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US Bank has a promotion for new Bank Smartly checking accounts that offers up to a $600 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 two direct deposits totaling within the first 90 days. The total of the direct deposits will determine the bonus amount. In order to get the full $600, your direct deposits must total $10,000 or more.
The Deal
- US Bank is offering a bonus of up to $600 when you open new Bank Smartly checking account using promo code 2023MAR 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 $200 when your direct deposits total $3,000 to $5,999.99.
- Earn $400 when your direct deposits total $6,000 to $9,999.99.
- Earn $600 when your direct deposits total $10,000 or more.
- Expires 4/11/23
- $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
- Earn a $200, $400 or $600 bonus by opening a new U.S. Bank Smartly® Checking account (excluding Safe Debit Account) online, in a branch or over the phone through April 11, 2023.
- Additionally, you must enroll in online banking or the U.S. Bank Mobile App 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: $3,000 to $5,999.99 to earn the $200 bonus, $6,000 to $9,999.99 to earn the $400 bonus, or $10,000 or more to earn the $600 bonus
- The checking bonus will be deposited into your new checking account within 60 days of direct deposit verification and verification of enrollment in online banking or the U.S. Bank Mobile App as long as your account is open and has a positive balance.
- 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.
- Offer is not valid if you or any signer on the account has an existing U.S. Bank consumer checking account, had a U.S. Bank consumer checking account in the last two years, or
Quick Thoughts
This is a good bank bonus opportunity that comes around regularly; we covered the $400 version last year. It’s actually been available for a bit (hence the 2023MAR promo code), but I hadn’t seen it until DDG posted about it earlier today.
The requirements for the bonus 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 the simplest to keep free, requiring a $1500 annual monthly balance or monthly direct deposits totaling $1000+. If you have a 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, you can get around this requirement by opening a US Bank brokerage account first and then opening the checking account afterwards. There’s no need to have any activity on the brokerage account.
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 two years. If you haven’t, this could be easy money.
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Made one push from Ally plus one legit direct deposit and got the bonus about 10 days later.
Question – is there any requirement or recommendation on how long to keep the account open after the bonus is received?
Also avail on shopping portals, which I did not realize until after I had applied
That’s interesting! I do see here that some portals offered Smartly: https://www.cashbackmonitor.com/cashback-store/u.s.-bank-smartly%E2%84%A2-checking/
But when I go directly to the individual portals, I can’t find it. Not sure what’s going on there. Anyway, I’m not at all sure that you would be able to stack the portal rewards and the $600 bonus so maybe you didn’t miss out anyway.
I have tried applying for a brokerage account with both myself and P2 and was denied both times. I am based out of Georgia and used that address. Any idea for a workaround?
[…] 【2023.4 更新】出现了$200/$400/$600的开户奖励，注意 4.11（周二）就过期了，需要的抓紧申。HT: FM. […]
Productive morning – opened the 130K SUB Amex Bus Gold (thanks for the referral links!), then immediately after opened the US Bank promo account and immediately funded $3K off the new Amex card. All went smoothly.
I can’t even get the bonus but tempted just for the 6000 MR points (2x) – wow.
Do o you have a link to open a borkerage account since my state doesn’t have a US bank? Thanks!
Just to add a DP as a resource for those looking to get this great bonus.
Applied for the Silver Checking Account on 3/31 and was approved on 4/1. I initially funded the account with a $3k credit card deposit using a CIBC.
On 4/2, the initial $3k charge was reversed and on the same day I received the email to complete the new account funding form which I completed and email back immediately.
On 4/3, the $3k charge on the CIBC was now pending again. I then set up an ACH transfer and pushed in an additional $3k to satisfy the sign-up bonus requirements having read on DOC that the CC charge of $3k may not count towards the sign-up bonus requirement.
On 4/4, the $3k charge was now posted on my chase account but my new US Bank account still showed a 0 balance. I called US Bank and after getting transferred 4 times, I was finally told that the US Bank reversed the charge again because of “a problem with the credit card I used.”
