Bank bonus statistics: what current checking and savings offers actually require

Last reviewed 6 October 2026, Chase dates 2 October 2026, Chase Total Checking, Wells Fargo and Citi re-read 5 October 2026, Wells Fargo re-read 14 October 2026, Citi re-read 27 October 2026 · Read from each bank's own offer page · Updated monthly. These are statistics about CardLab's tracked set of bank bonus offers, not about the whole US market. The method is at the bottom of the page, and the rows are in a CSV file so anyone can recompute them. For credit cards, see credit card rewards statistics. Who makes CardLab and how rates are checked: About CardLab.

The data: current offers, read from the banks' own pages

Chase, Wells Fargo, Capital One, Citi and Huntington rows were first read on 30 September 2026. The three Chase pages were read again on 2 October 2026, and each lists "Offer expires 01/27/2027." ^{1 2 3} The Chase Total Checking, Wells Fargo and Citi pages were read again on 5 October 2026, and their amounts, requirements and dates matched the rows below. ^{1 4 6} The Wells Fargo page was read again on 14 October 2026: the $325 amount and the $1,000-in-90-days test are unchanged, and the open-by date is now January 13, 2027, up from October 13, 2026. ⁴ The Citi page was read again on 27 October 2026: the old offer link now redirects to a renewed $325 Regular Checking offer, with an Offer Period of October 27, 2026 to January 11, 2027. ⁶ The renewed Citi test is two or more Direct Deposits or other qualifying ACH transactions totaling $3,000 or more within 90 calendar days of the Open Date, and the bonus is still paid between day 90 and day 120. ⁶ Bank of America, Bask Bank, Navy Federal and BMO rows were read on 6 October 2026. ^{8 9 10 11} Chase's offers are Total Checking, Secure Banking, and a two-tier Savings offer. Navy Federal is membership-restricted, and BMO is limited to 14 states; both still appear in the amount medians below, with that caveat. ^{10 11}

Chase counts the window from offer enrollment. Wells Fargo, Capital One, Citi and Bank of America count from account opening. Bask counts up to six statement periods after opening, Navy Federal uses join/open and deposit deadlines, and BMO tracks month by month after opening. The Chase, Wells Fargo and Capital One rows also name what does not count as a direct deposit, in each bank's own post: Chase Total Checking, Wells Fargo, Capital One 360 and Citi. Chase Secure Banking has its own checklist in second-chance checking and bank bonuses. Chase Savings is compared with checking in savings bonus versus checking bonus and bridging cash between two bank bonuses.

Recently ended

Listed through 30 September 2026. Check Huntington's current page for any newer offer. Huntington's terms are kept in Huntington checking bonus requirements. Both Huntington rows are excluded from the statistics below.

Bank of America now has three tiers in the table: $100, $300 and $500 for Qualifying Direct Deposits within 90 days, open by January 31, 2027. ⁸ The checklist is in Bank of America checking bonus. New rows this refresh: Bask Bank, Navy Federal and BMO.

How big are bank bonuses right now?

The median bonus across the thirteen tiers is $300, and the mean is $305.77. The range is $100, Chase Savings tier 1 and Bank of America's $100 tier, to $600, BMO. ^{1 3} The median sits at $300, because n = 13 puts the middle tier at the seventh value. Counting Chase Savings once, at its top tier, gives twelve offers with a median of $312.50. A bonus is a return on cash you commit, not a free payment. The bank bonus ROI calculator prices a specific offer, and is a bank bonus worth it walks the arithmetic.

How much do you have to deposit?

Across the eleven tiers with a dollar test, the median required amount is $3,000. Across the seven one-time direct-deposit tiers with a stated single dollar amount, the median is $2,000. That seven-tier set is Chase Total Checking, Wells Fargo, Capital One, Citi and the three Bank of America tiers. Bask's $10,000 is an Average Monthly Balance on savings, not a deposit total, so it is left out of the direct-deposit median. ⁹ Navy Federal states several qualifying paths rather than one dollar threshold, so it is left out of both dollar medians. ¹⁰ BMO's $1,000 is a monthly test for up to six months, not a one-time deposit. ¹¹ A direct-deposit test counts money that passes through the account, such as payroll. A new-money test holds cash in place for months. Chase Secure Banking has no dollar test, so it is left out of both medians. ² What counts as a direct deposit compares what each bank excludes.

How many require direct deposit?

Ten of the thirteen tiers, 77%, require direct or qualifying electronic deposits. Counting Chase Savings once, nine of twelve offers, 75%, do. The routes with no direct deposit in this set are still Chase Secure Banking, with 10 qualifying transactions in 60 days ², and Chase Savings, with $5,000 or $10,000 of new money ³. That answers the search for a checking bonus with no direct deposit, and the trade-off is either activity or parked cash. Savings bonus versus checking bonus covers the savings route.

How long does it take to qualify?

The median time to finish the requirements is 90 days, in a range of 60 to 90. The median activity window is 75 days, in a range of 30 to 90. Payout comes afterward, and the lag differs by bank.

• Chase pays within 15 days of the requirements being complete. ¹
• Wells Fargo pays within 30 calendar days. ⁴
• Capital One assesses the bonus after day 75, which can take up to 60 days, so within 135 days of opening. ⁵
• Citi credits the bonus between the 90th and 120th calendar day after opening. ⁶

Why the bonus has not posted and pending versus posted deposits cover the delays.

