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Published: Friday, 04 September 2020 15:53
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Since English Reading and Writing Comprehensive skills are considered an essential part of US education system, I've added this section to help with that.

From early on, Reading and Writing is encouraged in USA. With new hi tech gadgets, writing is on the decline, and you can see that writing tests are slowly getting omitted from many regular tests. This is really sad, as Reading and Writing are 2 skills that go hand in hand. If you are not able to write a word, you will have to work harder to remember the spelling of that word. Also, writing on a piece of paper with a pencil allows you to make a mental image of your writing. Writing tests have become more like reading tests, where the standardized tests now ask you to figure out if something is written in a correct way or not, instead of you writing it.

Vocabulary: An essential part of reading is to have a good vocabulary. As a kid, we start with very few words (may be 100 or so), but very quickly move on to 1000's of words.

Webster mentions that there are about 1M English words. However, it's complicated to count total words in any language.

  • First the reason is that any language is always expanding, so new words are always getting formed.
  • Secondly, one language gets influenced by other language, and some words from other language start getting used in our language which becomes a gray line.
  • Thirdly, various forms of same word exist, as drive, drove, drives, etc, OR one word with multiple different meanings exist, which may be counted as separate words or as 1 word, depending on one's taste.

There is a very a good article here on how many words different languages have and how many do you need to learn: https://www.lingholic.com/how-many-words-do-i-need-to-know/

As per above article, English has 171,476 words in current use, 47,156 obsolete words and 615,100 definitions. You will find the reference of 100K word families in English language mentioned elsewhere too. A native English speaking person knows between 10,000 (uneducated) to 20,000 (educated) word families.

In part 2 of the series, the author says that the average active vocabulary of an adult English speaker is of around 20,000 words, with a passive one of around 40,000 words. Active vocabulary is one that you use, while passive vocabulary is one that you recognize but don't use. Further he states that the first 25 words are used in 33% of everyday writing, the first 100 words appear in 50% of adult and student writing, and the first 1,000 words are used in 89% of every day writing! Of course, as we progressively move to a higher percentage, the number of words starts to dramatically increase (especially after 95% of comprehension), but it has been said that a vocabulary of just 3000 words provides coverage for around 95% of common texts (such as news items, blogs, etc.). We want to know these 10K-20K words from active vocabulary, that are used in spoken and written English, though not commonly.

If you learn even 1 new word a day, you will learn about 3K new words in a span of 10 years. I remember when I prepared for my GRE, I had this GRE prep book that had 3K words. I was told by experts that if I learnt these 3K words, I would be able to answer all vocabulary questions. I was surprised, since English language had so many more words, so how would just knowing 3K more words help. Now I  know, how extra 3K words can add so much to your vocabulary !!

CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference) is a description of the language abilities of students at different levels of learning. A is lower level, B is intermediate level, while C is advanced level.

  • A1/A2 level: It's beginners level. At A2 level, you have a vocabulary of about 1500 words. It takes about 200 hours of studying english to reach this level. You can talk with english speakers and read simple texts at this level.
  • B1/B2 level. It's intermediate level. At B2 level, you have a vocabulary of about 4000 words. It takes about 600 hours of studying english to reach this level. You can talk fluently with other English speakers on any complex topic. You can live and work in any english speaking country. You have confidence and control when speaking, writing, and reading.
  • C1/C2 level: It's advanced level. At C1 level, you have a vocabulary of about 8000 words. It takes about 800 hours of studying english to reach this level. C2 is the mastery level, and you have a vocabulary of about 16000 words at this level. you talk, read and write just as a native speaker of the language.

This is just the start, where you start having mastery similar to native speaker of the language. This is where we want our vocabulary to be. To have your vocabulary at a level where you can read newspapers, magazines, etc without trying to guess meanings of words, you need to be at C2 level These are the words that are not that common in day to day speech, but used frequently in media papers, journals, etc

As an example, vocabulary.com lists these 100 words that are expected of a high school Freshman (basically 9th grade sudent) to know.

https://www.vocabulary.com/lists/79298

or high school vocabulary test here:

https://www.buzzfeed.com/angelospagnolo/can-you-pass-this-high-school-vocab-quiz

If you know all the words above, then you have vocabulary at C2 level. We want to get to a level of English speaking high school graduate.

I've a section titled "Word of the Day" that will aid us in our vocabulary quest.

http://maaldaar.com/index.php/word-of-the-day

Reading:

We need to develop our comprehending and reading skill This comes with reading a lot of different kinds of subjects.

One good starting point is some good articles here:

https://linguapress.com/advanced.htm

 

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Published: Tuesday, 01 September 2020 23:10
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Best Checking accounts:

Usually checking accounts give lower interest rate than savings account. However, there is new kind of checking accounts known as Kasasa Accounts. These Kasasa accouunts can be Checking or Savings, but are usually checking accounts.More details here:

Enter your zip code to see banks/CU giving you the highest rates => https://www.kasasa.com/

List of all Banks/CU offering Kasasa accounts is on this link: https://www.depositaccounts.com/kasasa/

However these accounts come with a lot of catch. They require you to do multiple things each month in order to get higher rates, and then they cap you on the max interest that you can earn every year. Each Kasasa Account is different but most of them require you to do these few activities each month

  • Do at least 10-15 debit card transactions every month. Sometimes, they also put a minimum dollar limit (i.e each transaction should be over $5) in order to be counted towards these 10-15 qualifying transactions
  • Do at least 1 direct deposit to the account or have an ACH transaction into or out of the account every month. ACH requirement is easy as you can set up automatic ACH from any bank every month. DD requirement is harder, but most of the banks allow either of these.
  • Receive electronic statements every month. There is nothing to do here, as there are no paper statements to be delivered anyway. Just sign up for edocuments if there's an option to do that.
  • The Maximum interest that you can earn is limited to a certain amount, i.e you will get 3% interest on only the first $10K, $25K or something like this. So, any balance that you have over that amount earns the lower interest rate, which is usally < 0.5%
  • And now the nastiest requirement - this is new. Since last year or so, These accounts have started putting in a language that "your debit card usage should show regular day to day purchases" and NOT purchases which are made solely with the aim of earning higher interest rate. This allows these banks to NOT honor your higher rate at their discretion, even though you might have met all the requirements. If this happens to you anytime, just move your money to a different bank, and repeat the process. Not worth arguing.
  • And now the worst part - these kasasa have been historically known to offer high interest rates for a year, and then they drop the interest rate to market rate. So, these accounts are solely used for the purpose of sucking in new customers, and then hoping that 80% of them still remain with the bank, even with the lower interest rate. Seems it works for these banks. But for us, we need to be prepared to move on to greener pastures and NOT be suckers for them..
  • And now the surprising good part - Many of these Kasasa Checking Account, also allow you to open a Kasasa Savings account. These Savings account give you high rate on money in Savings account with a much larger threshold, so definitely worth it. As long as you meet monthly qualifications for Kasasa Checking account, you get the higher interest rate in Kasasa Savings account too. There are no separate requirements for qualifying for higher rate for a Kasasa Savings account.

I've recommended them in past, because savings account and CD had rates below 1%, and these checking accounts were the only ones that offered you over 2% in interest rates. The difference between highest interest savings accounts and Kasasa accounts have to be at least 1%, and max amount has to be $50K or more in order for the Kasasa accounts to be worth the headache. With 1% difference on $50K, you will earn about $500 more in interest in Kasasa accounts.

In a normal interest rate environment, that existed before 2008, you would not open these checking accounts as their rates were very close to what you could get in a savings account. So before 2008, these accounts were not worth it. From 2008 to 2017, interest rates were close to 0%, and these checking accounts started making sense. However, FED started increasing interest rates in 2017. From 2018 to 2019, rates went to > 2% on regular savings accounts, so these high yield checking accounts were again not worth it. However starting 2020, FED dropped interest rates agian to 0% and declared that low interest rates are here to stay (meaning no interest rate increases ever as far as you can see, which was obvious any way). So, savings account are all under 1% now, while kasasa checking accounts can get you 2%. So, better to put short term money in these checking account, instead of savings account, before you can accumulate enough to park in a CD. Anyway, if you have accumulated enough to park in a CD, then you should just put them in an index fund in stock market.

I'll mostly be listing Kasasa Checking accounts below, as it's impossible to find Non-Kasasa Checking or savings account that can offer you these high rates. Except for one wink

 

 

2023-2025:

 

  •  Keystone Bank (TX only with 6% rates on < $50K): https://www.keystone.bank/for-you/personal-checking
    • 2023: In May 2023, this bank raised deposit rates on their Kasasa Personal checking a/c from 1.5% to 6%, which was the highest of any bank at that time. Before 2023, it was available only for residents living around Austin, but in May 2023 they expanded it to 65 counties in Texas (Texas has 254 counties, so not all of Texas). Requirements are as below:
      • 12 debit transactions ($3.50 minimum for each transaction), enroll in estatements and have 1 ACH transaction every month
      • Their Kasasa Personal Savings a/c also gives high interest of 4.5% on up to $100K with no separate requirements. You automatically qualify for higher rates in this a/c if you qualify for higher rates in checking a/c.
    • UPDATE (Nov, 2024): Their rate is at 5.5% for the checking a/c and 4.75% for the savings a/c. Still the highest amongst all Kasasa banks, and their rates have barely moved down in last 1 1/2 years. So, worth having this a/c if you live in Texas (looks like they cover all of TX, but not sure. Try your zipcode to check).

 

  •  Keesler Federal Credit Union (UPDATE): https://www.kfcu.org/rates/
    • UPDATE (May, 2023): This bank listed below (in year "2020" section), recently upped their checking rate to 5% from 3%. One of the best banks to have. Their rates had been consistently at 3% for past 4 years, even when other banks wer doing "bait and switch", so very reliable. If you qualify to join, you should definitely look in this. Link: https://www.kfcu.org/kasasa-cash-checking/
    • UPDATE (2024): The checking a/c doesn't seem to be linked to Kasasa anymore as the Kasasa link and reference isn't there anymore on kfcu site. So, it isn't Kasasa checking a/c anymore. However, the checking a/c still offers 5% rate, so all is still good.

 

  • Union Square (UPDATE): https://www.unionsquare.org/kasasa-cash
    • UPDATE (June, 2023): This bank listed below (in year "2022" section), recently upped their checking rate to 6% from 4% on the first $35K in deposit. 6% is the highest rate offered by any bank/CU or any short term CD, so you should definitely jump on this one. Next tier is also upped from 0.75% to 1.5%.
    • UPDATE (Mar, 2024): They reduced their checking rate from 6% to 4% on the first $25K (NOT $35K) in deposit. Next tier is also reduced from 1.5% to 0.75%. So, they aren't reliable as their rates change with market.
    • UPDATE (Feb, 2025): They reduced their checking rate again from 4% to 3.5% on the first $25K in deposit. Next tier is also reduced from 0.75% to 0.5%. So, rates are back to 2021 rates. It shouldn't go further down from here, as they had these rates in 2019 - 2021 even when fed rates were close to 0%.

 

 

2022:

 

 

  • Presidential Bank (Nationwide with high rates on < $25K):  https://www.presidential.com/Personal-Banking/Checking-Savings/Checking
    • This is their Advantage Checking account that gives the high rates. Need to have a direct deposit of $500 or more from payroll, pension, social security, or annuity.  Each account must have a unique direct deposit source.  At least seven (7) electronic withdrawals per month are required (electronic withdrawals include: ATM, POS, ACH and Bill Payments). Requirements look pretty easy for electronic withdrawals as you may set up a recurring ACH of 2 times/week initiated from another bank. To be on the safe side, I would do ACH from 2 different banks of 2 times/week, for a total of 16 ACH withdrawals. That way if something goes wrong with ACH of one bank, you are still covered. More details on link above.
    • The max amount that earns the high rate of 3% is limited to first $25K, but even above $25K earns you a high rate of 2.5%. I guess balances up to $250K would give you 2.5% interest rate which is unheard of in checking accounts. Above link gives old rate, but new rates are posted here (as of Sept, 2022): https://www.presidential.com/personal-banking/checking-savings/rates-yields#advantage-checking
    • It's open nationwide. Based on the comments, the rate has been fluctuating since 2010, so not very reliable bank as far as rates are concerned. DepositAccounts site doesn't have any history of rates. 1 comment says rates were 2.25% in 2020. Link: https://www.depositaccounts.com/banks/presidential-bank-md.html#rates
    • They offer free check book when you open the account, along with ability to write 3 paper checks for free every month. This is also very rare among kasasa checking accounts.
    • Minimum balance of $500 is required, or else you get hit with monthly fees. So, always keep $1000's of dollars to be safe. They don't refund fees based on comments.
    • I would definitely consider this account, as requirements are simple except for Direct Deposit. Not sure if any of the ACH from brokerage accounts or big banks get counted as Direct Deposit. I would just do a real direct deposit so as to be safe.

