Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount:Â $400
- Availability:Â HI
- Direct deposit required: Yes, $2,000+ – $3,500
- Additional requirements:Â See below
- Hard/soft pull:Â Unknown
- ChexSystems: Unknown
- Credit card funding:Â Unknown
- Monthly fees:Â $3.95 – $20
- Early account termination fee:Â 180 days, $70
- Household limit:Â $70, 180 days
- Expiration date:Â None listed
Contents
The Offer
- Bank of Hawaii is offering a bonus of up to $400 when you open a new checking account. The bonuses are as follows:
- Earn $400 with a Bankohana III or Bankohana II account with an initial deposit of at least $500 and $3,500 in Qualifying Direct Deposits within 60 days of account opening
- Earn $200 with a Bankohana I account with an initial deposit of at least $500 and $2,500 in Qualifying Direct Deposits within 60 days of account opening
- Earn $100 with a Convenience Checking account with an initial deposit of at least $500 and $2,000 in Qualifying Direct Deposits within 60 days of account opening
The Fine Print
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
- Convenience checking ($100 bonus). $3.25 through 9/30/24 $5.00 from 10/1/24 and after
- Bankohana Level I ($200 bonus). $15 (or waived with Combined Balance of $6,000)
- Bankohana Level II ($400 bonus). $20 through 9/30/24 $25 from 10/1/24 and after (or waived with a Combined Balance of $20,000)
Early Account Termination Fee
Bankohana Accounts closed within 180 days of account opening will be assessed an early closing fee of $70
Our Verdict
The $400 bonus isn’t worth considering as you need to have $20,000 in funds to keep it fee free. The $200 bonus is worth doing especially as it’s rare to see a Hawaiian bonus.
Hat tip to Gerry
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
I can’t logon so this makes me wonder if my account has been locked? I opened the accounts less than a month ago.
Yay! Not locked out just have a problem with my device. The cust. serv. got me to logon using my phone and it worked. They said it was probably a combination of Microsoft 10 and my antivirus software on my PC. No Id verification with a notary required!!!
OOS dp
Opened bankohana checking and savings as savings $200 promo dropped to $5000 minimum balance.
Like others account locked and mailed in a few pieces of notarized documents.
I had to call them a few times but they finally returned my call and unlocked the account.
OOS works but be prepared to invest a little bit in the notarized document process.
Curious to see what works to earn Hawaiian miles on the debit card.
What did you have to do as far as notorized documents? I can’t logon so I’m just wondering if I will need to do the same.
Kiwi
Two IDs (passport and license), a statement from the bank that you did the initial funding (I did a transfer) and a utility bill.
I honestly just went to a UPS store they’ll notarize anything for $10 I asked around to public notary’s and they kept asking why I wanted to sign these and it they wanted $25 lol
Yes you will need to do it before they close the account and reverse everything
Thanks, I’ll give them a call tomorrow.
Fidelity shows “MoneyLine DEPOSIT” and my work DD shows “DIR DEPOSIT”, so Fidelity is probably not going to work in the long run.
Where do I even start with this bank? It’s been a disaster from the start for P1 and P2 who successfully opened OOS. By far the worst opening experience in all the years of this game. Both funded from a joint external account. However, P2’s account was locked and had to call in and was informed to send two forms of ID, copy of bank statement from account funding, and a signed letter requesting account be opened. P1’s account was never locked but found out it was frozen when real DD was rejected after the transaction initially went pending. P1 was informed to send two forms of ID, copy of bank statement, signed letter, and a notarized form from my state to substantiate ID for their fraud department. They do not accept any communication via email so all forms had to be sent by snail mail across the pond.
P2 will be able to meet the 60-day window to achieve the DD requirement. Since P1 didn’t find out the account was frozen due to not being locked out of online banking, a request for extension of time to meet the requirements has been requested which they initially said on the phone they would provide given the delay to clear up identification issues since I haven’t been able to use the account. Still waiting on a resolution for that request though.
