SoFi Blog

SoFi members, get ready to jet set – SoFi Travel¹ is here to make travel planning easier and more affordable than ever before, from booking flights, to hotels to travel experiences, and more. SoFi Travel is powered by Expedia, providing members an easy search and booking experience, all within the SoFi app or website. SoFi Travel will be rolling out to all members over the coming weeks.

SoFi has seen incredible demand from members in the travel sector, with SoFi Credit Card² spending on travel up 54% in the first three months of 2023 compared to the same time period in 2022³. SoFi recognizes this is an area of major interest to members, and this new offering is here to meet that demand.

SoFi Travel expands members’ benefits by offering SoFi Member Prices on select hotel bookings, made possible with Expedia’s competitive offerings. SoFi members will be able to save 10% or more at select hotels, as well as additional discounts on bookings. Members who use the SoFi Credit Card for their bookings will earn unlimited 3% cash back⁴ rewards on their purchases.

SoFi also recently conducted the first-ever SoFi Travel Habits Survey⁵, which showed 82% of members plan to travel this summer, and over 60% are willing to spend over 2 hours or more extra when booking travel to find the best deal. SoFi’s new travel portal will make it easier to make your travel plans this summer and beyond, saving SoFi members money and time when booking.

Booking with SoFi Travel
Just as members can easily manage everything from their credit card to investments in the one place, managing travel plans alongside all your financial products is now simpler with SoFi Travel.

SoFi members will be able to access the booking portal through the app or website, where they will be able to track travel details and adjust reservations and manage their travel budget throughout their whole trip.

SoFi Travel and SoFi Credit Card Rewards
SoFi Credit Card members will be able to earn an unlimited 3% cash back rewards on SoFi Travel bookings made using their credit cards. Once members receive their rewards points, they can redeem in a variety of ways, including:

•  Cash in a SoFi Checking and Savings account⁶

•  Pay down an eligible SoFi loan⁷

•  Money to invest via their SoFi Invest account⁸

With SoFi Travel and the SoFi Credit Card, SoFi is continuing to offer the best of benefits when using SoFi products together.

Preparing for Travel with SoFi
In addition to making travel booking simpler and more affordable, SoFi can make planning travel easier than ever by offering a variety of tools to help members save for vacation and track their travel expenses.

Checking and Savings Vaults
For SoFi Checking and Savings members, they can create Vaults, an extension of Savings accounts where members can save for specific goals, including travel plans. Members with direct deposit can earn 4.20% APY (Annual Percentage Yield)⁹, 10x¹⁰ the national average, on all savings balances, putting more money in their pockets for travel outings and souvenirs.

Not a SoFi Checking and Savings member yet? Sign up here.

Financial Insights
SoFi members can use SoFi Insights¹¹ to track spending before, during and after vacations, across all their bank accounts and credit cards. Before trips, members can keep an eye on all of their spending to budget ahead of a big vacation, but also easily find places to trim expenses, such as long-forgotten recurring subscriptions.

Post-vacation, members can tag expenses related to their trip and see a full breakdown of their trip’s costs, where they spent the most money, and how best to budget for their next vacation.

Travel Tips & Recommendations
With the launch of SoFi Travel, SoFi is also launching a new travel planning vertical within On the Money, a digital content hub helping members get their personal finances right with a one-stop-shop for news, trends, and tips.

In the Travel vertical, SoFi members and even non-members can access articles on financial tips for booking trips and best ways to save money while jet setting. See the new education resources here.

SoFi Travel Habits Survey
As part of the rollout of SoFi Travel, SoFi conducted the first-ever SoFi Travel Habits Survey looking at the travel plans (and travel budgets!) of over 1,400 SoFi members. When it comes to members and their travel plans, key findings include:

•  56% of SoFi members canceled their travel plans in the last year due to rising costs / inflation

•  66% make budgets for their trips, and 29% start budgeting /saving for a trip a whole year in advance

•  57% of members were inspired to book a trip based on a movie or TV show, with White Lotus serving as the ultimate inspiration

You can see more from the first-ever SoFi Travel Habits Survey here.

DISCLOSURES
1. Terms, and conditions apply: The SoFi Travel Portal is operated by Expedia. To learn more about Expedia, click https://www.expediagroup.com/home/default.aspx.

