Update 6/30: CIT Bank has raised the rate on their free year of Amazon Prime promo to 1.00% APY, remaining competitive with the major online savings accounts plus a free year of Amazon Prime worth $139, resulting in now an estimated effective 4.71% APY for 90 days (details below). As an existing CIT Bank customer, I was able to sign up for this offer very easily and quickly. I just used my existing login and could even use an existing external linked bank account to fund. Here’s a screenshot from the last page of my initial application:

Original post (updated maths with new APY):

CIT Bank is an FDIC-insured bank (now a division of First Citizens Bank) that has offered competitive interest rate options to savers in the past including the Savings Builder and No-Penalty CDs, so you may already have an account with them.

The CIT Bank Money Market account has launched a new Amazon Prime deposit promotion: when a new or existing customer makes a deposit of $15,000 from an external funding source and keeps it there for at least 60 days, they get an additional bonus of a 1-year Amazon Prime subscription (cash value of $139). Additional details:

• Open a CIT Bank Money Market account using the promo code AMZN22.
• Fund your account with at least $15,000 within 15 days and keep a minimum balance of at least $15,000 for 60 days following the 15-day funding period.
• Within 30 days following the end of the funding period, if you’ve fulfilled the requirements, CIT Bank will send you an email with your Prime membership code.
• Yes, this works for existing Amazon Prime users. Customers who are already Amazon Prime members can use the one year of Amazon Prime to renew their membership for an additional year.
• It appears that existing CIT Bank members are eligible, but you do have to open a new Money Market account (you can have more than one) and fund with “new money” outside of CIT Bank..

Bonus math. If you assume the bonus is worth $139, this is a ~0.93% bonus on $15,000. Let’s assume a minimum holding period of 90 total days, which makes it the equivalent of ~3.71% APY annualized. The bonus is on top of the standard interest rate, currently a competitive 1.00% APY as of 6/30/22. This total of roughly 4.71% APY over 90 days makes it a great short-term rate at that balance size when compared to my latest update of best interest rates. CIT Bank also has a decent history of offering competitive products and promotions on their savings account and CD products.

I plan on grabbing this year of Amazon Prime – I already have accounts at CIT Bank and I already have idle liquid cash elsewhere sitting at effectively the same base APY. Nice to see another bank itching to gather deposits.

Rate increased to 1.50%, $325 promo extended. SoFi has added an excellent deposit bonus worth up to $300 to the new member referral offer on their SoFi Money checking account:

• $25 bonus if you open a new SoFi Checking & Savings account and deposit at least $10.
• $300 additional bonus if you deposit at least $5,000 within 30 days from the date of your first Qualifying Direct Deposit. SoFi will credit members who meet qualification criteria within 14 days of the end of the 30-day Evaluation Period. Promo ends 7/30/22. (Alternatively, $100 bonus for $2,000 deposit, $50 bonus for $1,000 deposit. See table below.)
• 1.50% APY on ALL account balances (no cap) in Checking and Savings accounts (including Vaults) with monthly direct deposit (of any amount). 0.90% APY without direct deposit. Rates are as of 6/28/22.
• Overdraft coverage of up to $50 on on debit card purchases available to customers with monthly direct deposits of $1,000 or more.

Not a bad deal if only for the $25 easy bonus and 1.50% APY with any direct deposit amount (0.90% APY without direct deposit). On top of that, $300 is a very high bonus for only having to commit $5,000 for 15-30 days. Even the lower bonus tiers are solid. Assuming a 30-day holding period, the bonus is the equivalent of earning 60-72% APY on top of the standard APY!

What makes it harder is that it must be “qualifying direct deposits” per their discretion. Based on the fine print below (emphasis mine), you should still be eligible for this promo if you are an existing SoFi Money account before today and have yet to complete your first direct deposit.

Eligible Participants: All new members who open a SoFi Checking and Savings account during the Promotion Period and all existing SoFi Checking and Savings customers who have not previously set up Direct Deposit transactions(“Direct Deposit”) into their SoFi Checking and Savings account as of the beginning of the Promotion Period are eligible for the Program.

Bonus Terms: In order to qualify for eligibility for a bonus, SoFi must receive at least one Qualifying Direct Deposit from an Eligible Participant during the Promotion Period. Qualifying Direct Deposits are defined as deposits from enrolled member’s employer, payroll, or benefits provider via ACH deposit. Deposits that are not from an employer (such as check deposits; P2P transfers such as from PayPal or Venmo, etc.; merchant transactions such as from PayPal, Stripe, Square, etc.; and bank ACH transfers not from employers) do not qualify for this promotion. The amount of the bonus, if any, is described below. No bonuses shall be paid for qualifying Direct Deposits of less than $1,000 during the Evaluation Period (defined below).

Evaluation Period: The bonus amount will vary based on the total amount of Qualifying Direct Deposits received during the Evaluation Period. The Evaluation Period is defined as 30 days from the date your first Qualifying Direct Deposit is received. For example, if you receive $1,000-$1,999 in Qualifying Direct Deposits in the Evaluation Period, you will receive a cash bonus of $50. A member may only qualify for one bonus tier and will not be eligible for future bonus payments if inflows subsequently increase beyond the Evaluation Period.

Axos Bank has a $100 bonus for a new Rewards Checking account when you have qualifying direct deposits of $1,500+ within a single calendar month during the first three (3) calendar months your account is open, including the month in which your account was opened. Use the promo code RC100 when you apply for a Rewards Checking account by 6/30/22.

This would be a good addition if you are already going for the Axos Brokerage $150 bonus. No monthly maintenance fees or minimum balance requirements. New checking account must remain open for 180 days or an early closure fee of $100 may apply.

