If you have $10,000, $50,000, or even more than $100,000 in idle cash, simply looking at APY is often not the highest-yielding approach. This article compares bank and brokerage account opening bonuses and converts them into an effective annualized return, so your large cash balances can earn more.

Among the promotions currently worth prioritizing, Moomoo, TradeUP, HSBC, Raisin, and Live Oak all have new offers; Raisin runs through October 31, Chase Private Client through October 14, Live Oak through October 16, Citi through October 26, while Barclays, CIT Bank, and E*TRADE Brokerage continue through October 31; the new round of the E*TRADE Saving promotion has been extended to January 10, 2027. Below, I compare them consistently by capital lockup period and effective annualized return, so you can sequence them based on your available liquid cash.

This is a long article, so let’s start with a summary table. The focus here is on accounts and account opening bonuses that require a relatively large amount of capital. The bonus amounts, capital lockup periods, and returns can vary by tier, so choose the one that fits your situation. I only include account opening bonuses that can be done with more than $10,000.

Name Funding Requirement Capital Lockup Period Effective Annualized Return Account Opening Link
Moomoo $10,000-$100,000 60-180 days About 6.0%-35% (NVDA + stock card + high yield) Sign-up link
TradeUP $10,000-$1,000,000 About 2 months-2 years About 3.1%-28.8% (NVDA free stock + high yield) Sign-up link
E*TRADE Saving $20,000-$100,000+ About 45-75 days About 7.9%-20.2% Account opening link
Citibank Checking $30,000-$200,000 About 45-90 days Up to about 13.3% Account opening link
HSBC Premier $50,000-$500,000+ 3 full calendar months About 5.4%-15% Account opening link
Live Oak Bank $20,000 90 days About 10.1% Account opening link
J.P. Morgan Self-Directed $25,000-$250,000+ About 45-90 days Up to about 8.1% (account opening bonus + Money Market Fund) Account opening link
Capital One Saving $20,000-$100,000 About 90-105 days About 8.1%-9.0% Promotion link
Barclays Select Savings $40,000 120 days About 7% Account opening link
Raisin $10,000-$200,000+ 90 days Up to about 6.2%, depending on the APY of the account you choose Application link
CIT Platinum Savings $5,000+ 6 months 4.10% APY Application link
Marcus Savings No minimum requirement No restrictions 4.50% APY for the first three months Application link
Chase Private Client $150,000-$500,000+ About 45-90 days About 2.4%-6.4% Account opening link

Many banks and brokerages now offer very large account opening bonuses, but these bonuses often require committing a substantial amount of capital. Comparing only the dollar amount of the bonus is not fair: after all, depositing $10,000 for two months to get $400 is very different in capital efficiency from depositing $500,000 for three months to get $3,000. So this article mainly uses “effective annualized return” to compare different promotions.

  • Effective annualized return ≈ (account opening bonus ÷ required funds) ÷ (capital lockup months ÷ 12) + the account’s own deposit interest rate

Note: The “effective annualized return” here is only for easier comparison. It simply annualizes a one-time account opening bonus based on the capital lockup period and then adds the account’s own interest. It is not the official APY published by the bank or brokerage. Actual returns will also be affected by factors such as the exact timing of your deposit, bonus payout timing, variable interest rates, taxes, and changes in the value of stock rewards.

For example, suppose a savings account offers a $1,000 account opening bonus, requires a $20,000 deposit for six months, and the account itself has 3% APY:

  • Effective annualized return = ($1,000 / $20,000) ÷ (6 / 12) + 3% = 13%

If you have a relatively large amount of liquid cash recently, you can sequence these promotions based on their expiration dates and capital lockup periods, using the same funds for different bank and brokerage bonuses one after another. Compared with simply leaving cash in a regular savings account for a long time, this approach has the potential to significantly improve your actual return.

This article does not discuss ordinary bank bonuses that must be activated through Direct Deposit. It only compares bonuses that can mainly be earned by depositing funds, maintaining assets, or transferring in assets.

