We have a full list of the best bank account bonuses. A reader reached out asking for a full list of teen checking bonuses as their Mom had introduced them to the site. Below is that effort, currently it is bare bones so I can update it but if it proves more popular I will flesh it out more. I won’t be creating individual posts on each of these (unless it’s a particularly amazing deal) so use this post for discussion.
A lot of these offers require you to bring a parent/guardian with you to open the account and in many cases require that adult to already have an account with the financial institution. If your parent/guardian isn’t into bank churning you can always introduce them with this guide and search the site for good bonuses for them.
Nationwide Bonuses
Hudson Valley Credit Union (0-18) – Up To $100 Per Year
Requires at least 10 monthly deposits. Bonus you receive each year depends on age:
|
Age Bonus
|
Per Year
|
|---|---|
| 1-5 |
$25
|
|
6-10
|
$50
|
|
11-15
|
$75
|
|
16-18
|
$100
|
Must increase balance by at least $100 each year.
Wells Fargo $125 (13-24)
Requires 10 qualifying transactions
Chase $125 (13-17)
Requires parent/guardian to have a Chase account and open with you. The parent’s ineligibility (e.g., got a Chase checking or savings bonus in the last 2 years) makes the child ineligible according to this comment, making this not really worth doing.
Requires 5 qualifying transactions.
PSECU – $100 (13-17)
Requires a $20 donation to make it nationwide so really only $80 bonus.
U.S. Bank $100
Requires a joint account with parent/guardian, 10 debit card transactions and depositing $1,000.
Elements Financial – $5 Per Month (18 & Under)
Requires 5 deposits of $5+ per month.
US Alliance Financial – $10 Per Year Until 13 Years Old
$10 per year on your birthday until you turn 13.
Resound Credit Union – $150
Might be nationwide via Adventure Science Center?
State Specific Bonuses
Logix – $200 and a Carhartt beanie AZ, CA, MA, MD, ME, NH, NV, or VA (13-17)
- Recent datapoints say soft pull
- Requires opening with parent that already has Logix account
Waukesha State Bank – $250 – WI (Up To 26)
Requires a joint owner if under 16
Bank Of Hope $100 + $10 Student Checking – AL, CA, IL, NJ, NY, TX, VA, WA, In Branch (17-24)
Requires 10 debit card purchase.
Waterstone bank – $200 – WI (14-26)
Can view other posts here.
Valley First Credit Union – $200 – Select Counties In CA (Under 18)
Cyprus Credit Union – $200 – UT (13-17)
Requires completing some education models and depositing first job paycheck for $50 of bonus.
Cambridge Savings Bank – $150 – MA, In Branch (14-17)
Requires eStatements and 15 debit card purchases.
Northwest Bank – $150 – NY, OH, IN, PA (16-24)
Requires 7 transactions
Simmons Bank AR, IL, KS, MO, OK, TN, TX – $100+ (Under 18)
$100 bonus when you turn 18, can also get $1 for every A on report card and $10 bonus for signing up.
Union Savings Bank $105 – CT – (5-17). Expires 1/31/26
Requires a $50 deposit.
Sunmark Credit Union – NY – $100 – (Students 13-24)
Requires parent/guardian signer if under 18.
- Soft pull
- No credit card funding
Alpena Alcona Area Credit Union $125 – MI – (14-17)
Just requires opening with debit card and eStatements.
Minnequa Works Credit Union $100 – CO – (Under 18)
Requires $25 initial deposit and then three more deposits of $25+.
City National Bank $100 – WV, VA, KY, OH (13-17)
Oddly requires a direct deposit.
SECU – $100 – MD, DC, DE, PA, VA, and WV (13-17)
Requires opening in branch but can also open via their virtual online branch. Must set up eStatements and make one debit card purchase.
Transcend Credit Union – $100 – KY (13-17)
100% match on first $100 deposit.
The District Credit Union $100 – CO
Requires a direct deposit if you want to get the full $300.
