US Bank has another promotion for new Bank Smartly checking accounts that offers up to a $450 bonus with fairly simple requirements. This deal is available in states within US Bank’s footprint and requires signing up for online banking and making at least two direct deposits within the first 90 days. The total amount of the direct deposits will determine the bonus. In order to get the full $450, your direct deposits must total $8,000 or more.
US Bank runs these promos monthly-ish; previous versions have tended to be 3-tiered and awarded between $450-$500 when meeting the terms of the higher tier. In addition, there is usually a US Bank offer through Swagbucks that adds an additional $50-100 if you click through and then open the account. That isn’t available right now, so if you’re interested in this, it might be worth waiting for a couple of weeks to see if the Swagbucks promo returns, or take your chances and see what comes around in August/September.
US Bank used to allow $3,000 of credit card funding on new personal checking accounts, but that’s been reduced to only $250 (still, use it if you got it). This does change periodically, so if someone does the deal and finds that they can deposit more, please let us know in the comments.
The Deal
- US Bank is offering a bonus of up to $450 when you open a new Bank Smartly checking account using the promotion link and complete the following requirements within 90 days:
-
- Enroll in online banking or the U.S. Bank Mobile App.
- Complete two or more direct deposits within the first 90 days
- Your bonus is determined by the total amount of your direct deposits
- Earn $250 when your direct deposits total between $2,000 and $4,999.99.
- Earn $350 when your direct deposits total between $5,000 and $7,999.99.
- Earn $450 when your direct deposits total $8,000+.
- Expires 11/20/25
- $6.95 monthly fee (waived if you have a US Bank Credit Card or maintain a $1,500 monthly balance or have monthly direct deposits totaling $1000+)
- Check US Bank locations here
- See Doctor of Credit’s list of what counts as direct deposits with US Bank (it’s a lot)
-
Terms and Conditions
- To be eligible, you or any owner(s) on your new Bank Smartly Checking account cannot have an existing U.S. Bank consumer checking account, had a U.S. Bank consumer checking account in the last 12 months or received other U.S. Bank consumer checking bonus offers within the past 12 months.
- To receive the bonus, you must open a new U.S. Bank Smartly® Checking account with a minimum deposit of $25 either online, in a branch or over the phone from September 19, 2025 through and including November 20, 2025.
- Additionally, you must enroll in the U.S. Bank Mobile App or online banking within 90 days of opening your account.
- You must also complete two or more direct deposits within 90 days of opening your account that total: $2,000 to $4,999.99 to earn the $250 bonus, $5,000 to $7,999.99 to earn the $350 bonus, or $8,000 or more to earn the $450 bonus.
- A direct deposit is an electronic deposit of your paycheck made through the Automated Clearing House (ACH) network or an electronic deposit of your government benefits, such as Social Security, from your employer or the government. Other electronic deposits or person-to-person payments are not considered a direct deposit.
- Your checking bonus (“adjusted interest”) will be credited to your new checking account within 60 days following the end of the calendar month during which you completed all the offer requirements. Account must be open and have a positive balance to receive the bonus. Bonus will be reported as interest earned on IRS form 1099-INT, and recipient is responsible for any applicable taxes. Offer may not be combined with any other checking account bonus offers.
Quick Thoughts
This is a decent bank bonus opportunity that comes around regularly; we’ve covered versions between $400-$600 before.
The requirements are fairly simple: make at least two “direct deposits” within ninety days of account opening and sign up for mobile or online banking. US Bank is known as one of the easier banks in terms of what’s considered a direct deposit, and ACH transfers work from many common banks (you can see the full DOC list here). While the direct deposit totals are relatively high, there’s no requirement that the money stay in the account, so you should be able to transfer the money back out after it goes in.
If you don’t have a US Bank credit card, the Bank Smartly account is easy to keep free, requiring a $1500 monthly balance or monthly direct deposits totaling $1000+. If you have a personal US Bank credit card, the monthly fee is waived. Members of the US Military also get the fee waived.
The bonus is limited to those states that have a US Bank branch (which is a wide net…see locations here). That said, if you happen to live in one of the states that doesn’t have a branch, most folks are able to get around this requirement if they have or open a US Bank credit card as well.
US Bank is fairly strict on its churning rules, so I wouldn’t mess with it if you’ve had an account or received a US Bank bonus within the past twelve months. If you haven’t, this could be easy money.
Want to learn more about miles and points? Subscribe to email updates or check out our podcast on your favorite podcast platform.
When US Bank accounts work these bonuses are great, but it is a pain when they don’t. Signed P2 up for this but USB wouldn’t accept any funding method online as part of the application. Now we have an e-mail to finish setup of the approved account by funding it – but we never got the account number because the we were stuck at the funding page when applying! Going to need P2 to call or go in branch. Still worth it for the hourly rate but it doesn’t always go smooth unfortunately.
Be a little cautious about offer like these offers as you don’t always get what you’re supposed to and it can be much tougher to do than it should be. I opened a business account in late April and went through a hell of a time trying to get the account funded. I tried credit card, online transfer, and some other leectronic way one of the many reps suggested but all failed. After weeks of trying I finally had to walk in to my local branch and hand them a business check. After that they mailed out my debit card which arrived the day I was leaving the country for three weeks so I spent the five debit transactions at NYC airports. Meanwhile (I deposited $6K) I was getting dinged for $6.50 monthly service charges which I though were not charged with over $5K but they continue and as of today my $500 still hasn’t shown. Frankly their system sucks on a variety of levels and think either this week or next I’ll be going in the branch to close my account.
I truly hope my case was an outlier but I figure it’s an important data point.
cc funding shows 275 now…
also you said
“US Bank is offering a bonus of up to $400 when you open a new Bank Smartly checking account using the promotion link and complete the following requirements within 90 days:”
but its 450 as indicated elsewhere in your post
sorry for the corrections! 🙂
Yes, make sure you’re signing up with the $450 promo. Just signed up for $400 days before I saw this and USB refused to budge and apply larger promo, even with fresh new account.