[Expired] Get Up To $200 As A Sign Up Bonus From BMO Harris For Setting Up A Direct Deposit

Unfortunately this bonus is no longer available, you can view the bonuses we do recommend you sign up for here.

[Update: Opening this account is NOT a hard pull. It’s a soft pull. I’m going to take advantage of this offer because of this updated information]

Offer at a glance

• Maximum bonus amount: $200
• Availability: Nationwide
• Direct deposit required: $300
• Additional requirements: None
• Hard/soft pull: Soft
• Credit card funding: Up to $1,000
• Monthly fees: $15-$20, waivable
• Early account termination fee: $50 if closed within 90 days, you’ll also forfeit the bonus if you closed the account within six months.
• Expiration date: December 31st, 2014

The Offer

Direct link to offer

Receive a qualifying direct deposit of $300 or more and receive a bonus of either $150 or $200 depending on the account opened. Make sure to use the promotion code “Summerckg4”

• $150: BMO Harris Everyday Checking
• $200: BMO Harris Select Checking or BMO Harris Portfolio Checking
• Click here to be taken to the offer

The Fine Print

• Minimum opening deposit of $100
• Valid between February 24th and May 5th, 2014, Offer has been extended till September 30th, December 31st
• Offer not available to existing BMO harris personal checking customers, or those who have cancelled their account within the last 60 days
• You can only receive one BMO Harris per house per calendar year
• Must receive a qualifying direct deposit of at least $300 monthly on a recurring basis. A qualifying direct deposit is listed as an paycheck, pension payment, Social Security payment, or other government benefits payment.
• First direct deposit must be received within the first 60 days of account opening
• Bonus will be deposited on the “Payment Date” if you’ve met the requirements (Payment Date is roughly 120 days after account opening)
• Checking account must remain open for a minimum of six months
• Bonus will be reported to the IRS and you must pay taxes on it

Waive The Monthly Fees

All of the checking accounts come with a monthly fee, but these fees are waived if you meet the minimum requirements.

BMO Harris Everyday Checking ($10 monthly fee)

$10 monthly fee will be waived if ANY of the following conditions are met:

• You receive an external deposit of $500 or more
• The minimum daily balance is $1,000 or more
• You’re a college student and you request a fee waiver. This will result in the account being fee free for a period of four years
• Your BMO Harris Select Checking® account meets its $10,000 minimum Combined Balance requirement, and you have requested we link this account to your BMO Harris Select Checking account to receive benefits under Relationship Waiver. (Monthly maintenance fee waiver is limited to one (1) BMO Harris Everyday Checking account.)
• Your BMO Harris Portfolio Checking® account meets its $25,000 minimum Combined Balance requirement, and you have requested we link this account to your BMO Harris Portfolio Checking account to receive benefits under Relationship Waiver. (Monthly maintenance fee waiver is limited to a total of two (2) BMO Harris Everyday Checking accounts.)
• Your Wealth Checking account meets its $25,000 minimum Average Daily Balance requirement, and you have requested we link this account to your Wealth Checking account to receive benefits under Relationship Waiver. (Monthly maintenance fee waiver is limited to a total of two (2) BMO Harris Everyday Checking accounts.)

BMO Harris Select Checking ($15 monthly fee)

$15 monthly fee will be waived if ANY of the following conditions are met:

• The minimum daily balance is $5,000 or more
• You have requested we link this account to receive benefits under Relationship Waiver and you have met the $10,000 Combined Balance requirement for this account.
• You are timely paying a BMO Harris consumer or small business loan or line of credit in accordance with the terms of your agreement and you have requested this fee waiver from us. Loans and lines of credit are subject to bank and credit approval. A BMO Harris small business loan must be made to an account owner’s for-profit sole proprietorship or partnership (as stated on the assumed name certificate or partnership agreement). Mortgage loans, overdraft protection lines of credit and loans to non-profit organizations do not qualify.

BMO Harris  Portfolio Checking account ($25 monthly fee)

$25 monthly fee will be waived if ANY of the following conditions are met:

• Minimum daily balance of $25,000 or more
• You have requested we link this account to receive benefits under Relationship Waiver and you have met the $25,000 Combined Balance requirement for this account.
• You are timely paying a BMO Harris consumer mortgage loan in accordance with the terms of your agreement using Auto Pay from this account and you have requested this fee waiver from us. Loans and lines of credit are subject to bank and credit approval. (FHA mortgages do not qualify for this fee waiver.)
• You are timely paying a BMO Harris consumer or small business loan or line of credit in accordance with the terms of your agreement and you have requested this fee waiver from us. Loans and lines of credit are subject to bank and credit approval. A BMO Harris small business loan must be made to an account owner’s for-profit sole proprietorship or partnership (as stated on the assumed name certificate or partnership agreement). Mortgage loans, overdraft protection lines of credit and loans to non-profit organizations do not qualify.
• You maintain a BMO Harris Financial Advisors, Inc. investment account in accordance with the terms of your investment account agreement and you have requested this fee waiver from us. The account owner must also be an owner of the BMO Harris Financial Advisors, Inc. investment account.

Our Verdict

[Update 2: I’ve now received my bonus, relatively hassle free but I used a real employer direct deposit. Others have reported that some ACH transfers have also triggered the bonus. As always, click here for updated data points]

Update: Because this is a soft pull, I’ll be taking advantage of this offer. I’m going to go for the select checking product. I’ll fund the account with $1,000 from my American Express Fidelity card to earn an extra $20 and then park another $4,000 in there for six months to avoid any monthly fees. I’ll also do direct deposits of $300 from my employer to trigger the bonus.].

At the moment not much is known about this deal. For example, is it a hard credit pull or only a chex inquiry? What other methods count as a direct deposit? On the bright side there doesn’t seem to be any geographical limit on who can apply for a checking account with BMO Harris.

For the moment I’m going to wait to see if this is a hard pull, if it isn’t then I’ll likely open the Select Checking account and park $5,000 in there for six months (to waive the monthly fee). I’ll need to do at least three direct deposits of $300 or more (possibly a fourth as it can take 120 days for the bonus to appear) to trigger the bonus.

I’ll be forgoing about $25 in interest that I could’ve earned if I had the money parked in a high interest bearing checking account (the highest of which is currently at about 1% compared to the 0.050% I’ll receive with BMO Harris)

What If You Don’t Have $5,000 Spare?

Your best option will be to go for Everyday Checking account and receive a direct deposit of $500 per month to make the account fee free and trigger the bonus.

Hat tip to whoooooooooooooosh from /r/churning