Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $300
- Availability: Must be a resident of California
- Direct deposit required: Create one to two recurring direct deposits totaling $500 or more each per month for 6 months
- Additional requirements: See below
- Hard/soft pull: Unknown
- ChexSystems: Unknown
- Credit card funding: Unknown
- Monthly fees: $8, avoidable
- Early account termination fee: Six months+
- Household limit: None listed
- Expiration date: None listed
Contents
The Offer
- Metropolitan Bank is offering a $300 bonus. Bonus is broken down as follows:
- Get $50 when you open a checking account with us online using promo code “WELCOME”
- Get $50 for each monthly recurring direct deposit or bill pay set up (max 2 each), up to $200!
- Get $50 for opening a debit card and making a purchase
The Fine Print
- Bonus cash offer is available to existing and new Bank checking account customers who open a new account online with new funds.
- All applicants must not have closed checking accounts or savings accounts with the Bank within 90 days prior or closed accounts with a negative balance within the last 3 years.
- You can receive only one new bonus checking account per customer.
- To receive a bonus when applying online, use promo code: WELCOME.
- To receive the bonus: 1) Open a new qualifying Bank checking account, which is subject to approval;
- To receive additional $50 bonuses: 2) Create one to two recurring direct deposits totaling $500 or more each per month for 6 months made to this account within 30 days of opening your account. Your direct deposit needs to be an electronic deposit of your paycheck, pension or government benefits (such as Social Security) from your employer or the government. Person-to-Person payments (such as Zelle®) are not considered a direct deposit. Micro-deposits do not qualify as a direct deposit for the bonus. Micro-deposits are small deposits, typically less than $1, that are sent to your account to verify it is the correct account. Each recurring deposit of $500 or more is entitled to receive a $50 bonus;
- To receive additional $50 bonuses: 3) Set up one to two recurring monthly bill pays from your account. Each recurring bill pay is entitled to receive a $50 bonus.
- To receive additional $50 bonus: 4) Get and use a debit card linked to this account.
- This offer is only valid for checking accounts opened online.
- After you have completed all the above requirements, we will deposit the bonus in your new account within 30 days.
- To receive this bonus, the enrolled account must not be closed or restricted at the time of payout. Eligibility may be limited based on account ownership.
- Bonus is considered interest and will be reported on IRS Form 1099-INT (or Form 1042-S, if applicable).
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
$8 monthly fee, but waived when you maintain a minimum average daily balance of $1,500 per month or a combined average monthly balance of $5,000 in a combination of checking or savings accounts
Early Account Termination Fee
I wasn’t able to find a fee schedule so unsure if there is any EATF.
Our Verdict
It’s nice that you can get at least some portion of the bonus without a direct deposit.
Hat tip to reader RM
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
looks like the bonuses will be combined and deposited at the end. this is a reply i rec’d from cs:
Yes, we’ve received your bill payments to your Chase card and Bank of America through Bill Pay, and they have been successfully posted to your account. Please ensure that your Bill Pay is set to recur monthly for six months. All combined bonuses will be credited to your account within 30 days after the completion of the 6-month period.
So is it do the DD requirements OR bill pay requirements? Or we have to hit all 4 requirements monthly (meaning 2 DD and 2 Bill Pay per month)?
Also, how are you setting up Bill Pay? My Met Bank website loads to a very basic version and I don’t see the option?
Nevermind…found bill pay…still don’t see any debit card management options but I digress
Expired. Effective date: 5/28/2025 – 8/1/2025
Thanks, updated post
Offer expired (online app rejects the code as expired; branch confirmed that it’s expired)
Promo expired
Looks like I’m not able to add the account to Treasury Direct without mailing in a form with a medallion stamp.
p2 applied 7/16/25, approved 7/18/25. in footprint, chex 12+ last 12 months. same household
in footprint ,chex 12+ last 12 months, just got approved. question…
two direct deposits in the month have to total $500 or more? or each d/d has to be $500 minimum
On what date did you apply? And are you in NorCal or SoCal?
Based on previous comment, they applied on or before 7/13
Thanks for pointing that out!
I didn’t see that you enter the promo code on the right after selecting the checking account to open. Emailing support to hopefully have it added.
They’ve confirmed they were able to manually add it.
So DD is not required if you choose to do bill pays?
yes that’s my understanding from the terms
The way it reads to me @ https://www.met.bank/get-started-with-online-account-opening/ is that you can only do 2 of each (for $50), so to get the full $200 you’d need to do 2 bill pay AND 2 DD.
Yup, confirmed with the banker in writing that you need to do both “recurring” DD x 2 or bill pay x 2 for 6 months.
Anyone got approved from SoCal?
I applied on 7/13 from SoCal, have LOL Chex, and have yet to hear back. Won’t be surprised if they never reach back out at all.
Yes
Yes