BonusAgent.ai How To

1. Grand vision and ideal workflow

BonusAgent.ai helps you find bank sign-up bonuses you qualify for, track your progress, and plan when to open and close accounts. Here’s the ideal flow from sign-up to getting reminders.

1. Create an account — Sign up with your email or preferred provider.
2. Complete onboarding — Tell us your state, take-home pay per paycheck, and how often you get paid. We use this to show only offers you can realistically complete and to estimate how quickly you’ll meet direct-deposit requirements (the amount or number of paychecks the bank requires to pay the bonus).
3. Choose your starting point:
   • No experience with bank bonuses? — Click Dashboard in the top bar. It may look empty at first; that’s normal. After onboarding, we’ll recommend a top bonus and you can explore the Bonuses page.
   • You’ve already earned bonuses? — Click History in the top bar and upload your past bonus history (Excel/CSV) or enter it manually. That way we respect repeat rules (e.g. “can’t have had this bonus in 12–24 months”) and don’t recommend offers you’re not eligible for.
4. Browse the Bonuses page — See offers ranked for you. Add any bonus to your schedule with a sign-up date.
5. Use the Schedule — Your planned bonuses appear here with Keep funds until (don’t move money out before this) and Safe to close (when you can close the account without fee or the bank taking the bonus back). We’re building a feature to suggest a schedule; for now you pick sign-up dates when adding from the Bonuses page.
6. Reminders (optional) — If you’ve added your phone or email in onboarding, we can send you reminders when it’s time to apply or take action. You can choose text, email, or neither.

2. Navigation and getting around

When to use this: Use this section as your map. The top bar is the same on every main page when you’re signed in.

• BonusAgent.ai (logo) — Click to go to the Dashboard.
• Dashboard — Your at-a-glance plan (summary cards, recommended bonus, chart, active bonuses).
• Bonuses — Click to open a dropdown: Bank Bonuses, Crypto Bonuses, Other Bonuses. Clicking “Bonuses” itself goes to the bank bonuses page.
• Schedule — Your planned bonuses and key dates.
• History — Upload or enter past bonus history.
• Onboarding — Update your profile (state, pay, notifications).
• Guides — Dropdown with this How To, Bank Bonuses Explained, Credit Card Bonuses Explained, Crypto Bonuses Explained, FAQ, More Resources.
• Pro Plus — Opens the Pricing page to upgrade.
• Account (circle icon) — Sign out or manage your account.

3. Onboarding

When to use this: Set your profile so we only show bonuses you qualify for and can complete. Click Onboarding in the top bar. New users are prompted to complete it; you can change it anytime from the nav.

What you’ll do here:

• Enter your state, take-home pay per paycheck, and pay frequency.
• Optionally add email or phone for reminders.
• Save; we’ll use this to filter and rank offers.

Step 1 · Basics

• State (US) — Many bonuses are limited by state. We hide offers you can’t get.
• Take home pay per paycheck — Your after-tax income per paycheck. We use this to estimate how many paychecks you need to meet direct-deposit requirements.
• Pay frequency — Weekly, biweekly, or monthly. Combined with pay amount, this drives our “time to complete requirements” and ranking.
• Experience level — Beginner, Intermediate, or Advanced. We use this to tailor the top recommendation on the dashboard (e.g. a “Top Bonus For Beginners” card).

Step 2 · Bonus types

• Include savings bonuses — For Pro Plus subscribers; show savings-account offers.
• Include business accounts — For Pro Plus; show business checking/savings offers.
• Optional: Max tied-up savings — How much you’re willing to have tied up across accounts at once (for advanced planning).

Step 3 · Contact & notifications

Email and Phone are optional. We use them only to send reminder alerts about your active bonuses (e.g. when to apply or when it’s safe to move money). You can provide one, both, or neither; you can add or change them later if you decide you want reminders.

What we do with your data

• Filter bonuses by your state so you only see eligible offers.
• Estimate how quickly you can meet direct-deposit requirements based on your pay and frequency.
• Respect repeat rules (e.g. 12–24 months since last bonus) using your bonus history.
• Show “Keep funds until” and “Safe to close” dates so you avoid fees and clawbacks.
• Send optional text or email reminders only if you’ve opted in.

4. Dashboard

When to use this: Your home base — see earnings, your next recommended bonus, and what to do next. Click Dashboard in the top bar (or the BonusAgent.ai logo).

What you’ll do here:

• See year-to-date and projected earnings, plus your next recommended bonus.
• Use “Apply now” to open the bank’s offer; “Why [Bank]?” for details.
• Check Active bonuses, Accounts ready to cancel, and the Earnings by month chart.

Summary cards

• Year to date — Cash you’ve actually earned from bonuses this year (from your history and confirmed payouts).
• Projected earnings (active) — Expected payouts from bonuses you’re currently working on.
• Max earnings (next 12 months) — Upper bound of what you could earn in the next year based on your schedule and eligible offers.
• Total tied up — Approximate amount you need to keep in active accounts to avoid fees (across all active bonuses).

Next Recommended Bonus

We show one top pick for you (e.g. “Top Bonus For Beginners”). Use Apply now to go to the bank’s offer; use Why [Bank]? to open a popup with details and reasoning. You can add this bonus to your schedule from the Bonuses page.

