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:
You must complete two or more direct deposits within 90 days totaling the above-mentioned amount.
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.
Tried sending from Navy Fed. Two deposits show as “deposit” and one as “defaultcredit”. Did I mess it up? It’s been 3 days and have no received the bonus from either U.S. Bank or Swagbucks yet
First time bank churner:
Account opened 2/15/2025
Fidelity Push 2/18 $1000
Fidelity Push 2/19 $1000
Fidelity Push 2/21 $6000
Bonus hasn’t paid out yet. Am I cooked?
It’s only been a week. Current terms says 30 days. You aren’t even warm yet, let alone cooked.
ricky
Just found that if you change the code after promoCode= in URL to 2025FEB. it will work without problem.
Sounds like an epically bad idea.
Does it work if you type “imnotgoingtogetthebonusifIchangethiscode”?
Spoiler alert: it does. It’s very common for a bank not to change the promo code every month.
This has been more work than I bargained for. With the promo code not working for online apps, I finally called in and submitted via phone. But then my app was stuck for several days, so I had to call in again and was told I required more verification. The guess about my application being stuck is that my credit is frozen and they had issues verifying since they couldn’t do a soft pull even. So I wound up on hold for about 3.5 hours total, split over 2 different calls (had to hang up a couple times due to another call) trying to get through. But finally am set up and made the first deposit…though the tracker still doesn’t register any progress.
Thank you for the code – 2025jan! I had to call them to put the promo code in manually. Bonus showed up the next day.
What’s the code for the $450 bonus now？Thanks
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/u-s-bank-450-100-checking-bonus/#comment-2011790
“2025jan” is what I see in the URL. There is no place to edit the code, so you get whatever the webpage loads behind the scenes.
shh
I pushed 4000.5 from my capital one 360 checking account and another 4001 from capital one next day, the first one was categorized as income and deposit, but second one just shown as deposit
Will the second one still count?
More than likely, yes. Budget helper descriptions don’t dictate if a bonus will be paid. It’s deeper rooted than that.
John
Take a look on your bonus dashboard. It will show how much has qualified so far. It does lag by 2-3 days.
Not everybody sees this or has it available to them.
where is the bonus dashboard?
You should receive the bonus around day 3 or 4 after those deposits posts. At least thats when mine did and when most I saw showed up. I did transfers from chase and they worked so capital one should too. Both of mine showed deposits.
That’s not always the case. The terms recently said 7 days to payout, then went to 30 days now. Which, U.S. Bank usually goes somewhere in the middle of the maximum.
2.19 fidelity push $4001
2.20 fidelity push $4001
2.24 $450 bonus
Does having a Triple Cash count to waive the Smartly monthly fee? In some places it says consumer credit card (which is not the TC) but in others it just says you need to be the primary on a US Bank card, and in others just ‘have’ a US Bank card.
Triple Cash is a business card. Per reader reports and CSR’s, business cards DO NOT count for a personal checking fee waiver.
someones1
So the original bonus code was 2024JUL, but I see people using other codes as well. Would I put 2025FEB if I sign up this month? Or just use the original code?
where are you seeing that code from?