American Express is out with another bonus offer for its Rewards Checking account: Earn a $300 bonus when you open a new American Express Rewards Checking account and receive a direct deposit totaling $7,500 or more within 90 days.
Note that you must be a current consumer cardholder for at least 5 days to apply, and you can’t have had a Reward Checking account before. (h/t: Doctor of Credit )
The Deal
- Amex is offering a bonus of $300 when you open a new consumer Rewards Checking account and receive qualifying direct deposits totaling $7,500 or more within 90 days of account opening.
Key Terms
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Earn a Welcome Bonus of $300 after you complete each of the following qualifying criteria:
- Open your first American Express Rewards Checking Account in your name by 07/30/2026, which is subject to approval; and
- Have a total of $7,500 or more of Qualifying Direct Deposit(s) posted to your American Express Rewards Checking Account within the first 90 days of account opening.
After you have completed the above qualifying criteria, American Express will deposit the Welcome Bonus into your Rewards Checking Account within 8-12 weeks.
- A Qualifying Direct Deposit is a single ACH transfer from an employer or the government for a paycheck, pension, government benefit (such as Social Security), or tax refund. Qualifying Direct Deposit(s) totaling at least $7,500 or more are required to qualify for this offer. The following are not Qualifying Direct Deposits: person to person transfers (P2P) such as money transfer apps, deposit account to deposit account transfers (for example, from a checking account to another checking account or from a savings account to a checking account), deposits or ACH transfers not from an employer or the government (for example, online transfers or bank transfers), internal transfers from your American Express® Savings account, deposits made via check, and Membership Rewards® points redemption for deposits.
- You are not eligible for the Welcome Bonus if you have an existing or have previously had a Rewards Checking Account. Each individual customer may only have one Rewards Checking Account.
Quick Thoughts
There are no monthly fees or minimums on Amex Rewards Checking, so it’s an easy enough account to open with no ongoing “gotchas” to worry about. The account features a debit card that earns 1 Membership Rewards point for every $2 spent. I personally wouldn’t even think about using that for anything Amex wouldn’t like, since the rewards are relatively small.
It is a big bummer that current and prior Rewards Checking account customers are not eligible for the bonus, which may disqualify many readers. On the other hand, if you haven’t ever had a Rewards Checking account, this could possibly be an easy $600 in a 2-player household.
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It sounds like this is the highest historical offer. Is that right?
I’m reluctant to bite since Amex is putting lifetime language on everything. I need $500 Amex. That’s the common high offer with other banks.
As far as I know, yes, it is. Although we’ve seen business checking bonuses for a while now, these personal versions are fairly new. I wouldn’t be surprised if we eventually see larger bonuses.
That said, “a bird in hand…”
It really sucks that a regular monthly direct deposit from a 401k doesn’t qualify since it’s exactly the same as a paycheck or pension check.
If I have a MR earning biz card, will that $300 be 30k MR?
(I don’t have a MR earning personal card)
That’s a great question. I would assume so, but I’m not 100% certain. The debit card earns MR, so I would assume the bonus is deposited the same way as the business checking versions. However, I haven’t done the personal side yet, so can’t say for sure.
Perhaps ask Frequent Miler Insiders and see if someone else has experience?