Banks make money in all sorts of ways, but one of the main things they want to do is have a lot of cash on hand — so they can loan it out to others, or meet their own legal liquidity requirements. That's why they offer you amazing bank bonus offers!
Because banks need giant piles of cash on hand, they need to offer the rest of us incentives to choose their FDIC-insured bank over someone else's.
Banks compete on their ability to offer personal service to local residents, on the number of their national locations, and on fee levels for basic services like checking and savings. But they also offer cash incentives to use their deposit and checking services! With the economy picking up, and interest rates rising, there seem to be more and more of these on offer.
Here's our list of the best ones!
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Personal Bank Bonus Offers Right Now
If you have a lot of cash that you don't mind having in the bank for a few months, these are the best promotions out there right now:
Up to $200 with Discover Online Savings
Discover doesn't usually offer bank bonus offers, but right now they have two! The rules are you must open your account by 10/7/2019, and fund your account by 10/21/2019.
You can get up to:
- $150 if you deposit $15,000
- $200 if you deposit $25,000
Plus, the Discover Online Savings account is already one of our top picks for best high yield savings account.
Get up to a $200 bonus!
Chase Bank usually has a variety of bonuses for opening various kinds and combinations of accounts.
Here are two that are available right now to customers who have not had a Chase account within the last 90 days or have had one closed with a negative balance:
This isn't quite as good a deal as what Citibank is currently offering, but it may be available more regularly or for longer.
- You can enjoy up to a $200 bonus when you open a new Chase Total Checking® account and setup direct deposit.
- You can also get up to a $150 bonus when you open a new Chase Savings℠ and deposit $10,000 or more within 20 days, and maintain that $10,000 balance for at least 90 days.
Get up to a $350 bonus!
Up to $600 with Citibank
Citibank has some great promotions right now if you open a combined checking and savings account.
You don't have to go to a branch or set up direct deposit, but you do need to make a substantial deposit and leave it there for a while, so you'll need to calculate the opportunity cost of what else that cash could be doing.
The basics of the bonus are pretty good though: If you deposit $5,000 into your new Basic Banking Package accounts and leave it there for 60 days, you can receive $200.
If you can deposit $15,000 in a Citibank Accounts Package and maintain that for 60 days, you can receive $400. That's a better rate than you'll get on most savings accounts, so if you have a large emergency fund it might be a good idea to take this offer.
A Couple Of Notes:
First, you won't qualify if you've had a Citibank personal checking account within the last six months.
And second, you need to watch out for monthly fees if you keep the account open past the bonus period but withdraw most of your money.
There is a fee of $12 for the Basic Banking package, waived if you maintain a $1,500 balance, and a fee of $25 for the Citibank Accounts package, waived if you have a combined balance of $10,000 across both accounts.
This won't be a problem during the period when you're earning your bonus, but it's something to keep an eye on afterwards.
Get up to a $600 bonus!
Up to $300 with PNC Bank
PNC bank has tiered offers ranging from $50 to $300. You cannot have had a PNC account open within the last 90 days, and you have to be a resident of: Alabama, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, or the District of Columbia.
The $50 level is, in my opinion, not really worth it unless you have another reason to open a PNC account; you need to set up a direct deposit of $500/monthly and make 10 purchases with your debit card to receive a free $50.
If you can set up direct deposit of $2,000/month or $5,000/month, though, you can receive $200 or $300, respectively. (You also need to use the debit card at least 10 times a month.) That makes it a much better deal if you're looking for a new main debit/checking account and you live in one of the states where PNC is authorized to operate.
Get up to a $300 bonus!
Up to $650 with Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo is offering up to a $650 bonus if you open an Everyday Checking Account and savings account.
You can get $400 for opening an Everyday Checking Account 12/31/2019. You also must have a total of $3,000 or more dollars in direct deposits each month, for four consecutive months, within 150 days of opening the account.
You can then earn an additional $250 for opening a savings account by 12/31/2019, and depositing at least $15,000 in new money to Wells Fargo within 10 days of opening the account. You must also maintain at least a $15,000 minimum balance for 90 days.
