If you like maximizing your credit card rewards, you probably know that you can earn a base rewards rate of 2.6% cash back on ALL your credit card purchases and up to 5.2% cash back on the first $2,500 in combined grocery/wholesale club/gas purchases each quarter by combined the right Bank of America credit card with their Preferred Rewards program. The catch is that you have to park at least $100,000 in assets inside qualifying Bank of America deposit and/or Merrill investment accounts. You can avoid any lost interest or management fees by transferring over some existing IRA or brokerage assets to a self-directed Merrill Edge account.

Bank of America recently updated the tiers for their Preferred Rewards program, and thankfully the benefits for the three existing tiers did not change. You can still earn the 75% bonus with $100,000 (Platinum Honors) in qualifying assets and 50% bonus with $50,000 (Platinum) in qualifying assets. Specifically, they track your average daily balance for the trailing three calendar months for qualifying accounts:

• Bank of America deposit accounts (including checking, savings, certificate of deposit)
• Merrill investment accounts (including brokerage “Cash Management Accounts”, IRAs, 529 Plans)

BofA added two brand-new tiers for those with $1 million+ (Diamond) and $10 million+ (Diamond) in qualifying assets. Here is an edited comparison table that includes the new Diamond and Diamond Honors benefits with the most potential value (mortgage and HELOC interest rate deductions). Of course, I would compare rates to make sure that BofA’s loan rates are initially competitive. Click to enlarge:

In addition, they added new lifestyle benefits to the Diamond and Diamond Honors tiers. These include “access” and “discounts” to travel experiences, luxury merchandise, special events, and concierge-type services. You can also gain Avis Preferred Plus status (Diamond) or Avis President’s Club (Diamond Honors).

My take. I personally don’t see anything special that would encourage me to aspire to Diamond or Diamond Honors status, but you may feel differently. I’m glad that they are keeping the 75% boost for $100,000 in assets, and it has worked as I would not otherwise have much of a “relationship” with BofA. I would not have an active Merrill Edge account, and I wouldn’t have any active BofA credit cards without the boosts.

This “2.6% back on everything” has been my catch-all system for a long time, used whenever I couldn’t earn more while trying out a new credit card promo or 5% bonus category.

(hat tip Doctor of Credit)

(Update February 2022: BlockFi now pays 8.75% APY on stablecoin balances up to $20,000 (USDC, GUSD, USDT) and 4.5% APY on up to 0.10 BTC.)

BlockFi is a cryptocurrency platform that both pays high interest on crypto deposits (including stablecoins) and lets you gain liquidity by borrowing cash backed by your cryptocurrency. They also a have a new credit card that pays Bitcoin rewards.

BlockFi Interest Account bonus. Receive up to $250 in bonus Bitcoin for new clients that sign up and fund a new BlockFi Interest Account. Here are the updated bonus tiers:

• Deposit $25 to $1,499 Get $15 in BTC.
• Deposit $1,500 to $19,999, Get $20 in BTC.
• Deposit $20,000 to $39,999, Get $40 in BTC.
• Deposit $40,000 to $74,999, Get $75 in BTC.
• Deposit $75,000 to $99,999, Get $150 in BTC.
• Deposit $100,000+, Get $250 in BTC.

This must be your first deposit, and you must make the qualifying deposits within 30 days of account opening. The required holding period is roughly 3 months. This one is an affiliate offer and you should see the promo code partner250 auto-filled on your application.

BlockFi now supports instant ACH transfers from your bank account. You can start earning interest on your funds or start trading immediately. Note that BlockFi may requires your deposits to stay there for at least 60 days:

BlockFi credits this bank transfer instantly (so you have the ability to trade and earn interest on those funds), however it generally takes 2-3 business days for the funds to be removed from your bank account. We require that you keep enough funds in your bank account to cover any bank transfers we have credited in our platform.

While we do not have a policy to hold these funds for 60 days, if we see certain behaviors such as attempting to withdraw all funds from the platform including value added via bank transfer we may put a hold on the value of the bank transferred funds for up to 60 days.

BIA interest rates. As of 2/2022, the BlockFi Interest Account (BIA) currently pays 4.5% APY on up to 0.1 Bitcoin (BTC) and 8.75% APY on up to $20,000 of USDC/GUSD stablecoins (subject to change on a monthly basis). There are no trade requirements, but when you deposit USD it will be converted to the GUSD (Gemini stablecoin) by default. (You can then use it to buy USDC or something else if you wish.)

Their overall business model is to earn a spread on the difference between lending out money and paying interest.

