Wells Fargo $400 Checking Bonus – Available Online
Update 3/1/19: This new signup link offers the option to do this $400 bonus in branch if that interests you for some reason. (Previous link was online only.) Hat tip reader SMan
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $400
- Availability: Nationwide?
- Direct deposit required: Yes, $3,000 for three consecutive months
- Additional requirements:
- Hard/soft pull: Soft
- ChexSystems: Mixed reports, likely doesn’t pull
- Credit card funding: Can fund up to $50 online
- Monthly fees: $10, avoidable
- Early account termination fee: None, don’t close account straight away please
- Household limit: None
- Expiration date: July 29th, 2019
Contents
The Offer
- Wells Fargo is offering a bonus of $400 when you open a new checking account and complete the following requirements:
- Set up a direct deposit and receive a cumulative monthly total of $3,000 in qualifying direct deposits into your new account for 3 consecutive months
The Fine Print
- Eligibility Requirements:
- Everyday Checking is the only eligible account for the $400 bonus when opened online. If you do not qualify for Everyday Checking but do qualify for Opportunity Checking®, this offer can still be applied to the Opportunity Checking account.
- This offer is intended for new checking customers only. You are not eligible for this offer if:
- You are a current owner of a Wells Fargo consumer checking account
- You are a Wells Fargo team member
- You have received a bonus for opening a Wells Fargo consumer checking account within the past 12 months
- Bonus requirements:
- Open a new Everyday Checking account online with a minimum opening deposit of $25 by July 26, 2019. All account applications are subject to approval.
- Within 150 days of your account open date, receive a cumulative monthly total of $3,000 in qualifying direct deposits to the checking account opened for this bonus offer for three consecutive months. During this time, your new account balance must be $1 or more.
- A qualifying direct deposit is the customer’s salary, pension, Social Security, or other regular monthly income electronically deposited through the Automated Clearing House (ACH) network to this checking account by your employer or an outside agency.
- Non-qualifying direct deposits for purposes of this offer include transfers from one account to another (for example, transfers between your own accounts, or person-to-person transfers using a transfer service such as Zelle®), or deposits made at a branch or ATM, or through mobile deposit.
- Bonus Payment:
- We will deposit the bonus into your new checking account within 45 days after meeting all offer requirements.
- The new checking account must remain open in order to receive any earned bonus payments.
- 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.
- 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:
- 10 debit card purchases and/or payments each statement cycle from this checking account, OR
- Direct deposits totaling $500 or more each statement cycle, OR
- Maintain a $1,500 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
This is the biggest public bonus they have offered, it does require higher direct deposits but I think still it’s better than other offers they have had (they did have a $500 checking/savings bonus in some states in branch). I don’t expect this to last long, so I think if you’re interested I’d sign up sooner rather than later. I’ll be adding this to our best bank bonus page.
Hat tip to reader Robert D
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
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Looking at the “what counts as DD” page I suspect a real employer DD will be needed here as all the ACH success datapoints are years old and there are a ton of ACH failure datapoints for usual ACH hubs.
I’m willing to switch my real DD for this one though. Applying now
i updated it in the previous thread just last month but dont think it had been added. Either Robinhood or Vanguard sell investment 100% works.
Thanks! I don’t have a vanguard account so I’m just gonna change my real DD to be sure I get it. $400 is worth the hassle to me, especially when there aren’t really any other reqs. I was just approved.
Thanks Doc
$400 seems worth real DD setup.
IME vanguard transfers always code as ‘sell investment’. And AFAIK this is literally true because your sweep account in vanguard is actually a money market, so when you transfer money you actually are selling an investment (which is designed to not fluctuate in value, rather than grow)
That’s some nice info…thanks!
Not sure if I get the Vanguard thing. I have a Van IRA and must take a RMD. Would selling and transferring 3K monthly to WF make the DD?
i used robinhood iirc when i got my bonus two years ago
@LC How do you know that Vanguard sell investment 100% works?
Square Cash (the CashApp) also works, although I’d probably anticipate problems pushing that much money through it.
Square cash worked? that’s sweet! but how can it work when other reports say venmo didn’t work?
offer, they just posted they all got their bonus on 2/21-2/22, and all of them were ach’s…. i think wells fargo just stopped posting all the bonuses so quickly, and changed to posting them all the way at the deadline. some people closed their accounts when the bonus didnt post right away, and i feel bad for them about that, because i have a feeling most would have received the bonus had they waited.
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/wells-fargo-200-checking-bonus-available-nationwide/
Thank you! I’ll take alook
I got the bonus last month with a combination of Fidelity and real DDs. I used Fidelity transfers when a couple of my paychecks fell on holidays last year. Just make sure you return tax forms they send you – I thought I didnt get the bonus bc of my Fidelity transfers and when I SM’d WF about it that was the reason, and bonus posted a few weeks after sending back paperwork
“Within 150 days of your account open date, receive a cumulative monthly total of $3,000 in qualifying direct deposits to the checking account opened for this bonus offer for three consecutive months. During this time, your new account balance must be $1 or more.”
