The Best Bonuses and Privileges When Registering With the Bank
Let’s say your bank sucks , treats you badly, and you’re ready to part ways with them. While you are looking for a new, better place to store your money, remember: some banks will pay you to switch.
That’s right, many banks offer registration bonuses. It’s kind of like credit card sign -up bonuses , but instead of points, you get cold, cash. However, not all bank bonuses are worth it. Some of them come with disappointing little details like monthly service charges. You don’t want to switch from one bad pot to another, so we’ve looked at some of the most popular deals to pick the best out of a variety.
Chase bank
If you open a Chase Total Checking account and set up a direct deposit on it, you can receive a $ 200 bonus. Although this checking account has a monthly fee, it is much easier to opt out than with many other types of accounts. You can opt out of the $ 12 monthly fee if you have one of the following conditions, according to Chase:
- A direct deposit of $ 500 or more has been made to this account.
- OR balance at the beginning of each day of $ 1,500 or more in this account
- OR an average opening day balance of $ 5,000 or more in any combination of this account and associated qualifying deposits
If you have the ability to channel a deposit through your job and you are making at least $ 500 per month, it might be worth the switch. To receive the bonus, you must fund your new account with at least $ 25, open it for six months, and open it at your nearest Chase branch. If you want to open a savings account with them, you can earn another $ 150. More details here.
TD Bank
TD Bank has a pretty generous $ 300 signup bonus for their Premier Checking account. To qualify, you must receive $ 2,500 direct account transfers within 60 days. They also have a $ 25 monthly fee, but you will opt out of that if you keep the $ 2,500 minimum balance. Personally, I’m not a fan of banks with minimum balance requirements, but if you are confident that you have that much income, it might be worth it – $ 300 is one of the highest bank bonuses I have ever seen.
They also offer a $ 150 bonus if you sign up for a TD Convenience account, which has less stringent requirements. You need to receive direct deposits of at least $ 500 within 60 days. There is no monthly fee of $ 15 if the minimum daily balance is $ 100. With both offers, you need to open an account online. More details here.
SoFi Money
SoFi , the loan refinancing company we mentioned here earlier , is planning to launch SoFi Money in the coming months. If you open a SoFi Money account and set up a direct deposit, you will receive $ 100 in your money account and $ 100 in your Wealth account.
Best of all, SoFi Money offers many of the same benefits as other online banks: no fees at all, higher interest rates (currently 0.92%) and free ATM access. More details here.
Current account Santander
If you register a checking account with Santander they will give you $ 150. You must directly deposit at least USD 1,000 within 90 days of opening the account. Unfortunately, it is not open to residents everywhere (only Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania).
Current account Santander Simply Right does not require a minimum balance, but for it will be charged a monthly fee of $ 10. However, it’s easy to opt out if you have at least one transaction per month (deposits, withdrawals, transfers, or payments), so it’s incredibly easy to avoid fees. Basically, as long as you actually use the account, you don’t have to pay. It will expire on March 31st. More details here.
Bank of the USA
The US Bank launched the START Savings Program to encourage customers to save more. You must open a Silver, Gold or Platinum checking account and link it to your money market savings account. You will receive a $ 50 reward when you accumulate $ 500 in your savings account. Plus, you can get a 1% bonus (up to $ 50 more) when you use your debit card to buy gasoline or groceries. It’s not a big reward, but it’s nice to be rewarded for your savings.
Even their silver checking account has a monthly maintenance fee of $ 8.95 ($ 6.95 if you opt out of paper statements), but it is waived if you have a direct deposit of at least $ 1,000 at month or cumulative average deposit balance of $ 1,500. More details here.
It’s also worth noting that many credit unions offer bonuses as well. While they may not be as high as many of the banks mentioned here, their terms are usually better and they do not require a minimum balance to avoid fees. Of course, you might have to be eligible for a credit union membership, but we’ve told you how to find it here. Start your search in the SmarterChoice credit union finder.
Finally, while the bonus is great (who doesn’t love free money?), It’s not the only reason you change the bank. In the end, breaking up is hard. You don’t want to go from one shitty bank to another.