 

 

  • Origin Bank (Texas only with high rates on < $40K): https://www.origin.bank/ . This bank is listed below for 2019, when they offered their Kasasa Account. It Closed for new accounts as of Sept, 2020, but now in 2022 it is accepting new customers. 
    • 4% APY on $40K with 16 debit card transactions. No direct deposit but 1 ACH required. Requirement must be completed 3 days prior to end of statement cycle, else you get 0% interest.
    • However, only open for residents of Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana. Also, no rates guaranteed (last time they guaranteed until June, 2020).
    • Account can only be opened in branch, and their branches are only in few big cities in these 3 states. So, not worth it, if you don't live close to their branches.
    • Need to keep a minimum of $4K avg daily balance every statement cycle, else you get hit with $14 service charge for that month.
    • Discussion here: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/tx-ms-la-origin-bank-performance-checking-4-apy-on-balances-up-to-40000-direct-deposit-not-required/
    • I would stay away, as they have a history of lowering rates, after getting enough customers.
    • UPDATE Nov 14, 2022: Rates have been increased to 6% on $40K. Rates not guaranteed this time too. All other requirements are the same. Worth the chase, though comments indicate it's a hassle.

 

 

2021:

 

  • Affiliated Bank (UPDATE): https://www.affiliatedbank.com/personal/accounts/checking/kasasa-cash/
    • UPDATE (Nov, 2021): This bank listed below (in year "2020" section), recently lowered their checking rate to 1.5% from 2%. So, now you make extra 0.5% on $50K, compared to Tmobile account. This extra 0.5% amounts to $250 per year. Paying taxes of 24% on it, you will net $180. But to get this $180, you have to make monthly purchase of at least $5*12=$60. So, yearly you have to spend about $800 to get $180. Not worth it, as you can easily get 5% for grocery purchases, so net difference goes down to $120 for a year, or $10 a month. Doing 12 debit card transactions per month takes about half an hour, so you are making $20/hr for your effort every month. So not worth it to keep any money in this account anymore, as T-mobile checking gives 1% on all of your balance without doing anything.
    • https://www.depositaccounts.com/banks/susser-bank.html

 

  • Union Square (Texas and Oklahoma only with high rates on < $25K): https://www.unionsquare.org/kasasa-cash
    • I just came to know about their Kasasa Checking via a comment on doctorofcredit. Link: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/tx-ok-union-square-credit-union-3-51-apy-on-balances-up-to-25000/
    • It's open to anyone living in Texas and Oklahoma. Texas residents who join either the Texas Consumer Council or the American Red Cross-North Texas Region are eligible to join, as are Oklahoma residents who join the American Red Cross-Oklahoma Region. Even though they mention TX and OK only as membership requirement, it appears to be national (i.e anyone in USA may join). There are comments on link below that suggest people from other states have opened without any issues (once they joined one of the orgs listed above):
    • Offer details: 3.5% on upto $25K (nets about $900/year. Their rate has been consistent for last 2 years. See in rate history here: https://www.depositaccounts.com/banks/union-square-cu.html
    • Requirements are: Make at least 12 debit card transactions every month (no min balance), Make at least 1 DD or ACH transaction every month and get estatements.
      • CAUTION: Their requirements of 12debit card transaction is very stringent. They want your debit card to be used as the primary card for purchasing anything. They clearly mention that debit card purchases have to be of different amounts, done during different times, should be all over the place, etc. Basically, they can deny you 3.5% interest rate anytime at their will. If they have someone manually reviewing the account every month, then most likely you won't get it. I'll give this account a try and report back.
      • UPDATE Oct, 2022: After having this account for a year, and making 12-15 debit card transactions each month, with each transaction being from $1-$3, I haven't seen any issue. I get 3.5% interest every month,  and no one from the bank has ever called me or sent any letter for anything. So, looks like it's not really that stringent in practice, and should be an easy account to maintain. Just don't test the bank by pushing yourself to the limits.
    • They have a kasasa savings account that goes with it. That pays only 0.75% and that too only on top $25K. So, don't bother with this one, as you can get 1% with t-mobile account.

 

 

2020:

 

  • TMobile Money (Nationwide with high rates on < $3K): https://www.t-mobilemoney.com/en/home.html
    • I've never bothered with T-mobile money in past, since you got 3% anyway with Kasasa accouts, so opening 1 more account for $30 more per year wasn't worth the trouble. However, with FED announcing sub 0% rates for as long as FED is alive (i.e infinity), it finally may make sense.
    • Reviews are pretty good, since T-mobile is a great company with superior customer service, known for cheapest plans in USA. signup is easy. They allow 1 account every phone line. You need to create Tmobile Id using your email address, and then later link your phone number with this account. You get a debit card, and there is no fees for this account.
    • They give 4% on 1st $3K and 1% on any amount over $3K. They are open to non Tmobile customers also, however non Tmobile customers get only 1% on all of the amount (instead of the higher 4% on the 1st $3K). This account has been there for almost 2 years, and the rates have remained the same, so most likely rates will remain at this rate.
    • These are the requirements to get 4% APY (you get 1% by default if you don't meet these requirements):
      • You need to do at least $200 in direct deposit or ACH transaction every month in order to get the higher 4% rate. It seems like a hassle to do $200 DD/ACH per month. However, ACH is easy. Just set it as automatic monthly deposit and withdrawal of $200, so that you always keep the account at $3K. You can do this ACH auto setup easily from any other bank account. Set it as $200 deposit/withdrawal every 2 weeks, so that even if you miss one of the deposit/withdrawal for whatever reason, you can still get the 4% APY. I've run into issues where due to some software update at a particular bank, they cancelled the ACH for that week. So, the bank it was supposed to go to didn't get it, and hence I didn't qualify for the rewards for that month. Setting it up as 2 or 3 times a month guarantees you that no matter what, at least one of the ACH will go thru.
      • UPDATE: 21/02/2021: The unthinkable happened. T-mobile has changed the terms where they now require you to make 10 debit card purchases every month in order to get 4% APY. You don't need to make $200 deposits any more. All other terms remain the same. So, this is a downgrade from what they had earlier. Unless you can find an online way of automatically doing 10 transactions every month, it may not be worth it chasing that extra $50/year for doing 120 transactions. More details here: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/t-mobile-money-review-earn-4-apy-on-balances-up-to-3000/
      • You need to register for Tmobile perks. After you signup, there is a tab "My perks" on top. Click on it.It will ask for your phone number to link to your account. Once verified, it will ask to register for perks, and show successful confirmation. At this point, you'll see "manage perks". So, you are registered for perks at this time.
    • Do not put too much money in the account (keep it under $10K, ideally just keep $3K), as it has a monthly withdrawal limit of $10K, so it may take a while to get all of your money out (this is based on comments in Dr of credit website: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/t-mobile-money-review-earn-4-apy-on-balances-up-to-3000/). There is nothing mentioned officially about withdrawal limits.
    • Tmobile Money itself is not a bank, The accounts at Tmobile money are held at BankMobile, which is itself a division of "Customer's Bank". Customer's Bank is FDIC insured bank (FDIC certificate number is 34444). You can find details here on fdic.gov:
      • https://research2.fdic.gov/bankfind/detail.html?bank=34444&name=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.customersbank.com&searchName=&searchFdic=34444&city=&state=&zip=&address=&searchWithin=&activeFlag=&searchByTradename=false&tabId=2
      • FY 2019 summary for Customers Bank: It had $9B in deposits at end of 2019. It had about $7.3B in interest bearing accounts (Are interest bearing accounts mostly Tmobile money accounts?). It had $200M in interest expense (implying $0.2B/$7.3B = 3% in interest rate, which matches close to Tmobile's checking account rate of 1%-4%). It had $500M in interest income, resulting in $300M in net interest income. After accounting for all expenses, it's net income was $80M for 2019.
      • FY 2020: For 2020, results look more impressive. As of Mid year, 2020, it had interest bearing deposits of $9B, implying deposits going up significantly. This may be because Tmobile's 1% rate is higher than any bank of it's size. Pretty soon, Tmobile may be the only bank offering 1% interest across any sized bank in USA.
      • UPDATE 2021: Tmobile is the only bank offering 1% interest rate across any bank in USA (based on Doctorofcredit website). Enjoy your extra $20/year income with hefty 1% APY.
      • Customers bank is big size bank, as it's at #130 in terms of asset size across all 5000 banks in USA. Since Customers Bank is big yet profitable with such a high interest expense, chances are high that it may be able to maintain this 4% APY on $3K (and 1% APY on over $3K) for at least some time. 

 

  • SSB Bank (Nationwide with high rates on < $50K): https://www.ssbpgh.com/cash 
    • They don't allow online application. Talked to Brian in customer service, and as of Sept, 2020, you need to be able to go to their branch in Pennsylvania in order to open the account. Anyone living in any state in USA is eligible though. Sometime next year, they may allow online application, and then we all might be able to get in, provided the rates are still good at that time.
    • Kasasa Cash Checking Account Rate is 2.25% on up to $25K with 12 debit card transaction ($5 mimimum per purchase), and 1 direct deposit or 1 ACH transaction, with online statements. 
    • SSB also has "Kasasa Savers" account which gives you 1.5% interest on up to $100K as long as you meet their Kasasa Checking account requirements. i.e there is no separate requirement for Kasasa Savings account.

 

  • First Security Bank (Nationwide with high rates on < $50K): https://www.1stsecuritybank.com/personal/checking/kasasa_cash/
    • Kasasa Cash Checking Account Rate is 2.01% on up to $50K with 18 debit card transaction (No mimimum per purchase), and 1 direct deposit or 1 ACH transaction, with online statements. 
    • It also has "Kasasa Savers" account which gives you 1.31% interest on up to $50K as long as you meet their Kasasa Checking account requirements. i.e there is no separate requirement for Kasasa Savings account.
    • UPDATE: Sept, 2022: Rates For FSB have fallen back to 0.8% and that also is valid on a very small amount of $15K only. So, this bank is a "bait and switch" bank. So, no reason to join ever.

 

  •  Keesler Federal Credit Union (Limited counties in Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama only with high rates on < $25K): https://www.kfcu.org/rates/
    • Generally, a  bank or credit union doesn't give you the best rate for all their products, but Keesler is an exception. I've been watching them for 2 years now, and their rates are the best across savings account, checking account and CD. Also, they are more consistent with their rates, and don't drop their rates that frequently. In fact, their rate of > 3% on CD was there for couple of months more, even after FED dropped their rates multiple times in 2019. I asked them multiple times if their 3% CD rates were promotional rates and if the offer was going to end soon, and they always indicated that their rates are not promotional, and stay there for a long time (which turned out to be true).
    • One downside with Keesler is that they do a hard pull on your credit report, no matter what kind of account you open with them. I don't support any bank with hard pull, but with their consistently high rates, it may be worth it.
    • Other downside is that they are not open to everyone. They used to be open to everyone nationwide, but recently (in 2020) they limited their membership to people living in certain counties. However, people who joined before this change will remain their member irrespective of new requirements. They have a note on their website asking to email them to find out other ways to qualify. You can always call and ask them to see if you can become a member. I guess they added this requirement since they might have gotten too much money in deposits. Now they might be selectively taking people from other states.
    • Keesler has Kasasa Checking account which pays you 3% interest rate on up to $25K with 12 debit card transaction (no minimum per purchase), and 1 direct deposit or 1 ACH transaction, with online statements. For ACH transaction, just set it up as a recurring transfer every 2 weeks with some other bank and then forget it. I recommend 2 times a month since in case the transaction doesn't go thru for any reason, you can look at it in time, and fix it. Other transaction serves as a backup.
    • Keesler also has "Kasasa Saver Qualified" account which gives you 1% interest on up to $150K as long as you meet their Kasasa Checking account requirements. i.e there is no separate requirement for Kasasa Savings account.

