Many banks rolled out elevated account opening bonuses in July. Some can be earned via fake deposits, making them very easy to get without tying up funds; together, these can add up to more than $2,000 in earnings! Others require deposits, but if you move money through different banks, you can basically earn more than $10,000 in various bonuses within a few months. Details are below:

  • Via DD: US Bank has a $450 bonus, Citi has $325, Chase has $400, and KeyBank has $500, all with fairly easy requirements. Wells Fargo also has up to $400. Together, these can add up to more than $2,000 in earnings!
  • Via deposits: there are also some bonuses that require depositing funds, such as HSBC’s $5,000 bonus, Citi Checking $1,500, Chase CPC $3,000, and so on. Move money through different banks and you can basically earn more than $10,000 in various bonuses within a few months.

Note that the expiration dates for bank account opening bonus offers may keep getting extended, so you can click the offer links to see whether an offer has expired. Some account opening bonuses have specific requirements; please click the detailed write-up to learn more.

US Bank $450 Bonus

The account opening bonus has increased again to $450! This round expires on September 8, 2026! The direct deposit requirement for the $450 bonus is very easy to complete, and I have also compiled the latest Fake DD methods. You can complete the task and get the money while also helping with future credit card applications. After closing the account for 12 months, you can earn the account opening bonus again, so plan the timing carefully and earn it multiple times.

The specific requirements for the checking account bonus are as follows:

  • Complete at least 2 direct deposits within 90 days of opening the account. The bonus varies based on the total amount: $3,000-$4,999 earns $250; $5,000-$7,999 earns $350; $8,000 or more earns $450.
  • Set up US Bank online banking within 90 days of opening the account, and log in to the account online or in the app.
  • Deposit $25 within 30 days of opening the account. A regular deposit is fine; no direct deposit is required.

If you do not want to use payroll or do not have payroll to complete the direct deposit requirement, you can use some unofficial methods below, such as transfers (ACH) or withdrawals, to meet the requirement. The process is to add US Bank as an external bank at another bank, then initiate an ACH transfer from that other bank. Alternatively, add US Bank to an investment account or PayPal account and simply withdraw money to it. Among banks, US Bank is one of the most lenient for direct deposits; almost all transfers count as direct deposits. US Bank also has a bonus tracker, so you can check for yourself whether you have met the requirements. Be sure to remember: do not use real-time transfers, and it must be two direct deposits, not one!

  • Bank ACH: Ally Bank, Alliant Credit Union, American Express, Axos Bank, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Charles Schwab Bank, Discover Bank, PNC Bank, SoFi Bank, T-Mobile Money, Tech CU, Wells Fargo, and others work.
  • Investment platform withdrawals: Charles Schwab, E*Trade, Fidelity, Robinhood, TreasuryDirect, Vanguard, Wealthfront.
  • P2P payment tool withdrawals: Apple Cash, Cash App, Novo, PayPal, Relay, Square Cash, Venmo.

Truist Checking $500 Bonus

Truist Checking has increased its account opening bonus. The requirements are not complicated: the key is to receive a total of $2,000 in direct deposits and complete 20 debit card purchases. If you already have direct deposit or can handle fake direct deposit, do not miss this easy $500 bonus. The offer ends on February 2, 2027.

Below is a timeline for receiving the bonus and the direct deposit method. A Chase checking account can complete the fake direct deposit, which is quite useful. This used a personal Chase account; simply initiate an ACH transfer from Chase. The main thing is not to use the real-time transfer option. Note that there are two conditions: $2,000 in direct deposits (two are required, with a total of $2,000), and 20 debit card purchases. Details are as follows:

  • January 20: opened the account and deposited $50.
  • January 22: transferred in $1,150 via Chase ACH.
  • January 23: transferred in $650 via Chase ACH.
  • January 27-29: completed 20 debit card purchases of $1.xx each.
  • February 3: another direct deposit of $267.
  • February 5: bonus pending.
  • February 6: $400 bonus posted.

Here is a summary of methods that can complete fake direct deposit. Note that these are initiated from the bank or investment platform: use ACH transfers from banks, and withdrawals from investment platforms, all into Truist.

  • Banks: Affinity, Ally, Axos, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Discover, Fulton, SoFi, Wells Fargo, Wise.
  • Investment platforms: Charles Schwab, E*Trade, Fidelity.

