This article was reviewed by Marguerita Cheng, a member of the Finder Editorial Review Board and award-winning advocate for ethical financial planning for over 20 years.
Checking account bonus offers can incentivize you to open a specific account, but the bonus might not be worth the hassle if the underlying account is subpar. Each month, our team researches over 165 accounts to find the best bonuses based on offer rules, account fees and minimum balance requirements, so you can compare your options in minutes.
What’s changed in 2021?
We reviewed our list to ensure these are still the best checking account bonuses available today. We also added a new $300 TD bonus to our list.
We updated this article to include the latest details and expiration dates. We also added new offers from TD and updated offer details from Bank of America, Associated Bank, Fifth Third Bank and Suntrust.
We reviewed our list to ensure these are still the best checking account bonuses available today. We also added new bonuses for Chase Total Checking® and Chase Secure Banking℠.
Here’s a snapshot of the best checking account promotions:
| HSBC Premier Checking | Up to $600 bonus | $0 | August 31, 2021 | Go to site |
| Chase Business Complete Banking | $300 bonus | $0 | October 21, 2021 | Go to site |
| Aspiration Spend & Save Account | $100, $150 bonus | $10 | N/A | Go to site |
| TD Beyond Checking | $300 | $0 | August 3, 2021 | Go to site |
| Chase Total Checking | $225 bonus | $0 | October 18, 2021 | Go to site |
| TD Convenience Checking℠ | $150 bonus | $500 in direct deposits within 60 days | August 3, 2021 | Go to site |
| Chase Secure Banking | $100 bonus | $0 | October 18, 2021 | Go to site |
| Huntington Bank Business Checking | Up to $750 bonus | $2,000 to $20,000 | August 7, 2021 | Read review |
| PNC Virtual Wallet | Up to $300 bonus | $0 | September 31, 2021 | Read review |
| Bank of America Advantage Banking | $100 bonus | $25 or $100 | December 31, 2021 | Read Review |
| Associated Bank Checking | Up to $400 bonus | $25 to $100 | September 30, 2021 | Read Review |
| Suntrust Personal Checking | Up to $300 bonus | $0 | September 30, 2021 | Read review |
| Fifth Third Bank Checking account | $250 bonus | $0 | July 31, 2021 | Learn more |
Compare the best bank account bonuses and their requirements to see which ones you qualify for.
HSBC Premier Checking: Up to $600 cash back
- Bonus amount: Up to $600
- Minimum deposit required: $0
- Monthly maintenance fee: $50
Offer rules
Get a 3% cash bonus, up to $600 (max. $100 per month) during first six months after account opening. Must open HSBC Premier checking account through offer page by August 31, 2021, and set up qualifying direct deposits into the new account. Conditions apply. Deposit products are offered in the US by HSBC Bank USA, N.A. Member FDIC.
Eligibility
Eligible to new customers who open an HSBC Premier checking account. Offer not available to current HSBC customers.
Expiration
Bonus available until August 31, 2021
Chase Business Complete Banking: $300 bonus
- Bonus amount: $300
- Minimum opening deposit required: $0
- Monthly maintenance fee: $15
Offer rules
Earn $300 when you open a new Chase Business Complete Banking account by October 21, 2021 and deposit $2,000 within 30 days of opening your account, maintain $2,000 for 60 days and complete five transactions within 90 days. Transactions include: debit card purchases, QuickDeposit, ACH deposit and wires transfers.
Eligibility
You can receive only one new business checking account-related bonus every two years from the last enrollment date and only one bonus per account. Offer not available to existing Chase business checking customers, local, state or federal government entities or agencies, non-profit organizations, political action committees, or account holders with campaign accounts or accounts have been closed within 90 days or closed with a negative balance.
Expiration
Bonus available until October 21, 2021
Aspiration Spend & Save: up to $150 bonus
- Bonus amount: $100, $150
- Minimum deposit required: $10
- Monthly maintenance fee: $0 to $15
Offer rules
Get a $100 bonus when you open a standard Aspiration Spend & Save Account or a $150 bonus when you open an Aspiration Plus account. You must deposit at least $10 into your account and make at least $1,000 in qualifying purchases with your debit card within 60 days. The bonus will post to your account within 120 calendar days of account opening.
Eligibility
Open to new Aspiration Spend & Save customers.
