Chase Bank Account Bonus – Step By Step Guide

Chase Bank regularly offers bonuses to new customers. It’s a good bonus and one that I sign up for every time I’m eligible for it (every 24 months, in this case). At the moment, Chase is currently offering new customers up to a $900 signup bonus after opening a Chase checking and savings account and meeting certain requirements with each account. Here’s what you’ll need to do to earn the Chase checking and savings account bonuses:

1. Open a Chase checking account and complete a direct deposit within 90 days (you’ll earn a $300 bonus for completing this requirement).
2. Open a Chase savings account, deposit $15,000 or more within 30 days, and maintain a $15,000 balance for 90 days (you’ll earn a $200 bonus for completing this requirement).
3. If you open both a Chase checking account and Chase savings account at the same time and complete the requirements for each account, you’ll earn an extra $400 bonus.

As far as bank bonuses go, this one is pretty straightforward, and indeed, the Chase bonus is a staple of the bank bonus community. What makes this bonus so important is that it’s available nationwide, can be opened online, is regularly available, and can be earned multiple times, even if you’ve earned the bonus before.

With that being said, in this post, we’ll go through the step-by-step directions you can follow to earn your Chase checking and savings account bonuses. We’ll also go over some of the important details to know about these accounts, including how to meet the direct deposit requirement for the checking account, how to avoid fees, and what to do with your account after you earn your bonus.

Chase Checking And Savings Account Signup Bonus – Step-By-Step Directions 

Here are the step-by-step directions to earn your Chase checking and savings account bonuses: 

1. Open Your Chase Checking And Savings Accounts.  The first thing you’ll need to do is open your Chase checking and savings accounts using the coupon code. If you open your account from this link, the coupon code will automatically be applied when you apply for your accounts. You can also have the code emailed to you and open the accounts in-branch, but it doesn’t make much sense to do that since you can open your Chase bank accounts online.

You’ll notice that you have three choices when you are opening your account: (1) open just the checking account; (2) open just the savings account; or (3) open both the checking and savings account.

I recommend selecting the option to open both accounts since you’ll earn an extra $400 bonus for doing so. However, depending on your situation, you might not have $15,000 to set aside in the Chase savings account, in which case, you’ll have to settle for doing just the Chase checking account bonus. Ideally, though, try your best to complete both bonuses because it’s well worth it and you’ll maximize your bonus earnings.

2. For The Checking Account Bonus, Complete A Direct Deposit To Your Chase Checking Account Within 90 Days Of Account Opening. 

Once you’ve opened your account using the signup bonus link or in-branch with the offer code that was emailed to you, your next step is to complete a direct deposit within 90 days of account opening. The terms don’t require any specific amount for your direct deposit to qualify, although it does say in the terms that micro-deposits of less than $1 won’t count. So, a direct deposit of any amount more than $1 should work.

If you can complete a real direct deposit from your employer, that’ll be the easiest way to meet the direct deposit requirement. My wife uses Gusto for her payroll, which makes it easy to switch direct deposits to different banks. If you’re lucky enough to have Gusto or a similar payroll system, then you’ll have no issue meeting the direct deposit requirement.

Fortunately, even if you can’t complete a “real” direct deposit, there are still plenty of ways to trigger the direct deposit requirement. You’ll need to do your own research and it’ll take a bit of trial and error to see what works, as the things that will trigger the direct deposit requirement do change regularly. Further down in this post, I have a section that goes through some ideas to trigger the direct deposit requirement if you don’t have an easy way to change your payroll deposit.

The good thing is that if your deposit does trigger the direct deposit requirement, you’ll see your bonus quickly. Chase says they’ll deposit your bonus within 15 days, but in practice, it usually posts much faster than this (the last time I earned this bonus, the bonus posted 3 days after completing my direct deposit). 

And remember, if you are trying to trigger the direct deposit requirement with a “fake” direct deposit, do not, under any circumstances, call the bank. If you ask Chase, they will tell you that only a real, payroll direct deposit will work, and calling them when you aren’t doing a real direct deposit will only put eyes on your account. Only call the bank if you’re doing an actual real direct deposit and are having issues with your bonus.

If you are confused about the terminology I’m using here, I recommend checking out my post, The Ultimate Guide to Bank Account Bonuses. I go into a lot of detail in that post about how bank account bonuses work and discuss a few ideas on how to meet direct deposit requirements without doing a real direct deposit.

3. For The Savings Account Bonus, Deposit $15,000 To Your Savings Account Within 30 Days Of Opening, Then Maintain The $15,000 Balance For 90 Days.

The savings account bonus is a bit easier but does require you to have access to a good amount of cash. To meet this requirement, you’ll need to move $15,000 into your Chase savings account, and then leave it there for 90 days. 

The Chase savings account offers a negligible interest rate, so unfortunately, leaving $15,000 in cash in a Chase savings account means you’re losing out on interest you could otherwise earn from a 5% interest savings account.

