How To Get a Free $50 from Serve.com

Serve American Express

ScoreCard Research

Editor’s Note: This promotion has expired and is no longer available. 

Most of you know that one of Penny Hoarder’s favorite ways to get free cash is through bank and credit card offers. And I’ve got an awesome one for you today!

Serve.com is offering $50 when you open a free account, sign up for direct deposit and have two direct deposits put in your account.

That’s a FREE $50 for about 5 minutes of work. Sweet!

And here’s a tip: You can direct deposit a number of things besides your regular paycheck. I like to keep my paycheck going to my primary bank account, but for bank bonuses, I use other sources of income to fund it.

Try to think of another place that you get monthly income from. Do you get a social security check? Insurance check? Second job income? Mystery shopping payouts?  A number of the “paid-to-email” sites also offer direct deposit. I know that Fusion Cash does, because I get a nice cash-out from them on the 20th of every month. 🙂

Ready to sign-up? Here’s a link to the promo page:     Serve.com $50 Bonus

For those of you who haven’t heard of Serve.com, you’re probably wondering what the heck it is…  Sit back, relax, and let me explain.

Serve is American Express’ alternative to a debit card; it is a full-service, prepaid account. You put money on your Serve card through either your credit or debit card or your bank account.

In addition, you can link up your credit card as a back-up payment source.  If you need to purchase something but don’t have enough money left on your Serve card, you can allow the card to access the money in your credit card line to make up the difference.  This is optional, though.

What Are The Perks of Using Serve

Serve can be used anywhere American Express is accepted.  Plus, you can receive and send money via e-mail, Facebook, and text.  There is also a mobile app you can use.

In addition, since this is a full-service card, you receive perks like roadside assistance, purchase protection and global assist services.  These are many of the same perks you would receive if you had the traditional American Express card.

What Are The Fees?

If you’re a savvy Penny Hoarder, you probably know that most debit and prepaid cards are rife with fees.  However, Serve is a bit different.  There are no fees for adding money or activating the card.  In addition, there is no credit check and no minimum balance.

In fact, there are so few fees charged that it’s easier to tell you which fees are charged.  You’ll incur a $2 fee if you take an ATM withdrawal.  You can avoid this fee by enabling direct deposit and using an in-network ATM.  (Those who don’t enable direct deposit will pay a $2 ATM fee no matter if they use an in or out of network ATM.)

Subaccounts–Another Benefit of Serve

Another perk of Serve is that you can have a subaccount for your child or someone else to use.  If your child is over 13, they can use a Serve card funded by your account.

This is a great way to send money to your child at college or even to give your teen his allowance.  Even better, you can see how the money is spent, and you can control the things that you want the person to do with the subaccount through the use of permissions.  You can also set up alerts to help you monitor the subaccount.

Back to the Free Money…

Serve sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?  The $50 bonus is just icing on the cake.  To receive the bonus, simply sign up for an account using this link, and then activate the account.  Finally, complete the direct deposit form by June 30, 2014 and give it to your employer.  After two automatic direct deposits, you will receive the $50 bonus.  Simple.

Good luck Penny Hoarders!