Marcus by Goldman Sachs Offers $100 Savings Account Bonus

Now through February 12, 2021, Marcus by Goldman Sachs (Marcus) is offering a $100 bonus when depositing $10k or more of new money in a new or existing Online Savings Account. The new funds must be deposited within 10 days of enrollment. Those new funds, plus the account balance at the time of enrollment, must be maintained for 90 days. Enrollment must be done by using the enrollment link on the Marcus promotion page, or by calling Marcus at 1-855-730-SAVE by 11:59 PM EST on February 12, 2021. The bonus will be deposited into the Online Savings Account within 14 days after the requirements have been met.

This offer is very similar to the bonuses offered by Marcus in February 2020 and March 2019. The one difference from the February 2020 offer is that the “maintenance” period has been increased from 60 days to 90 days.

While existing customers can qualify for the $100 bonus, thoroughly understanding the “rules” concerning which funds must be maintained during the promotional period is paramount. The following is an excerpt from the small print on the bonus promotion page (text emphasis is mine):

After enrollment, you must deposit $10,000 or more in new funds (internal transfers won’t count) into a Marcus Online Savings Account within 10 days of enrollment and maintain at least $10,000 of those new funds in your account in addition to your account balance at the time of enrollment for 90 consecutive days from the date of reaching the required dollar amount. Multiple deposits are allowed to reach the required dollar amount and can be made by joint owners for a joint account.

The salient portion of this quote is that the “account balance at the time of enrollment” will be included in the funds required to be on deposit for 90 days. That could prove to be critical if you have plans to use any of the “account balance at the time of enrollment” money during the 90 days following the deposit of new funds.

Thanks to DA reader, barry_NY, for the Forum post about this promotion, and to all the DA readers who commented. I’m quoting this helpful hint from DA reader, enuser, which appeared in my February 2020 Marcus blog post.

NOTICE to all who have signed up for this promotion. As stated by user "Tracey" you will need to call Marcus and confirm that you are in fact registered for this promotion. I also did not receive the confirmation email as stated when the signup process was completed.

When I called I was told that I was not enrolled in the promotion. The CS rep went ahead and enrolled me also. Call Marcus CS at 1-855-730-7283. Within a few minutes I received the long awaited confirmation email.

"Confirmation: Marcus savings bonus enrollment"

You will have to put up a fight to get past the auto attendant. Since she will insist that you say what you are calling about. None of the obvious phrases I tried worded until I said "savings account", then "close".

Online Savings Account Overview

While the Marcus Online Savings Account rate is currently only 0.50% APY, the Savings Account has a history of competitive rates for several years. To review the rate history of the Online Savings Account, clicking the “details” arrow in the following table:

The Online Savings Account has several features that make it a strong contender for a primary online savings account, including the following:

• No minimum opening deposit.
• Rate applies to all balances of $1 or more (currently 0.50% APY).
• Free ACH bank-to-bank transfer service.
• Up to 4 external accounts can be linked.
• Maximum outgoing transfer is $125k per transaction if done online (no limit if done by phone).
• No incoming transfer limit (as long as the maximum balance limit is maintained).
• ACH Transfers out take 1 to 3 business days.
• Funds received by ACH transfer initiated at Marcus are available on the third business day. Funds received by ACH transfer initiated by another bank are available on the next business day (see FAQs for full details).
• Maximum balance of $1 million for individuals (new customers).
• Up to six beneficiaries per each account.
• A beneficiary must be an individual; you may not name a trust or other entity as a beneficiary.
• Social security numbers required for beneficiaries.
• Trust accounts are not offered.
• No charge for sending or receiving wire transfers.

Availability

Goldman Sachs Bank operates its internet bank under the Marcus by Goldman Sachs brand. Savings accounts and CDs are available nationwide and can be opened using the Bank’s online application. Account owners must be U.S. citizens or legal residents and at least 18 years old.

To qualify for the $100 bonus, you must first enroll for this offer using the link on the Marcus promotion page, or by calling Marcus at 1-855-730-SAVE (7283) no later than 11:59 PM EST on February 12, 2021. A confirmation of successful enrollment will be sent by e-mail or snail-mail.

Bank Overview

Nearly five years ago, Goldman Sachs Bank completed its acquisition of GE Capital Bank’s internet bank division, thus establishing the “GS Bank” brand. The “Marcus by Goldman Sachs” brand was launched in October 2016 as an online platform that offered unsecured personal loans to consumers. As I noted in a November 2017 blog post, Goldman Sachs decided to consolidate savings accounts, CDs, and personal loans under the Marcus by Goldman Sachs brand.

Goldman Sachs Bank has an overall health grade of “A” at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 6.73% (excellent), based on September 30, 2020 data. In the past year, the Bank has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $66.63 billion, an excellent annual growth rate of 72.87%. Please refer to our financial overview of Goldman Sachs Bank (FDIC Certificate # 33124) for more details.

Goldman Sachs Bank is currently the twelfth largest bank in the nation based on assets. As of the latest published FDIC data (September 30, 2020), the Bank has nearly $278 billion in assets, nearly $218 billion in deposits, and more than 2 million customer accounts.

Bottom Line

This is an easy bonus that doesn’t require much time or effort. Earning $100 on a $10k deposit in three months is the approximate equivalent of a 4.1% APY. While the current 0.50% APY doesn’t seem competitive when compared to the 1.70% APY that was in effect when this bonus was last offered, 0.50% APY is close to the current average rate for online savings accounts – 0.51% APY. Also, it's higher than the current national average rate for savings accounts – 0.15% APY.

If you don’t qualify for the Marcus by Goldman Sachs bonus, check out our full list of the best savings and checking account bonus offers.