Wells Fargo $400/$825 Business Checking Bonus

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• Is this a rare bonus? I'd rather save it for later as I have other savings bonuses that won't be available to me soon as I'm moving to a different state, but the tiers are good on this, so if it's not around often I'd rather just do it now since it's churnable anyway.

  • Last one was in 2022 for $1,500. Make of that what you will.

    I jumped on it myself, the biz offer doesn't seem to come around often (unless I've missed them).

    • Thanks! I guessed that was the last one, going to just go for it then, even though I only have enough for the lower tier.

• A huge pain in the neck just to open the account. After completing the application online (as a sole proprietorship with a DBA certificate and an EIN), I received an e-mail from WF stating the following:

  "When we connect on the phone, we will review and confirm required information, and then I will complete an Authorization for Information and Certificate of Authority form, which will include your business and individual information and will authorize us to check your credit. If applicable to your business type, I will also complete a Certification Regarding Beneficial Owners of Legal Entity Customers form. These required forms will be sent to you for your signature. I will provide instructions for returning the signed forms."

  After playing phone tag for weeks with the WF rep, I finally connected. He verified the name of my business and asked for my Social Security number, then said that he could not open this type of account over the phone and that I would need to go to a WF branch. I told him that I had already spent enough time on this application and to cancel it. If I had wanted to go to a branch to open the account, I would have already done so.

  PNC Bank recently made me jump through similar hoops after applying for a business checking account. I told them to cancel the application, as well.

  • I tried to go into a branch to short circuit the phone tag nonsense, and after waiting 20 minutes past my appointment time for the sole employee in the branch who can handle these applications to finish with the previous appointment and then another 30 minutes as I waited for him to make some phone calls, was told that he couldn't actually handle my existing my application nor just start a new one and that I'd have to get back on the phone to continue the application.

    He did at least give me a number to call where any rep could help you and you didn't need to connect with the specific person assigned to your application. 1-800-416-8658

    I did the docusign stuff immediately but it still took another 10 days to get any movement, at which point I received a cold call from 1-877-673-0203. The rep on the line wanted to talk about the application and wanted me to verify with some info like last 4 of my SSN. I absolutely hate it when banks break basic security protocols like that so I said I'd call back. Could not find the 877 number online (Googling for it the top search results were Wells Fargo business banking pages, but clicking through the 877 number wasn't anywhere on the page), but found it in my notes from the call where I did the docusign stuff. This call was just to get the debit card info for the initial account funding.

    If I could start the process over knowing what I know now, I'd skip the online application and just go in branch, you're not actually saving any time starting this online, it seems like you simply will NOT get autoapproved. All told trying to do this online probably winds up being more time, and definitely more frustration, than just making an appointment and spending an hour in a branch from the jump. Plus in branch they can give you a printout that shows your bonus offer, vs the rep on the docusign call saying he could see the offer couldn't send me anything like the in branch printout that describes and confirms the offer, and the account funding rep being able to see that an offer was attached but not what the offer was or what the terms were.

    • but some people had an easy time opening online.. I didn't expect I'd be able to open online but applied and was approved after a 15 minute call

• If I have a Wells Fargo personal checking account currently open can I open a business checking account and get the bonus?

  • Yes

• Any forseeable issue with pushing $25000 into my personal WF checking then transfer it directly to the WF biz checking to trigger the bonus?

  Since terms just dictate ANY deposit counts I'm assuming this won't be an issue. I already have my personal WF linked to my Wealthfront for easy push access so just trying to avoid linking another account if I don't have to

  • Personally, I’m doing the same as the terms don’t specify new money. Some others think it’s safer to just transfer into the new account directly.

    I think the only issue is if the backend is coded for new money only, then you’ll have to fight for the bonus.

• How soon after account opening, do they start to charge the monthly fee?
  Do they waive for the 1st month?

  • Yes.

    "Initial monthly service fee waiver: We’ll waive the monthly service fee for each fee period ending within the first 64 days of opening."

• Opened the account online, had to make a phone call to verify info and then signed all the documents they required. That was a week ago and never heard a word back and dont even know my account number? Im assuming when documents were signed that account would have been opened? Gonna call tomorrow.

  • Signing the documents is an equivalent of applying. Then another team needs to review your application. I signed the documents 3 weeks ago, and they still respond "We need more time" over the phone. I set an appointment in branch for today for a new in-branch application.

    • You need to cancel the original application before you go in, I tried doing what you did without canceling the existing one and wasted most of an hour just to be told by the in branch rep that he could neither take over my existing application nor start a new one for me while the original application was still open.

• Even after I got declined online I went into branch with the code and get it opened. Took about an hour total time. But $825 will be worth it.

• Here’s my experience. I first visited a branch and met with a Premier Banker. After reviewing my information on his computer for some time, he informed me that he was unable to open the account, stating that I was banned from receiving further bonuses due to doing repetitive promotional offers in the past.

  About a week later, I visited a different branch and met with an Associate Banker. He was relatively new to handling business account applications and initially unfamiliar with the documentation requirements for a sole proprietorship. I explained that a sole proprietorship does not require formal business documents. He took that, and successfully opened the business checking account for me. The promotional code was accepted by the system without issue.

  I do not understand why the first banker said that. He just wants to scare me away from taking the bonus from Wells Fargo. Probably his pay is very high and tied to Wells Fargo's performance. He feels a strong sense of ownership toward Wells Fargo.

  • When you open accounts for the bonus, do you usually close them immediately after getting the bonus? The general 'guideline' in churner hangouts such as DoC tend to suggest is to keep accounts open for at least six months. In some conversations with bankers I've had when opening accounts is they mention they do get bonuses when account holders keep their accounts open for a certain amount of time (one banker alluded to me it was a 6-month period for their bank). I suspect if a banker sees your history and if you close accounts before the period that would qualify them for a bonus they would be less likely to help you churn because they see you not helping them achieve their bonus.

  • I ran into a similar situation one time in a Chase branch. The banker didn't tell me I was banned but flat out told me she wouldn't open an account for me for the bonus as she saw I had done this several times before. This was at least five years ago. I thought about confronting her about it but decided to let it go and try another branch, even though at the time we had no Chase branches in our metro (was visiting family). Churning is an interesting game and it is fascinating to see things happen on the other side. I no longer put any stock into what any banker says. I almost always come into the situation knowing more than they do from the datapoints here and I have no shame about taking them up on bonuses and I couldn't care less about their judgment. Some bankers are really cool and will actually facilitate taking repeated bonuses (including a couple I know at Chase!) while others are like what you encountered.

• 30 days to get the $25k in is 30 days from when you get the email confirming your account is opened, nothing to do with when you applied, right? I applied a couple of weeks ago but it took until today for them to finish up getting the account opened so just double checking this.

  • Just go by the account opening date on your first monthly statement. It should be the same date as when you received the approved confirmation email.

  • i transferred mine 2 weeks early.. don't want to risk screwing up the timing just for a small amount of interest

    • Around $50 in interest for the full 25k. Depends on what you consider a small amount.

      • you're right.. I screwed up a bit by transferring it too early. i'm traveling right now and worried about messing up the dates or getting locked out for a big push

        • A small amount to pay for peace of mind and a better chance of a pretty big bonus!

• Just interesting that after a week from opening that I'm now receiving several WF mailers solicitation to open the same business acct. Offer also shows on personal acct. when logged in. Crickets before.