Good afternoon everyone, I hope your week is going well. Doctor of Credit has a Best Bank Account Bonuses page that he keeps up to date with the best offers each month. In that master post, he links to individual bank account bonuses with helpful information regarding the bonus details, how to avoid monthly fees, when to close the account, how often you can open a new account, and much more. For the last 10 years, I have been opening new checking accounts, savings accounts, brokerage accounts, and cash management accounts for the new member bonuses. At the end of each year, I share my results on the blog.
Over the last 10 years, I have made $26,775 in bank account bonuses. You will receive 1099-INT / 1099-MISC tax forms every year, so you have to pay taxes on the bank account bonuses, but sometimes you can fund the opening deposit with a credit card and earn miles, points, or cash back. If you are lucky, you can meet a minimum spending requirement by funding a new checking account or reach a spending threshold / milestone to earn more rewards. Here are my results from the last 10 years with links to corresponding yearly summaries:
- 2015: $1,175 (no post)
- 2016: $2,850 (summary)
- 2017: $3,700 (summary)
- 2018: $2,725 (summary)
- 2019: $1,000 (summary)
- 2020: $800 (summary)
- 2021: $3,600 (summary)
- 2022: $4,485 (summary)
- 2023: $3,685 (summary)
- 2024: $2,755 (this post)
Drum roll please… Here are the 12 new accounts Laura and I opened in 2024 that paid out $2,755 in bonuses:
| Bank Account Name | Opened | Closed | Bonus | Notes |
| WeBull Brokerage (Laura) | 01/01/24 | 02/21/24 | $180 | 30 free stocks (worth $180) |
| Citi Access Checking | 01/01/24 | 04/26/24 | $200 | |
| PSECU Checking | 01/04/24 | 05/31/24 | $300 | $100 credit card funding |
| PenFed Credit Union Checking | 01/04/24 | 11/08/24 | $250 | |
| M1 Finance | 01/06/24 | 02/20/24 | $250 | |
| NASA Federal Credit Union Checking | 01/09/24 | 04/26/24 | $300 | $400 credit card funding |
| Redwood Credit Union Checking | 01/26/24 | 04/26/24 | $250 | $500 credit card funding |
| Raisin Account @ Grand Bank | 01/26/24 | 08/15/24 | $150 | Rakuten cash back: 10,000 AMEX MR Points ($150 value) |
| Upgrade Rewards Checking Plus | 03/05/24 | 05/11/24 | $150 | |
| Upgrade Premier Savings | 03/07/24 | 08/15/24 | $200 | |
| One Finance Savings | 11/08/24 | 12/28/24 | $225 | Rakuten cash back: 15,000 AMEX MR Points ($225 value) |
| Chase Total Checking (Laura) | 11/11/24 | Open | $300 | |
| $2,755 |
There are also 5 more accounts that we opened in 2024 that we are still waiting for the bonuses to post:
| Bank Account Name | Opened | Closed | Bonus | Requirements / Notes |
| First Tech Federal Credit Union Checking | 08/30/24 | Open | $300 | $1,000 direct deposit for 3 months |
| US Bank Business Checking | 08/30/24 | Open | $400 | $5,000 deposit for 3 months ($3,000 credit card funding) |
| Capital One 360 Checking | 10/30/24 | Open | $250 | $500 direct deposit for 3 months |
| US Bank Smartly Checking | 10/30/24 | Open | $480 | $5,000 direct deposit for 3 months (Bonus: $80 Swagbucks + $400 bonus) |
| Chase Savings (Laura) | 11/11/24 | Open | $600 | $15,000 deposit 3 months |
| $2,030 |
Here are some other notes about the accounts:
- Laura opened both the Chase Checking and Savings accounts and will receive $900 total for completing both bonuses.
- The largest bonuses continue to be from the Big Banks (Chase, Citi, Capital One, and US Bank). They also let you get the bonus every few years, so it is important to keep track of open and close dates so you can do the bonus multiple times.
- We were also able to do $4,000 in credit card funding with some of the accounts. I usually use the Citi Double Cash, so 2% of $4,000 = $80 extra.
- We also have a Marcus Savings account and earned more than $3,000 in interest, which isn’t included in the above numbers.
The bonus requirements vary quite a bit between the accounts. Some require several debit card purchases each month, recurring monthly direct deposits, and large initial funding deposits. I don’t mind jumping through hoops to open new accounts, funding new accounts, moving money around, changing direct deposits, keeping track of bonuses, and then closing accounts. I try to focus on bonuses that pay more than $100 unless the bonus is very quick and easy.
If you are interested in bank account bonuses, I recommend checking out Doctor of Credit’s Best Bank Account Bonuses page. If you did any bank account bonuses in 2024, please let me know how much you made this year and whether your total is higher or lower than previous years. Thanks for reading and have a great week everyone!
