Introduction
What is a bank account bonus?
Most of the banks offer a bonus, which is known as account bonus, to the new users in order to attract them. The bank generally pays this bonus in cash which is generally equal to $500 or even more than that. You become eligible to get this bonus when you open a new bank account.
The various conditions that will help you to get your account bonus are funding your account immediately. There are various other conditions such as you have to keep your account open for a limited time period or you have to meet a minimum daily account balance requirement.
Are bank account bonuses worth it?
If you are opening a new savings or a checking bank account, you should take as much time as you want to review the bonus offers that will help you to earn an extra amount of cash. But along with this, you should also pay attention to the fee associated with the account that you are thinking of choosing.
For example, if the account bonus that you get equals to $200, and you have to pay a monthly fee of $25 and if you are unable to pay that fee then the bonus gain that you have got will be lost in approximately the upcoming eight months. If you are thinking of a long term account, then you should choose a savings account, which has a high annual percentage yield or APY and a lower bonus as compared to that of low APY and a high bonus.
But if you are not able to meet all the requirements for the long term and want to meet those requirements only for the short-term then you should close the account that you have opened after you have received your bonus amount. This is known as bank account churning.
They may charge you an early termination fee if you close your bank account after receiving the account bonus. Also, the bank account bonuses that you get are taxable, so you have to pay tax on them.
What are the factors to consider?
First of all, you should decide whether you are comfortable meeting the person in person and meeting all the requirements offline or if you want your bank account to be online. Another thing you should look at is whether you are comfortable in visiting the branch off-line, or are you okay with handling all your transactions online?
You should also pay a major focus on how important it is to have the latest technological innovations available in the bank? Also, you should look at what kind of banking tools you need when you are traveling. The financial institute that you choose helps you to meet all your goals, including the short term and long term goals.
If you try to answer all the above-mentioned questions, then it will help you to decide what type of bank account you should choose, that is whether you should choose a traditional bank account, a fintech app or something in between that is a right fit for you. Once you decide what bank account you want, the next step is to compare the services that are provided by the different institutions.
The services that you should look at are free checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, or certificates of deposit. Overdraft protection, loan products and wealth management should also be given prime importance.
How to open a new account?
After you have decided what account you want, that is whether you want a savings account, a money market account or a checking account, you should try to understand all the requirements of that particular bank if you want to receive the account bonus. The various steps that you need to follow to open a bank account and get a refund in your bank vary from bank to bank. The general steps are as follows.
Apply
If you want to apply for any bank then there are various options by which you can apply such as the bank allows you to apply online as well as in off-line mode. You can apply off-line that is in person if the bank account you have chosen has a physical branch.
To apply for the bank that you have chosen, you have to fill out the various details such as your Social Security number, physical address and contact information along with your application. If you do not have a social security number, then there are some banks that allow you to open a new social security account at that point with an individual taxpayer identification number, ITIN.
Make a minimum deposit
Depending on the bank requirements of the bank that you have chosen, you have to make the minimum deposit that is required by your bank when opening the bank account.
Complete bonus offer requirements
The requirements of all the different offers are different and specific. It is very important for you to read the fine print so that you can follow all the steps that are necessary to get your 1st account bonus.
Best bank account bonuses
Huntington bank
This bank has more than 1000 branches located at different geographical locations in the Midwest and southern regions of the US. You will get the welcome bonuses of this bank after a little more time as compared to that of others. If you want to get the bonus in your account, then your account must be open for about 90 days before you receive the bonus.
Laurel road
Laurel Road is a branch of KeyBank, which offers you a high new account bonus that equals to $100. You can open a loyalty checking account and make direct deposits into it. You can earn up to $20 per month if you do a direct deposit of $2500 or more than that.
BMO
This bank provides you three different ways by which you can earn account bonuses when you open a checking account. But you have to be very patient as it would take longer to get the bonus.
TD bank
TD bank is the only bank that offers you two separate bonuses. That is, if you open two separate accounts that are checking and savings accounts you get two separate bonuses. If you open a TD signature or a TD simple savings account you can get around an additional bonus of $200.
PNC bank
If you make a one-time direct deposit of $500, $2000 or $4000 into your virtual wallet, then you get a bonus of either $100, $200 or $400.
There are many advantages to choosing this bank. One of them is that you do not have to deposit a minimum amount to your account if you want to open a checking account.
Bank of America
This bank provides you with three kinds of checking accounts. If you want to qualify for opening the checking account, you have to complete the two steps that are mandatory. But this bank requires a minimum deposit of $25 to $100.
Axos bank
When you open the Axos reward checking account, you can earn upto $300. But in order to get this bonus, you must maintain a minimum balance of $7000 in your bank account. If you want to earn an intro bonus then, you should not consider using this bank.
Sofi
Sofi or social finance bank is an online bank that offers different types of bonuses to its customers. In order to qualify for the different bonuses, you have to open different accounts such as checking accounts or savings accounts.
M&T bank
If you open an account in this bank then you can earn up to $100 to $200 bonus. They charge upto $24.95 monthly fee.
Chase
It is the national bank, which has its branches in almost all the states of the country. The certificate of deposit and saving accounts yield of this bank are below the national average rates.
Conclusion
In this article, we came to know about Money and banking that everyone should know about.
Firstly, we came to know about what bank account bonuses are. Bank account bonuses are the some of money that are offered to the new users by the bank in order to attract them. Then we came to know about the importance of bank account bonuses.
After this, we discussed the various factors that we should consider before opening our account in any bank and the steps of opening a new bank account. The steps include applying for the bank, making a minimum deposit and completing the bonus offer requirements. At last, we looked at the best bank account bonuses.
