How bank account bonuses work
Updated
What a bonus is
Federal rules for bank deposit accounts define a bonus as cash or anything else worth more than $10 that a bank gives you in a year for opening an account, keeping it, renewing it or raising its balance (12 CFR 1030.2(f)). The same rules, known as Regulation DD, say what an ad for a bonus must also state: the annual percentage yield, the time requirement, the minimum balance to earn the bonus, the minimum to open the account when that is higher, and when the bank pays (12 CFR 1030.8(d)).
Those terms decide whether you get paid. Bonus Tally records them from the bank's own offer page for every offer it lists, with the date it read them.
The four kinds of requirement
| Kind | What you do | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Direct deposit | Have pay, a pension or benefits sent into the new account by the payer. | $300 after $2,000 in direct deposits within 90 days |
| Deposit and hold | Move cash in and keep a balance for the hold period. | $200 for $10,000 kept for 90 days |
| Debit purchases | Make a set number of purchases with the new debit card. | A bonus after a stated number of card purchases |
| Open and fund | Open the account and fund it. Nothing more is asked. | A bonus for opening with any deposit |
On October 6, 2026, 22 of the 34 offers we listed were deposit and hold at their largest tier, 11 asked for a direct deposit and 1 asked for debit purchases. The live table shows the current mix, and what counts as a direct deposit explains the most common requirement in detail.
The dates that decide it
- Open by the end date. Most offers end on a stated day. Some need a code or a link from the bank's offer page when you apply.
- Meet the requirement within the window. The window counts days, usually from the day you open the account: 90 days to receive $2,000 in direct deposits, for example, or 30 days to fund the account.
- Hold the balance. Deposit and hold offers name a hold period. Banks count it differently: some from the day you open, others over a later stretch such as days 31 to 90. The bank's wording is the rule.
- Wait for the payment. The terms say when the bank pays, often within a set number of days after you qualify or after the window closes.
- Keep the account open. Some banks take the bonus back or charge a fee if you close the account within a stated period. Early closure fees and clawbacks lists who does.
Write the dates down the day you open the account. The bank's terms set every deadline, and the bank counts the days.
What it costs you
Two costs come off a bonus before tax, and the account itself may pay some interest back.
- Monthly fees you cannot waive. A $200 bonus on an account with a $15 monthly fee that must stay open 180 days leaves $110 after $90 in fees. Monthly fees and how to avoid them covers the waivers.
- The interest your cash gives up. $10,000 parked for 90 days would earn $98.63 at 4% a year somewhere else.
- Interest the account pays. If the same account pays 3.5% APY, it adds $86.30 over those 90 days.
The calculator does this arithmetic for every live offer with your own numbers, and the methodology gives each formula. The bonus is also income: are bank bonuses taxable covers the forms and the timing.
Who can get one
Most offers are for new customers. On October 6, 2026, 30 of the 34 offers we listed said so in their terms. Some also set a lookback period: no account at the bank within a stated time before you apply; how often you can earn a bonus from one bank compares the rules. Some offers are limited to a list of states. Others name no state limit, and the bank still decides at application. Each bank decides who qualifies and whether to open an account.
The state pages, starting from offers with no state list in the terms, show which offers name your state.
Where your money sits
FDIC insurance covers $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, for each account ownership category (FDIC). Federally insured credit unions carry the same $250,000 standard (NCUA). Several of the largest offers ask for $200,000 to $500,000, so check the limit before you move a balance that size.
Some accounts come from companies that are not banks and hold your money at a partner bank. The FDIC states that nonbank companies are never FDIC insured themselves, and that its insurance does not protect against the failure of a nonbank company (FDIC). Each bank page on Bonus Tally shows the insurance status the institution states on its own pages, and names the partner bank where there is one.
Before you apply
- Open the offer page on the bank's own site and read the terms. Every offer here links to it.
- Check that the offer is open in your state and that you count as a new customer. Does opening a bank account affect your credit covers the checks a bank may run.
- Make sure you can move the cash or the direct deposits within the window.
- Find the monthly fee and the way to avoid it.
- Save a copy of the terms on the day you apply. Banks change and end offers without notice.