So does this means that i have to setup a work direct deposit to this account totaling 3k for 3 consecutive months?.
TIA.
Yes, or some other ACH that gets counted as DD (see the “what counts as direct deposit” section of this website
Thanks, i applied and got approved, i really don’t want to mess with this so moving that 3k from my work to this account until i get the bonus, i can do pull from my checking account later, Thanks Will for charing this.
So does it have to be 3 separate DD each in the amount of 3K? or just one single DD in the amount of 3K within 3months? can regular ACH transfers from another bank count as a DD? or does it have to be from work? can someone kindly clarify? depositing 3k in 3 months doesn’t sound like much to get back 4K in addition to maintaining a daily balance of 1.5k to avoid $10 fee.
bummer… I would much rather do this than BOA $300 bonus… it’s been less than 12 months since I closed my WF checking account 🙁
The fine print says 12mo since you got the bonus, not 12mo since having an account. If you got the bonus >12mo ago you should qualify.
I’m considering this as well. I’ve had an account open for many many years but I barely use it and have been tempted to close it for months. If I were to close it, it would free up the minimum balances I currently have there for better uses and I could revisit in June to see if this offer is enough to win me back.
I currently own a Wells Fargo checking account (haven’t received any bonus in the last 12 months) . According to you I can close it and open a new one a few days later become eligible if I set up DD right ?
That’s what the terms imply. The terms say you cannot have received a bonus in the last 12 months.
Oh joy! I have been shamefully procrastinating on two targeted mailers for a $200 bonus expiring on the 25th. Double the cash just in time. Thanks doc. Biggest bonus offered? I won’t procrastinate on that $400 contribution to my net worth.
Opened one last month for the $200 bonus, but didn’t receive the bonus yet. If I close it and open the new one, any chance I can get the new bonus? Technically, I didn’t receive the bonus before…
LOL, I’m in the same situation (except I applied for $250 promo). I’ll go to my branch today and close my account so that I can apply with this promo.
I wonder the same thing. Wonder if they will match the bonus…
@Ho, yes you can close the account and open the new one because according to the fine print, you have not received a bonus within the past 12 months. Maybe send a message to them and ask if they will match the bonus?
I got an email back that they won’t match the offer. 🙁
Crap. I did the $200 wells fargo one just 2 weeks ago. I guess I would close the account if they don’t match!
Oh crap. So is it a good idea to close the account and try to reapply?
Based on comments from users in the 1099 thread I think the upside is that if you go the 10$ debit route they don’t send 1099 for the 200$.
I meant the 10 transaction at 1$ min so about 10$ a month.
I do 50c at a time and that keeps my acct fee free.
To get 200$ bonus they require 1$ min. To keep fee free prob no min.
Unsure but I will ask them as well. I still need to transfer money out of my wells fargo account before I asked for it to be closed.
They don’t match. I open my with $200, and since my code is already applied, they can’t add it again. I asked them to close the account instead, and wait a few days before opening again.
My account was only 1 week ago. I haven’t even gotten my debit card yet!
Coming back to this to warn people.
Wait 1 week or so before re-opening the new account. I sent in my reques to SM to close the account on the 22nd (Friday), and it was closed on the 23rd. And than I open a new account on the 24th.
I’d asked SM, and they mention that my account was closed (old account), and new one account was open on the 24th. So I might not qualify.
Just warning, wait a few days after closing the account before opening a new account. Like 1 week.
How does waiting a week make any difference though? If when opening the account it has the language that the bonus is attached it’s probably better not to contact them.
Figure out the reason. since the account is closed on a Saturday (23rd), the account was ‘closed’ to me but it needs to be finalize on monday (the 25th). So when I open it on Sunday, it still shows that my old account was open to their system (CSM).
I don’t care enough for well’s fargo so I just ask them to close it again. I’ll wait a week for my 3rd account to be open.
So…just wait until 1-2 business day.
@Eddy Cue Looks like they will not match the bonus, so yes, your best recourse is to close the account and reopen. Best to wait a little bit. Just say you needed the money for something else ?
$3000 a month! That would eliminate most social security payments, including mine. I guess they are targeting employed individuals.
Employed here, paid every two weeks and I can’t make that requirement. After taxes, insurance and retirement, I get 1250 per check.
You can temporarily stop 401k contribution.
DO NOT decrease your contribution below your employer match, that’s giving away free money. Your best best is to adjust your withholding. google IRS withholding calculator and see were you stand with the pace you are on for federal taxes.
same thought, set your allowances to like 50 for a while and you will zero out fed taxes on your check.
