This bonus is no longer being offered. Click here to view the best current checking bonuses.
Update 8/8/19: Deal now ends August 31st, 2019. Savings bonus now requires $25,000 instead of $10,000. Hat tip to reader Hari
Update 6/26/19: Deal now ends June 30th, instead of July 31st, 2019. Hat tip to reader Hari
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $700
- Availability: you must reside in Illinois (excluding St. Clair County), Wisconsin (excluding Pierce and St. Croix County), St. Louis County in Minnesota, or Northwest Indiana
- Direct deposit required: Direct deposits totaling $6,000+ required
- Additional requirements: None
- Hard/soft pull: Soft
- ChexSystems: Yes
- Credit card funding: Cannot fund with a credit card
- Monthly fees: None with eStatements
- Early account termination fee: $50 if closed within 90 days
- Household limit: None listed
- Expiration date:
July 31st, 2019 June 30th, 2019 July 31st, 2019August 31st, 2019
Contents
The Offer
- BMO Harris is offering a bonus of up to $700 when you open a new checking and money market. Bonus is broken down as follows:
- $400 bonus when you open a new checking account and complete the following requirements within 120 days:
- Have at least $6,000 in qualifying direct deposits
- Enroll in BMO digital banking and set up paperless statements
- Make at least 10 qualifying electronic transactions
- $200 bonus when you open a Platinum Money Market account and deposit at least $25,000 in new money and keep it for 90 days
- Do both of the above and get an additional $100
- $400 bonus when you open a new checking account and complete the following requirements within 120 days:
The Fine Print
- In order to be eligible for these offers, you must reside in Illinois (excluding St. Clair County), Wisconsin (excluding Pierce and St. Croix County), St. Louis County in Minnesota, or Northwest Indiana. You can apply online, at a branch or by calling 1-866-362-1166.
- To apply online, use the “open now” links above and we’ll automatically apply the promo code for you. Before you apply at a branch or by phone, enter your email and click “Send Me My Coupon Above” to receive the promo code you must use when opening your accounts.
- You must open your accounts between June 1, 2019 and July 31, 2019. Offers cannot be combined with any other offer and are limited to one per customer.
- We reserve the right to amend or cancel any part of these offers at any time. Offer 1 and Offer 3 are not available for existing BMO Harris personal checking customers (including signers on joint accounts) or those who have closed a BMO Harris personal checking account within the past 12 months.
- Offer 2 is not available for existing BMO Harris money market customers (including signers on joint accounts) or those who have closed a BMO Harris money market account within the past 12 months.
- Bonuses are not considered part of the opening deposit and will be reported to the IRS for tax purposes. You are responsible for any applicable taxes.
- Your accounts must be open, in good standing and must have a balance greater than zero when the bonuses are paid approximately 150 days after opening.
- The bonus for Offer 3 will be paid to your checking account.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
Checking
Your best option is to open the BMO Smart Advantage Checking account. This has a no monthly fee when you have eStatements.
Savings
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. In addition the accounts need to be kept open for the bonus to post (approximately 150 days after account opening)
Our Verdict
This is the biggest bonus we’ve seen from BMO Harris. Previous best was $300 checking & $200 savings, with no bonus for doing both. This bonus has basically the same requirements but it’s for an extra $200. Unfortunately it’s not available in as many states. That being said, definitely worth doing if you live in an eligible area. We will be adding this to our list of the best checking bonuses.
Hat tip to reader milespoints & reader Rodney
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
BMO 1099’d for this, might be a good metric for you to track on these now that some banks appear to be doing this.
Anyone have a screen shot of the offer showing the $10,000 MM requirement? I received the $400 checking bonus on time, but not the $200 MM or the additional $100
I have copies. How can I send them to you? I also am fighting for the additional 200+100 bonus.
thanks – my username is my gmail
hi – just wanted to follow up to see if you could help me out with the screen shots. Thanks!!
Hey fungo did you get what you needed? I’ve got some too and need to start fighting. Where did you start?
No, I didn’t receive screen shots. Don’t really know where to go from here
Sent to your gmail. I’m gonna send them a message on the website and start there.
Following back up here with SUCCESS. I’ve got the bonuses, now here’s how I did it…
I messaged them and they replied back 2-3 days later but the message INBOX is seemingly only viewable in the mobile app, not on the website (the website just allows you to compose a new message but not see replies or old messages). Making it more annoying was that I didn’t get an email or iOS push notification alerting me to their reply. so I had to keep checking to see if they messaged and then one day I stumbled upon their reply.
My message just explained that I hadn’t received my full bonuses and they said they had reviewed my account and saw that I was eligible, so they would push the bonuses through and they’d show up in a few days. Fast forward a week later and they’re all there now. $200, $100, and the $400 that posted originally.
Same here! Been waiting for Message, but never got one. But the bonuses appeared in my account. All good! Thanks again for sending the screen shots
I opened and funded both the checking and money markets in July 2019 and did on a timely basis the required value of direct deposits and required number of card transactions. The $200 to the MM was credited, and is reflected on the 1099 just received for 2019. I am still waiting to receive the $400 for opening the checking account plus further $100 bonus. As of December 2019 more than 150 days had passed since these accounts were opened. I have made several inquiries to the bank, but thus far this $500 remains outstanding.
