Netspend $20 Referral Thread and Details

Update 2/21/24: It’s now $20/$20

Update 1/13/23: referrals are now $40/$40 through 6/30

We’ve written about the various Netspend products due to the 5% interest which can be earned using them. Another benefit of these accounts is that there is a $20 referral bonus for signing up with a referral link. So as not to inundate the comments with referrals, we created this dedicated referral page.

• People can leave referrals to any of the various Netspend referral products and get the referral bonus.
• People can find a referral to any one of these products which will make them eligible to get the $20 referee bonus.

The following products are dealt with in this referral thread (all these links here are direct links, not referral links):

• Netspend
• Brinks
• Western Union
• Ace Elite
• Paypal Prepaid
• Control

How to Refer

You can find your referral code in your account login. Got to ‘Features’ > ‘Refer A Friend’ and you’ll see various options for referring others. There is a referral code which the referee can use to apply over the phone, for example. You can also find a referral link which you can send to a friend or you can leave in the comments of this page. Alternatively, you can choose the Twitter or Facebook option which will produce a link which can be sent to a friend or pasted into the comments below.

Upon signing up for the card, you’ll be given the option of immediately creating an account login. If you opt to do this, you’ll be able to refer others immediately since the referral link and code is found in the online login; it should work immediately and allow you to get you the bonus.

Bonus Rules for Referred Member

Here are the rules of eligibility for the $20 Netspend referral bonus, as I understand them from the fine print.

Referral Bonus for First Time Cardholders

• If this is your first card in the Netspend-family of cards, you are eligible for a $20 bonus.
• You need to use a referral link in order to get the bonus. If you sign up directly on the site without a referral, you won’t get it.
• You must add $40 to the prepaid card in order to get the bonus. You can do a $40 ACH transfer, for example, to get this bonus. (A $40 cardholder-to-cardholder transfer will not work.)
• Bonus will appear within 2 business days.
• The Paypal Prepaid and the Ace Elite cards have some different details, see below.

Referral Bonus for Existing Cardholders

If you already have a Netspend-family card or you’ve had one in the past, you may not be eligible to get the $20 bonus when signing up for another card. This is true even if you didn’t get the referral bonus the first time around.

• If you had a NetSpend card that which within the past 180-days: had money added to it, was used to make a purchase, was used for a cash withdrawal, or incurred a balance inquiry fee. This is even if you never before got any Netspend referral bonus.
• The important date here is the date that the $40 load requirement is met. It doesn’t matter when you open the card. So if you apply for a second card 150-days after you added money to your first card, and you wait 30-days until you make the $40 required deposit onto the card, you should be eligible for the bonus.
• The Control card has terms different than the others, see below.

Important note: If you are not eligible for the bonus due to the 180-day rule, they’ll send you an email saying that you are ineligible for the bonus. For some reason, they seem to send out that email sometimes/always even when you are eligible for the bonus. This is just a glitch and you should receive the bonus properly, despite the email.

Bonus for Referrer

Besides the $20 bonus received by the new member, the one who referred him/her will also get a $20 bonus.

• Referrer will only get a bonus if the new member received one. If the new member was not eligible for the bonus (e.g. didn’t deposit $40, already had a Netspend card, etc.), the referrer won’t get one either.
• You can earn unlimited amounts of referral bonuses.
• If you earn $600+ in referral income, Netspend will issue you a 1099-MISC. My understanding is that the $600 is combined from all of your referrals across the various Netspend products.

Misc

• You can refer your spouse (even at the same address) and you’ll each get $20.
• The 180-day limit is actually enforced in my experience, even when receiving cards from separate banks (i.e. if you get the Metabank-issued Netspend bonus, you won’t be able to receive the BofI-issued Brinks bonus).
• The H-E-B card does not have a referral option.

Exceptions to the Rule

There are a few exceptions to the rule to be aware of.

Control Card Referral Details

The Control card has terms different than the others and requires that you never before had a Control card or any other Netspend card. I’m not entirely convinced it will be enforced this way, but it’s something to keep in mind.

Ace Elite Card Referral Details

The Ace Elite card has all the same details as the others, besides for one thing: it only earns a $10 referral bonus, not a $20 bonus. Both the referrer and the referee will receive the $10 bonus if the referee adds $40 to their account.

All other terms are exactly the same as those described above for the other Netspend products.

Paypal Prepaid Referral Details

The Paypal card offers just a $5 referral bonus. Both the referrer and the referee will receive a $5 bonus if the referee adds a minimum of just $10 to the account.

The terms of the Paypal Prepaid referral are exactly those of the other Netspend cards and you won’t be able to get the $20 Netspend bonus after having received the Paypal, or vice versa. In practice, there is one report that this isn’t actually enforced. Apparently, since the Paypal bonus is different than the others (in amount and in load requirement), they have it coded differently and it thus may be possible to get both bonuses despite that fact that it’s officially excluded from the terms.

Leave your Referrals in the Comments

• You can feel free to leave a referral for one or all of these cards in the comments below.
• You can only leave your referral once for each card. Duplicates will be removed.
• Please only leave referrals for the following cards: Netspend, Brinks, Western Union, Ace Elite, Control, and Paypal Prepaid.