To earn interest on crypto, we lend assets to highly vetted and audited institutional counterparties. The interest we are able to pay is based on the yield that we are able to generate from lending, which directly correlates to the market demand in the space (I.e. what rate institutions are willing to pay to borrow specific crypto assets, as it varies from asset to asset).

One free crypto withdrawal per calendar month and one free stablecoin withdrawal per month. After that, additional stablecoin withdrawals are $0.25 each.

Earn 0.5% back on recurring crypto purchases. Another current promo is that if you set up recurring purchases of crypto, they will give you 0.5% back in stablecoin. Note that you can’t buy stablecoins, but you can buy other crypto like BTC and ETH.

*Clients who set up qualifying repeat trades during the promotion period (09/30/21 00:00:00 – 10/31/21 23:59:59 UTC) are eligible to get 0.50% back in stablecoin on all qualified trades. Note: stablecoin to stablecoin trades do not qualify.

Qualified repeat trades must be established within the promotion period, and be maintained without cancelling or changing until 11/30/21. Traded value will be tracked as the sum of all qualifying trades executed during the promotion period (09/30/21 00:00:00 – 11/30/21 23:59:59 UTC). Bonuses will be credited on or before the second Friday of the month in December, 12/10/21. This offer cannot be combined with other trading offers. Any recurring trades changed or cancelled by BlockFi on behalf of the client may still be eligible to receive 0.50% back in stablecoin for the time the trade was active at the discretion of BlockFi. Trading qualifications are dependent upon geographical or regulatory restrictions. Terms subject to change.

Blockfi credit card. The new Blockfi Rewards Visa Signature card has is a new rewards credit card that earns BTC instead of cash back. They’ve been adding a few new perks and removed the annual fee, so that altogether it can be a good compliment for BlockFi users. Here are the highlights:

• Earn 3.5% back in bitcoin on all purchases in the first 90 days of card ownership after activation, up to $100 in bitcoin.
• Earn 0.25% back on all eligible trades, up to $500 in BTC each month.
• Earn 1.5% back in bitcoin on every purchase.
• Earn 2% back in bitcoin on every purchase over $50,000 of annual spend.
• No annual fee.

BlockFi is definitely one of the more well-established crypto sites, but you should do your own due diligence as it is not an FDIC-insured bank account nor a SIPC-insured brokerage account. I found that they were backed by some reputable firms including Fidelity Investments and Coinbase, with over $500 million raised so far. They use Gemini as their primary custodian, which is a licensed custodian and regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services. As such, they will still require your name, address, and Social Security Number to verify the identity of all accountholders.

I hold some GUSD/USDC stablecoins and some crypto, but I consider them both forms of speculative investments. I’ve written about stablecoins in the past, but I like the analogy from Matt Levine of Bloomberg that stablecoins are like the casino chips of the crypto world since traditional banks won’t interact with them. Stablecoins are like casino chips. They said $1 on them, but you have to trust the casino to convert them back to cash. Thus, I would only hold casino chips from a stable casino where I am confident that I can cash them out again for US dollars. I find it both intriguing and wary that my cash is earning 9% APY here, but I also know I would much prefer holding them at BlockFi which has been valued as a $3 billion company than a DeFi-style app where millions can be lost with a typo. I also am of the opinion that GUSD and USDC are safer stablecoins than USDT. I don’t own any USDT (aka Tether).

Bottom line. BlockFi is offering a sign-up deposit bonus, over 8% APY on stablecoin deposits, also offer credit card that earns Bitcoin rewards along with a rebate on crypto trades.

Spiral is a new fintech banking app (iOS only currently) with a unique mandate on social responsibility through charitable giving. If you maintain an account with them, you must agree to set aside some portion of every deposit towards a charitable donation (Giving Account). The minimum amount is 0.25% ($2.50 for every $1,000 deposited). In turn, Spiral will match your donations up to $150 per year. Spiral is a fintech, with banking services provided by nbkc bank, Member FDIC. Hat tip to DoC.

Sign-up bonuses. Spiral is also offering some good sign-up bonuses to encourage you to try them out. There are currently two separate bonuses:

• $50 bonus when you fund your new Spiral checking account with at least $200 by November 30, 2021.
• $200 bonus after recurring direct deposits of at least $1000 each month for two consecutive months.

Inactivity fee warning. They promise the usual no minimum balance and no monthly fees, but there is an inactivity fee that is relatively punitive:

Spiral will charge your account $7 per month (up to 6 months) if you do not make a deposit or withdrawal for 90 days. Interest posting is not considered a deposit for purposes of this fee.