On 4/5, the credit card charge now showed being reversed. I called US Bank again and after being transferred several timed, I was told I could fund my account with a credit card “advance” and my opening deposit on the CIBC would not be processed.
On 4/6, I finally got through to the funding department and was told that they have been so overwhelmed with new accounts that they haven’t gotten to my Funding Authorization Form to process it.
On the morning of 4/7, I received a call from US Bank telling me that my ACH transfer had posted and my account was now funded and active. I asked about my credit card funding and was told the charge had been reversed by Chase and would not go through. I called Chase and they said that everything was fine on their end and all the reversals were initiated by US Bank.
An hour later on 4/7, I received another call from US Bank wanting my credit card information so they could rerun the card for the opening deposit. I gave them the card information from my CIBC and confirmed with them that the card would not be run as a cash advance. US Bank confirmed it would appear as a “Misc Purchase” or “Bank Services Fee Purchase” and not as a cash advance. The new charge is showing as pending with Chase.
I will update later if this updated credit card funding doesn’t go through but the US Bank representative assured me it would. Crossing my fingers.
I’m planning to open a personal checking account as listed in this post on FM at US Bank next week. I hope it goes a little more smoothly than my business checking experience.
If funding with a credit card, does the $3,000 limit need to be one transaction?
Online certainly. Perhaps there is some way to call and do multiple, but I wouldn’t count on it.
This post is a couple of weeks after the offer was posted to DOC. Hopefully this is a trend so you’re giving time before killing these. Especially when you can fund with Amex. Which, as I’m sure you know, is not typical. Thanks Tim.
Not sure if you purpously left out or if the terms were updated since initial post, but the offer shows:
Footnote 1
A minimum deposit of $25 is required to open a U.S. Bank Smartly® Checking account. Earn a $200, $400 or $600 bonus by opening a new U.S. Bank Smartly® Checking account (excluding Safe Debit Account) online, in a branch or over the phone from February 21 through April 11, 2023 for the Charlotte, NC market, and from March 1 through April 11, 2023 for all other markets. Additionally, you must enroll in online banking or the U.S. Bank Mobile App 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: $3,000 to $5,999.99 to earn the $200 bonus, $6,000 to $9,999.99 to earn the $400 bonus, or $10,000 or more to earn the $600 bonus. A direct deposit is an electronic deposit of your paycheck or 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.
Typo’d purposely. whoops lol
The workaround (if you are not in a state with US Bank) with a brokerage account is not instant. Approval for a brokerage account is instant, but their systems do not create the account as fast. May need to wait a few days before being able to apply for the checking. Same day sign up for me resulted in a decline for the checking. I did it 8 calendar days later and it went through fine (Amex blue bus plus denied for deposit, citi double cash approved).
[…] There’s a $600 personal checking sign-up bonus with US Bank for accounts opened by April 11 using promo code 2023MAR. To qualify, you need $10,000 in direct deposits or “direct deposits” spread out over 90 days.Everyone’s going to tell you that you also need to be in US Bank’s footprint to qualify, but that’s a half truth at best. If you’re not in their footprint, open a brokerage account, wait a couple of days, then apply for the checking account to bypass the footprint requirement. (Thanks to FM) […]
You can also get around the location requirement if you currently have a relationship with US Bank. I’m in NY, but have a US Bank credit card. My old Radisson cardwas product changed to a no fee Go card that has been sent to the sock drawer. Got the $500 bonus a few months back. Time for player 2.
Does anyone know if adding P2 as an authorized user to my US Bank CC would then translate to P2 being considered an existing customer with US Bank? (I’m trying to avoid P2 having to do the brokerage strategy)
Beware. I was denied my bonus because I had an open account 2 days less than the 6 month limit, so they said. It was actually 6 months and 10 days since I closed my previous account. But they claimed it takes a week or to to “actually close” an account after you call to cancel it!
I thought the churning limit is 24 months. Is it 6 months 10 days in practice?