Futu Moomoo (effective annualized return about 6%-35%)

Promotion Overview

Sign up for Moomoo through this site’s exclusive link, meet the deposit requirements, and you can stack up to three rewards: up to $1,000 in NVDA, $100 in trading coupons, an ultra-high 8.1% APY on idle cash, plus one free year of Moomoo Engine premium features. You can review the rewards one by one below. I think the best value is depositing $2,000 to get $200. If you have enough funds, you can go up to $10,000 to get $300. Idle cash also earns 8.1% APY.

First bonus: new user deposit reward, get up to $1,000 in NVDA

  • Make a first cumulative deposit of $500 and receive $30 worth of NVDA stock -> 60-day lock-up
  • Make a first cumulative deposit of $2,000 and receive a cumulative $100 worth of NVDA stock -> 60-day lock-up
  • Make a first cumulative deposit of $10,000 and receive a cumulative $200 worth of NVDA stock> 60-day lock-up
  • Make a first cumulative deposit of $50,000 and receive a cumulative $400 worth of free NVDA stock -> 120-day lock-up ($200 released after 60 days, remaining $200 released after 120 days)
  • Make a first cumulative deposit of $100,000 and receive a cumulative $1,000 worth of free NVDA stock -> 180-day lock-up ($200 released after 60 days, $400 released after 120 days, remaining $400 released after 180 days)

You can use your deposit to trade, or simply leave it there to earn interest. If you do trade, I recommend depositing a bit more so you don’t fall below the required threshold after any losses!

Second bonus: trading coupon reward. After new users deposit $100, they get 10 $10 trading coupons

  • Each $100+ trade can use one coupon, which is basically an incentive to trade more. If you just want to cash it out, buying SGOV works.
  • Also, if you refer a friend to sign up for Moomoo, you’ll get another $10*10 in trading coupons.

Third bonus: high interest for new users, account-opening Cash Sweep bonus up to 8.1% APY

  • New customers can join Cash Sweep as soon as they open an account. The coupon will be sent to the account and needs to be activated in the app.
  • Idle cash can earn 3.35% APY + a 2-month 4.75% APY booster (supports deposits and withdrawals anytime + automatic trade settlement). This 8.1% APY applies only to the first $20,000 in cash deposits.

Note: This article covers Moomoo U.S. benefits and product feature information. If you apply with an SSN or ITIN and enter a U.S. address, you can receive the bonus normally.

Return Calculation

Moomoo currently lets you stack deposit free-stock rewards, our exclusive $150 stock card, a $100 trading coupon, and high-yield Cash Sweep, so all four parts should be included when calculating the effective annualized return. The earlier $500 and $2,000 tiers involve smaller amounts, so I will not go into them here. Starting from the $10,000 tier, the capital efficiency of the main current tiers is roughly:

  • $10,000 tier: effective annualized return about 35.1%
  • $50,000 tier: effective annualized return about 8.2%
  • $100,000 tier: effective annualized return about 6.2%

The $10,000 tier is the best deal. A simple calculation:

  • Deposit $10,000 and maintain it for about 60 days
  • You can receive $200 NVDA + our exclusive $150 stock card + a $100 trading coupon, for about $450 in rewards total
  • $450 ÷ $10,000 = 4.5% in actual rewards, which annualizes to about 27% based on an approximately two-month capital lockup period
  • In addition, this entire $10,000 falls within the first $20,000 Booster range for Cash Sweep, and for the first 60 days you can currently earn up to about 8.1% APY
  • Stacking the two parts, the current effective annualized return is about 35.1%

It may be easier to understand in dollar terms: if you keep $10,000 there for two months, the Cash Sweep interest is roughly about $135. Add the $450 in NVDA, stock card, and trading voucher value, and the total value is about $585. The $50,000 and $100,000 tiers have higher total rewards, but the extra Cash Sweep Booster only applies to the first $20,000, and the full free-stock reward requires maintaining the assets for 120 or 180 days. As a result, the more money you put in, the lower the overall effective annualized return gradually becomes. Now that there is an additional fixed $100 trading voucher, the effective annualized returns for these two tiers have also increased to about 8.2% and 6.2%, respectively.

