So, you’re looking for a new bank account.
You’ve got several factors to consider — including bank promotions. Wouldn’t it be nice to fund your shiny new account with some extra cash?
Many banks offer sign-up bonuses. No, these bonuses aren’t always advertised, but we did some digging and found you some hefty cash offers.
Best Bank Promotions of 2019
We’ve spent days researching the best cash bonuses available this year so you don’t have to. Below, you’ll find our favorite checking and savings account bonuses.
Keep an eye on what it takes to qualify as well as any limitations. Direct deposit and minimum balances are commonly factors in securing these bonuses. Otherwise, happy bank bonus shopping!
1. Chase Total Checking and Savings Account: up to $350
Visit this Chase Total Checking® page to apply online, or enter your email address to get a unique coupon to take with you to open your account at any Chase branch before July 15, 2019.
- Get a $200 bonus when you open a new Chase Total Checking® account and set up direct deposit.
- Get a $150 bonus when you open a new Chase Savings(SM) account, deposit a total of $10,000 or more in new money within 20 days, and maintain a $10,000 balance for 90 days. You’re not required to open the savings account to earn the $200 Chase checking bonus.
- This offer is available in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and West Virginia.
2. TD Bank Premier Checking Account: $300
Bonus: $300
To qualify: You must receive a total of $2,500 or more via direct deposit within 60 days of opening your new account. Then, the $300 bonus will be deposited into your account within 95 days of opening.
Limitations: This account is not available in every state, so be sure to check. Additionally, there’s no minimum to open an account, but you must maintain a minimum daily balance of $2,500 to waive the $25 monthly maintenance fee.
Sign up: Visit this TD Checking® page, and enter your city and state. Click the orange “open account” button, and follow the instructions to open a TD Premier Checking℠ account.
3. TD Bank Convenience Checking Account: $150
Bonus: $150
To qualify: You must direct deposit a total of $500 or more into your new account within 60 days of opening. The $150 bonus will be deposited into your account within 95 days of opening.
Limitations: There’s no minimum balance requirement to open an account, but you should maintain a $100 daily minimum daily balance so TD Bank will waive monthly fees.
Sign up: Visit this TD Checking® page, and enter your city and state. Click the orange “open account” button, and follow the instructions to open a TD Convenience Checking℠ account.
4. BMO Harris Smart Advantage Checking Account: $200
Bonus: $200
To qualify: You must have at least two direct deposits of $500 or more post to your account within 90 days of opening. Additionally, you’ll need to make at least 10 qualifying debit card purchases with your new BMO Harris card within those 90 days.
Limitations: You must live in a state with a BMO Harris branch. These states include Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Sign up: Use the “open an account” link on the BMO Harris checking page, and your promo code will automatically be applied. You can also enter your email address to receive the promo code to take to a nearby branch.
Offer expires May 31, 2019.
5. Wells Fargo Everyday Checking Account: $400
Tina Russell/The Penny Hoarder
Bonus: $400
To qualify: After opening your new account, you must make a minimum welcome deposit of $25. Then set up direct deposit, and funnel at least $3,000 into your account for three straight months.
Limitations: This is an online-only offer available to new Wells Fargo checking customers.
Sign up: Open your Wells Fargo Everyday Checking Account here. Your bonus will deposit into your account within 45 calendar days of meeting the requirements.
Offer expires July 26, 2019.
6. SunTrust Advantage Checking Account: $250
Bonus: $250
To qualify: You’ll need an opening deposit of $100 (due within 14 days of opening your new account). Additionally, you must direct deposit at least $3,000 into your account and make at least 10 debit card purchases within 60 days of opening.
Limitations: You must be a new customer with SunTrust and live in one of these states: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia or the District of Columbia.
Sign up: Apply online through the orange “open now” link on this page, so the promo code automatically applies. Or enter your email address, and SunTrust bank will send you a coupon you can take to your local branch.
Offer expires April 30, 2019.
7. HSBC Choice Checking Account: up to $750
Bonus: $200
To qualify: Deposit at least $1,500 into your new account within 30 days of its opening, then maintain that minimum balance for 90 days.
Limitations: The offer is only available for online applicants. Existing HSBC customers aren’t eligible.
Sign up: Use this promotional link and click “Apply now” on any of the three checking account offers.
(Note: The Choice checking account, featured here, requires the lowest minimum deposit. The HSBC Advance Checking account requires a $10,000 deposit and yields a $350 bonus, and the HSBC Premier Checking account requires a $100,000 deposit and yields a $750 bonus.)
Offer expires June 2, 2019.
8. Capital One 360 Money Market Account: up to $500
Bonus: Up to $500 — plus, it acts as an online savings in that you’ll earn 2.00% annual percentage yield (APY) on accounts with a balance of $10,000 or more.
To qualify: You must deposit at least $10,000 within your first 10 days of opening the account. You’ll get the $500 balance if you have a balance of $50,000 or more or a $200 bonus if you have a balance between $10,000 and $49,999.99.
Limitations: You cannot have an existing Capital One savings product.
Sign up: Use promo code EARN500 when opening your 360 Money Market account.
Offer expires May 19, 2019.
