Top Checking Account Bonus Offers: September 2023

Switching bank accounts can be a time-consuming process, but many of the best banks and credit unions make the process more appealing to new customers by offering introductory bonuses. These bonuses typically come in the form of cold hard cash and may have some additional requirements you need to fulfill before you can earn them.

Those requirements can vary if you’re opening a checking vs. savings account. For instance, if you want to earn a bonus for opening a new checking account, you may need to set up direct deposit, make a certain number of debit card purchases or deposit a predetermined amount of cash and then maintain a minimum balance for a few months.

It can be challenging to find financial institutions that are running checking offers if you don’t know where to look. To help you with your search, here are some of the top personal checking account bonus offers currently available.

Top checking account bonus offers from our partners for September 2023

As you shop around and compare checking accounts, the ongoing services a bank or credit union provides are a top priority. However, if you’re trying to decide between two similar options and one financial institution offers an upfront bonus, that could be the tie-breaker to help you make your decision.

Chase Total Checking® - $200 bonus

Chase is ready to pay you to give their Chase Total Checking account a try.

You can enjoy a $200 bonus when you open a new Chase Total Checking account and set up direct deposit. You'll also get access to 16,000 Chase ATMs and more than 4,700 branches. All you'll need is your phone to manage all your accounts — deposit checks, transfer money, and more — all in the Chase Mobile app.

Open an account.

How to pick which checking account bonus offer is for you

There’s no single best checking account out there, and these are far from the only banks that provide checking bonus offers. You’ll want to also consider monthly maintenance fees, interest rates, balance requirements, FDIC insurance, and other factors before you decide on a particular consumer checking account. 

To determine which account is the best for you, think about the steps you need to take to earn the bonus:

• If you think you might have a hard time meeting a spending requirement or deposit requirement, that could make it challenging to earn some bonuses. Compare the requirements to what you can easily make happen.
• Think about what you want out of a checking account beyond the initial bonus. If one account can give you more long-term value based on your spending habits, it could be a better fit.
• Also consider if you prefer online banking or if you want to do in-person banking on occasion. Online banks can offer a great deal if you don't feel a need to access a physical branch of your bank.

Additionally, some of these banks only operate in certain states, so make sure to read their terms and conditions to see if the account your interested in is available to you.

Lastly, it’s important to understand that you don’t have to limit yourself to just one account. Depending on your spending habits and goals, you may be able to maximize your rewards by using multiple accounts to take advantage of their unique features.

Bottom line

Checking account bonuses aren’t exactly rare, but it’s not always easy to find them. If you’re looking for both upfront and long-term value, the checking accounts from the financial institutions listed above offer some incredible opportunities. However, it’s important to take your time to shop around and compare multiple options based on their sign-up bonuses and other features that could add value to your banking experience.

Disclaimer: All rates and fees are accurate as of June 21, 2022.

Methodology

To choose the top checking account bonus offers, we compared checking accounts offered by multiple banks. We assessed each product’s bonus offer, as well as features like minimum deposit requirements and fees. We did not include all available options.