Associated Access, Balanced or Choice Checking bonus: up to $600 and what it takes
Live until
Checked against the bank's page on .
The offer in one paragraph
Associated Bank pays up to $600 when you open Associated Access, Balanced or Choice Checking as a new customer. The $300 tier asks you to receive $500 in direct deposits within 90 days, and keep a balance of $1,000 for 60 days. The $600 tier asks you to receive $500 in direct deposits within 90 days, and keep a balance of $10,000 for 60 days. On the cash it asks you to park, the $600 bonus works out to an annual rate of 36.50%. The account has no monthly fee. It is open to residents of 10 listed states. The bank shows October 31, 2026 as the last day.
Bonus Tally may earn a commission when you open an account through links on this page. It never changes the math or the ranking.
How to earn it
- Open Associated Access, Balanced or Choice Checking online or at a branch, as a new customer.
- Fund the account with at least $25 when you open it.
- Receive direct deposits totaling $500 or more within 90 days.
- Keep the balance for your tier for 60 days, the hold period as the bank states it: $1,000 for $300, $5,000 for $400 or $10,000 for $600.
- Keep the account open for at least 365 days.
- Wait for the bank to pay the bonus. Its terms say when it pays once you meet the requirements.
Day counts follow the bank's terms, which say when each period starts.
Payments that count differ by bank: what counts as a direct deposit.
When the bank pays. Associated pays within 120 days of the day you open the account.
A qualifying direct deposit is recurring pay or a government payment sent electronically. Person to person payments and transfers from your own accounts, at Associated or elsewhere, do not count.
The balance test reaches beyond the new account. Associated adds up the average daily balances of all your personal Associated deposit accounts with the same primary owner over days 31 to 90 after opening, and that sum sets the tier. Business, HSA, investment, minor and private banking balances are left out.
Keep the account open for 12 months: Associated may deduct the bonus before closing an account closed sooner. You are excluded if you received a new personal checking bonus from Associated in the last 24 months and have had an Associated checking account in the last 12 months.
Online opening covers residents of Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin. Branches, which also serve Nebraska, need a code sent by email. The fee shown is for Access Checking, which has none. Balanced Checking costs $9 a month unless you keep $1,000 every day, make a $500 direct or mobile deposit, or hold $2,500 across your deposits.
The numbers
- Bonus
- Up to $6003 tiers, from $300.
- Cash to park
- $1,000 for $300, $5,000 for $400, $10,000 for $600The larger of the deposit and the balance the bank asks for.
- Direct deposits
- $500 in totalWithin 90 days.
- Hold period
- 60 daysAs the bank states it. Banks count it from different days.
- Annual rate
- 36.50%$600 / $10,000 x 365 / 60 x 100. The bonus over the cash and the days it asks for, scaled to a year. The bank does not pay it as interest. The tiers table gives the rate of each tier.
- Monthly fee
- None
- Early closure
- The bank may take the bonus back if you close the account within 365 days.
Guides to these figures: how the annual rate is calculated, monthly fees and how to avoid them and early closure fees and clawbacks.
Worth it for you
Out of reach with these numbers. Needs $500 in direct deposits within 90 days, you entered no direct deposit.
- $300Out of reachNeeds $500 in direct deposits within 90 days, you entered no direct deposit.
- $400Out of reachNeeds $500 in direct deposits within 90 days, you entered no direct deposit.
- $600Out of reachNeeds $500 in direct deposits within 90 days, you entered no direct deposit.
Assumes a 4.00% savings rate on the parked cash and no tax figure. The bonus calculator takes your own rates and compares every live offer.
Bank bonuses are generally taxable as interest income, and banks usually report them on Form 1099-INT. Banks change and end offers without notice. Confirm every term on the bank's own page before you apply.
Who can get it
- For
- Personal accounts
- Customers
- New customers only
- Where
- 10 statesIowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio and Wisconsin
- Minimum age
- 18
Before you apply: how often you can earn a bonus from one bank and whether opening an account affects your credit.
Tiers (3)
| Bonus | What it takes | Cash to park | Annual rate | In words |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $300 | Direct deposit: $500 in direct deposits | $1,000 | 182.50% | Open a new personal checking account, receive direct deposits totaling $500 or more within 90 days, and have total average daily balances of $1,000 to $4,999.99 across your Associated deposit accounts for days 31 to 90. |
| $400 | Direct deposit: $500 in direct deposits | $5,000 | 48.67% | Same steps with total average daily balances of $5,000 to $9,999.99 for days 31 to 90. |
| $600 | Direct deposit: $500 in direct deposits | $10,000 | 36.50% | Same steps with total average daily balances of $10,000 or more for days 31 to 90. |
Source
Checked against the bank's own page on .
Read the offer on Associated Bank's page (opens in a new tab)
Bonus Tally may earn a commission when you open an account through links on this page. It never changes the math or the ranking.
Pages we read
- Offer page on www.associatedbank.com, read
- Banks change and end offers without notice. Confirm every term on the bank's own page before you apply.
- Bank bonuses are generally taxable as interest income, and banks usually report them on Form 1099-INT. Are bank bonuses taxable has the detail.
- Bonus Tally is an information service, not a bank or a financial adviser. Nothing here is financial, tax or legal advice.
The verification log lists every offer with its source, and the methodology gives every formula.
Other bonuses from Associated Bank
Associated Bank and all its offersNo other live offer from Associated Bank is in the table.
Similar bonuses
Every live bonusLive personal offers from other banks, closest in size to this one, largest first.
| Bank and account | Bonus | What it takes | Cash to park | Annual rate | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Huntington Perks Checking (or Platinum Perks Checking) | Bonusup to $600 | What it takesDeposit and hold$25,000 | Cash to park$25,000 | Annual ratehold period not stated in days | Checked |
| Bank of America Advantage Banking (SafeBalance, Plus or Relationship) | Bonusup to $500 | What it takesDirect deposit$10,000 in direct deposits | Cash to parkNone | Annual rateno cash to park | Checked |
| Santander Simply Right, Essential, Select or Private Client Checking | Bonusup to $500 | What it takesDirect deposit | Cash to park$5,000 | Annual rate40.56% | Checked |
| Truist One Checking (or Truist Marquee Checking) | Bonus$500 | What it takesDirect deposit$2,000 in direct deposits | Cash to parkNone | Annual rateno cash to park | Checked |