Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $600
- Availability:AZ, CA, CO, FL, IA, IL, IN, MN, NM, NV, OR, UT, WA, WI
- Direct deposit required: Yes, $1,000+ per month for six months
- Additional requirements: None
- Hard/soft pull: Soft
- ChexSystems: Yes
- Credit card funding: Cannot fund with a credit card
- Monthly fees: $25, avoidable
- Early account termination fee: $50 if closed within 90 days,
- Household limit: None listed
- Expiration date: December 15, 2026
The Offer
- BMO Harris is offering a bonus of $600 when you open a checking account (BMO Smart Advantage Checking Account, BMO Smart Money Checking Account, BMO Relationship
Checking Account) :- Make at least $1,000 in qualifying direct deposits each month for up to 6 consecutive months (earn $100 per month). Beginning the month following account opening.
- There is also a savings bonus of up to $60:
- Open a new Savings Builder account and earn a $5 reward every month you grow your balance by $200 or more for the first year
The Fine Print
- Offer is limited to one per client and account (including trustees, signers, and joint account owners). Offer is not available for existing BMO personal checking clients (including trustees, signers, and joint account owners) or those who have closed a BMO personal checking account within the past 12 months.
- This offer is only available for accounts where the primary applicant (first person listed on the account) resides in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, or Wisconsin at the time of application. Proof of address may be required.
- To take advantage of the new personal checking account cash bonus offer, you must open your account between September 9, 2026 and December 15, 2026, and use the promo code. You may open your account at a BMO financial center, online, or by calling 1-800-546-6101.
- To apply for a checking account online, click through to the personal checking account cash bonus offer page, select “OPEN IN MINUTES,” for the checking account of your choice and we’ll automatically apply the promo code for you.
- To apply at a financial center or by phone for a checking account, click through to the personal checking account cash bonus offer page, enter your information, and select “SEND MY PROMO CODE” to receive the promo code you must use when opening your account.
- Accounts opened online on December 15, 2026 must have their applications submitted and approved prior to 9:00 p.m. Central Time. If you open your account by calling 1-800-546-6101, we must receive your opening deposit and all signed account opening documents by December 15, 2026.
- Personal checking new account cash bonus of up to $600:
- Earn a $100 cash bonus per month (up to $600 for 6 months) when you open a new BMO Smart Money Checking, BMO Smart Advantage Checking, or BMO Relationship Checking account and have qualifying activities.
- To receive the personal checking new account cash bonus of up to $600:
- Open a new BMO Smart Money Checking, BMO Smart Advantage Checking, or BMO Relationship Checking account; and
- The primary applicant (first person listed on the account) must reside in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, or Wisconsin at the time of application; and
- Beginning the month following account opening, earn a $100 cash bonus each consecutive month you have a cumulative total of $1,000 or more in qualifying direct deposits post to your account.
- Business Days are Monday through Friday excluding any holiday on which the Bank and/or the Federal Reserve are closed for processing. Transactions received or occurring on a day other than a Business Day will be posted the next Business Day.
- Qualifying direct deposits are deposits of regular income from an employer or similar third party – such as your salary, paycheck, pension payment, Social Security payment, or other government benefits payment electronically deposited into the account – using your account number and BMO’s routing number that you provide to them. Non-qualifying examples include: teller deposits, wire transfers, ATM transfers or deposits, BMO Digital Banking transfers or deposits, deposits processed as a debit card credit or real-time credit, transfers from any bank or brokerage account, Account to Account or Peer to Peer (e.g. Zelle®, Venmo) transfers and deposits received via merchant payment platforms (such as Square®). We reserve the right to request documentation, such as a pay stub or statement of earnings, that the direct deposits qualify.
- Your checking account is eligible for up to 6 consecutive cash bonuses. Tracking begins the first calendar day of the month following account opening. Each month you meet offer requirements listed above, a $100 cash bonus will be paid to your account approximately 10 days after the beginning of the next month. The last $100 cash bonus can be earned 6 months after tracking begins. If your account does not meet the offer requirements outlined above in a particular month, you will not be disqualified for subsequent months. For example, you open your account in November and tracking begins December 1. In December you have $1,000 in qualifying direct deposits; the first $100 cash bonus will be paid to your account in January. In January you have $900 in qualifying direct deposits; you will not be paid the second $100 cash bonus in February. In February you have $1,000 in qualifying direct deposits; the third $100 cash bonus will be paid to your account in March.
- You are only eligible for one checking account cash bonus offer; you cannot open multiple checking accounts and receive multiple cash bonus offers. The promo code is applied to the first Smart Money Checking, Smart Advantage Checking, or Relationship Checking account that is opened between September 9, 2026 and December 15, 2026.
- Cash bonus(es) may be reported to the IRS for tax purposes, and you are responsible for any applicable taxes. Offer can be changed or canceled without notice at any time and cannot be combined with any other offer. If your balance is zero, we may close your account. Your account must be open, in good standing, must have a balance greater than zero, and must be Smart Money Checking, Smart Advantage Checking, or Relationship Checking when the cash bonus(es) is paid.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
- Smart Advantage Checking Account. This account has no monthly fees to worry about
Early Account Termination Fee
There is an early account termination fee of $50 if the account is closed within 90 days.
Our Verdict
It’s nice to see a bigger bonus return, it’s a shame that you can no longer open the account nationwide and that a direct deposit is required for six months to get the full bonus. I do think this bonus is worth doing and the sooner you sign up the better as it’ll help with being eligible for the bonus a second time. We will add this to our list of the best bank account bonuses.
If you’re doing the savings bonus ($200 or $300) then you’ll have enough money in combined balances to keep the Premier account fee free as well. The savings account earns 0.05% APY for balances $25,000 or under and 0.1% APY for balances $25,000+. The most recent BMO Harris offer was for $200 for opening a checking account, but has been as high as $500 with the same requirements.
This bonus is up to an extra $150 compared to that $500 bonus, but the requirements are much higher. We obviously don’t have any idea if/when that bigger bonus will return so if you can do the full $650 bonus this might be worth considering. Because of that we will add it to our list of the best bank bonuses.
Useful posts regarding bank bonuses:
- A Beginners Guide To Bank Account Bonuses
- Bank Account Quick Reference Table (Spreadsheet) (very useful for sorting bonuses by different parameters)
- PSA: Don’t Call The Bank
- Introduction To ChexSystems
- Banks & Credit Unions That Are ChexSystems Inquiry Sensitive
- What Banks & Credit Unions Do/Don’t Pull ChexSystems?
- How To Use Our Direct Deposit Page For Bank Bonuses Page
- Common Bank Bonus Misconceptions + Why You Should Give Them A Go
- How Many Bank Accounts Can I Safely Open Within A Year For Bank Bonus Purposes?
- Affiliate Links & Bank Bonuses – We Won’t Be Using Them
- Complete List Of Ways To Close Bank Accounts At Each Bank
- Banks That Allow/Don’t Allow Out Of State Checking Applications
- Bank Bonus Posting Times
F.A.Q’s
Is this available nationwide?
No, it used to be but now the terms clearly state:
Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, or Wisconsin at the time of application. Proof of address may be required
Can I get more than one bonus from BMO?
Yes, terms say you cannot be an existing customer or closed a BMO personal checking account within the past 12 months.
Is this the best offer?
No, there are frequent targeted offers of up to $1,000. You can sometimes find them on eBay. No asking for codes in the comments, sometimes kind readers will share their unneeded codes but please do not ask/beg.
