Note: traditionally we want to open checking account with banks near home (or work place), so that we can get the services, deposit check, get cash etc. This has changed since the growing online banking esp. mobile app, and Paypal. A lot things can be done without walking into branch office. In the following I listed some checking account promotions I either applied personally or am thinking about it. Some banks are not local to St. Louis.
(05-25-2025) I think for me personally Apple Savings Account is still one of the best choices out there, here is Apple’s instruction – How to apply for a Savings account.
(06-05-2023) Finally, I was able to find the “creating Savings Account” option on my Apple Card. I started using Apple Card a year or two ago. Note Apple Card is a credit card, powered by MasterCard and Goldman Sachs, with some reward options for purchases made at Apple or say Walgreens. More recently I created the “Daily Cash” in my “Wallet” app, and I saw Apple deposited the “cash back” from my Apple card directly to the “Daily Cash” account. I could not find the “Open Savings Account” at that time. Today I found it on my Apple Card. Here are the instructions from the Apple website in case needed. I found I can save money to that account too, by transferring money from the checking account that’s tied to Apple Card. Currently, the APY is 4.15%, so it’s comparable to the Amex and Discovers HYSAs I have.
(05-03-2023) Doctor of Credit Best High Yield Savings Accounts – up to 5.00% APY
(04-13-2023) I have a referral link for Chase Checking Account. I will receive $50 per qualified account opening. We can split it if you like. Just email me at minjie dot xu at gmail dot com 🙂
(11-14-2020) Citi Bank offer ($200, $400, $700, or $1,500)
(10-19-2017) Capital One: Capital One $200 Checking & $200 Money Market Bonus, Nationwide & No Direct Deposit Required [YMMV] (credit: DoC) (update 30-jan-2018: this does not seem to work for me. Please note I did receive the precessdor of Capital One checking / savings, a.k.a., the ING Orange checking / savings in the past, which may or may not impact the bonus here. I did not receive anything from the NYCB MyBankingDirect either. So I am closing the latter shortly. Thinking close the CapOne soon too).
(06-28-2017) Came across this $100 referral offer from Charles Schwab. It seems easy money: new client mention the code “REFER” will get the $100 award. I have their investor checking account which gives rebate for ATM fees (bank fees).
(05-16-2017) A similar offer for MO (and a few other states) resident is this one: Pinnacle Bank $100 Checking Bonus. (Update 10-19-2017) I got the $100 bonus, it took $16 from it. So my net is $84.
(05-13-2017) The Discover Bank posted $100 fairly quick. I deposit the money on 05-04, and received the $100 bonus on 05-12. I will go for the My Banking Direct $150 Checking Bonus next (update: applied on 05-15 as I saw the offer will expire on 05-31). (Update 10-19-2017) It looks like the My Banking Direct (NYCB) is a bust (it did not give me bonus after I did 6 online bill pay). Thinking closing out that account soon.
Btw, the DoC summary of best bank offers link here.
(04-29-2017) Changed the page title from “checking account” to “bank account”, which means both checking and savings, plus some money market account. I was a bit frustrated at HSBC not giving out $350 award after meeting the requirement. So I went ahead and applied for Discover Savings (needs to deposit $15,000 for $100 bonus; I applied on 04-29-2017 and received the bonus on May-12-2017 (that was fast :-).
Note: I have not applied for the two accounts below. May have done this too fast as I just saw the Capital One $200 offer). Some other good saving accounts include Capital One ($10,000 for $200 bonus; Expiration date: must deposit by 6/30/2017. I’ve earned ING Savings bonus years ago, which disqualifies me from this offer by reading the DoC post) and CIT ($15,000 for $100 bonus; Expiration date: June 30th, 2017).
(01-10-2017) Wells Fargo offers $250 for new checking account. Details here. (update 02-17-2017) Extended to March 03, the new link can be found at doctor of credit. (02-26-2017) I applied finally. Will update regarding the bonus. (Update 04-03-2017) Today I received bonus after posting $500 total direct deposit via paycheck. That was very fast: much faster than HSBC below.
