Deal has ended, view more Fifth Third deals by clicking here.
Update 6/5/23: Deal is back. FL, IN, NC, TN, GA, KY, OH, WV, IL, MI, SC. Hat tip to Brad
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount:
- Availability: Must open in branch, branches are in FL, IN, NC, TN, GA, KY, OH, WV, IL, MI, SC
- Direct deposit required: No
- Additional requirements: Deposit $1,000 and maintain it for 60 days
- Hard/soft pull: Soft
- ChexSystems: Yes
- Credit card funding: None
- Monthly fees: $11, avoidable
- Early account termination fee: $50 to close account
- Household limit: None
- Expiration date:
October 31st, 2019December 31st, 2019 May 31, 2020September 8, 2023.
The Offer
- Fifth Third is offering a bonus of $500 when you open a new business checking account and complete the following requirements:
- Reach a balance of $5,000 within 10 days of account opening
- Maintain a balance of $5,000 or more for 60 calendar days
The Fine Print
- To qualify for the $500 checking bonus, provide the offer code, open a Fifth Third Business Checking Account, Fifth Third Business Premium Checking Account, or Fifth Third Business Elite Checking Account by 9/8/2023 and make deposits totaling $5000 or more within 10 days of account opening.
- Account(s) must be funded within 10 days of account opening and maintain a minimum balance of $5,000.00 for 90 days to be eligible for the bonus.
- The $500 checking bonus does not require any additional activities. The cash bonus will be deposited into your new account within 10 business days of completing qualifying activity requirements.
- In order to receive the cash bonus, your checking account must be open and in good standing.
- Offer is not available to anyone who has an ownership interest (including, but not limited to, primary owner or joint owner) in any existing Fifth Third checking or a Fifth Third checking account that closed within the last 13 months.
- Bank reserves the right to limit each customer to one new account-related gift incentive per calendar year.
- Eligibility may be limited based on your account type and ownership role.
- No minimum deposit required to open a business checking account.
- Bonus is considered income and may be reported on IRS Form 1099-INT, 1099-MISC, or 1042-S, as required by applicable law. Consult your tax advisor.
- UNIQUE OFFER CODE MUST BE PRESENTED AT ACCOUNT OPENING TO RECEIVE THE BONUS. See your banker for details. Not valid with any other offer. Offer availability subject to change.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
The easiest way to keep the account fee free is to open a Fifth Third Business Standard Checking Account, this account has a monthly fee of $11 that is waived if you have a balance of $3,500 or more.
Early Account Termination Fee
As far as we know there is no longer any early account termination fee either, but regardless of when you do close your account you’re required to pay a $50 fee (increased from $25)
Our Verdict
We have seen targeted offers of up to $1,500 for Fifth Third business accounts, but don’t think we have ever seen a public offer. I doubt we will see a bigger public bonus than this in the near future so if you live in an eligible area and have a business I do think this is worth doing. Because of that I will be adding this to our list of the best checking account bonuses.
Hat tip to alphadogiii
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
Post history:
- Update 2/19/20: Deal is back through May 31, 2020. Hat tip to reader Brandon (another small update: readers note that there is no longer, technically, any geographic restriction. So if you are visiting one of these states, you may be able to open it in-branch, regardless where you live)
- Update 11/10/19: Deal has been extended until December 31st, 2019.
Final DP
Opened Business account in branch – 8/24
Ally transfer $5k – 8/31
Congratulations! (bonus posted) – 11/30
In mean time…
Opened Personal account in branch – 11/14
Ally transfer $500 – 11/21
Congratulations! (bonus posted) – 11/22
I like this game!
Final DP
Opened on – 8/01
Chase DD $5k – 8/07
Congradulations! (bonus posted) – 11/7
Key thing is that I have opened and closed a personal bank account in the last year. Best of luck to everyone else!
I received the $500 bonus but then they they debited me $120 as “cash bonus tax withheld”. I’ve never seen that before. How does that work when I do my taxes?
