Bank and credit card sign-up bonuses: the fine print to read

This guide explains how sign-up bonuses work. It isn't financial, tax or legal advice. It doesn't recommend any account or card. Offers change often, so the terms on the bank's own page on the day you apply are the ones that count. The examples below were read on the banks' pages in November 2026.

Two kinds of bonus

A bank account bonus pays you for opening a checking or savings account and meeting conditions, usually moving money in. A credit card bonus pays cash, points or miles after you spend a set amount on the new card within a set time.

For deposit accounts, the federal Truth in Savings rule (Regulation DD) defines a bonus as something worth more than $10 given for opening, keeping or growing an account. Interest and fee waivers don't count as bonuses. The bank must disclose the amount or type of bonus, when it will be paid, and any minimum balance and time needed to earn it, generally before the account is opened.

Bank account bonuses: what to read

• Chase's new checking offer counts electronic deposits of a paycheck, pension or government benefits as direct deposits. It doesn't count Zelle and other person-to-person payments, transfers from another bank or brokerage account, or checks deposited in a branch or the app. Bank of Hawaii's offer excludes Zelle and transfers from its own accounts. Its opening deposit doesn't count.
• Chase's checking offer gives 90 days from enrolling to make the deposits, and Bank of Hawaii's gives 60 days from opening. Chase's savings offer wants new money in within 30 days, kept for 90 days. Money already at Chase doesn't count.
• Chase says the account must not be closed or restricted when the bonus is paid. Bank of Hawaii says you won't get the bonus if the account is closed or its type changed before the award.
• Bank of Hawaii charges an early closing fee on some checking accounts closed within 180 days, so closing soon after the bonus can cost part of it back.
• Chase's checking account has a monthly service fee unless you meet one of several conditions each statement period, such as a minimum balance or a set amount of electronic deposits. A fee you pay while earning the bonus comes off what you gain.
• Chase's offer excludes existing Chase checking customers and people whose accounts were closed within 90 days, or closed with a negative balance within 3 years. It also allows one new checking account bonus every two years.

Credit card bonuses: what to read

• Chase's Freedom Unlimited page, for example, asks for a set amount of purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
• The same page says balance transfers, cash advances, cash-like transactions and fees of any kind don't count as purchases.
• The same page says the card isn't available to current cardmembers, or to past cardmembers who got its new cardmember bonus in the last 24 months. Other cards and issuers use different rules, so read the one you're applying for.
• Chase says to allow 6 to 8 weeks after qualifying for the bonus to post.

The CFPB looked at credit card rewards in May 2024. It found that nearly 1 in 10 rewards dollars consumers earned were linked to sign-up bonuses. It warned that fine print can turn sign-up offers into a "bait and switch." It also found that people who carry a balance often pay far more in interest and fees than they get back in rewards.

Taxes on bank bonuses

The banks in these examples treat cash bonuses on deposit accounts as interest. Chase's checking and savings offers say the bonus is considered interest and reported on IRS Form 1099-INT, and Bank of Hawaii says it issues a 1099-INT for its bonus. IRS Topic 403 says payers send a 1099-INT when you receive $10 or more in interest, and that you must report all taxable interest on your return.

Some banks give a gift instead of cash. IRS Publication 550 says the value of noncash gifts or services for opening an account may be reported to you as interest on a 1099-INT. That applies to gifts worth more than $10 on deposits under $5,000, or more than $20 on deposits of $5,000 or more.

This guide doesn't cover how credit card bonuses are taxed. If you're unsure about any bonus, ask a tax professional.

Before you apply

1. Save a copy of the offer terms on the day you apply, as a screenshot or a PDF.
2. Put each deadline in your calendar: the deposit or spending window, and how long the account must stay open.
3. Confirm that the deposit you plan to use counts, such as a paycheck from your employer.
4. Note any monthly fee, how to avoid it, and any early closing fee.
5. For a card, plan the minimum spend from purchases you would make anyway, and plan to pay the statement in full.
6. For a bank bonus, set aside money for the tax on it.

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