 

  •  Affiliated Bank (Texas only with high rates on < $50K): https://www.affiliatedbank.com/personal/accounts/checking/kasasa-cash/
    • This offer is open for residents of Texas only. They is a kasasa checking account. They offered the "Kasasa Cash" checking account in 2019. At that time, they offered 4% on $50K, with 12 debit card transaction (no mimimum per purchase), and 1 direct deposit or 1 ACH transaction, with online statements. However, early 2020, they changed it to 0.75% on $50K with 12 debit card transaction (with $5 mimimum per purchase), Then in July 2020, they upped the interest rate to 2% on $50K with same requirements. So, proceed with caution as I have no idea of when they might lower their rates (as history isn't in their favor).
    • You also need to make 1 direct deposit or 1 ACH transaction (incoming or outgoing, doesn't matter) per statement cycle. Just set it up as a recurring transfer every 2 weeks with some other bank and then forget it. I recommend 2 times a month since in case the transaction doesn't go thru for any reason, you can look at it in time, and fix it.  You also need to sign up for e-statements (no paper copies).
    • They are offering Kasasa Cash savings account also in which they offer 1% for upto $200K, as long as you meet their Kasasa Checking account requirements. i.e there is no separate requirement for Kasasa Savings account.

 

 

2019:

 

 

 

Details
Published: Tuesday, 01 September 2020 23:08
Hits: 980

Savings Accounts:

As of Sept, 2020, best savings rate is 1.1%. Best savings rate is 2.20% (as of Nov, 2019):

Usually I do not plan to keep more than $50K in savings account as then it's better to put it in 6-12 month CD which offers 0.5% more than this (you would make $200 more per year after taxes in CD account compared to savings account with a 0.5% interest difference on balance of $50K). Savings bank rates have been dropping since Jan, 2019, so better to put money in CD or rewards checking accounts.

Update: Sept, 2020: CD rates have all gone below 1%, so the only option right now to park any money is in Kasasa Accounts (explained later below)

This is the most up to date link for best savings account: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/high-interest-savings-to-get/

You can find the list of best rates nationwide as well as for your region in link above.

 

2021:

  • UPDATE (Nov, 2021): Affiliated Bank: The bank listed below, recently lowered their savings rate to 0.75% from 1%, so no reason to keep any money in their savings account, as T-mobile checking gives 1% on all of your balance.

 

2020:

UPDATE (July, 2020): With FED dropping interest rates to 0%, and as explained in Checking accounts section, there is no hope to get any return in any kind of bank accounts. Savings rate have declined to below 1% even at the best banks. Most banks have dropped it to under 0.5% (including banks which had a long history of never dropping the rates below 1%).

As per doctor of credit link above, there are only 2 banks which are offering over 1% savings rate nationwide - National Cooperative and Customers bank (both have 1.1% interest rate as of Sept, 2020). You can look up them on their website - they keep changing constantly, so i won't count on these banks to be maintaining their high interest rates once they have amassed enough deposit money.

I'm listing 3 other regional banks below. I'll mostly be listing Kasasa Saving accounts below, as it's impossible to find Non-Kasasa Checking or savings account that can offer you these high rates.

  • SSB Bank: https://www.ssbpgh.com/saver
    • As mentioned in "Checking accounts section", SSB also has "Kasasa Savers" account which gives you 1.5% interest on up to $100K as long as you meet their Kasasa Checking account requirements. i.e there is no separate requirement for Kasasa Savings account.

 

  • First Security Bank: https://www.1stsecuritybank.com/personal/savings/kasasa_saver/
    • As mentioned in "Checking accounts section", First Security also has "Kasasa Savers" account which gives you 1.31% interest on up to $50K as long as you meet their Kasasa Checking account requirements. i.e there is no separate requirement for Kasasa Savings account.

 

  • Keesler Federal Credit Union: https://www.kfcu.org/rates/
    • As mentioned in "Checking accounts section", Keesler also has "Kasasa Saver Qualified" account which gives you 1% interest on up to $150K as long as you meet their Kasasa Checking account requirements. i.e there is no separate requirement for Kasasa Savings account.
    • Other account that may be worth opening is High Interest Money Market (HIMMA) Plus account. It pays 1.45% interest on $100K+. However, this higher interest is only for 6 months from date of account opening. Then it reverts back to their standard rates which is lot lower. So, you would open it for just 6 months, keep your money there and then close it at end of 6 months. May not be worth it, unless it's for a year.

 

  •  Affiliated Bank: https://www.affiliatedbank.com/personal/accounts/checking/kasasa-cash/
    • As mentioned in "Checking accounts section", they are offering Kasasa Cash savings account also in which they offer 1% for upto $200K, as long as you meet their Kasasa Checking account requirements. i.e there is no separate requirement for Kasasa Savings account.
    • Again, based on their history of lowering rates significantly, they may not be reliable long term.

2019

  • United Bank = 2.5% - The only Bank I found so far which gives you free checks + ATM card (not a debit card, so not that great for taking cash out at shops) is united bank with highest interest rate of 2.2% (upped to 2.5% in Fe, downgraded to 2.2% as of July,2019) on money market account. You have to call them to get this rate, telling them that you saw this rate online in an advertisement. It appears on their website using this link, but not directly: https://www.bankatunited.com/Landing/Advantage-Money-Market .
  • EBSB Direct: 2.5% - They had this offer for some time, but pulled it back a couple of days ago. Offer keeps on coming and going. No checks or debit cards, online setup is difficult, but eventually worked (was told by a rep to use EBSB  - and NOT EBSB direct - website for logging in, even though you do initial setup and everything on EBSB Direct website).
  • Some investment firms are offering high savings rate, but it's tied to Fed rate, so, when fed drops rate, their rates drop as well. Ex: wealthfront, betterment, etc. However, these a/c do require you to jump hoops, to get your money withdrawn. Since log term direction of fed rates is to keep going lower, I do not see any value in these.
  • Misc banks: Many offer good rates, but they have withdrawal limits per day and per month, do not give you checks or ATM card, so only way to get your money back is bank to bank transfer. This account becomes more like CD since once you put money in, with all the limits and no debit card or checks, it will take you couple of months to get all your money out. One such example is: Customers Bank. Some banks do a hard credit pull (which affects your credit score, and also each credit pull should earn you $300 or more, or else you can open a credit card and get that $300 for each credit pull. So, definitely not worth at all to open accounts at banks, that do hard pull). One such example is: Northfield Bank.
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Best CD accounts

 

CDs are fixed term investment. CD is "Certificate of Deposit". It has a fixed term, and you can withdraw your money only at maturity. For premature withdrawal, you have to pay a heavy penalty (usually 6 months of interest). CD aren't generally the best investment. You will lose money over long term as CD always pay you less than inflation.

Opening CD :

There are 3 places to open CD:

  1. Banks: Traditional banks will advertise their CD rates everywhere. Bigger banks (Chase, Bank of America, Citi, etc) usually offer the lowest CD rates, while smaller banks (local banks, etc) offer the highest rates.
  2. Credit Unions: Since Credit Unions are "Not for profit", they are able to offer higher rates than banks. However, you need to wualify to be a member. Generally the area you live in has multiple credit unions, and you may qualify to be a member of at least couple of those.
  3. Brokerage firms: These are your regular brokerage firms (Charles Schwab, Ameritrade, etc) that you open your stock account with. Most of the brokerage firms allow you to buy or sell CD on their website.

Bank/CU CD:

Things to watch out for is that bank/CU should not have any membership requirement, should not require you to open any additional account (like a savings or checking account), and should not do a hard credit inquiry. Remember that CDs are little risky in the sense that if you forget to close your CD at maturity, and if the bank renews your CD at end of your maturity (usually 15 days grace period), then you are in trouble. If you try to close your CD after the grace period, they will deduct interest from your previous term of CD also (basically penalizing you on a CD that has already matured), effectively resulting in very low interest rate for the earlier matured CD. Many online banks will not even inform you, nor close the CD automatically. They want you to forget about CD maturity date. So, do not open too many CDs. Open few and remain under $250K limit per CD (after interest). Everytime you open/close a CD, you lose interest of about 15 days, since banks send you check on maturity, then you will cash it out and then deposit it in another bank. So, if your CD term is for < 1 year, you lose 5% of interest. So, try to shoot for a CD term between 1 yr and 3 yr. Ladder the CDs so that you have at least 1 CD maturing every 6 months.

Broker CD:

Best place to get CDs is thru your brokerage firm. I would just stay away from Bank and CU CDs, unless they are offering a much higher rate than CDs from brokerage firms. Brokerage firms offer CDs at least 0.5% higher than most of the banks/CU. Look in "Bonds, Money Market and CD" section for more details.

 

Conclusion: Tons of banks, Credit Union, Brokerage firms offer CDs that offer close to 0%. Whenever Fed rates are close to 0%, CDs will give you abysmal return. I always wondered who buys these 0.01%or 0.1% CDs. You should never chase CD returns. If you have to buy a CD, buy it via your brokerage firms (known as brokered CD). Apart from CD, also look at bonds and bond ETF being offered (look in the "Bonds, Money Market and CD"  section). They may offer you higher returns, though they carry little more risk than CDs (as CDs are FDIC insured). If CD don't give you over 3% in interest rate, just stick to savings/checking accounts and bank bonuses. Also never go for more than a year for a CD, no matter what the rate is, as stock markets will always give higher rate than CD when invested for a couple of years (guaranteed by the Fed).

 

Best CD rates:

I'll put some CD deals here on this page. However, as I said before, CDs are not your best investment, and only serve to protect your money short term. So, shop around before you commit to a particular CD.

 

 

 

2023: Best CD rate is 5%(Jan), 5.35%(Mar) for 2023:

 

 

2022: Best CD rate is 4% (Oct), 5%(Nov) for 2022:

 

 

2021: All CD rates were abysmal. Better to stick to Savings/Kasasa Checking accounts and bank bonuses.

 

 

2020: All CD rates were abysmal. Better to stick to Savings/Kasasa Checking accounts and bank bonuses.

 

 

2019: Best CD rate was 3.5% for 2019.

  • 3.5% - hyperian bank 19 month CD (nationwide). 1% over treasury rate as of Mar 1st, 2019. Best CD rate offered so far since 2018. Can open an IRA CD too. website: https://www.hyperionbank.com/home/personal/savings/cds. Expired March, 2019.
  • 3% - 19 month CD (requires membership, cost about $35). https://www.hfcu.org/rates.html. expired July, 2019
  • 3.21% - 30 month step jumbo CD (min $100K). requires membership (join cancer society for $10 to become a member), but is available to anyone nationwide. It's the best CD as of now. (updated Aug 15, 2019, still going Nov 1, 2019): This may last for a while when I talked to the rep. It does have a hard pull for credit. https://www.kfcu.org/rates/
  • 3.25% - 36 month CD. requires membership ($10 to join for anyone), and is open to anyone nationwide. 24 month CD is at 3%. This CD has been going on for a long time. https://www.psecu.com/banking/certificates
  • 3% - 36 month CD - an OK rate - https://www.macfcu.org/become-a-member/rates/
  • 3.75% - Navy Federal IRA 40 month CD. This is only for IRA a/c, and comes with $100 bonus. However, you will need to become a member, which is not easy as it requires someone from Navy to give their details to you. website: https://www.navyfederal.org/savings-season-2019/save-money.php. Reason I included IRA CD is because bonds are very expensive right now. Any good rating bond mutual funds are struggling to give you a yield of even 2.5% (which is federal funds rate or 1 month Treasury Bill). Bond funds also charge a lot higher fees, basically wiping out any interest. Stocks are in uncharted territory(at more than 100% of GDP for 5 years in a row), so this CD might be the best option, if you qualify.
  • 3.15% - united bank 19 month Flex CD. (nationwide) - 0.4% over treasury rate
  • 3.0% - 13 month CD for residents of Texas only. Requires checking a/c too. website: www.acutx.org . Might want to wait for a better option.
  • 3.25% - 19 month truwest credit union (only for residents of Texas and Arizona). https://truwest.org. Will need to open a savings a/c in addition to CD. Best option so far.
  • 3.15% - Home loan bank 19 month e-CD (nationwide). Expired August, 2018.
  • Misc banks - Main street bank, tons of other banks with regional availability only. offer keeps on coming and going. Not consistent.