Get up to a $650 bonus!
Up to $100 with Bank of America
Bank of America is offering a really simple promotion that can allow you to earn up to $100. All you have to do is open one of their checking account products, and setup and receive at least two direct deposits within the first 90 days of opening the account.
This will earn you $100.
Get up to a $100 bonus!
Up to $500 with TD Bank
You can open this account online, but to qualify for the bonus you must be a resident of Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, or Washington, D.C.
If you meet that requirement, and also are a new customer of TD Bank, you can open an account at one of two bonus levels:
- Open a TD Bank Premier Checking account and direct-deposit $2,500 within the first 60 days the account is open, and receive $300 — ta-da! There is a $25 monthly fee, but it can be waived with a minimum daily balance of $2,500, which is pretty minimal.
- Open a TD Bank Preferred Savings account with $20,000 within the first 20 days. (This is cumulative, not on a single deposit, so multiple deposits during that period are fine as long as they add up.) You must then maintain this for 90 days. Then, you receive $200.
Get up to a $500 bonus!
Up to $100 with Chase College Checking℠
The Chase College Checking℠ account is one of the best checking accounts designed for students. Students between the ages of 17-24 don’t have to worry about maintenance fees. You can have the fee waived for up to fives years as a student.
This account comes with a debit card, and you’ll have mobile access.
And right now, you can get up to a $100 bonus when you open a new account, enroll in paperless statements, and complete 10 qualifying transactions within 60 days! That's awesome!
Get up to a $100 bonus!
Business Banking Bonus Offers Right Now
The offers below are for business banking products. They are typically a bit higher than personal bonus banking offers given the nature of business banking.
$750 with Huntington Bank Unlimited Plus Business Checking
Huntington Bank is a regional midwest bank that offers extremely competitive business checking products. While we recommend their basic business checking account, if you do the volume required, the Unlimited Plus is a great product.
Right now, if you open an account at Huntington Bank by September 30, 2019, and deposit at least $20,000 within your first 60 days, you can get a $750 bonus!
Get up to a $750 bonus!
$400 with Huntington Bank Unlimited Business Checking
If the Unlimited Plus was a little tough to stomach as a small business owner, check out the Huntington Unlimited Business Checking Account. With lower minimums, it still offers a great bonus offer to get started.
Right now, if you open an account at Huntington Bank by September 30, 2019, and deposit at least $5,000 within your first 60 days, you can get a $400 bonus!
Get up to a $400 bonus!
$50 with Bank Novo
Bank Novo is one of the newest online business banks, and they are trying to make a splash with their free business checking product. We already rank them as one of the top business checking accounts, but this bonus just sweetens the deal.
Right now, open an account with at least $50 before September 30, 2019, and get a $50 bonus. It's that simple!
Get up to a $50 bonus!
Other Great Savings Accounts
These accounts don't always have bank bonus offers, but they do have some amazing interest rates!
Things To Remember
Done right, switching banks for bonuses can be a great way to make some extra side cash. But you do need to be careful: look at the terms and conditions and be sure you can avoid monthly fees, account closing fees, and so on. Also, remember that you'll have to pay income tax on this cash, so you might want to set some of it aside for that.
That said, if you pay careful attention to the terms of these offers, you can make much more than you make even by parking your money in a high-interest savings account. You might want to just do this once for a few hundred dollars, but if you invest a little more time, you can make thousands of dollars a year treating it as a regular side hustle.
And who among us doesn't like free money?
These offers change every month, but right now here's the best of the best on offer, divided into offers that require you to begin with large amounts of cash on hand, and offers that let you start with very little money.
Final Thoughts
Overall, there are some great bank bonus offers out there right now. I'd advise you to decide what kind of bonus hustler you are: do you want to do this once while you're switching to a new account permanently? Or do you need a complex calendar to keep track of your multiple bonus accounts?
Be careful, but also, take advantage of free money if you're sure you can follow the rules! If this is all too much, check out our list of the best online banks and just park your cash there!
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