I had to hound them to get any kind of response to my bonus queries. They will be denying my $400 (various banks I thought might work — though I did legit DDs, too, they did not add up to $6K by 120 days), though I am still pushing back based on the rather goofy language of their own promotion.
However, I cannot even get them to respond on the $100 for opening the two accounts. Will probably have to CFPB, etc., for that one.
After threatening with CFPB (after literally 6 messages with no response on the $100), they claim they had an oversight and will grant the $100 (though it has been a week and no sign of it yet). If I receive that, I will probably let the $400 go, even though I think I have an argument. Will cut my losses, sever ties, and likely avoid them in the future…
New? $500 Valpak offer good through 1/30/20 bmoharris.com/valpak12
$200 for checking with $6k DD.
Up to $300 money market but requires 10k 25k 50k.
Not as good as the $700 offer but seems to be better than the best public offer.
Yeah we’ve got that on the site already
I have not received MM part of the bonus ($200), so sent SM inquiring a few days ago. Reply: you are not eligible for the bonus since you didn’t open account before July 1 (which I did). I then sent another SM, reply: You did not qualify for the offer since you did not fund with $5K (I did with $10K). I have sent the third message with copy-paste of the terms of the offer. Will report how it goes. Lousy service.
Following up on this… Apparently, they are denying $200 MM bonus on the grounds that I did not fulfill the requirement of funding the MM with 5K minimum opening deposit (I only funded with 10K ~10 days later after I set up external account for electronic transfer. They suggested I escalate at the branch where I opened the account. That is what I am going to do. At the branch they only mentioned funding MM account within 30 days and I did not get to the bottom of a full page of fine print at the time.
Final update: after CFPB complaint I received the following response: “after careful examination we found that your account was not credited with the bonus due to processing error. We credited your account with $200 on 12/23” So, the moral of the story: CFPB is the way forward in case of missing bonus.
Thank you for your post and updates! I just sent them a message because I also have only received the $400 portion of the bonus. Did you get the $100 portion of the bonus for doing both checking and Money Market?
OK here’s my DD.
Checking and Savings opened 7/26/19 in-branch.
Checking:
7/26: $25 Opening deposit
9/24: 10 separate $1 Venmo payments sent to and from wifey
10/11: $6K legit work direct deposit
11/25: Promotional Incentive +$400 (122 days since account opening)
11/25: Promotional Incentive +$100 (122 days since account opening)
Savings:
7/26: $5,000 Opening deposit
8/6: $5,000 secondary deposit to meet $10K bonus requirement
11/12: Promotional Incentive +$200 (109 days since account opening, 99 days since meeting $10K requirement)
Oddly enough for me the $200 savings posted first. For wifey (opened in branch) her $400 checking posted first, and still hasn’t gotten the $200 savings or $100 combo.
I think this one is truly luck of the draw.
I opened checking on 6/10 and money market on 6/11 and have only received $400 so far. It was paid on 10/15, which was 120+ days. It is now 11/12 (150+ days) and still no $200 or $100 bonus.
I also got my $300 Checking only thus far on 10/30 around the 120 day mark.
Via SM they told me per the terms I should expect the Savings and double dip bonuses at the 150 day mark (11/27). They said if I don’t I should reply and they will escalate. You should send a SM inquiring…
I messaged them and they escalated the issue with their back office and stated that I should expect the bonus in 1-2 weeks. Will report back with my results.
6/10 – checking opened
6/11 – money market opened
6/12 – $10k deposit to money market
From June until September I tried multiple different DDs to checking:
Alliant [PPD Alliant CU. ONLINE WD]
Discover [PPD DISCOVER BANK PREARRANGE]
Wealthfront [PPD Wealthfront Inc. EDI PYMNTS]
Chase Business [PPD JPMorgan Chase Ext Trnsfr]
I pushed a total of $6k from each of the above.
9/18 – still no bonus by the 100 day mark
I am starting to get a little worried at this point since I was so close to the 120 day window and nothing had triggered yet. So I enrolled my Chase Business account in their ACH Payment Services ($25 monthly fee) and paid myself a legit DD.
9/26 – legit $6k DD from Chase Business (PPD MY BUSINESS NAME Payroll)
10/15 – $400 bonus posted at 127 days (PROMOTIONAL INCENTIVE in checking)
11/12 – messaged BMO customer support at 155/154 days
11/18 – $100 and $200 bonuses post as PROMOTIONAL INCENTIVE in checking and money market
Honestly, I do not know if any of my fake DDs triggered the $400 bonus since it posted after the 120 day window.
I recommend you maintain at least $1 in checking and in money market after you meet the requirements or the bonuses might not post.
I escalated on 11/28, they took a few days to get back to me. Said I’d get the last $300 in 5-6 days. I finally did today, 12/10.
I’m still waiting for my DD to hit this month to cross the $6k barrier; also waiting for the 90 days on the Savings side. But BMO sent me this e-mail today:
Thank you for choosing BMO Harris Bank. We know you have a lot of choices when it comes to who you trust with your finances and we appreciate the confidence you have shown in selecting us.
