[Expired] [YMMV] Charles Schwab $200 Bonus For Existing Checking Account Holders

This checking bonus has expired and is no longer available. Click here for a list of the best checking bonuses.

Before we get started a quick note about eligibility. This offer was sent out via e-mail with the subject line of ‘Earn $200 by using your investor checking account.’ You can try calling 888-403-9000 to get this bonus added to your account. This datapoint states that everybody that doesn’t have a direct deposit already set up will receive the bonus as long as they receive the new direct deposit of $2,500 by December 31st, 2017 even if you didn’t receive any communication. I’ll try to confirm with Charles Schwab.

Offer at a glance

  • Maximum bonus amount: $200
  • Availability: See above. Must be an existing account holder
  • Direct deposit required: Yes, $2,500+
  • Additional requirements: None
  • Hard/soft pull: None as it’s for existing users
  • ChexSystems: None as it’s for existing users
  • Credit card funding: None
  • Monthly fees: None
  • Early account termination fee: N/A
  • Household limit: None
  • Expiration date: December 31st, 2017

The Offer

No direct link, see above

  • Charles Schwab is offering a bonus of $200 for using your High Yield Investor Checking account. You must do the following:
    • Enroll in direct deposit by visiting our site.
    • Establish and make direct deposits totaling $2,500 or more before December 31, 2017.

The Fine Print

  • This offer is made available at the discretion of Charles Schwab Bank (“Schwab Bank”) and is valid from November 14, 2017 to December 31, 2017.
  • A $200 incentive* will be deposited to your High Yield Investor Checking (“Investor Checking”) account provided that you set up new direct deposits totaling at least $2,500 to your Investor Checking account of your payroll check, routine deposits to dollar cost average associated with your financial plan, Social Security payment, or pension or other retirement distributions, and a direct deposit is received into that account on or before December 31, 2017.
  • This offer is available to individuals 18 years of age or older only and is limited to one per client.
  • This offer is not transferable, saleable, or valid in conjunction with other Schwab Bank offers.
  • This offer is available to legal U.S. residents only. Schwab Bank may modify or end this offer at any time without notice.
  • This offer is not available to Schwab Bank High Yield Investor Checking accounts which are closed, inactive or in default, and is void where prohibited by law. Other restrictions may apply.
  • The amount of the incentive deposit to your Investor Checking account is considered interest and is subject to IRS and other tax reporting requirements.
  • The value of all Schwab Bank offers received during the calendar year will be included in the Form 1099-INT you receive from Schwab Bank.
  • The incentive deposit will be deposited into your High Yield Investor Checking account by January 31, 2018.
  • All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them

Avoiding Fees

This account has no monthly fees to worry about. Not sure if there is any early account termination fee but don’t think it should really matter as this account is worth keeping long term.

Our Verdict

This offer is insane, it’s rare to see a bonus for existing account holders and this account is one of the few that’s worth keeping long term. So much so that I recommend signing up if you don’t have an account as it comes with a $100 bonus and provides the following useful benefits: ATM fees reimbursed, no fees for foreign transaction withdrawals. Signing up for the account is a hard pull but thankfully that doesn’t matter for this promotion as it’s targeted to existing customers. Before anybody asks, we don’t know what counts as direct deposit. That information is always added here. Please don’t just randomly ask for datapoints, it just clogs up the comments and if anybody has any I’m sure they will add them.

I doubt we will know what works/doesn’t work until after the promotion ends as the bonus is due to post on January 31st, 2018. Keep in mind the fine print states the following will work: payroll check, routine deposits to dollar cost average associated with your financial plan, Social Security payment, or pension or other retirement distributions.

Fingers crossed all Charles Schwab High Yield Investor checking accountholders are eligible.

Big thanks to reader, Curmudgeon, Daniel B, Andrew H & Nicolas who let us know. Learn how to find bonuses and contribute to the site here.

Useful posts regarding bank bonuses:
    William Charles
  • On November 14, 2017, 16:52

View Comments (105)

  • They forgot to send me 1099int for this $200 until June 2019. Then they gave me another $200 for the inconvenience...