I’m not sure if the issues are due to the joint account for funding as using the same bank account even when legit can still trigger fraud alerts internally. If I had to guess, I think this institution just doesn’t like OOS applicants and is diligent to ensure KYC and AML compliance is airtight.
How long did it take to get all that done? That sounds like a real big hassle to go and get something notorized.
I just thought of something, you may be right about the joint account funding. Our accounts were fine until we just both pushed from the same account to fund the savings.
It didn’t take a long time to get a form notarized but took a week after sending off the forms to get a call that the account was cleared to use. Since I didn’t find out for over a month I didn’t have as much time to meet the requirements but should still be able to. Regarding the funding, I don’t know for sure but probably best practice to not use a joint account for initial fundings for two individual accounts at the same institution.
My comment didn’t post. I got lucky I guess because it had something to do with my device or browser. I can login on my phone and everything is good.
Bluevine Business checking works for DD. I got a little notice after logging in online saying “On 06/23/2025, a paycheck was deposited into your account”
Bankohana Level 1 doesn’t seem included any longer: https://www.boh.com/personal/bank-accounts/pr/checking-offer#disclosures
I was able to open from OOS with LOL Chex numbers
How long ago was your account opened? If I was you, I wouldn’t feel comfortable until your account is open at least 2 weeks. Did you see this comment: #1870844 ?
I opened on Sunday, but I also have an employer DD coming Friday, so hopefully they won’t think it’s so sketchy
If your account is still open in a couple of weeks, I may just try for this bonus myself!
Still open, no issues with receiving direct deposits or Zelling money out (I’m not able to push from Bank of Hawaii; not sure whether that’s universal or a me thing)
You told me 1 day too late as I just started a Chex fast. ☹
If the offer is still around in a few months, I might just try for it. 😀
Did it pull Chex?
Yes, they did
Some DPs have said that after 2 weeks they close out your account, but keep us updated on whether or not they will do the same to you
Did they close your account yet assuming it’s been 2 weeks or more since opening?
Still open, no issues with receiving direct deposits or Zelling money out (I’m not able to push from Bank of Hawaii; not sure whether that’s universal or a me thing)
Did you confirm if offer is active? I see the year 2024 listed in Table 1 (example) in the terms.
3/2 – account opened
4/3 – met $3500 DD requirement (real DDs)
6/3 – $400 bonus received
note: they didn’t charge a monthly fee until 5/31
Did you try to get the fee waived as a “one time courtesy”? If so, what happened?
I didn’t ask. I did convert to a Convenience Checking, which only has a $5 monthly fee that can be waived with $500 in DDs or a $500 average daily balance. I first tried to convert to an EASE checking (which has a lower fee and is easier to avoid), but you have to apply for a new account online and close the current account. I wanted to avoid the EATF, so I didn’t go that route.
Did you also do the Savings offer or did you only do the Checking offer?
I don’t follow your question.
Yes, it is. I have actually conversed with
MOTDOC several times on DoC. They provide valuable DPs and are usually responsive to my questions. They just don’t include their email address when they comment for whatever reason.
Checking only
I am waiting for the right time to follow your lead. 😀
Thanks. Are you OOS by the chance?
Disregard previous q. I see you OOS. Thanks
Hawaii Local.
Had trouble opening account online. Website prompted me to open in branch due to error. Went to open in branch in 08/2024.
Real DD $625×4.
$6k CD 6 months.
Wondered why no bonus posted after 90 days, so went in branch. Manager said in branch had different offers and that I was out of luck bc offer was “ONLINE ONLY”. Complained due to circumstances. 3 days later, $200 bonus posted in acct.
Positive DP.
Base NY, P1/P2 opened Bankohana Level II accounton 7/8, completed real DDs totaling 3500+ in July and August, both received $400 on 10/8.
Both opened 6-month CD of $20000 to waive monthly fee on checking account, will closed accounts on Jan 2025 when CD expires.
Any data point for non-employment DD?