You recently opened a new account with a special promotional offer. Once you meet all the requirements to qualify for the special promotion, we’ll do our part to credit your account with the incentive! Click here for offer terms and conditions.
Have questions about your account?
Visit bmoharris.com, stop by your local branch and speak with a banker, or call us at (888) 340‑2265.
We’re here to help.
Any updates to this? I have still not gotten anything yet completed all the reqs.
I was given a specific date (10/26 which is almost 120 days, 117 to be exact) on or after which I will receive the bonus by the branch manager after I contacted her about the bonus. Depending on when you opened your account, you will have a date assigned for your account as well.
I haven’t gotten anything yet either despite all requirements being met as of 10/1.
I guess they’re going to stick to the fine print and make me wait up to 150 days which would be around 11/29 for me:
“Your accounts must be open, in good standing and must have a balance greater than zero when the bonuses are paid approximately 150 days after opening.”
I didn’t contact BMO yet…I’ll keep an eye on my 120 day mark (mentioned by Skor above) next week (10/30) and will report back.
I just received my $400 bonus on 10/21, along with an additional $4 bonus (yes that is 4 dollars, no idea why) Never received the $200 for Money Market account or extra $100 for doing both. Reached out via SM and will see what they say.
Same here – got the $400 but nothing yet on the $200 savings or $100 extra
I’m at 120 days today and still nothing. Guess I’m waiting for the official 150 days mark around 11/29…
same timeline for me and similarly waiting for the bonus to post..
Received my bonus yesterday 10/30 at exactly 120 days from account opening
Just the Checking, or the Savings + bonus for both too?
I had received my $200 Savings earlier (at ~95 days of balance requirement). I had received the $100 within few days of account opening. I received the checking DD bonus of $400 on 10/30 at 120 days of account opening
Interesting, I’ve only got the Checking bonus so far at the 120 day mark. I have a message out to them…
Yup, got my $400 Checking bonus 10/30 as well. I don’t think it was visible until today. I checked again today because I just got an e-mail from BMO saying the Checking bonus was on its way; no mention of the Savings bonus plus extra bonus for both. I just sent them a message to inquire…
Thank you for using your new BMO Harris Bank account and meeting all the special promotion requirements. You now qualify for a $400.00 bonus! This bonus will be deposited into your account within the next 10 business days.
We’re thrilled to have you as a customer and look forward to continuing to help you meet your financial goals.
They replied back that per the terms I should expect the Savings and double dip bonuses at the 150 day mark, 11/27. If I don’t I should reply and they will escalate…
I escalated on 11/28, they took a few days to get back to me. Said I’d get the last $300 in 5-6 days. I finally did today, 12/10.
Opened Smart advantage and MM accounts on 6/27. Legit work DD hit 8/30, completed 2 mobile dep, 9 PayPal deposits, and 5 transfers to date – don’t see anything. Wondering when I should pull the trigger and call – the PP deps should qualify for electronic transactions based on what I read so far. Will probably given them another week… Anyone else get this with just PP?
in the same boat…
I am wondering if it is due to an issue with setting up paperless statements on the Checking account.
I opened the Checking and Money Market together and they cut a combined statement BUT against the Money Market. So for the first month I was getting charged monthly fee against the Checking since their system could not associate the Paperless Setting of the combined statement against the Checking account. So I had a representative manually enter in the system to not charge me monthly fees. So I am guessing their system is not able to automatically mark the bonus requirements (paperless statements) as being completed for the same reason.
Let me know if you or anyone who hasn’t received their bonus had a similar situation?
No, my statements are fine, never got fees charged and they deliver both to email. It took a couple of weeks to set it up on their convoluted site though. And the bonus reqs just say to select that option within 120 days.
I met all the requirements last month too and still nothing. Do you have any updates?
I emailed using their message center – got their copy paste response of waiting until 120 days to see the bonus and if nothing then calling customer center
I successfully got the previous offer ($300 with 10 debit card transactions and DDs – don’t remember how many or $ amount required) and was paid the bonus within a few days of hitting the DD requirements, but P2 did this offer and passed the DD requirements more than a week ago and still hasn’t been paid. I did notice in this post that it says the bonus will be paid within 150 days (it’s been maybe 75 days since P2 opened the account). If nothing else, BMO is probably just holding the money for as long as they can with the added bonus of scaring people into keeping the DDs going into BMO in the meantime so they don’t risk losing their bonus.
Nevermind
Update: Did not get anything as of 12/9/19, sent SM. Took them 2 days to respond – they confirmed I’m eligible and should see deposit by 12/24 at the latest. I’m honestly not surprised since they just announced a large number of layoffs at their bank – probably trying to eek out every penny of interest before paying up…
Offer dead!
DP: Got $500 so far out of 700. chase ACH counted as DD
– 5000 ACH transfer from chase
– 4000 real DD from work
– bonus posted 3 days later
I setup real DD just in case the chase transfer didn’t work. wil probably let another 2k come in from work DD to prevent any claw back.