  • I tried chatting in January about my $200 bonus and the chat person told me NO because it was ACH. I then used secure message and I just saw they added it as a $200 credit to my account today.

    I was not targeted, only tried because of Doc's post. Got it!

    • im in the same situation and they won't give me my bonus. what did you say to them? thanks!

  • For those who haven't received their $200 bonus yet, use online chat or call Schwab. I had to follow up a few times, but eventually I received the $200 bonus.

  • I received this bonus yesterday despite opening my account a day after reading this post. I was already leaning towards it (to get the amex platinum for 1.25 MR).

    11/15 - opened brokerage and checking account.

    12/7 - $100 brokerage posted despite the fact that I screwed up and forgot to be referred. Had to have it manually added.

    12/7 - Asked if I could be added to the $200 direct deposit promotion. Was given an email with the terms, accepted through chat. Nothing else received or confirmed.

    12/15 - $2.5K ACH to trigger DD

    2/4 - The 1/31 date passed so I went to live chat and asked when to expect the bonus. Was told that from what they see I wasn't eligible. I referenced the chat from 12/7 and the email T&C confirmation and they confirmed they had it on their end as well and escalated with the promotions department who would be in touch with me after reviewing everything.

    2/9 - $200 checking DD bonus issued as "Customer Service Gesture." Hadn't heard anything since 2/4 so I wasn't expecting much here.

    All in all I have to say that Schwab has made a good impression on me going forward. Between competent customer service readily available through chat and an easy to use website there really weren't any hassles or complaints. The fact they issued the $200 checking bonus was the cherry on top.

  • Was not posted on 01/31. Called CS rep on 02/01 and the rep said they will investigate and response in 5~7 bus. days. The same CS rep called on 02/08 saying that I did quantify and the bonus will be posted on "tmr". $200 was posted today (02/09). Very nice bank.

  • $200 posted on 1-31-18. Description- Customer Service Gesture. Opened account in 12-17. I also received the $100 bonus as well on 1-8-18. I had asked for the $200 promotion to be added to the account in December a week after opening the account. $2500 transfer from TechCU for the $200.

  • Did not post. Chatted with Schwab support, said promotion was only for those who received the email. Oh well.

  • The $200 bonus did not post to my account yesterday, so I initiated an online chat this morning. The first agent I chatted with told me that they could not see any checking account on record (incredibly odd). They then transferred me to another agent (who apparently could see my checking account), and they said they could not find the promotion on my record, so they had to dig through old online chat transcripts to determine that I was indeed registered for the promotion. I was then told that I did not meet the direct deposit criteria for the promotion (I did). Now the case is getting escalated to the Products and Promotions team. Not sure if anyone else got this run-around.

    Either way, as per usual, the Schwab team was incredibly professional throughout the entire process, promising follow-up by the end of the day on Friday, even if there was no update on the escalation. Here's to hoping it all works out in the end.

      • Yes, the Schwab CS rep I chatted with followed up with me both on Friday and Monday. The promotions team verified that I indeed met the conditions of the promotion and said I would receive the $200 deposit this Friday, January 9. I'll provide a further update when I have something more to share.

        • My $200 bonus posted today, sometime in the last hour or two (it wasn't posted as of mid-morning). Good luck to those who are also waiting!

        • Same feedback from CS rep here. Called me yesterday saying I'd get the bonus posted today. Haven't received it tho.

  • The $200 bonus just posted to my account. I did not contact CSR beforehand to confirm eligibility and just set up direct deposit in case it would be automatically applied. I had just about given up home when I got the following email:

    You did it—you earned $200. Congratulations and thank you for participating in our Schwab Bank High Yield Investor Checking® cash offer. We hope you discover all the great benefits of your investor checking account and find that it makes your life easier.

    Your $200 will be deposited into your investor checking account by January 31, 2018.

  • No $200 for my and my family members' accounts yet.

    Did a quick chat and said it should credit by end of day, else contact them again tomorrow...

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