So, you’re looking for a new bank account.
You’ve got several factors to consider — ATM access, interest rates, monthly account fees, minimum balances, online bill payments and more.
Another factor: sign-up promotions and bonuses. Banks and credit unions frequently run promotions to entice prospective customers to open a new account — and they often come with cash. You have to meet specific criteria, such as making a minimum opening deposit, and generally the account must remain open for a certain amount of time — at least long enough to earn the cash bonus.
Many banks offer such sign-up bonuses, but often, they aren’t advertised. We did some digging to find the best bank promotions currently on offer.
Best Checking and Savings Account Offers of September 2022
Keep an eye on what each promotion requires, as well as any limitations. Recurring direct deposits and maintaining a minimum balance are common requirements in securing bank bonuses. Also pay attention to any monthly fees the account might carry; over time, these could weigh out the actual cash bonus.
14 Bank Promotions That Give You Cash
Bank Promo Payoffs Up to $500
Bank
Top Feature
Promotion
Chase Total Checking Account
Fees may be waived
$200
Chime Referral Bonus
No monthly fees
$100
Alliant Credit Union Ultimate Opportunity Savings
High yields
$100
Huntington Perks Checking
Quick cash bonus payout
$200
Huntington Platinum Perks Checking Account
Interest on checking
$300
Albert
Up to 20% cash back
$150
TD Convenience Checking
Basic checking account
$150 or $350
TD Beyond Checking
Free checks
$300 or $500
BMO Harris Smart Advantage Account
No fee for paperless
$300
BMO Harris Smart Money Account,
No overdraft fees
$300
BMO Harris Premier Account
Unlimited ATM use
$500
Discover Bank Online Savings
HIgh APY
$150 or $200
Fifth Third Momentum Checking
No hidden fees
$375
SoFi Checking and Savings
High APY
Up to $300
Chase Total Checking
$12 monthly fee
Fee waived by meeting conditions
Basic checking
The Total Checking account carries a $12 monthly service fee, but you can have it waived if you receive monthly direct deposits totaling $500 or more, keep a daily minimum balance of at least $1,500 in your new checking account, or keep a daily minimum balance across all your Chase bank accounts of at least $5,000. Direct deposit via person-to-person payment apps do not qualify. Chase offers access to 16,000 ATMs and more than 4,700 branches.
TD Bank Convenience Checking
Easy to waive monthly fee
Easy-to-use mobile app
No overdraft fees for 17 to 23 year olds
The TD Convenience Checking account is a great account for first-time banking customers. There are no monthly fees or overdraft fees for members who are 17 to 23. However, you cannot earn interest on this account. If you are over 23, there is a $15 fee, which you can waive by maintaining a $100 daily balance.
TD Bank Beyond Checking
Two overdraft fee forgivenesses
Free checks
Fee reimbursement for out-of-network ATMs
The TD Beyond Checking account is great for unique perks, like free checks, ATM fee reimbursement, and overdraft fee coverage (two a year). To waive the monthly $25 fee, you’ll need to earn $5,000 in direct deposits each month, maintain a $2,500 minimum balance in the checking account or maintain a $25,000 balance across all TD accounts.
Chime Referral Bonus
Must be current Chime account holder
No minimum daily balance
Good for first-time banking clients
Though not technically a bank*, Chime is becoming increasingly popular as an online financial institution for banking customers of all ages. Top features include early access to direct deposit, fee-free overdraft, 60,000+ ATMs, a 0.50% APY for the high-yield savings and plenty of features to automatically grow your savings.
Alliant Ultimate Opportunity Savings
$0 monthly fees with eStatements
High-yield savings account
Easy-to-track bonus criteria
The Ultimate Opportunity Savings Account from Alliant Credit Union has a lot to like: 80,000+ fee-free ATMs, no monthly fees if you opt in to online statements, a leading mobile app, and a strong APY at 1.40%.
Fifth Third Momentum Checking
No monthly or hidden fees
Early access to paycheck
Overdraft avoidance feature
Fifth Third’s checking account boasts immediate funds for all check deposits, Extra Time for overdraft fee avoidance, early paycheck access, no minimum balance and no hidden fees. The account also offers basic fraud protection services and unlimited check writing.
Discover Bank Online Savings
High-yield savings account (1.30% APY)
No monthly fees or minimum opening deposit
No insufficient funds fees
The Discover Bank Online Savings Account offers a competitive APY (1.30%) with interest compounded daily instead of monthly. There’s no monthly fee with Discover, no minimum deposit and no insufficient funds fee. All in all, not a bad offer.
Huntington Perks Checking
Easily waivable monthly fee
Only available in certain states
Quick cash bonus payout
Huntington’s Perks Checking account pays out nominal interest (0.02%), but the easily waivable monthly maintenance fee makes it appealing for an easy checking account. Key features include mobile banking, five fee-free ATM withdrawals, the No Overdraft Fee $50 Safety Zone and the 24-Hour Grace Overdraft and Return Fee Relief.
“New account” is defined as money not currently in another Huntington account; money transferred from one account to another does not qualify. The bonus offer cannot be combined with any other checking offer.
