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Bank of America checking account bonus and promotions

Bank promotions usually consist of cash bonuses that are available when you open an account with them. To qualify for these perks, you will most likely be required to set up a direct deposit with the bank and keep your account open for several months.

Some banks have stricter rules than others, but if you can meet all of their requirements, you could be on your way to earning some cash that you did not necessarily work for, which is a very sweet deal

I am going to be talking about the Bank of America Checking and saving account bonus promotions, which are currently available for you so that you can take advantage of these offers before they expire.

But first;

Why do banks have bonuses for signing up?

Bonuses are incentives given to new customers in order to try and beat the competition. Seeing as there are very many banks, who are all fighting for the same customers, there has to be something that distinguishes one bank from the other and this is where bonuses and promotions come in.

Some banks will pay the account holder a high interest on deposits, but other prefer to use bonuses.

Greg McBride, Bankrate’s CFA and Chief Financial Analyst, says that it is much easier for banks to quantify a bonus than to raise the interest rate.

Banks like the TD bank will give their new clients much more than the signing up bonus.

What you need to know about bonuses

They say that “when the deal is too good, be careful.” This is important. Always read the fine print and instructions before you decide to take up any bank’s offers.

So, here are a few things you should pay close attention to;

Extremely high balance requirements:

Most bonuses will look too impressive to pass up, but when you look at the requirements, you may find that the minimum balance is more than you can manage. You can find some bonuses requiring you to maintain a daily running balance of up to $5,000, which is too much for the ordinary person.

If they require such high amounts and too much effort, it would be wise if you looked elsewhere, with must better requirements.

Does the account match your needs?

Avoid being carried away by the good bonuses, to the point of forgetting to check whether you shall be opening an account that will be of help to you. Remember that these accounts will require to remain open for a specific number of months and therefore, it should be an account that you can use.

Double-check the features of the account, and ensure that it is what you want. You should also ensure that there are ATMs and branches available within your area, so you will not be inconvenienced when you need to withdraw funds.

Check on the interest:

While the bonus is good for a short while, if you are going to open a savings account, a bank that offers a high-interest rate is better than one which gives you a good bonus when opening the account at very low interest on your savings.

You would rather find a bank that shall take care of your needs in the future.

Bank of America Promotions:

This is a big bank. Bank of America is one of the “big four” banks in the United States and has been in operation since 1904. They are available in more than 35 countries around the world, and they offer a more extensive range of products for you to choose from such as CDs, Checking accounts, Saving accounts and much more, through their vast branch network.

Here are some of the bonuses they have on offer;

$100 Bonus – Checking Account

$100 Bonus – Checking Account

You shall earn a $100 bonus when you open any of the following accounts;

  • A bank of America Advantage plus checking account.
  • A bank of America Relationship banking account.
  • A bank of America Advantage Safe Balance Checking account.

After meeting all of the requirements, the bank shall deposit the bonus in your new account.

How do you earn the bonus?

In order to earn the bonus, you must open one of the above accounts online. When you visit the company website, click on “open now” and you shall be able to proceed from there.

  • You will immediately be required to set up $250 deposits or more in the accounts you have opened within the next 90 days.
  • The deposit above must be a qualifying deposit – this means that it should be taken directly from your salary, or pension or social security.
  • If you have other monthly deposits that are regular, include them in the electronic transfer by use of the ACH – Automated Clearing House.
  • Non-qualifying deposits are those that come from one Bank of America account to another, or from an ATM deposit.
  • Once you meet all of the requirements, the bonus will be deposited in your account in 60 days.

Account features:

  • Overdraft protection.
  • BankAmeriDeals – These are cashback benefits you shall receive from buying everyday things. You can earn up to 15% cashback on stores and restaurants in their approved list. These deals can also be deposited directly into your account.
  • Preferred rewards – A client can be able to enjoy these rewards and other benefits based on their relationship tier.
  • A debit card.