Note that the $150 stock card is not cash that can be withdrawn directly. It must be used in the Moomoo app for qualifying U.S. stock, ETF, or REIT trades. Here, we count the stock card at its face value of $150 toward the reward value. The additional $100 trading voucher is also counted at face value; if you were already planning to trade anyway, you can basically treat it as having the corresponding value. Also, the Cash Sweep APY is a variable rate, and the free-stock promotion, stock card, and trading voucher terms may also change. Therefore, the effective annualized returns above are estimates based on the current promotion and rates.

TradeUP Tiger Brokers (effective annualized return about 3.1%-28%)

Promotion overview

The promotion has been extended through October 31, 2026. If you already opened an account before but never deposited funds, you can still participate. TradeUP has now fully updated its account opening bonus: register through our channel and make a deposit or transfer assets, and you can get up to 50 NVDA shares (worth about $196 each). In addition, you can also get the existing 5-stock raffle and 3% transfer bonus.

  • TradeUP sign-up link (if you have an SSN/ITIN, choose USA; if not, choose other country and just enter a U.S. address)

The best-value setup is to deposit $2,500, which gets you 1 NVDA share + 3 raffle entries + 4% APY. If you have enough funds, you can deposit $10,000 to get 2 NVDA shares + 4 stock draws. You can either deposit funds or transfer assets. The reward tiers are below, and they can all be stacked:

  • 【Site-exclusive bonus】Open a TradeUP account, deposit funds, and keep the funds there for a certain number of days to receive additional NVDA shares. Up to 50 NVDA shares.
  • 【Stock raffle】When you open an account, you can draw up to 5 stocks, each worth up to $1,800. For net deposits of $100-$4,999, you get 2 draws; $5,000-$9,999, 3 draws; $10,000-$99,900, 4 draws; and $100,000+, 5 draws. The odds are 95% for $10-$10; 3% for $20-$30; 1% for $30-$50; 0.8% for $50-$100; and 0.2% for $1,800.
  • 【3% transfer bonus】If you can fund your account by transferring assets, you can also activate a transfer bonus of up to 3% (see the transfer section below for details).
  • 【High APY】The cash account offers a high APY for the first three months (it may fluctuate slightly over time).
  • Once you meet the requirements, the stocks will be distributed according to the table below.

【Note】Except for users in mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand, as well as users who do not have an SSN and cannot provide a U.S. mailing address, compliant users in other regions can claim the stock bonus. This brokerage account can be opened with an SSN/ITIN as long as you have a U.S. address. You can provide a utility bill, credit card statement, bank statement, or other document showing the address you entered as proof.

Note that the NVDA shares are not distributed all at once. The specific distribution rules are below (terms). Please note that different tiers require you to keep the funds in place for different lengths of time, with the longest being 2 years. Also, if you withdraw funds and drop below the required tier during the reward period, later rewards will not be issued.

Based on common questions discussed in the chat group, here is a summary to help everyone open an account, deposit funds, and claim rewards. FAQ:

  • If you transfer in from another brokerage via ACATS, can you still participate in the new-user NVDA bonus and the transfer bonus? Yes! You can also activate the random stock draw. So if you have another brokerage, transferring via ACATS is best — it’s like a triple dip! (details)
  • Do I need to separately sign up for the high-interest cash account? Yes. After opening the account, enroll on the promotion page.
  • Also, if your first deposit is very small, you can contact customer service and ask them to help you apply for additional stock-draw entries.