11. SoFi’s Insights tool offers users the ability to connect both SoFi accounts and external accounts using Plaid, Inc.’s service. The credit score provided to you is a VantageScore® based on TransUnion® (the “Processing Agent”) data.

The SoFi Travel Habits Survey examines the travel habits of SoFi members, including budgets, plans and splurges.

SoFi Checking and Savings is raising their savings APY (Annual Percentage Yield) to 4.00%¹ (up from 3.75%) for all members with direct deposit. These members with direct deposit will now earn 11x² the current national savings average on all of their savings and Vaults balances. For members who don’t have direct deposit, all checking and savings balances will continue to earn 1.20% APY¹. For checking, that’s 20x³ times the average national monthly interest checking rate.

SoFi knows our members are looking for ways to get more for their hard-earned money and feel secure in where they’re putting their funds. SoFi takes our responsibility with our members’ money seriously, and it’s our priority to ensure that they are getting the best experience — we want them to feel confident with their finances.

To help understand today’s changes and our offerings, we’re answering your most frequently asked questions:

What are SoFi Checking and Savings members earning across the board?

   •  Members with direct deposit:

          ◦  Savings: 4.00% APY (up from 3.75%)

          ◦  Checking: 1.20% APY (adjusted from 2.50%)

   •  Members without direct deposit:

          ◦  Savings: 1.20% APY (no changes)

          ◦  Checking: 1.20% APY (no changes)

Why have you made these changes to your APY?

Our goal is to offer members some of the best APY rates in the market, so they you can grow their money and earn high interest on every dollar when they bank with SoFi.

Adjusting our APY to this new structure allows us to offer an industry-leading APY on checking balances, while allowing us to increase our savings APY even more (now 4.00% APY for members with direct deposit).

SoFi’s checking APY is 20x the national average —and 120x the checking APY offered by Citi, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Chase.⁴ See how we stack up versus other financial institutions:

How do I know my money is safe and secure with SoFi?

SoFi’s number one priority is to ensure that members feel confident with their money. All members can rest assured that:

   •  SoFi Bank deposits are insured by the FDIC for up to $250,000 per individual and for up to $500,000 per joint account.⁵ 

   •  All members have 24/7 account monitoring and the ability to instantly freeze debit or credit cards in the SoFi app.

   •  All members also have easy access to customer service via chat or phone.

How do I set up direct deposit?

Simply download this pre-filled form, sign it, and submit it to your employer’s payroll department. It’s as simple as that!

Alternatively, if your employer has an HR portal that allows you to set up direct deposit by inputting your account number and routing numbers, you can get those here.

DISCLOSURES

1. SoFi members with direct deposit can earn up to 4.00% annual percentage yield (APY) on savings balances (including Vaults) and 1.20% APY on checking balances. There is no minimum direct deposit amount required to qualify for the 4.00% APY for savings. Members without direct deposit will earn 1.20% APY on all account balances in checking balances and savings balances without direct deposit (including Vaults). Interest rates are variable and subject to change at any time. These rates are current as of 3/17/2023. Additional information can be found at http://www.sofi.com/legal/banking-rate-sheet.

2. 11x based on FDIC monthly savings account rate as of March 17, 2023.

3. 20x based on FDIC monthly interest checking rate as of March 17, 2023.

4. Rates may vary by state and do not account for bonus, special or promotional APYs. Traditional bank rates are current as of March 16, 2023. SoFi members with direct deposit can earn up to 4.00% annual percentage yield (APY) on savings balances (including Vaults) and 1.20% APY on checking balances. There is no minimum direct deposit amount required to qualify for the 4.00% APY for savings.Members without direct deposit will earn 1.20% APY on all account balances in checking balances and savings balances without direct deposit (including Vaults). Interest rates are variable and subject to change at any time. These rates are current as of 3/17/2023. Additional information can be found at http://www.sofi.com/legal/banking-rate-sheet.

5. Deposits in checking and savings accounts are insured up to $250,000 per depositor for each account ownership category under the FDIC’s general deposit insurance rules. For more information visit FDIC.gov

6. Our account fee policy is subject to change at any time.

7. Based on a Bankrate survey of 237 interest checking accounts and 232 noninterest checking accounts between June 13 and July 1, 2022.

SoFi Invest members will now be eligible to earn money on shares in their Invest account via SoFi’s share lending program, offering 15% of the total net proceeds earned and received on any shares lent out each month.

SoFi puts its members’ interests first and adheres to strict regulatory standards.