This is a multi-part deal, but you may already have some of these accounts. Marcus is the online banking arm of Goldman Sachs. AARP members are eligible for two member benefits at Marcus:

• 0.10% APY rate increase to the Online Savings rate for 24 months. As of 7/29/20, that means 1.15% APY instead of 1.10% APY.
• Special 8-month No-Penalty CD at 1.10% APY as of 7/29/20. Their standard No-Penalty CD is 0.90% APY for 7 months.

AARP membership is targeted at those age 50+, but there is no actual age restriction. I’ve been a member in the past, as AARP has offered a variety of member benefits that can be quite valuable. Insurance discounts, hotel discounts, restaurant discounts, and so on. If only younger folks had such a well-organized association! The standard membership fee is $16/year, but it drops to $12/year if you sign-up for auto-renewal with a credit card on file (you can still cancel at any time).

Swagbucks is a popular points website, and you can currently get 1,200 Swagbucks for joining AARP through their site. 1,200 Swagbucks is worth $12 in Amazon gift cards, which you can think of as offsetting the AARP annual membership fee. If you are a member, log in and search for “AARP”. If you are not a member yet, join via my Swagbucks referral link and earn a $3 referral bonus + an additional $10 bonus if you spend at least $25 through their shopping portal within 30 days of registration. (There are even some money-making offers on Swagbucks like donating $15 to the Sierra Club and getting 4,000 Swagbucks in return worth $40 in Amazon gift cards.)

Taken altogether, you can get the 0.10% APY rate boost, special CD access, and a year of AARP membership (including many other perks) all at zero net cost. Thanks to reader Bill P for the tip.

BBVA has a new $250 bonus promotion, with a $200 bonus for opening an Online Checking account and receiving a qualifying direct deposit of $500+ by October 31, 2020. Get an additional $50 bonus by adding an Online Savings account and having a savings balance of at least $1,000 on October 31, 2020. If you want the $250 bonus, be sure to click on the “Open Both Now” button on the promotion landing page. Offer good for checking and savings accounts opened between July 24 – August 10, 2020. Checking account bonus details:

Eligible accounts include BBVA Online Checking and BBVA Easy Checking (Easy Checking available in AL, AZ, CA, CO, FL, NM, and TX only). Account must be opened online by clicking either the “Open Checking Now” or “Open Bundle Now” button above.

Online Checking account details:

• Minimum opening deposit is $25.
• No monthly service charge.
• No ATM fees nationwide at more than 64,000 AllPoint®, participating 7-Eleven® and BBVA USA ATMs.
• You will automatically receive a paper account statement by mail for a fee of $3 per month. However, you can opt for free electronic account statements and eliminate the $3 Paper Statement Fee when you turn off paper statements through Online Banking. Don’t forget to opt out!

Savings account bonus details:

You must meet stipulations for the $200 Checking Bonus to be eligible for the $50 Savings Bonus. The Online Savings account must be opened at the same time as the checking account through this landing page using the “Open Both Now Button”.

Online Savings account details:

• Minimum opening deposit is $25.
• No monthly service charge.
• Currently interest rate is 0.05% APY.
• You will automatically receive a paper account statement by mail for a fee of $3 per month. However, you can opt for free electronic account statements and eliminate the $3 Paper Statement Fee when you turn off paper statements through Online Banking. Don’t forget to opt out!

Additional bonus details:

• We reserve the right to deduct the bonus amount if the account is closed within 12 months of opening.
• The BBVA Online savings account holder must be an account holder on the new BBVA consumer checking account.
• You must be a new BBVA savings customer who has not had a BBVA consumer savings account in the past 12 months or closed due to negative balance.
• The cash bonus(es) will be deposited into the new checking account within 90 days of meeting the bonus requirements described above.
• Accounts must be open and in good standing with a balance greater than or equal to $0.00 at the time of payment in order to receive the new account bonus(es).
• These bonuses are not combinable with other BBVA Direct Deposit or Savings Account cash bonus promotions, and you may not have received a Direct Deposit or Savings Account Bonus in the past 24 months.

