Update 4/13/25: Extended to 5/20/25, no bonus currently.
Update 2/26/25: Extended to April 8, 2025
Update 2/12/25: Extended to Mar 11, 2025
Update 1/13/25: Extended through 2/25/25 (updated the link below)
Update 10/3/24: Extended until Jan 08 2025
Update 8/21/24: Extended until October 1, 2024
Update 7/10/24: Extended until August 20, 2024
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $525
- Availability: Nationwide, branch visit required
- Direct deposit required: None
- Additional requirements: $25,000 deposit
- Hard/soft pull: Soft
- ChexSystems: Mixed reports, likely doesn’t pull
- Credit card funding: None
- Monthly fees: Avoidable
- Early account termination fee: None
- Household limit: None
- Expiration date: June 27, 2023
The Offer
Direct Link to offer for new savings customers | Link for existing savings customers
- Wells Fargo is offering a $525 bonus when you open a new savings account and deposit $25,000 within 30 days. Must maintain the balance through Day 90 from account opening.
The Fine Print
- This offer is for new savings customers only. All Wells Fargo consumer savings accounts are eligible for this offer with the exception of Time Accounts (CDs) and savings 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 savings account.
- You are not eligible for this offer if:
- You are a current owner of a Wells Fargo consumer savings account
- You have received any other consumer savings offer bonus or promotional rate that required a bonus offer code within the past 12 months.
- You are a Wells Fargo employee
- To receive the bonus, you must: 1) Open a new Wells Fargo consumer savings account with a minimum opening deposit of $25 in a Wells Fargo branch by June 27, 2023. All account applications are subject to approval. 2) Bring $25,000 or more in new money to your new savings account by Day 30 and maintain at least a $25,000 balance through Day 90 after account opening. New money is money that is new to the customer or new to Wells Fargo (deposited into the customer’s new savings account directly from outside of Wells Fargo and Company and all affiliates, or from a Wells Fargo account not owned by the customer).
- We will deposit your bonus into your new savings account within 30 days after you have met all offer requirements.
- The new savings account must be open 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.
Avoiding Fees
The Wells Fargo Way2Save Savings account monthly service fee is $5. Minimum opening deposit is $25. The monthly service fee can be avoided with one of the following each fee period:
- $300 minimum daily balance
- Automatic transfer each fee period of $25 or more from a linked Wells Fargo checking account
- Automatic transfer each business day within the fee period of $1 or more from a linked Wells Fargo checking account
- or more Save As You Go® transfers from a linked Wells Fargo checking account. A qualifying Save As You Go transfer is an automatic transfer of $1 from your linked Wells Fargo checking account to your Way2Save Savings account each time you (or any authorized signer or joint owner) use your debit card for a one-time purchase or complete a Bill Pay transaction through online banking, and the one-time debit card purchase or Bill Pay transaction posts to the account. We reserve the right to determine through our sole discretion if a particular transaction is a qualifying transaction.
- Primary account owner is 24 years old or under. (When the primary account owner reaches the age of 25, age can no longer be used to avoid the monthly service fee.) Customers 12 and under must have an adult co-owner.
Initial monthly service fee waiver (pdf): “We’ll waive the monthly service fee for each fee period ending within the first 64 days of opening.”
Our Verdict
You’ll lose out on $200-$300 in interest by using this savings account which doesn’t earn much interest versus a high yield savings account. Still might be worth it for the $525 bonus + .15% interest that the account earns. Update: readers note that you can have the banker enroll you in this Platinum savings account which has a decent interest rate.
I see this as more interesting in conjunction with the Wells Fargo Premier checking $2,500 bonus offer which requires $250,000 in assets transferred. Far as I can tell from the fine prints, the two offers should work in tandem, and the $25,000 savings account will count toward your $250,000 threshold needed for the checking/investing bonus. Seems like a nice way of sweetening the pot a bit on that $2,500 Premier checking bonus, and it should be possible to bring in both promo codes to the branch and open both accounts at the same time. Update 3/24/23: multiple readers heard from their banker that the $25k won’t stack with the $250k offer. Update 11/24/24: In reality it probably will stack.
We’ll add this to our list of Best Bank Signup Bonuses.
Hat tip to reader nik
Post history:
- Update 5/31/24: Back until July 9, 2024.
- Update 4/2/24: Extended until June 25, 2024
- Update 1/10/24: Extended until April 1, 2024
- Update 10/2/23: Deal is back until January 9, 2024
- Update 6/28/23: Deal is back and valid until July 3, 2023. For existing users.
