Bank account bonus offers are one-time bonuses that can incentivize you to open an account. Banks frequently offer checking account bonus promotions, but savings account incentives are out there too. While many banks offer signup bonuses, most are not instant and come with certain requirements.
Once your bonus is gone, though, you’re stuck with the base value of the checking or savings account. The best available bank account bonuses are ones that continue serving you well after you nab that bonus.
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Best bank account bonuses
Compare these top bank signup and referral bonuses for savings, checking and business accounts to find the best offer for your needs.
Best checking account bonuses
Best savings account bonuses
Business account bonuses
Best referral bonuses
Closer look at the best checking account bonuses
Axos Bank Rewards Checking: Up to $300 bonus
- Expiration date: June 30, 2024
How to get it
Open up the Axos Rewards Checking and enter the promotional code “AXOS300” by June 30th, 2024. You must also fund the account within 30 days of account opening, and have qualifying direct deposits that total at least $5,000 each month during the first seven months your account is open. Additionally, you must maintain a minimum average daily balance of $7,000. The cash bonus is awarded in $50 increments over the course of the seven statement cycles, with a maximum of six payouts of $50 for each calendar month the account is receiving the direct deposits and maintaining the $7,000 average daily balance.
Eligibility
Anyone opening a new Axos Rewards Checking account is eligible within the promotional period. The account must remain open for 210 days, or an early closure fee of up to $300 may apply, equal to the amount of the total bonus earned up to $300.
Chase Total Checking®: $300 bonus
- Expiration date: July 24, 2024
How to get it
Open a new Chase Total Checking® account by the expiration date, enroll in the coupon and set up direct deposits totaling $500 or more within 90 days of enrolling. After you set up the direct deposits, you can receive the bonus within 15 days.
Eligibility
New Chase customers only. Those who aren’t eligible include existing Chase checking customers, those who closed their accounts within 90 days or closed with a negative balance within the last three years. You can receive only one new checking account-related bonus every two years from the last enrollment date and only one bonus per account.
Chase College Checking: $100 bonus
- Expiration date: July 24, 2024
How to get it
Open a new Chase College Checking account online or with your coupon at a local branch. Complete 10 qualifying transactions within 60 days of coupon enrollment, and you’ll receive the bonus within 15 days of meeting requirements.
Eligibility
New Chase customers only. Not available to customers who have closed their accounts within 90 days or closed with a negative balance within the last three years.
SoFi Checking: $50 or $300 bonus
- Expiration date: June 30, 2024
How to get it
Open a Sofi account and direct deposit at least $1,000 within 25 days of opening your account to earn a $50 bonus. Get $300 when you deposit $5,000 or more in the same period. You’ll receive your bonus within seven business days following the 25-day period.
Eligibility
All new members who open an account during the promotional period.
BMO Smart Advantage Checking: $250 bonus
- Expiration date: May 03, 2024
How to get it
Earn a $250 cash bonus when you have a total of at least $4,000 in qualifying direct deposits within the first 90 days If you’re applying online, you must apply using the
Open Now links on the site because it applies a promo code required to earn the bonus. If you call, you must submit all account opening documents and signed documents by 03 May 2024. Bonuses are paid out approximately 100 days after account opening.
Eligibility
New BMO customers only. Not available to existing BMO personal checking customers or those who have closed a BMO personal checking account within the past 12 months
TD Beyond Checking: $300 bonus
- Expiration date: April 30, 2024
How to get it
Open a TD Beyond Checking account and add $2,500 in direct deposits or more within 60 days. The bonus is paid out on or before 180 days after account opening.
Eligibility
New personal checking customers who have not received a checking account bonus from TD Bank and who don’t have an existing or prior personal TD Bank checking account within the past 12 months. Customers will need to open their account online via this promotion page and complete the required qualifying criteria.
Laurel Road Loyalty Checking: $100 bonus
- Expiration date: April 30, 2024
How to get it
Open a Laurel Road Loyalty Checking account and make a qualifying direct deposit via an ACH totaling at least $2,500 within the first 60 days of account opening. The $100 bonus is paid out within 60 days of meeting requirements.
Aside from the $100 bonus, new customers can also earn $20 in monthly rewards during their first year, giving them an opportunity to earn up to $240 in rewards. After the first year, rewards decrease to $10 a month.
Eligibility
Limit one bonus per qualifying account and individual. Not eligible if you owned a Laurel Road account within the prior 24 months.
