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 2022?
We updated this guide by removing expired bonuses, adding new bonuses and updating eligibility and expiration dates for extended offers.
Here’s a snapshot of the best checking account bonus offers:
| Chase Total Checking | $200 bonus | October 19, 2022 | Open an account |
| Chase Secure Banking | $100 bonus | October 19, 2022 | Open an account |
| BMO Harris Bank, Smart Money and Premier checking | $300 or $500 bonus | 30 September 2022 | Go to site |
| Citi Priority | Up to $2,000 | January 09, 2023 | Read Review |
| Chase Business Complete Banking | $300 bonus | October 20, 2022 | Read review |
| TD Beyond Checking | $300 bonus | October 31, 2022 | Read review |
| TD Convenience Checkingâ„ | $200 bonus | October 31, 2022 | Read review |
| Bank of America Advantage Banking | $100 bonus | December 31, 2022 | Read review |
| Associated Bank Checking | up to $400 bonus | December 31, 2022 | Read review |
| Citigold® Checking Account | Up to $2,000 | January 09, 2023 | Read review |
| Huntington National Bank | Up to $300 bonus | 07 October 2022 | Read review |
| M&T Bank | $200 bonus | August 31, 2022 | Read review |
| Citizens Bank | Up to $400 bonus | 04 August 2022 | |
Compare the best bank account bonuses and their requirements to see which ones you qualify for.
Chase Total Checking: $200 bonus
- Bonus amount: $200
- Minimum deposit required: $0
- Monthly maintenance fee: $12
Offer rules
With this Chase checking account bonus, you’ll earn $200 when you open a new Chase Total Checking® account by October 19, 2022, enroll in the coupon and set up direct deposit within 90 days of enrolling in the coupon. You’ll receive your bonus within 15 business days of receiving your first direct deposit.
Eligibility
This offer is only available to new Chase customers. Those who aren’t eligible include existing Chase checking customers, those who closed their accounts within 90 days or closed with a negative balance within the last three years. 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 19, 2022.
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, enroll in the coupon to receive your bonus and complete 10 qualifying transactions within 60 days of coupon enrollment. 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. Not available to customers who have closed their accounts within 90 days or closed with a negative balance within the last three years. Qualifying transactions for the bonus include debit card purchases, online bill payments, Chase QuickDeposits, Zelle transfers and ACH credits.
Expiration
Bonus available until October 19, 2022.
BMO Harris Bank, Smart Money and Premier checking: $300 or $500 bonus
- Bonus amount: $300 or $500
- Minimum deposit required: $25
- Monthly maintenance fee: $0 to $25, but fees are avoidable
Offer rules
New BMO Harris personal checking customers can get $300 by opening a Smart Advantage or Smart Money checking account and direct-depositing at least $4,000 within 90 days of account opening. New customers can also get $500 by opening a Premier checking account and receiving $7,500 in direct deposits within 90 days of account opening.
Eligibility
Must be a first-time BMO Harris personal checking customer
Expiration
Bonus available until 30 September 2022.
Citi Priority: Up to $2,000
- Bonus amount: $200, $500, $1,000, $1,500 or $2,000
- Minimum deposit required: $10,000 to $300,000
- Monthly maintenance fee: $0 to $30, depending on your balance
Offer rules
Open a new Citi Priority account. Deposit between $10,000 to $300,000 within 20 days of account opening and maintain your balance until 60 days after account opening.
| $10,000 – $29,999 | $200 |
| $30,000 – $74,999 | $500 |
| $75,000 – $199,999 | $1,000 |
| $200,000 – $299,999 | $1,500 |
| $300,000 and above | $2,000 |
Citi Priority has a $30 monthly service fee if you don’t maintain a combined average monthly balance of at least $30,000 across all Citi Priority deposit, retirement and investment accounts.
Eligibility
You must be at least 18 years old, and not have owned a Citi® checking account in the past 180 days. You should also have a valid Form W-9 or W-8BEN and not be subject to backup withholding.
Expiration
Bonus available until January 09, 2023
Citi® is a Finder advertising partner.
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 20, 2022 and deposit $2,000 from an external source within 30 days of account opening.
You’ll also need to maintain a $2,000 balance for 60 days, complete five transactions within 90 days and keep your account open for more than six months. Transactions include: debit card purchases, QuickDeposit, ACH deposits, wire transfers or bill pay.
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 who closed with a negative balance.
Expiration
Bonus available until October 20, 2022.
TD Beyond Checking: $300 bonus
- Bonus amount: $300
- Minimum deposit required: $0
- Monthly maintenance fee: $25
Offer rules
The $300 TD Beyond Checking account bonus offer is available to new customers who open a TD Beyond Checking account and receive direct deposits totaling $2,500 or more within 60 days.
Eligibility
This offer is available to new personal checking customers who have not received a checking account bonus from TD Bank and who don’t have an existing or prior personal TD Bank checking account within the past 12 months. Customers will need to open their account online via this promotion page and complete the required qualifying criteria.