Expiration
N/A
TD Beyond Checking: $300 bonus
- Bonus amount: $300
- Minimum deposit required: $0
- Monthly maintenance fee: $25
Offer rules
The $300 bonus offer is available to eligible new customers who open a TD Beyond Checking account with cumulative direct deposit funds of $2,500 or more into the new account within 60 days.
Eligibility
This offer is available to new personal checking Customers who do not have an existing or prior personal checking account at TD Bank within the preceding 12 months, open their account online via this promotion page and complete the required qualifying criteria.
Expiration
Bonus available until August 3, 2021
Chase Total Checking: $225 bonus
- Bonus amount: $225
- Minimum deposit required: $0
- Monthly maintenance fee: $12
Offer rules
Earn $225 when you open a new Chase Total Checking account by October 18, 2021 and set up and receive at least one direct deposit within 90 days of opening. You’ll receive your bonus within 15 business days of receiving your first direct deposit.
Eligibility
You can receive only one new checking account-related bonus every two years from the last enrollment date and only one bonus per account.
Expiration
Bonus available until October 18, 2021
TD Convenience Checking℠: $150 bonus
- Bonus amount: $150
- Monthly maintenance fee: $15
- Minimum deposit required: $500 in direct deposits within 60 days
Offer rules
Earn $150 when you receive at least $500 in direct deposits within 60 days of opening the account.
Eligibility
Only for new customers located in one of the 16 states it serves: Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, D.C.
Expiration
Bonus available until August 3, 2021
Chase Secure Banking: $100 bonus
- Bonus amount: $100
- Minimum deposit required: $0
- Monthly maintenance fee: $4.95
Offer rules
Open a new Chase Secure Banking account and complete 10 qualifying transactions within 60 days of coupon enrollment to earn a $100 bonus. There’s no minimum deposit required, but the account does have an unavoidable monthly fee of $4.95.
Eligibility
This offer is exclusively available to new Chase customers. Qualifying transactions include debit card purchases, online bill payments, Chase QuickDeposits, Zelle transfers and ACH credits.
Expiration
Bonus available until October 18, 2021
Huntington Bank Business Checking: Up to $750 bonus
- Bonus amount: $200, $400 or $750
- Minimum deposit required:$2,000 to $20,000
- Monthly maintenance fee:$0 to $40
Offer rules
Earn $200 when you open a Business Checking 100 account and deposit at least $2,000 within 60 days of account opening, $400 when you open an Unlimited Business Checking account and deposit at least $5,000 within 60 days of account opening, or $750 when you open an Unlimited Plus Checking account and deposit at least $20,000 within 60 days of account opening.
Bypass the monthly service fee by maintaining $10,000 in monthly deposits for the Unlimited Business Checking account and $50,000 for the Unlimited Plus Business Checking account.
Eligibility
Offer available to new business checking customers only. Must apply through the banking promotions offer page on Huntington’s website to qualify. Account must be funded with new money.
Expiration
Bonus available until August 7, 2021
PNC Virtual Wallet: Up to $300 bonus
- Bonus amount: $50, $200 or $300
- Minimum deposit required: $0
- Monthly maintenance fee: $7 to $15
Offer rules
Earn $300 when you open a new Virtual Wallet with Performance Select and make at least $5,000 in qualifying direct deposits within 60 days, $200 when you open a new Virtual Wallet with Performance Spend and make at least $2,000 in qualifying direct deposits within 60 days or $50 when you open a new Virtual Wallet account and make at least $500 in qualifying direct deposits within 60 days.
Eligibility
The new account must be opened online at pnc.com/virtualwallet or at a branch between 7/1/21 to 9/30/21. Your bonus will be credited to your account 60 to 90 days after all conditions are met.
Expiration
Bonus available until September 30, 2021
Bank of America Advantage Banking: $100 bonus
- Bonus amount: $100
- Minimum deposit required: $25 or $100
- Monthly maintenance fee: $4.95 to $25
Offer rules
Earn $100 when you open any Bank of America Advantage Banking account and set up and receive qualifying direct deposits of $1,000 or more within 90 days of opening. Must use offer code DDX100CIS when opening your account to qualify.
Eligibility
For new personal checking customers only. You’re not eligible if you’ve been an owner or co-owner of a Bank of America personal checking account within the last six months.
