Does Bank of America publish a personal checking bonus?
On 22 September 2026 the Bank of America personal fee schedule we read did not publish a cash bonus for Advantage Plus Banking. It published a $12 monthly maintenance fee, avoided with a qualifying direct deposit of $250 or more, a $1,500 minimum daily balance, or a Preferred Rewards tier. A separate business checking bonus page listed an expiry of 31 July 2026 and said personal accounts are not eligible. Do not treat a fee waiver as a sign-up bonus.
A checking page can advertise a deposit requirement for two different reasons. One reason is a cash bonus. The other is a fee the bank will not charge if the deposit arrives. Bank of America's public personal pages, on the day we read them, were the second kind.
What the personal schedule actually prints
Advantage Plus Banking is listed as a non-interest-bearing account with a minimum to open of $100. 1 The monthly maintenance fee is $12. 1 You avoid it for a statement cycle if you have at least one qualifying direct deposit of $250 or more, or you keep a minimum daily balance of $1,500 or more, or an owner is in Preferred Rewards at Preferred Plus, Preferred Honors, or Premier. 1 That is a fee test. There is no cash bonus amount next to it on the schedule we read. 1
Why a waiver still belongs in the ROI
If you open the account for some other reason, the $12 is a monthly cost until a waiver hits. 1 Six months at $12 with no waiver is $72. That is the number to subtract from any targeted bonus a mailer might add later. Is a bank bonus worth it runs that subtraction before it annualises anything. The ROI calculator will take the fee as an input. It will not invent a bonus the public page does not print.
The business offer is not a personal offer
Bank of America has published a Business Advantage Banking tiered cash bonus. 2 The page we read says the offer expires on 31 July 2026, and that personal accounts are not eligible. 2 Today is after that expiry. Do not plan a personal checking bonus from a business chart that excluded you and then ended. If you own a business and still hold that PDF, the expiry line controls, not a blog recap of the tiers.
How to recognise a real personal bonus if one appears
A real bonus page names an amount, the product, the deadline to open, the deposit or balance test, who is excluded, and when the cash posts. How to read a bank bonus offer is that list, worked on banks that do print one. A page that only tells you how to avoid a monthly fee is a fee schedule. Save it, and do not enter a bonus amount in the bank bonus tracker until the bank's own offer names the cash.
What to do with the cash instead
If the goal was yield, compare a fee-waiver checking account with a savings rate on the same dollars. Checking bonus or high-yield savings is the comparison, and it starts from a bonus you can point at. With no public personal bonus, the honest default is the savings rate you can actually earn, not a bonus you hope is still mailed to someone.
Common questions
Is the $250 direct deposit a bonus?
No. On the personal schedule of fees it is one way to avoid the $12 monthly maintenance fee during a statement cycle. The bank does not describe that deposit as a cash bonus on the page we read.
Can I use the old business bonus chart for a personal account?
No. The business offer page we read says personal accounts are not eligible, and it prints an expiry of 31 July 2026. An expired business chart is not a current personal offer.
What if I received a Bank of America mailer?
Read that mailer. Banks send targeted offers that never appear on the public fee schedule. Save the mailer with its date, and ignore any dollar figure that is not printed on the piece you were sent.
Sources
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