Before you sign up for a savings account you should have an idea of what sort of rules and conditions are likely to be in place. Some of the rules will prevent you from accessing your money; some of the conditions are beneficial – like a savings account bonus for example. Whether you consider the conditions of a savings account to be good or bad will be determined by your individual situation and savings goals. Exploring and understanding them is essential before opening a savings account with any bank or provider.

Most banks and providers will have full terms and conditions of their accounts available on their websites or in brochure form from their local branch. Before you schedule an appointment or begin the sign up process online make sure you have all your questions answered – if not by the terms and conditions then by a representative of the bank or provider.

No ATM / check access is a common rule of savings accounts. This is too tempting and easy for people to access money and will only hinder their savings potential. If you do need to withdraw funds its likely you’ll have to visit a local branch.

Withdrawals can be hard to make on some savings accounts. A withdrawal restriction could be something as little as visiting a local branch and signing a funds release document, or could be as hard as applying in writing to request the funds with a minimum of 7-14days notice before the funds could be available to you. Almost all withdrawals from savings accounts will have a fee attached for doing so.

Paying bills is much harder to do than from your regular everyday accounts. Some savings accounts will allow you set to scheduled bill payments; others will completely forbid the use of your account for such things.

Some banks and providers will give you a savings account bonus on signing up with them. This deal varies among providers and the conditions associated with it do also. Its likely you will not earn interest on this bonus, nor will you be able to withdraw it until a certain savings goal has been achieved or a certain period of time has lapsed – or both.

A ‘don’t touch’ policy is common with savings accounts. This is usually for the customers benefit and removes the temptation to spend when you see money accumulating in front of you. This means that you simply cannot access the funds until a certain figure is reached, that figure could be determined by the bank or provider or sometimes set by the customer.

The list of terms and conditions associated with a savings account and a savings account bonus are quite extensive. The ones mentioned here are simply ones that will have varying affects on different people. Consider your situation carefully before deciding and be honest with yourself – do you have the willpower alone? Or are you going to reach those goals quicker with the help you’ll get from a possibly restrictive savings account?

Something banks and similar providers will do to attract business is offer special deals and interest rates to people looking at opening accounts. One common ‘special deal’ is that of a savings account bonus. This is usually a sign on payment that is made one time in order to secure your business. Depending on your situation they can help a great deal towards your savings goal, or they can deter you from hunting down the best long term interest rate. Knowing a little bit more should help you make the decision.

The bonus payments vary in value quite substantially. A sign on bonus out there today could range from $25 to $250 – or possibly even upwards from there. The reason they vary so much is they have different restrictions attached.

At face value you would expect a sign on bonus to be credited to your account once, well, the account is created. This is actually not too common. It does happen but more than likely you’ll be expected to deposit and maintain a certain balance for a set period of time before they will then credit you with the bonus payment.

Sometimes the savings account bonus may have household restrictions. This means only one person living at your address will qualify for this payment – best to check this beforehand if you are hoping to sign the family up too. It’s also likely that it will only apply to one savings account per person – meaning you can’t sign up for several savings accounts to receive the bonus several times.

A lot of times you’ll be required to kick start your savings account with a specific deposit amount in order to be eligible for the bonus. The amount is usually much higher than the bonus being offered.  Check about the rules surrounding earning interest on your total balance – including the bonus payment.

It’s quite likely you won’t earn interest on the one off payment from the bank.  To qualify for some bonus payments you need to make regular deposits into your savings account – for example one payment per month for six months, perhaps with a specified minimum value – and you’ll be eligible.

So before you decide on a savings account bonus over perhaps a competitive interest rate ensure you are able to fulfill all the necessary criteria to be eligible for the payment first.

If you happen to be a small business owner looking for savings account bonuses, check out this great link to business finance software.