- Update 5/29/23: There’s a new offer link for existing Wells Fargo Way2Save savings account holders to get the $525 bonus as well. It still requires a branch visit to attach the offer to your account. (ht Eric)
- Update 3/24/23: multiple readers heard from their banker that the $25k won’t stack with the $250k offer.
I received my $525 bonus on 4/17.
However, yesterday via snail mail, I received a letter from Wells Fargo stating:
“Your inquiry regarding a promotional offer for your checking or savings account ending in XXX
Dear James Lastname,
We appreciate your interest in our promotion. After carefully reviewing your request and the requirements for this offer, we found that your account was not eligible to receive the bonus due to the following:
lol
The CSR probably selected the wrong code on the form letter… or, there was no code for… bonus has already been paid.
The funny thing to me is that I didn’t submit a complaint, call them, or anything at all. I did nothing except email my banker about the promo.
I’d guess that emailing a banker was enough to initiate a ticket.
Congrats! Can you share how long did it take to get paid? Did you also stack the great promo rate? If yes, did you do it at the same branch, on same day along with applying $525 promo code?
11/8/24 – account opened and banker applied both the $525 promo (first) and then the 4% APY promo together in same visit. She didn’t express any concern at all and had more of a “let’s see if it’ll take both” curious demeanor. The two codes were entered in different areas of their computer system
11/27/24 – $25k+ transfer posted
2/28/25 – pulled majority of funds (over 90 days from $25k posting)
3/5/25 – pulled remaining down to $3,500 balance
3/27/25 – downgraded to Way2Save and left $300 in account
3/27/25 – first e-mail to my banker about the missing promo payout. I attached the hardcopy application she gave me when I opened the account to my e-mail and politely asked her if she knew why I didn’t get the $525 bonus (the $525 bonus code was on this hardcopy). She immediately wrote me back and said she’d forward my request for research.
4/9/25 – I hadn’t heard back so again e-mailed her and just asked if she’d heard anything yet. She wrote me back immediately and asked for the offer codes (plural) we used. At this point I judiciously decided to only provide her the $525 code and didn’t say anything about the APY stack/other code (not sure if she remembered or cared anyway though).
4/15/25 – she wrote back that bonus will post by Friday of that week
4/17/25 – bonus posted
I won’t repeat my sob story, but similar thing happened to me in 2023. lol
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/wells-fargo-525-savings-bonus-with-25000-deposit-in-branch/#comment-2051688
That’s hilarious
Just missed the $525 by a hair. It seems like it might or not comeback anytime soon.
How is 4% compared to $525, if I’m planning to keep the account?
Why would you keep 4% when you can get higher elsewhere, unless you really like the “brick & mortar” feel? Also, you have to get a in-branch banker to apply the 4% offer, so you will get to check it out.
To echo Looney’s comment below mine, I just logged into my account to see that Wells credited my account with the $525 on 4/24/25 as ‘Promotion Bonus – Credit 08.’ My timeline is below:
Autograph Journey Elite bonus?
After filing the CFPB complaint on 4/16, received the $525 bonus on 4/25. Also still showing the 4% rate
That’s great! Would you like to share what you write in the complaint ? Looks like many of us who got 4% would have to do this.
Sure. I first explained to them about opening the Platinum Savings account in branch for the $525 offer using a promo code and a week later going to a different branch to increase the rate to 4% using a different promo code after seeing the advertisements for the increase both online and in the branch, I wrote them this.
“I have been receiving the 4% interest rate but when I inquired about not receiving the $525 bonus after meeting the requirements, I was informed that the 4% promotional rate overrode the $525 bonus code and that I could not get both the $525 and the 4% on the same account. This isn’t specified in any of the terms of the offers nor was I advised of this upon adding the promotional rate code to my existing savings account. The terms of the 4% offer only state that if I already had a promotional rate in place, then the new bonus code would override the previous promotional rate bonus code, but that didn’t apply to me and nothing was said about it overriding the $525 bonus code since the codes are entered in a separate system (according to that banker).
These are two separate offers and I am entitled to both the $525 bonus for opening the Platinum savings account and the 4% promotional interest rate added on a separate occasion. Nothing in the terms prevents me from receiving both since I wasn’t a current owner of a Wells savings account, nor had I received any other savings offer bonus or promotional rate requiring a bonus code in the past 12 months (per the terms of the $525 offer) and nothing in the terms prevents me from also getting the 4% promotional rate (per the terms of the 4% offer)”.
