Welcoming the new year with a new bank account? If you don’t know yet, there are banks that pay you to open an account with them, so don’t miss out on free cash!
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What’s the catch, you ask?
Well, most of them don’t have a catch. The free money from banks is usually just a welcome gift and a way to show you how much banks value your business.
How do you sign up? What are the stipulations?
Some small banks offer this promo only for local residents, while national bank chains may make this available nationwide. Depending on the bank or new bank account promo you choose, you might need to meet or follow requirements such as:
- Deposit a minimum amount of money in the account to qualify
- Keep the account open for a specific amount of time (or you’ll be owing the bank the money you got at the start)
- This is the first account you have with the bank or you are already a member but need to open an extra account
Answers to all these questions, plus all other bank-specific information with these 2020 bank promotions…
Which Banks Pay You to Open an Account?
Different banks offer different amounts of cash. Here are some of the banks you might be interested in, along with the accounts available with bonus cash.
1. Chase ($200 or $300)
This bank has several new bank account bonus options, including:
You must be a new Chase account-holder, or have no record of negative balance with Chase within the past 90 days.
2. Citibank ($200 to $700)
As one of the oldest banks that pay you to open an account with them, Citibank keeps this promotion for new accounts available throughout the year.
For example, open a new checking account (Basic Banking) or savings (Account and Priority Account) with certain deposit amount requirements:
- Earn $200 if you deposit $5,000 into a Basic Banking package
Within 30 days from opening your account, you’ll receive free cash from the bank. You’d have to maintain this balance for 60 consecutive calendar days, or else you’ll be owing the bank.
3. Bank of America ($100)
Earn $100 cash bonus if you open an online checking account (either the Bank of America Core Checking and Bank of America Interest Checking).
To qualify, you must set-up at least 2 direct deposits of $250 within the first 90 days of opening your account.
Deadline to open is on March 31, 2020.
The downside here is that these types of checking accounts come with monthly fees, which can be waived if you’re a student under 24 years old, maintain a $1,500 (or more) daily balance.
4. Wells Fargo ($400)
If you open a new Everyday Checking account online by July 31, 2020, you can qualify for $400 cash bonus as long as:
- You’re a resident of participating branches
- Deposit a minimum of $25
- Add at least $4,000 direct deposits within 90 days of account opening.
5. Fifth Third Bank ($250)
You can receive $250 cash from Fifth Third if you open a checking account before April 30 2020.
You’ll need to deposit at least $500 within 45 days after opening the account and maintain that balance for an extra 60 days.
This checking account has an $11/month service charge, which you can waive by having a line of credit, auto loan or personal mortgage via Fifth Third, spending a minimum of $500 on your Fifth Third credit card or having a combined monthly average balance of $15k across all your Fifth Third accounts.
6. Santander Bank ($225)
With Santander Bank, you can receive up to $225 if you open a checking account on or before March 31, 2020.
Use the bank promo code “SDB225G699” when opening online. You’ll receive the free cash if you made direct deposits that total $1k or more and if you kept the account open for at least 90 days.
The best thing about this bank account is that the monthly $10 fee can be easily waived with just 1 transaction per month. Plus, there is no minimum balance requirement or other complicated rules.
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7. CIT Bank ($150 to $300)
CIT Bank has two promos currently for new and existing customers.
- $150 cash bonus – Open a Savings Builder with at least $100 initial deposit. Use the promo code “Bonus19” and add $25,000 to $49,999 direct deposits within 15 days of account opening date.
- $300 cash bonus – Open a Savings Builder account following the instructions above, but deposit at least $50,000 within n15 days of opening the account and maintaining that balance for 90 days.
8. Regions Bank ($100 annually)
Go to the Regions branch to open a new checking account (or do it online). Follow it up by opening a Regions LifeGreen Savings account with at least $50 initial deposit. You’ll qualify for a yearly $100 cash bonus if you:
- Transfer at least $10 from your checking account to the savings account every month
- Do this for 12 consecutive months
The cash bonus will be deposited a day after your anniversary date of account opening.
9. Citizens Bank ($1,000)
Open a CollageSaver savings account and save the monthly minimum amount each year. You’ll receive a $1,000 bonus when your child turns 18.
You’d have to visit the branch, so only those near Citizens Bank locations (mostly in northeastern US) could avail of this bank promo.
10. Charles Schwab ($500 Referral Bonus)
Unlike the other banks that pay you to open an account, this one is a bit different because it involves a third-party person and a referral bonus.
Ask around and look for family members or friends with an existing Schwab account. Request for their referral code and use it to open your own Schwab account with a deposit of at least $1,000.
The amount you get for free depends on how much you’ll be able to deposit 45 days after you opened the account. $1000 to below $25,000 equals $100, above $25k to $49,999 gets you $200, $50k+ up to $99,999 equals $300 and deposit over $100,000 gets you $500 bonus.
11. Discover Bank ($150 or $200)
Open a Discover Bank savings account online before February 3, 2020 with at least $15,000 deposit, so you can receive $150 bonus, or $25,000 deposit for $200 bonus.
Only new clients can qualify – those who have former Discover bank accounts can’t receive the bonus cash.
12. Huntington Bank ($150)
If you open a Huntington Bank Asterisk-Free checking account with at least $1,000 initial deposit, you can earn $150 cash bonus as long as you made qualifying deposits and keep the account open for 90 days.
This is a good account without ongoing balance requirements and monthly fees, but the bank promo is only available to customers in WV, IL, IN, KY, MI, OH, and PA.
13. PNC Bank ($200 to $300)
Open PNC’s virtual wallet account and get a chance to earn:
- $200 cash bonus – Open a new Virtual Wallet with “Performance Spend” with at least $2,000 deposits to the account.
- $300 cash bonus – Open a new Virtual Wallet with “Performance Select” with at least $5,000 deposits to the account.
To qualify on both bank cash promos, you’d have to complete at least 10 debit card purchases and complete the requirements by March 31, 2020.
14. Capital One 360 (From $25 to $150)
You can receive up to $150 cash bonus if you do the following:
- $25 – Open a new Capital One 360 Saving account with at least $250 deposit and you get to earn $25 automatically.
- $100 – Open a new Capital One 360 Money Market account, deposit any amount below $10,000 to get a $25 bonus. If you have over $10,000 deposits, you can receive $100 cash bonus.
- $25 – Open a new Capital One 360 account and deposit at least $250, followed by at least 3 debit card purchases or Person2Person payments within 45 days since opening the account.
Choose from one, or do all to receive up to $150.
15. TD Bank (up to $300)
Receive a $150 cash bonus from TD Bank if you apply online for a new TD Bank Convenience Checking account. You’d have to add more funds (about $500 or more) to this account within 60 days since account opening.
A Warning about Banks that Pay You to Open an Account with Them
As you may have figured out, these bank promotions are not made equal.
When I say most of these banks do not have a catch, it’s because none of them really hide the conditions of the promos. You just have to read more carefully, so you’d know that many of them require monthly fees (that you can still waive if you meet certain requirements).
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The fine line will always be posted under the bank promo info, so make it a habit to double-check before signing on.
Once you are fully informed of the pros and cons, it’s easier to gauge if the offers of banks that pay you to open an account with them truly benefit you (or just entice you enough to be “trapped” into a bank account that’s unfavorable to you in the long term).
But if you find a bank promo that fits your needs, it’s an easy way to make quick money and get paid to do virtually nothing.