(12-29-2016) Another checking account I applied recent is the HSBC, it offers $350 for qualified new accounts. I opened it on Nov. 17 (a day before the last day Nov. 18). For more details, please refer to doctor of credit (Update 04-03-2017) Per chat with HSBC rep, it will take 8 weeks from fulfilling requirement to receive the bonus. (Update 04-22-2017) Reading a comment from DoC (JimT November 14, 2016): Don’t bother. According to a banker friend within HSBC, this offer is just a bait for your info for future marketing. They either decline your application, or won’t open acct by the offer expiry date (so that they don’t have to pay bonus), or not pay your bonus at all by dragging after all. Just move on. Anything too good is indeed too good to be true. Follow the US banks, at least they are honest in this issue. Seems not promising 🙁 (Update 06-09-2017) Just as I thought about close the account, they posted the $350 bonus on 05-25-2017. So forgot about all the bad words I said earlier 🙂
(03-18-2016) Northpointe $100 Bonus + 5% APY Checking Account – No Bonus Requirements – DoC Exclusive My comment: The article was a bit long and could be confusing. But I think the only requirement is the $100 or more direct deposit (to open the account), also make sure select the first product (5% APY Checking). It takes about 10 minutes, for $100 bonus 🙂
(01-24-2016) Per DoctorOfCredit, 53rd bank offer is alive again. My only question is in St. Louis area 53rd bank sold their branches to Great Southern Bank, not sure how the offer will work. I plan to keep GSB for the moment though as they just send me a bunch of deluxe checks.
(Update 01-23-2016) Just applied simply right checking at Santander. Lower DD requirement ($500) for bonus, and for monthly fee waiver ($10 Monthly Fee is waived when you make any financial transaction that posts during the calendar month. Includes
deposits, withdrawals, transfers or payments. Excludes fees, rebates or
adjustments posted by Santander.) (Update June 2016): I received the $150 bonus recently. It appears Santander is slow posting those awards. But better late than never.
(Update 11-05-2015) Citibank Gold Checking account offer: 50,000 AA miles or 50,000 ThankYou Points (doctorofcredit has a detailed explanation and step-to-step guide). This seems like good deal even consider $90 monthly fees (3 months). Also, a top on checks. Sometimes it cost money to get beginning checks for a checking acct. One way to workaround is to use PayPal as a conduit. I recall I used it long time ago when I sold stuff on ebay. Almost forgot about it as I have not done it for years. One drawback compared to check is PayPal is a bit slower because it adds a layer.
(Update 10-16-2015) Two more checking account offers. Santander and TD Bank (expired 11/05/2015, per hustlermoneyblog). Both offers $150 for opening account and direct deposit for Santander, 15 debit transactions for TD Bank.
(Update 10-08-2015) Hunnington Bank is doing a $200 checking account offer. Here’s all it takes to get your $200: Open a new Huntington 5 Checking account using the link below by November 24, 2015. Make at least $1,000 in deposits within 60 days of account opening. It’s really that simple. We’ll then deposit $200 into your new account within 14 days of meeting the requirements. Read more about waiving monthly fee from here. (hint: $5000 account balance for one). Also note: This offer is only available to online applicants residing in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and West Virginia.
(Update 10-01-2015) More checking account opening bonus, this one from First Tennessee Bank, offers ends on Oct 31st, 2015. “To receive your bonus, you must open the checking account online and ensure the code ONLINE appears in the online application where “Offer/Promo code” is requested. You must have an opening deposit of at least $300, and at least one direct deposit must post to your account within 60 days of account opening…” (11-03-2015) I received their bonus shortly after meeting their requirement. That’s fast 🙂
Also useful links: Doctor of Credit List Of Methods Banks Count As Direct Deposits (not super scientific, but still useful if one plan to use Paypal instead of employer paycheck); My Money Blog Applying for Multiple Bank Accounts: Can You Apply For Too Many?
(Original 09-27-2015)
Fifth Third Bank
53 Bank offers $150 for opening Checking account with qualifying activities. Link here. Note this is direct link (not affiliated link, in other words I am not taking any commision from the bank. Same below). Qualifying activity includes three online bill payments, using Fifth Third Bank’s online bill payment service, and direct deposit. Don’t know when the offer will ends. Last time I got a $200 offer from them and enrolled at the last day (July 26, 2015). They were very quick to deposit the bonus money after I met their requirement.
