Wells Fargo Checking's record-high $500 signup bonus is here! And the Direct Deposit requirement isn't high at all — you only need a total of $1,000 over three months. You can also use LemFi transfers to handle it. Offer ends on October 6.

The signup bonus requirements are as follows:

  • At least $25 must be deposited when opening the account;
  • Complete Direct Deposit within 90 days after opening, with a total of more than $1,000; (you can simply use LemFi transfers to handle it, very reliable)
  • Keep the Checking balance above $0 before the bonus is paid out
  • You cannot currently have a Wells Fargo Checking account, and you cannot have closed a Wells Fargo Checking account within the past 12 months

This bonus is excellent, and I added it to our high-value bank bonus rankings. You can check our roundup

About Wells Fargo Bank

Wells Fargo & Company is a U.S. multinational financial services company headquartered in San Francisco, California, with central offices throughout the United States. By market capitalization, it is the fourth-largest bank in the world; by total assets, it is the fourth-largest bank in the United States. One blemish on its record is that employees once misused customer data and secretly opened many credit cards for users. Another oddity is that its credit cards are rather unusual and can generally only be applied for by green card holders or U.S. citizens. There are also data points suggesting that having a Wells Fargo Checking account can help you get approved for a credit card.

Wells Fargo Checking

Signup bonus

See the beginning of the article

Direct Deposit

If you do not want to, or cannot, use salary deposits to complete DD, you can use some unofficial methods below to transfer (ACH) or withdraw funds to meet the $1,000 requirement (source: DOC). The steps are to add Wells Fargo as an external bank at another bank, then initiate a transfer. Or add Wells Fargo to an investment or PayPal account, then simply withdraw the money.

  • ACH transfers: Chase, Discover, AMEX Serve
  • Investment accounts: Schwab, Fidelity, Robinhood
  • Other: PayPal, Venmo
  • Because Wells Fargo's data points are somewhat inconsistent, we recommend checking: DOC's summary

According to reports from readers, the signup bonus posted within a few business days after the DD requirement was met. So if it has not posted for you, you can try another method. You can open an account at a local branch, and choose in-branch at the link above to get a promo code. If you are an F1 student, you may be able to open online, but additional documents may be required. For example, a driver's license/State ID, student visa, passport, credit card statement, and so on.

Fees

Everyday Checking has a $10 monthly fee, which can be waived by meeting any one of the following three requirements

  • 10+ debit card purchases or payments each month (normal card swipes or online purchases both count)
  • $500 in Direct Deposit each month, which can come from multiple deposits
  • At least $1,500 in balance every day (the balance at each daily close must be above this amount)
  • Link this account to a Wells Fargo Campus ATM or Campus Debit Card
  • No monthly fee for people aged 17-24

Also, these three checking accounts have no early termination fee, which means that in theory you can close the account after you get the signup bonus. Still, it is recommended that you keep it open a little longer.

Savings (no bonus yet)

There is also a new $525 savings signup bonus. It requires a $25 opening deposit, then a $25,000 deposit within 30 days and a 90-day hold. If you are an existing customer, there is also a dedicated link available. However, you need to open the account at a local Wells Fargo branch. This offer is pretty good; on an annualized basis, it is roughly 8.4%, so if you have spare cash, it may be worth considering. Of course, the ideal setup is to have checking, savings, and Premier Checking all open. If you are doing the Premier Checking signup bonus, the money in Savings also counts. So you can effectively double dip on the savings signup bonus.

Although the savings account has a $5 monthly fee, the waiver requirements are easy to meet. The first one, keeping at least a $300 daily balance, is the easiest.
  • At least $300 daily balance. $300 minimum daily balance
  • At least one automatic transfer of $25 or more from a linked Wells Fargo checking account to the savings account each fee period. 1 automatic transfer each fee period of $25 or more from a linked Wells Fargo checking account
  • One automatic transfer of $1 or more from a linked Wells Fargo checking account to the savings account each business day within the fee period. 1 automatic transfer each business day within the fee period of $1 or more from a linked Wells Fargo checking account
  • At least one transfer made through Save As You Go® from a linked Wells Fargo checking account. 1 or more Save As You Go® transfers from a linked Wells Fargo checking account. A qualifying Save As You Go transfer is an automatic transfer of $1 from your linked Wells Fargo checking account to your Way2Save Savings account each time you (or any authorized signer or joint owner) use your debit card for a one-time purchase or complete a Bill Pay transaction through online banking, and the one-time debit card purchase or bill pay transaction posts to the account. We reserve the right to determine through our sole discretion if a particular transaction is a qualifying transaction.
  • The primary account owner is 24 years old or under. Primary account owner is 24 years old or under. (When the primary account owner reaches the age of 25, age can no longer be used to avoid the monthly service fee.) Customers 12 and under must have an adult co-owner.

Wells Fargo Premier Checking

From the description, there are no meaningful perks; it is mostly a set of services that make it easier for high-net-worth customers to consult and invest. Also, this account earns interest. The current annual percentage yield (APY) depends on the deposit amount: the balance from $0–$99,999.99 earns 0.25%, and $100,000 or more earns 0.50%. Better than nothing.

  • Interest on the Premier Checking account is compounded daily and paid monthly. The amount of interest earned is based on the daily collected balances in the account. The following Annual Percentage Yields (APYs) are accurate as of November 25, 2022. The account pays an APY of 0.25% if the balance is $0–$99,999.99 and 0.50% if the balance is $100,000 or more. Rates are variable and subject to change without notice. Fees could reduce earnings on this account.

This account itself has a $35 monthly fee, which can be waived if your total deposits at Wells Fargo (including checking accounts, savings accounts, time deposits (CDs), FDIC-insured IRAs, and investment accounts, etc.) reach $250,000 or more.

  • The Wells Fargo Premier Checking account has a $35 monthly service fee which can be avoided each fee period with $250,000 or more in statement-ending qualifying linked (a) bank deposit account balances (checking, savings, time accounts (CDs), FDIC-insured IRAs) and (b) investment account balances (brokerage available through our brokerage affiliate Wells Fargo Advisors, applicable bank fiduciary and custody accounts, annuities, and eligible foreign exchange transactions).
If you currently hold a Premier Checking account, log in and apply for their credit cards (or visit a branch) to get an extra bonus

My take

If you can successfully open the account, the bonus is still very good, and the direct deposit requirement is not very high. If you're interested in other account-opening bonuses, you can consider the offers below

Checking account bonuses are taxable. The bank will send a 1099INT the following year, and you can report it as interest income.

Application link