The Best Checking and Saving Account Bank Bonus Offers

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!

Special Promo - CIT Bank just launched their Savings Builder account. This account has the highest yield we've seen and it's super easy to qualify. Check out CIT Bank here.

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:

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!

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.

Huntington Bank is a Midwestern regional bank, but this offer, unlike some of their offers from the past, seems to be available for anyone, not just those who live in certain states. (You won't qualify, however, if you've had a Huntington account open in the last six months.)

This bonus offer is for opening a new checking account:

Make a deposit of at least $1,000 within 60 days and you keep it there for 90 days.

Citizens Bank offers One Deposit checking, which is a pretty good deal for those who don't want to maintain a minimum checking account balance. As long as you have a single deposit each month, all fees are waived. (Otherwise, the fee is $9.99 per month.)

To receive the $200 bonus, simply open a One Deposit account — entirely online — and make a direct deposit of at least $500 during the first 60 days the account is open.

The only other qualification is that you must not have had a Citizens Bank personal checking account in the last six months. Unless you're a very dedicated bonus hustler, this probably won't be an issue!

You'll have to go to a Fifth Third branch to open an account, but otherwise this is an easy one: Deposit $500 and maintain the balance for 60 days, and you'll receive $200. The offer expires September 30.

Note: Service charges are $11/month unless you maintain a $1,500 balance or spend at least $500/month or are a student with a valid ID or if you meet some other conditions, which you can check here.

This expires April 30, 2019.

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.

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:

1. Open a TD Bank Convenience Checking account and direct-deposit $500 within the first 60 days the account is open, and receive $150 — ta-da! There is a $15 monthly fee, but it can be waived with a minimum daily balance of $100, which is pretty minimal.
2. Open a TD Bank Premier Checking account and direct-deposit $2,500 within the first 60 days. (This is cumulative, not on a single deposit, so multiple paychecks during that period are fine as long as they add up.) Then, you receive $300. This account has a $25 monthly maintenance fee, which is waived with a minimum daily balance of $2,500.

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!

Other Great Savings Accounts

These accounts don't always have bank bonus offers, but they do have some amazing interest rates!

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!