Return calculation

This TradeUP promotion mainly gives NVDA shares. At the same time, idle cash in the account can also participate in the TradeUP Cash+ Program to earn interest. So if you deposit funds and do not buy stocks right away, the two sources of return can be stacked.

Based on the current NVDA price of about $219.74/share, the approximate value of the free shares at each tier is:

  • Deposit $10,000: get 2 shares of NVDA, currently worth about $439
  • Deposit $50,000: get 5 shares of NVDA, currently worth about $1,099
  • Deposit $200,000: get 12 shares of NVDA, currently worth about $2,637
  • Deposit $500,000: get 24 shares of NVDA, currently worth about $5,274
  • Deposit $1,000,000: get 50 shares of NVDA, currently worth about $10,987

TradeUP also currently has the Cash+ Program. After joining, the APY on idle cash is 0.10% for the first 15 days, currently 3.15% APY from day 16 through day 105, and then tiered rates based on the account’s idle cash balance from day 106 onward. Cash+ rates change with market conditions, so the calculation here is only a simple estimate based on the current rates.

Using the best-value $10,000 tier as an example:

  • 2 shares of NVDA are currently worth about $439, equivalent to 4.39% of the principal
  • The funds need to be maintained for about 2 months, so the NVDA reward converts to a simple effective annualized return of about 26.4%
  • Cash+ earns 0.10% for the first 15 days and 3.15% for roughly the next 45 days, which averages to an annualized return of about 2.4% over two months
  • Combined, the current total effective annualized return is about 28.8%

For the other tiers, capital efficiency gradually declines because of the different numbers of free shares, funding requirements, and required asset holding periods. Based on the current NVDA price and Cash+ rates, a rough estimate is:

  • $10,000 tier: total effective annualized return about 28.8%
  • $50,000 tier: total effective annualized return about 7.3%
  • $200,000 tier: total effective annualized return about 3.9%
  • $500,000 tier: total effective annualized return about 3.1%
  • $1,000,000 tier: total effective annualized return about 3.1%

So from a capital-efficiency perspective, the $10,000 tier is still clearly the best deal right now. Keeping the funds there for two months not only gets you 2 shares of NVDA, but the idle cash can also continue earning Cash+ interest during that time. This does not even include other potentially stackable rewards such as stock drawings.

Note that both NVDA’s share price and Cash+ rates can change, so the effective annualized returns above are only estimates based on the current share price and current Cash+ rates. Also, Cash+ only applies to idle settled cash in the account. If you use the funds to buy stocks or other investment products, that portion of the funds can no longer continue earning at the Cash+ rate.

E*TRADE Savings (effective annualized return about 7.9%-20.2%)

Promotion overview

E*TRADE’s new Premium Savings Account promotion has been updated. It still offers 4.00% APY for six months; after six months, it reverts to the standard rate at that time. The current Base APY is 3.50%. In addition, if you deposit New Money within 30 days after opening the account, you can receive an additional bonus of up to $800. The promotion ends on January 10, 2027, and the promo code is SAVE800.

The bonus tiers are:

  • Deposit $20,000-$99,999: $400 bonus
  • Deposit $100,000 or more: $800 bonus

The main requirements are:

  1. Open a new Premium Savings Account on etrade.com by 1/10/2027 using promo code SAVE800.
  2. Add funds to earn a boosted 4.00% APY for 6 months. Plus, you'll earn a cash bonus when you deposit at least $20,000 of qualifying new money within the first 30 days of account opening.
  3. Maintain the required average daily balance for 45 additional days after the 30-day funding period ends to earn the cash bonus.

Return calculation

The best deal is still the $20,000 tier for the $400 bonus, which equals 2% of the principal. After account opening, there is a 30-day Funding Period, followed by a 45-day Maintenance Period. If most of the funds are transferred near the end of the Funding Period, the actual time that the large balance is tied up can be close to 45 days. The bonus portion then annualizes simply to about 16.2%; adding the 4.00% Promotional APY, the maximum effective annualized return is about 20.2%.

