Bank of America is offering a $200 bonus for opening a new personal checking account. The offer applies to any of their Advantage Banking accounts: Bank of America SafeBalance®, Bank of America Advantage Plus®, or Bank of America Advantage Relationship®.
Recent versions of this bonus had a direct deposit requirement of $1,000, but this time around Bank of America has increased the ask to $2,000. With that said, they've also DOUBLED the bonus, and you do have 90 days to meet that total in cumulative deposits.
Overall, a fairly easy bonus from a nationwide bank, so worth checking out.
How To Earn The Bonus
The Bank of America Advantage Banking Account promotion requires you to set up direct deposits in order to earn the $200 bonus (step-by-step breakdown is listed above!).
As with any offer, don't forget to read the fine print before opening your new account. It's where the bank will clearly state who is eligible for the deal along with any nuances you'll want to be aware of.
The fine print
- The $200 bonus offer is an online only offer and must be opened through the Bank of America promotional page linked above.
- When opening your new account, use the promo code TWT200CIS.
- A “Qualifying Direct Deposit” is a direct deposit of regular monthly income – such as your salary, pension or Social Security benefits, which are made by your employer or other payer – using account and routing numbers that you provide to them. Examples of non-qualifying transfers and deposits include the following: teller deposits, wire transfers, debit card transfers, ATM transfers or deposits, Online and Mobile Banking transfers or deposits, or transfers from a bank or brokerage account or Merrill account.
- The offer is for new checking customers only. You are not eligible for this offer if you were an owner or co-owner of a Bank of America personal checking account within the last twelve (12) months.
- Fiduciary accounts are excluded. Offer does not apply to business, second or multiple personal checking accounts.
- All account applications are subject to approval.
Open a Advantage Banking Account account before the bonus expires on May 31, 2024
How does this personal checking offer from Bank of America compare?
To help you determine how this bonus stacks against the rest, here are some of the most popular offers available right now:
PNC
Virtual Wallet®
- Bonus
- up to $400
- Account Type
- Personal Checking
- Expires In
- 73 days
- Requires
- Direct Deposit
TD Bank
Beyond Checking
- Bonus
- $300
- Account Type
- Personal Checking
- Expires In
- 257 days
- Requires
- Direct Deposit
U.S. Bank
U.S. Bank Smartly® Checking
- Bonus
- up to $700
- Account Type
- Personal Checking
- Expires In
- 69 days
- Requires
- Direct Deposit
- Min Balance (optional)
Why Bank of America?
Bank of America is one of the "big four" banks in the United States, and is headquartered in Charlotte, but operates in more than 35 countries around the world. Merrill Investing also falls under the Bank of America umbrella, and between the two brands, you can find nearly any financial product you'd want: checking and savings accounts, home and auto loans, HSAs, business products, credit cards, CDs, money market accounts, IRAs, and more.
Their online and mobile tools offer a solid digital experience with alerts, mobile check deposits, spending charts, easy card replacement requests, digital wallets and more. Customers also tend to rank their service favorably, with convenient support hours and real humans on the other line.
The trade off to a plethora of banking products, a huge network of physical locations and ATMs, and a well-reviewed digital experience are the same as most of the other big banks: don't expect wow-ing interest rates. Plus, you'll want to be sure to avoid their penalty fees, which are steep and can be harsh. For example, their overdraft fee is $35, and their policy allows them to charge it as often as 4 times each day.
Learn more in our Bank of America review
Bank of America Advantage SafeBalance Banking®
Bank of America Advantage SafeBalance Banking® is an entry-level online checking account that appears to be aimed at those who have a tendency to overdraft their account.
With a SafeBalance Banking® account, there are no overdraft fees, because any debit card charges that might put your account into the negative will be automatically declined. And since checks are often the culprit when it comes to overdraft fees, you cannot write checks with this account.
Fees
Bank of America Advantage SafeBalance Banking® does charge a monthly maintenance fee of $4.95, but there are ways to get this waived:
- Enroll in Preferred Rewards, which requires a three-month average daily balance cumulatively across qualifying Bank of America deposit accounts and/or your Merrill investment accounts of at least $20,000 (for the Gold tier – or $50,000 for Platinum and $100,000 for Platinum Honors tiers).
- OR, be a high school or college student under age 24.
Bank of America Advantage Plus Banking®
Bank of America Advantage Plus Banking® is the company’s most popular checking account. You can write paper checks and set up overdraft protection with a linked savings account if you have one.