Huntington Platinum Perks Checking
$25 monthly fee (can be waived)
Interest-earning checking
Quick cash bonus payout
While the Huntington Platinum Perks account does have a monthly $25 fee, you can waive it by having $25,000 across accounts with Huntington. By upgrading to this account, you’ll get a higher bonus, get unlimited fee-free ATM withdrawals and earn 0.03% interest on your balance.
Albert Accounts
Up to 20% cash back
Geniuses for personal finance questions
No fees or investment commissions
Members of Albert don’t have to worry about monthly fees or minimum balances, and they can take advantage of several cool features, like 55,000 fee-free ATMs, early paycheck access, cashback rewards, Smart Savings (automatically analyzes your money and helps you to save), unlimited transfers, annual cash bonuses, the ability to invest, and a cash advance up to $250 (no interest, no credit check) instead of overdraft fees. Perhaps the coolest part is daily access to finance experts called Geniuses; pay what you think is fair for their advice. Just keep in mind that Albert is not a bank but an app (banking services are provided by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC).
BMO Harris Smart Advantage Account
No monthly fee if you go paperless
Standard checking account
Fee-free transactions at 40,000+ ATMs
Smart Advantage is BMO Harris’ most popular checking account. It requires no minimum balance, charges no monthly fees when you opt for paperless statements and gets you fee-free access to 40,000+ ATMs nationwide with the Allpoint network.
BMO Harris Smart Money Account
No monthly maintenance fees if under 25
Standard checking account
No overdraft or NSF fees
Like Smart Advantage, BMO Harris’ Smart Money has no minimum balance required. It’s also noteworthy for having no overdraft or NSF fees. With this account, you will get unlimited fee-free transactions at in-network ATMs (40,000+ nationwide). However, you’ll pay a monthly fee if you’re 25 or older.
BMO Harris Premier Account
Interest tied to balance
High-yield checking account
Unlimited ATM transactions
The highest bonus at BMO Harris comes from the Premier Account with Relationship Packages that reward you with more perks for banking more with BMO. The account earns interest, and the amount you earn increases with the amount of funds in the account. You also get unlimited access to any ATMs, in-network or not.
Sofi Checking and Savings Account
2.00% APY
Fee-free overdraft coverage
Early access to paycheck
SoFi’s online bank account certainly rewards members for spending and saving. The account, which doubles as a checking and savings account, allows you to organize your savings into vaults so you can work toward your goals. You’ll earn up to 2.00% APY on everything in the account when you set up direct deposit.* And when you shop local, you can earn up to 15% cash back. The bonus is tiered; to get the full $300 bonus, make sure your qualifying direct deposits total $5,000 or more.
How to Search for a Checking Account Bonus on Your Own
Instead of listing approximately 193 bank promotions, we kept this list short and sweet — only highlighting the best bank promotions for checking and savings accounts.
But maybe you’re interested in banking with your local credit union, opening a small business checking account or exploring what investment accounts are available. There are often cash bonuses attached to these accounts too.
Banks don’t always make finding these promotions easy, so here are a few tips to help you get your hands on that cash bonus.
Check the bank website first. Sometimes it’ll advertise its offers with a blaring promo code. This is rare, but it’s worth a quick check — it could save you a ton of time.
Reach out to customer service. Let them know you’re shopping for a new account, and you’d like to know if the bank is running any promotions. More often than not, the nice representative will send you a special link.
Google the best bank account bonuses. You’ll likely dig up some offers from third-party sites, so make sure the offer:
Hasn’t expired.
Is legitimate. Make sure the bank is FDIC-insured and has a positive Better Business Bureau rating. Read some online reviews.
Doesn’t require outrageous qualifying activities. For example, it might not be realistic for you to maintain an average daily balance of $50,000.
Reach out to your own network to crowdsource bank recommendations. Sometimes banks have impressive referral programs, so both you and your friend could benefit from you signing up.
Overall, be smart. Don’t let the promise of a cash bonus blind you. Read the fine print so you don’t get stuck paying high monthly fees, interest rates or closing penalties. With the proper due diligence, you can earn a checking account bonus — or any other bank promotion — while also choosing the best bank for you.
Will Opening a Bank Account Hurt Your Credit Score?
If you’re worried that opening a new bank account or closing an old one will hurt your credit score, don’t be. Your bank accounts are not included in your credit report and therefore have no effect on your credit score, unless you have an outstanding negative balance that the bank turns over to a collection agency.
Sometimes when you go to open a new account, banks will do a soft credit check. However, that won’t affect your credit score.
Timothy Moore covers bank accounts for The Penny Hoarder from his home base in Cincinnati. He has worked in editing and graphic design for a marketing agency, a global research firm and a major print publication. He covers a variety of other topics, including insurance, taxes, retirement and budgeting and has worked in the field since 2012.
Editorial Disclosure: This content is not provided by the bank advertiser. Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of the bank advertiser. This site may be compensated through the bank advertiser Affiliate Program.
*Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by, and debit card issued by, The Bancorp Bank or Stride Bank, N.A.; Members FDIC.
*SoFi members with direct deposit can earn up to 2.00% annual percentage yield (APY) interest on all account balances in their Checking and Savings accounts (including Vaults). Members without direct deposit will earn 1.00% APY on all account balances in Checking and Savings (including Vaults). Interest rates are variable and subject to change at any time. Rate of 2.00% APY is current as of 08/12/2022. Additional information can be found at http://www.sofi.com/legal/banking-rate-sheet
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.
