Update1/22/25: This is up to $100 on Swagbucks now and 17,000 (around $107) on Mypoints. Plus the $450 from U.S. Bank.
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $450 + $100
- Availability: Nationwide (excludes NY & FL and any other state without a branch unless you have an existing relationship)
- Direct deposit required: Yes
- Additional requirements: None
- Hard/soft pull: Soft
- ChexSystems: Mixed data points
- Credit card funding: Can fund up to $250 with a credit card
- Monthly fees: $6.95, avoidable
- Early account termination fee: None
- Household limit: None
- Expiration date:
September 26, 2024December 30, 2024April 17, 2025
Contents
The Offer
- U.S. Bank is offering a $450 bonus when you open a new Smartly checking account. Requirements are as follows:
- Checking bonus:
- Earn $250 when the combined total of your direct deposits is between $2,000 and $4,999.99
- Earn $350 when the combined total of your direct deposits is between $5,000 and $7,999.99.
- Earn $450 when the combined total of your direct deposits is $8,000 or more.
- Checking bonus:
The Fine Print
- U.S. Bank Smartly® Checking bonus: To be eligible, you or any owner(s) on your new Bank Smartly Checking account cannot have an existing U.S. Bank consumer checking account, had a U.S. Bank consumer checking account in the last 12 months or received other U.S. Bank consumer checking bonus offers within the past 12 months.
- You must also use the promo code 2024JUL at account opening. To receive the bonus, you must open a new U.S. Bank Smartly® Checking account with a minimum deposit of $25 either online, in a branch or over the phone from July 9, 2024 through and including September 26, 2024.
- Additionally, you must enroll in the U.S. Bank Mobile App or online banking within 90 days of opening your account.
- You must also complete two or more direct deposits within 90 days of opening your account that total: $2,000 to $4,999.99 to earn the $250 bonus, $5,000 to $7,999.99 to earn the $350 bonus, or $8,000 or more to earn the $450 bonus.
- A direct deposit is an electronic deposit of your paycheck made through the Automated Clearing House (ACH) network or an electronic deposit of your government benefits, such as Social Security, from your employer or the government.
- Other electronic deposits or person-to-person payments are not considered a direct deposit. Your checking bonus (“adjusted interest”) will be credited to your new checking account within 60 days following the end of the calendar month during which you completed all the offer requirements.
- Account must be open and have a positive balance to receive the bonus. Bonus will be reported as interest earned on IRS form 1099-INT, and recipient is responsible for any applicable taxes. Offer may not be combined with any other checking account bonus offers.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
U.S. Bank Smartly has a $6.95 monthly fee, this is waived if you do any of the following:
- Have combined monthly direct deposits totaling $1,000 or more
- Keep a minimum average account balance of $1,500 or more
- Hold an eligible U.S. Bank credit card
- Qualify for one of the four Smart Rewards™ tiers (Primary, Plus, Premium or Pinnacle)
- Be a military member (requires self disclosure)
- Be under the age of 24 or over the age of 65
Early Account Termination Fee
There is no early account termination fee to worry about
Our Verdict
Not as good as the recent $500 bonus unfortunately. That being said this bonus is churnable (can’t have had an account within the past 12 months) meaning it’s probably worth resetting that clock as soon as possible rather than waiting for a marginally bigger bonus to potentially return. Because of that we will add this to our list of the best bank account 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
Offer History:
- Update 1/10/25: Swagbucks is back for $80 at this link. Total is $450 + $80 = $530.
- Update 1/7/25: Offer is back through 4/17/25 at this new link. You can also get $25-$30 back from Swabbucks/MyPoints, if targeted.
- Note: You can also get another $25+ via portal. Portals don’t always show this amount so if not a big offer I’d recommend waiting.
- Update 11/5/24: Extended to 12/30
- Update 10/13/24: Stacking with a portal is more difficult now, can try to follow these directions. (see also this comment)
- Update 9/23/24: Extended to 10/31
- Update 9/1/24: Back to $101 on MyPoints.
- Update 7/17/24: Anti churning language is now 12 months instead of 24. Hopefully this is a permanent change going forward.
