Wachovia recently launched a new savings program called Way-2-Save that’s similar to Bank of America’s Keep The Change program and WaMu’s Savings for Success program. Like Keep the Change program, it’s intended to help the average person save. It’s not much of a deal for those with large savings.

Here are the details of this new Way-2-Save savings account:

• Current yield is 5.00% APY
• At the end of the first year, there’s a 5% bonus on the balance (up to $300)
• At the end of the second and third year, there’s a 2% bonus
• Maximum $100 per month transfer is allowed into the account
• Additional $1 deposits into the account happen for every debit card purchase, online bill pay or automated debit transaction
• Only available for personal accounts, not business accounts

Let’s say you do 20 of these debit card and online bill payments a month and you do the maximum $100 per month transfer, you’ll have $1440 in the account at the end of the year ($240 + $1200). So the first year bonus will be $72. This would be on top of the 5% APY that you would be earning during this time.

Their Free Checking does qualify for this account, and you don’t have to open a new one to sign up for this Way-2-Save program. Some things to keep in mind regarding Wachovia’s Free Checking:

• No monthly fees or minimum balance requirements
• Readers have reported a hard credit pull during the application
• Wachovia also does a ChexSystem verification
• Checks are not free but are optional. Prices vary by state.
• Overdraft fee is $35
• A savings account (including Way-2-Save) can be used for overdraft protection