Update 7/11/25: Available again until September 16. Hat tip to reader orange
Update 5/1/25: Deal is back through through June 26. View best shopping portals here.
Update1/22/25: This is up to $100 on Swagbucks now and 17,000 (around $107) on Mypoints. Plus the $450 from U.S. Bank.
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $450 + $100
- Availability: Nationwide (excludes NY & FL and any other state without a branch unless you have an existing relationship)
- Direct deposit required: Yes
- Additional requirements: None
- Hard/soft pull: Soft
- ChexSystems: Mixed data points
- Credit card funding: Can fund up to $250 with a credit card
- Monthly fees: $6.95, avoidable
- Early account termination fee: None
- Household limit: None
- Expiration date:
September 26, 2024December 30, 2024April 17, 2025
Contents
The Offer
- U.S. Bank is offering a $450 bonus when you open a new Smartly checking account. Requirements are as follows:
- Checking bonus:
- Earn $250 when the combined total of your direct deposits is between $2,000 and $4,999.99
- Earn $350 when the combined total of your direct deposits is between $5,000 and $7,999.99.
- Earn $450 when the combined total of your direct deposits is $8,000 or more.
- Checking bonus:
You must complete two or more direct deposits within 90 days totaling the above-mentioned amount.
The Fine Print
- U.S. Bank Smartly® Checking bonus: To be eligible, you or any owner(s) on your new Bank Smartly Checking account cannot have an existing U.S. Bank consumer checking account, had a U.S. Bank consumer checking account in the last 12 months or received other U.S. Bank consumer checking bonus offers within the past 12 months.
- You must also use the promo code 2024JUL at account opening. To receive the bonus, you must open a new U.S. Bank Smartly® Checking account with a minimum deposit of $25 either online, in a branch or over the phone from July 9, 2024 through and including September 26, 2024.
- Additionally, you must enroll in the U.S. Bank Mobile App or online banking within 90 days of opening your account.
- You must also complete two or more direct deposits within 90 days of opening your account that total: $2,000 to $4,999.99 to earn the $250 bonus, $5,000 to $7,999.99 to earn the $350 bonus, or $8,000 or more to earn the $450 bonus.
- A direct deposit is an electronic deposit of your paycheck made through the Automated Clearing House (ACH) network or an electronic deposit of your government benefits, such as Social Security, from your employer or the government.
- Other electronic deposits or person-to-person payments are not considered a direct deposit. Your checking bonus (“adjusted interest”) will be credited to your new checking account within 60 days following the end of the calendar month during which you completed all the offer requirements.
- Account must be open and have a positive balance to receive the bonus. Bonus will be reported as interest earned on IRS form 1099-INT, and recipient is responsible for any applicable taxes. Offer may not be combined with any other checking account bonus offers.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
U.S. Bank Smartly has a $6.95 monthly fee, this is waived if you do any of the following:
- Have combined monthly direct deposits totaling $1,000 or more
- Keep a minimum average account balance of $1,500 or more
- Hold an eligible U.S. Bank credit card
- Qualify for one of the four Smart Rewards™ tiers (Primary, Plus, Premium or Pinnacle)
- Be a military member (requires self disclosure)
- Be under the age of 24 or over the age of 65
Early Account Termination Fee
There is no early account termination fee to worry about
Our Verdict
Not as good as the recent $500 bonus unfortunately. That being said this bonus is churnable (can’t have had an account within the past 12 months) meaning it’s probably worth resetting that clock as soon as possible rather than waiting for a marginally bigger bonus to potentially return. Because of that we will add this to our list of the best bank account bonuses.
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
Offer History:
- Update 1/10/25: Swagbucks is back for $80 at this link. Total is $450 + $80 = $530.
- Update 1/7/25: Offer is back through 4/17/25 at this new link. You can also get $25-$30 back from Swabbucks/MyPoints, if targeted.
- Note: You can also get another $25+ via portal. Portals don’t always show this amount so if not a big offer I’d recommend waiting.
- Update 11/5/24: Extended to 12/30
- Update 10/13/24: Stacking with a portal is more difficult now, can try to follow these directions. (see also this comment)
- Update 9/23/24: Extended to 10/31
- Update 9/1/24: Back to $101 on MyPoints.
- Update 7/17/24: Anti churning language is now 12 months instead of 24. Hopefully this is a permanent change going forward.