Expiration
Bonus available until December 31, 2021
Associated Bank Checking: up to $400 bonus
- Bonus amount: $200, $300 or $400
- Minimum deposit required: $25 to $100
- Monthly maintenance fee: $0 to $25
Offer rules
Open a new Associated Bank checking account and make at least $500 in direct deposits within the first 90 days of opening. Once your account has been open for 90 days, Associated Bank will calculate the average daily balance of all your deposit accounts for days 31 to 90. You’ll earn a $200 bonus for balances between $1,000 and $4,999.99, $300 for balances between $5,000 and $9,999.99 and $400 for balances over $10,000 The bonus will be credited to your account within 120 days of account opening.
Eligibility
Offer limited to a new personal Associated Bank checking account. Must be funded with new money.
Expiration
Bonus available until September 30, 2021
Suntrust Personal Checking: Up to $300 bonus
- Bonus amount: Up to $300
- Minimum deposit required: $0
- Monthly maintenance fee: $0 to $20
Offer rules
Earn $200 for opening any new Suntrust Personal Checking account and complete at least two qualifying direct deposits totaling $500 or more within 90 days of account opening. And to earn an extra $100, on the same day, open any new SunTrust savings or money market account and deposit $10,000 or more within 30 days and maintain $10,000 or more for 90 days after account opening.
Eligibility
For new checking, savings or money market clients only. Enrollment in the promotion is required at account opening using promo code CHKSAVQ321. The reward will be deposited into the new checking account within four weeks of verifying all qualification requirements.
Expiration
Bonus available until September 30, 2021
Fifth Third Bank Checking: $250 signup bonus
- Bonus amount: $250
- Minimum deposit required: $0
- Monthly maintenance fee: $0 to $25
Offer rules
Open any personal Fifth Third checking account and receive a $250 bonus when you have direct deposits totaling $1,000 within 60 days of account opening. You must grab a unique offer code from Fifth Third Bank’s website before you open your account. You won’t get the bonus unless you provide that code with your application.
Eligibility
Not available to existing Fifth Third checking customers or those who closed an account within the last 12 months. If you meet the requirements, your bonus will be deposited into your account within 10 business days.
Expiration
Bonus available until July 31, 2021
When choosing a checking account based on its bonus, consider the following criteria before making your decision:
- Bonus amount and conditions. Make sure you can comfortably meet the requirements needed to earn the bonus.
- Consider if the bonus is worth it. Even if the bonus is good, the account may not be worth it if it comes with high fees and strict requirements.
- Account fees. See which fees are tied to the account and if there are easy ways to avoid them.
- Opening deposit or minimum balance. Calculate that you can afford the opening deposit and meet the minimum balance requirements to avoid fees.
3 checking account bonus benefits
Checking account bonus offers are great for several reasons:
- Free money. You can get rewarded with hundreds of dollars for simply switching banks or spending money you were going to spend anyway.
- Spend on anything. Once the bonus arrives in your account, you can use the funds to go on a shopping spree, pay off debt or anything you want.
- Easier to earn. Compared to credit card bonuses, checking account bonuses are easier to earn because you’re typically not required to spend thousands of dollars within just a few months.
4 things to consider before using a checking account bonus offer
But these attractive offers might not always work in your favor.
- Might be a less-than-stellar account. While the bonus offer can incentivize you to open a specific account, don’t get blinded by the dollar amount if the account features are subpar. Once the bonuses expire, you’ll be stuck with the account.
- Must meet requirements. Some checking accounts require you to live in a certain state, maintain a minimum balance or receive regular direct deposits to qualify for the bonus. Read the fine print before signing up.
- Might not be a good bank. Just because a bank offers a generous bonus doesn’t make it a good financial institution. Consider other factors and ask yourself if you’d switch to that bank even if it didn’t offer a bonus.
- Bonuses are taxable. The IRS considers checking account bonuses as taxable income. This reduces the amount of money you get to keep and can complicate things when tax-time rolls around.
Do I have to report my checking bonus on my taxes?
Yes. Under IRS rules, checking account bonuses are considered taxable income. If you receive a bonus, your bank will typically send you a 1099-INT form, instructing you to include the amount as part of your income when you file. Bonuses from savings accounts are also taxable, but rewards from credit cards are considered non-taxable rebates.
Finding a checking account with a bonus is easy money in your hand. Get a head start on growing your account balance and compare your options to find an account that suits your needs.
