Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $300 for checking, $200 for savings
- Availability: Requires opening in branch, all branches are located in the following states: AZ, FL, IL, IN, KS, MN, MO, WI, WA [Branch locator]
- Direct deposit required: Yes, at least two direct deposits
- Additional requirements: See below
- Hard/soft pull: Soft
- ChexSystems: Yes
- Credit card funding: Up to $1,000, might code as cash advance in branch
- Monthly fees: $12, waivable
- Early account termination fee: $50 if closed within 90 days, you’ll also forfeit the bonus if you closed the account within six months.
- Household limit: None mentioned
- Expiration date: April 28th, 2017
The Offer
No direct link (see offer image below)
- BMO Harris are currently offering up to $500 in bonuses on their checking & savings accounts. Bonuses are as follows:
- $300 checking bonus:
- Bring this mailer (see below) to any BMO Harris Branch and open your checking account
- Complete at least two qualifying direct deposits within 90 days
- $200 savings bonus:
- Bring this mailer (see below) to any BMO Harris Branch and open a statement savings account with at least $10,000
- Main your $10,000 balance for 90 days
- $300 checking bonus:
The Fine Print
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Your best option is to open the BMO Harris Everyday Checking ($10 monthly fee), the monthly fee is waived if you meet any of the following requirements:
- You receive an external deposit of $500 or more
- The minimum daily balance is $1,000 or more
- You’re a college student and you request a fee waiver. This will result in the account being fee free for a period of four years
- Your BMO Harris Select Checking® account meets its $10,000 minimum Combined Balance requirement, and you have requested we link this account to your BMO Harris Select Checking account to receive benefits under Relationship Waiver. (Monthly maintenance fee waiver is limited to one (1) BMO Harris Everyday Checking account.)
- Your BMO Harris Portfolio Checking® account meets its $25,000 minimum Combined Balance requirement, and you have requested we link this account to your BMO Harris Portfolio Checking account to receive benefits under Relationship Waiver. (Monthly maintenance fee waiver is limited to a total of two (2) BMO Harris Everyday Checking accounts.)
- Your Wealth Checking account meets its $25,000 minimum Average Daily Balance requirement, and you have requested we link this account to your Wealth Checking account to receive benefits under Relationship Waiver. (Monthly maintenance fee waiver is limited to a total of two (2) BMO Harris Everyday Checking accounts.)
Early Account Termination Fee
You need to keep your account open for a minimum of 120 days to keep the bonus, in addition to this if you closed it within 90 days you’ll be charged an additional $50. You also need to keep it open for six months or the bonus will be forfeited (this might not be the case anymore).
Our Verdict
There is a public nationwide $200 checking account bonus. Reader Curmudgeon was able to successfully get enrolled in this offer, they asked if anybody could just print out the flyer and enroll. He got this response: “He said the bank would prefer that people bring in the original flyer so they can verify their address against the flyer, but as long as they have that promo code then the bonus should work”. YAR tried to open with no flyer and was unsuccessful, Richard was also unsuccessful.
It seems like they might have a database of addresses they are verifying against, but who actually knows with BMO Harris because they are all over the place. I’d recommend trying to get something in writing about the bonus being applied to your account, or at least getting your bankers name if you decide to proceed with this bonus.
The savings bonus is likely worth considering as well as you’re getting a 2% return over just 90 days. If people could share their experiences in the comments below that would be fantastic. For now I won’t be adding it to our list of the best bank bonuses due to the fact that it’s so YMMV and we don’t have a lot of data points.
Big thanks to reader, Curmudgeon who let us know. Learn how to find bonuses and contribute to the site here.
Useful posts regarding bank bonuses:
- A Beginners Guide To Bank Account Bonuses
- 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
