Chase Total Checking bonus requirements, line by line

Open on Chase's official offer page, the page where the offer code is applied when you open the account. How this offer compares: bank bonus statistics. Copy these lines from the Chase offer page before you route a paycheck. The banner amount is not the checklist. The checklist is who may open, what counts, when the window starts, and whether the account is still open on payout day.

Who the offer is for

The page is addressed to a new Chase checking customer opening Chase Total Checking, which is subject to approval. ¹ It excludes existing Chase checking customers, accounts closed within 90 days, and accounts closed with a negative balance within the last 3 years. ¹ You can receive only one new checking account opening related bonus every two years from the last offer enrollment date, and only one bonus per account. ¹ The offer is good for one-time use, and eligibility may be limited based on account ownership. ¹ On a joint account, that ownership line can depend on every owner, so read who qualifies for a joint account bonus before you add a second name. If any of those sentences describes you, stop. The deposit work will not create an exception. What "new customer" means is the longer version of this line.

What you must deposit, and by when

Open the account and have direct deposits totaling $1,000 or more within 90 days of offer enrollment. ¹ The fine print calls the start of that window coupon enrollment, and the headline calls it offer enrollment. ¹ Treat them as one clock that starts when you enroll in the offer, not when the first paycheck lands. Chase defines a direct deposit as an electronic deposit of your paycheck, pension, or government benefits (such as Social Security) from your employer or the government. ¹

The offer's FAQ lists what does not qualify as a direct deposit: ¹

• Depositing a check in a branch or through the Chase Mobile app.
• Person-to-person payments, such as Zelle.
• Micro-deposits, the small deposits, typically less than $1, sent to verify an account. ¹
• External transfers from a bank, brokerage, or investment account.
• Tax refunds, dividends, and retirement distributions.
• Direct payments, debit card transactions, and wire transfers.

The same family of exclusions is compared across banks in what counts as a direct deposit.

The fee waiver and the bonus count different deposits

Chase Total Checking has a $15 monthly service fee, or $0 when one of four things is true each statement period. ¹

1. $500 or more in qualifying electronic deposits. ¹
2. A balance of $1,500 or more at the beginning of each day. ¹
3. An average beginning-day balance of $5,000 or more in this account, or combined with linked qualifying personal deposits or investments. ¹
4. A link to a qualifying checking account.

New and converted accounts are not charged the fee for at least the first two statement periods. ¹

Here is the trap, and both halves are on Chase's own page. For the fee, "qualifying electronic deposits include payments from your employer or government entities (benefits, tax refunds, etc.)", sent by ACH, RTP, FedNow, or a card-network push payment. ¹ For the bonus, the FAQ says tax refunds and external transfers from a bank, brokerage, or investment account do not qualify as direct deposits. ¹ So a tax refund of $500 or more can keep the $15 fee off that statement and still add nothing toward the $1,000 the bonus needs. ¹ If your only large deposits in the 90 days are a refund and a transfer from your own savings, the account can look healthy and the bonus still will not pay. Route a paycheck, a pension, or a government benefit to the account for the bonus test. For the fee, Chase says Zelle, cash, checks, wire transfers, and interest payments do not count as qualifying electronic deposits either. ¹

When Chase pays, and what must still be true

After the requirements are complete, Chase deposits the bonus within 15 days. ¹ The FAQ adds that you should refer to your specific offer for dates and deadlines. ¹ To receive it, the enrolled account must not be closed or restricted at the time of payout. ¹ A freeze, a closure, or a restriction on that day is a miss even if the deposits already landed. Read when you can close after the bonus posts before you shut anything, and a restricted account can block the bonus beside the payout sentence. Chase says the bonus is considered interest and will be reported on IRS Form 1099-INT (or Form 1042-S, if applicable). ¹ Plan for it as taxable income in the year it posts, and see do you pay taxes on bank bonuses for the form and the timing.

If you are reading this after 27 January 2027

The offer page we re-checked on 11 October 2026 lists "Offer expires 01/27/2027." ¹ It also says offer availability is subject to change, and that other Chase checking bonus offers may exist concurrently. ¹ After that date, open Chase's current offer page and copy the amount, the deposit test, the window, and the exclusions again before you apply. The checklist on this page still applies to whatever those lines say.

Do not use the Secure Banking checklist here

Chase Secure Banking is a separate public offer, with its own bonus and a count of qualifying transactions instead of a direct-deposit test. ² That page includes Zelle among the qualifying transactions. ² That permission does not transfer to Total Checking, where Zelle is named as not a direct deposit. ¹ If a banker offers you a different Chase checking product, ask which offer code you are enrolled in before you move payroll.

What to save

Save the offer page with the date, the enrollment confirmation, and the activity lines that show each qualifying credit. Note which deposits were payroll or benefits and which were not, because only the first group counts toward the bonus. Track the enrollment date and the 15-day payout in the bank bonus tracker, and price the hold with the ROI calculator. The eight-line habit for any bank, not only Chase, is in how to read a bank bonus offer. If the bonus is late, start with why the bonus has not posted before you assume Chase skipped a day.

Worried about your score? Does opening a checking account affect your credit score covers ChexSystems, soft pulls and the three exceptions.