【Updated 2026.1】This account currently has a solid welcome bonus: deposit $5,000/$15,000 within 30 days of opening and keep your average balance above $5,000/$15,000 for 60 days to earn a $400/$750 bonus. The top tier is effectively a 5% return in just 60 days, or about a 30% annualized yield!

This bonus is quite good, so I added it to our rankings.

The requirements are as follows:
  • Open the account by December 31, 2026
  • Within 30 days of opening, deposit $5,000/$15,000 into this account from a non-BofA account
  • During days 31-90, maintain an average balance of $5,000/$15,000 in the account (so if you time it right, you effectively only need to keep the money there for 60 days)
  1. Open a new Business Advantage Relationship Banking or Business Advantage Fundamentals™ Banking account online through this offer’s webpage by December 31, 2026, to be enrolled in this offer. If you open your account by any other means, you may not be eligible to earn the cash bonus.
  2. Deposit New Money* directly into that new eligible Bank of America Business Advantage Banking account within thirty (30) days of account opening (“Deposit Period”) . At the end of the Deposit Period, all New Money deposits made directly into new eligible Business Advantage Banking account will be totaled to determine which Balance Requirement you have met and which corresponding Cash Bonus Tier you are eligible for (see Bonus Chart below) .Bonus Chart$5,000
  3. Maintain a daily balance in that new Business Advantage Banking account that meets the applicable Balance Requirement (see Bonus Chart above) during the Maintenance Period**. During the Maintenance Period, if your daily balance drops below the minimum of the Balance Requirement listed for a corresponding Cash Bonus Tier, you will no longer be eligible for that Cash Bonus Tier but may be eligible for a lower tier (as applicable, based on the lowest daily balance during the Maintenance Period) . If your daily balance drops below $5,000, you will no longer be eligible for a cash bonus.

* New Moneyis new funds deposited into your Business Advantage Banking account that are not transfers from other Bank of America accounts or Merrill investment accounts. A transfer done via ATM, online or teller, or a transfer from a Bank of America account or brokerage account, such as a Merrill account, is not considered new money. A cash withdrawal from an existing Bank of America account and deposited into the new Business Advantage Banking account is not considered new money.**

About

Most people are probably familiar with BofA already. It has lots of branches and plenty of credit cards. We previously covered BofA’s personal checking accounts.

This article covers its business checking account. Note that this business account is also FDIC insured, so you do not need to worry about your deposits disappearing.

Deposit products are provided by Bank of America, N.A., and affiliated banks, Members FDIC and wholly owned subsidiaries of Bank of America Corporation. Business Advantage Fundamentals is a trademark of Bank of America and the Bank of America logo are registered trademarks of Bank of America Corporation.

How to Open and Earn the Bonus

See the beginning of this article for the details.

Although the terms say this is a targeted offer, based on prior experience with this link, you should be able to receive the bonus as long as you apply through it. However, you will not be eligible for the account opening bonus in the following situations:

  • You have had a BofA Business Checking account within the past 12 months
  • The same business entity can only receive the bonus once (same EIN; if you use your SSN in place of an EIN, then the same SSN counts as the same entity)
  • BofA employees are not eligible for the bonus
This offer is only available to business owners who receive this offer via a direct communication from a Bank of America Specialist or from a Bank of America communication. This offer is intended for new customers only; you are not eligible for this offer if you were an owner or signer on a Bank of America Business Advantage Banking account within the last twelve (12) months.  Only one bonus ($1,000) per business customer, regardless of the number of businesses owned or operated by the customer. Bank of America employees are not eligible for this offer.  Offer expires on July 31, 2024, and all qualifying activities must be completed within the stated time frames in order to be eligible for this offer. Bank of America may change or discontinue this offer at any time before this date without notice. Reproduction, purchase, sale, transfer or trade of this offer is prohibited

Preferred Rewards

BofA personal checking accounts can qualify for Preferred Rewards status, which gives up to a 75% rewards boost on all BofA personal credit cards. In fact, business cards have a corresponding rewards structure as well.

Here is a quick summary:

  • Tiers: Gold/Platinum/Platinum Honors require $20,000-$50,000/$50,000-$100,000/$100,000 in business account assets
  • Qualification: calculated on a rolling 3-month basis; after you no longer meet the requirement, status expires after 1 year and 3 months
  • Benefits: 25%/50%/75% extra rewards on business credit cards, plus discounts on various business-related services, loans, investments, and ATM services
  • Preferred Rewards business version details

You can also refer to our detailed analysis:

Fees

The monthly fee can be waived. Here are the waiver requirements:

  • Maintain a daily balance of at least $5,000
  • Spend at least $250 with the business debit card
  • Enroll in Preferred Rewards for Business and maintain at least the $20,000 balance required for Gold Tier

Other Notes (from US Credit Card Guide)

  • Supports applications with SSN or ITIN; the application may involve a SoFi pull
  • Supports VoIP phone numbers such as Google Voice
  • NRA applicants are not officially supported for online account opening, but the bank does not strictly enforce this policy
  • For online applications, it is recommended to use a native U.S. IP address
  • The bonus may generate a 1099-int tax form (RA) or 1042-S (NRA). Neither form has any special immigration-status requirement, and normal tax filing is fine
  • If one person owns multiple companies and opens multiple business accounts, they can only receive the account opening bonus once

Application Link