Cash bonuses are a nice perk for opening a new bank account, and MagnifyMoney reviewed dozens of bank promotions to find today’s best bonuses for savings accounts. PNC Bank’s Virtual Wallet with Performance Select pays $400 to customers who meet required qualifications.
Best savings account sign-up bonuses in November 2022
PNC Bank Virtual Wallet Accounts — Up to $400
- Expiration date: 01/02/2023
- How to earn bonus: To earn a $400 bonus, open a new Virtual Wallet with Performance Select account and receive a total of at least $5,000 in combined qualifying direct deposits within 60 days. Can’t commit to that much direct deposit? Earn a $200 bonus by opening a Virtual Wallet with Performance Spend with $2,000 in direct deposits, or earn a $50 bonus by opening the most basic Virtual Wallet with $500 in direct deposits.
- Who’s eligible: Available in 28 states and Washington, D.C. for those who aren’t current PNC consumer checking customers and haven’t had a PNC consumer checking account in the last 90 days.
- Account information: Virtual Wallet consists of a checking account (called Spend), optional additional checking account (called Reserve) and optional savings account (called Growth).
- Monthly maintenance fees: Virtual Wallet has a $7 monthly fee, Virtual Wallet with Performance Spend has a $15 monthly fee and Virtual Wallet with Performance Select has a $25 monthly fee. Those fees can be waived by meeting certain requirements.
SoFi Bank Checking and Savings Account — Up to $250
- Expiration date: 12/31/2022
- How to earn bonus: Customers who complete qualifying direct deposits during a 25-day evaluation period (which begins the day you first receive a direct deposit) can earn a cash bonus. Deposits of $5,000 or more will earn $250, deposits of at least $1,000 but less than $5,000 will earn $50.
- Who’s eligible: Available nationwide.
- Account information: SoFi specializes in loans, but they also offer a bank account backed by FDIC insurance. The combination Checking and Savings Account pays one of the most competitive savings interest rates in addition to the sign-up bonus, but that interest rate is lower if you don’t complete direct deposits. SoFi keeps fees low, pays cash back and allows early paycheck access as well. You cannot open separate checking and savings accounts.
- Monthly maintenance fees: None
TD Bank Beyond Savings or Simple Savings Account — $200
- Expiration date: 10/31/2023
- How to earn bonus: Earn $200 when you deposit at least $10,000 into a TD Beyond Savings or TD Simple Savings account within 20 days of opening the account and maintain at least that balance for 90 days.
- Who’s eligible: Available for residents of Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia and Washington, D.C. who have a TD bank checking account and do not have a TD Bank savings or money market account.
- Account information: The TD Bank Beyond Savings account has no ATM fees for non-TD Bank ATMs, but it has a higher monthly fee than a Simple Savings account. Both accounts bear interest.
- Monthly maintenance fees: There is a $15 fee for Beyond Savings, waived with a $10,000 minimum daily balance or a linked TD Beyond Checking account; there is a $5 fee for Simple Savings, waived with a $300 minimum daily balance, a link to a Beyond Checking account, at least $25 in recurring transfers, a linked TD Convenience Checking account if you’re under 24 or if you’re younger than 18 or older than 62.
Chase Bank Savings Account — $200
- Expiration date: 1/25/2023
- How to earn bonus: Earn $200 when you open a Chase Savings account and deposit a total of $15,000 in new money within 30 days and maintain that balance for 90 days. If you also open a Chase Total Checking account and set up direct deposit at the same time, you can earn $600 total.
- Who’s eligible: Available nationwide for those who don’t already have a Chase savings account.
- Account information: Chase offers a standard savings account that currently just pays 0.01% APY.
- Monthly maintenance fees: $5, waived with a minimum daily balance of $300, $25 in Autosave or other automatic transfers from a Chase checking account, certain linked Chase checking accounts or if you’re under 18.
Alliant Credit Union Ultimate Opportunity Savings Account — $100
- Expiration date: 12/31/2022
- How to earn bonus: Earn $100 when you deposit at least $100 a month for 12 consecutive months after opening the account and have a balance of $1,200 or more at the end of those 12 months.
- Who’s eligible: New Alliant members can earn the bonus. Alliant has broad-based membership eligibility through donations to a nonprofit called Foster Care to Success.
- Account information: There are no minimum balance fees for the Alliant Ultimate Opportunity Savings account. Alliant offers online and mobile banking and a large ATM network.
- Monthly maintenance fees: $1, waived if you elect eStatements.
Regions Bank LifeGreen Savings Account — Up to $100
- Expiration date: N/A
- How to earn bonus: Complete an automatic transfer of funds from a Regions Bank checking account to your LifeGreen Savings account for at least 10 of the first 12 months of the account to receive a 1% savings bonus up to $100. The bonus applies to your average monthly balance for the account’s first year
- Who’s eligible: Available for residents of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas or Utah who are Regions Bank checking customers.
- Account information: The Regions LifeGreen Savings account has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements. The account bears interest on different balance tiers in addition to the annual bonus.
- Monthly maintenance fees: $0
Frequently asked questions
Multiple banks offer promotions for signing up for a savings account. MagnifyMoney chose accounts from PNC Bank, SoFi Bank, TD Bank, Chase Bank, Alliant Credit Union and Regions Bank.
Right now, PNC Bank has the highest available bonus for savings accounts at $400. The bonus applies to PNC’s Virtual Wallet with Performance Select account, which can be opened as a dual savings and checking account or as only a checking account.
Many banks offer options for opening accounts online, over the phone or at a physical branch. Typically, you’ll need information including a Social Security number, mailing address, driver’s license and birth date to open a savings account.
Savings accounts are a good choice for emergency funds or saving up for big expenses. They have more liquidity than a certificate of deposit (CD) — which have predetermined terms, often from six months to five years long, and have higher interest rates but carry penalties for early withdrawals. Money tends to grow faster in a savings account than a checking account as well, although money market accounts can offer competitive rates.
Methodology: How we chose the best savings account bonus offers
Using information from DepositAccounts and other sources, MagnifyMoney reviewed savings account bonuses from financial institutions — in order to be considered, banks need to be insured by the FDIC and credit unions need to be insured by the NCUA. The accounts must be available in several states.
We only considered accounts with a reasonable deposit requirement to earn the bonus (at most $25,000) and low monthly maintenance fees (at most $25). Likewise, the minimum deposit to open an account had to be $100 or less.
Alex Cook