 

 

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Published: Tuesday, 01 September 2020 23:00
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Best Bank Bonus:

You should never open any bank account, unless you are getting a one time bonus of at least $300. Banks give offers for opening both checking and savings accounts. It's not worth the trouble of opening/closing the account, and then paying 25% tax on that amount, all of that for measly $200 or so. I would say my threshold is  >$500 in bonus for bank paying it directly or > $300 in bonus via any shopping portal. We are limited to ~10 bank a/c a year (due to chex sensitivity that many banks have). That would get us closer to our goal of $5K/yr in bank bonuses, w/o jeopardizing our next year's bonuses. 

Usually I'm a big fan of bank bonus, as you can get a lot more effective interest by getting bank bonus instead of chasing yields. However, many of these bank bonus offers require you to deposit handsome amount (avg $10K) in bank and leave it for 6 months or so, while giving you almost nothing in interest. If you are not getting an effective rate of over 5% with the bank bonus (or getting a bonus of over $300), I do not even consider it worth your time and money opening and closing bank accounts. Bank bonus deals are most beneficial when fed interest rates are close to 0%. This link shows all bank bonus offers and is updated daily: https://www.hustlermoneyblog.com/best-bank-promotions/

Here are some regular ongoing bank account offers that are available most of the times. Their offer amounts vary, but the offers will be there at least couple of months every year. These are available nationwide, don't have too many requirements, and as such are easy to do.

  • Chase: Chase has been known to give $300 bonus for savings account and $300 bonus for checking account, provided you open both of them together. this offer is available most of the times, so you should be able to claim this offer at least once every two years, one for yourself, and one for your spouse for a total of $1200. Requires you to deposit $15K or so in savings account. Still OK, as you get over 5% return, if you close a/c just after 6 months. Wait for this particular offer to pop up, and don't bite on any other inferior offer. This offer is still going on as of Aug-Dec, 2019.
    • Referral link => In case you are not able to get a better offer, you can use my referral link below for opening checking/savings a/c. I do get $50 per referral, but not sure if you get the highest offers via using my link. Always call and confirm that you are getting the best offer via this link too. If not, then just go with the public offer with the best bonus.
  • Bank of America: They have Checking account offer of $300. Usually they are targeted, and I've gotten them couple of times. However they are not that common for general public. I guess they send this offer to you if you have a credit card with them, and meet their internal criteria.
  • Wells Fargo: I had very rarely seen any offer from Wells Fargo (really stingy bank). However last 2 or 3 years, they have upped the ante and up until June 2020, offered $400 bonus for opening checking account. Every year, you will find $200 offer for opening their accounts. Wait for at least $300 bonus offer before jumping in.
  • Citi: Never ever open a bank account here. You will have to fight for the rest of your life to get your bonus. Even after providing proof, they don't respond. Still if you want to proceed, here are the details => They will usually send you targeted "60K thank you points" bonus, if you have credit card with them. This offer is better than their cash offer, as points are not interest, and so no 1099 is sent out. However, they still require you to deposit decent amount (anywhere from $10K to 50K).
  • Capital One: Capital One is known to give around $50 offer on their checking/savings accounts from time to time (once a year). But since 2018, I haven't seen any offer in that range. Bite on Capital One offers only when they are $500 or so, since looks like they would disqualify you for the bonus, if you held that particular account anytime in the last 3 years or so. Read the fine print, and make sure you would qualify for the bonus before you jump in.
  • American Express: They are right there with Discover in offering a very good customer service and a good yield. Their offers are generally targeted, and are sent out if you have a credit card with them. They send lower offers initially. Don't bite on those, wait for better offers. I've gotten offer for $350 on new savings account, after depositing $25K with an APY of 2.2% in September, 2022.
  • Discover: Discover Bank is from same Discover credit card company. They are one of the best in credit card and banking. However, their checking/savings bonus are once per lifetime, so once you have taken advantage of the bonus, you are done. They used to offer $200-$300 offers in the past, so bite only when you get that kind of amount. I haven't seen anything decent in the last few years, since 2018.

Besides these 4 large banks (and Capital One, etc), many other smaller bank give you bonuses too. Sometimes these are available nationwide, but most of the times regional banks limit these offers to particular region. I'll list any such offers on the Deals page of the website

Below are few banks which offer you $250 or more for opening accounts with direct deposit, and with no other qualifying activities. Most of these offers are listed under deals section too:

NOTE: Read thru the "Bank account" section to find out more details on bank accounts and how you can maximize your return. You may not always have to do a real direct deposit. Also, not all banks consider Bank bonus as Interest income. Some consider it as MISC income. All these details are there in previous section.

 

 

 

 

Regional Bank Deals (from 2024 onwards):

 

These are regional bank deals, that are available only in selected states or selected branches. I'll mostly be putting deals for Texas.

 

 

 

 

National Bank Deals (from 2025 onwards):

 

These are national bank deals, that are available for everyone. I used to have these deals in separate section before 2025, but will now have it in this section. For deals before 2025, see in section "Deals until 2024" later below. These deals seem to come and go, or the bonus amounts keeps changing. So, keep checking as I may not have updated the details.

  • 07/18/2025: Very high interest rate of 7% on 1st 10K. It's a Kasasa a/c which usually pay high interest rates for doing monthly activities (see in bank a/c section for details on kasasa). Requirements are => login every month, sign up for paperless statements and do 15 debit card transactions of $10+ every month. Not worth doing in my opinion, as you can get 5% APY with any bank, extra 2% interest is meager $200 every year with too much work (spend $1800 every year, which is just too much). Only reason for listing it is since it has $300 in referral bonuses.
  • 07/07/2025:  Chase offer for $900 bonus has been getting extended since 2022. See in chase offers below from 07/20/2022. There's also Teen and College student offer for $125.
  • 07/07/2025: Ally Bank Checking a/c has $200 with promo code: Get200. Need to do DD of $2K+ for 3 consecutive months. Use Ally Savings Referral offer for $100 to open savings a/c first, then open checking a/c to get a total of $300. Pretty lousy offer, but Ally has pretty stingy offers to start with. Last time it had an offer was in 2023. Expires 08/07/2025.
  • 07/05/2025: Sofi offer has been live for past couple of years. Cashback keeps on changing. As of today, TCB has $350 CB. See deal from 03/01/2024 below.
    • 07/23/25: Rakuten has been having $375 via app. They are going to have $400 next week. See the same link for details. 
  • 06/28/2025: I'm listing it separately since it's applicable with Raisin, irrespective of any bank you choose. $50K gets you $500 bonus + $150 bonus from TCB.
  • 06/18/2025: Alliant CU bonus repeated from 10/26/24. Savings a/c is $150 from SB and $100 from Alliant. Checking a/c is $150 from rakuten (I would wait for $200 offer on this as it was $200 last year).
  • 06/08/2025: First Tech FCU bonus repeated from 12/28/24 (see below for earlier offer). Improved offer as they are $300 for savings a/c too for $20K+ deposit. Checking a/c still has $300 bonus with $5K+ DD per month required for a minimum of 3 months. $200 bonus for debit card may be worth if you manufacture purchases.
  • 05/21/2025: Wells Fargo Bank Offer for $400 for opening a  Checking a/c. It has gone up from $325 that had been offered for last 2 yrs.  However $3K in DD is now required, instead of $1K in DD that was required previously. 12 months should have passed from last bonus for you to be eligible for this bonus. Expires July 8, 2025 Aug 19, 2025.  Link from original post => Wells Fargo Offer
  • 05/07/2025: BMO Harris Bank Offer for $600 for opening a relationship Checking a/c. Has monthly fee of $25 but can be avoided with mi of $10K daily balance in prior month. Lower bonus of $400 also available. No $100 GC anymore. Keeps getting extended. It's extended to Sept 8, 2025. Link from original post => BMO Offer
  • 05/02/2025: Truist Offer for $400 Keeps getting extended. It's extended to Oct 29, 2025. New Eligibility Date: who closed previous accounts before 5/1/24 are eligible now.
  • 05/01/2025: US Bank Offer for $450 Keeps getting extended. Additional CB from Swagbucks, etc. It's extended to June 26, 2025.
  • 04/14/2024: Live Oak Bank has $300 bonus with a new savings a/c and $20K+ in deposits by 5/16/25 and maintain for 60 days. They do pay 4.2% APY and have no Chex impact. So, $300 is really free money. Best part is that this offer keeps on coming, so you can keep on rotating the same $20K into new savings a/c, w/o closing the previous savings a/c (ppl had opened multiple savings a/c and have made $1000 opening 4-5 savings a/c. Read comments on DoC link below). 
    • Link => https://www.doctorofcredit.com/live-oak-bank-300-savings-bonus/
    • There are multiple offers thru various portals. Go for one with highest offer. Few inferior ones:
      • Raisin: They are not a bank, but basically partners with multiple banks to hold your money. They offer $250 for $25K and $500 for $50K in deposits and maintaining it for 90 days (choose Live Oak Bank as your bank to get highest rate of 4.35%). Use Promo: BOOST.  If you click thru Rakuten, you get extra $50 CB. This $50 CB is valid for just opening a Raisin a/c and funding it with min of $100. Even with CB, offer not worth it.
        • UPDATE 05/23/2025 => TopCashBack has $150 CB (increased from $100)  for opening a Raisin a/c and $10K deposit within 21 days. Some comments indicate that this offer is not tracking on TCB portal. Will expire soon, since CB is high.
        • UPDATE 05/02/2025 => TopCashBack has $100 CB for opening a Raisin a/c. Referral amount is also doubled from $50 to $100, but using cashback portal is easier. 
  • 01/31/2025: Bank of Hope has $388 bonus with $1000+ in DD within 90 days.
  • 01/29/2025: Chartway FCU $300 bonus with $500 in deposits (NO DD required) + 10 debit card purchases. Opening a/c may require additional verification (selfie, etc)
  • 01/07/2025: One Finance (or One app) has $125 bonus ($200 bonus as of 01/27/2025) from Rakuten with $500+ in DD, One app also has offers on walmart, where you can make extra $20, $15, etc by using their checkout option. Lower bonus but pretty easy as Rakuten is reliable with offer money.
    •  Link => https://www.doctorofcredit.com/one-finance-review-get-up-to-3-apy-with-direct-deposits-25-signup-offer/
    • UPDATED 06/23/2025 => There is $300 bonus for existing and new members for doing DD of $5K+ in one month. It shows in the app (ymmv). Offer details on same DoC link above.
    • UPDATED 02/03/2025 => Bonus is now to $250. Highest so far. May not last long. Take screenshots of the offer too.
    • UPDATED 01/27/2025 => Bonus is now to $200. Definitely take advantage, as it's the highest so far. May not last long. Already expired as of 01/29/2025.
  • 01/02/2025: PSECU $300 checking bonus (Nationwide). If you live outside of Pennsylvania, you do have to join Pennsylvania Recreation and Park Society (PRPS) for $20 which is paid for by PSECU, no nothing out of your pocket. 2 DD of $500+ required. There's a hard Pull, so not worth it for most of us. Expires 12/31/2025 (valid for 1 full year !!).
  • 12/30/2024: Relay Financial Bank $150 bonus (for business a/c only). $150 easy bonus if you have a business. Just deposit $100 by Jan 15, 2025 and get $150. Expires 01/15/2025.
  • 12/28/2024: Premier CU $300 bonus. Only $500 DD needed to get the bonus. It might be for Colorado State only, as people OOS are getting "under review" emails. Expires 12/31/2024
  • 12/28/2024: First Tech FCU $300 bonus. $5K+ DD per month required for a minimum of 3 months. Bonus is reliable as comments state ppl have gotten bonus in past with no issues. Still active as of 02/16/2025.

 

 

 

 

Deals until 2024:

 

2024:

 

 

 

10/26/2024: Open a Checking a/c at Alliant CU with $500+ DD - get $150 via rakuten => expires Nov 2, 2024 (Now $200 as of 12/27/2024) Back to $150 as of 01/06/2025

It's different than previous offer where you got $200 for opening CD and $100 for opening savings a/c. People got both last time. This is for checking a/c. Only for new customers. If you participated in previous offer, I doubt you may use this.