Top Crypto Recommendation

A highlighted crypto bonus offer, if available and relevant for you.

Earnings by month

A chart of actual earnings (from history) and projected earnings for upcoming months. You can switch between 3-month, 6-month, and full-year views.

Active Bonuses

Bonuses you’re currently working on (meeting requirements or waiting for payout). Each shows the bank, amount, and “Keep funds until” date.

Your Next Planned Bonuses

The next item on your schedule — when to sign up and for how much.

Accounts Ready To Cancel

Bonuses where you’ve received the cash and it’s safe to close the account. Use Why close? for details and I’ve closed it to record that you closed the account.

5. History

When to use this: Add your past bonus history so we respect repeat rules and don’t recommend offers you’re not eligible for. Click History in the top bar to open the History page.

What you’ll do here:

• Upload an Excel or CSV file, or enter bonuses one by one in the manual form.
• We parse the file (or save your manual entry); the “View your history” list updates.
• Use “View your history” to see all entries; Export to download a backup; use row buttons to mark closed, edit, or delete.

Order of operations: 1) Upload a file or add manually → 2) We parse and save → 3) “View your history” refreshes with the new data.

Upload Excel or CSV

In the Upload Excel or CSV card you can drag and drop or select a file. We accept .xlsx, .xls, or .csv. Your sheet can use your own column names — we extract bank names, bonus received dates, and (if present) account closed dates and bonus amounts. After we parse the file, the “View your history” list updates automatically so you can see what was added.

Manual entry

If you don’t have a spreadsheet, use the Manual entry card. Click the button to open a form where you enter one bonus at a time:

• Bank name — Type and pick from suggestions if your bank appears.
• Product name — e.g. checking product name (optional; suggestions may appear after you pick a bank).
• Bonus amount — Dollar amount of the bonus.
• Received bonus? — Yes or No. If you haven’t received it yet, we treat it as in progress and can show a projected payout date if you provide the sign-up date.
• Bonus received date — When you got the cash (if received).
• Sign-up date for account — When you opened the account (helps us compute “expected by” for in-progress bonuses).
• Account closed date — When you closed the account (if closed).
• Account still open? — Yes/No.
• Plan to keep account? — If you’re keeping it open by choice (not just waiting for safe-to-close).

View your history

The View your history card lists all your uploaded and manually entered entries. Each row shows the bank (with logo when we have one), bonus amount, and either “In progress” with an expected-by date or “Bonus received” with the date. If the account is still open we show “Account still open” and any minimum balance to avoid fees; if closed we show the closed date.

Buttons on each row:

• Account is closed — Click when you’ve closed this account. We’ll update the entry so we don’t show it as open.
• Edit / View Details — Open a details popup to view or edit the entry.
• Delete — Remove this entry (you’ll be asked to confirm).

At the top of the card, Export history downloads your full history as an Excel file so you have a backup or can edit and re-upload later.

6. Bonuses

When to use this: Find and compare offers you qualify for, ranked by value, difficulty, and friction. Click Bonuses in the top bar (or a dropdown option) to open the Bonuses page. We filter by your state, income, and bonus history (repeat rules).

What you’ll do here:

• Use Filters and Sort to narrow or reorder the list.
• Click “Apply now” to open the bank’s offer; “Bonus Details” for full terms.
• Click “Add to schedule” to plan when you’ll sign up.

Filters and sort

At the top you’ll see Filters (with a count when any are active) and Sort. Click Filters to open a panel where you can:

• Difficulty — Show only Easy, Moderate, Hard, or Not feasible (by our tier).
• Account type — Checking, Savings, Checking & Savings, Crypto.
• Other — Fee-free only, Hide branch-only offers, Hide debit-card required, Referral link available.

Sort options include: Best bonuses (our score), Easiest, Fastest payout, Offer expiration date, Highest/lowest bonus amount, and Name A–Z or Z–A.

Each bonus card

Every offer appears as a card with the bank logo, name, our quality score, and badges (e.g. Easy/Moderate). You’ll see:

• Apply now — Opens the bank’s application or referral link.
• Bonus Details — Opens a popup with full terms: requirements, payout timing, fees, eligibility, state availability, and notes.
• Add to schedule — Adds this bonus to your Schedule; you’ll pick a sign-up-by date.

7. Schedule

When to use this: See your planned bonuses and key dates (when to keep funds in the account, when it’s safe to close). Click Schedule in the top bar to open the Schedule page. You add items from the Bonuses page by clicking “Add to schedule” and choosing when you plan to sign up.

What you’ll do here:

• View planned bonuses with “Keep funds until” and “Safe to close” dates.
• Mark account opened, deposits complete, or bonus received as you go.
• Remove from schedule if you change your plan.

We’re building a feature to suggest a schedule that works best for you. For now you choose your own sign-up dates when adding from the Bonuses page.

What you see

When you have scheduled bonuses, you’ll see a calendar view (if available) and a list. Each item shows the bank, bonus amount, “Sign up by” date, Keep funds until (don’t move money out before this), and Safe to close (when you can close the account without fee or clawback).

Actions on each card

• Mark account opened — You’ve opened the account.
• Mark deposits complete — You’ve met the direct-deposit (or other) requirements.
• Mark bonus received — You’ve received the cash.
• Remove from schedule — Take this bonus off your plan (you can add it again later from the Bonuses page).