Part of this article is adapted from US Credit Card Guide.

[Update 2025.3] Starting on March 26, a dormant account fee ($2.50 per month) and an ACH return fee ($6 per occurrence) will be charged. An account will be considered inactive if its balance is below $10 or if there is no activity within 365 days.

About Upgrade

We previously covered Upgrade's credit cards and also mentioned the original Upgrade Everyday Savings account, which is no longer available for new applications. More recently, Upgrade launched the Upgrade Premier Savings account. Its features are essentially the same as Upgrade Everyday Savings, and if you already have Everyday Savings, you can still also hold a Premier Savings account. It also comes with a deposit bonus. Note that if you already have an Upgrade Checking account, this savings account can be approved instantly.

Many readers may not know much about this bank, but at least deposits do have insurance protection, so safety is not really a concern.

Rewards Checking Plus is FDIC-insured up to $250,000 through Cross River Bank, Member FDIC.
When you sign up for the Premier Savings product through Upgrade, you will open a Premier Savings account at Cross River Bank, Member FDIC under the terms of your Savings Deposit Account Agreement and agree to participate in a custodial deposit program offered by Upgrade and Cross River Bank (the “Program”) .
Your funds at Cross River Bank and at a Participating Institution are eligible for FDIC or NCUA insurance coverage up to $250,000 per ownership category and per institution.

Checking Account

Welcome Bonus (none at the moment)

This checking account is currently offering a $200 welcome bonus. You need to complete a total of $1,000 in direct deposits within 45 days.

Stackable Bonus (none at the moment)

You may be able to stack this with a $120 Swagbucks offer, bringing the total to $320. The steps are:

Cash Back Features

This checking account is actually somewhat useful. The debit card earns 1% cash back in certain spending categories and 0.5% on everything else. Eligible categories include convenience stores, drugstores, restaurants, gas stations, recurring bill payments, and recurring phone, internet, TV, and streaming payments.

If you have $1,000 in direct deposits posted to the checking account each month, the cash back rate becomes 2% on the specified categories and 1% on other purchases.

Rewards Checking Plus customers who set up monthly direct deposits of $1,000 or more earn 2% cash back on common everyday expenses at convenience stores, drugstores, restaurants and bars - including deliveries - and gas stations, as well as recurring payments on utilities and monthly subscriptions including phone, cable, TV and other streaming services, and 1% cash back on all other debit card purchases. 2% cash back is limited to $500 in rewards per calendar year; after $500, customers earn 1% cash back on all eligible debit card purchases for the remainder of the year.

Rewards Checking Plus accounts with less than $1,000 in monthly direct deposits 60 days after account opening will earn 1% cash back on common everyday expenses and 0.50% cash back on all other eligible debit card purchases

This bank also offers three fairly interesting credit cards. If you open checking together with one of its credit cards, there is a $200 account opening bonus.

Savings Account

Welcome Bonus (none at the moment)

If you open a savings account now, you can receive a bonus of up to $200. In addition, you can earn 4.14% APY. The account opening bonus itself is only average, but paired with this high-yield savings account, it is still a decent deal and your money is not just sitting idle.

The specific requirements are shown below. Note that you must complete the deposit requirement within 30 days, and the funds must be maintained for 60 days.

Application Requirements

If you already have an Upgrade checking account, approval is instant.

If you do not have a checking account, then you may need to provide quite a few documents, including:

  • Only Social Security numbers are supported for application
  • 4506-C
  • Selfie photo
  • Government-issued ID (passport accepted)
  • Federal tax returns for the past two years
  • Most recent W-2

In addition, here are a few more points:

  • VoIP numbers such as Google Voice are supported
  • Nonresident aliens (NRA) are not officially supported for online account opening, but the bank does not strictly enforce this policy.
  • The account comes with a debit card
  • Bonuses are reported on Form 1099-INT (RA) or 1042-S (NRA). Neither form has any special status requirement, and taxes can be filed normally.

Referral Bonus

You can earn up to $200 per year in referral bonuses

Fees

No fees.

Other Accounts

The previous Upgrade Everyday Savings account is no longer open to new applicants. Upgrade also offers several credit cards.

It also offers loans and other products, which you can see on its official website:

Application Links