However, when you annualize your rate of return from this bonus, earning $200 by leaving $15,000 in a savings account for 90 days comes out to about a 5.3% annualized rate of return, which is still very good. The fact that you’ll also earn an additional $400 if you meet both the checking and savings account bonus makes the rate of return even better.

4. Your Bonuses Will Post Within 15 Days Of Meeting The Requirement On Each Account.

Chase says in their terms that the bonuses will post within 15 days of meeting the requirements for each account. In practice though, the bonuses will post sooner than that.

The last time I completed this bonus, my checking account bonus posted 3 days after I met the direct deposit requirement. The savings account bonus posted a few days after the 90-day period passed and the extra $400 bonus posted along with it.

Meeting The Direct Deposit Requirement With Chase

The biggest challenge most people have with the Chase checking account bonus will be meeting the direct deposit bonus. Unfortunately, what works does change fairly regularly. I’ve been fortunate in that I can do a real direct deposit, so I haven’t had to get creative with meeting the direct deposit requirement. 

If you’re a gig economy side hustler like I am, you might have an easy way to meet the direct deposit requirement. Deposits from apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, Instacart, Shipt, and other similar apps do qualify as direct deposits. Since there is no minimum direct deposit amount, even doing a single delivery on an app like DoorDash or Uber Eats, then having that money deposited to your Chase checking account should trigger the bonus. These gig economy apps make it easy to switch your bank within the app, so switching where your payout goes is easy to do.

Another potential option could be using eBay. In the past, eBay did their payouts via PayPal but recently switched to doing payouts to bank accounts. Theoretically, it should be possible to put your Chase checking account as the payout account, then sell something on eBay and have the payout go to your Chase account. Anyone can sell on eBay and there are data points online saying that eBay deposits do work.

There are also “fake” direct deposit options available, but, as I’ve already mentioned, these can change regularly and you’re going to have to do your own research and go through some trial and error to see what works for you. Most often, moving money from investment accounts to Chase can trigger the bonus. Some people have also mentioned that moving money from their HSA accounts to Chase has worked. My recommendation is to start with transferring money from brokerage accounts and see if any of those work to trigger the bonus.

What To Do With Your Chase Accounts After Earning Your Bonus 

You have a few options about what to do with your Chase checking and savings accounts after you earn your bonuses. Not too long ago, Chase had a clause in their terms stating that you had to keep the accounts open for six months or you would forfeit the bonus. This clause was seemingly never enforced, but it was there, so you had to be mindful of it.

Recently, however, Chase removed that clause, so you can now technically close your Chase accounts immediately after you earn your bonuses. This is probably the easiest thing for most people. 

I generally like to keep my accounts open for at least a little bit to avoid angering the bank – my rationale being that it doesn’t cost me much to keep my account open for a little bit and I don’t want to make it so obvious that I’m only opening the account for the bonus.

The issue with keeping your Chase accounts open is that they do come with fees unless you keep a minimum balance. For the checking account, you’ll need to keep a minimum balance of $1,500 to waive the monthly fee. For the savings account, you have to keep at least $300 in the account to waive the monthly fee. 

Generally, what I do is keep $1,500 in the checking account for a few months, then close it. For the savings account, I usually leave $300 in it and keep it open until I’m ready to get the bonus again. To me, keeping $300 in a Chase savings account isn’t a big deal and I figure if it makes me look better to the bank, I’ll just do that. 

That being said, I’m probably more cautious than most and there is likely no harm in closing both Chase accounts soon after earning your bonus.

The 2-Year Rule With Chase Bank Bonuses

Chase does allow you to earn their bank account bonuses again, even if you’ve earned it once before. Since Chase regularly offers signup bonuses, this makes the Chase bank account bonuses a regular option for most people in the bank bonus community.

The major limitation, however, is that you can only earn Chase bank bonuses once every 2 years. Here is what the fine print says: 

You can receive only one new checking and one new savings account opening related bonus every two years from the last coupon enrollment date and only one bonus per account.

I always make a note of when I’m next eligible for the bonus, then I sign up for a new Chase checking and savings account when there is a good bonus being offered. 

It’s important to remember that this limit is for Chase’s personal checking and savings accounts. Chase also regularly offers bonuses on their business checking accounts, which is a separate product governed by a separate 2-year rule. So, theoretically, every 2 years, you should be earning three bonuses from Chase – one from their personal checking account, one from their savings account, and one from their business checking account. 

Final Thoughts 

The Chase checking and savings account bonuses are a regular part of my bank bonus strategy. I earn it every 2 years because it’s straightforward, easy to earn, and regularly offers good signup bonuses. If you’re into earning bank bonuses, these Chase bonuses should always be on your radar.

Bank account bonuses are a great way to generate some extra income and if you’re in a position to do so, you should take advantage of them however you can. For more information, I highly recommend reading my Ultimate Guide to Bank Account Bonuses, which is a great resource that will walk you through the major things you should know about how bank account bonuses work.