If you deposit the full $20,000 very early after account opening, the actual time the funds are tied up may be close to 75 days. In that case, the bonus portion annualizes simply to about 9.7%; adding the 4.00% APY, the effective annualized return is about 13.7%.

The $100,000 tier for the $800 bonus has a lower bonus percentage. If calculated based on a 45-75 day funding period and adding the 4.00% APY, the effective annualized return is roughly 7.9%-10.5%. So purely from a capital-efficiency perspective, the $20,000 tier is still the best.

J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing (effective annualized return up to about 8.1%)

Promotion overview

J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing currently offers up to a $1,000 cash bonus for opening an account. The promotion runs through October 21, 2026. You need to transfer in new cash or securities from outside the Chase / J.P. Morgan ecosystem, and the final bonus tier is determined 45 days after account opening.

The details are as follows:

  • Transfer in $5,000-$24,999: $50 bonus
  • Transfer in $25,000-$99,999: $150 bonus
  • Transfer in $100,000-$249,999: $325 bonus
  • Transfer in $250,000 or more: $1,000 bonus

Return calculation

The default idle cash rate for Self-Directed Investing is not high, but you can buy money market funds in the account. Chase currently shows an average 7-Day SEC Yield of about 3.24% for money market funds. So if you were not planning to buy stocks immediately anyway, you can temporarily put the transferred cash into a money market fund and continue earning yield while completing the account-opening bonus requirements.

Using this article’s main comparison standard of funds above $10,000, the $25,000 tier has the best capital efficiency. A simple calculation:

  • Transfer in $25,000 and you can receive a $150 cash bonus
  • There is a 45-day Funding Period after account opening. The bonus tier is determined on day 45, and the funds need to be maintained until day 90 of the offer Enrollment.
  • If you arrange to transfer most of the funds near the end of the Funding Period, the actual time the large balance is tied up can be close to 45 days.
  • $150 ÷ $25,000 = an effective 0.6% bonus, which is about 4.9% on a simple annualized basis over 45 days.
  • Adding the current money market fund yield of about 3.24%, the effective annualized return can be as high as about 8.1%.

If you transfer the full $25,000 very early after opening the account, the actual time the funds are tied up is close to 90 days. In that case, the account-opening bonus portion annualizes to about 2.4%, and after adding the money market fund yield, the overall effective annualized return is about 5.7%.

For the other main tiers, assuming the actual time the large balance is tied up is close to 45 days and adding the current money market fund yield of about 3.24%, a simple estimate is:

  • $25,000 tier: up to about 8.1%
  • $100,000 tier: up to about 5.9%
  • $250,000 tier: up to about 6.5%

So if you are doing this only for the account-opening bonus, the $25,000 tier is relatively capital-efficient. If you already hold a larger stock portfolio at another brokerage, you can also complete a higher tier by transferring securities via ACATS, and you do not necessarily need to prepare hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash.

Note that 3.24% is the average 7-Day SEC Yield for money market funds currently displayed on Chase’s page. It is not an automatic cash interest rate provided by Self-Directed Investing, nor is it a guaranteed return. You need to buy a Money Market Fund yourself, and fund yields will change with market interest rates.

Citi Checking (effective annualized return up to about 13.3%)

Promotion overview

Citi’s current Regular Checking account-opening bonus is up to $1,500, and the promotion runs through October 26, 2026.

The deposit requirements are relatively simple:

  • Deposit at least $30,000 in New-to-Citibank Funds within 45 days after account opening. If your balance on day 45 is $30,000-$199,999, you can receive $500.
  • If your balance on day 45 is $200,000 or more, you can receive $1,500.
  • Starting on day 46, you also need to continue maintaining the corresponding minimum balance for 45 days.

Return calculation

This promotion is not simply “deposit for 45 days.” After account opening, there is first a 45-day Funding Period. The bonus tier is determined on day 45, and then you need to maintain the balance for another 45 days.

