Updated; now with higher base rate. Laurel Road is a digital subsidiary of KeyBank (not a fintech) that reminds me of SoFi in that they are building a relationship that starts with student loan refinances and then expands to personal loans, mortgages, bank accounts, and credit cards. Last year, I opened a Laurel Road checking account that currently includes a new customer bonus worth up to $540 during the first year.
Laurel Road is offering up to a $200 deposit bonus (my referral link) for their High Yield Savings Account by referral only. This bonus is on top of the standard interest rate, which is currently a competitive 5.15{3da602ca2e5ba97d747a870ebcce8c95d74f6ad8c291505a4dfd45401c18df38} APY. Here are the steps:
- Open a High Yield Savings account before January 10, 2025 using a referral link that shows this offer. Offer not available on their regular website.
- Deposit at least $1 in the first 20 calendar days of account open.
- Have at least $5,000 (or whatever tier you pick) in your account by calendar day 90 after open. $50 bonus for deposit total between $5,000–$14,999.99. $100 bonus for deposit total between $15,000–$29,999.99. $200 bonus for deposit total of $30,000+.
- Once the requirements are met, the bonus amount will mailed to you as a check within 45 days of meeting the requirements. Your account must be open to receive the bonus, no other form of payment will be provided.
Importantly, my reading of the terms is that there is no minimum hold period. The fine print clearly states:
*Must deposit a minimum of $1 within the first 20 days and must have the relevant tiered account balance on the 90th day.
In other words, technically you just have to put $1 there, and the rest can land on the 85th day or so to be safe.
Napkin math. Given that there is no minimum hold period, the annualized yield is theoretically sky-high. Note that the $50 bonus is at best a 1{3da602ca2e5ba97d747a870ebcce8c95d74f6ad8c291505a4dfd45401c18df38} bonus on $5,000 deposited, while the $100 and $200 bonuses are at best a 0.67{3da602ca2e5ba97d747a870ebcce8c95d74f6ad8c291505a4dfd45401c18df38} bonus on either $15,000 or $30,000, respectively. This is pretty solid since the standard APY is already competitive. Even if you held the money in there for 30 days, the $100/$200 bonuses would work out to an extra 8{3da602ca2e5ba97d747a870ebcce8c95d74f6ad8c291505a4dfd45401c18df38} annualized. Added to the 5.15{3da602ca2e5ba97d747a870ebcce8c95d74f6ad8c291505a4dfd45401c18df38} APY standard yield, that would be 13.15{3da602ca2e5ba97d747a870ebcce8c95d74f6ad8c291505a4dfd45401c18df38} total annualized.
Note: It says that the “Referred cannot be an existing or prior Laurel Road member in the last twelve (12) months.”. Therefore, I would do this High Yield Savings bonus first, and then go for this Loyalty Checking bonus second if you want that one too, as the Checking offer only excludes prior *Checking* account holders.
The full fine print:
Starting at 12:00AM EST on May 18, 2024, through 11:59PM EST on January 10, 2025 (“Campaign Period”), a $50 bonus (the “Bonus”) will be awarded to Laurel Road members (“Referrer”) for each friend who opens a new Laurel Road High Yield Savings (HYS) account (the “Referred”) and meets the following requirements, the Referred must 1) submit the HYS account application through the Referrer’s link during the Campaign Period. 2) have a minimum HYS account balance of at least $1 by 7PM EST within the first twenty (20) calendar days of account opening, and 3) have a minimum balance of $5,000 by 11:59PM EST on the ninetieth (90th) calendar day of account opening for Referrer to earn the Bonus. This offer cannot be combined with any other programs and is not eligible for the standard Refer-A-Friend split. All other Laurel Road Referral Program Rules apply. For full information see https://www.laurelroad.com/hys-raf2024/#disclaimer.
