Update 6/13/22: Readers report the bonuses posting today.
Update 4/14/22: All offer links have expired. Hopefully those who already have the coupons will still be able to open an account with the bonus. (Update: data points are positive for those who already have the coupon)
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount:Â $1,500
- Availability: Account must be opened in branch. [Branch locator]
- Direct deposit required:Â None
- Additional requirements:
$15,000$5,000 for 60 days - Hard/soft pull:Â Soft
- ChexSystems:Â Mixed reports
- Credit card funding:Â None available in branch
- Monthly fees:Â $10, avoidable
- Early account termination fee:Â None
- Household limit:Â None listed
- Expiration date:Â May 13, 2022
Contents
The Offer
Direct Link to offer | Lower $5,000 Spend link (get coupon code here, must apply in-branch) Expired
- Wells Fargo is offering a bonus of $1,500 when you open a new business checking account:
- Provide the banker with the offer code and apply for a new, eligible Wells Fargo business checking account by 05/13/2022. Minimum opening deposit is $25.
- Have at least
$15,000$5,000 ending daily balance in your new business checking account on the 30th calendar day and the 60th calendar day after account opening.
Documents required to open business checking link.
The Fine Print
- You must open a new Initiate Business Checking®, Navigate Business Checking®, Optimize Business Checking® or Analyzed Business Checking account in order to be eligible for this bonus offer.
- This offer is intended for new business checking customers only.
- You must use your bonus offer code at account opening when you apply for a new eligible Wells Fargo business checking account. For this offer, a new business checking customer is identified by the U.S. Taxpayer Identification Number for the business used to open the new business checking account.
- We will deposit the bonus into your new business checking account within 30 days after meeting all offer requirements. The new business checking account must remain open until the time we attempt to deposit any earned bonus payment. Please note that an account with a zero balance may be closed by us without prior notice, as further described in the Deposit Account Agreement.
- You are responsible for any federal, state, or local taxes due on your bonus. As required by law, the bonus amount may be reported on IRS form 1099. Consult your tax advisor.
- Offer valid from March 14, 2022 through May 13, 2022. However, offer may be discontinued or changed at any time prior to the expiration date without notice.
- Offer cannot be:
- Paid without a valid U.S. Taxpayer Identification Number (Form W-9 for U.S. persons including a resident alien). Non-resident aliens, signing Form W-8 are not eligible for the offer.
- Combined with any other business deposit offer.
- Reproduced, purchased, sold, transferred, or traded.
- The actions required to earn this bonus are separate and distinct from the options available to you to avoid any applicable monthly service or maintenance fee for the checking account you opened.
- Talk with a banker or see the Business Account Fee and Information Schedule and Deposit Account Agreement for complete checking account details, including the applicable monthly service or maintenance fee and options to avoid it.
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
The Initiate Business Checking account looks to be the lowest level account and is eligible for this bonus. It comes with a $10 monthly fee which is waived if you have one of the following each fee period:
- $500 minimum daily balance, OR
- $1,000 average ledger balance
Early Account Termination Fee
There is no early account termination fee mentioned.
Our Verdict
This offer is insanely good to get $1,500 for tying up $15,000 $5,000 over 60 days. We once saw a $1,000 branch offer, but this one is higher and much easier to meet. It is a branch-only offer which is a pain, but this makes a good opportunity to try out Wells Fargo for your business banking needs.
I like that you can generate a coupon code online which hopefully means that any Wells Fargo banker should be able to process the application (is business banker needed?). I wonder if they are able to schedule virtual appointments with branch bankers and get this offer. We will be adding this to our list of the best checking bonuses.
Big thanks to reader Sam who let us know about this offer. Learn how to find bonuses and contribute to the site here.
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
Did anyone receive the 1099 form? I didn’t get anything in the mail so far, and there’s nothing for this account in “Tax Documents” in my account online. Wondering if it’s somehow not showing, or they are not issuing the 1099 for the bonus?
GK P1 and P2 1099-INT were posted to online statements and documents on 12/31/2022 and both accounts were closed early Nov 2022.