If you deposit all the funds right after opening the account, the actual time the funds are tied up is close to 90 days. If you arrange to transfer most of the funds only near the end of the Funding Period, the actual time the large balance is tied up can be compressed to close to 45 days. Using the latter calculation, the $500 bonus on the $30,000 tier has an effective annualized return of up to about 13.3%, while the $1,500 bonus on the $200,000 tier is up to about 6%.

HSBC Premier (effective annualized return up to about 15%)

Promotion overview

HSBC has updated its new Premier Checking account-opening bonus. New customers can now get up to $3,000, and a minimum deposit of $50,000 is enough to earn $1,000. The promotion does not require Direct Deposit. You only need to transfer in new funds from outside HSBC, or transfer eligible investment assets, and maintain them for the required period. The promotion ends on December 31, 2026.

The best-value tier is the $1,000 bonus for $50,000. Assuming the funds are maintained for 3 months, the account-opening bonus itself has an effective annualized return of about 8%, making it the most attractive tier this time. The specific bonus tiers are as follows, calculated using the minimum funding amount for each tier and maintaining the funds for 3 full calendar months:

  • $1,000 bonus: Deposit or invest $50,000–$99,999. The account-opening bonus is equivalent to a 2% return, or an effective annualized return of about 8%; adding the savings account’s current 3.00% APY, the combined effective annualized return is about 11%.
  • $1,500 bonus: Deposit or invest $100,000–$249,999. The account-opening bonus is equivalent to a 1.5% return, or an effective annualized return of about 6%; adding the savings account’s current 3.00% APY, the combined effective annualized return is about 9%.
  • $2,000 bonus: Deposit or invest $250,000–$499,999. The account-opening bonus is equivalent to a 0.8% return, or an effective annualized return of about 3.2%; adding the savings account’s current 3.00% APY, the combined effective annualized return is about 6.2%.
  • $3,000 bonus: Deposit or invest $500,000 or more. The account-opening bonus is equivalent to a 0.6% return, or an effective annualized return of about 2.4%; adding the savings account’s current 3.00% APY, the combined effective annualized return is about 5.4%.

In addition, eligible new and existing Premier customers can currently also participate in the New to Wealth investment account bonus:

  • Open a new self-directed brokerage or advised brokerage account, transfer in at least $25,000, and you can get $500.
  • Open a new Managed Portfolio Account or Spectrum account, transfer in at least $50,000, and you can get $1,000.

New customers can stack New to Wealth with the Premier Checking account-opening bonus above. A practical option is the $50,000 tier: put at least $25,000 into self-directed brokerage, and put the remaining funds in Premier Relationship Savings. If you meet the requirements, you can get a $1,000+$500=$1,500 bonus. Assuming the funds are tied up for about 3 months, and conservatively estimating savings and cash-like fund yields at about 3%, the combined effective annualized return can be around 15%.

Also, according to previous data points provided by readers, people in China may be able to apply directly for U.S. HSBC Premier by selecting China as their current region and using a China address, passport, ID card, and proof of address to complete the application. However, a hard requirement is being an HSBC Premier customer in China.

Return calculation

If you only do the Premier Checking account-opening bonus and place eligible cash in HSBC Premier Relationship Savings, the current Relationship APY is 3.00%. After opening a new Premier Relationship Savings account and linking it to an eligible Premier Checking account, you will automatically receive the Relationship APY for the remainder of the account-opening month and the following 3 months.

If you do the $50,000 Checking + Self-Directed combination above, the $1,500 bonus is equivalent to 3% of principal, or about 12% on a simple annualized basis over 3 months. Adding about 3% interest or cash-like fund yield on the funds themselves, the combined effective annualized return is about 15%.

Note that if you put your Qualifying Balance in a securities investment account instead of Premier Relationship Savings, you cannot simply add the Savings account’s 3.00% APY to the bonus. The 15% above estimates the funds in the self-directed investment account at about a 3% cash-like fund yield as well, and the actual yield will vary.