Note: Fifth Third Bank will also donate $150 to “Stand Up to Cancer”. Keep in mind there are many cancer related charity ripoffs according to Anderson Cooper, it seems SU2C is legit.
BMO Harris
Back to topic. BMO Harris is doing $200 offer for new checking account with direct deposit. Link here. Offer (account opening) is valid between July 27, 2015 and January 22, 2016. (11-3-2015) Just opened an Everyday Checking account with them today.
PNC Bank
PNC is offering up to $400 for opening new checking account with qualifying direct deposit. Offer ends 12/31/2015. Link here. (11-3-2015) I received their bonus about 28 days after meeting their requirement.
Notes:
1) The bonus overall is not as general as some credit card offer (more than $500 opening bonus with qualifying spending). But keep in mind opening credit card usually means a hard pull on credit record, while opening checking account does not. One thing keep in mind is one has to be US citizen or permanent resident for opening checking accounts, due to the new laws and regulations in this new era.
2) Also the bonus from checking account will usually reported as interest income or ordinary income. It will be taxed when we file the tax next year, this is different from the credit card promotion, which usually billed as rebate or points (and there is no tax implication).
Credit Card rewards (was a separate page)
Update from time to time, come back for offers I feel worth to take.
Recent credit card with good promotion offers and I personally applied and approved. Note I am not taking any commission from all the links below: some are direct links to bank credit cards; others such as the points guy which is independent site and it does have affiliated links to the cards (aka the site does get promotion), but I am not affiliated with TPG etc.
(05-16-2024) If you are curious about the business of rewards and credit card (how they make money etc.), here is a good article – Anatomy of a credit card rewards program
(04-19-2023) Not exactly the credit card rewards, but still related to this, some potential lunch money.
(04-13-2023) Chase Sapphire referral link: I will receive 15,000 Chase Ultimate Reward points for each qualified account opening (up to 75k total). We can split the points if you like. Email me at minjie got xu at gmail dot com.
Reward calendar (as of 05-16-2024 I no longer update below, one reason is I don’t have lots of free time, also refer to the tweet below, which I tend to agree)
The q2 2019 5% category: grocery and home improvement stores for Chase freedom; gas, lyft and uber for Discover Card.
You can click on the google calendar entry and copy it to your own cal.
Gas Rewards and other offers
(11-16-2018) I recall I used Chase Pay for gas too. It has 10 cents off from Phillips 66 and Shell. Note Chase Freedom has 5% cash back promotion for Chase Pay. Without that promotion, I would use the Sam’s Club Mastercard: it has 5% cash back too.
Also an update from Dosh (my referral link here): I got a $20 from Sam’s Club (it says for $20 off $45, don’t recall exactly), and another $2.25 after the shopping trip for a while (gas purchase). So I am happy with Dosh for now.
(Amex gold) I signed up the $120 dinning credit (up to $10 per month), and it worked like a champ so far. Noted some other card linked offer too (such as 5 guys: $5 off $20). The dining credit applies to GrubHub, seamless, cheesecake factory and shake shack.
(Panera bread) Or as we call Bread co. here in St. Louis has $10 bonus card for $50 gift card purchase. They usually do this around holiday season. Note the $10 bonus card has a specific duration of usage: usually in first 3 weeks in the new year (year 2019). So plan accordingly. I usually get 2 or 3 of those, as I cannot use too much and keep track of too much.
(10-14-2018)I have used mainly Fuel Rewards (Shell, or Cirle-K in the area), and Exxon Speedpass+ (plenti, now Exxon own rewards program) in last few years. For Fuel Rewards, I have 5 cent discount as gold member, and Speedpass+ has 15 cents promotion for new account. My speedpass+ is not completely new, but I just logged into my app again since late May when they started phased out the Plenti rewards (with Amex). Besides the price discount, I mainly used the Sam’s Club Mastercard for gas (5% cashback), plus at times when Chase Freedom does 5% reward category.
