Deal has expired, view more BMO Harris deals here or the best checking bonuses here.
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount:Â $300
- Availability:Â Requires opening in branch, all branches are located in the following states: AZ, FL, IL, IN, KS, MN, MO, WI [Branch locator]. Also targeted
- Direct deposit required:Â Yes, at least two direct deposits of at least $500 each
- Additional requirements:Â See below
- Hard/soft pull:Â Soft
- ChexSystems:Â Yes
- Credit card funding:Â Up to $1,000, might code as cash advance in branch
- Monthly fees:Â $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:Â None mentioned
- Expiration date:Â July 2nd, 2018
The Offer
No direct link, physical mailers sent out
- BMO Harris is offering a bonus of $300 when you open a new checking account and complete the following requirements:
- Bring this mailer (see below) to any BMO Harris Branch and open your checking account
- Complete at least two qualifying direct deposits of at least $500 each within 90 days
- Use your debit card to make at least 10 purchases
The Fine Print
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
- Not 100% sure, but assume it’s the same fine print as the public $200 bonus.
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 $200 bonus, this is a bigger bonus with the same requirements but it requires going in branch and also being targeted unfortunately. If you’re targeted then I do think this bonus is worth doing if you’re eligible. Because this is targeted we obviously won’t be adding it to our list of the best checking account bonuses.
Big thanks to reader, Josh 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
- 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
PS: when I took this mailer to the branch, the banker said that anyone with the matching address can apply for the account and get the bonus.
Also, “Offer is not available to existing BMO Harris personal checking customers (including signers on joint accounts) or those who have closed a BMO Harris personal checking account within the past 12 months. “
I think I got this within the last week and trashed it. Dang.
bmo harris is a terrible bank; they will make you jump through as many hoops as possible so as not to pay you any bonus. Their “bankers” are buffoons and play musical chairs from one office to the next. Mark my words: you will not enjoy this experience.
I had the exact opposite experience.
Everything went like clockwork.
Not my experience at all. I’ve found the bankers helpful, the tellers don’t flinch at depositing thousands in MOs at a time (I think I did 19k once – no hassles), and the bank’s ACH transfers are free and easy to use and the limits are high enough to be actually useful.
Title lists WA but AFAIK there’s no BMO branches in Washington state.
Updated, thanks.
Do you need to be a new customer to BMO or can you be an existing customer?
I guess the mailer would specify it.
BTW: I got a mailer like that beginning of 2016 and took advantage of it. It took a LOOOOONG time to get the bonus posted (to be exact 174 days from opening the account) and had to talk to a CSR once or twice. On the plus side their chat is excellent. Because you launch the chat after you have logged into your online account on their web site the CSR immediately knows your account info, etc.