Note that the way the fine print is written, if you apply in June (which you must per the current deadline), you must have $1,500 in direct deposits within the single month of July or August. Per the fine print below and Doctor of Credit data points, Axos is historically relatively flexible on their direct deposit requirements as long as the funds don’t originate from another Axos Bank brand account. However, in the end it is always at the bank’s discretion.

Offer fine print:

+A Rewards Checking application that includes the promotional code “RC100″ must be submitted between 6/15/2022 at 12:00am PST and 11:59pm PST on 6/30/2022 to qualify. You must open your new Rewards Checking account and have qualifying direct deposit(s) that total at least $1,500.00 within a single calendar month during the first three (3) calendar months your account is open, including the month in which your account was opened. Direct deposit funds must be new to bank from a third-party source (not originated from another Axos Bank brand account) to receive bonus credit. Bonus will be deposited into your account within five (5) business days of the qualifying statement cycle. Account must remain open for 180 days or an early closure fee of $100 may apply. The bank reserves the right to limit to one Rewards Checking bonus offer, one account per primary account holder, and one new account-related gift incentive per calendar year. Customers who have an existing Axos Bank or Axos Bank for Nationwide Checking account as of 6/14/22 are not eligible for this offer. Terms and conditions subject to change without notice. Bonus may be taxable and reported on IRS Form 1099-MISC. Consult your tax advisor.

1.25% APY qualification requirements. You need to meet ALL of the following requirements to get the maximum total 1.25% APY on balances up to $50,000:

• Direct deposits (not including intra-bank transfers from another account) totaling $1,500 or more each month will earn 0.40%. A qualifying direct deposit is required for the remaining interest rate qualifications to apply.
• Ten (10) point-of-sale transactions per month using your Rewards Checking Visa® Debit Card for normal everyday purchases with a minimum of $3 per transaction, or enrolling in Account Aggregation/Personal Finance Manager (PFM) will earn 0.30%.
• Maintaining an average daily balance of at least $2,500 per month in an Axos Self Directed Trading Invest account will earn 0.20%.
• Maintaining an average daily balance of at least $2,500 a month in an Axos Managed Portfolio Invest account will earn 0.20%
• Making a monthly payment to an open Axos Bank consumer loan (commercial and business loans excluded) via transfer from your Rewards Checking account will earn a maximum of 0.15%.

Bottom line. The $100 bonus part is relatively easy, especially combined with the other easy $150 brokerage bonus. The 1.25% APY part is WAY too much work for what is now barely an average interest rate.

Rates are still moving up, especially in the shorter maturities. Even the rates quoted below may become outdated quickly, but so here is a mid-month update for June 2022. As of 6/21/2022:

• Brokered CD rates: 3-month CD at 2% APY, 2-Year CDs at 3.15% APY at Vanguard and Fidelity fixed income desks (non-callable).
• Online bank rates: 1.61%-1.65% APY liquid, 3.05% APY for 3-year CD at Bask Bank, First Foundation and Rising Bank. Expect a lot of movement in this area.
• US Treasury Bonds: 3-month at 1.85%, 2-Year CDs at 3.21% yield to maturity, secondary market. Interest from Treasury bills and bonds are exempt from state and local income taxes.
• Fixed Annuity: 4% rate on 3-year MYGA from American Life (B++ Rating) on via Blueprint Income and Stan the Annuity Man (varies by state). Learn more about MYGAs here and here.

As always, be very careful with any app or website that does not clearly indicate FDIC and/or NCUA insurance. Verify yourself at FDIC.gov and NCUA.gov.

Just as the terms “natural” and “superfood” and not regulated in the food industry, the terms “asset-backed” and “stable” mean very little in the financial industry. An app called “Stablegains” promised reliable interest from “overcollaterized” and “100% asset-backed” loans… up on the day until your money disappeared forever.

Truist Financial formed from the merger of BB&T and Suntrust Banks, now roughly the 10th largest US bank with branches in 17 states and DC. Trust has a $300 new checking bonus using promo code TR2CHK22 for new checking customers that live within a state in their branch footprint: AL, AR, GA, FL, IN, KY, MD, MS, NC, NJ, OH, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, WV or DC. I don’t always list bonuses that aren’t nationwide, but this is a relatively big bonus from a decent-sized bank. Thanks to reader Clark for the heads up. Here are the steps:

• Open an eligible Truist checking account (Dimension, Bright, or Fundamental Checking). $50 minimum opening deposit.
• Receive at least two qualifying Direct Deposits totaling $500 or more within 90 days of account opening.
• After we verify your direct deposits, we’ll drop $300 into that account within four weeks.
• This offer is good until July 14, 2022.

The easiest way to avoid the monthly fees of the checking accounts while satisfying the bonus requirements is the Bright Checking account, since its $12 monthly fee is also waived when you have a $500+ monthly direct deposits (or you can maintain at least a $1,500 average balance).

It’s always tricky to say what exactly any bank will count as a direct deposit if you have trouble with redirecting your employer payroll, as their rules may change over time. But in general a funds transfer from a brokerage account like Fidelity, Schwab, Vanguard, or TD Ameritrade has a better chance than one of the popular online savings accounts. Makes sense to me as my income could very well be interest and dividends from my brokerage account.

Fine print:

Clients with an existing personal checking account or who have closed a personal checking account on or after 4/1/21 with BB&T or SunTrust now Truist and/or Truist are not eligible. Account holder must be 18 or older at the time of account opening. Truist employees are not eligible. Offer available only to US residents with a valid US taxpayer identification number. The qualifying checking account must be opened in a Truist branch in one of the following states, or online, and have a mailing address in: AL, AR, GA, FL, IN, KY, MD, MS, NC, NJ, OH, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, WV or DC.