Waiving the monthly fee:

  • The monthly maintenance fee of $4.95 for safe place banking can be waved for students under the age of 24, or by enrolling in their preferred rewards system.
  • The $12 monthly fee for plus banking can be waived for students under the age of 24, or by maintaining the minimum daily deposit.
  • The $25 monthly fee for Relationship banking can be waived for accounts with balances that are eligible for preferred rewards.

The fine print of these accounts:

  • All of the account applications are subject to the bank’s approval.
  • Your account doesn’t qualify for a bonus unless you have provided all of the information required in connection to opening the account and the promotion deadline. This should include any information required to identify each account owner and report the bonuses to the IRS, for validity and completion of the tax forms.
  • The value of the bonus is taxable to you.
  • The Bank of America shall issue you with an IRS Form 1099, which you shall be required to fill and return.

$300 Bonus – Business checking account; Targeted

$300 Bonus – Business checking account; Targeted

  • This is a targeted offer to LegalZoom customers who open a business account and meet all of the checking account requirements.
  • It doesn’t have an online direct promo code link, and the link shared above is for opening a standard checking account. If you want to open one of these targeted accounts, visit the branch for more details of the same.
  • There are two accounts under this category – the business fundamentals and business advantage.

How do you earn the bonus?

  • Open a new checking account that qualifies for the bonus. This will enable you to earn the first $100 bonus in the account.
  • Deposit $1,000 or more into the account within the first 60 days.
  • To get the next $50, pay for two online bills using the new account.
  • To get the last $150, you shall be required to open a merchant services account that accepts credit and debit card transactions from your business.

Features of these accounts;

  • Business Fundamentals:
  • Online banking and account alerts.
  • Mobile banking.
  • Debit cards.
  • Total security protection on cards.
  • Business advantage account:
  • Offers online management of your account.
  • You receive a QuickBooks integration.
  • You shall get an additional business account if you want it.
  • There are no fees for specific banking transactions, not all.

Waiving the monthly fees:

$29.95 Monthly fee:

  • You can waive this by meeting any of the following requirements;
  • Spend at least $2,500 in net purchases with your business credit card.
  • Maintain an average balance of $15,000 or more.
  • Have a combined average of $35,000 or more in all of your combined Bank of America accounts.
  • Ensure to use the Merchant account or payroll services actively.
  • Qualify and enroll for the Business Advantage Relationship Rewards Program.

Business Fundamentals $16 monthly fees:

  • Spend $250 in new purchase with your debit card.
  • Have an average monthly balance of $15,000 or more, and maintain a further $3,000 daily balance.
  • Have a combined average monthly balance of $15,000 or more in all of your linked Bank of America accounts.
  • Qualify and enroll for the Business Advantage Relationship Rewards program.

The fine print:

  • You should contact a business expert at any of the BOA branches to find out more about this offer.
  • The offer is designed for LegalZoom customers who have a Limited Liability company.

$500 Bonus – Business Checking account

$500 Bonus – Business Checking account

To qualify for the $500 bonus, you must open a new Business Fundamentals or Business Advantage Checking account with a $20,000 deposit.

How you can get the bonus:

  • After 60 days of opening the account, deposit $20,000 in qualifying deposits, and make at least ten qualifying electronic payments.
  • A qualifying deposit is direct from your salary, social security, or pension. Any other regular monthly include should be electronically deposited through the ACH – Automated Clearing House network by your employer or any outside agent you may be using.
  • Direct deposits that are termed as non-qualifying include deposits from one Bank of America Bank Account to another one, or deposits you make in any BOA branch or on an ATM.
  • Qualifying Electronic Payments include online bill pay, Debit card payments, ACH transactions, Zelle Payments, or wire transfers.
  • You shall receive a $200 bonus after making $5,000 in qualifying deposits and also five qualifying electronic payments into the account.

