Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $500
- Availability: Nationwide, available online
- Direct deposit required: None
- Additional requirements: $20,000 deposit
- Hard/soft pull: Soft
- ChexSystems: Unknown
- Credit card funding: None, but can fund with a debit card up to $300
- Monthly fees: $18-$29.95, avoidable
- Early account termination fee: None
- Expiration date: July 31, 2022
The Offer
Bank of America is offering a bonus of up to $500 when you open a new Business Checking account. The requirements to Receive a Business Advantage Banking Bonus of $500 are:
- Open a new business checking account by July 31, 2022;
- Make Qualifying Deposits of $20,000 or more in new money into the account within 30 days of account opening;
- Maintain an average balance of $20,000 for 90 days after account opening.
The Fine Print
- This offer is intended for new customers only; you are not eligible for this offer if you were an owner or signer on a Bank of America Business Advantage Banking account within the last twelve (12) months.
- Only one bonus ($500) per business customer, regardless of the number of businesses owned or operated by the customer.
- New money is new funds deposited into your Business Advantage Banking account that are not transfers from other Bank of America deposit accounts or Merrill investment accounts. A transfer done via ATM, online or teller, or a transfer from a Bank of America deposit account or brokerage account, such as a Merrill account, is not considered new money. A cash withdrawal from an existing Bank of America account and deposited into the new Business Advantage Banking account is not considered new money.
- The Maintenance Period begins thirty-one (31) calendar days after account opening and ends ninety (90) calendar days after account opening.
- Qualifying Deposits are deposits of new money, which is money not currently or previously held in any account at Bank of America or Merrill.
- Bonuses are considered interest and may be reported on IRS Form 1099-INT
Avoiding Fees
There is no early account termination fee. The lower level account is the Business Fundamentals at $18 per month. Fee is waived with one of the following:
- Maintain a $5,000 combined average balance, or
- Spend at least $250 in new net purchases on your business debit card, or
- Become a member of Preferred Rewards for Business
Our Verdict
Previous business checking offers from Bank of America typically always have targeted language in it while this offer seems to be publicly available to everyone. We even once saw a targeted language offer for $750, though that one had a steeper $50,000 deposit requirement. If you’re doing one bonus, you’ll probably be better off with the Chase $750 Business Checking Bonus which has similar requirements to this $500 bonus.
Overall this is a nice bonus to get $500 for tying up $20,000 for 90 days. After the 90 days you’ll have to keep $5,000 in the account to keep the account fee-free until the bonus posts.
Hopefully the business account verification process with Bank of America is smooth and easy. We’ll add this to our list of Best Bank Account Bonuses.
Hat tip to reader Matt
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