Giving Account details. Here’s an excerpt from the terms of their Giving Account:

As a condition to opening and maintaining a Spiral Account and receiving the Spiral Services, you must open an account designated as your donation or giving account (the “Giving Account”). Upon establishing your Spiral Account, you must deposit an amount equal to no less than 0.25% of your initial and future deposits to your Checking or Savings Accounts in the Giving Account. You may select (and periodically adjust on the Spiral App and Spiral Website) by indicating the percentage (between 0.25% and 20%) of each deposit (rounded down to the nearest penny). You agree to direct the distribution of funds in the Giving Account to a charitable organization of your choice that is an organization that qualifies as an exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code, through the Spiral App and Spiral Website.

They have a very large directory of millions of eligible nonprofits.

Application details. I found this app interesting and decided to try it out. The application was straightforward, 100% online, and took a few minutes. My free credit monitoring suite detected no hard credit checks. I connected an external checking account via Plaid, made a $250 deposit, and quickly received in-app confirmation that I qualified for the $50 bonus.

My $250 deposit is pending, but I was reminded that $0.62 will be set aside for my giving account (see screenshots below). It appears that Spiral also seeded my giving account with a $5 “Giving Cash Bonus” as well. I discovered that the savings account only pays 0.07% APY, so I did not open one. I intend to go for the direct deposit bonus as well.

The Quontic Bank High Interest Checking account has recently raised their interest rate and applied it to all balance tiers, with the result being the rare combination of a competitive interest rate with a high balance limit. Here are the highlights:

• Earn 1.10% APY all balance tiers.
• APY earned is based on the portion of the daily balance within the specified tiers.
• No minimum balance requirement.
• No monthly fees.
• $100 minimum deposit required to open an account.

In order to qualify for the higher rate, you must complete the following qualifying debit card transactions each statement cycle:

10 debit card point of sale transactions of $10 or more per statement cycle required to earn the maximum APY on the portion of the account daily balance tier.

If you meet those requirements, here is the exact interest rate breakdown:

– the portion of the daily balance $150,000 or less will earn 1.10% APY
– the portion of your daily balance above $150,000 and up to and including $1,000,000.00 earns from 1.10% APY
– the portion of your daily balance above $1,000,000 will earn from 1.10% APY
– If the qualifying activity requirement is NOT fulfilled, the interest rate paid on the entire balance will be 0.01% APY

Note the following details about qualifying point-of-sale (POS) transactions:

The following activities are not considered qualifying POS debit card transactions and do not count toward earning rewards: ATM- processed transactions; transfers between accounts; purchases made with debit cards not issued by our bank; cash over portions of point-of-sale transactions; Peer-to-Peer (P2P) payments (such as Apple Pay Cash*); loan payments or account funding made with your debit card and purchases made using third-party payment accounts.

I’ve shared other checking accounts with debit card requirements, but the main difference here is the rare combination of competitive interest rate and very high eligible balance. 1.10% APY on a $150,000 balance would result in earning $1,650 of interest in a year. The difference between that and an account paying 0.70% APY is $600 more interest over a year. There is also no monthly direct deposit requirement with this account.

Note: Earnings of $1,650 with 1.10% APY and $1,050 with 0.70% APY is calculated based on only those respective balances being maintained in the High Interest Checking account for an entire year, with nothing debited to or credited from the account during its duration.

* APY means Annual Percentage Yield

Updated as of 5/31/22.

(Update October 2021: Post has been updated to reflect a new public $300 bonus. I posted about a $300 bonus in the past, but it ended up being targeted select AmEx business cardholders. This one is open to the public. You must scroll down a bit to see the bonus info, screenshot below. Note that you may be asked to provide supplemental business documentation like Articles of Incorporation.)

Updated full review:

Kabbage offers financial solutions for small businesses, and was acquired by American Express in late 2020. On top of the very competitive interest rate of 1.10% APY, there is currently a public $300 bonus for their business checking account. Here are the highlights:

• 1.10% APY on balances up to $100,000
• No monthly maintenance fees.
• No minimum balance requirements.
• Free ATM access. Check app for a map to the nearest in-network ATM.
• Deposit checks for free via mobile app.
• Deposit cash at one 90,000 participating retailers nationwide (including Walgreens, CVS, Walmart) for a variable fee up to $4.95. Check app for a map to the nearest location.
• Need paper checks? $20 fee for one pack of 100 personal-sized checks.

Looks like if you like doing all your business banking via a mobile app, this would be a good fit. If you deal with a lot of physical cash or write a lot of checks… not so much, since you would have to pay a fee for each cash deposit and a $20 fee for every 100 checks. However, at 1.10% APY and no minimum balance requirement, you could just use this as a business savings account.

Other Kabbage products include a business line of credit and a service to send invoices and accept payments. (They also helped dole out a lot of PPP loans.)