For the 20 debit card purchases, you can refer to this article; it is very easy to complete:

Chase Up to $300-$3,000 Bonus

Checking

Open a Chase checking account now to receive a $400 opening bonus. You only need $1,000 in direct deposits within 90 days. Use the link below to enter your email and receive a promo code. The offer ends on October 14, 2026.

Using LemFi with the memo “payroll” can directly satisfy DD, which is more convenient and reliable than bank ACH, and there are recent confirmed data points as well. Robinhood, Discover, SoFi, Chime, and others can also mimic DD. For details, see:

Checking and Saving

If you plan to open a savings account at the same time and can meet the $15,000 deposit requirement, you can choose the combined offer below. Opening a savings account can earn a $200 bonus; if you open both the checking account and savings account at the same time, you can earn an additional $400. Use the link below to enter your email and receive a promo code. The offer ends on October 14, 2026. The interest rate on this savings account is average, so it is only suitable for earning the opening bonus.

The bonus requirements are as follows:

  • Checking account $300: complete one direct deposit within 90 days.
  • Savings account $200: deposit $15,000 within 30 days (must be transferred from another bank; try not to deposit cash directly) and maintain it for 90 days.
  • Opening both accounts $400: you must open both accounts at the same time and complete the two tasks above.
Also, if you closed an account within the past 90 days or had a negative balance within the past 3 years (meaning an amount owed), you are not eligible for the account-opening bonus.

Private Client

You can now get up to a $3,000 bonus for opening Chase Private Client. You need to get the offer code through the link below.

The requirements are as follows:

  • Deposit $150,000-$250,000 within 45 days of account opening and maintain it for 90 days to receive a $1,000 bonus.
  • Deposit $250,000-$500,000 within 45 days of account opening and maintain it for 90 days to receive a $2,000 bonus.
  • Deposit $500,000 or more within 45 days of account opening and maintain it for 90 days to receive a $3,000 bonus.

If you opened this type of account within the past 12 months or closed this type of account within the past 90 days, you are not eligible for the account-opening bonus.

HSBC Premier Checking $5,000

HSBC has updated its account-opening bonus. You can now get up to $5,000, and all you need to do is deposit funds! Direct deposit is no longer required. Compared with the previous bonus, the required deposit amounts have increased. However, considering that simply opening a Premier Relationship Savings account and parking money there earns around a 3.3% annualized yield, keeping the money there should not really cost you much; it is similar to buying a CD.

The specific requirements are as follows. Within 20 days of account opening, the deposited funds can be placed in a Premier Checking account, Premier Savings account, or Premier Relationship Savings account, and they need to be kept there for three consecutive months (to be safer, perhaps four months). The first two tiers are equivalent to getting a 1% return for a 3-month deposit, which annualizes to 4%. Add the savings account’s own 3.3%, and that is a 7.3% annualized yield, which is still quite good! The latter two tiers are slightly lower, at 0.7% and 0.5%; using the same calculation, the equivalent annualized yields are 6.1% and 5.3%.

  • $1,500 bonus: deposit $150,000-$249,999,
  • $2,500 bonus: deposit $250,000-$499,999
  • $3,500 bonus: deposit $500,000-$999,999
  • $5,000 bonus: deposit $1,000,000 or more

Existing customers often have bonuses as well:

In addition, according to a community member, people in China can also apply directly for US HSBC Premier and complete the full application using China-based information, including address, ID number, passport, and so on. However, that person was an HSBC Premier customer in mainland China, and the address proof uploaded was also a Premier statement. If you are in China, you can try to see whether you can open one directly. Just use the link below and select China as the region.

Citi $325-$1,500

Citi has updated its account-opening bonuses. You can now get up to $1,500 for Checking based on deposited funds, or get $325 via Direct Deposit. You can choose based on your own deposit amount. That said, Citi’s DD is very easy, so it may be worth doing.

The deposit-based offer is fairly simple: deposit $30,000-$200,000 within 45 days to get $750, or deposit more than $200,000 to get a $1,500 bonus. For the $325 account-opening bonus, you just need to complete two Direct Deposits totaling more than $3,000. Also, Citi’s DD definition has changed somewhat. In addition to previously included ACH payroll deposits and government benefits, payments and benefit disbursements through Venmo, Zelle, and PayPal now also count.

