my spouse and I stacked shops on top of it for the extra $ a piece. For others banks, like Chase, I used a bank bonus on a nonshop so I can come back and look less suspicious on shops where you inquire without opening.

You probably have to limit either the credit card bonus and/or the mystery shops involving credit, otherwise there's a good chance you'll run into flags even with a 800+ FICO score for being "credit hungry". I got denied for a card this week trying to get a bonus (though offered a lower credit limit card without the bonus) after getting a credit card bonus with another bank a couple months ago and opening a store card for a mystery shop a few weeks ago.

@mahemj wrote:

[...]why would anyone open one of these accounts as part of a mystery shop assignment?

For the same reason that people complete every other type of shop: for the fee payment.

While I was perfectly happy with my current banking setup, I took a new account shop that paid $60. Well worth my time to open an account that I can use, even if I don't really need it.

Those bonuses you see directly from banks are generally for checking accounts and credit cards. They generally require you to keep the account open for a certain period of time. I do the savings account mystery shops because they pay well and don't require a credit check. Also, I close the account after I'm paid my shopper fee so that way I don't incur any fees from the bank. This is why I do them...

For a $100.00 Bonus i did one.

I beg to differ. I have opened many bank accounts with bonuses. Most are from $100-$300, and as soon as you make the direct deposit (and many don't require DD) you can withdraw it, and most have ways of avoiding the monthly fees that are quite simple, such as any transaction during the month. The amount to open an account is usually $25-$50, and the DD can be as low as $100 to $2,000. It is easy money and if you are like me, anything helps. In one week I have collected $450 cash, all from my couch.

I can't and won't do a thing for Wells Fargo or Bank of america. Both companies have been indicted with fraud charges against customers. I will not help out with them, been begged by different schedulers and major bonuses. Call it character.

Speaking of BofA shops, for those who have opened savings accounts, did you receive interest in your account?

claabe, as part of WF's settlement for wrong-doing and to re-establish good faith with the public, WF promised to increase their mystery shopping program starting Jan 2017 to make sure customers aren't gouged again. I'm not a fan of the large banks and bankers who continue to benefit from their misdeeds in the early part of this century, so I'll take all the fees I can get from them.