Updated with my own experience and new referral bonus. Bask Bank is a FDIC-insured savings account that pays you American Airlines (AA) miles instead of cash interest. Every $1 earns 1 mile a year. For example, $1,000 kept for a year would earn 1,000 AA miles at the end of the year. If you kept $50,000 there for a year, you would earn 50,000 AA miles at the end of a year. There is no minimum balance and no monthly fees. I’ve updated this review after opening an account.

Bask Bank is part of Texas Capital Bank (FDIC Certificate #34383), which also runs BankDirect. BankDirect has been giving out American Airlines miles for many years on their checking account, but with different requirements and a steep monthly fee. Note that they are all the same bank in regards to the $250,000 FDIC insurance limits per depositor type. Bask Bank routing number is 111026177.

Account opening process. Opening an account was done all online with no issues, with no physical paperwork to send in. They state there is no hard credit check upon opening, and there was none upon my own opening. I received all my promised points (past bonus and monthly interest) on time and without issue. Note: They do not currently offer joint accounts.

Value calculations. If you valued American Airlines miles at 1 cent per mile, then this account would earn you the equivalent of 1% APY. ($10,000 a year = 10,000 AA miles = $100 value.) Given that other online savings accounts also earn about 1% APY nowadays, this has become a closer call after you consider the tax consequences…

1099-INT details. If you get miles instead of cash, what happens at tax time? Bask Bank and BankDirect has stated that they plan to issue 1099-INT for 2020 interest earned based on a valuation of 0.42 cents per mile. This can be found deep in their disclosures:

Since you are Awarded Miles based on the average collected balance in your Account each month instead of interest, Bask Bank calculates an interest equivalent based on a good faith estimate of the value of the miles. Your interest rate and annual percentage yield may change based on a change in either the Miles Award Rate or the estimated value. Miles are currently valued at 0.42 cents per mile, the equivalent of 0.42% annual percentage yield.

So if you held $10,000 for all of 2020 and earned $10,000 miles, current your 1099-INT will show $42 in interest paid. However, this is subject to change and I don’t really like that sort of uncertainty. It is unlikely but still possible that they could change this number and it would be a hassle to dispute such a valuation.

Useful for keeping your AA miles active. Airline miles are useful, but also subject to rampant inflation. Since AA miles are worth less every year, I do not plan on using this as my main savings account. However, the ability to keep about $15 in there and earn at least 1 mile per month to prevent my existing American miles from expiring, that could be useful. If I need a certain amount of American Airlines to reach an award, this may be a backup option as well. I have a large amount of AA miles, so this account gives me peace of mind that they won’t suddenly expire when I’m not paying attention.

New account referral bonus. Bask Bank now runs a refer-a-friend program where if the person referred opens an account by 9/30/2020, deposits at least $10,000, and keeps it there for 90 days, they will earn 5,000 AAdvantage® bonus miles on top of the usual interest. The referrer will also then receive 5,000 miles. Here is my Bask Bank referral link, thanks if you use it. After you open the account, you can also refer up to 5 friends yourself:

If you again value an AA mile at 1 cent a mile, then the bonus is worth $50. Earning $50 for keeping $10,000 there for 90 days is the equivalent of a bonus APY of 2% for those 90 days. So in total, you might get the cash equivalent of 3% APY over those initial 90 days with the referral bonus if you use that 1 cent per mile valuation.

Bottom line. Bask Bank is an online savings account that pays you American Airlines (AA) miles instead of cash interest. It won’t be a great fit for everyone, but may be interesting to those that can maximize the value of an American Airlines mile. You may also like the ability to keep all your AA miles from expiring by keeping a small amount of cash at the bank.

Citibank has tiered $200, $400, and $700 bonus offers when you open a new eligible Citi checking account by 6/30/20 and deposit and maintain a certain balance for 60 to 150 days. There is also a $1,500 bonus if you have $200,000 to move over. This offer is restricted to those who have not had a Citibank checking account within the last 180 calendar days. Here are the highlights followed by a few tips on how to optimize the bonus.

$200 bonus details:

• Open a new eligible checking account in the Basic Banking Package during the offer period 4/01/2020 to 6/30/2020.
• Within 30 days of opening your account, deposit $5,000 in New-to-Citibank funds into the new checking account.
• Maintain a minimum balance of $5,000 for 60 consecutive calendar days.
• You will receive your cash bonus within 90 days after you complete the required activities.
• For the Basic Banking Package, to waive the $12 monthly service fee, make one qualifying direct deposit per statement period and one qualifying bill payment per statement period, or maintain a $1,500 or more combined average monthly balance in eligible linked accounts.

