How to read a bank bonus offer before you open the account

A bank bonus page has two halves. The top half is the amount and a button. The bottom half is the contract, and it is the only half the bank reads when deciding whether to pay.

Here are the eight lines to find, with what the two largest US offers print for each.

1. What counts as a qualifying deposit?

The line that fails most people. 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" and excludes person-to-person payments such as Zelle, micro-deposits, external transfers from a bank, brokerage or investment account, tax refunds, dividends and retirement distributions. ¹ Wells Fargo accepts ACH, RTP and FedNow instant payments and card-network credits, and excludes "transfers from one account to another, mobile deposits, Zelle, or deposits made at a branch or ATM". ²

If the definition does not cover the deposit you intend to use, the offer is not for you, whatever the amount. The full comparison is in what counts as a direct deposit.

2. How much, and how many?

Both offers require $1,000 or more in qualifying deposits. ^{1 2} Other offers ask for a number of deposits or a minimum balance held over a stated number of days. Write the figure down beside the deposit definition, because a total made of transfers is a different total from one made of qualifying deposits. ^{1 2}

3. How long is the window, and when does it start?

Both give 90 days. ^{1 2} The start differs: Chase counts "within 90 days of offer enrollment", Wells Fargo "within 90 calendar days of account opening". ^{1 2} If you enrol in an offer before the account is fully open, the Chase clock is already running.

4. How soon does the bank pay?

Chase says "within 15 days" of completing the requirements; Wells Fargo says it will deposit the bonus "within 30 calendar days". ^{1 2} This is the number that decides when a missing bonus is actually late, and it is the number to count from the day the last qualifying deposit posted.

5. What does the account cost while you wait?

Find the monthly fee and its waiver. The waiver is usually a direct deposit or a minimum balance, and meeting it is part of the cost of the bonus. An offer with a fee you cannot waive is an offer with a smaller bonus than the banner says, and it should be compared on the net figure.

6. Is there an early-close period?

Look for close, closure, early and fee, in the offer and in the account's separate fee schedule. Neither the Chase nor the Wells Fargo terms we read print a fixed period, but both require the account to be open at payout and reserve the right to reverse a bonus for promotional abuse. ^{1 2} No printed number is a question for the bank, not a licence to close on payout day.

7. Who is excluded?

Most offers exclude current customers, and many exclude anyone who held an account with the bank in the past year or two, or who received a bonus in that time. Wells Fargo's terms, for example, are addressed to new checking customers. ² Read this line before the deposit line: if you are excluded, none of the rest matters.

8. When does the offer end?

Chase's current offer expires "10/14/2026" and Wells Fargo's "ends October 13, 2026". ^{1 2} The expiry is the date by which you must open or enrol, not the date by which you must qualify; the window in line 3 runs from opening.

Before you apply

Save the page with its date. Terms change when offers change, and a saved copy is what a dispute is settled on. Then send one qualifying deposit in the first two weeks and check how the bank labels it, before you move the rest.

What this looks like in CardLab

CardLab prints these lines for each listed bonus, each beside the sentence it was read from and the date it was read. Where the page prints no number, CardLab says so instead of filling the gap, because a gap is the bank's to fill.