Closer look at the best savings account bonuses
Suze Orman Ultimate Opportunity Savings: $100
- Expiration date: December 31, 2024
How to get it
Open an account and deposit at least $100 a month for 12 consecutive months. You can apply online or call and mention the “Suze Orman’s The Ultimate Opportunity Savings Account promotion.” After meeting the requirements for 12 months, Alliant states that it may take four weeks for the $100 bonus to post to your account.
Eligibility
New Alliant members only. Additionally, former Alliant members who closed an Alliant savings account within 180 days of applying are not eligible.
Closer look at the best business checking account bonuses
Chase Business Complete Banking®: $300 bonus
- Expiration date: July 22, 2024
How to get it
Open a new account and deposit at least $2,000 in new money within 30 days of offer enrollment, and maintain at least $2,000 for 60 days from enrollment. Then, you complete five qualifying transactions within 90 days of enrollment, which are debit card purchases, accepting credit and debit card payments via QuickAccept, Chase QuickDeposit, ACH credits, wires or Chase Online Bill Pay. After completing everything, you’ll receive the bonus within 15 days.
Eligibility
New Chase customers only. Not available to customers who have closed their accounts within 90 days or closed with a negative balance within the last three years.
Make five qualifying transactions within 90 days of offer enrollment. Your bonus will be deposited within 15 days.
PNC Business Checking: $200 bonus
- Expiration date: June 30, 2024
How to get it
Open a new qualifying account and maintain a minimum average balance of $5,000 for the first three statement cycles, along with 20 qualifying PNC Bank Debit Card transactions within the first three statement cycles. The bonus will be credited to your account within 90 days after you’ve met requirements.
Eligibility
- Must be a business with an annual revenue of less than $5 million.
- The new checking account must be opened between April 1, 2024 and June 30, 2024
Best referral bonuses
Current: Up to $50 for you and a friend
How to get it
You can get referral bonuses by inviting your friends to join Current using its mobile app. First, go to your Profile tab in the app, tap Invite Friends, then tap Invite Your Contacts. You can also share the referral invite via email, text message or social media apps. After meeting requirements, you and the referred person should get the bonus within 10 business days.
Once the person receives the invite link and applies your unique referral code and makes qualifying deposits of at least $200 within 45 days of opening the account, you and the referred friend each earn $50. Deposits must be made by an employer or payroll provider by ACH deposit.
Eligibility
The referrer must be an existing Current account holder. The referred person must make a qualifying deposit of at least $200 for you and the friend to qualify for the $50 referral bonus. Transfers from Paypal, Zelle, Venmo, Square, Google Pay, Cash App or similar peer-to-peer transfer services, one-time direct deposits, mobile check deposits and cash loads don’t qualify.
There’s no limit to how many friends you can refer, but there’s a $1,000 limit on referral bonuses you can earn in a calendar year. Referred friends will continue earning $50 once you’ve reached your $1,000 limit.
Axos Bank: Up to $50 for you and friend
How to get it
When you refer someone to get an
Axos Essential Checking or
Rewards Checking account, both can earn $50. To refer someone, log in to your online account and find the referral link. Once the referred person uses the unique referral link, opens a new Essential or Rewards Checking account and funds it, the $50 Referral gift will be deposited into each account within seven business days of the statement cycle.
Eligibility
The referred person must fund the new account with at least $1,000 in direct deposit funding within 90 days of opening the new account. You are not eligible to receive a referral bonus if you refer yourself.
The referred person is able to receive a referral if:
- They have never owned an Axos Bank account
- They’re approved to open an Axos Bank account
- They use the unique referral link from the referrer
Chase Bank: Up to $50
How to get it
Earn $50 for each friend who opens a qualifying Chase checking account, which includes:
Referrers must copy the unique referral link URL with the person they want to refer. The referred person must apply via the link that was sent. One Chase account holder can earn up to $500 per calendar year or earn with up to 10 successful referrals. Bonuses are delivered within 30 days after requirements are met.
Eligibility
The referred person must be a new Chase checking customer. The referred person can’t:
- be an existing Chase checking account customer
- have closed an account within 90 days of the referral
- have closed an account with Chase with a negative balance within the last three years
Varo: $25 for you and friend
How to get it
This Referral Bonus Promotion gets both you and a friend $25 when you refer a friend to sign up for a Varo Bank account. Referrals will need to register their email with the unique referral link gifted and then open a new Varo Bank Account.