Fees
Bank of America Advantage Plus Banking® does charge a monthly maintenance fee of $12, but there are ways to get this waived:
- Have at least one qualifying direct deposit of $250.
- OR, maintain a minimum daily balance of $1,500.
- OR, be a high school or college student under age 24.
- OR, enroll in Preferred Rewards, which requires a three-month average daily balance cumulatively across qualifying Bank of America deposit accounts and/or your Merrill investment accounts of at least $20,000 (for the Gold tier – or $50,000 for Platinum and $100,000 for Platinum Honors tiers).
Bank of America Advantage Relationship Banking®
The Bank of America Advantage Relationship Banking® account is an interest-earning checking account that’s designed for people who are able to maintain higher account balances.
Account holders can write checks, earn interest on deposits, and you can also set up overdraft protection.
Fees
Bank of America Advantage Relationship Banking® does charge a monthly maintenance fee of $25, but there are ways to get this waived:
- Maintain a combined balance of $10,000 in linked checking and savings, CDs and IRAs, or Merrill investment accounts.
- OR, enroll in Preferred Rewards (though this has higher balance requirements than the $10,000).
Apply now for a Advantage Banking Account account to earn the $200 bonus offer
Share Your Thoughts or Questions
There have been 11 comments about the Bank of America Advantage Banking Account $200 Bonus.
Margaret Koster
February 6I opened a checking account on 11/15/23. My social security direct deposit was made on 1/17/24 and BOA gave me the $200 bonus on 1/30/24. Now I just have to figure out how long I have to keep the account open. Does anyone know?
ReplyReply to Margaret Koster
Tom
November 17, 2023I have never been able to get ID verified online to open this account. Fortunately, they are also offering this in-branch right now. I am planning on going to a branch soon. My spouse has taken advantage of this offer several times in the past. It used to be that you could do it every 6 months, now it's 12 months. Just follow the requirements and it should payout without any problems. Easy!
ReplyReply to Tom
Ankit Jain
November 17, 2023You can get a better deal with bank of america bonus if you go through a banker. I suggest going to a branch and making a relationship with a banker. I have been using a banker for a while now and she help me get $500 bonus for a bank account and credit cards which are available to general public for just $300 or $200. Ask the banker for a better deal and they should have one
ReplyReply to Ankit Jain
Joseph Lee Robbins
November 17, 2023We just completed this one and had zero issues except getting Zelle to work the first time other than that it was all good!
ReplyReply to Joseph Lee Robbins
Jake
November 16, 2023I have never seen their account bonus at $200. Usually it has been $100. I accomplished this bonus when it was $100 and I got paid within the week after my direct deposit. Bank of America is a bank with great customer service and many brick and mortar locations if you have any problem with the bonus. They can try and compensate you in other ways.
ReplyReply to Jake
Doug
November 14, 2023I just did this offer. Everything went well and BoA paid quickly. However, I'm having the toughest time getting my money out. There are several steps to initiate an external transfer (including activating the debit card and going through BoA's security portal). Even once the external account is linked, you can't fully drain the account this way. The system forces you to leave $50. The last 50 will need to be transferred via Zelle or withdrawn from an ATM. What a hassle!
ReplyReply to Doug
Lee
November 11, 2023The application process was easy and at the end I was able to enroll in online banking. Again many thanks to BankBonus for bringing this super easy bonus earning opportunity to my attention.
ReplyReply to Lee
Jon Snow
November 8, 2023I opened this account online last month on the 23rd. Already direct deposited $2k so now I’m just waiting for the bonus to post. The application process was easy and at the end was able to enroll in online banking.
ReplyReply to Jon Snow
Klaus Pohlmann
November 6, 2023Took advantage of the $300 Advantage Plus bonus this year. Easy to open, easy to close if you need to. Qualifications were just to Direct Deposit $4,000 within 90 days. Super simple. Remember to either keep a $1500 balance to avoid the $12 monthly maintenance fees, or alternately, Direct Deposit $250/mo ($250 has to be in a single deposit each month, not cumulative … misread that and got a fee, but they were happy to reverse it!)
ReplyReply to Klaus Pohlmann
Nicholas
November 3, 2023Just applied for this account yesterday, and it took about an hour to get approved. It looks like a fairly easy bonus to get; hopefully it won’t take too long to receive it after the direct deposit.
ReplyReply to Nicholas
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