Kabbage Checking is provided by Green Dot Bank, member FDIC. The routing number may show up as “GoBank, A Division of Green Dot Bank.”

$300 bonus details.

New accounts earn a cash deposit of $300. Earn a $300 cash deposit into your Kabbage Checking account after you complete a total of 5 debit card purchases within 45 days of account opening. (You must apply and be approved by 12/15/2021. Terms apply.)

This promotion is being offered by American Express Kabbage Inc. (“we”, “us” or “our”). The Kabbage Checking account is provided by Green Dot Bank. Green Dot Bank will deposit a $300 cash deposit into your Kabbage Checking account subject to the terms of this offer as stated below. To be eligible to earn the $300 cash deposit, you must 1) apply and be approved for a Kabbage Checking account opened between October 1, 2021 and December 15, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. ET, and 2) successfully complete 5 debit and/or virtual card purchases within 45 calendar days of the opening of your Kabbage Checking account. Only transactions that clear within 45 calendar days of Kabbage Checking account opening will qualify. Transactions that do not clear within this 45-day period will not qualify. To receive the $300 cash deposit from Green Dot Bank, your Kabbage Checking account must be open and in good standing at the time of fulfillment. Once you have completed all the above eligibility requirements, the $300 cash deposit will be deposited into your Kabbage Checking account between 45 to 90 calendar days from the date your Kabbage Checking account was opened. Limit one offer per new Kabbage Checking account. This offer (i) is not available to existing Kabbage Checking customers, (ii) is non- transferable, and (iii) cannot be combined with any other offer.

This bonus was previously targeted to holders of an American Express business credit card, but a representative messaged me and said this one is now fully open to the public.

Bottom line. Kabbage offers a digital-first business checking account that would work well for small businesses that don’t deal with a lot of physical cash deposits or paper checks (due to the fees involved). I get the feeling that it is only a matter of time before this becomes the “American Express business checking account”. Hopefully the interest rate stays high for a while.

Update October 2021: On 10/1/2021, Porte announced that starting on 1/1/2022 they will be adding some significant new requirements to obtain the 3% APY on balances up to $15,000. You must have each of the following during each calendar quarter:

• Receive at least $3,000 in Qualifying Direct Deposits of payroll, pension, or government benefits payments from an employer or government agency into your Porte Spending Account.
• Make at least 15 Qualifying Debit Card Purchase Transactions with a merchant for goods or services (excludes transfers and/or cash withdrawals) from your Porte Spending Account.

Again, this goes into effect on January 1st, 2022, so I am not updating my review below. If you meet these qualifications during a quarter in 2022, you’ll get 3% APY for that same quarter (they only pay out interest quarterly). The new requirements aren’t horrible (works out to $1,000 direct deposit and 5 debit purchases per month on average), but definitely makes their offering more hassle and less competitive. If you don’t meet these new requirements, then you’ll only get 0.20% APY on balances under $15,000. All balances over $15,000 will also earn 0.20% APY as of 1/1/2022.

Original full review:

Porte is another banking fintech app, this time with the notable feature of 3.00% APY on up to $15,000 on their attached high-yield savings account. To enable access to this account, you must have a one-time occurrence of $1,000+ of direct deposits within one month. There doesn’t appear to be any ongoing requirements after that.* This makes it a more simple setup than the 3% APY accounts of HM Bradley and One Finance, albeit with a lower balance limit. Thanks to reader Matt for the tip.

Referral bonus. New sign-ups can also earn an additional $50 bonus if you open a new account via referral link (follow the direction if not on a mobile browser) and establish a direct deposit of at least $500. That’s my link and I will also get the same bonus, so thanks if you use it! If you have issues with the bonus posting, please let me know.

Quick 3% APY math. If you were to max out the $15,000 at 3% APY and this interest rate holds for a year (a big if), you would get $450 of interest over that year. Compare with a 0.50% APY savings account that would earn $75 in interest on $15,000 in a year, for a difference of $375 a year. As long as that gap stays wide enough, that could be an ongoing $20 to $30 a month in extra interest income.

Additional features.

• No monthly fees, no minimum balances.
• Fee-free access to Moneypass ATM network (32,000+ locations).
• Free debit Visa card.
• Mobile check deposit via app.

They have “real human” (their words) customer service available at 800-267-7080. FDIC insurance is provided by their partner bank, MetaBank. This is the same bank behind Netspend, which used to have a more interesting 5% APY prepaid card. Note that interest also posts quarterly.