Next, the referral will need to make qualifying purchases totaling at least $20 using the Varo Debit Card within 30 calendar days of the new account being opened. Qualifying purchases don’t include third-party transfers, ATM cash withdrawals or over-the-counter cash withdrawals. After all the requirements are met, Varo will award the bonus within four to seven business days.
Eligibility
Existing Varo account holders can refer up to five friends and family members within a calendar year. Using a referral link and receiving a bonus counts as one of the five referrals. Sharing your link on third-party social media, blogs or other similar websites may cause you to lose eligibility. Existing customers with previously closed accounts aren’t considered new customers and aren’t eligible for the referral bonus.
Step Visa Card: Up to $1 per referral
How to get it
Earn $1 when a friend signs up for Step using your referral link. You can send them an invite from your app, and you’ll both get rewarded once they meet the eligibility requirements, which only requires the referral using your unique code within 14 days of opening the account. After conditions are met, Step will issue the reward and automatically redeem it and send the funds to yours and the referred person’s Step account.
Eligibility
Referrals are available for active Step users. Send a referral link via a US cell service, such as T-Mobile or Verizon. Voice Over IP (VoIP) numbers aren’t eligible for referral rewards.
BusyKid: $20 for you and friend
How to get it
You must share the referral link with your friend. Once your friend signs up, uses the app for at least 30 calendar days and has paid their first monthly account service fee, the referral bonus will be credited to both you and your friend.
Eligibility
The referrer must be at least 18 years old and a US citizen. The referred individual must never have been a BusyKid customer or a current BusyKid customer. Only one referred reward will be made for each new family that becomes a referred customer, regardless of the number of family members who may eventually join.
Marcus Online Savings: Bonus 1.00% APY
How to get it
When you refer a friend to Marcus, you and the friend can earn an additional 1.00% APY bonus for three months on either the Marcus Online Savings account or CD. The current APY on the Marcus Savings account is 4.4%, so the bonus makes it 5.50% for three months.
Eligibility
Referrers must have an existing Online Savings account or CD with Marcus to earn their 1.00% APY bonus, and the referred person must not have owned a Marcus Online Savings Account or CD in the past 12 months.
GO2bank: Up to $50 for you and friend
How to get it
Go2Bank is a neobank by Green Dot. To refer someone, log in online or on the GO2bank app to access the Refer-a-friend page and get the unique share link. Then, share your link with the friend you want to refer. When your referred friend becomes a new Go2Bank customer and receives a qualifying direct deposit of $200 or more within 45 days of account opening, you’ll both get $50 deposited into your accounts within 48 hours after qualifying funds are deposited. You can earn up to $1,500 per calendar year with referrals.
Eligibility
Existing Go2Bank customers can refer new customers to Go2Bank.
TD Bank: Up to $50 for you and friend
How to get it
Referrers must download, print and complete a referral form to be sent to the referred person. The referred person can then take a referral form to a TD Bank to open any TD personal checking account to start the process of earning the $50 bonus for both the referrer and referred.
The referred person then needs to make at least $250 in qualifying direct deposits or make 15 qualifying Visa debit-card purchases within 60 days of opening the account. Once the offer criterion is met, the bonus will be credited to both accounts no later than 95 days from the new account opening date.
Eligibility
Referring customers may receive up to 10 bonuses (up to $500) within a calendar year. The referred person can’t have any existing or prior personal checking accounts with TD Bank within the preceding 12 months. TD Bank Employees and Canadian cross-border banking customers aren’t eligible. If the checking account is closed by the new customer or TD Bank within six months after the account opening, TD Bank reserves the right to deduct the bonus amount from that account at closing.
Methodology
Finder’s banking experts analyze more than 200 accounts in the market to narrow down the best accounts with signup and referral bonuses. We consider the bonus value, the eligibility requirements, how many accounts are available under the same bonus and the account itself based on these criteria:
- No requirements to open an additional account
- Direct deposit requirements of no more than $2,000 within a 30-day period
We also look at the features of the account itself, such as:
- $0 monthly fee or easy ways to void it, with the exception of prepaid cards
- Nationwide availability
- Low minimum opening deposits, depending on the type of account:
- Max $100 for personal checking accounts
- Max $1,000 for personal savings accounts
- Max $1,000 for business checking and savings
Are there sign up bonuses with no deposit requirements?
