Open a Bank Account With a Credit Card

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Are you 1 of the folks struggling to meet the minimum spending requirements to get the sign-up bonuses on your credit cards now that Vanilla Reloads can’t be bought with a credit card at CVS anymore?

Folks are being more creative in finding ways to spend money on their cards to earn miles and points.  You can still buy gift cards to reload your Bluebird account at Walmart, or use Evolve Money to pay bills you can’t normally pay with a credit card.  And I’ve written about 40+ other ways you can meet minimum spending requirements.

Via View From the Wing, did you know you can open a bank account and fund the initial deposit with a credit card?

How Does It Work?

When you open a new account at SOME banks, they’ll let you use a credit card to fund the initial deposit.  Depending on the bank, you can fund $100 to $2,000 using a credit card.

Note:   Don’t try this method with a Citi card, because it will be coded as a cash advance.  So you will NOT earn points and WILL be charged cash advance fees and interest right away!

Other cards probably won’t code this as a cash advance, but to be safe, it’s a good idea to call the credit card company and set your cash advance limit to zero before trying this.  That way, if it’s coded as a cash advance, the transaction won’t even go through.

Also, keep in mind that some accounts may require you to maintain a minimum balance to avoid fees.  In that case, it would NOT be worth it.  Unless you need to open a new account anyway!

Here’s are some of the banks (according to Doctor of Credit) that allow you to do this:

• Bank of Maine (maximum $500)
• BMO Harris (maximum $1,000)
• Citizens bank (maximum $1,000)
• First Citizens (maximum $1,000)
• First Niagara (maximum $1,000, and you can only use Visa or Mastercard)
• KeyBank (maximum $100)
• NorthWest Savings bank  (maximum $100)
• Oceanside Christopher Catholic Union (maximum $100)
• PNC (maximum $2,000, and you can only use Visa or Mastercard)
• Satander up to $500
• Wells Fargo up to $500

While you can’t really repeat this method over and over (and besides, who wants to keep track of so many accounts?), this could be useful for those who are really struggling to meet the minimum spending on their cards.

Some of these banks are having sign-up bonus promotions, so you could come out ahead on the deal.  For example, BMO Harris will give you up to $200 when you open a checking account and set up a direct deposit.  Not bad!

Are There Drawbacks?

Definitely.

Some banks (like First Citizens) will do a credit inquiry when you open a new account.  So this could affect your credit score negatively in the short term.

Some accounts may have monthly fees attached to them.  And you might be obligated to keep the account open for a certain time.  It’s NOT worth paying monthly fees to generate a few extra miles and points!  But it could be worth it if it’s your only way to meet a big minimum spending requirement.

And there’s some time and effort involved in signing-up for new accounts and keeping track of balances.

You may want to 1st read my list of 40+ ways to meet credit card minimum spending requirements!

Bottom Line

You can use a credit card to fund the initial deposit into a new account at some banks.  This could be a good way to help meet credit card minimum spending requirements.

But don’t use a Citi card (it will be coded as a cash advance) and perhaps set your credit card cash advance limit to zero before you try this out.

Opening a bank account for the sole purpose of spending money on your credit card might not be worth the effort.  But if you’re currently looking to open a bank account anyway, you can fund your initial deposit with a credit card at some banks.

There are probably other banks not on the list that allow this.  Does your bank allow initial deposits to be funded with a credit card?  If so, please let me know in the comments!