Live Oak Bank (effective annualized return about 10.1%)

Promotion overview

Live Oak Bank’s savings account currently has a $300 account-opening bonus, and the account itself currently earns 4.00% APY. The promotion runs through October 16, 2026. You only need to open a new Personal Savings account before the deadline, deposit at least $20,000 in new external funds, and maintain the funds for 90 consecutive days. Direct Deposit is not required.

Return calculation

The $300 bonus is equal to 1.5% of a $20,000 principal. If the funds are maintained for 90 consecutive days, the bonus portion works out to about 6.1% annualized on a simple basis. Add the account’s current 4.00% APY, and the combined effective annualized return is about 10.1%.

The nice thing about this offer is that the rules are fairly simple. There is no Direct Deposit requirement and no complicated tier structure. Deposit $20,000 and keep it there for 90 days, continue earning 4.00% APY during that period, and after finishing the offer you can move the funds on to the next deal.

Bask Bank 10%

Bask Bank has another new account-opening bonus. You can now earn up to a $300 cash bonus, and the Savings account can also receive an additional 0.40% APY Boost. Based on the current 3.90% base rate, that brings the total to as high as 4.30% APY. The requirements are much higher than before: you need to open both Bask Interest Checking and Bask Interest Savings, maintain at least a $10,000 average balance in Savings each month, complete $2,500 in Qualifying Automated Deposits into Checking, and maintain at least $100 every day. Each qualifying statement cycle earns $50, for up to 6 times, or $300 total.

If you calculate it as depositing $10,000 and earning $300 over six months, the effective annual yield is 6%. Add the account’s own 4.3% return on the savings balance, and the effective annual return is also around 10%.

Capital One Saving (effective annualized return of about 8.1%-9.0%)

Offer overview

Capital One 360 Performance Savings currently offers an account-opening bonus of up to $1,500, and the account itself currently earns 3.00% APY.

Return calculation

The current bonus tiers are:

  • Deposit $20,000-$49,999.99: $300 bonus
  • Deposit $50,000-$99,999.99: $750 bonus
  • Deposit $100,000 or more: $1,500 bonus

After account opening, there is a 15-day Initial Funding Period. The full 90-day Hold Period does not begin until those 15 days are over. In other words, if you deposit the funds on the first day after opening the account, the actual time your funds are tied up is about 105 days. If you complete the main funding close to the end of the Funding Period, it is closer to 90 days.

For all three tiers, the account-opening bonus itself is 1.5%. Annualized simply over 90 days, that is about 6%. Add the current 3.00% APY, and the maximum effective annualized return is about 9%. If the funds are transferred in earlier and the actual holding time is close to 105 days, the return is around 8.1%.

Barclays Select Savings (effective annualized return of about 7%)

There is currently an AARP and Barclays promo-code t Savings offer. New customers who deposit at least $40,000 within 30 days after account opening and maintain at least $40,000 for 120 consecutive days can earn a $400 bonus.

Select Savings itself currently earns 4.00% APY. The $400 bonus is equal to 1% of $40,000. Keeping the funds for 120 days works out to roughly an extra 3% annualized on a simple basis, so the combined effective annualized return is about 7%. The promotion runs through October 31, 2026.

This account requires AARP membership to apply. Although AARP’s name refers to retired persons, applicants are not required to be of retirement age; users who meet its membership requirements can join normally.

Raisin (maximum effective annualized return of about 6.2%)

Offer overview

Raisin’s current new-customer offer uses promo code STACK and can earn up to a $1,000 bonus. At the same time, some Savings Accounts on the platform currently offer up to about 4.17% APY. The promotion runs through October 31, 2026. Raisin itself is not a bank; it is a savings account platform. Users’ funds are actually held at partner banks or credit unions and are covered by FDIC or NCUA insurance depending on the applicable financial institution and account ownership structure.