Checking Offer:  https://www.doctorofcredit.com/rakuten-alliant-credit-union-100-10000-checking-bonus/

01/06/2025 => Savings a/c offer is live, which pays you $100 bonus after you deposit $100 per month for 12 months. Same as what was offered before. Swagbucks/Mypoints portal gives you ~$75 in points. However, SB/MP is risky as points are never guaranteed.

Savings Offer => https://www.doctorofcredit.com/alliant-credit-union-100-ultimate-opportunity-savings-account-no-direct-deposit-required/

 

 

10/01/2024: Bank of America - $300 bonus for $2K+ in direct deposit within first 3 months (nationwide) => expires Jan 31, 2025

This offer is available nationwide and to everyone. Open the checking a/c and make $2K+ DD to get $300. This is the highest offer as their usual offer is $200. $300 is mostly targeted offer, but now it's public. Details here:

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/bank-america-100-checking-bonus-public-nationwide/

NOTE: There's another $500 offer for opening another checking a/c and depositing $15K in it. It's not worth it, as you lose interest worth $250. So, you are ultimately only getting $250 for opening a new a/c, which seems low.

 

 

09/25/2024: Laurel Road - $300 bonus + $20/month for $2.5K+ in direct deposit (nationwide, open to non-nurses too) => expiry unknown

This offer is available nationwide and to everyone. Open the checking a/c and make $2.5K+ DD to get $300. Then $2.5K per month to get $20/month for next 12 months. Not a great offer, as interest is basically 0. Details here:

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/laurel-road-300-checking-bonus-25-per-month-available-nationwide-must-be-a-nurse/

 

 

09/10/2024: BMO Harris - $500 + $100GC for $7.5K+ in direct deposit within first 3 months (nationwide) => expires Oct 31, 2024

This offer is available nationwide 0in the past, it was only available in selected states). Open "BMO relationship account" to get $500 bonus. To get extra $100 GC, meet with a BMO banker in person or on phone.Details here:

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/il-wi-mn-in-az-fl-ks-mo-bmo-harris-350-checking-300-savings-bonus/

 

 

09/02/2024: Quorum Federal Credit Union - $300 for $1K+ in direct deposit in 60 days (nationwide) => expiry unknown

This offer is very easy money and won't last long. Details here:

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/quorum-federal-credit-union-300-checking-bonus-available-nationwide/

 

 

09/01/2024: US Bank - $450 (+ ~$100 in SB) for $8K+ in direct deposit in 3 months (only in selected states) => expires Sept 26, 2024. Apr 26, 2025 June 26, 2025. Keeps getting extended

UPDATE May 2025: Requirements keep changing everytime the offer is extended. Pls check the link for latest details. Also, cashback portals may be risky now as they don't allow you to update the promo code. People are able to change promo code via chat to get both bonus, but it may be hit or miss with $450 bonus at risk.

This offer is repeat from 2023 with a lower bonus now. It's an ongoing offer, and is offered most of the times with expiry date moving forward. Last year it was for $600. You also get $100 from Swagbucks (SB) or MyPoints (MP). However SB or MP is not guaranteed, it's a hit or miss. Details here:

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/u-s-bank-450-100-checking-bonus/

Simple requirement => Same as previous offer. have direct deposit setup for a total of $8K within 90 days + signup for online banking. Must use promo code 2024JUL. Leave > $1500 in there to avoid monthly fees. The qualifying checking account may be opened Nationwide. If you are in Florida, New York or some other state where it doesn't allow you to open an account (i.e Texas), open a Brokerage account first to start a relationship, and then open the checking account. Not worth it if not in your state, as opening/closing brokerage a/c requires a higher bonus than what you are getting here.

IMP: Positive change is that anti-churning language now says 12 months instead of 24 months ((can’t have had an account within the past 12 months to get the bonus). That means you can get the bonus almost every year.

 

 

08/31/2024: Farmers Insurance Federal Credit Union (FIGFCU) - $250 for $5K+ in direct deposit per month for 3 months (nationwide) => expiry unknown

This offer is available nationwide by joining ACC (no fees required). Tougher requirements. Use promo code NMHYC. Details here:

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/farmers-insurance-federal-credit-union-figfcu-250-checking-bonus/

To get 5% interest on balances up to $5K, you need to have 10+ debit purchases, $1K in ACH every month and be enrolled in e-delivery. After getting the bonus, I would close this account as collecting this interest requires more work than other high yield checking a/c require you to do. There's also a savings a/c that gives 3.5% which is also not worth getting.

 

 

08/28/2024: Open a CD at Alliant CU - get $200 via rakuten => expiry unknown

There is an offer on rakten site too for $200 when opening a min 3 month CD with > $1000. Only for new customers.

Offer: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/rakuten-alliant-credit-union-open-cd-get-100-10000-back/

Separately, there’s also a $100 bonus for opening an Alliant savings account. It's not worth as it requires depositing $100 every month for 12 months to get this.

 

 

06/20/2024: Axos Bank Rewards checking account - ($125 via rakuten) + $500 for direct deposit  => expires July 31, 2024

There is an offer on swagbuks site too for $150 in SB. However, SB payouts never came from the last promo, so don't go with SB. Instead go with rakuten. If you already took advantage of previous offer for $300 this year, you are not eligible for this one (terms exclude bonus to only one per customer per year for any kind of checking account).

Offer: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/axos-bank-500-checking-bonus-150/

  1. To get $125 from rakuten:
    1. Follow the link: https://www.rakuten.com/axosbank.com
    2. Use promo code RC500. You just need to open any Bank Account to get the bonus. Minimum deposit > $250. Need to keep account opened for > 6 months
  2. To get $500 from Axos:
    1. Once you have clicked on the link, open the "Rewards checking account". with promo code RC500
    2. Set up a direct deposit of $1,500 per month and earn $100 bonus per month (up to $500).
    3. Minimum daily balance needs to be > $3K starting from day 1 (or else you will miss first month bonus). That's ok, as you will still have 5 more months to get $500.

 

 

05/06/2024: BMO Relationship Checking account - $500 for $7.5K in direct deposit  => expires Sep 9, 2024

Bonus had been $600 in the past, so not the best. Deal is nationwide now. DD needs to be done within 90 days. There's also a saving a/c promo, where you get $5/month bonus for increasing your savings balance by $200 every month for 1st 12 months. Extra $60 if you can do that every month.

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/il-wi-mn-in-az-fl-ks-mo-bmo-harris-350-checking-300-savings-bonus/

NOTE:There's a $25 checking a/c fee per month. The only way to avoid is to open the month on the first of the month. They waive fees for 1st 2 months. The 3rd month, you ask them to waive the fee for you. The 4th month you downgrade the a/c to "Smart Advantage Checking" which has no fees. You should downgrade after your bonus posts. If not possible to downgrade, get your daily balance > $10K to avoid fees.

 

 

03/10/2024: Axos Bank checking and savings account - ($175 via swagbucks) + $300 for direct deposit  => expires July 31, 2024

This is an offer to bite on only if you get the $175 via Swagbucks. The terms exclude getting both bonus at the same time, but folks have gotten both in the past.

Offer: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/axos-bank-300-checking-bonus/

  1. To get $175 (17,500 SB) from swabucks.:
    1. Follow the link: https://www.swagbucks.com/?f=11&q=axos
    2. No promo code needed. You just need to open any Bank Account to get the bonus. Minimum deposit > $750. Need to keep account opened for > 6 months
    3. After opening via the link, change product type by shifting through Axos’ menu from Rewards checking to CashBack checking
  2. To get $300 from Axos:
    1. Once you have changed product type to Cashback checking, enter the code: "FREEDOM300".
    2. Even though it says "open Cashback Checking and Best Savings bundle", multiple CS have confirmed that only Checking account is needed for the bonus. Safe to open both.
    3. Set up a direct deposit of $1,000 per month and earn $100 bonus per month (up to $300)

You will know if both offers stack by the end of 30 days, when SB credits you. Make sure, SB shows as tracked, The default account that shows up via SB link "Rewards checking" is NOT eligible for $300 bonus, so be sure to change product type.

 UPDATE: Swagbucks never gave the money for any of the accounts. Reading on DoC, they denied payout to almost everyone. So, risky to go with with SB for any of these large payouts. Instead use, other cashback portals as TCB, Rakuten, etc, which are reliable.
 

 

03/01/2024: Sofi Hybrid checking and savings account - ($200 via swagbucks, $250 $350 via Rakuten) + $300 for direct deposit  => expiry unknown

This is same offer since 2022. It's there almost all the times. The bonus amount keeps varying from $400 - $500. You can look for more details in the earlier deals from Sofi.

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/sofi-checking-5000-direct-deposit-required/

UPDATE 07/05/2025 => TopCashback is offering $350 which matches highest ever for TCB. Rakuten $375 offer is expired.

UPDATE 07/02/2025 => Rakuten is again offering $375 which matches highest ever.

UPDATE 05/04/2025 => Rakuten is offering $375 when using their portal. So, total of $675 which is highest ever ($25 more than previous high).

UPDATE 08/19/2024 => Rakuten is offering $350 when using their portal. So, total of $650 which is highest ever.

UPDATE 05/06/2024 => Rakuten is offering $250 when using their portal. So, total of $550 which was highest ever.

NOTE: This account is not churnable for DD bonus. So, if you have done it once, even if you close the account, you will never get the bonus again (NOT 100% sure as some comments from May 2025 on DoC indicate ppl might have gotten the DD bonus too when churning. However, DoC list of churnable banks shows it as non churnable.). The cashback portal offer may be churnable if you go via some other shopping portal as Swagbucks, Rakuten, Mypoints, etc, where you haven't done it before. It has been confirmed via comments by someone who has done it multiple times.

By ShwantheShawn comments on 08/19/24 =>

Yes, I’ve churned it successfully from multiple portals just for the cashback from each portal. Link: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/sofi-checking-5000-direct-deposit-required/#comment-1870471

“As for the waiting time, I’ve churned it in as short as 5-7 days after closing the previous account.” Link: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/sofi-checking-5000-direct-deposit-required/#comment-1806493

Others may have done it even sooner, but I generally give it some time for the old account to be purged.

So, not worth your time, if you have already gotten the bonus in the past. Only worth it for shopping portal bonus if the bonus is large enough.

 

 

02/28/2024: Truist - $400 for $500+ in direct deposit (only in selected states) => expires June 26, 2024 expires Apr 30, 2025 expires Oct 29, 2025

UPDATE 05/02/2025 => New promo code: TRUIST25DC400, extended through 10/29/25. New Eligibility Date: who closed previous accounts before 5/1/24 are eligible now. Use same link as shown below to get more details.

 

UPDATE 11/04/2024 => New promo code: DC2425TR1400, extended through 4/30/25. New Eligibility Date: who closed previous accounts before 10/31/23 are eligible now. Check latest requirements from link below (NOTE: requirements have changed to $1000+ deposit in atleast 2 DD within 120 days and no debit card transactions required. Makes it easier to qualify. Need only $500+ deposit to waive the monthly fees).

This offer is back from 2023, but now had reduced bonus of $400 compared to $500 before. Details here:

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/truist-300-checking-bonus-al-ar-ga-fl-in-ky-md-ms-nc-nj-oh-pa-sc-tn-tx-va-wv-or-dc/

Requirements have changed from before => have direct deposit setup for a total of $500 (NOT $1K) AND Complete 15 debit card purchases (NEW requirement) within 90 days. Use new promo code TRUIST400DC24. Leave > $1500 in there to avoid monthly fees. The qualifying checking account must be opened in a Truist branch in one of the following states or online and have a mailing address in: AL, AR, GA, FL, IN, KY, MD, MS, NC, NJ, OH, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, WV or DC.

NOTE: If you have done this bonus before in 2023, you should have closed a personal checking account with Truist on or before 2/28/23 to be eligible to participate.

See previous offer from 2023 below for more details.

