It’s finally time. You’ve waited a few years for your CD to mature, and now, in just a few weeks, you’ll be free to collect what has grown into $5,000. The only question is: What will you do with it? If you’re considering a new bank account, 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Huntington Bank has one of the top bank bonuses around, offering $400 in bonus cash for opening a new Perks Checking account. But if a brokerage account is more appealing, 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:tastytrade is offering📖 a $100 bonus for account holders depositing a mini✤mum of $5,000. So which one’s right for you?

Stash Your CD Cash in a New Checking Account and Earn $300+

The 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:best bank account bonuses range from $300 to $1🌺,000, which could help you turn that $5,000 into more without locking it up in a CD again. Right now, the best bank account bonus with the highest 🌄return on investment is from Huntington Bank.

From now until Feb. 7, 2025, new customers who open a Huntington Bank Perks Checking account can earn $400 in bonus cash. This bonus is open to residents in the states of Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

If yo♛u are eligible, here’s what you need to do:

• Open a new by Feb. 7, 2025: You can open an account online through the link provided here. If you prefer to open it in person at a branch location, you can use that link to request a promotional code by email; bring that code with you to the bank to activate the bonus offer.
• Receive qualifying direct deposits amounting to $500 or more within 90 days: Any ACH direct deposit, such as payroll or Social Security payments, will suffice. Deposits through real-time payment or peer-to-peer networks such as Zelle, Paypal, and Venmo are ineligible. Transfers from other Huntington deposit accounts are not eligible.
• Keep the account open for at least 90 days: Closing your account before this time frame will make you ineligible for the bonus. 

Once all requirements are met, Huntington will deposit the $400 bonus into your Perks Checking account within 14 days. That means, at minimum, you must keep your account open roughly 14 weeks to recei🌞ve the bonus. 

Is a Bank Bonus Worth It?

The Huntinton Bank $400 bonus is an excellent return on investment here. You only need to deposit $500 to get the $400—that’s an 80% return. However, this bank bonus is not open to everyone nationwide, and bank bonuses are a one-time payment. The real recipe for success here is to get the bank bonus—whether this one at Huntington Bank or another that’s available in your area—and then invest that money in a CD, 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:high-yield savings account, or a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:brokerage account where you can invest the funds.

Transfer Funds to a Broker and Earn $100+

If you’re more interested in stocks and bonds, opening a brokerage account could be a better fit for those CD funds. 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Tastytrade is 🥃offering a range of tiered bonuses—up to $5,000—through Dec. 31, 2024. Using your $5,000 CD earnings as a 🌌deposit, you could .

In order to qualify, you must:

• Be a legal U.S. resident age 18 or older: Both new and existing customers are eligible, but existing customers must have never funded any tastytrade account to qualify. 
• Make a single deposit of at least $2,000 before Dec. 31: This is the minimum deposit amount required to qualify for the lowest bonus tier at $50. To qualify for the $100 bonus, you must deposit at least $5,000. 
• Use the referral code “MYNEWBONUS” during the : Existing customers must also receive an email confirming eligibility before funding an account.

Once all the requirements have been met, you can expect to receive your bon꧒us within two weeks of your deposit. However, in order to keep your bonus, your deposit must remain in your account for a full year. Also, your cash bonus won’t be included in your buying power until the year is up, and if you decide to remove any of your initial deposits before the full year is up, the cash bonus will be taken out of your account.

Is a $100 Brokerage Bonus Worth It?

Earning $100 on a $5,000 deposit equals a 2.00% return over 12 months. That’s over 28x the national average for checking account APYs but less than half of what the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:best high-yield saving accounts offer. So, while the earnings on a brokerage bonus may be lukewarm, the potential earnings you might generate through investing are far more intriguin🀅g. 

Opening a brokerage account gives you access to a wide range of investments, including stocks, bonds, and mutual funds to grow your deposit. For instance, the S&P 500 saw a 38% total return over the last year as of Oct. 31, 2024. So, if you had deposited $5,000 in a fund that tracks the S&P 500 in October 2023, with no additional inves♏tments, you’d have $6,900 now as of Oct. 31, 2024. That’s a return of $1,900—nearly 5x as much as the bank bonus offering, and much more than you’d🏅 earn in a high-yield savings account paying 5.00%. So, while the initial bonus offering of a brokerage account may not amount to much, investing that deposit into securities or funds that have performed well historically could make the investment worthwhile. 

Which Is Best: A Bank, Broker, or Another CD?

Deciding where to invest a lump sum can be intimidating, but comparing returns side by side helps clarify the best decision. Investing $5,000 in a checking account with a bonus could generate $400 in 16 weeks, but money in a brokerage account invested in an index fund that tracks the S&P 500 could generate $1,900 in annual earnings, on top of a bonus of $100 (if the S&P 500 were to perform the same way over the next 12 months, which is not guaranteed). Alternatively, reinvesting those funds at the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:best 1-year CD rate available would only generate $250 in a year’s time, making it the least profitable𒅌 investment option of the three.

To get the highest returns on your money, it’s smart to consider multiple accounts—bank accounts that pay a bonus, a high-yield savi🦩ngs account, a CD, and a brokerage account. Once you are set up, patience is key t🌜o growing your wealth.

How We Find the Best Savings and CD Rates

Every business day, Investopedia tracks the rate data of more than 200 banks and credit unions that offer CDs and savings accounts to customers nationwide and determines daily rankings of the top-paying accounts. To qualify for our lists, the institution must be federally insured (FDIC for banks, NCUA for credit unions), and the account's minimum initial deposit must not exceed $25,000. It also cannot specify a maximum deposit amount that's below $5,000.

Banks must be available in at least 40 states to qualify as nationally available. And while some credit unions require you to donate to a specific charity or association to become a member if you don't meet other eligibility criteria (e.g., you don't live in a certain area or work in a certain kind of job), we exclude credit unions whose donation requirement is $40 or more. For more about how we choose the best rates, 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:read our full methodology.

How We Track Bank Account Bonuses

Every business day, Investopedia tracks 24 banks and the current, new, extended, and expired account bonuses they offer customers. Banks are chosen based on consumer interest and we add banks to our list as needed to ensure we're always reporting on the best bank bonuses. We update our picks for the best bank account bonuses, the best checking account bonuses, and the best savings account bonuses as needed, chosen based on bonus amounts, bonus requirements, and account features. We aim to provide you with news about checking and savings account bonus offers so you can take advantage of them as soon as possible.