Bonus per thousand dollars required

Among the seven one-time direct-deposit tiers with a stated dollar amount, the range is $50 per $1,000, Bank of America's $100 and $500 tiers, to $400 per $1,000, Chase Total Checking. Bank of America's $300 tier is $60 per $1,000. Bask's $300 on a $10,000 savings Average Monthly Balance is $30 per $1,000 of balance, which is a different test. ⁹ BMO's $600 is $100 a month for up to six months against $1,000 of qualifying deposits each month, so it is not a one-time per-$1,000 figure. ¹¹ Chase's savings tiers pay $20 per $1,000 held, $100 on $5,000 and $200 on $10,000. ³ Held for 90 days, that is about 8.1% annualised simple, before tax and fees, which is our arithmetic from Chase's own amounts. The test types are not equivalent. Direct-deposit money usually passes through the account, while new money or a savings balance is parked, so the per-thousand figure for one is not a return on the other.

Monthly fees and deadlines

Chase, Wells Fargo, Citi and Bank of America list monthly fees that can be waived, from $4.95 to $25 depending on the product. ^{1 2 3 4 6 8} Capital One 360 says it has no monthly fees. ⁵ Bask's promo page states no monthly fee. ⁹ Navy Federal and BMO fees vary by product. ^{10 11} A fee waiver is not a bonus requirement, and Bank of America checking bonus shows how easy it is to mix them up. Citi ends on 01/11/2027, renewed from 10/26/2026 on its 27 October 2026 page ⁶, Wells Fargo on 01/13/2027 ⁴, Bask and Navy Federal open windows end 12/31/2026 ^{9 10}, BMO on 12/15/2026 ¹¹, Bank of America on 01/31/2027 ⁸, and Chase on 01/27/2027 ^{1 2 3}. Capital One's page states no end date. ⁵ What if you miss a bank bonus deadline covers the case where the date passes first.

Taxes, in one paragraph

Chase, Capital One and Huntington say the bonus is reported on Form 1099-INT. ^{1 5 7} Wells Fargo says it will report the bonus as income. ⁴ Citi's rendered offer text does not state a form. ⁶ That is what the issuers say, and this page gives no tax advice. Do you pay taxes on bank bonuses and the bank bonus tax calculator go further.

Methodology

1. Scope: every bank bonus offer that a CardLab blog post covers, read from the issuer's own offer page on the review date.
2. Set: Chase (Total Checking, Secure Banking, Savings), Wells Fargo, Capital One 360, Citi, Bank of America, Bask Bank, Navy Federal, BMO, and Huntington (ended).
3. Not the market: this is CardLab's tracked set, not the whole US market, and card welcome offers are excluded.
4. Unit: one row per bonus tier, meaning a single bonus amount with a single requirement.
5. Chase Savings: it has two tiers, and offer-level figures count it once, at its top tier.
6. Inclusion: the offer is open on the review date, and its amount and requirement are readable on the official page.
7. Excluded: ended offers are listed and excluded, and anything we could not open on the official page is excluded (none was this month).
8. Required deposit: the stated dollar threshold, meaning the direct-deposit total or the new money.
9. Capital One: it counts as $1,000, from two deposits of $500 each. ⁵
10. Chase Secure Banking: it has no dollar test, so it is excluded from the deposit and per-thousand figures.
11. Direct-deposit requirement: yes if the bonus requires direct deposits or the issuer's qualifying electronic deposits or Enhanced Direct Deposits, and no for transaction-count and new-money tests.
12. Days to qualify: the day the last requirement can be completed, taking the later of the activity window and the stated hold.
13. Clocks: they start where the issuer says, at enrollment for Chase and at account opening for the others.
14. Bonus per thousand dollars: the bonus divided by the required deposit, times 1,000, and the two test types are not equivalent.
15. Median: the middle value, or the average of the two middle values when the count is even, rounded to cents.
16. Recompute: the rows are in the CSV file, and every figure is a plain median, mean, minimum or maximum over them.
17. Review cadence: a full re-read on the first business day of each month, plus a refresh when a listed offer ends or changes.
18. Each refresh: it re-opens every official page, moves ended rows to the recently ended table, and updates the date at the top.

Changelog

• 27 October 2026: re-read the Citi offer page; the old link redirects to a renewed $325 offer open from October 27, 2026 to January 11, 2027, with the same $3,000 test, 90-day window and day 90 to day 120 payout, so only the Citi open-by date and source link moved and no median or figure changed. ⁶
• 14 October 2026: re-read the Wells Fargo offer page; its open-by date moved from 10/13/2026 to 01/13/2027, and the amount and deposit test are unchanged, so no median or figure moved.
• 6 October 2026: added Bank of America $100/$300/$500, Bask $300, Navy Federal $400 and BMO $600; recomputed medians (n = 13, median $300).
• 5 October 2026: re-read the Chase Total Checking, Wells Fargo and Citi offer pages; nothing changed, so no row or figure moved.
• 2 October 2026: the three Chase pages were read again and the Chase open-by dates now say 01/27/2027.