Bank of America is offering a $100 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®.
Previous versions of this bonus had a direct deposit requirement of just $250, but this time around Bank of America has increased the ask to $1,000. That's steep for a $100 bonus, but 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 $100 bonus.
Full requirements to receive this bonus are:
- Open a new Bank of America Advantage Banking personal checking account using the link below and promo code DNE100CIS.
- Within 90 days, receive direct deposits of $1,000 or more.
- Bank of America will attempt to pay bonus within 60 days of meeting the requirements.
Open a Advantage Banking Account account before the bonus expires on June 30, 2023
The fine print
- Additional terms and conditions apply. See offer page for more details.
- The $100 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 DNE100CIS.
- 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.
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:
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 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 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 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 $100 bonus offer
Bank of America Locations
You may sometimes be required to visit a branch in-person to take advantage of a welcome offer. Or, you may just prefer the convenience of banking with institutions that have locations near you.
Fortunately, Bank of America has a total of 3955 branches in the United States.
Get a better idea of how well Bank of America can serve you by checking out their branches closest to your area:
22 Main St
Southington, CT 06489
4671 W Irving Park Road
Chicago, IL 60641
One Clinton Square
Syracuse, NY 13202
205 North Parrott Avenue
Okeechobee, FL 34972
2608 Pleasant Hill Road
Duluth, GA 30096
7515 Greenville Avenue
Dallas, TX 75231
2150 Harkrider Street
Conway, AR 72032
1160 Shermer Road
Northbrook, IL 60062
1313 N.W. 36th Street
Miami, FL 33142
700 8th Avenue West
Palmetto, FL 34221
1011 Federal Road
Houston, TX 77015
574 East Woolbright Road
Boynton Beach, FL 33435