How to get money fast in RDO? Red Dead Online Guide and Tips

Last update: 14 December 2018

Until recently, the most popular options for getting cash were fishing for Steelhead Trout and hunting. However, Rockstar decided to significantly reduce selling price for fishes/meat/skins. So how can you get a lot of cash in Red Dead Online now?

What are the most profitable activities in Red Dead Online?

For now on, fishing and hunting aren't as profitable as before. Catching a Lake Sturgeon or hunting down a bear will still give you a few bucks, but less than before. Fortunately, other activities in the game are more beneficial now. Here is a description of various activities in the game with commentary whether they are worth your time or not:

1. Stranger missions. You'll get 10-20 dollars for completing this kind of mission. But be careful, other players may want to interfere. It's worth doing it from time to time, but other than that, it can be waste of time.
2. Showdown series. You earn the most cash in free-for-all mode when you end a match with a high position in the ranking. The rule is: the more posses in the match, the less money you'll get. If you win in the Most Wanted mode, you'll get about $50, 8 gold nuggets and more than 600 XP. That's a lot, so it's worth taking part in it, but note that the earnings depend on your skill.
3. Story missions. You'll get about $25 for completing the story mission, which is a good result, given that many missions can be completed in 10 minutes. Additionally, you'll get 8 gold nuggets, which is a nice bonus.
4. Hunting and fishing. You can still earn some money that way, but as mentioned above, it's less profitable now. Instead of farming animals in one place, focus on bigger ones while hunting or fishing. You can sell them for a good price.
5. Race series. Rather unprofitable in terms of getting cash. It's really hard to win, but you can take part in them for fun and a few gold nuggets.
6. Treasure map. Obtaining treasure maps and looking for chest is still a very good way to earn money.
7. Deleting character trick. When you delete your character, you lose everything except for cash, which is transferred to a new character. Many players completed all story missions, deleted their character and then stared the story once again. That way, they could earn huge amount of money. Unfortunately, this trick is no longer that profitable or won't be after the next updates.

To sum up, take part in Showdown series matches and repeat story missions.