USAA $250 Checking Bonus

Update 5/9/25: Deal is back, this time $250 (was $200). Valid until 9/3/25. Hat tip to reader Gadget

Update 1/15/25: The deal is back again from 1/15/2025 to 4/24/2025. (ht QQ)

Update 7/19/24: Deal is back until 12/10/24. Military pay isn’t required

Update 10/11/23: Deal has been extended to March 14, 2024 and is now $200 instead of $100. Military pay isn’t required this time either.

Offer at a glance

  • Maximum bonus amount: $200
  • Availability: Nationwide but restricted membership
  • Direct deposit required: Yes, $100+
  • Additional requirements: No
  • Hard/soft pull: Unknown
  • ChexSystems: Unknown
  • Credit card funding: Can fund up to $100 with a credit card
  • Monthly fees: None
  • Early account termination fee: None
  • Household limit: None listed
  • Expiration date: October 10, 2023

The Offer

Direct link to offer

  • USAA is offering a $250 bonus when you open classic checking account with qualifying direct deposit of $100+ within the first 180 days of account opening

 

The Fine Print

  • Eligibility: Offer available for new USAA Classic Checking accounts from USAA Federal Savings Bank, also known as FSB, opened between May 5, 2023, and October 10, 2023. The account is not eligible for this offer if: 1) the primary account holder currently has, or has had, ownership of a USAA FSB checking account in the 12 months prior to account opening. The primary account holder is the account holder whose U.S. taxpayer identification number is used for tax reporting purposes on the new account.; or 2) the account is titled as a trust account, estate, Uniform Transfer to Minor Account, also known as UTMA, or other fiduciary account. The new USAA Classic Checking account must remain open and in good standing through the time we attempt to deposit any earned bonus payment. Offer may be discontinued or changed at any time without notice.
  • Bonus Requirements and Payment: To qualify for the bonus, open a new USAA Classic Checking account between May 5, 2023, and October 10, 2023, and receive a qualifying direct deposit into the new USAA Classic Checking account within 180 calendar days after account opening. A qualifying direct deposit is a single Automated Clearing House, also known as ACH, electronic deposit of $100 or more of your United States military salary pay, retirement pay, military disability pay, or annuity pay for a surviving beneficiary from Defense Finance Account Service, also known as DFAS, or the U.S. Department of the Treasury, that posts to your new USAA Classic Checking account. Civilians receiving pay from DFAS are excluded. Special payments are not eligible; this includes but is not limited to education and travel benefits related to military service. We will attempt to deposit the $100 bonus into your new USAA Classic Checking account within 60 days after the first qualifying direct deposit. You are responsible for any federal, state, or local taxes due on the bonus and we will report the bonus as income to the tax authorities if required by applicable law. Consult your tax advisor.
  • All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them

Avoiding Fees

Monthly Fees

This account has no monthly fees to worry about.

Early Account Termination Fee

There is no EATF.

Our Verdict

Requirements seem relatively easy to meet if you’re eligible to be a USAA member.

Hat tip to Bockrr

Useful posts regarding bank bonuses:
    William Charles
  • On May 9, 2025, 14:00
Tags: credit card fundingdirect deposit requirednationwide bank bonuses

View Comments (362)

  • Is USAA membership worth it long term any more? I’d have to ask my dad to join first.

    • Depends entirely where you live. Also the rates you get might depend on if your dad was an officer or enlisted.

      • Officer vs enlisted insurance rates? I could see that if the current member is being evaluated, but not so sure about a family member on their own policy. Of course, they don't share their secret sauce. @guest_1713647

        I have always found USAA rates to be very good to the best I could find, but if you read Reddit, there are many negative comments, which I assume are younger folks, saying USAA rates are high.

        If nothing else, after getting the two of you (you & Dad) checking bonuses, wouldn't hurt to keep a savings account with them, to keep the option open of getting their insurance or a CC with them at some point. @guest_2099328

    • USAA Auto & home insurance is still fairly competitive in my opinion when you consider some of the discounts and savings they include (payment history, multiple USAA products, length of membership, military service, etc.). USAA lets you enter estimated annual mileage for your vehicles and they calculate your premiums off of that, so I've used the minimum allowed (500 miles annually) for years on multiple vehicles without any pushback. I also use the USAA DriveSafe app to get another 30% off my auto insurance. Claims have also been pretty smooth and painless in my experience, but I also don't have any experience with other insurance companies.

  • Opened exactly 12 months+1 day after last account closure with no issues.

    Not sure if it would have popped up any sort of warnings if I wasn't eligible for the bonus- we shall see!

    Used BofA Premium Rewards for opening deposit, USAA warned of a cash advance fee, but I ignored the warning.

      • Well, I will know at the end of the month, or end of August at the latest. I feel like it should work, but we will see. FWIW, i don't think I was targeted on the website.

        • Right. You should be fine. I was just bringing it up because I don't think their system would stop you if you weren't qualified, based on the fact someone tried testing it before. It would have been great if they reported the end result though.