An important missing feature is that you can’t use their app to link an external bank account to make ACH deposits/withdrawals. You can make one-time deposits via a debit card from one of your other accounts (they use Plaid). You will have to link this account using another online bank as the hub (Ally, CapOne 360, Marcus, etc) to make ACH transfers. Otherwise, you’ll have to use their debit card and use Venmo/Apple Cash or similar. Little things like this show that it is a small start-up.

* Fine print. The wording on the site is a little ambiguous, but if you look through the fine print you’ll see that you only need one direct deposit to open the savings account, and once it is open, everybody gets the higher interest rate (3% APY as of this writing). There are no ongoing hoops listed.

No minimum balance to open Savings Account or obtain the yield(s). However, you must receive direct deposit(s) totaling at least $1,000 within one (1) calendar month to be eligible to open a Savings Account.

If the Average Daily Balance is $15,000.00 or less, the interest rate paid on the entire balance will be 2.97% with an annual percentage yield (APY) of 3.00%.

My experience. I opened the checking account and was allowed to open the savings account immediately after making $1,000 in qualifying direct deposits. (They don’t seem to be highly discerning as to what constitutes a direct deposit, but no guarantees.) You must manually transfer your funds from the checking to savings in order to get the 3% APY, which makes the funds inaccessible to your debit card. Even so, I declined their “Overdraft Service”, as I’d rather they just reject any transaction that would send me into negative territory. It doesn’t appear that the savings can be used as an overdraft source. My routing number is 073972181, which matches MetaBank, NA. I was able to make deposits and withdrawals to this account.

Bottom line. Porte is a new fintech app that offers a notable 3% APY on balances up to $15,000 once you complete a one-time direct deposit of $1,000 within a month. This is currently a much higher interest rate than the competition. The rest of the app is similar to other fintech offerings, but the high-yield savings account may be attractive for savers. There is special sign-up bonus via referral link (see above).

Extended through end of November 2021. This $250 bonus has been extended through the end of November 2021. I can also report that I’ve already successfully gotten my $250 rather quickly after my 2nd deposit, for my account opened at the time of my original post (screenshots below). I even received another $25 due to a follow-up targeted offer (for new recent accounts?) for opening a new “Goal” account. Interestingly, both my payroll direct deposit and my external ACH transfers from Ally were both marked as “ACH deposit” by their system.

Monifi is a financial app that promises to blend “saving, spending and personal goals all in one place”. Right now, Monifi is also offering a $250 cash bonus (mobile browser required) for new customers that receive two direct deposits of at least $1,000 each into your Spend Balance. Must open by 11/30/21. Here is the fine print for the bonus:

*Receive $250 when you set up payroll direct deposit to your Spend Balance and receive two payroll direct deposits of $1,000 USD or more within 90 days of opening your Monifi Relationship. Valid for Monifi Relationships opened between June 1, 2021 and November 30, 2021. The payroll direct deposits must be an electronic deposit of the account owner’s paycheck, pension or government benefits, such as Social Security. Limit one incentive per customer. $250 USD paid as a credit to your Spend Balance within 45 days of meeting promotion requirements. Offer may be changed or withdrawn at any time. Monifi Relationship must be open and in good standing to receive promotion incentive.

What you’ll need to set up direct deposit:
Find your account and routing numbers in the Monifi App under Account Details – from the home screen, select your Spend Balance, and tap the icon at the top right.

The new fintech holy grail is an app that takes your entire paycheck and helps you budget, save for a rainy day, save for intermediate goals, and invest for the future. Monifi is a division of MidFirst Bank (Member FDIC), and appears to be expanding aggressively to grow their customer base. Here are more highlights:

• 0.60% APY on your Save balance.
• No monthly fee.
• Free nationwide ATMs through the Allpoint Network.
• Works with Zelle for person-to-person payments.
• Free debit card. Free billpay.

$50 referral bonus. There is also a $50 referral bonus link (use mobile browser?) available with different requirements where you just need to reach $300 of account value within 7 days of account opening (no direct deposit requirement). The details and fine print:

Your friend Jonathan Ping wants you to try Monifi! Create and fund a Monifi Relationship with at least $300, and you’ll each receive a $50 credit to your Save Balance!

Download Monifi using referral link: https://monifibank.page.link/aiooseoMnTuAddiQ6

Terms and conditions apply: https://monifi.com/refer-a-friend

Referred customer’s Relationship must meet the following requirements to be considered a completed referral: Relationship Balance: $300 minimum deposit within seven (7) days of account opening and an Available Balance of $300 within seven (7) days of account opening.

Unfortunately, I’m not sure how to stack it with the $250 bonus offer above. As long you as you can manage the two $1,000+ deposits, I would simply go with the larger $250 bonus link above.