Update: ING Direct is now Capital One 360. The referral program still exists. There is more information in this review of Capital One 360.

If you have $250 and are willing to become a customer of ING Direct, you have the opportunity to earn $525 on top of your deposit. It will take some work, but not too much. Here’s how it works.

First, open an account at ING Direct using one of the links at the bottom of this post. There are ten links listed for the savings account and ten for the checking account, but choose only one. You must not currently be an ING Direct customer and you must provide an initial deposit of at least $250 in order to receive a $25 bonus for opening the account.

If you choose the Orange Savings Account, also open the Electric Orange Account afterward, and vice-versa.

After your accounts are created and funded, you will eventually see a link at the bottom of your account information website. This feature might not be available immediately for new customers, but with time, the option will be present. Click on the “Earn $$$: Refer a Friend” graphic to receive the opportunity to refer 50 of your friends, 25 for the savings account and 25 for the checking account. Each successful referral will earn you $10. If you don’t have 50 friends, you can email me. I’ll post your referral links once mine expire so you can benefit from the power of the internet.

Use the following links when opening the Orange Savings Account with at least $250 (in addition to your $25 account opening bonus).

You must clear your cookies before clicking on any one of the links. If one is expired, and you want to click on a second link, you still need to clear your cookies each time.

Note: referral links are not currently available. Please open a savings account using this link or open a checking account using this link.

If you click one of the above links and see this message on the first page, then choose a different link and let me know via email or comment below which link number has expired.

We’re sorry, but the referral link within the email you received has expired and is no longer valid. We recommend that you contact the sender and ask them to re-send the referral email.

I’ll receive $10 for every successful account opening*, and when you receive your referral links and give them out, you’ll receive $10 for each referral as well. Your referral links might not appear immediately after opening your account, but when they do, you should take advantage of them.

ING Direct is one of my favorite banks, despite their lagging interest rates. The current rate on savings accounts is 0.90% and the rate on checking accounts is tiered with a maximum of 1.10%, but these rates are subject to change. These rates are better than most brick and mortar banks but low on the list of high-yield interest-bearing accounts.

Updated February 8, 2013 and originally published April 10, 2008. If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to the RSS feed or receive daily emails. Follow @flexo on Twitter and visit our Facebook page for more updates.

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About the author

Luke Landes, also known as Flexo, is the founder of Consumerism Commentary. He has been blogging and writing for the internet since 1995 and has been building online communities since 1991. Find out more about him and follow Luke Landes on Twitter. View all articles by Luke Landes.

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