I closed my account last Fall. I just called Wells today since I can’t login & they’re telling me there is no 1099 at all for this promotion. The rep was adamant about that. So I am unsure what to do now.
i also did not recieve a 1099. They said because my account accrued no interest, they didn’t produce a 1099. most likely just need to report it as other income
I received a 1099-INT form for the bonus around January 23, 2023. It’s not showing up in my online account, but I received the form in the mail.
I called CS and was told that there’s no 1099 form for this account because it’s not an interest-bearing account. Strange how some received the 1099 and some didn’t.
I’m curious, did you sign up with an EIN or as sole proprietor?
I opened it with EIN and the acct is still open. You may be on to something… perhaps EIN vs sole proprietor makes a difference as far as getting the 1099 form is concerned?
GK P1 opened using EIN and P2 opened using SSN, but both received 1099s so I’m not sure why some people aren’t receiving them.
ugh, annoying. EIN here, no 1099
Zeroed out again but on account closing page still shows as negative balance how long will it take to update?
Why not just call to close it?
Zeroed out but forgot to close and just got hit with the monthly fee I hate when this happens
Closed my account today. Could not find a method to do so online, so made a call. Less than 2 minutes. Verified name and mailing address, then the rep asked “why are you closing?”. I replied “I no longer need it” 30 seconds later, it was closed and I was off the phone. Account shows closed in my online banking profile (still have the business cc).
FYI for those that are closing: you can close via online banking with a $0 balance.
Go to Accounts –> Manage Accounts –> Close an Account
Thanks to AllenW for this tip from the WF personal thread.
We are good to close after getting the bonus, right?
Why close so soon and draw attention?
What is so soon to you? It has been almost 2.5 months since I received the bonus.
Anything less than 6 months. What are you gaining from closing the account? There’s no fees.
you do have to keep $500 in the account, right?
You do not have to but if you want to avoid the monthly maintenance fee, that’s one way to do so. You can also do monthly DDs of $500 to avoid the fee.
@Taco That is incorrect. The only options to waive the monthly fees are to maintain a $500 minimum daily balance or to maintain a $1000 average monthly balance.
You are correct. I was thinking of WF personal checking. My bad. Thank you for correcting me.
P2 messed up and didn’t keep the funds in the account long enough. Does anyone know if we close the account now, and then when the next time this bonus rolls around, we can just open the account right away and still be eligible for the next bonus?
I don’t have access to the terms in front of me but I believe that you’re eligible because you didn’t cash in on the bonus. However, I wouldn’t hold my breath on this bonus coming back soon or even close to this form. The fact that they pulled it early has me pessimistic that they have eyes on it now and we will see more restrictions and nerfed offers in the future.
NT that’s unfortunate. I guess we’ll withdraw all the money and shut down the account quickly, and hope they bring it back at some point, even at $1,000. It is pretty insane that they offered that much for only keeping $5k in the account for 60 days.
Yup, $1500 got everyone out of their seats, p2, 3 and 4 included. Good luck In the future!
Thank you!
Bonus posted for myself and p2.
Finally got my bonus!
04/13/22: Account opened
05/04/22: $5,000 deposited
07/08/22: $1,500 bonus received
Is there a claw-back if closing checking account early? I noticed that there’s a limit of 10,000 per transfer or 15,000 per month.. thats whack!
And where do you see that?
When you make a transfer
You can use the 2 day method for a higher limit.
You don’t seem to understand. The maximum is 10k with two day limit. Then there’s a 15k limit per month. I still use chase as my main bank with over 100k ongoing and outgoing xfers.
It shows as 15k and 25k on my side. Look, you’ve been looking for excuses to close your account since you got your bonus (after whining because you didn’t get it quick enough), so just do us all a favor, close your acct and stop posting on this thread.
maybe its cos i transferred 20k already
Jun Use a different bank with higher transfer limits and pull it out.
5/4 – Account opened with 5.2K deposit
7/5 – bonus posted