It’s rare to find an instant sign-up bonus with no deposit requirements. You’ll find that nearly all bank account bonuses require you to set up direct deposit, or deposit a certain amount of cash after opening. A few banks claim to have instant signup bonuses that you’ll earn immediately after opening, but the reality is that none are really “instant” and actually take a month or two to earn given typical requirements.
However, there are a few signup bonuses with easier requirements, such as Upgrade Rewards Checking and the Marcus Online Savings Account. With Upgrade, all you have to do to earn the $200 is make three debit card transactions, and Marcus’ bonus is a referral program that offers an APY boost without any deposit requirements.
How do bank account bonus offers work?
Banks attract new customers by offering signup bonuses for checking and savings accounts when you open them online and meet qualifying activities, such as setting up direct deposit or transferring a minimum amount of money into the account by a certain date. The promotion is deposited into your account typically within 90 days.
Types of bank offers
- Signup cash bonus. This is the most common type of cash bonus offer where new customers are required to complete a list of requirements within a specified time.
- Referral bonus. These bonuses grant cash to your account when you refer a friend to a bank, and they successfully open it.
- Free trial bonus. Some bank accounts that charge a monthly fee may offer an extended free trial, typically up to 30 days, as a signup bonus to new customers.
Are bank bonuses worth it?
Yes, provided you can easily meet the requirements, and you’re happy with the bank’s other features. It’s best to think of a bank bonus offer as the frosting on the cake rather than the sole reason to open a particular bank account. If the requirements are too steep to earn the bonus or if you’re lukewarm on the bank’s other features, it’s best to look elsewhere.
Like any promotional offer, there are advantages as well as potential drawbacks to a bonus bank offer.
Benefits
- Motivation to save. Receiving a signup bonus could motivate you to open an account and start saving.
- Could get more interest. The boost in interest offered as an introductory rate is a good incentive to put as much as possible into a savings account in the first few months.
What to watch out for
- Might be a substandard account. While the bonus offer might be enticing, it’s a short-term perk. Consider all aspects of the account, including the fine print, when evaluating whether to sign up.
- You don’t usually get signup bonuses right away. Many banks require you to have your account open for a specified period before giving you your signup bonus. This prevents people from opening several accounts in one day just for the cash and then closing them the next day.
- Bonuses are taxable. The IRS considers checking account bonuses as taxable income. This reduces the amount of money you get to keep and can complicate things when tax time rolls around.
How to choose the best bank bonuses
When combing through bank account promotions, dig beyond the surface and consider these account features:
- Bonus requirements. The best bonuses typically have deposit requirements of at least $10,000. You may also need to keep your money in your account for a certain amount of time or set up qualifying direct deposits totaling $500 or more. Make sure you can easily meet these requirements before you open an account.
- High APY. If it’s a savings bonus, look for one that’s attached to an account with a high APY above the national average of
0.46% APY and without major balance requirements. For checking accounts, look for ones that are above
0.08% APY.
- Low minimum opening balance. Check to see how much money you need to open the account — and if there’s an ongoing minimum balance or direct deposit requirement that needs to be maintained.
- Little or no fees. Some banks have a monthly fee or will charge you if your account balance dips too low. Look for a free account, especially if you can’t keep a high minimum balance.
Compare other welcome bonus offers
| Chase Secure Banking℠ | Checking | $100 | July 24, 2024 |
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| Axos Bank Business Interest Checking | Business Checking | Up to $400 | June 30, 2024 |
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| U.S. Bank Business Checking account (Silver, Gold, Platinum) | Business Checking | Up to a $800 bonus | August 30, 2024 |
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| Barclays Online Savings | Savings | $200 | May 03, 2024 |
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| BMO Relationship Checking | Checking | $400 | May 03, 2024 | |
| BMO Smart Money Checking | Checking | $250 | May 03, 2024 | |
| TD Convenience Checking | Checking | $200 | April 30, 2024 | |
| Citibank Account Package | Checking | Up to $2,500 | July 08, 2024 | |
| TD Bank Simple Savings | Savings | $200 | April 30, 2024 | |
| Huntington Business Checking 100 | Business Checking | $100 | April 30, 2024 | |
| Huntington Unlimited Business Checking | Business Checking | $400 | April 30, 2024 | |
| Huntington Unlimited Plus Business Checking | Business Checking | $1,000 | April 30, 2024 | |
| Axos Bank Basic Business Checking | Business Checking | Up to $400 | June 30, 2024 | |