TAX: Truist doesn't send out 1099-MISC tax forms, if the amount of bonus is < $600. As per comments by Matt B on this link, "they consider the bonuses as misc income so they issue 1099 MISC if you receive more than 600 in bonuses. I did the personal and business truist bonuses and I got two 1099 MISC for $400 each". Link => https://www.doctorofcredit.com/which-banks-send-out-tax-form-1099-discussion-post-for-2023-tax-forms/

 

 

01/29/2024: Elements Financial Credit Union => $400 bonus for Checking account (nationwide) => expires Mar 25, 2024 already expired in Feb 2024

First offer of 2024, and NOT too great. Limit is one per household, so spouses can't apply. Use Code: CHECK400 or you won't get the offer. Also, has $5 monthly fee, unless you keep $10K or have direct deposit. You need to have 2 real DD of > $500 by Mar 25th, 2024. They seem to be strict about real DD. After meeting the requirement of 2 Direct deposit, switch to DD of $50 or so per pay period. That way you won't lose much in interest and will avoid he $5 monthly fee. Account needs to be open for 6 months. No interest.

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/elements-financial-credit-union-400-checking-bonus/

 

 

 

2023:

 

 

 

11/05/2023: Capital One - $1500 bonus for $100K+ in deposit in Savings account (nationwide) => expires Dec 6, 2023 => Still active as of 04/04/2024

You get $300 bonus on $20K deposit, $750 for $50K deposit or $1500 bonus on $100K+ deposit on their Online Savings account. This money needs to be held for 90 days. You get 4.3% APY.

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/capital-one-300-1500-savings-bonus-requires-20000-100000-deposit/

So, in 4 months you get $1400 in interest + $1500 bonus = $3000 on $100K in 4 months. If you leave for 12 months, then you don't make any money, as it implies an effective APY of 6%, which you can get elsewhere (see in checking accounts)

 

 

11/05/2023: CIBC - $500 bonus for $50K+ in deposit in Savings account (nationwide) => expires Dec 19, 2023

You get $250 bonus on $25K deposit, or $500 bonus on $50K deposit on their Agility Online Savings account.This money needs to be kept until Mar 18, 2024. Enroll in e-statements too. You get 5% APY.

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/cibc-200-400-online-savings-bonus-with-25000-50000-deposit-plus-1-85-apy/

So, in 4 months you get $800 in interest + $500 bonus = $1300 on $50K in 4 months. If you leave for 12 months, then you don't make any money, as it implies an effective APY of 6%, which you can get elsewhere (see in checking accounts)

There's also a $200 bonus for opening a iCan or Choice checking account (It has been higher at $300 in the past, so not sure if it's worth it). There's no DD or any other requirement for this checking account bonus.

https://us.cibc.com/en/personal/checking.html

 

 

10/20/2023: Chime - $245 $250 in SwagBucks for $200+ in direct deposit within 30 days (nationwide) => expires Oct 31, 2023 extended to Nov 30, 2023 Feb 29, 2024 Mar 31, 2024

UPDATE 12/05/2024: $300 Bonus available through TopCashback. Only 1 DD of $200 required within 30 days. SB/MP are offering $400 now, but risky. TCB has much more reliable CB than Swagbucks, and a higher offer.

UPDATE 02/22/2025: $500 bonus now on InBoxDollars. Risky though based on comments.

Churn: Chime offer is churnable as long as you do it with different CB sites, and use different email addr, and slight variation of your mailing addr (though variation of mailing addr not strictly necessary). Read the comments on DoC.

Link => https://www.topcashback.com/-chime-/

ORIGINAL OFFER: This is thru swagbucks, and NOT thru Chime directly. So, you need to have Sawgbucks account, and need to wait for 70 days after meeting the requirement to get SB.

Requirement: Download chime app. 500 SB awarded immediately on opening the account. You must have at least two (2) consecutive qualifying payroll direct deposits of at least $200 each to your Chime account to earn 24,000 SB. The first payroll direct deposit must be received within 30 days of your account signup date.  Details here:

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/chime-earn-10000-swagbucks-for-opening-a-new-account-receiving-a-direct-deposit/

UPDATE: SB amount varies between 24K SB to 25K SB depending on the offer at that time. I did end up getting my Chime SB, but I had to provide extensive proof, as it didn't come automatically. It showed "tracked" and then after a month it disappeared from my tracking history. Took 1 month of back and forth emails after the 3 month period to finally get it. Read recent comments on DoC on others having similar issue. So, don't count it as slam dunk. Some People have reported getting double the SB (48500) during Jan, 2024, even though the offer was only for 24500 SB.

UPDATE 03/18/2024: $10 bonus for tipping someone $10 or more. Valid 03/18/2024 - 03/20/2024. Details => https://www.doctorofcredit.com/chime-pay-10-to-anyone-get-10-back-from-chime-limit-1/

 

 

10/01/2023: Wells Fargo - $325 for $1K+ in direct deposit within 90 days (nationwide) => expires Nov 13, 2023. extended to Jan 16, 2024 Apr 9, 2024 May 21, 2024

There was similar offer in 2020 and 2022 with $400 and $300 respectively. They seem to have this once a year. Not worth waiting for $400 as the have kept on extending this deal since the start of the year. No EATF, but wait 6 months before closing. This account doesn't cost anything to keep active.

Same requirement as before => have direct deposit setup for a total of $1K within 90 days. Leave >$500 in there to avoid monthly fees. Details here:

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/wells-fargo-325-checking-bonus-available-online/

Savings Account offer; There's a Savings account offer that pays you $225 for $10K in deposit for 90 days. Might as well combine this, and close both accounts together. This nets you $100 after accounting for lost interest.

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/wells-fargo-225-savings-bonus-with-10000-deposit/

 

 

09/15/2023: American Express - $250 bonus for $500+ in direct deposit by Dec 10, 2023 (nationwide for Amex Credit card members only) => expires Oct 31, 2023

There has been no public offer from Amex for bank accounts, this is the first time they are doing it. So, dive in if you already have Amex Credit card and had it for more than 3 months. If you aren't a Amex Credit card holder, don't bother as by the time you become eligible, this promo will be gone.

NOTE: There's a separate $300 sign on bonus for opening Savings account, but that is targeted. Don't open Savings Account unless Amex sends you such an offer.

Same requirement as before => have direct deposit setup for a total of $500 by 10th Dec, 2023. No monthly fees to worry about. Details here:

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/american-express-250-checking-bonus/

 

 

05/01/2023: UMB checking account $400 offer (only valid in select states). => expires Sept 30, 2023 (extended to Nov 30, 2023)

UMB offer is back from 2021 with a higher bonus of $400, when you open UMB value checking account, and do $2.5K+ in direct deposit within 60 days. Min opening requirement is $100, and account needs to remain open for 90 days. Takes min of 60 days for bonus to post after meeting requirements. $1500 avg balance is needed to avoid $8 monthly fees. Do NOT open the "select checking account" as it has higher requirements, yet gives you the same bonus. It's valid in only these states: Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Illinois, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas.

Many ACH transfers are triggering the bonus, so Direct deposit may not be absolutely needed. Try doing ACH into UMB thru other banks that you have accounts with, and see if the bonus posts. Bonus is posting pretty fast, so worth doing it. More details below:

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/az-co-il-mo-ne-ok-ks-tx-umb-bank-400-checking-bonus/

UPDATE: The bank is asking people to take selfie, declining applications for no reason and more pain (NOT any more as of Oct 2023). Not worth keeping it open after getting the bonus. People are reporting getting their bonus though.

CHURNABLE: This offer is churnable, meaning you can get this offer, even if you had participated in previous offers from UMB. From one of the comments on DoC "Both P1 and P2 have received UMB bonuses in the past. I believe you can churn as long as it’s a different offer each time. - mothman69"

 

 

03/31/2023: PNC - $400 bonus for direct deposit (nationwide ??) => expires June 30, 2023 (extended to August 31, 2023) (extended to Oct 31, 2023) extended until 01/02/2024

This deal is around most of the times. The expiry date keeps getting extended. As of Apr, 2023, the expiry date is June, 2023. Same bonus and same requirements as before. Seems to be valid nationwide, though it does ask for your pincode before starting the application.

Don't go for $200 bonus, go for $400 one. Simple requirement for $400 bonus => Open "Virtual Wallet with Performance Select" and have direct deposits totaling $5K within 60 days. Chase bank, Schwab brokerage and ACH from quite a few other places counts as DD (see comments in DoC). To avoid $25 monthly fee, keep > $5K in account all the time. No early closure penalty, so close it after getting your bonus, as they pay no interest.

Details here: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/pnc-up-to-250-400-checking-bonus/

 

 

03/17/2023: TBK - $600 bonus for direct deposit + other activities (only in selected states) => expires May 27, 2023

This deal is back from 2022. Same bonus and same requirements as before.

Simple requirement for $500 bonus => have 3 direct deposits totaling $12K within 120 days. Other $100 bonus requires more activities. ACH from few other places counts as DD (see comments in DoC). Only valid in CO, IA, IL, KS & TX.

Details here:

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/co-ia-il-ks-tx-tbk-bank-600-checking-bonus/

 

 

03/03/2023: US Bank - $600 for $10K+ in direct deposit in 3 months (only in selected states) => expires Apr 11, 2023

This offer is the highest so far. Last year it was for $500. You also get $35-$50 from Swagbucks or MyPoints. Details here:

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/u-s-bank-600-checking-bonus-plus-35-49-portal/

Simple requirement => have direct deposit setup for a total of $10K within 90 days + signup for online banking. Must use promo code 2023MAR. Leave > $1500 in there to avoid monthly fees. The qualifying checking account may be opened Nationwide. If you are in Florida, New York or some other state where it doesn't allow you to open an account, open a Brokerage account first to start a relationship, and then open the checking account

 

 

01/25/2023: Truist - $400 for $1K+ in direct deposit (only in selected states) => expires Apr 14, 2023, extended to July 25, 2023

This offer is back from 2022, but now had reduced bonus of $400 compared to $500 before. Details here:

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/truist-300-checking-bonus-al-ar-ga-fl-in-ky-md-ms-nc-nj-oh-pa-sc-tn-tx-va-wv-or-dc/

Simple requirement => have direct deposit setup for a total of $1K within 90 days. Use promo code CHKQ123TRUIST1. Leave > $1500 in there to avoid monthly fees. The qualifying checking account must be opened in a Truist branch in one of the following states or online and have a mailing address in: AL, AR, GA, FL, IN, KY, MD, MS, NC, NJ, OH, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, WV or DC.

Error: When opening the account, most people end up with Error: Unfortunately, this service is unavailable right now. Code: 1002- 1". It asks you to go to a branch. However, offer is online only, and people at branch don't know how to open it online. This error usually means something in your application didn't match their criteria. In my case, it was the address. Don't choose their suggested address, stick with your manually entered address (also be careful with Lane vs Ln,Drive vs dr, as their system seems to be matching with the exact addr that is in their database, any variation is rejected). Also, addr where you are living, should be > 2 years (even if you have lived there for < 2 year, enter that you have lived there for over 2 years). If these don't work, try some other changes. Mine went thru with Addr change after getting this error code 3 times in a row with 3 different computer/browsers.

UPDATE (May, 2023): Many are reporting getting bonus with no issues in as little as a month. Also, regular ACH from Chase, Schwab brokerage, etc are working. So, easy free money. If after doing ACH, you don't get bonus within 30 days, go with regular DD. Anyone who held an  account with Truist, BB&T/SunTrust as of 01/20/2022 is not eligible. I got mine too automatically within a month.

UPDATE (Jan, 2023): Many are reporting issues opening, getting locked out, etc, so seems risky to invest time in it.

 

 

01/13/2023: Chase Checking + Savings Account $900 offer => Expires Apr 19, 2023 Expires Jan 24, 2024 Expires Apr 17, 2024 Expires July 24, 2024 Expires Apr 16, 2025 Expires July 16, 2025 Expires 10/15/2025

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/targeted-chase-900-checking-savings-bonus/

This offer from chase is the highest ever (historically in the last 20 years), so bite on it. For you and your spouse, it's $1800 of free money. You need to get the code via email, and then use that to open the account. Get the code now, in case they run out of codes. You will have until Apr 19, 2023 to use the code. You have to click on the link on the Doc site above using Incognito mode (or private mode), else it just brings you to chase.com, which shows regular offer of $600. Don't bite on $600 offer as that's also going on in parallel (that offer is shown below under 2022).

NOTE: You can keep applying for this offer every 2 years from coupon enrollment date, provided you have closed your prior checking+savings a/c.