I made a little over $11,000 using Doctor of Credit. This includes a few credit card bonuses.
Hi Wayne, that is awesome! Was that all in 2024?
Hi Grant, I’m at about $11k for 2024 up $1k from 2023. We are 2 player mode. Covers excursions, taxes and fees.
Hi Carrie, those are very impressive numbers! What were your best bank bonuses this year?
US Bank Biz $800
Capital 1
Discover Savings
I’m in P2 mode so just applied for PNC BIZ $400*2 expires 12/31.
Very nice! Good luck with your bank bonuses in 2025.
Phenomenal 2024!
P1, P2, & P1 Biz->60 account bonuses.
Ameriprise Savings $500 x 2
Amex Biz checking $300
Associated $50
Axos Bank $300 x 2
Bask Bank $150 x 2
BoA Biz Checking $200
BluPeak $300 x 2
BMO $600
BMO Biz $600
Busey Bank $300 x 2
Capital One $250
Capital One 360 Savings $1,500
Charles Schwab $101 x 2
Chase $900 x 2
Citibank $300 x 2
Commerce $700
Connexus $200
Current $100, $50
Discover Savings $200
EECU $300 x 2
Elements $400
eToro $30
Fairwinds CU $175 x 2
First Tech FCU $300 x 2
Huntington $600 x 2
Langley FCU $100, $50
M1 Finance $500, $250
Northwest FCU $400 x 2
PNC $400 x 2
PSECU $100
Quorum $300
Regions $300 x 2
Service CU $500 x 2
Simmons Bank $600 x 2
USAlliance $250
US Bank $450
US Bank Biz $800
Vantage CU $100
Wells Fargo $325 x 2
Total: $21,582
Wow, you killed it this year! Congrats on your huge score. Good luck beating that total next year :)
Funny!
I am not seeing any way to beat that in 2025!
Even if you do half as many bonuses next year, that will still be a fantastic haul :)
I find this super interesting. One thing that I keep wondering is how many bonuses are worthwhile if you can get over 4% without any effort or risk. Is the juice worth the squeeze for a $200 bonus that requires $5,000 for 90 days?
Another question in my mind is how long after the bonus arrives do you close the account?
That’s a great question. Assuming you could get 4% elsewhere, my calculations would be $5,000 x 4% = $200, but that is the interest you would earn for the full year. If you divide $200 by 4 quarters, you would be giving up $50 in interest over that 90 day period.
Depending on the bank (if I want to stay in their good graces to get the bonus again in the future), I usually keep the account open for another 1-2 months. I usually wait for the bonus to post, then wait for the next statement to close, then I transfer all the funds out and turn off any direct deposit, then call a few days before the next statement closes to close the account.
Please let me know if you have any questions :)
Bank Bonus Referral Total
1st United $250 $0 $250
America First $125 $0 $125
Axos $300 $0 $300
Bank of America $200 $0 $200
Barclays $200 $0 $200
Bluevine $300 $0 $300
BMO $640 $0 $640
CIBC $200 $0 $200
Citi $1000 $0 $1000
Coastal $82 $0 $82
Commonwealth $0 $300 $300
Communication $229 $0 $229
eTrade $950 $0 $950
Evergreen $250 $0 $250
Fidelity $30 $0 $30
Fierce $125 $0 $125
Financial Partners $0 $100 $100
First Tech $300 $0 $300
Found $125 $0 $125
Groundfloor $2374 $0 $2374
HEB $24 $0 $24
Horizon $-20 $0 $-20
Idaho Central $50 $0 $50
iTrustCapital $300 $0 $300
Langley $100 $0 $100
Live Oak $300 $0 $300
M1 Finance $0 $250 $0
Meriwest $300 $0 $300
Navy Federal $50 $0 $50
Northwest $400 $0 $400
OnPath $95 $381 $476
Pennsylvania State Employees $0 $50 $50
PNC $500 $0 $500
Raisin $50 $0 $50
Redwood $250 $0 $250
SecurityPlus $0 $381 $381
Service $500 $0 $500
StarOne $0 $100 $100
TD Ameritrade $150 $0 $150
Upgrade $0 $50 $50
US Bank $450 $0 $450
USAA $200 $0 $200
Wells Fargo $3025 $0 $3025
Wescom $0 $400 $400
Sum $14403 $2012 $16415
Lots of savings account bonuses in there that don’t have such a high APY.
Wow, that’s impressive! Thanks for sharing your 2024 bank account bonus list. Good luck beating that total in 2025 :)
I spent about 10 minutes adding spaces in to make it easier to read but that all went away.
Sorry about that. I would use … or – – – to create some spaces next time.