I was going to say this is the worst advice of the week… but if you increase the 401k contribution later on to make it up I guess it is OK.
If you stop your 401k for 3 months and make it up later, it won’t make up the matching contributions you miss out on.
It might. It might not. It depends on whether your 401k plan has a “true up” provision.
Change your W4, or reduce your 401k contrib (then increase it later)!
– deleted – incorrect –
I agree that $3K in DDs is a high bar for a lot of people. If you happen to own your own business/LLC, you can sign up for a no monthly fee basic “Dwolla” payments platform account. It’s supposed to be used for making bank to bank payments from your business to customers and vice versa. But it can in practice also be used to pay yourself and have funds deposited into this WF account (though this does violate their terms and conditions). In my experience, this codes as a direct deposit. The cost to transfer the funds is only 0.5% of the transfer amount so $1.5 for transferring $3K and securing the $400 bonus. Just be aware that there are complaints that Dwolla transfers take awhile to complete.
While this seems to be a good tip, half a percent of 3k is $15. Although, the Dwolla site states that the maximum fee would be $5 per transfer. So, still not a bad deal, assuming this works.
im looking into this..(i dont make $3000 a month, but i opened the account anyway).
Emporio
im not a business, is dwolla easy to set up, or will i be required to prove im a business?
thinking further on this, for me this will not be worthwhile to use dwolla, because if i pay myself $3000 three times, that’s a total of $9000… wouldnt dwolla then report that as income to the irs? im in the 10% tax bracket, and if i pay myself $9000, i’d owe $900 in taxes, completely defeating the purpose of this bonus, plus i would be in debt $500 more…. am i misunderstanding this dwolla thing?
The only tax form Dwolla issues is the 1099-K, which is an information return required for companies who receive more than $20,000 over the course of 120+ transactions through an online payments processing platform. The transfers would not be reported to the IRS as potentially taxable income.
deleted
Are you sure about that ??
“Set up direct deposit and receive a cumulative monthly total of $3,000 in qualifying direct deposits into your new account for 3 consecutive months.”
I must have misunderstood too. Thanks.
you need a real DD with WF. very unlikely to be able to fake it.
What is the definition of Wells Fargo “consumer checking account”? I currently have a Business account, in which I just received a $500 bonus. Am I eligible for this promotion?
@Bd yes you are eligible. Consumer (personal) accounts are treated separately from Business accounts.
Thanks.
I did the previous $250 one, can we call the bank and ask for a match?
Please call and let us know what they say.
Be the data point you want to see
They don’t match. I open my with $200, and since my code is already applied, they can’t add it again. I asked them to close the account instead, and wait a few days before opening again.
My account was only 1 week ago. I haven’t even gotten my debit card yet!
Who’s the real Sam?!?! *One of us needs to add an initial!*
Wow, $400, I’m applying this weekend. I can meet this with real DD.
Looking at the link to the deal landing page, it includes “prospect-test-a”, that’s a little concerning like this wasn’t supposed to be public yet… but the link to open an account from that page does have a “mktoffer=HPP119” tag so it seems like it is applying some kind of offer…
I just got approved and the last page after approval stated “Offer status: Your bonus offer code has been linked to this application.” So crossing my fingers that all works out.
Thanks for this comment. I was concerned on the ‘review application’ that there was no mention of offer. But when I submitted, the next page stated the message you quoted. Mine went pending but I expect approval.
Just set mine up and saved off URL and noticed that “february-prospect-test”
in there – I’m hoping I got in on ground floor 🙂
same…also the feb in front it, whether means the offer will be ended next week
I opened wells fargo checking account 2 years ago. Can i close my account and open new account to get te bonus?
@Mike, yes you should close the account because you cannot be a current owner of a cking account. Then you will be good to go because it’s been over 12 months since you received a bonus.
Should I pull the money out before I go to close the account? I’d prefer if they handed me a check so I could walk across the street and deposit at a different bank but I don’t want to wait for a check in the mail. I also don’t want to get hit with a monthly fee for dipping below the minimum balance.
I’d transfer your remaining balance to another external account and then as soon as it’s “zero’ed out”, contact them and ask to close your account. I don’t think any bank would hit you with a monthly fee if you request to close out your account immediately after draining the account.
Can I close an existing account and apply for this one? I didn’t receive a bonus on the other one. If so, how soon can I apply?
@RMSMKE yes you can close the existing account and apply for this one. I would wait a week or two (but that’s just me), but you probably could apply as soon as the account shows as being closed.
Signed up and approved!
Do you get the account number right away? The only way I can meet 3 consecutive DD is to start with my paycheck next week, that means I got to open today and set up DD today. Thanks a lot.
Yes you get the account # right away.
Great! I’ve been ignoring Wells Fargo bonuses in the past. Jumped on this now and i’m happy.
applied, approved, should be easy to meet requirements, ty DOC