9. Bank of America Advantage Banking: $100
Bonus: $100
To qualify: Set up and receive at least two direct deposits of $250 or more within 90 days.
Limitations: This offer is good for those who don’t already have a personal checking account with Bank of America.
Sign up: Open one of Bank of America’s Advantage banking accounts through this link. Click “open now.” (It’s tricky hunting down this offer on its site.) You’ll see three checking account options: SafeBalance Banking, Plus Banking and Relationship Banking. Each one requires different opening deposits but offers that same $100 bonus.
Offer expires December 31, 2019.
10. PNC Bank Virtual Wallet With Performance Spend: $200
Chris Zuppa/The Penny Hoarder
Bonus: $200
To qualify: Within 60 days of opening your new account, direct deposit at least $2,000 and make at least 10 purchases with the PNC Bank Visa debit card that’s linked to your account.
Limitations: This offer is restricted to residents in Alabama, District of Columbia, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, Wisconsin and West Virginia.
Sign up: Use this offer link to open an account online, or opt to receive a coupon via email to take to your nearest PNC bank branch.
Offer expires May 31, 2019.
11. Huntington Bank Huntington 5 Checking Account: $200
Bonus: $200
To qualify: Deposit at least $1,000 within 60 days of opening your account. (No direct deposit requirement for this bank promotion!)
Limitations: The offer is available to new Huntington customers located in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
Sign up: Head over to the Huntington Bank offers page and choose to sign up online or at a local branch.
Offer expires June 30, 2019.
12. BB&T Bright Banking Checking Account: $200
Bonus: $200
To qualify: Within 75 days of opening your new checking account, you must: Set up and receive at least two direct deposits of $100 or more each month, or carry out three online bill pays of at least $25 with U by BB&T (its mobile banking app). Additionally, to avoid the $12 monthly maintenance fee, you must direct deposit at least $500 or more into your account or maintain an average balance of $1,500.
Limitations: You cannot be an existing BB&T customer.
Sign up: Use this link to sign up online.
Offer expires May 23, 2019.
How to Search for Bank Promotions on Your Own
Tina Russell/The Penny Hoarder
In the spirit of not listing approximately 193 bank promotions, we kept this list short and sweet — only highlighting the best bank promotions for checking and savings accounts.
But maybe you’re interested in banking with your local credit union, opening up a small business checking account or finding the perfect investment account? There are often bonus offers attached to these account openings, too.
The banks don’t always make finding these promotions easy, so here are a few tips to help you get your hands on that cash bonus.
- Check the bank’s website first. Sometimes it’ll advertise its promotions right there. This is rare, but it’s worth a quick check — it could save you a ton of time.
- If you don’t have any luck, reach out to the bank’s customer service team through phone, email or chat. Let them know you’re shopping for a new account, and you’d like to know if it’s running any promotions. More often than not, the nice representative will send you a special link.
- If this doesn’t work, turn to your trusty friend Google. Look for the best bank promotions. Because you’ll likely dig up some offers from third-party sites, you’ll want to take a few minutes to make sure the offer:
- Hasn’t expired.
- Is legitimate. Make sure the bank is FDIC-insured and has a positive Better Business Bureau rating. You can even read some online reviews.
- Doesn’t require outrageous qualifying activities. For example, it might not be realistic for you to maintain an average daily balance of $50,000 and carry out 60 qualifying debit card purchases before the end of your first 30-day statement cycle.
- You can also reach out to your family, friends and social network to crowdsource bank recommendations. Sometimes banks have impressive referral programs, so both you and your friend could benefit from you signing up.
Overall, be smart. Don’t let that promise of an account bonus blind you. Also, read the fine print so you don’t get stuck paying high monthly fees, interest rates or closing penalties.
Will Opening a Bank Account Hurt Your Credit Score?
If you’re worried that opening a new bank account or closing an old one will hurt your credit score, don’t be. Your bank accounts are not included in your credit report and therefore have no affect on your score, unless you have an outstanding negative balance that the bank turns over to a collection agency.
Sometimes when you go to open a new bank account, banks will do a soft credit check. However, that won’t affect your score.
Now, go enjoy your fresh new bank account and that nice cash bonus you’re about to pocket. Add it to your savings account, put it toward student loan payments or, heck, treat yourself!
*Chase Fine Print
Checking offer is not available to existing Chase checking customers, those with fiduciary accounts, or those whose accounts have been closed within 90 days or closed with a negative balance. To receive the $150 checking bonus: 1) Open a new Chase Total Checking account, which is subject to approval; 2) Deposit $25 or more at account opening; AND 3) Have your direct deposit made to this account within 60 days of account opening. Your direct deposit needs to be an electronic deposit of your paycheck, pension or government benefits (such as Social Security) from your employer or the government. After you have completed all the above requirements, we’ll deposit the bonus in your new account within 10 business days. You can only receive one new checking account-related bonus per calendar year. Bonus is considered interest and will be reported on IRS Form 1099-INT.
Account Closing: If your checking account is closed within six months after opening, we will deduct the bonus amount at closing.
Editorial Disclosure: This content is not provided by the bank advertiser. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of the bank advertiser. This site may be compensated through the bank advertiser Affiliate Program.