Hi Gadget 🕵️♂️ Bank Bonus Geek 🔗 I am trying to do some real DD and some ACH
Is it ok to pull out the money the day it hits the account, or should I let it sit there for at least a day? Thanks
I’d let it rest a day or two, but you do you. fdic
thanks
Starting to lose hope for this one!
Opened on 12/2/24
12/6/24 pushed $4,000 from Discover savings acct
12/10/24 pushed $4,010 from Discover again
Still no bonus
Odd. I have exact dates, different dollar amounts, from Discover savings, adjusted interest posted on 12/12.
Could try pulling it out and trying again.
I did a Discover push ACH, but it is labeled as “Electronic Deposit“, rather than DD.
That’s normal. It will work as a Direct Deposit. Cindy
Thank you~
Should I do an external account transfer through the USB portal, or go to the external bank and send a transfer through that portal? I just want to make sure it’ll code as a DD.
The latter when doing a “direct deposit”. Anthony
I went into the branch on 1/22 to open the account since I couldn’t open online (couldn’t be verified). There was a huge sign in the branch about the $450 bonus. I pointed out the sign and provided the rep with the 2025JAN code that was posted online. The rep acknowledged the promotion and I saw them search their system and they said they applied the bonus to my account. No tracker ever appeared on my account.
I followed with CS and they confirmed the promotion was on my account and gave me seven digit alpha numeric code that they said was confirmation that it was applied. I have been pushing money into the account to get the money moved into savings to get the tier and my work DD starts next week.
Is not having a tracker normal? I worry that something may not have been applied correctly. My bank pushes should have already met the criteria as of last week, but so far no bonus and no tracker.
Any guidance would be appreciated. This account was so frustrating to get opened and i would be disappointed if I don’t get the bonus either now or when my work DD’s hit.
Question in regards to the “pull”/”push” term.
Just opened the USB account. Would I do the transfer from an external bank account on the USB dashboard… or should I go to the external bank account’s dashboard and input my Account/Routing # of USB and send a transfer? Just want to make sure it triggers as a DD.
Two $4k Navy Fed pushes worked to count towards the DD requirement.
$4k NFCU push 1/14
$4k NFCU push 1/20
$450 bonus posted 1/28
How long is everyone keeping the account open after receiving the bonus? Looks like there are no early termination fees.
I was just approved for the checking account and funded $250 using my Citi card at the end of the application process. But now that I’m on the account screen, I see a message that says “Add money in the next 29 days, or this account will close.” The “available balance” on my account shows as $250, but the $250 funding transaction is listed as “pending.” On my Citi card, my available credit limit has decreased by $250, but I don’t see any pending charges on the card.
So, did I successfully fund the $250 with my Citi card or not? How long will it take before the charge posts to my card and is fully funded in the checking account?
I typically wait a few business days as that first opening deposit has historically never “entered” the account until a few days later.
question for people like me who don’t have $8k laying around that I could quickly send to a new bank account.
Could I just send like $2k to the U.S. Bank account, send it back to my hub bank, send it to U.S. Bank again, etc etc etc until I’ve reached $8k in total ACH? Essentially couldn’t I just cycle the same $2k back and forth until I reach the threshold? I’ve been searching and have only found DP’s of people who send the full $8k before taking money back out. But at the same time I can’t find any language in the terms and conditions of the offer that would suggest this wouldn’t work.
I ask because I was planning on doing the base tier $250 offer because that’s all I could get during the promotional period. I have just around $2k to work with at the time while my other money is tied up in other accounts which require the money to stay for a few months. I have real DD as well, but not enough to hit the full $8k bonus.
Also, are there any other considerations I should keep in mind before attempting this? Am I likely to encounter issues transferring my money back out of U.S. Bank (or any strategies to get around them?). Is this likely to trigger any alerts on my account and lock me out or put my transfers on hold for investigation?
Thank you for all the help.
Yes that will work. Just make sure you’re pushing from a bank account that has worked for others in the past such as Ally, Chase, Capital One, Discover, Fidelity, etc.
I don’t see why that wouldn’t work. Although, if it were me, I would probably maybe add another institution in between so it is less obvious what I am doing. I doubt they look too closely into it but I like to be cautious.
Yes