Cash Income Opportunities

• Major U.S. banks report a large drop in interest income, as more Americans ditch bank deposits (Bloomberg). YieldAlley readers know we have long espoused moving away from bank products with better cash investments. We have written about replacing your bank with a brokerage account, like Fidelity. Americans are wising up, and moving away from 0.01% bank yields.

• Federal Reserve signals they’re in no rush to cut interest rates (Bloomberg). Jerome Powell and the Fed have signaled it’s not fully confident that inflation has come down enough, and will likely keep current interest rates for longer than originally planned. As a result, the stock market dropped, while bond yields soared.

• Brokered CD rates are still better than traditional bank CDs bought from a bank. Brokered CDs are just bank CDs purchased on a brokerage, but they offer higher yields, better liquidity, and more variety. We highly recommend investigating brokered CDs for those looking to buy a CD.

Opportunities

• Series I Savings Bonds will undergo an inflation adjustment on Wednesday, May 1st, 2024. We expect the new variable inflation rate to be 2.96%, lower than the 3.94% inflation rate currently reflected in I Bonds. As a result, we recommend locking in the current 5.27% I Bond rate, which is a composite of a fixed rate and the inflation rate. I Bonds can be bought on TreasuryDirect, and you can read this article for a refresher.

• Brokered CD rates are still paying well over 5%. The highest 6-month CD rates are on Charles Schwab (5.32%) and Vanguard (5.35%).

• Money market fund rates still generally pale in comparison to brokered CD rates. Vanguard’s VMFXX and VUSXX continue to pay the highest out of all the major brokerages’ government funds.

• Treasury bill rates increased this past week, with the Fed indicating a delay in interest rate cuts.

• Ultra Short-term Treasury Bill and Floating Rate Note ETFs still offer the best combination of yield (USFR and TFLO are paying over 5.30%) and liquidity.

All brokerage cash guides and playbooks can be found on YieldAlley.com.

Dividend Income Opportunities

News and Opportunities

• Johnson and Johnson announces its 62nd consecutive year of dividend increase, with a 4.2% increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.24 per share (JNJ). We want to note that JNJ has a better credit rating than the United States!

• Tobacco conglomerate Altria Group has a large dividend nearing 10% and has increased its distributions for over 54 consecutive years (SA).

• 8 U.S. REITs announced dividend hikes in March. Shopping center-focused InvenTrust Properties Corp. had the largest increase, raising its quarterly cash distribution by 4.9% to 22.6 cents per share (S&P).

Bank Bonuses, Best CD and HYSA Rates

Certain people want to take advantage of bank bonuses, and promotional CD and high-yield saving account rates. Banks often tie these promotional rates with certain terms or fees and may change rates at any time. While we recommend passive investors who want to earn a yield to hold brokered CDs, money market funds, or floating rate ETFs, we’re listing some of the best offers we discover here.

As always, we highly recommend reading the fine print with these offers. We earn no money from these offers.

Bank Bonuses

• Arizona Central Credit Union — $500 one-time bonuses to Arizona residents only with a $1,000 minimum monthly direct deposit.

  • Availability: AZ only

  • Hard credit inquiry.

  • Offer here.

• Santander — $500 business checking bonus with promo code BUS500Q124SEA and an average daily balance of $2,500 for the first 90 days. $15 monthly fee that can be avoided with a $5,000 daily balance.

  • Availability: NH, FL, MA, RI, CT, DE, NY, NJ, or PA, In Branch

  • Soft credit inquiry.

  • Offer here.

• People Driven Credit Union — $200 bonus when you open a new checking account and set up a recurring direct deposit within 30 days. of account opening.

  • Availability: MI only

  • Soft credit inquiry.

  • Offer here.

Promotional Bank CD and HYSA Rates

• MyBankingDirect – 5.55% APY high-yield savings rate with a $500 minimum deposit. Offer here.

• Poppy Bank – 5.50% premier savings. This rate is guaranteed for only 3 months and requires a minimum balance of $1,000. Offer here.

• Western Alliance – 5.36% high-yield savings with a $500 minimum deposit. Offer here.

Credit Card Bonuses and Offers

Credit card signup bonuses are one of the easiest ways to earn extra income, as long as you are vigilant in managing payments, your credit score, and claiming bonuses. We know some of our readers are interested in the latest credit deals.

As always, we highly recommend reading the fine print with these offers. We earn no money from these offers.

• Chase Freedom Unlimited Signup Bonus – Get an extra 1.5% back per dollar spent in all categories during the first year, up to $20,000 in spend ($300 bonus cashback). Offer here.

• U.S. Bank Business Credit Card — Up to $900 in bonuses. Earn $900 after spending $7,500 in the first 120 days. Offer here.

• American Express Platinum — 175,000 points signup bonus with $8,000 spent within 6 months. Offer here (open in various browsers or devices to get the offer to show).