$400 bonus details:

• Open new eligible checking and savings accounts in the Citibank® Account Package during the offer period 4/01/2020 to 6/30/2020.
• Within 30 days of opening your account, deposit $15,000 in New-to-Citibank funds between the new checking and savings accounts.
• Maintain a minimum balance of $15,000 between the checking and savings accounts for 60 consecutive calendar days.
• You will receive your cash bonus within 90 days after you complete the required activities.
• A monthly service fee of $25 and a $2.50 non-Citibank ATM fee apply to the checking account in the Citibank Account Package if a combined average monthly balance of $10,000 or more is not maintained.

$700 bonus details:

• Open new eligible checking and savings accounts in the Citi Priority Account Package during the offer period 4/01/2020 to 6/30/2020.
• Within 30 days of opening your account, deposit $50,000 in New-to-Citibank funds between the new checking and savings accounts.
• Maintain a minimum balance of $50,000 between the checking and savings accounts for 60 consecutive calendar days.
• You will receive your cash bonus within 90 days after you complete the required activities.
• A monthly service fee of $30 applies to the checking account in the Citi Priority Account Package if a combined average monthly balance of $50,000 or more is not maintained. There is no monthly service fee for a checking account in the Citigold Account Package.

$1,500 bonus details:

• Open new eligible checking and savings accounts in the Citigold Account Package during the offer period 4/01/2020 to 6/30/2020.
• Within 30 days of opening your account, deposit $200,000 in New-to-Citibank funds between the new checking and savings accounts.
• Maintain a minimum balance of $200,000 between the checking and savings accounts for 60 consecutive calendar days.
• You will receive your cash bonus within 90 days after you complete the required activities.
• If you do not maintain a minimum combined average monthly balance of $200,000 in eligible linked deposit, retirement and investment accounts, your Citigold Account Package will be converted to the Citi Priority Account Package and your accounts will be subject to the terms and conditions then in effect for that package.

Fine print analysis and value calculations. A tricky part of this bonus is the following fine print:

At the time the Cash Bonus is paid, it will be credited to the new Eligible Checking Account. If the Eligible Checking Account is closed, then the Cash Bonus will be credited to the new Eligible Savings Account. Open accounts must be in good standing.

You explicitly cannot “downgrade” your account to one with lower monthly fees during the 60 day maintenance period, but this seems to also suggest that you need to maintain the package that you opened until the bonus arrives. (It’s not 100% clear, but that is the conservative interpretation.) That means that in order to avoid the possibly hefty monthly fees, you would have to leave a certain amount of money in the account not for 60 days, but up to 150 days until the bonus is deposited.

After the 60 day maintenance period, you would want to withdraw everything not need to avoid the monthly fees, as both the checking and savings account pay negligible interest. Here’s how that would work for each tier:

• $200 bonus tier. Deposit and maintain $5,000 for 60 days, then lower to $1,500 for 90 days.
• $400 bonus tier. Deposit and maintain $15,000 for 60 days, then lower to $10,000 for 90 days.
• $700 bonus tier. Deposit and maintain $50,000 for 150 days.
• $1,500 bonus tier. Deposit and maintain $200,000 for 150 days. (There may be some alternatives like moving over some investments to satisfy the Citigold requirements.)

Bonus will be reported on 1099-INT (as should be expected). Here is the rough equivalent annualized APY earned from each bonus if you followed the schedule above exactly, got the promised bonus at the 150 day mark, and then downgraded/closed/moved your money out:

• $200 bonus works out to ~16.5% annualized interest.
• $400 bonus works out to ~8.0% annualized interest.
• $700 bonus works out to ~3.4% annualized interest.
• $1,500 bonus works out to ~1.8% annualized interest.

I have done Citibank bonuses in the past and haven’t had any issues, although they did wait until the last possible moment to post the bonus. I did not experience a hard credit check upon opening. However, others have reported having to call them up and ask for the bonus, and some have reported that they were denied the bonus improperly. Their above-average complaints of unreliability is a big reason why I would not downgrade the accounts, in order to help maintain proper bonus tracking. For all bank bonuses, be sure to keep track of your promotion details and transaction dates in a Google Doc or other spreadsheet.