          • Looks like BofA might actually have run it as a cash advance. My cash advance available amount reduced by $100. I submitted a payment for same day, so hopefully there will be no damage if it does finalize as a cash advance. BofA is usually tried and true for purchase transactions on funding bank accounts.

          • BofA and U.S. Bank cards sometimes behave this way, and it will likely still post as a purchase. Should be fine, but I cannot guarantee it.

            I find that a MasterCard is more bank account funding friendly than Visa, FWIW. BofA does allow converting from Visa to MC (after the first year), not that it helps you now, if that was the case.

          • To come back and update: I did get hit with a $5 cash equivalent fee. I have NEVER had Bank of America charge a fee for funding a bank account with their visas. It has worked for every other bank and credit union that I tried.

            Years ago - Citibank used to be the one that was notorious for coding as cash advance - but you have had a lot of success with them.

            I guess things can change. :)

          • Sorry to hear that, but I do recommend converting to MC. Up to you.

            Yes, I prefer my Citi Double Cash. And, it's easy to lower the CA limit. Mine is at $0.

          • Yep - this a weird USAA thing with the cash advance. CU Of SoCal funding went pending as a purchase. Next time I will listen when a bank tells me it's going to be a cash advance. :D

          • Just use a Mastercard... and reap the rewards.

            I haven't been watching all the DP's, but I know for a fact BofA MC and Citi Double Cash MC would have worked at USAA as a purchase. @guest_1713647

          • It also could be something weird with USAA Bank. They warned that it would be a cash advance. Never seen that when funding any other bank or CU.

  • DPs for the checking/DD bonus. tldr; looks like BofA and Chase personal ACH no longer works to trigger the bonus.

    P1:
    4/21/25: Opened.
    4/24/25: Real DD
    4/29/25: $200 bonus posted.

    Five days from DD to bonus posting created a baseline, although based on some DPs below it looks like it may have been because it was the end of the month.

    P2:
    5/21/25: Opened.
    5/27/25: $101 BofA ACH.
    Description: Online Transfer. Category: Transfer. Transaction Type: EFT. Additional Details: ACH DEP.
    6/9/25: $101 Chase Personal ACH.
    Description: JP Morgan Chase Transfer. Category: Transfer. Transaction Type: EFT. Additional Details: ACH Dep.
    6/18/25: Real DD.
    Description: XXX Payroll. Category: Paycheck. Transaction Type: EFT. Additional Details: ACH DEP.
    6/26/25: $250 Promotional Credit.

    Based on the speed with which the bonus posts from a successful/real DD, it seems that neither the BofA nor Chase transfers triggered the bonus, although if bonuses are now posting only at the end of the month, it's possible that Chase still worked and I didn't give it enough time. Hope this helps folks out.

    • USAA pays out in batches towards the end of the month. All of your P2 transfers would have been evaluated for the 6/26 batch, so it's impossible to tell what actually counted.

      • When "Ally Bank P2P" ACH works as a DD (i.e. #2087766), any pushed in ACH works. I'd bet money all those all deposits worked.

  • 6/18/25 - Opened Acct
    6/18/25 - Initial funding $25
    6/20/25 - Wise ACH push $105 w/ "PAYROLL DD" in Reference field
    6/26/25 - $250 Promotional Credit added
    6/30/25 - Transferred $379 out of account (left $1 remaining)

    Couldn't believe how fast it posted!

  • May 08, 2025 Account opened. Funded $100 w/ Citi Double Cash, posted as purchase
    May 28, 2025 $101.01 "ALLY BANK P2P" deposit pushed to USAA
    Jun 26, 2025 $250 "Promotional Credit" posts

  • 5/12/25: Account opened with $25 via credit card
    5/21/25: $102 fidelity push
    6/27/25: $250 Promotional Credit posted

  • June 11: Opened checking account with 50.00 via credit card
    June 19: E-Trade Brokerage ACH Transfer: Trans Type: EFT Add details: ACH Dep
    Waiting for bonus

    Hoping my e-trade account transfer will count for the direct deposit i need.

  • Has anyone received this bonus yet?

    I ask because when I last did the bonus in 2023, I received the then $200 bonus one week after making a deposit from Fidelity.

    This time it has been almost a month and I've tried Chase, Wells Fargo and Service but still no bonus (can't get Fidelity to setup with USAA this time).

      • So @guest_2074676 under Additional Details yours shows as DIR DEP and not ACH DEP as mine does? Also, what category did it default to, mine says Transfer even though that can be manually changed.

        So, something might have changed since the previous bonus when I did mine two years ago and even when @guest_1734280 did it in March of this year.

    • I received the bonus 11 days after I received a DD from employer, that was in March 2025. I think the terms call for an ACH credit, not specifically from employer.

      • Don't remember how Fidelity posted on the previous bonus but all three that I tried this time showed as DIR DEP (or something like that) while pending and show as ACH DEP when settled. Going to try Treasury Direct next.

Leave a Comment