Fifth Third Bank $250 Signup Bonus – Step By Step Guide

This bonus is currently expired. Most likely it will come back again and once it does, I will update this post. The directions for earning this bonus will likely remain the same. For now, if you click the links on this page, it’ll lead to a page that says the bonus is currently expired.

Fifth Third Bank is currently offering new customers a $250 signup bonus after opening a new account and meeting certain requirements. Here’s what you need to do to earn your Fifth Third Bank signup bonus: 

1. Open a Fifth Third Momentum Checking or Preferred checking account by 12/31/2022 using this link.
2. Make qualifying direct deposits of $1000 or more within 90 days of account opening. 

This offer is limited to customers in the following states: Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, West Virginia, and South Carolina. If you don’t live in one of those states, you won’t be able to open an account online but you can still open an account in-branch if you happen to be visiting a city that has a branch (I’ll explain how this works in more detail later in this post). 

This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, especially since there are plenty of data points showing what will trigger the direct deposit requirement. In addition, you can open the Fifth Third Momentum Checking bank account, which comes with no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements.

In this post, we’ll go through the step-by-step directions you can follow to earn your Fifth Third Bank signup bonus. We’ll also look at what you can do if you don’t live in one of the states that Fifth Third Bank operates in, as well as go over what you should do with your Fifth Third account after earning your bonus.

Fifth Third Bank $250 Signup Bonus – Step By Step Directions 

Here are the step-by-step directions to earn your $250 Fifth Third Bank signup bonus: 

1. Open A Fifth Third Momentum Checking Or Preferred Checking Account By 12/31/2022.  The first thing you’ll need to do is open a Fifth Third Bank checking account using a signup bonus link. Here’s a link you can use that will qualify you for the $250 signup bonus. 

When you click that link, you’ll end up at the signup bonus page, which gives you two options. If you live in one of the states mentioned at the beginning of this post, you can open your account online. If you don’t live in one of those states or you otherwise can’t open an account online, you’ll need to enter your email address and go to the branch to open your account (Fifth Third Bank will email you an offer code that you present to the banker when you open your account).

You’ll want to open the Fifth Third Momentum Checking account, which comes with no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements. This will make it easy to manage since you won’t have to worry about avoiding fees. 

This signup bonus is scheduled to end on 12/31/2022, so make sure to open your account before that date. These bonuses can always end at the discretion of the bank, so it’s best to open your account as soon as you’re able to do so. 

2. Complete A Direct Deposit Of $1000 Or More 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 of $1000 or more within 90 days of account opening. 

If you can complete a real direct deposit from your employer, that’ll ensure you meet the requirements. My wife uses Gusto for her payroll, so we’re always able to easily meet direct deposit requirements because of it.

Fortunately, there are a lot of data points showing that most ACH transfers will trigger the direct deposit requirement, so you don’t need to do a real payroll direct deposit to trigger the bonus. A cursory search online shows that ACH pushes from most credit unions seem to trigger the direct deposit requirement. ACH pushes from Chase and Wells Fargo have also worked. Ally Bank may also work to trigger the direct deposit requirement. You’ll know quickly if your ACH push worked. If you don’t see your bonus post within a week, try again with a different bank until it does work.

To clarify, if you aren’t doing a real direct deposit, you’ll want to go to your regular bank account website (or whatever bank account you want to use to trigger the direct deposit requirement), link Fifth Third Bank to that account, then send $1000 or more from that account to your Fifth Third account.

If you are still 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 to meet direct deposit requirements without doing a real direct deposit. I would call it required reading for anyone interested in bank account bonuses.

3. Your $250 Bonus Will Post Within 10 Business Days. The terms state that once you open the account and meet the direct deposit requirement, your bonus will post within 10 business days. In practice, most people see their bonus post sooner than that – typically within a few days. 

If you’re meeting the direct deposit requirement via an ACH push from an external bank, you’ll know fairly quickly whether it worked. If you don’t see your bonus post within a week, then you should try doing an ACH push from another bank until it does trigger the bonus. 

And remember, if you aren’t using a real direct deposit, don’t call the bank! You don’t want to draw eyes to your account if you aren’t doing a real direct deposit.

Opening A Fifth Third Bank Account If You Live Out Of State 

One interesting thing about Fifth Third Bank is that if you don’t live in a state that they operate in, you can still open an account by going into a branch. 

That means if you’re traveling to a state that has a Fifth Third Bank branch, you can go into the branch with the emailed offer code and open your account in person.  

This is exactly what I did a few years ago when I was visiting Chicago. I live in Minnesota, which doesn’t have a Fifth Third Bank branch. Chicago, meanwhile, has tons of branches. I emailed myself an offer code, then walked into a branch in downtown Chicago while I was there on a trip. I then asked to open an account and used my Minnesota address and driver’s license to do it. 

If you’ve never done this before, you might get nervous about opening a bank account in a city that you don’t live in. You don’t need to be nervous though. Remember that opening an account is good for the banker. They have quotas they need to meet, so you’re helping them when you open an account with them. Most bank employees won’t even care that you don’t live in the state, but if they do ask, you can make up any reason that you want. 

When I opened my Fifth Third Bank account, I told them that I have family in Chicago that I visit regularly and I wanted a local bank account for when I’m visiting. In reality, I don’t have any family in Chicago. You can say anything you want.

All told, opening my account in person took me about 30 minutes. That was well worth my time considering what I was earning from the signup bonus.

What To Do With Your Fifth Third Bank Account After Earning Your Bonus 

One question many people have after opening a Fifth Third Bank account is what to do with the account after you’ve earned the bonus. If you like Fifth Third Bank and want to use it as your primary bank account, that’s fine. The Momentum Checking Account is free and it has a pretty good website and app. I prefer online banks like Ally, but if you like traditional brick-and-mortar banks, you can use this one. 

For most people though, you’ll probably want to close the account after earning your bonus. Since there’s no monthly fee or minimum balance requirement, I generally keep the account open for at least a little bit before closing it just to avoid angering the bank. You can technically close the account as soon as you earn your bonus, but I’d recommend keeping your account open for a few months just so you don’t look like you opened the account solely for the bonus.

The last time I earned this bonus, I kept my account open for six months before closing it. That’s probably more cautious than necessary. If you wait a month or two, that’ll be fine too. 

The reason you may want to close your account as soon as you can is so that you can reset the clock on when you can open another Fifth Third Bank account. Specifically, the bonus terms state the following:

“Offer is not available to existing Fifth Third checking customers or to those with a Fifth Third Checking account that has been closed within the last 12 months.” 

That means you are eligible to earn another Fifth Third Bank account bonus 12 months after you close your account. Depending on where you live and how easy it is to open your account, you should be able to earn this bonus every year. 

With respect to closing the account, it’s simple. You can either send a secure message via the website or call customer service. 

In short, wait at least a month or two after earning your bonus to close your account. It’ll make things better for everyone.

Final Thoughts 

Fifth Third Bank is a traditional brick-and-mortar bank that regularly offers a signup bonus for new customers. The good thing is that the Momentum Checking account comes with no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements, which makes it an easy bank account to manage. The bonus also posts quickly and there are a lot of ways to trigger the direct deposit requirement without having to do a real payroll direct deposit.

Since I live in a state where Fifth Third Bank doesn’t operate in, I can only get this bonus when I happen to be traveling in a place that has a branch. If I lived in one of the states they operate in, I’d grab the bonus every year.

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. Everyone should consider 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.