E-Trade from Morgan Stanley: Savings and Checking Account Bonuses

Savings offer improved. E*Trade (Morgan Stanley Private Bank) is running promotions for new customers on both their savings and checking accounts:

Premium Savings up to $2,000 deposit bonus + 3.50% APY Max-Rate Checking $300 bonus + up to 2.00% APY

Hat tip to reader Greg on this one.

Up to $2,000 Savings promo details (deposit bonus).

Open a new Premium Savings Account on etrade.com by February 28, 2026 using promo code SAVE26. Deposit qualifying new money (see tiers below) within the first 30 days after account opening. Maintain your balance for 45 additional days after the 30-day funding period ends to earn your bonus.

If your deposit meets the minimum of a tier exactly then it works out to up a 1.5% bonus. Note that on some tiers it might be as low as 1%. If let’s say you hold for 60 days for some wiggle room, 1.5% for 60 days works out to a 9% bonus on an annualized basis. Add on the current 3.50% APY on the Premium Savings account for a total of 12.50% APY.

Even on the 1% bonus for 60 days, that works out to a 6% bonus on an annualized basis. Add on the current 3.50% APY on the Premium Savings account for a total of 9.50% APY. Not bad.

$300 Checking promo details (direct deposit required).

CHECKING25. You are not eligible if you have or had owned or co-owned (joint) a Checking or Max-Rate Checking Account within the last 12 months from when you enroll in this offer. Make at least 2 direct deposits, each of $1,500 or more, within 90 days of opening your new account. Your bonus should arrive around 120 days from account opening.

As of 1/5/26, Max-Rate Checking Account pays 2.00% APY. You must maintain a $5,000 average monthly balance, otherwise there is a $15 monthly fee. The basic Checking Account only pays 0.05% APY (basically nothing), but has no minimum balance. This is notable since you’ll need to maintain an open account for at least a few extra months to get the bonus, so the basic Checking might be better.