Most recently, I also started using the Dosh app (my referral link here). They are doing 3% cashback for the Exxon recently. So this makes it 8% (or 7% if we use the Costco Visa card, 4% cashback from the credit card). I am thinking filling up Exxon for a while until the 3% runs out. Note Dosh is a bit like Ebates, its cashback is not limited to the Exxon. The offers varies by where you live, for example, I use Nudo and Pickleman in my area: both 6% for restaurant. Both restaurants have options for tipping 🙁
2017
First National Bank TravElite American Express® Card: looks good from first glance (3x points per $1 spent on travel purchases; 1.5x points per $1 spent on everyday purchases; Earn 25,000 points to redeem for a $250 statement credit, when you spend $2,500 in the first 3 billing cycles; $100 Global Entry Credit)
Amex HHonors cards: it seems Amex is going offensive after losing the Costco contracts. It has some good offers for new and old cardholders, the promotion ranges from 80k to 100k HHonors points. See link to the doctorofcredit and uscreditcards101 (Chinese) here. Note as of 23-Mar-2017 I have not taken up the upgrade offer to get 100k, the 2 things I saw is the $75 annual fee which I don’t have for my current Amex HHonors, and $3000 spending requirement in first 3 months.
Chase Freedom: it has an offer of $150 cash back for new cardholder spending $500 in first 3 months. I’m doing a referral (both of us will get $50 from Chase, via 5,000 Ultimate Rewards points). Note Freedom card has no annual fee, the kicker for Chase Freedom is 5% bonus category for each quarter (2017 calendar here, e.g., gas for q1, grocery for q2.)
Discover Card: Discover Cash Bonus Card has quarterly category 5%, and it has $50 if I refer a friend. Note you will also get $50 from Discover too. Just let me know (see email below). For 2017 Discover has 5% cashback at Wholesale club (Sam’s Club) in Q1 and Q2. Other rotational categories include gas for Q1, and home improvement for Q2. Full 2017 calendar is here. Note for Chase Freedom and Discover quarterly 5% bonus, another requirement is one has to activate the offer, for Freedom it’s just a click from the email reminder, for Discover I believe one has to log into site and activate the offer.
I can also do referral for Chase Sapphire Preferred, and Amex Gold Premier. Email me for more details. My email is minjie dot xu at gmail dot com. Drop me an email and I will send you the link to apply.
Summary of card opening in 2016: the only new card I got is the Amex Premier Gold (see below). 50,000 MR points. I converted 10,000 to the Plenti by the end of last year (1:1.5 promotion).
2016
Currently I am thinking about which card I can get in 2016, both for card opening bonus and daily spending points/rewards.
(08-30-2016) The new Chase Sapphire Reserve (CSR), which offers 100,000 ultimate points for spending $4,000 in first 3 months. The annual fee is $450, which can be partially offset by $300 airline credit. A link to the offer here (note I am not taking any commission here).
(08-02-2016) The Amex Premier Rewards Gold Card. I got this offer from email that says 50,000 membership reward points (MRP, worth about $500 for travel), with $100 airline credit and first annual fee waiver (the annual fee is $195 thereafter). The points total is lower than the platinum card offer below (note for platinum card, 100k points offer is also unusual); actually I got an offer from the platinum card for 50k points as well. The spend requirement is higher for platinum: 5k in 3 months vs 2k in 3 month for gold. So this is a plus. Note platinum has higher annual fee as well ($495) with some other perks (TSA Pre, $200 airline credit etc). (Update 09-05-2016) I got this Amex Premier Rewards Gold card today: applied online via the link from my email, was approved instantly, and able to add it to my Amex online account. Now waiting for the card arrival and could use it to buy some airline tickets. This one has $2,000 spending requirement for first 3 months. So I will delay getting the CSR card above, if I ever decide to get one 🙂
(07-17-2016) I found two Amex offers to be useful: I found and added both in my Amex HHonors card (through website, you can find the same from their app too). The offer is $20 off $50 for godaddy.com (domain registration), and $5 off $25 for BP (gasoline). The latter one can be used 3 times, so makes the total $15. Thought it’s fun once I added about $24.xx amount of gas, and did not get it.
(05-09-2016) 100,000 Membership Rewards Points from Amex Platinum card, spend $3000 in the first 3 months after account opening to get the 100k pts (link here). (Update 05-10-2016) It looks like the deal is dead around 10:45 EDT time. Back to 40,000 bonus points. I did not apply on time, so I guess I will wait for another year. (per some people, this deal usually does not come often and when it comes, does not last long).
(05-08-2016) Came across two offers for Mercedes Benz Amex card.