Acceptable forms of ID for in branch a/c opening => https://www.chase.com/content/dam/chase-ux/documents/personal/checking/acceptable-forms-of-identification.pdf

UPDATE: If you had applied for the prior bonus of $600, and you are still within 21 days since you applied, and haven't received any bonus yet, you may send "secure message" to chase (using their website) with the new $900 bonus code, and they will attach the new code. More details:

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/does-chase-match-a-checking-or-savings-bonus-yes-for-21-days/

EXTENDED: This offer keeps on getting extended every time it expires (offer valid all of 2023, and still active in 2024 and 2025). As of 2025, it's been there for over 2 years. With interest rate elsewhere being 5.5%, and chase giving 0%, you effectively lose $300 in interest in 3 months, so your real profit is only $600 - Taxes. Still Not bad, since most checking + savings combo don't give you more than $600.

 Chase Teen and College accounts: Chase has another offer for teens aged 13-17 and college students aged 17+. Both give only $125 in bonus, but that's the highest that has been offered so far. Free money until kid turns 18= at which point get the regular bonus for your kids too.

 

 

 

2022:

 

 

 

10/18/2022: FNBO Checking Account + Savings Account $500 offer (selected states and zip codes only) => Expires 11/15/2022

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/co-ks-ne-ia-sd-il-tx-mo-wi-wy-fnbo-300-checking-bonus-200-savings-bonus/

This offer is for First Nantional Bank of Omaha. It is only in selected states, and in selected zip codes (zip codes where they have branches).  You get $300 from checking account + $200 from savings account. From the comments, looks like the bank isn't very reliable while applying.

 

 

10/15/2022: Bank OZK Checking Account + Savings Account $500 offer (selected states and in branch only) => Expires Nov 5, 2022

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/al-ar-ca-fl-ga-ms-nc-ny-sc-tn-tx-in-branch-ymmv-only-bank-ozk-250-checking-bonus/

This is only in selected states only, and in selected branches only. You get $450 from checking account + $50 from savings account. There is no direct link, so call your branch and confirm the offer before you drive up there. From the comments, looks like people have successfully gotten the bonus in the past.

Here's the link of he flyer from a branch location: https://imgur.com/a/Z8BfE9l

Looks like all branches have this offer, and they know about it. Both spouses can open in the same visit. Offer expires Nov 5, so get in before then.

Requirments:

Checking A/c: $5K or more in 2 or more direct deposit + a0 debit card purchases (POS) within 90 days. Need to have $2500+ daily avg balance to keep account fee free.

Savings A/c: Balalnce should be $750+ on day of bonus deposit, need ?FIXME? minimum balance to keep account fee free

Though I had never heard of this bank, it's a big bank with $25B in assets which makes it bigger than all credit unions except top 5 => https://www.depositaccounts.com/banks/bank-ozk.html

 

 

09/20/2022: Regions Bank Checking Account $450 offer (selected states only) => Expires Sept 30, 2022 => EXPIRED

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/regions-bank-400-checking-bonus-50-referral-al-ar-fl-ga-il-in-ia-ky-la-ms-mo-nc-sc-tn-tx/

This is only in selected states only, and you have to live within 50 mile footprint of a branch. You get $400 from bank + $50 from referral. The person who is referred does get $50, while not sure if the person referring gets anything. There are lots of referral links in comments section here: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/regions-bank-200250-checking-bonus-al-ar-fl-ga-il-ia-ky-la-ms-mo-nc-sc-tn-tx/

UPDATE (Sept 25, 2022): Not sure if they will honor any bonus. Customer Service reps state that you must have received this code personally delivered to you, else they won't honor it. Even though the online application allows it, bonus may be in jeopard. Will have to wait and see.

 

 

09/09/2022: Axos Bank Checking Account ~$365 offer => Expires Nov 7, 2022 => EXPIRED (as of Oct 19, 2022): 

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/axos-bank-100-checking-bonus-direct-deposit-not-required/

This offer is $300 from Axos Bank and $65 from swagbucks. Read the section on "cashback websites" to find out how swagbucks works. DD has to > $7K in any 30 day period in the first 3 months. Capital One, Charles Schwab, Sofi, etc work as DD. https://www.doctorofcredit.com/knowledge-base/list-methods-banks-count-direct-deposits/#Axos_Bank

Close after 6 months to avoid Early termination fee.

 

 

07/20/2022: Chase Checking + Savings Account $600 offer => Expires Apr 19, 2023

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/chase-600-checking-savings-bonus/

This offer from chase was pretty standard before 2020. Now it has come back after a long time. This is the best offer from Chase (historically), so bite on it. For you and your spouse, it's $1200 of free money. You need to get the code via email, and then use that to open the account. Get the code now, in case they run out of codes.

UPDATE (10/10/2022): The above link says the offer has been extended to Jan 25, 2023, Apr 19, 2023 which is right. But the link takes you to an offer of $200 for checking and $100 for savings. Or sometimes it shows the $600 offer, but keeps on looping onto itself. So, most likely the site is getting fixed. It's always better to get the code emailed to you ahead of time.

UPDATE (01/13/2023): Use $900 offer from Chase (shown above) instead of using this. You get extra $300 with exactly the same requirements.

 

 

05/15/2022: Capital one bank 360 checking account $250 offer => Expires Jun 21, 2022

https://slickdeals.net/f/15742891-capital-one-250-checking-bonus-for-new-360-checking-customers?src=frontpage

Capital One offered up to $400 for checking account in 2020, so if you didn't take advantage of that, this might be your best bet. People who took advantage of that offer, can't apply for this offer. You need to make 2 direct deposits each of $250 or more within 75 days of account opening in order to qualify for the bonus. When opening the new account, you need to enter promo code "BONUS250" (by clicking + sign for code) or you won't get the bonus. They also have an additional requirement that you should not have had an active 360 checking account with them anytime after 1st Jan, 2019 (i.e as long you never had a Capital One 360 checking account or if you had one but closed it before 1st Jan, 2019, you would be eligible for the bonus). NOTE: Even if you had other checking or savings account with them, you would still qualify for the bonus. Be sure to close out the account as soon as you get the bonus, so that when the bonus comes next time around, you may qualify for the next bonus.  

 

 

05/02/2022: Sofi Hybrid checking and savings account - ($75 via slickdeals or $175 via swagbucks) + $300 for direct deposit  => expires May 31, 2022

This is an improved offer from last year. You now get $300 for Direct Deposit, though the direct deposit amount is larger at $5K+. Simple requirement. You can go via swagbucks which gives you 17500 points (euqiv to $175). It's as swagbuck points for which you don't get 1099 tax statement. Do a direct deposit of $5K in first 30 days, and you will get full $475 bonus (vis swabucks) or $375 bonus (via slickdeals). Interest rate is also high at 1.25% with DD (as of April, 2022). Here's the link to DD form:

https://www.sofi.com/banking-service/api/public/v1/directDepositForm

Swagbucks offer: Go with the swagbucks offer.

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/sofi-checking-5000-direct-deposit-required/

Make sure your Direct deposit is the first deposit in the account (don't deposit any money when opening the account). Just let the DD be the first money to hit the account. You need to hit $5K within 30 days of first DD hitting the account.

In case you don't have swagbucks, open one by clicking on my referral link below. We both get $3 (300 Swagbucks) each, when you earn at least 300 SB in first 30 days.

Referral link: https://www.swagbucks.com/p/register?rb=20277812

Slickdeals offer: Don't go with this as it's $100 lower. Also, you do have to install slickdeals extension in your browser, which isn't something which is comfortable to some people.

Details here:

https://slickdeals.net/f/15711580-sofi-checking-and-savings-open-a-new-account-w-125-or-more-in-funding-get-75-via-slickdeals-bonus-300-direct-deposit-bonus

Sofi Referral link: Below is my SoFi referral link. If you use that to open the account, both of us get $15 each. Comments on DoC say that referral stacks with Swagbucks offer above, but I've no way of confirming. I'm not even sure how can I be referred, when you open the acount using SoFi link on swagbucks portal. For now, just avoid using my referral link below, if you want to get the $175 offer from swagbucks above with no risk.

Referral link: https://sofi.app.link/RzLverWjDpbhttps://sofi.app.link/RzLverWjDpb

https://sofi.app.link/RzLverWjDpbhttps://sofi.app.link/RzLverWjDpbhttps://sofi.app.link/RzLverWjDpb

 

 

03/15/2022: TBK - $600 bonus for direct deposit + other activities (only in selected states) => expires Jun 18, 2022

Simple requirement for $500 bonus => have 3 direct deposits totalling $12K within 120 days. Other $100 bonus requires more activities. Only valid in CO, IA, IL, KS & TX.

Details here:

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/co-ia-il-ks-tx-tbk-bank-600-checking-bonus/

 

 

02/10/2022: Truist - $500 for $1K+ in direct deposit (only in selected states) => expires Apr 30, 2022

Simple requirement => have direct deposit setup for a total of $1K within 90 days. Use promo code TR1CHK22B. Leave > $1500 in there to avoid monthly fees. Details here:

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/truist-500-checking-bonus-al-ar-ga-fl-in-ky-md-ms-nc-nj-oh-pa-sc-tn-tx-va-wv-or-dc/

The qualifying checking account must be opened in a Truist branch in one of the following states or online and have a mailing address in: AL, AR, GA, FL, IN, KY, MD, MS, NC, NJ, OH, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, WV or DC.

 UPDATE (Mar, 2022): Many are reporting not receiving the bonus, so seems risky to invest time in it.

 

 

02/01/2022: Wells Fargo - $300 for $1K+ in direct deposit (nationwide) => expires Mar 31, 2022

Simple requirement => have direct deposit setup for a total of $1K within 90 days. Leave >$500 in there to avoid monthly fees. Details here:

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/wells-fargo-300-checking-bonus-available-online/

 

 

01/16/2022: Amerant Bank - $500 for $25K+ deposit (only in TX, FL) => expires Apr 30, 2022

Simple requirement. Leave $25K in there for atleast 90 days, and have direct deposit setup. Details here:

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/tx-fl-amerant-bank-250-500-checking-bonus/

Use referlive to get $50 referral bonus for both the referrer and the one referred. More details in "bank accounts" section. You don't need to have an account at Amerant to refer someone to Amerant. You just need to have registration (i.e account on referlive)

https://www.referlive.com/amerant

 

 

 

2021:

 

 

10/25/2021: Sofi Money account - ($75 via slickdeals or $175 via swagbucks) + $100 for direct deposit => expiry unknown

Simple requirement. You can go via swagbucks which gives you 17500 points (euqiv to $175). It's given as swagbuck points for which you don't get 1099 tax statement. It barely makes it to $300 threshold that I've for banking bonuses in general. It used to $125 for Direct deposit, but now is reduced to $100. Do a deposit of $1K in first 30 days, and you will get full $275 bonus or $175 bonus.

Swagbucks offer: Go with the swagbucks offer. 

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/swagbucks-signup-for-sofi-money-with-direct-deposit-get-175-plus-100-direct-deposit-bonus/

Data point suggests you do get it. Make sure your Direct deposit is the first deposit in the account (don't deposit any mney when opening the account). Just let the DD be the first money to hit the account.

Slickdeals offer: Don't go with this as it's $100 lower, and has same risk as swagbucks. Also, you do have to install slickdeals extension in your browser, which isn't something which is comfortable to some people.

Details here:

https://slickdeals.net/f/15167158-sofi-money-open-a-new-account-w-125-or-more-in-funding-get-75-via-slickdeals-bonus?src=sticky-missed

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/sofi-money-75-slickdeals-bonus-possible-75-stack/

 

 

10/22/2021: Kabbage (by Amex) $300 Checking Account (Business) Bonus offer (Nationwide) => expires 12/15/2021

Simple requirement, Get $300 after you complete a total of 5 debit card purchases within 45 days of account opening.However, a lot of readers complain about closed accounts, more verification requests, etc, etc. This account does have 1.1% APY on a checking account on up to $100K, which is high in today's environment.

Details here:

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/kabbage-by-amex-1-10-checking-account-on-balances-up-to-100000/

 NOTE: This looks to be business accounts only, as I don't see any option to proceed without providing your business details. Readers on slickdeals.net claim that you can just call yourself "sole proprietor" even if you have no business (-It is a business checking account but you can just use your social and call yourself a sole proprietor.) => looks like that works !!

https://slickdeals.net/f/15352828-300-cash-bonus-after-opening-a-kabbage-checking-account-5-debit-purchases-within-45-days

 

 

10/10/2021: Fifth third Bank $300 Checking Bonus offer (only selected states => Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia) => expires 12/31/2021

Simple requirement, Need Direct deposit of $500 or more within 60 days of account opening. Bonus is guaranteed as Fifth third is pretty good with bonuses getting posted automatically. However, limited to very few states.

