[Expired] CIT Bank $150/$300 Savings Bonus + 1.3% APY; New & Existing Customers ($25,000/$50,000 Deposit Required)

Deal has ended, view more savings bonuses by clicking here

Update 2/20/20: Deal is back and valid through 5/30/20. Much better than the $100/$200 deal, with the same deposit requirements. New link. New promo code is Spring20. (hat tip to readers Lori and @Chase-ing UR points)

Update 11/13/19: Reposting as the bonus is much better for existing customers than we originally thought.

Offer at a glance

• Maximum bonus amount: $300
• Availability: Nationwide
• APY: 1.3% with a deposit of $25,000+
• Additional requirements: Use promo code
• Hard/soft pull: Soft
• ChexSystems: Yes 
• Credit card funding: None
• Monthly fees: None
• Early account termination fee: None
• Household limit: None
• Expiration date: December 31st, 2019 May 30, 2020

The Offer

Direct link to offer | New link for 2020 offer

• CIT Bank is offering both new and existing customers a bonus of $150 or $300. You need to reach a certain deposit requirement and maintain that balance for 90 days. New users must use promo code Bonus19 Spring20 and existing users need to increase their balance by the deposit requirements with new money (e.g transferring out and then in won’t work).
• • Receive a bonus of $150 when you deposit $25,000 to $49,999
  • Receive a bonus of $300 when you deposit $50,000 or more
• Update: Existing customers only need to have the funds deposited for 30 days after the enrollment period

 

The Fine Print

• Offer valid on new Savings Builder accounts opened between October 4, 2019 and December 31, 2019
• Bonus will be credited to the account 1-5 business days after the end of the Funding Period. A hold will be placed on the bonus amount during the applicable Review Period plus 7 calendar days.
• All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them

Avoiding Fees

Monthly Fees

This account has no monthly fees to worry about

Early Account Termination Fee

As far as I’m awarethere is no early account termination fee.

Our Verdict

Update 11/13/19: Existing customers only need the funds in there for 30 days, making the effective interest rate 9.05% so significantly better.

Account earns 1.85% APY as long as you have $25,000 in the account and deposit $100, otherwise it will earn 1.17%. If you deposit exactly:

• $25,000 you’ll earn ~$114 in interest and the $150 bonus
• $50,000 you’ll earn ~$228 in interest and the $300 bonus

Effective interest rate works out to be ~4.25% if I’m not mistaken. Good deal, but not outrageously good when compared to other high interest savings accounts. CIT Bank also has a history of creating new account types when rates are increasing, thus avoiding passing on rate increases to existing customers and still being able to attract existing customers. That’s less of an issue with rates on the down swing though, also the 1.85% rate is introductory rate and will then drop to 0.995%.

Useful posts regarding bank bonuses:

• A Beginners Guide To Bank Account Bonuses
• Bank Account Quick Reference Table (Spreadsheet) (very useful for sorting bonuses by different parameters)
• PSA: Don’t Call The Bank
• Introduction To ChexSystems
• Banks & Credit Unions That Are ChexSystems Inquiry Sensitive
• What Banks & Credit Unions Do/Don’t Pull ChexSystems?
• How To Use Our Direct Deposit Page For Bank Bonuses Page
• Common Bank Bonus Misconceptions + Why You Should Give Them A Go
• How Many Bank Accounts Can I Safely Open Within A Year For Bank Bonus Purposes?
• Affiliate Links & Bank Bonuses – We Won’t Be Using Them
• Complete List Of Ways To Close Bank Accounts At Each Bank
• Banks That Allow/Don’t Allow Out Of State Checking Applications
• Bank Bonus Posting Times