Mercedes-Benz Credit Card from American Express: 10,000 Membership Rewards® points after you charge $1,000 in purchases on the Card in the first three months of Card Membership. Plus some other benefits with annual fee of $95.
Platinum Card® from American Express Exclusively for Mercedes-Benz. Limited Time Offer: 75,000 Membership Rewards® points after you charge $3,000 in purchases on the Card within the first three months of Card Membership. Offer expires 06/22/2016. Plus some other benefits with annual fee of $475.
I may get Citi Double Cash, it’s not as exciting as chase sapphire, but rather a simple 2% cash back card. I may just switch my Citi ThankYou card to the Double Cash. Note it does not have any promotions for new card.
I also thought about Wyndham reward card, their current offer, 30,000 points (2 nights) for $69 annual fee (and 6,000 anniversary points), is not attractive enough.
2015
I got those 5 new cards.
Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express: Earn 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets, up to $6,000 in purchases per year (then 1%); Unlimited 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations and U.S. department stores and 1% cash back on all other purchases; Get $150 back after you spend $1,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months. (Best Amex cards by nerdwallet). Amex also does offers which one can get in 2 ways: 1) Via the twitter retweet, offers can be seen here (needs link twitter account with an Amex card); 2) By adding the offer from Amex website.
Hyatt Chase: 2 free nights after spending $1000 in first 3 months; 5,000 points adding an authorized user; there is also a bonus $50 statement credit offer (not available to everyone, it’s available to people who stayed at the hotel since May 1st, 2015; I assume the other condition has to apply as well, e.g., new card holder, no bonus in last 24 months etc). I booked Park Hyatt Shanghai for those two free nights (coming June).
Citi HHonors: 75,000 points for spending $2000 in first 3 months (the points guy). Note one HHonors point is roughly .5 cent, it could go up or down depends on the locations. I have seen 10,000 points for Hampton Inn at Collinsville (St. Louis suburban), or 40,000 points for Hilton Anaheim near Disneyland. So your mileage may vary. Also, it appears from HHonors official website, this offer is downgraded to 40,000 points (aka one night at Hilton Anaheim). Also which Hilton credit card is best by the points guy.
PenFed Travel Rewards: $100 statement credit for spending $1500 in first 3 months. 5 points for gas, 3 points for grocery, 1 point for the rest. Needs PenFed membership. They also have good mortgage and auto loan rates. For me I got this offer from email as I am a also their mortgage customer.
Sam’s Club MasterCard (Synchrony Financial): $20 off $50, or $40 off $100 (first purchase), 5 points for gas, 3 points for restaurant, 1 point for the rest. Rebates only issues once a year (like the Amex Costco, good for club house purchase). This offer varies, and they usually give out at the front entrance of Sam’s Club.
Other Good Credit Card offers, I have applied in year 2014 or earlier, still keep some as of now:
Amex hhonors: 60,000 points when I applied years ago. I think 10,000 or 20,000 points for Hampton Inn is good or fair deal. I used 40,000 points for Hilton Anaheim (convention center), it was a bit expensive.
Amex SPG: 30,000 points. I found book the Four Points Shanghai Pudong for 4,000 points is a very good deal.
BoA Alaska air mile: I made a mistake, and did not get the full 50,000 miles, got 25,000 miles instead.
Chase freedom: 5% bonus rotational category per quarter, needs enrollment (activation) each quarter for the extra bonus, no annual fee. This concept is similar to Discover Cash Bonus.
Chase British Airways (BA): 100,000 miles, very good for US short haul. It could be used to redeem for hotel too. I did it for hotels at Las Vegas and Anaheim recently (Dec 2015). Probably not the most efficient way for redemption. I also redeemed airline tickets (American Airlines, BA partner) inside the US in the past.
Chase UA explorer: this is the main UA card nowadays. It was the Continental card before the merger. The benefits are slightly different from the card below, e.g., Explorer card offers 2 lounge passes each year instead of anniversary miles.
Chase UA Select card: this is the older version of UA credit card. I still have it. It gives 5000 miles each anniversary.
Chase IHG (Intercontinental Hotels Group, aka the Holiday Inn hotels family):
Chase Marriott: 70,000 points. The place I used more often is a Courtyard near my home (they raised points from 10,000 to 15,000 recently), also Courtyard Shanghai Xujiahui, which is 10,000 points per night. Still remember the first time when I check in, I got special treatment from the clerk/manager.