Key Bank Checking $300-$500

KeyBank has updated its product lineup. There are now three checking products, and you can get up to a $500 bonus! The requirements are actually fairly easy to meet, so you can choose which account-opening bonus to pursue based on how much you can Direct Deposit. The expiration date is December 11, 2026.

The three checking bonuses are different:

  • Smart and Hassle-Free Checking: you only need total Direct Deposits of $2,000 within 90 days.
  • Select Checking: you only need total Direct Deposits of $5,000 within 90 days.

The DD requirement is also very easy to complete. Besides switching your payroll to this account, you can simply withdraw directly from PayPal to this checking account. You can also use ACH transfers from banks such as Discover and Wells Fargo. Withdrawals from major brokerages can also trigger it. So the Select Checking is probably the better option for most people. Select has a monthly fee (waived for the first three months), and after that you need $3,000 in DD each month to waive it. However, KeyBank has removed the early termination fee, so you can consider closing the account after receiving the bonus. You could also keep doing monthly DDs, reach $60,000 over a full year, and get an extra $100 bonus.

BofA Checking ($500)

BofA checking has updated its account-opening bonus. You can now get up to a $500 account-opening bonus via Direct Deposit. The new expiration date is September 30, 2026.

The details are as follows (you can see the article content for how to complete Direct Deposit):

  • $100: total Direct Deposit of $2,000 within 90 days
  • $300: total Direct Deposit of $5,000 within 90 days
  • $500: total Direct Deposit of $10,000+ within 90 days

Wells Fargo $400

The current bonus for opening a regular Checking account is $400, and the Direct Deposit requirement is not high: only $1,000 total over three months. The offer expires on August 18!

  • You must deposit at least $25 when opening the account;
  • After account opening, complete Direct Deposits totaling more than $1,000 within 90 days;
  • You need to keep your Checking balance above 0 before the account-opening bonus posts.
  • You cannot currently have a Wells Fargo Checking account, and you must not have closed a Wells Fargo Checking account within the past 12 months.

BMO Checking $400

BMO Bank (formerly BMO Harris) recently announced an account-opening promotion with a bonus of up to $400. If you also open a Saving Builder account, you can get an additional $60 bonus!

In addition, if you open their Saving Builder and deposit $200 each month, you can earn a $5 monthly bonus. You can receive it for up to one year, for a total of $60.

Capital One $300

The $300 bonus for the Capital One checking account is here! You can apply directly through the link below. To trigger it, you need two direct deposits of $500 within 75 days. Many brokerage withdrawals can trigger it.

AMEX Checking ($300)

This account currently has a $300 account-opening bonus, which is pretty solid. To earn it, you need a total of $75,00+ in direct deposits within 90 days. The offer ends on July 30, 2026.

Other Banks

If you’re new to bank account bonuses, we recommend starting with the big banks, such as Chase, US Bank, Citi, and others. In general, major banks are more reliable and are less likely to have issues honoring bonuses. Even though the bonuses may not always be the highest, the overall experience is usually much better. Once you’ve gone through the major banks, though, there are still plenty of opportunities with other banks!

Also, if you have a relatively large amount of funds available to complete deposit requirements, you can consider the ranking below:

Business bank account applications generally require an EIN (though there is a chance an SSN may work instead), so we usually do not recommend beginners start here directly. If you’re interested, see:

About This Ranking

In fact, besides credit cards, savings accounts and checking accounts can also offer fairly high account-opening bonuses. Opening these bank accounts usually does not affect your personal credit history, so it is essentially free money. Unlike credit cards, which require spending to earn a welcome bonus, bank account bonuses can be earned in more varied ways, such as depositing money, receiving direct deposits, meeting transaction count requirements, enrolling in online banking, and so on. You need to complete the requirements based on each bank’s terms. For details, see:

You can choose banks that have high bonuses and whose direct deposit requirements you can meet. Opening several accounts over the course of a year can generate a decent return.

Big Roundup of Account-Opening Bonuses

The accounts below all have very attractive account-opening bonuses. You can pick the ones you like and earn some extra cash. Small amounts add up over time, and in a year you can earn quite a bit of money and travel funds from these financial accounts.