Expiration
Bonus available until October 31, 2022
TD Convenience Checkingâ„ : $200 bonus
- Bonus amount: $200
- Monthly maintenance fee: $15
- Minimum deposit required: $500 in direct deposits within 60 days
Offer rules
Earn the $200 TD Bank checking account bonus when you open a TD Convenience Checkingâ„ account and receive at least $500 in direct deposits within 60 days of account opening.
Eligibility
Only for new customers in one of the 16 states it serves. Those include 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 October 31, 2022
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 this $100 Bank of America checking account bonus when you open a BofA SafeBalance, Advantage Plus or Advantage Relationship account and receive qualifying direct deposits of $1,000 or more within 90 days. Must use the offer code DNL100CIS 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, 2022.
Associated Bank Checking: up to $400 bonus
- Bonus amount: $100, $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 $100 bonus for balances up to $999.99, $200 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 opening.
Eligibility
Offer limited to a new Associated Bank Checking account that is sponsored by their employer’s Bank at Work program. Must be funded with new money.
Expiration
Bonus available until December 31, 2022.
Citigold® Checking Account: Up to $2,000
- Bonus amount: $200, $500, $1,000, $1,500 or $2,000
- Minimum deposit required: $10,000 to $300,000
- Monthly maintenance fee: $0
Offer rules
Open a new Citi®, Citi Priority or Citigold® Checking or Basic Banking Regular Checking Account, and enroll in the cash bonus offer. Next, deposit between $10,000 to $300,000 within 20 days of account opening. You’ll also need to maintain your balance for 60 days, starting on day 21 after opening your account. Your bonus will be deposited within 30 days of meeting all the requirements.
| $10,000 – $29,999 | $200 |
| $30,000 – $74,999 | $500 |
| $75,000 – $199,999 | $1,000 |
| $200,000 – $299,999 | $1,500 |
| $300,000 and above | $2,000 |
Citigold® has no monthly fee, but requires a combined average monthly balance of at least $200,000 across all Citigold® deposit, retirement and investment accounts.
Eligibility
You must be at least 18 years old and not have owned a Citi® checking account in the past 180 days. You should also have a valid Form W-9 or W-8BEN and not be subject to backup withholding.
Expiration
Bonus available until January 09, 2023
Although Citi® is a Finder advertising partner, all information about these products has been collected independently by Finder.
Huntington National Bank: Up to $300 bonus
- Bonus amount: $200, $300
- Minimum deposit required: $1,000 to $25,000 for personal accounts
- Monthly maintenance fee: $10 to $25 for personal accounts
Offer rules
To get a Huntington National Bank checking account bonus, you must open a new Perks Checking or Platinum Perks Checking account via the promotions bonus web page by October 7, 2022. You must deposit at least $1,000 within 60 days of account opening. You also should keep the account open for at least 90 days after opening.
You’ll get a $200 bonus for opening a Perks Checking account and depositing at least $1,000, or $300 bonus for opening Platinum Perks Checking and depositing at least $25,000.
Eligibility
For personal accounts, you must open a new Huntington National Bank checking account via the website’s promo page on your own or in person at a branch location.
These offers are only available to residents of Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Expiration
Bonus available until 07 October 2022.
M&T Bank checking: $200 bonus
- Bonus amount: $200
- Minimum deposit required: $25
- Monthly maintenance fee: $0 to $24.95
Offer rules
Open a new M&T Bank EZChoice Checking, M&T Bank MyChoice Plus Checking or M&T Bank MyChoice Premium Checking account by August 31, 2022. You should also make at least $500 in direct deposits within 90 days of account opening. You’ll receive the bonus amount within 90 days of meeting the requirements.
Eligibility
Must open a new personal M&T checking account. Not available to customers who have received any M&T checking account bonus in the last 12 months or to M&T employees or employees of M&T affiliates. M&T Bank awards only one bonus per customer, regardless of the number of accounts opened.
Expiration
Bonus available until August 31, 2022.
Citizens Bank Checking: Up to $400 bonus
- Bonus amount: Up to $400
- Minimum deposit required: $500
- Monthly maintenance fee: $0 to $25, but fees are avoidable
Offer rules
Earn $300 when you open a new online checking account and receive at least $500 via direct deposits within 60 days. Get an additional $2 (up to $100) each time you use your debit card during the first 60 days.
Eligibility
Must be a new Citizens Bank checking customer in CT, DC, DE, FL, MA, MD, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, VA or VT.
Expiration
Bonus available until 04 August 2022.
Summary of the best checking accounts offers
When choosing a checking account based on its bonus, consider the following criteria before deciding:
- 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, check if the account 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, its features might be subpar. Once the bonuses expire, you are 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.
Use this table to compare checking accounts based on their fees and checking account bonus offers.