Bonus hasn’t posted, called and found out the banker did not attached it properly at the opening. It’s been 3 weeks and the the banker keeps saying the issues has gone to the regional manager and I just have to wait. No time frame though given.
Final DP
6/12 – generated promo code
6/23 – opened Fifth Third Business Checking in-branch as single-member LLC
6/28 – $5k ACH transfer settled
…92 days later
9/27 – $500 “Congratulations! You’ve Earned Your Cash Bonus Thank You For Banking With Fifth Third”
I received the $500 bonus today deposited 5k at opening on June 6th.
Closed account. They charge $10 for cashier’s check so I ran $5500 in cash to my other bank. I’ll never do that again.
You can just do a pull to your hub though. Assuming you have one OFC.
Oh one more question, I see that you had a personal within the 13 month timespan right? I’m playing with fire with a 4 month personal -> bussiness lag.
I had my personal bonus paid out in Q1 this year. It should work for you as well. I believe the business and personal bonuses are separate
Figure I’d share this weird DP: I forgot to unfreeze Chex and I still managed to get a biz account opened last week w/o issues.
Anyone got paid out yet?
I called my local branch today and asked the business banker about the lack of the word “business” in the fine print verbiage regarding current Fifth Third checking customers and checking accounts closed in the past 13 months. They called me back and said they spoke with one of their back offices for clarification and the terms do indeed refer to any checking account (personal and business). That means you are not eligible for this business bonus if you have a current Fifth Third personal checking account or closed a personal checking account within the last 13 months.
This is one of the first banks that I know of to combine personal and business bonuses into shared eligibility after previously having them separate.
The question is whether their backend system has been updated to reflect these new rules or not. You might still be able to churn both but we won’t know until someone tests the new language.
I’m tempted to try by opening a personal account online and then opening the business account in- branch the same day. The personal bonus will pay out quickly, but I’ll have to wait the full 90 days to see if the business bonus comes through as well.
Any thoughts?
The plan that worked for me was open business checking in branch first. Afterwards, once it was 13 months since my previous personal account closure, I opened my new personal account online with promo.
In you case, I would recommend separate visits.
When did you open your personal account after that? And did you receive the bonus from that account yet?
What I recommended to you worked successfully for me during my previous churn of the business and personal promotions. I am anticipating/ hoping for the same outcome this time as well.
“Offer is not available to anyone who has an ownership interest (including, but not limited to, primary owner or joint owner) in any existing Fifth Third checking or a Fifth Third checking account that closed within the last 13 months.”
If they actually enforce that new language, you won’t be getting the business bonus since you currently have a personal checking account or will have had one in the last 13 months if you close it before your 90 days are up. I’m hoping this isn’t the case and that their marketing department just worded it poorly.
I’ve been waiting 3 years for them to offer another business bonus, so I’d like to take advantage of it but don’t know how it will play out with the new wording.
If I go for it and it doesn’t work, I’ll have tied up $5k for 90 days with literally no earned interest and pushed back my 13-month churn time an extra 90+ days.
But if it does work, then we’ll know that their personal and business requirements and churn times are still actually separate and can be churned individually.
Unfortunately, your 90 days won’t end until after this promo expires, so I won’t be able to learn from your DP of whether you get the bonus or not.
The only other hope is that they might extend or renew this promo and allow me to open at a later date if you end up getting your bonus.
It will be interesting to see if I get the bonus. I made a note to follow up with you when the time comes.
Thanks Christopher for your DP…I was in the same boat and your DP comes in perfect timing as today is the last day to sign up which I did…many thanks
This wasn’t enforced at all, for me. I had a current open personal that was overdrawn, my banker refunded it, closed it in the office and opened the business checking immediately after.
Opened Aug 10, DD of $5k on Aug 11, $500 bonus today (Nov 14).
guest_1753213 That’s great. Cheers!
How long after requesting the code before it arrives? Think Im pushing a week now… TIA
Seconds, for me
I requested again and got it immediately.