This account now offers a $300 signup bonus, which is pretty good. You just need to complete a total of $75,00+ direct deposit within 90 days. The offer ends on July 30, 2026.
Users have reported that LemFi can successfully trigger the bonus, and the reward posts the same day.
Other accounts/services that count as direct deposit (source: DOC)
- Ally: 1, 2, 3(didn’t work) , 4 (didn’t work)
- Charles Schwab: 1, 2,
- Chase business: 1, 2, 3(didn’t work) , 4,
- Fidelity: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,
- Merill Edge: 1,
- Robinhood: 1,
- TreasuryDirect: 1, 2,
- Wise: 1, 2, 3,
This offer is also very good, so we’ve added it to our bank signup bonus rankings.
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About AMEX Checking
AMEX also launched a personal checking account in 2022. Its biggest selling points are no monthly fee and a 1% deposit interest rate, plus you can earn a certain amount of AMEX Membership Rewards on spending. The current signup bonus is $250, which is pretty good.
However, they don’t have physical branches. Cash withdrawals can be made through MoneyPass ATMs. There are 37,000 locations nationwide, which is still quite a lot.
This account is also FDIC-insured, so your assets are safe.
Accounts offered by American Express National Bank. Member FDIC. Each depositor is insured to at least $250,000. Learn More from FDIC.gov.
Account opening and bonus
Signup bonus
See the beginning of the article.
Requirements
Please note that you need to have held an AMEX personal credit card for at least three months before applying. Also, if you currently have or previously had AMEX Business Checking, you are not eligible to apply for this personal checking account.
We are currently accepting applications from Card Members with a U.S. Basic Consumer Card issued by American Express National Bank with 3+ months tenure. Current and prior American Express Business Checking customers are not eligible to apply at this time.
Account features
- Debit card spending can earn Membership Rewards points: 1 point for every $2 spent, though acceptance is not very widespread
- No monthly fee, and no minimum deposit requirement
- The current deposit APY is 1%
- Does not support Wise payments, overdraft protection, or online Bilt payment, and also does not support Zelle
- Only people who have held an AMEX credit card for 3 months or more can open the account
- With this account, you can redeem Membership Rewards points for cash at a rate of 0.8 cents per point, with no cap
- You can link other U.S. bank accounts, entry here.
- You can add joint account owners, entry here.
- You can order checks, entry here. A fee applies.
Although this is a debit card, AMEX still gives it the ability to earn points. Spending $2 earns 1 Membership Rewards point, which is much weaker than a 1x credit card earning rate. Also, since this is an AMEX-issued debit card, it is not like Visa or Mastercard, which can be used in some places where credit cards can’t be used, such as low-fee tax payments, Plastiq, and so on. There is still room to unlock its potential.
My take
A good signup bonus, a relatively high APY, and debit-card spending points — this checking account is basically an all-around, jack-of-all-trades product. On the flip side, none of its individual features is especially standout. If the issuer were Visa instead of AMEX, it would probably be excellent, since a Visa debit card can be used in far more places than a credit card, making it much more versatile. AMEX debit is roughly equivalent to an AMEX credit card.
That said, this card can’t be used for Bilt Pay and does not support Zelle, so the functionality is still a bit limited.