Early-closure fee vs bonus clawback: two different clauses
An early-closure fee is a charge for closing an account before a stated number of days. A bonus clawback takes back, or refuses to pay, the promotional cash. One can leave the bonus in place and charge a fee. The other removes the bonus. Chase and Wells Fargo, on the offers we read, print no fixed window. They still require the account to be open at payout.
People use "clawback" for every bad thing that happens after a bonus. The documents use two mechanisms, and they cost different things.
A fee leaves the bonus and takes a charge
An early-closure fee is an account fee. It is often in the fee schedule, not in the bonus banner. It can apply because the account closed inside a number of days, whether or not you were chasing a bonus. If the schedule says the fee is $25, that is $25, and the bonus can still be in the account. The example figure is illustrative. Your schedule's number is the one that counts. What a clawback window is shows where that fee line usually hides.
A clawback takes the promotional cash
A clawback, in the offer, is the bank declining or reversing the bonus. Chase requires the enrolled account not be closed or restricted at payout, or you do not receive the bonus. 1 That is a forfeit, not a small fee. Wells Fargo's terms, as read for the current offer, require the qualifying deposits and the new account. The close sequence, including the abuse reversal, is in can you close a bank account after the bonus.
Why the deposit window is neither
Chase gives you 90 days from offer enrollment to complete the $1,000 in direct deposits. 1 Wells Fargo gives you 90 calendar days from account opening for the $1,000 in qualifying electronic deposits. 2 Those clocks decide whether you earn the bonus. They do not decide whether closing on day 91 keeps it. How to read a bank bonus offer splits the payout line from the early-close line for this reason.
How to search your own PDF
Search for close, closure, early, fee, reverse, and abuse. A hit on "fee" with a dollar amount is candidate one. A hit on "reverse" or "decline any bonus" is candidate two. No hits means unknown, which you treat as unknown in the ROI calculator. Do not type zero days to make the annualised return look larger. The calculator's committed-days input should be the longest period the documents actually print.
What to keep if you close
Keep the fee schedule from the day you opened, the offer PDF, and the bank's written answer if you asked. If a fee posts, the activity line is the amount. If the bonus disappears, the activity line is the reversal, and that reversal is also the tax record to reconcile against Form 1099-INT. Do you pay taxes on bank bonuses covers the year the cash was available, including a bonus that was paid and later reversed.
Common questions
Can I be charged a fee and also lose the bonus?
Yes, if the documents print both. A fee schedule can charge for early closure while the offer separately reverses the bonus. Read each sentence on its own. Paying the fee does not automatically keep the bonus.
Is the 90-day deposit window the clawback?
No. At Chase and Wells Fargo the 90 days are how long you have to complete deposits. The open-at-payout rule is separate, and a printed early-close period, when an offer has one, is a third date.
What should I ask the bank?
Ask two questions in secure messaging: is there an early-closure fee, and for how many days, and will closing on a specific date cause the bonus to be reversed. Keep the reply with the offer PDF.
Sources
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