BMI Federal Credit Union – OH $100 (0-17)
Must deposit a minimum of $5 at account opening.
Fifth District Savings Bank – $100 – LA (15-19)
Requires 5 debit card purchase.
First Federal Community Bank $100 – Eastern OH (13-19)
Requires a joint account
Republic Bank – $100 – IL (13-24)
Requires 10 debit card purchases
Smaller Bonuses
Normally we don’t post bank account bonuses that are under $100. But there are a number of smaller options for teens.
https://www.northwest.bank/personal/checking/student-checking/ $150. Ages 16-24. [NY, OH, IN, PA]
Trustco Bank – $100. In-branch only, and branches are in FL, NY, MA, NJ, and VT. Exp 9/30/26. Does not pull ChexSystems. https://www.trustcobank.com/student-checking-promo/ https://www.trustcobank.com/places/category/branch/
BoA $100 bonus for under 25. 20 debit or Zelle transactions within 60days. https://promotions.bankofamerica.com/en/offers/2026t2unauth#100
Came here to post this. Easy requirements. Limited time offer https://www.usaa.com/banking/youth/ William Charles
USAA offers $100 bonus for youth checking after depositing $25 in the account and making 5 debit card purchases. Obviously have to be eligible for USAA membership, but if you are, this is a good option.
By the way, BofA allows full bonus for joint account as long as you open it in branch. Was able to do the $300 or $400 one with DD (temp change to that account)
I just put my kids birthday and other cash into one of my extra online accounts. Gets 4-5% interest. Got them a debit card when they started high school. But will wait to open an actual bank account for them until they turn 18 to get one of the bigger sign up bonuses.
I set up my kids with accounts at Digital Credit Union (DCU) several years ago. It was 6% interest on the first 1k. It’s come down to 5.5% i think, but still, not a bad place to stash the kids birthday checks. I believe it’s available nationwide.
$50 youth savings bonus at the Gladden Farms branch of Pima Federal CU in Arizona. Low but there’s a $250 adult bonus as well. Exp 7/31. https://www.pimafederal.org/gladdenfarms
I just received an offer for a $100 bonus to put into a custodial account or 529 at Wealthfront. https://www.wealthfront.com/custodial
Select counties in Florida, Alabama, and Georgia: https://www.gogulfwinds.com/membership/special-offers/ $100 youth saving bonus.
The Delta Community Credit Union $100 referrer/$50 referred bonus is open to 13+. Although actually the regular Delta CCU $250 bonus (non-combinable per terms) doesn’t expressly specify an age requirement. No Chex pull, GA but has been open OOS. https://www.deltacommunitycu.com/personal/refer/refer-a-friend-program-faqs.html https://www.doctorofcredit.com/ga-only-delta-community-credit-union-200-checking-bonus-direct-deposit-not-required/
Indiana Members Credit Union offers $70 for minor accounts One year minimum hold. Expires 31 Dec 2026 $5 minimum balance. No monthly fee https://www.imcu.com/personal/minor-accounts#25minoraccountoffer
The Magnifi Financial Credit Union bonus for up to $500 is open to 16+. Minnesota only: “Must be a resident of a qualifying Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN, 7 County Metro zip code to qualify.” $100 for signing up, then $100 for each of four months for having direct deposits totaling $750+ and 8 debit card purchases of $5+ in that month. https://lp.mymagnifi.org/26checking500 https://www.doctorofcredit.com/magnifi-financial-500-checking-bonus/ It does say this: Bonus will not be paid if the promotional offer is retrieved by an unintended recipient or if the promotional offer is retrieved from a deals website . So you didn’t hear it from me. Not sure if they have geotargeted ads or what but it looks like it’s being printed in local news at least: https://local.hometownsource.com/places/view/377278/magnifi_financial.html
If their only income is interest income, unmarried dependents only have a filing requirement if unearned income exceeds $1350 (TY2025). There would be no refund to claim because taxes are not automatically withheld from bonuses and interest (unless you report to the bank you are subject to backup withholding). If they have earned income from working that’s different. For dependents in college, keep in mind some other sources like leftover FAFSA financial aid not used on education expenses or stipends may count as unearned income as well.