Thanks! That was helpful!
Thanks!
I am getting my ducks in a row for my fight coming up, 120 days for me is up in a week. I’m going to start with the branch manager(my banker was clueless) where I did the $525 bonus initially, and not mention the 4% applied three days later in a diff branch. When they tell me that supposedly invalidates the $525 offer, I’m going to focus on the fact that eligibility is satisfied at account opening, and at that time I didn’t have any bonus or promo rate paid out within last 12 months. The $525 terms state you can’t combine with another offer, which I didn’t, I combined with a promotional rate.
Not sure if i try the second branch, when I did 4% I didn’t mention the $525 bonus at all. That banker though was very helpful and a 30+ year Premiere banker so I feel like he would be helpful.
If/When I am denied I’ll try the CFPB that you did. I only ever had to do this once in 7 years of churning, I recall one of the questions was if you have attempted to resolve with the bank directly.
I have all printouts showing bonus code was attached for both $525 and 4%.
I’ll be sure to post/recap how it goes to provide another DP.
About to be in the same boat. I assume it won’t post. Are you just going to email the branch manager?
Novacat05
Yes, I find it’s easier to lay out facts in an email first to start the conversation, that way both sides have specific talking points to discuss on a phone call if needed, but I prefer a paper trail for something like this since emails can be included in a future submission to CFPB.
A branch manager’s name and email were listed on my account opening printout.
Good luck in your quest
Novacat05 . I started with my banker and the branch manager that I used in my attempt to resolve with the bank directly before filing the complaint.
Didn’t bother going through the second banker though but directly to the complaint form as I knew they would send it to the Executive Office at Wells Fargo and that’s where you want the complaint to get to for results.
Some comments indicated they called the executive office directly, but I really didn’t want to talk to anyone (I don’t do well on the phone in these matters) and mine was resolved without my having to do so (Ashley who was handling my complaint left two messages that I simply ignored).
UPDATE:
Here’s a new twist to this. Just got an email from the CFPB stating that Wells needs more time to respond to my complaint and also just got a secure message from Ashley in the Executive Offices handling my complaint mirroring what the CFPB said about needing more time to act on my complaint.
Now wonder if the bonus paid out automatically and not as a result of the complaint I filed? Wonder if I should move all the money out in case they want to claw back the bonus? Wonder if I wait I’ll get another $525 bonus from them?
Highly doubt you would get a claw back… if the system agreed, you earned the bonus. Have you ever seen a deposit account bonus clawed back? I haven’t. (other than in the case of duplicate payments, which is what you are dreaming of)
Doubt you will get another bonus, but you can certainly reduce the balance, and convert the savings to the lower tier while waiting to see what happens.
Yeah, probably won’t get clawed back unless they somehow issue me a second bonus.
Been trying to decide on where to put that money now though 4% for two more months isn’t bad.
Live Oak & CIT have comparable offers…
Currently in both.
Sticking with Wells Fargo, the current biz bonus is decent.
Citi has a smaller list of states where you can earn 4.3% while parking funds for a bonus, but their service is simply put, awful.
Santander has a combined checking and savings(that earns 4%) but you need a promo code from a mailer.
I’m eyeing up all of the above. You can always try to open up Andrews CU for 5.5% w/ 15 debit trans(I think they have a SUB now too) up to $25k.
When did you hit 120 days? How many days past did it take for the bonus to post? I don’t think it was automatic. I think it’s just a case of not everyone being on the same page. Had something similar happen when I did this promo for the first time in 2023.
I opened my accounts and tried to apply the code the very last day of the promotion in July 2023. Banker’s computer wasn’t allowing her to enter a code, so she opened an incentive not received (INR) right then and there.
I was paid out for the everyday and premier bonuses in October 2023. Opened a CFPB because nothing posted for the savings bonus. I went through the whole rigmarole for weeks. No one wanted to help me (even though I had the INR). It actually became comical because every time I called, they would open ANOTHER INR, even though I told them I already had one. I was having trouble getting a hold of the Executive Office too.
In late December, bonus finally posted. That same day, my banker called and said I wouldn’t get the bonus because, even though it was noted on my account, the code was not applied before the promo ended. I just told her thank you for her time and closed out my accounts ASAP in case they were scrutinized.
The 120 days was on April 21 though I filed the complaint on April 16 because I was going to be incommunicado until April 25 when the bonus posted (so 4 days past the 120 days).