So far my pushes from Navy Federal are just showing as electronic deposit? Will this work?
04/07/25 applied online, but received message they were reviewing my application.
04/25/25 Weeks later I still had received no response so I called. There were issues with my location: I told CSR that I was out of my home state when i applied. I was still out of state. She said OK, and I was immediately approved at that point. I DO already have another account with US Bank.
However, by then the offer deadline has passed. I ask CSR about it, and she says the offer will still be valid. So I go through the requirements:
05/10/25 schwab brokerage push 3k
05/17/25 schwab brokerage push 5k
US Bank bonuses often post quickly, but mine did not. I waited the full time (60d from the end of the month the requirements were met) and then called.
Over 2 days I spend much time with assorted CSRs explaining the situation. Each one saying, yes, you should receive the bonus, but that’s not something they can do. Checking CSR said I needed to talk to Sales CSR. I did. She said I should get the bonus, but that I needed to talk to Checking CSR. Checking CSR again wanted me to call Sales CSR. A couple times I asked to speak with a manager and after waiting on hold a very long time, got disconnected. Eventually a manager did answer. I told her to check the call logs and gave her the exact date that I was told the bonus offer would still be valid. She said she could not make the decision, but she said she’d ask her higher up for a follow up and tell them to listen to the call logs.
I was not optimistic.
The next day the bonus showed in my account. It was a lot of work. Thankfully, it was worth it!
Another Chase DP:
5/11: Applied and approved
7/22: $4001 from Chase personal checking account
7/31: $4001 from Chase personal checking account
8/1: Bonus showing as “Adjusted Interest” set to hit my account 8/4
Closed my account after 2 months & was able to do it on their automatic phone banking system. Super simple
2nd round for bonus:
06/24/2025: applied and approved, funded $275 Amex Gold
7/16: sent $3200 from Ally
7/23: sent $4802 from Ally
7/25: $450 bonus posted
Also applied for savings and funded $275 with Amex Gold.
Just tried to open an account in NJ and it got denied. Apparently, can only open accounts in NJ if there is an existing relationship. He told me I would have to open up a CC first then the checking account.
Or, a savings account, or a CD, will work to start the relationship. Once you have online banking access, open the checking account.
Dok Jones
Has anyone received the bonus even though your checking account doesn’t show the bonus tracker (website nor app)? I applied over the phone and asked for promo to be applied and I’ve called twice and been told the promo code has been applied. Been 4 days, no tracker. Wondering if anyone has had experience with this.
@Gadget can I just send $1000 from fidelity CMA to USBank, push it back, and repeat 7 more times or will this get flagged?
Pushing it back, very possible to get flagged, yes. Don’t use a brand new account to move large sums, esp. when they were recently deposited.
I know it sounds counterintuitive, but it would be better to pull it back using Fidelity, or a different bank. Since Fidelity has long hold times (last time I checked), it would be better to use a different “hub account”.
It would also be better to consolidate those $1K transfers into $2,000 or higher, but you have to work with what you have.
PurpleUnicorn
Okay thanks! I am also trying to knock out Citis promo, so might push into US from fidelity, push to Citi, and repeat
You still shouldn’t be using U.S. Bank, a new account, to be pushing anything. At least not within the first few weeks – month. GL!
I’ve had it open for 45 days. Just now starting the churning. Think that’s a good enough time to not raise any flags?
Up to you. Probably ok to use U.S. Bank to push out after the 1st month, but I am telling ya, it’s safer to avoid doing it that way. If they review activity and all they see is you moving funds in from bank/brokerage, and then moving them out to a 3rd bank, they may have questions.
Does usbank pull chex if applying in branch?
New DP to consider when pushing into and pulling out of Capital One:
7/17/25 – account opened, funded with $501 push from CapOne 360 checking.
7/22/25 – 1501 push from CapOne 360 checking. Posted 7/25/25
Reward tracker showed “Combined qualifying balance” as $2,002.
7/29/25 – pull $2000 into captial one 360 checking.
7/31/25 – Reward tracker now shows “combined qualifying balance” as $656 for some reason. I have no clue where they couldve gotten this number from. but the reward still hasnt posted a week after receiving P2. Cant tell if this is a system glitch or if the funds need to sit in the account for longer.