Return calculation

The initial deposit must be completed within the required timeframe, and the qualifying funds must be maintained at Raisin partner institutions for 90 days. The Base Bonus tiers are:

  • $40 bonus: deposit $10,000-$24,999
  • $100 bonus: deposit $25,000-$49,999
  • $200 bonus: deposit $50,000-$99,999
  • $425 bonus: deposit $100,000-$199,999
  • $900 bonus: deposit $200,000 or more

This offer can also stack with the Savings + CD Boost. Within 14 days after the initial deposit, you need to allocate at least $1,000 to a second product category, and the balances in both categories must be maintained through day 90. The additional bonuses are $10, $25, $50, $75, and $100, respectively.

If you max out the Boost in each tier, the combined bonus is roughly equal to a 0.5% return over 90 days, which annualizes simply to about 2%. If the platform account you choose currently earns about 4.17% APY, the two together can reach a maximum effective annualized return of about 6.2%. Since APYs from different banks and credit unions on Raisin can change, use the specific account’s rate as the final reference.

CIT Platinum Savings (4.10% APY)

CIT Platinum Savings currently offers an extra 0.35% APY Boost for 6 months with promo code CITBOOST. For balances of $5,000 or more, the current maximum is 4.10% APY. After the 6-month Boost ends, the current standard rate is 3.75% APY. The promotion runs through October 31, 2026.

If the account balance is below $5,000, the current APY after the Boost is only 0.60%, so this offer is mainly suitable for users who plan to deposit at least $5,000.

Standard FDIC insurance is generally up to $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, per account ownership category; it is not simply calculated as “$250,000 per account.” Also, CIT Bank is a division of First Citizens Bank. If you already hold deposits at other parts of First Citizens under the same insured bank, you need to consider them together when calculating FDIC limits.

Marcus by Goldman Sachs Savings (4.50% APY for the first three months)

Marcus Online Savings currently has a standard rate of 3.50% APY. New customers who open an account through a referral can currently get an extra 1.00% APY Rate Boost for 3 months, so the combined rate for the first three months can be as high as 4.50% APY.

After the three-month Referral Rate Boost ends, the account will return to the standard APY for Marcus Online Savings at that time. The rate is variable, so if market rates change later, the numbers here will need to be updated as well.

Chase Private Client (effective annualized return of about 2.4%-6.4%)

Chase Private Client currently offers up to a $3,000 bonus, and the promotion runs through October 14, 2026. CPC Checking itself currently earns only 0.01% APY, so the value of this offer mainly comes from the account opening bonus and Private Client banking services, not the deposit rate.

Current bonus requirements:

  • Transfer in $150,000-$249,999.99 in New Money within 45 days after opening or upgrading the account to receive $1,000.
  • Transfer in $250,000-$499,999.99 to receive $2,000.
  • Transfer in $500,000 or more to receive $3,000.
  • Eligible New Money must be maintained through day 90 after promotion Enrollment.

If you complete all funding very early, the actual capital tie-up is close to 90 days, and the effective annualized returns for the three tiers are about 2.67%, 3.2%, and 2.4%. If you schedule most of the funds to be transferred near the end of the 45-day Funding Period, the actual time the large balance is tied up can be close to 45 days, and the corresponding maximum effective annualized returns can rise to about 5.3%, 6.4%, and 4.8%.

The current terms state that the Chase Private Client Checking New Money Bonus, J.P. Morgan Private Client New Money Bonus, or a specified Savings Promotion can be received only once within 12 months after the previous Bonus Coupon Enrollment. It is not the same as what the original article said, namely that having opened an account within 12 months or closed an account within 90 days necessarily makes you ineligible.

Big roundup of account opening bonuses

The accounts below all have very solid sign-up bonuses. Pick the ones you like and earn some extra cash. Over time, those small amounts add up, and in a year you can earn a good amount of money and travel funds from these financial accounts.