Details here:

https://slickdeals.net/f/15322747-fifth-third-new-checking-account-300-bonus-after-500-direct-deposit-within-60-days?v=1

 

 

06/13/2021: Monifi $250 Checking Bonus offer => expires 06/30/2021

To receive the $250 bonus, receive 2 qualifying direct deposits of at least $1000 each within 90 days of account opening. Looks like people are getting extra $25 for manually moving $100 from Monifi’s “Spend” account to the “Save” account. It's credited as "$25 savings goal promotion". Any ACH transfer from any bank (Capital One, Schwab brokerage, Chase, etc) is counting as Direct Deposit, so no need of doing DD from your employer.

Details here:

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/monifi-250-checking-bonus-available-nationwide/

Direct link to the offer:

https://www.monifi.com/250

The link has the option for downloading app, so this promo is only valid for applying thru app. Later, you can login thru their website on desktop. There are too many issues with this bank, where transactions are not showing up, or accounts are getting closed for no reason. However, if your account remains open, then the bonus is pretty fast and is credited within couple of days. So, worth the risk.

 UPDATE: 05/16/2021 => On applying, it says that they are not accepting applications anymore. So, maybe dead.

 

 

06/06/2021: Hancock Whitney Bank $300 Checking Bonus offer (only valid in selected states). => expires 06/30/2021

To receive the $300 bonus, receive a qualifying monthly direct deposit of at least $250 by 8/31/2021. Offer is valid in LA, MS, FL, AL, & TX only. Offer is valid in selected cities of these states, so not everyone living in these states is eligible. You will know that once you enter your zipcode on the offer link below. Details here:

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/targeted-la-ms-fl-al-tx-hancock-whitney-bank-300-checking-bonus/

This is the link for $300 offer to get a promo code via email, only then can you sign up:

https://www.hancockwhitney.com/communitychecking-300-2021

Looks like this is a branch only offer. Also from the comments by Tom, looks like this is a sneaky bank, and will charge you with fees wherever possible. So, learn from him, and play your game right. Deposit at least $1600 at time of account opening, and sign up for paperless statements right while in the bank. Close your bank account 7 months after account opening, and don't bring your balance to $0 before closing your account.

 

 

05/31/2021: Comerica Bank $200 and $500 offer (only valid in TX and MI). => expiry unknown

Comerica Bank has 2 offers: a $200 offer and a $500.  $200 is valid in TX only, while $500 offer is valid in MI and TX. Details here:

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/az-mi-tx-ca-comerica-bank-200-checking-bonus/

This is the link for $200 offer:

https://www.comerica.com/campaigns/personal/access-checking-200.html

This is the link for $500 offer:

https://www.comerica.com/campaigns/personal/platinum-circle-500.html

Looks like you should be able to do both offers, but there's no data point yet. Personally, $200 is lot easier to do, since no money is tied up into it. Also, looks like you need to do real Direct Deposit to get $200. One nice thing about this bonus may be that the bonus is not treated as interest, and hence no tax form issued (based on comments on DoC website).

There's also a referral bonus going on where both parties get $50 card. Free money. If you need referral from me, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. asking for refrral, and I'll be glad to send you a link. Open the account only by using the link. Not sure how it works if the account is opened in branch. Details here:

https://www.comerica.com/personal-finance/Referlive.html

UPDATE: Application got denied online, asked to apply in branch. Applied in branch, manager knew nothing about bonus. Anyway received the bonus within 2 months from date of opening (after meeting read Direct deposit requirements). I didn't have to contact anyone.

 

 

EXPIRED: 05/01/2021: UMB checking account $300 offer (only valid in select states). => expires May 22, 2021

UMB is offering $300, when you open UMB select checking account, and do $2K in direct deposit within 60 days. It's valid in only these states: Branches are in Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Illinois, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas.

Many ACH transfers are triggering the bonus, so Direct deposit may not be absolutely needed. Try doing ACH into UMB thru other banks that you have accounts with, and see if the bonus posts. Bonus is posting pretty fast, so worth doing it. More details below:

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/az-co-il-mo-ne-ok-ks-tx-umb-bank-300-checking/

UPDATE 05/22/201: UMB is posting bonuses within a day of meeting the requirement. That's the fastest bonus I've ever seen. So, all negative comments regarding bonuses taking a long time may be an issue of the past, but not this time. ACH from other banks, brokerage, works fine for bonus (You don't need to do a DD). Look in the comments section above to find out which ACH transfers are triggering bonuses for folks.

 

 

EXPIRED: 04/01/2021: BBVA checking+savings account $250 offer (only valid in select states). PROMO code for online: SBOL2021=> expires Apr 30, 2021

BBVA Bank is offering $250 bonus on opening a checking and savings account. Checking account has a $200 bonus and requires a direct deposit of $500 or more by June 30, 2021. There's also a $50 savings account bonus if you have $1K on June 30, 2021. Both accounts need to be open for at least 1 year. The promo code for online is: SBOL2021, while for in branch it's SB2021. If you apply thru swagbucks, you get 5000 SB (redeemable for at least $50) for opening the checking account (Link: https://www.swagbucks.com/?f=11&q=bbva). However, looks like when you apply thru swagbucks, the promo code shows as invalid. So, you could not stack the $50 swagbucks offer with the $250 offer. This offer from BBVA used to be valid nationwide in the past, but this time, they are giving the bonus to residents of these 7 states only: Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, New Mexico, and Texas. Though the bonus itself is low and is not valid nationwide, but not too many offers right now. It is churnable every 36 months, and no restrictions per household, so all members of household can apply. Note: the income is taxable. More details here:

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/bbva-200-checking-50-savings-bonus-available-online-nationwide/

 

 

EXPIRED: 02/09/2021: US Bank Checking account $400 offer => expires Mar 31, 2021

US Bank is offering $400 bonus on opening a checking account and doing direct deposit of $4K or more in 2 or more direct deposits. A lot of people are getting error in the last step, so not sure what's going on. Also, even though the offer seems nationwide, not sure if is limited to locations where US Bank has branches. It's the best bonus for US bank and can be churned in future, so no harm applying and getting free $400 (minus tax). Note: the income is taxable. More details here:

 

2020:

 

 

EXPIRED: 11/14/2020: Capital one bank 360 checking account $400 offer => Expires Jan 26, 2021

https://slickdeals.net/f/14548025-capital-one-earn-a-400-bonus-with-360-checking?v=1

Capital One offered up to $500 for checking/savings account in the past, but I haven't seen anything anything in that range in the last 2-3 years. This may as best as it gets. You need to make 2 direct eposits totaling $1K or more within 60 days of account opening in order to qualify for the bonus. When opening the new account, you need to enter promo code "BONUS400" (by clicking + sign for code) or you won't get the bonus. They also have an additional requirement that you should not have had an active 360 checking account with them anytime after 1st Jan, 2018 (i.e as long you never had a Capital One 360 checking account or if you had one but closed it before 1st Jan, 2018, you would be eligible for the bonus). NOTE: Even if you had other checking or savings account with them, you would still qualify for the bonus. Be sure to close out the account as soon as you get the bonus, so that when the bonus comes next time around, you may qualify for the next bonus.  

This offer may be pulled earlier if too many people sign up, so I would advise to jump on it now instead of waiting. There aren't too many $400 bank offers lying around in 2020.

 

 

EXPIRED: 10/21/2020: Skyone bank checking/savings $700 offer

This is one of the best offers out there to get $700 + $25 Amazon gift card. This was the best bonus offer after a long dry spell of 6 months. Unfortunately the offer expired in just a couple of days.

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/skyone-200-checking-700-savings-bonus/

 

 

EXPIRED: 06/01/2020: HSBC Offer:

  • HSBC checking account offer for $700 with direct deposit totaling $5K/per month for 6 consecutive months. Open the one with the $700 offer (3% cash back) as $475 offer (Exclusive Welcome Deposit offer) gives you much less with almost same requirements. $700 offer gives you 3% on your direct deposit amount for 6 months. You can move the cash from checking to any other savings account which gives you higher interest rate, as the bonus doesn't require you to keep that money in HSBC account.

    https://www.us.hsbc.com/checking-accounts/campaigns/premier-checking

    There's also a slickdeals offer for getting $125 thru paypal. Might as well as take advantage of this, while you are opening the checking account, so that you can move move any money in checking account to this savings a/c to get 1% interest. This $125 is non taxable as it's not interest, and not offered by hsbc. So, total bonus would be $825 minus tax, not too bad in this non existent interest rate environment.

    https://slickdeals.net/f/13983881-hsbc-direct-savings-account-earn-1-30-apy-extra-125-sd-bonus-member-fdic

    Both offers end by Jun 30, 2020.

 

 

EXPIRED: 04/17/2020: Wells Fargo Bank Offer:

  • $400 bonus with direct deposit

    https://bonusoffer.wf.com/bonusoffer

    pretty simple requirements. Make Direct deposit (thru your emplyer) of $4K or more in total in 3 months. You don't need to keep all of that money in wells fargo account. You can take out anything over $1500 ($1500 is needed to avoid the fees. But if you have direct deposit, that you don't even need that $1500 in there as there's no monthly fees for accounts having direct deposit).

 

 

EXPIRED: 04/08/2020: CIT Bank Offer:

  • CIT Savings account with $150 or $300 bonus + 1.75% APY (nationwide): updated 04/23/2020 1.55% APY. updated 05/14/2020: 1.45% updated 05/30/2020: 1.25%. The way rate is going down, it may be below 1% in next few days.

    https://cit.com/cit-bank/savings-builder-account-bonus-spring

    None of the websites show bonus anymore. Offer still valid though. When opening account, make sure the documents state this $150/$300 bonus, and save that document in your personal computer just in case.

    The bonus implies 0.6% extra APY assuming you keep $50K for a year. So, even if rates go down to 0.5%, you will still get at least 1% APY for a year, not too bad for 2020. Looks like in order to get 1.75% for all of your deposit, you need to do a monthly deposit of $100, else you get only 1.15% for your balance under $25K, and 1.75% for balance over $25K. Also their rates look consistent based on rate history, however that's changed in 2020 (i.e didn't use to be a bait and switch company, which reduces the rates immediately after getting new customers, but 2020 they are going all in). Keep $50K for about 4 months to be guaranteed a bonus.

    https://www.depositaccounts.com/banks/cit-bank.html#rates

 

 

2019:

 

 

EXPIRED 09/03/2019 => First Lubbock Bank:

    https://www.firstbanklubbock.com/home/personal/checking-savings-cds/checking => only for residents, who are within 30 miles of their branch (All in Lubbock), so it's not statewide for Texas (I was initially misinformed), so basically useless. Looks doable with $350 bonus, and 2% APY for platinum checking with only $7500 in deposit for 6 months. Even if you leave $10K for a year, you still get effective rate of 5% ($350 bonus + $200 interest). DD required to get full $350 (else you get only $280). Expires 09/03/2019.

 

 

EXPIRED 09/04/2019 => Salem Bank:

  • https://www.salemfive.com/open/ => nationwide. checking a/c with $250 bonus. Requires a hard credit pull. But has no monthly fee. Need direct deposit totaling $1500 + 50 debit card transactions. Not worth it, as many banks regularly pay $300 for new bank a/c with soft credit pull.

 

 

EXPIRED 09/04/2019 => US Bank:

  • https://www.usbank.com/content/usbank/splash/checking/checking-offer-summer19.html => available in 30 states, open easy checking a/c for $300 bonus. Requires 2 direct deposits totaling $2K or more + online banking. To waive monthly fees, just keep $1500 minimum in the account. Beware, there are lots of complaints about people not getting their bonus. Expires 09/04/2019.

 

 

EXPIRED 07/31/2019 => Simple Bank:

  • https://www.simple.com/offer-v1 => Need to open 2 a/c for $500 bonus. Need $10K in deposits, but they do pay 2.02% interest. Expires: 07/31/2019. Read a lot of negative review, where they may not finally offer the bonus at all. Not worth chasing.

 

 

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