FURTHER UPDATE:
Wells sent me another secure message saying that the promo code was applied properly but they had an error on their side that didn’t pay it out on time but it was credited on April 25th, case closed!
Nice canned answer but nothing to worry about now.
Well, both my everyday and premier bonuses posted. Still no savings. I assume it won’t post either.
When did you open your account? I opened mine on 1/22 and I’m just wondering. I haven’t gotten either my checking or savings bonus yet.
I opened my everyday checking on 1/3 and premier checking/platinum savings on 1/6.
I am still within the 30-day window for the bonus posting. I did write to my banker, and she told me that I likely stacked the codes – it could be a possibility that the $525 bonus isn’t available. However, she said she would try and wants to “help me” get the bonus.
Given that, should I wait until the 30-day bonus deadline passes before asking her to escalate it or file a CFPB complaint today? I never mentioned the 4% code, yet she did her research and found out that I have it added to my account.
I wouldn’t submit a CFPB complaint when you have someone at the bank actively working on it. The complaint system should be used when you have exhausted other avenues. You haven’t even hit the payout deadline and may have posted on it’s own.
Understood. But she sounded very unpromising. I’ll wait till she comes with some response.
If Raymond used the Great Rate promo, I just assumed it wouldn’t post? Seems like everyone who stacked after Dec haven’t received the bonus without fighting for it.
when do we think this bonus might come back?
Plausible, but no way to know. Also maybe it never comes back. Maybe they got tired of people double dipping with the $525 offer with the “Great Rate”? Or, they aren’t in need of more large sum deposits right now, and enough people are using the “Great Rate” or just weathering the market volatility at the regular rates.
My banker e-mailed me back this morning:
“I have great news :). They have completed the research request for your missing bonus offer and they stated that you should be receiving it into your account by this Friday.
I apologize for the delay and thank you for your patience during this process. I hope you have a wonderful day.”
To catch anybody use else up to speed –
11/8/24 – account opened and banker applied both the $525 promo (first) and then the 4% APY promo together in same visit
11/27/24 – $25k+ transfer posted
2/28/25 – pulled majority of funds (over 90 days from $25k posting)
3/5/25 – pulled remaining down to $3,500 balance
3/27/25 – downgraded to Way2Save and left $300 in account
3/27/25 – first e-mail to my banker about the missing promo payout
4/18/25 – alleged $525 payout finally?
That’s awesome to hear! Any tips for me when I have to do the same (I assume)?
Not specifically other than just being friendly and patient. Of course, every situation is different but in my case:
3/27 – I first e-mailed my banker and wasn’t accusatory/mad/anything – just attached the hardcopy application she gave me when I opened the account to my e-mail and politely asked her if she knew why I didn’t get the $525 bonus. She immediately wrote me back and said she’d forward my request for research.
4/9 – I hadn’t heard back so again e-mailed her, again very pleasant/laid back and just asked if she’d heard anything yet.
She wrote me back and asked for the offer codes (plural) we used. At this point I judiciously decided to only provide her the $525 code and didn’t say anything about the APY stack/other code (not sure if she remembered or cared anyway though). This $525 code is what was on the paper hardcopy application that I attached to my first e-mail but she may not have viewed the attachment. In my case, when I opened the account, she applied the $525 code first and then in a separate section of their computer system she added the 4% code.
4/15 – she wrote me back with the news that they’ll credit it by Friday.
Thank you! I think this will come in handy.
Unfortunately my banker, also very friendly, refused to take it any farther, just said the second code over road the first code and that was that (I had the great rate promo applied at a different branch).
Not sure where to take this now, maybe call?
Yeah, that was probably a stupid mistake on my part because she said that they were confused how the second code got applied to my account, guess I should have just shut up about it and let that play out.
Don’t think it would have mattered though since with the second code, the results would have probably been the same.
Maybe you should try opening a CFPB case or you can always jump straight to contacting the Executive Office.
I did file the complaint yesterday and someone from the Wells executive offices responded back today saying they’ll respond back within 10 business days, so will see what happens.
Just to follow-up my own post here, the $525 posted today 4/17.
It displays as “Promotion Bonus – Credit 08”.
With the slow turnaround time, is it worth opening a CFPB ticket now? With all these DPs, it seems like I probably won’t get the bonus automatically (used Great Rate promo a week after I signed up for the $525). My 120 days isn’t until May 5th.
On the same boat. Are you waiting until your 120th day passes?