KeyBank has updated its product lineup and now offers three checking products, with bonuses of up to $500! The requirements are actually quite easy to meet, and you can choose the offer that works best based on how much you can do in Direct Deposit. This offer expires on May 22!

The three checking accounts have different bonus requirements:

  • Smart, Hassle-Free Checking: just complete a total of $2,000 in Direct Deposits within 90 days
  • Select Checking: just complete a total of $5,000 in Direct Deposits within 90 days

The DD requirement is also very easy to satisfy. Besides switching your paycheck to this account, you can also withdraw directly from PayPal into this checking account. ACH transfers from banks such as Discover and Wells Fargo may also work. Withdrawals from major brokerages can trigger it too. So for most people, the Select Checking offer is probably the better play. 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 can also keep doing monthly DDs; if you reach $60,000 over a year, you can earn an extra $100 bonus.

This is a very solid offer, and I’ve added it to the bank account bonus ranking as well.

About KeyBank

KeyBank is a U.S. regional bank headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, and is the 25th-largest bank in the United States. KeyBank is part of the publicly traded company KeyCorp, which was formed in 1994 through the merger of Cleveland-based Society Corporation (which operated Society National Bank) and Albany-based KeyCorp. The company currently has more than 1,000 branches and 40,000 ATMs, mainly concentrated in the Midwest and Northeast, but it also operates in the Pacific Northwest as well as Alaska, Colorado, Texas, and Utah.

This account opening bonus is quite good and only requires a relatively small amount of Direct Deposit, so it’s worth a closer look.

  • Application link:KeyBank application link
  • Bonus:$300/$500 (use code: ADMA0825 when applying)
  • Availability:AK, CO, CT, ID, IN, MA, ME, MI, NY, OH, OR, PA, UT, VT, or WA
  • Direct Deposit required:Yes, a qualifying DD is required, and the amount determines the bonus
  • Chex/credit pull:No Hard Pull, only SoFi pull
  • Credit card funding:Up to $100 at account opening
  • Monthly fee:None
  • Early account closure fee:$0
  • Household limit:None
  • Expiration date:5/22/2026

How to open the account

See the beginning of this article for the account opening bonus details.

Also, this account is only available in AK, CO, CT, ID, IN, MA, ME, MI, NY, OH, OR, PA, UT, VT, and WA.

Right now you can choose from three accounts. The first two have no monthly fee and offer up to a $300 bonus. Since they have no ongoing cost, you can simply close the account after one year once you’ve received the bonus. The third option offers $500 but has a monthly fee, which can be waived with direct deposit, and it also comes with an additional $100 annual bonus. Let’s go over it in more detail below.

Key Select Checking overview

This account has three main features:

  • It earns interest: I checked, and it’s only 0.05% APY, which is basically nothing, so it’s not worth considering for that reason alone.
Key Select Checking Account is an interest-bearing account. Annual Percentage Yields (APY) are accurate as ofAugust 29, 2025, for zip code 44114. 0.05% APY applies to balances of $0.00-$2,499.99, 0.05% APY on balances $2,500-$4,999.99, 0.05% APY on balances $5,000-$9,999.99, 0.05% APY on balances $10,000-$24,999.99, 0.05% APY on balances $25,000-$49,999.99, 0.05% APY on balances $50,000-$99,999.99, 0.05% APY on balances $100,000-$249,999.99, 0.05% APY on balances $250,000-$499,999.99, 0.05% APY on balances $500,000-$999,999.99, 0.05% APY on balances $1,000,000 and above.
  • $25 monthly fee: this can be waived if you keep $15,000 with KeyBank (not really worth it because the interest is so low, unless you also have their CDs or investment accounts), or with $3,000 in DD each month, which is the more practical route.
The combined balance in any combination of KeyBank checking, savings, certificates of deposit, retirement deposit, and Key Investment Services LLC (KIS) accounts was $15,000 or more during the statement cycle.

OR

You have eligible direct deposits totaling at least $3,000 during each statement cycle.

  • $100 annual bonus: you need at least $60,000 in total DD each year, and there must be at least one DD in the final two months. So combined with the monthly fee waiver requirement, you may want to do $5,000 in DD each month.
To qualify for the $100 bonus, ALL of the following three requirements must be met. Eligible direct deposits:
  • Must total at least $60,000 during the Evaluation Period.
  • Are electronic automated clearing house (ACH) deposits. Examples of eligible direct deposits include, but are not limited to: payroll, Social Security, pension and government benefits. Deposits made through a teller, ATM, or the KeyBank mobile app are ineligible direct deposits.
  • At least one eligible direct deposit transaction (in any amount) must be received within the final two calendar months at the end of the Evaluation Period.

If you really want to do this, I’d suggest using this account as the one you pay your credit cards from: send in $5,000 by DD each month, then use it to pay off your credit card bills.

Direct Deposit

Anyone who has worked in the U.S. or served as an RA/TA at school should be familiar with this. Direct Deposit (DD) is a common way employers pay employees: the money is sent directly to your bank account electronically. If you have payroll income, you can simply change your payroll account to the bank account you need for the bonus.

If you don’t have payroll, or it’s inconvenient to change it, you may be able to use a fake DD method instead. Common fake DD methods include bank transfers, transfers from brokerage accounts, and transfers from third-party tools such as PayPal. Below are some methods summarized by DOC that have worked as fake DDs. The easiest method is probably PayPal: you can transfer money from another bank account into PayPal, then add your new bank account to PayPal and withdraw to the new account. Similarly, Venmo may also work. If you have Robinhood or another brokerage account, that may work too.

  • ACH (1)
  • Ally ACH:1, 2 (worked), 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 (didn't work)
  • Alliant: 1, 2 (didn't work), 3,
  • American Express Serve: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
  • Capital One 360: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 (didn't work)
  • Chase: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10(instant transfer did not work) , 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26(didn’t work) , 27, 28, 29, 30,
  • Citi: 1,
  • Discover: 1, 2(savings, didn’t work) , 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,
  • ECCU: 1,
  • E*Trade: 1, 2, 3, 4,
  • Fidelity: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12,
  • Huntington: 1, 2,
  • LMCU: 1,
  • Mountain America Credit Union: 1,
  • NFCU: 1, 2,
  • Orgeon Community Credit Union: 1
  • PayPal: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14,
  • Robinhood: 1,
  • Santander: 1, 2(didn’t work) , 3,
  • Stripe Transfer: 1
  • TD Ameritrade: 1
  • T-Mobile: 1,
  • Transferwise: 1,
  • USAA: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
  • Wells Fargo ACH: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11,
  • Vanguard: 1,
  • Venmo: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,

The following didn’t count as a direct deposit:

  • Ally: 1, 2  (did work)
  • Charles Schwab: 1
  • SoFi Money: 1,

Fees

Other than Select, the other two accounts have no monthly fee, so you can simply leave them open. Close them when it’s been almost a year.

Select has a $25 monthly fee, and we already covered earlier how to waive it.

Application Link