Bottom line. Citibank has a set of tiered bonuses for opening a new checking and savings accounts with them, which I have broken down how to optimize based on the fine print. If you were planning on opening an account anyway, this can be a good offer. Be sure you understand the terms and conditions first.

With rates drops everywhere and no end in sight, there are no high APY CDs to open, so I’ve been picking up various cash bonuses while stuck at home instead. Chime is a popular fintech bank app with a $50 cash bonus after a payroll direct deposit of $200+ within the first 45 days of new account opening. To get this offer, you must be referred by an existing user. Here is my Chime $50 referral link. Thanks if you use it! It’s a very simple bonus. Here is a screenshot of my bonus appearing nine minutes after my direct deposit:

Here is the fine print:

*In order for both the referred individual and the referring Chime member to each qualify for and receive the $50.00 referral reward, the following conditions must be met: The referred individual may not have previously opened a Chime Spending Account (“Account”); they must open a new Account between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020; they must open the new account using the referring Chime member’s unique referral link; and they must receive in the new Account a qualifying direct deposit of $200.00 or more within 45 days of opening. The qualifying direct deposit must be made by the referred individual’s employer, payroll provider, or benefits payer by Automated Clearing House (ACH) deposit. Bank ACH transfers, Pay Friends transfers, verification or trial deposits from financial institutions, peer to peer transfers from services such as PayPal, Cash App, or Venmo, mobile check deposits, and cash loads or deposits are not qualifying direct deposits.

Why is Chime so popular? Chime is the second-most popular online-only bank in the US (only behind Ally) with over 3 million customers and a recent valuation of $5.8 billion. Yet, it pays no interest on checking and only a tiny interest on savings (thus my previous lack of interest). I learned that Chime is very attractive to those who are “unbanked” or underbanked”, those people who don’t like traditional banks due to their monthly fees and $35-a-pop overdraft charges. Instead, Chime offers:

• No monthly fees. No minimum balance. No minimum opening deposit.
• No credit check. No Chexsystems check.
• Access to paycheck 2 days early. If you usually get paid on Friday, you can spend the money on Wednesday.
• No overdraft fees, and they may even “spot” you up to $100 until you pay them back.
• Free ATM withdrawals at 38,000+ MoneyPass and Visa Plus Alliance ATMs.
• No foreign transaction fees.

For many folks that have a lot of activity but maintain a low balance, this fee structure is better getting 4% APY or even 10% APY. The key is avoiding those crazy overdraft charges from the big banks and also the various $2 fees hidden inside many prepaid cards. Chime’s only major fee is a $2.50 fee if you make a cash withdrawal at an out-of-network ATM. Chime earns revenue via interchange fees when you buy things on your debit card.

As I opened an account, I noticed that Chime treats you like have never had a checking account before. The sign-up is easily done completely on your phone in a few minutes. You don’t need to deposit a single cent to open. They send basic “Chime 101” emails explaining the effect of bank holidays and how to set up direct deposit.

There is no credit check, so you can have bad credit and even a bad Chexsystems record (meaning you probably left another bank with a negative balance). Nearly every major bank uses Chexsystems to screen new customers. Otherwise, they are referred to as a “second chance” bank account. Chime might have the lowest fees of all such “second chance” banks.

Chime has the most of the usual bank stuff. Debit card. Paper check deposit via mobile app. Optional savings account that helps you save automatically (but pays astonishingly little interest, just like Bank of America and Chase!). FDIC-insured via partner banks, either Stride Bank or The Bancorp Bank. The only major thing missing besides bank branches is that they don’t provide paper checks. Depositing cash is available, but the third-party physical stores may charge a fee.

Bottom line. Chime is an interesting bank startup that targets the underbanked and unbanked by offering a much better fee structure to those with access to direct deposit. No overdraft fees, no credit checks, no Chexsystems. Currently, there is a $50 bonus available only via referral.

