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6 best savings account bonuses right now (up to $525)
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When it comes to earning money on your savings, a lot of emphasis is put on the annual percentage yield (APY) tied to your savings account. And, that makes sense. After all, savings account rates can vary, sometimes significantly, from one bank or credit union to the next. And, while the average savings account rate is currently just 0.46%, today’s high-rate environment makes it possible to earn well over 5% on your money with the right high-yield savings account.
In turn, you have the potential to rake in the interest earnings on your money right now, but only if you choose the right account. But while your savings rate has a big impact on your earnings, other factors could also have an influence on how quickly your money grows right now, like savings account bonuses. By taking advantage of these bonuses, you can maximize your savings earnings without much extra work. And in some cases, you could earn hundreds of dollars just by opening an account and making a few deposits.
As with your savings account rate, though, these bonuses can differ vastly from one account to the next. So if you want to capitalize on them, it’s important to find the best offers available to you right now. And, you can start with the list of savings accounts below, which outline some of the top bonuses available today.
Discover the best high-yield savings account rates you could earn today.
6 best savings account bonuses right now (up to $525)
You can earn hundreds of dollars in bonuses by opening up one or more of the following accounts right now:
Wells Fargo: $525
New Wells Fargo customers can earn a bonus of $525 currently by opening a new savings account with the bank. To qualify, accounts need to be opened in person at a Wells Fargo branch and will need to be funded with at least $25,000 within 30 days of opening the account. Customers must also keep an account balance of at least $25,000 for another 90 days after account opening to earn this bonus. This bonus offer ends on April 1, 2024.
PNC Bank: Up to $400
New customers who open a new Virtual Wallet account with PNC Bank can earn a bonus of up to $400 right now. Customers can qualify to earn a bonus of $100 by making direct deposits of $500 or more to their Virtual Wallet or $200 by making direct deposits of $2,000 or more within the first 60 days of opening the account. New PNC Bank customers can also earn a bonus of $400 by making direct deposits of $5,000 or more. This bonus offer ends on April 30, 2024.
Sofi Checking and Savings: Up to $300
New account holders (or existing customers who haven’t yet made a direct deposit) can earn a bonus of up to $300 with a Sofi Checking and Savings account. Earn a $50 bonus by depositing between $1,000 to $4,999.99 or a $300 bonus by depositing $5,000 or more. This bonus offer ends on June 30, 2024.
TD Bank: $200
New customers (or customers who have not yet earned a savings bonus from TD Bank and have not opened a new personal savings or money market account with TD bank in the last 12 months) can earn a $200 bonus by opening a new TD Signature Savings or TD Simple Savings account and maintaining a balance of at least $10,000 for 90 days. This bonus offer ends on April 30, 2024.
Barclays: $200
New customers can earn a $200 bonus with Barclays by opening a Barclays Savings account. To qualify, customers need to deposit at least $25,000 into the account within 30 days and keep an account balance of at least $25,000 for 120 days. This bonus offer ends on May 3, 2024.
Alliant Bank: $100
New customers can earn a $100 bonus with Alliant Bank by opening an Alliant High-Rate Savings Account and depositing at least $100 a month for 12 consecutive months. To qualify, customers should have a balance of at least $1,200 or more at the end of the 12-month period. This bonus offer ends on December 31, 2024.
Explore your top savings account options online now.
The bottom line
If you open one of the savings accounts outlined above, you could earn hundreds of dollars or more on your money. And, in most cases, it doesn’t take much extra work to do so. You simply have to open the account and meet the deposit and balance requirements to earn it. And, when you combine those bonus cash offers with today’s high savings rates, you may be able to rack up the returns quickly. But if you want to take advantage of what these accounts offer, you’ll need to move quickly. These offers can change over time, and in today’s uncertain economic environment, waiting could mean missing out.
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Why are astronauts stuck in space? Here’s how the Boeing Starliner crew ended up on the space station for months.
Two NASA astronauts who flew up to the International Space Station in a Boeing Starliner capsule for a round trip that was supposed to last just over a week will be stuck in space for closer to a year before they can come home. Despite the astronauts’ longer-than-expected stay at the space station, officials have insisted that Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore aren’t stranded in space.
Here’s what we know about the stuck astronauts:
Why are the astronauts stuck in space?
Williams and Wilmore blasted off to the space station in June. Their mission was supposed to take between eight and 10 days, but helium leaks in the capsule’s propulsion system and degraded thrusters, which are important for re-entry, upended plans for bringing the astronauts back to Earth.
“Eight days to eight months or nine months or 10 months, whatever it is, we’re going to do the very best job we can do every single day,” Wilmore told CBS News correspondent Mark Strassmann in September. At the time, they were expected to leave the space station in late February 2025.
The capsule safely returned to Earth in September with no one onboard.
Who are the astronauts who are stuck in space?
Williams turned 59 on the space station in September. She joined NASA in 1998 after serving in the Navy for over a decade, retiring as a captain. As a naval aviator, she logged over 3,000 flight hours in more than 30 different aircraft. At NASA, she had set a record for women with four spacewalks lasting a total of 29 hours, 17 minutes, but it was broken by Peggy Whitson with her fifth spacewalk in 2008.
Wilmore also retired from the Navy as a captain, recording over 8,000 flight hours as a naval aviator. During Operation Desert Storm in Iraq in 1991, Wilmore flew 21 combat missions. He joined NASA in 2000 and accumulated 178 days in space before the Starliner mission. Like Williams, he has also performed four spacewalks, totaling 25 hours, 36 minutes.
Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/AFP via Getty Images
Why did the Boeing Starliner crew go to the International Space Station in the first place?
The June launch was the Starliner’s first piloted test flight. NASA has funded the development of the capsule and SpaceX’s Crew Dragon as the space agency looks to stop using Russian Soyuz flights to transport astronauts to and from the space station.
When will the astronauts be able to return to Earth?
On Tuesday, Dec. 17, NASA announced Williams and Wilmore would return to Earth after the agency’s new SpaceX crew arrives at the space station. That won’t happen until late March at the earliest so NASA and SpaceX can have more time to finish a new Dragon spacecraft for the mission, NASA said.
Have other astronauts been stuck in the International Space Station before?
NASA astronaut Frank Rubio and two cosmonauts’ six-month stay on the space station was unexpectedly extended to a year after their Soyuz ship became disabled. A replacement had to be launched up to the trio so they could return to Earth in 2023.
contributed to this report.
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Why are astronauts stuck in space? Here’s how the Boeing Starliner crew ended up on the space station for months.