How to Earn Bonuses With Multiple Checking & Savings Accounts

Savings accounts

I only have two savings accounts. By savings accounts, I mean specifically just saving, not investing. Investing accounts are separate. That's like my 401k, my Roth IRA. I'm not counting that as savings.

1. Marcus by Goldman Sachs savings account

The first major savings account that I have is Marcus by Goldman Sachs. This is my favorite account across everything. Historically, this is where I've stored the bulk of my money until recently because I opened another savings account.

I like to put my money here for everything. I keep all my sinking funds there, including my emergency fund and any savings I need for tax purposes.

I'm saving for my student loan debt instead of paying them down because they're in forbearance and at 0% interest, so I don't have to pay those down. I'm gaining interest on that money.

When I first opened this account, I was researching High Yield Savings accounts, and I'm pretty sure I went with Marcus because they had the highest interest rate at the time.

The interest rate then, I think, was like 2.85; as of today, I am earning 4%, which is amazing because it went down pretty significantly after I opened it. That's how it works with high-yield savings accounts; your interest rate will fluctuate.

2. Citi Accelerate savings account

The other savings account I opened was just in December. I did this because I saw that they were offering a bonus. That is the Citi Accelerate savings account. The current APY with City is 3.85%, so that's high. I don't have any referrals there. I don't think they even offer that.

I prefer Marcus by Goldman Sachs. I only opened this for the bonus. I didn't hesitate to open this one because to qualify for the bonus, which is $150, you had to put in at least $20,000, and then you would get $150. So you have to keep that balance there for 90 days, and then they'll give you $150.

Because I've been saving for my student loan debt and know that the student loan debt forbearance was extended, I don't need that 20k.

Checking accounts

Now let's talk about my checking accounts. My oldest checking account is the first one with Bank of America. I opened this probably like 2008 or 2009; I think I was 16 years old.

1. Bank of America checking account

I've been a customer of Bank of America for a long time. This checking account is where the most action happens because this is where the bulk of my direct deposit goes from my full-time job and also from everything else.

So any direct deposit from affiliates, sponsorships, from YouTube, all of that goes to this account. So it is very important for me. However, the money doesn't stay there for very long.

At any given time, I usually have less than $300 in this account because I don't like my money just sitting there, not gaining any interest or having it invested to gain money there.

2. Chase checking account

The following checking account that I have is with Chase, again, a major bank. I know not everybody likes Chase. I haven't had a problem with them. But the reason that I opened this was for a bonus. I opened this account back in February 2022.

I can't remember all of the details around what I had to do to get the bonus, but I know that after setting up direct deposit or something, I maybe had to get, like, $500 or $1,000 of direct deposit, and I got $225 for that. I think that's a good bonus. Again, that takes less than ten minutes of my time.

3. Wells Fargo checking account

The next checking account that I have is with Wells Fargo. Again, a big bank. Wells Fargo is probably my least favorite bank of everything. This one I will close eventually, but I just opened this in November 2022.

I opened a Wells Fargo credit card earlier in 2022, which is why I got this checking account bonus; it was a $325 bonus after you set up direct deposit, and you get $1,000 worth of direct deposit in the first three months.

4. Upgrade checking account

The next checking account is with Upgrade. This is through Visa. I opened this, I think, in March 2022. And this was for a $400 bonus, a really big bonus for a checking account. It was also the easiest one that I ever earned, and I did earn this one already.

All I had to do was open the account, put some money in, and make three purchases. So all that I did, I think I deposited $10 into this checking account, and then I think I did three times, three $3 donations. I got $400 for that.

5. Capital One 360 checking account

The final checking account that I have is Capital One 360. I opened this back in September 2020. This is one of the first checking accounts I opened to get a bonus. It was only a $100 bonus.

I know that for this one, I had to spend $300 from this account in the first three months, which was easy. All I did was put $300 into that account and did my usual grocery shopping or any spending I needed to. I think I made that bonus within the month of opening it. I got the $100 and transferred it to my main account.

Savings and checking account bonuses

Look into savings or checking account bonuses because you can get pretty decent money. I know it's a little bit more to keep up with, but if you're okay with keeping track of everything and managing multiple accounts, I think it's well worth the time and effort.

Checking vs. savings accounts

Those are my checking vs. savings accounts and why I opened them. Do you have multiple accounts? Share your favorite banks in the comments below.