Read the post. It’s for youth/teens interested in churning “A reader reached out asking for a full list of teen checking bonuses as their Mom had introduced them to the site.”
What are we looking at here? Is this a form of youth/teen bonus churning where you open all of these? Because if that is not the goal you just open Fidelity UTMA account and gift them $200 to buy FZROX.
Great work. Just one question to all our experts – like as adult we get 1099 for bonus? what does child get – and if he gets something like 1099 – will he have to file tax return and claim refund as they may not have any income- just thinking is it worth it as filing cost will be more and complicate things for child account-????
Regarding Wells Fargo they do allow 17 year olds to be the primary owner on their Everyday checking accounts which means they can get the current $400 bonus. Applied for my 17 year old daughter at the end of March and already received the bonus. Just cant apply online, have to go into the branch though
Excellent post, this was a great idea 👏
At the bottom under smaller bonuses, the $26 Altra Credit union is no longer available.
Cambridge Savings Bank, MA – In branch $150 for 14-17 https://www.cambridgesavings.com/student-checking-bonus-offer
https://www.firstfed.com/specials.html $200 for youth account (13-19). Likely restricted to eastern [OH]
Casco Federal Credit Union $100 + entry in a contest for headphones. Open to York and Cumberland Counties in Maine. 13-17, exp 4/30. Don’t seem to be any requirements beyond signing up. There’s also a $25 bonus (+ piggy bank and “prize” for in-branch deposits) for 12 and under https://www.cascofcu.com/news-blog/special-offers-april-1-30 https://www.facebook.com/CascoFCU/videos/check-out-our-april-teen-checking-promo/4587040611529043/
The Altra Credit Union bonus is now $95, or $45 for existing members. 0-17, expires 4/30. Explicitly open-able online. Eligibility is primarily limited to certain areas of WI, MN, TN, and TX. OOS (out of state) membership has been possible via a $5 donation in the online application in the past, but they also tend to restrict promotions to residents of certain areas. Currently that is not a restriction on this promo https://www.altra.org/personal/youth/youth-month https://www.altra.org/about-us/membership https://www.altra.org/about-us/membership/qualifying-census-tracts
Canyon View Credit Union in Utah UT $100 https://www.canyonviewcu.com/get100/
https://www.redfcu.org/personal/banking/savings/star-club-savings/ $200. AL/TN to age 17.
This has been extended to 6/30. It’s not on the DoC list. https://kpcu.com/checking/youth-banking Delta Community Credit Union is also not on the list. Those age 16+ get treated as adults in GA and can open online (for the checking bonus), IIRC.
Thanks, added.
Elements Financial, nationwide, $5 bonus each month for Grow savings when you complete five deposit transactions of at least $5 each, no cap mentioned: https://www.elements.org/personal/savings/grow-account/ $5.00 Deposit Bonus – Offer effective July 15, 2025. Earn a $5 bonus dividend each calendar month for Elements members ages 18 and under who are the primary owner of a Grow savings account. To qualify for this bonus offer, a minimum of 5 separate deposits of at least $5 each, per calendar month must be made into the same Grow savings account. Only one deposit per day of at least $5 will count towards the 5 separate deposits requirement for the calendar month. Dividends and refunds are excluded from qualifying deposits. Upon meeting the 5th qualifying deposit in a calendar month, the $5 bonus dividend will be deposited into the Grow savings account the month after the deposit qualification is met. The bonus is considered dividends and may be reported on form 1099-INT. One $5 bonus per member per calendar month. Membership required. Additional terms and conditions may apply. Elements reserves the right to amend or discontinue this offer at any time.