April 1, 2026
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Experts in this article:
Joe Braier is a seasoned M&A Advisor and CEO and President of the Wisconsin-based financial advisory firm Lake Country...
Paden is a writer for SideHustles.com. He began writing professionally in 2014, and previously worked as a journalist for Huck,...
As prices rise and wages struggle to keep up, many Americans are turning to more unorthodox methods to save money, such as “bonus churning.” This involves opening multiple bank accounts or credit cards in order to receive signup bonuses.
But while many claim this can be an easy way to make quick cash, bonus churning is not without risks.
Again, bonus churning refers to opening new financial accounts to take advantage of signup bonuses and get other rewards, like cash back or airline points.
Bonus churning is something of a catch-all phrase. There are two types:
According to Experian, the average American has around 4 credit cards that they regularly use. Some “churners,” on the other hand, open as many as 50 cards to make the most of welcome bonuses.
Bank and credit card churning aren’t illegal. However, most banks and credit card issuers still disapprove of the practice, and many have restrictions in place that serve to curb bonus churning.
For example, Chase Bank maintains an unofficial “5/24” rule. This prohibits people who’ve opened 5 or more credit cards (including non-Chase cards) in the past 24 months from opening new Chase consumer credit cards. 1
Savvy bank customers have been using this method for years. However, bonus churning has become more popular as a result of the current economic challenges and ongoing layoffs in the US.
In a recent series of posts on the subreddit r/personalfinance, bonus churning was one of the most commonly cited ways to make money. One user claimed that this strategy was “seriously a lifesaver in early adulthood.”
On Reddit, there’s even a dedicated bonus churning subreddit, r/churning, that boasts 29,000 weekly visitors.
Isaac Khor, a doctoral student and self-proclaimed churner, told The New York Times that bonus churning has helped him stay afloat while studying. “Ph.D. stipends are not that high, so this actually does dramatically augment my income,” he said.
It isn’t just those struggling to make ends meet that are turning to churning. Even Americans with higher incomes are taking advantage of signup bonuses. One couple told The New York Times that credit card welcome bonuses have helped them fund their vacations abroad.
Many accounts on TikTok and Instagram are dedicated to this exact purpose. One Instagram user, maxmilespoints, offers tips for “maximizing” airline points gained through credit card rewards.
Reports from churners suggest you can make serious cash with this method.
One Redditor claims they made “$5,000 in bank bonuses” in 2025, while another said they made “a little over $7,000” last year after only about 7 months of bank account churning.
When we looked into the signup bonuses various banks offer, we found that they can range from $100 to as much as $3,000. As an example, here are 5 welcome bonuses that major banks and credit card issuers in the US currently offer:
As you can see, just opening an account is rarely enough to get a bonus. You’ll have to meet other criteria to be eligible, such as spending a certain amount or making qualifying direct deposits.
Bonus churning might seem like a great way to earn a little extra cash without needing to do much, but it isn’t totally risk-free.
Credit card churning is particularly risky and could impact your credit. When you open a new credit card, the issuer will request access to your credit report and credit score. This is known as a “hard inquiry” or “hard pull.”
Hard inquiries bring your score down a couple of points and can stay on your report for up to two years. 4
While one hard inquiry won’t usually do much damage to your credit by itself, if you open up multiple accounts in quick succession, it can significantly lower your score.
Moreover, churning can also harm your credit utilization ratio, which refers to the amount of available credit you’re using.
When you open a new account, the amount of credit you have access to increases and your credit utilization ratio lowers, which is usually a good thing for your credit score. However, because some issuers require you to spend a minimum amount within a certain timeframe to get a welcome bonus, it’s easy to rack up debt in order to meet the requirements.
Doing so will raise your credit utilization ratio and potentially hurt your credit score.
Bonus churning by opening multiple checking or savings accounts might seem like a safer option, but it also comes with risks.
Opening checking or savings accounts won’t usually prompt a hard inquiry, so theoretically, it won’t affect your credit score. However, if you rack up overdraft fees in multiple accounts and don’t pay them back, the bank may report that to the credit bureaus.
We spoke about this with Joe Braier, CEO of the Wisconsin-based financial advisory firm Lake Country Advisors. Braier told us that the risk from bonus churning comes from the “unintended financial burden created by the process.”
“Opening numerous accounts at multiple financial institutions can make it tricky to manage cash or cash flow,” he said. He added that it can also cause issues with “completing your tax return for the tax year in which the bonuses were realized” and “may cause you to incur fees or minimum balance restrictions associated with the accounts you have opened.”
“All of this could make the bonuses you received not as profitable as anticipated.”
Considering the risks of bonus churning, many users on sites like Reddit have come up with their own methods to avoid overly damaging their credit scores.
Most churners recommend getting a decent credit score before attempting bonus churning.
One user on Reddit claimed that churning is best for those with established credit profiles and “scores in the mid–high 700s.” While this user did acknowledge that they’ll “probably have 6–7 hard pulls this year,” they claimed that their established credit score will make the impact from these inquiries “minimal.”
It’s worth noting that building up your credit score takes time and the speed will depend on how good your score currently is.
Another way to get the most out of churning, according to some online hobbyists, is by working with a partner. Another user on Reddit claimed that doing bonus churning with a spouse or live-in partner “effectively reduces the hard inquiries in half.”
Moreover, many banks also offer “refer-a-friend” bonuses. For example, Chase offers a $50 bonus for each friend who opens a checking account after you refer them. If you’re particularly popular, you can refer up to 10 friends every calendar year, putting your earning potential as high as $500. 5
Chase states that this offer isn’t available to those who’ve closed an account within 90 days or have had a negative balance within the last 3 years.
If you’re opening multiple accounts or cards, it can be easy to lose track. For this reason, many churners stress the importance of staying organized with spreadsheets. On one r/churning thread, users recommend including the following information in your spreadsheet:
Staying organized will also help you figure out which bonuses are most profitable. Danny Guo, a seasoned churner who claims to have made $32,000 in rewards over 10 years, told Fortune that he spends around 20 minutes each week updating his spreadsheet and checking which card is the most lucrative.
He said that most people “don’t need 80 cards,” but should instead “opt for the one card that offers the best cash back or points.”