Chase southwest air: 50,000 miles.
Citi Aadvantage:70,000 miles
Citi Thankyou Points: I converted from premium (annual fee) to regular (no annual fee)
Discover cash bonus: this is one of the oldest credit card I have, my two oldest credit cards were both closed (opened roughly 1.5 years earlier than Discover), one by myself, one by Citi (no activity on Citi Dividend, and they just closed it). One way to maximize the bonus is redeem gift cards, I believe $20 can get $25 Lands End GC, $40 for $45 GC, etc. Sometimes I got lazy and just redeem via Amazon (1:1), this did not maximize the bonus.
My Philosophy regarding credit card rewards
Beginning: 1997 to 2009
My first reward credit card is a GM card, which I never really used its benefits (I did not buy a GM car with that bonus). At that time when I applied the card, there were not many rewards credit cards and I was still a graduate student, which also limited my option. My first meaningful reward card is Discover Cash Bonus, I could not recall whether at the time (1999) there are the rotational 5% reward category. But I still keep it as of today. I do recall their 1% reward needs a spending minimum of $3000 or something. So basically I earned .25% in the beginning, it will bump up rebate as I spend more. I recall I had a Chase Shell gas card, it has 5% gas rewards. And later it changed to Chase freedom card. Also remember the Subaru card from MBNA, and over the years it converted to AAA mastercard. One of my first credit card, a Citi AT&T card, changed to Citi Dividend card at one time, it used to have 5% rebate on grocery, and one can only redeem when the rebates reaches $50. And later it changed to rotational category for the 5% rebate, which I did not like. I forfeited my $38 rebate and they closed my card recently (this also means my credit history got shorten by about 2 years 🙁 At one time I also had the AAdvantage card from Citi, and I did earned a US China round trip ticket from it.
2010 to present
Fast forward, a few years ago, probably shortly after the financial crisis (2010?), the new credit card promotional offer started took off. I recall I applied for the Continental (later merged with United) Mileage Plus card, which comes with 50,000 miles promotion. I also got some other hotel and airline cards: Marriott, Amex Hilton (no annual fee version), SPG, Priority Club (now IHG); AAdvantage (again), United Selected, Delta, Southwest, Alaska, British Airways. Last but not least, I got the Chase Sapphire Preferred (the 1st metal card) and recently I realized its travel booking feature is very good.
In terms of philosophy, I think my view on credit card bonus, in the rank of preference changed over the years: from “cash back” to “miles/hotel points” to most recent, start appreciate the value of Chase Ultimate Rewards (not all points are equal). This is understandable also consider my own life changed, from a poor student (really appreciate cash) to start working, married with kids, and start to appreciate other aspect of the life, e.g., travel with family and kids. For instance, when I was single, I can sleep in Home Inn in China (which is really cheap and economy), nowadays with two kids, I would rather stay at Courtyard by Marriott, or Four Points by Sheraton in Shanghai, Hampton Inn or Holiday Inn Express when I travel in the US. In the coming trip to Disneyland, I booked the Hilton Anaheim (used mostly a combination of Chase UR points, BA Avios points, and HHonors points) which is really close to Disney properties. But I still had to use cash for air ticket, because I ran out of Southwest air miles (I did not appreciate their miles earlier when I had them).
Keep a card or not?
I think it’s a very common question, and it’s common for people to close a card after they receive the card opening bonus. It’s probably true the opening bonus (worth $500 or more) is usually bigger than the cash back/points/miles from daily spending. But there are reasons to keep certain cards due to their benefits, besides the Amex card (offers can add up) I mentioned earlier.
Chase Sapphire: I am aware of at least 3 benefits that’s hard to get from this card, one is the flexibility to transfer its points to airline miles (very handy when sometimes we short a few thousand miles); two is the car rental primary insurance; third is from my experience, booking hotels via the points are also good. In my opinion those benefits far outweigh its $95 annual fee.
Chase Freedom and Discover cash bonus: both has no annual fees. Both have 5% bonus for rotational category each quarter. Discover deals offers additional cash bonus for shopping via their website, good for walmart.com etc, it’s 5%, higher than shopping rebate sites such as ebates.com.