HMBradley is another fintech bank startup that differs by offering customers up to 3% APY based on the percentage of their paycheck that they save. Deposits are FDIC-insured through Hatch Bank. What do you have to do to actually qualify for this rate? Will it be worth the hassle? Here’s my review of HMBradley after reading their FAQ, fee schedule, and deposit agreement. Thanks to reader Guarav for the tip.

Rate tiers. Interest is earned on balances up to $100,000 and is set each calendar quarter. The interest rate updates for all customers at the beginning of each calendar quarter: January 1st, April 1st, July 1st, and October 1st. In order to qualify for a “Savings Tier”, you must receive a direct deposit at least once per month and save at least 5% of your quarterly deposits.

New customers start in Tier 3 and stay there as long as they maintain at least one direct deposit per month. For example, if you open in May, the next reset date would be July 1st and your interest earned for the next 3 months is based on your activity in the previous 3 months. Here are the current rates for each tier:

$100 minimum to open. Interest is compounded daily and credited monthly.

Deposits vs. direct deposits. You must receive some sort of direct deposit each month, as defined below:

For our accounts, we define direct deposits as those deposits made by the customer’s employer or a federal or state government agency or retirement benefits administrator. These generally include payments made by corporations and other organizations. We do not consider deposits to an account that are made by an individual using online banking or other payment provider such as PayPal or Venmo as direct deposits.

However, for the calculations of “savings rates”, all deposits are considered including incoming transfers from another bank account. At the same time, your “spending” will also include any transfer out of your account, even if it’s just to another bank account that you own.

NOW account? No paper checks. It should be noted that HM Bradley’s account is actually a lesser-known form called a “negotiable order of withdrawal (NOW) account”, which per the CFPB which gives the bank the right to require at least seven days written notice of a withdrawal. Supposedly, this is rarely done in practice. Like a checking account, there are no limits on the number of withdrawals each month. However, unlike a checking account… there are no checks! You can probably work around most things using the online Billpay feature. I suspect that not having to deal with paper checks saves them a good chunk of money.

The Bank offers Negotiable Order of Withdrawal transaction checking accounts, which allows you to make deposits by check, ACH payment, transfer from another account at the Bank, or wire transfer. NOW accounts only are available to consumers for personal, family, or household purposes. The Bank does not offer business accounts and you agree not to use your HMBradley Account for business purposes. The Bank may request 7 days’ advance notice of a withdrawal or transfer of funds from the NOW account.

Features. No minimum balance, no monthly fees. No paper checks. There is fee-free ATM access via your Debit Mastercard at over 55,000 ATMs in the STAR and MoneyPass networks (or at any store that allows for cash back on debit purchases). There is online Billpay. However, there is currently no ability to deposit checks (including ATM deposits). In the future, they plan on having remote check deposit only. They may close your account without notice if you maintain a zero balance.

My thoughts. In the current rate environment, the ability to earn 3% APY on up to $100,000 is exceptional. I don’t know of any “rewards checking” account has a balance limit that high. However, there are a lot of moving parts here.

First, the short-term concerns. All new customers that open now (May) will earn 1% APY until July 1st, so there is a delay. If their savings rate is determined to be above 20% as of July 1st, then you will reach Tier 1, but will Tier 1 still be 3% APY then? There is no rate guarantee and they don’t promise to provide any set amount of advance notice. Given the recent Fed moves, there is going to be pressure for them to lower it. Their lower rate tiers have already dropped from what they initially advertised.

I’m also concerned about the long-term sustainability. I like the idea of promoting savings, but the system doesn’t seem to benefit “average” savers enough, while leaving it open to “high” savers. For an “average” saver, saving 15% of deposits is a lot especially if you already have a 401(k) plan, which means they’ll only earn 0.50% or 1% APY. Meanwhile, a “high” saver with sizable existing cash assets can qualify for the 3% easily and then park tens of thousands of dollars at HMBradley. All they have to do is switch over some amount of direct deposit and be careful with their withdrawals. Perhaps there will be enough customers satisfied with earning zero to 0.50% APY interest to subsidize the rest, but we’ll have to see.

Bottom line. HMBradley is a digital bank startup that differs by offering customers a high rate (currently up to 3% APY) based on the percentage of their paycheck that they save. The rules are a bit more complex than I’d like, but if the rates hold steady it can be a competitive offer for motivated savers.