Update 4/5/22: Deal is back and valid until July 15, 2022. Hat tip to reader Azure
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $300
- Availability: Nationwide
- Direct deposit required: Yes, $1,000+
- Additional requirements: None
- Hard/soft pull: Soft
- ChexSystems: Mixed reports, likely doesn’t pull
- Credit card funding: None
- Monthly fees: $10, avoidable
- Early account termination fee: None, don’t close account straight away please
- Household limit: None
- Expiration date:
March 31, 2022July 15, 2022
Contents
The Offer
- Wells Fargo is offering a $300 bonus when you open a new Everyday Checking account and complete the following requirements:
- Receive a total of $1,000 or more in qualifying direct deposits to the new checking account within 90 calendar days from account opening (the qualification period)
The Fine Print
- Eligibility Requirements:
- This offer is for new checking customers only. All Wells Fargo consumer checking accounts are eligible for this offer with the exception of checking accounts offered by Wells Fargo Private Bank.
- You must use your bonus offer code at account opening when you apply for a new eligible Wells Fargo checking account.
- You are not eligible for this offer if:
- You are a current owner of a Wells Fargo consumer checking account
- You have received a bonus for opening a Wells Fargo consumer checking account within the past 12 months
- You are a Wells Fargo employee
Bonus Requirements:
- Open a new Wells Fargo consumer checking account with a minimum opening deposit of $25 by March 31, 2022. All account applications are subject to approval.
- Within 90 calendar days of account opening (the “qualification period”), receive a total of $1,000 or more in qualifying direct deposits to your new checking account.
- A qualifying direct deposit is an ACH (Automated Clearing House) automatic electronic deposit of your salary, pension, Social Security, or other regular income into your bank account. Confirm with your employer or the agency or company making these payments that they use the ACH network.
- Transfers from one account to another, mobile deposits, or deposits made at a branch, or ATM don’t qualify as a direct deposit.
Bonus Payment:
- Once the 90-day qualification period has elapsed, we will determine if you have met the offer requirements, and will deposit any earned bonus into your new checking account within 30 days.
- The new checking account must remain open throughout the 90-day qualification period and at the time we attempt to deposit any earned bonus payment. Please note that an account with a zero balance may be closed by us without prior notice, as further described in the Deposit Account Agreement.
- You are responsible for any federal, state, or local taxes due on the bonus and we will report as income to the tax authorities if required by applicable law. Consult your tax advisor.
Additional Terms and Conditions:
- Offer expires March 31, 2022. However, offer may be discontinued or changed at any time prior to the expiration date without notice.
- Offer cannot be:
- Paid without a valid U.S. Taxpayer Identification Number (Form W-9 for U.S. persons including a resident alien). Non-resident aliens, signing Form W-8 are not eligible for the offer.
- Combined with any other consumer deposit offer (limit one bonus per customer/account).
- Reproduced, purchased, sold, transferred, or traded.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
The Everyday Checking account comes with a $10 monthly fee. Get the fee waived with one of the following:
- Direct deposits totaling $500 or more each statement cycle, OR
- Maintain a $500 minimum daily balance, OR
- Link checking account to a Wells Fargo Campus ATM or Campus Debit Card
If you have a Wells mortgage, you might be able to get a higher-level account with no fees.
Early Account Termination Fee
There is no early account termination fee.
Our Verdict
Not as good as the previous $400 bonus we’ve seen in the past. Unfortunately we haven’t seen that since early 2020, so it might be worth jumping on this offer as the other regular offer is $200. We will add this to our list of the best checking 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
I was not able to open an account online. They asked me to come into a branch, but there are none in my state (Ohio). Bummer 🙁
Used Fido, Sofi and NFCU for deposits, it appears they all counted as DD. Received bonus on day 91 from account open date.
I just closed my wells checking account recently. Does everyone know how soon I can open it again to qualify for the bonus?
You are not eligible for this offer if:
– You have received a bonus for opening a Wells Fargo consumer checking account within the past 12 months
DD DP
2/18 opened
3/1 $1000 ACH from Elements checking
4/7 $1000 ACH from Elements checking
5/4 $1000 ACH from Elements checking
5/18 $300 Bonus Posted
be careful with the fee schedule, the fee period is based on account open date looks like, not the normal end of month date
2/18 opened account
2/24 SCHWAB BROKERAGE MONEYLINK $1,005
4/26 SCHWAB BANK P2P [my name] $1,005
4/29 SCHWAB BROKERAGE MONEYLINK $1,002
No bonus posted yet. All the transfers above have a category of ‘Direct Deposits’ when I click the + sign next to them, and also show up on my monthly statements as direct deposits. Since others have already gotten their bonuses with similar timing, should I call and ask them to look into it, even though I didn’t have a legit DD?
91 days is not until tomorrow (5/20). Bonus should post tomorrow.
Nice date calculator:
https://www.timeanddate.com/date/dateadd.html
I thought it might be because of the 90/91 days requirement, but it seems like many others here have already gotten their bonuses with “DDs” posted after mine so I was concerned that something I did caused the missed payout.
It’s not the DD date; it’s the account opening date. 😁
It’s not always like clockwork at exactly 91 days… usually sometime within a week after that date or so though. And yes, from account opening, not the DD date.

mangorunner 

Ed
Got it – I’ll wait til the end of next week to be sure then. Thanks
I didn’t do the $25 opening deposit, they never asked me? Is it waived for me because I’m under 24? Or did I miss a step? I was still able to open the account though and it’s been 2 months now so nothing bad has happened.
i didn’t have an opening deposit, worked fine for me. i just clicked add money later, i think that’s what it was labeled
P2 opened – 02.13.2022
03.12.2022 – $1240 ACH SANTANDER BANK PAYMENT (including my name)
5.11.2022 – $300 bonus
02/08/22 opened
03/20/22 ACH from TD bank checking account $1,200 (TDBANK CK WEBXFR P2P 225457 my name name)
04/20/22 ACH from Citizens checking account $1,350 (CITIZE CK WEBXFR P2P 2204344 my name name)
05/12/22 $300 bonus
Got the “We need a bit more information”, annoying.
I recently opened two bank accounts and I used a google voice phone number. Maybe that is enough to flag it
Update: I re-applied today and got approved!
Only thing I changed was
– added middle initial
– used non-GV phone
– said “yes i want a debit card with custom design” (i had original clicked no debit card)
Not sure which one (chase or cash app) counted, but one of them did. :p
05/11/22 PROMOTION BONUS $300.00
03/28/22 Square Inc * Cash App $1,002.54
03/16/22 ALLY BANK $TRANSFER $1,001.00
03/04/22 JPMorgan Chase Ext Trnsfr $1,001.00
02/14/22 WFB OPENING DEPOSIT $25.00
Most likely all of them did. Look it up yourself:
click the + sign to left of posted transaction
then view category description. If it states
Direct Deposit then that transaction qualified.
Pretty much any deposit qualifies. Even the micro
deposits when the account is linked state DD.
Does chase show as DD

taddy
Thanks

Kaching