The fine print of this offer:

  • The $200 and $500 bonuses are mutually exclusive, which means you shall get only one bonus, i.e., the $200 or $500 per customer, regardless of the transactions you shall have operated in your account.
  • The offer is only available to customers after they receive an offer via direct communication with the Bank of America’s small business specialists.
  • You must open an account with the BOA small business checking account before the expiry date of December 31st, 2019. The qualifications must also be met within 60 days of opening the account.
  • All of the qualifying activities must be completed within the set timeframes to be eligible for this offer.
  • You cannot be eligible for the offer if you currently have an open or closed bank of America small business account.
  • The BOA can change or even terminate the offer at any time without any notice to its customers. BOA employees cannot participate in the offer.
  • Qualifying deposits refers to deposits that fund a new small business checking account and are not from any other BOA account.
  • This particular offer is limited to only one per business customer. This is regardless of the number of businesses owned or operated by the customer.

Waiving the monthly fees:

$18 per Month – Business Fundamentals Account:

  • You can waive this fee by doing any of the following;
  • Ensuring that your account has a $3,000 minimum daily balance.
  • Ensuring an average of $5,000 monthly balance.
  • Ensuring to have a combined average of $15,000 in all linked BOA accounts.
  • Making a $250 net in new qualifying purchases with each billing cycle on your BOA business debit or credit account.

$29.95 Business advantage account:

You can waive this by meeting any of the following requirements;

  • Spend at least $2,500 in net purchases with your business credit card.
  • Maintain an average balance of $15,000 or more.
  • Have a combined average of $35,000 or more in all of your combined Bank of America accounts.
  • Ensure to use the Merchant account or payroll services actively.
  • Qualify and enroll for the Business Advantage Relationship Rewards Program.

$2500 Bonus – Business Checking account (In-Branch)

$2500 Bonus – Business Checking account (In-Branch)

You can earn up to $2,500 bonus when you open a new Business Checking Account with BOA, and meet all of their requirements.

This offer doesn’t have a direct online link, and if you are interested, you must contact the small business expert department at BOA.

The accounts that qualify for this bonus feature are the Business Fundamentals and the Business advantage accounts.

To receive the $1,000 bonus:

Open a Business Advantage Checking account and one of the select business features below;

Small business credit card;

You must be approved to spend more than $2,000 on your new credit card within the first 90 days of opening the above account.

Business term Loan:

You must be approved to open a new term loan in the first 90 days of opening the Business Advantage Checking account.

Business line of credit

You must receive an approval to open a new line of credit within 90 days of opening the account.

Bank of America Merchant Services account:

You must open and activate a merchant services account and deposit at least $10,000 worth of funds in the business advantage account in the 90 days after opening the account.

You must deposit $50,000 of new money in each of the accounts you open above.

Features of accounts:

Business Fundamentals:
  • Online banking and account alerts.
  • Mobile banking.
  • Debit cards.
  • Total security protection on cards.
Business advantage account:
  • Online account management.
  • Seamless QuickBooks integration.
  • An additional business checking account.
  • No fees for select banking transactions.

Waiving the monthly fees:

$29.95 Monthly fee:

You can waive this by meeting any of the following requirements;

  • Spend at least $2,500 in new purchases with your business credit card.
  • Maintain an average balance of $15,000 or more.
  • Have a combined average of $35,000 or more in all of your combined Bank of America accounts.
  • Ensure to use the Merchant account or payroll services actively.
  • Qualify and enroll for the Business Advantage Relationship Rewards Program.

Business Fundamentals $16 monthly fees:

  • Spend $250 in new purchase with your debit card.
  • Have an average monthly balance of $15,000 or more, and maintain a further $3,000 daily balance.
  • Have a combined average monthly balance of $15,000 or more in all of your linked Bank of America accounts.
  • Qualify and enroll for the Business Advantage Relationship Rewards program.

The fine print:

  • You should contact a business expert at any of the BOA branches to find out more about this offer.
  • The offer is designed for LegalZoom customers who have a Limited Liability company.
  • The account must be opened in a branch to qualify.

Free Museum Admissions offer – Bank of America

Free Museum Admissions offer – Bank of America

This is an exclusive offer to Bank of America’s existing customers. It offers them the opportunity to enter into any Museum for free.

You must have opened a BOA account, or have a Merrill Lynch debit or credit card.

The offer is available countrywide.

Qualifying for the offer:

  • You will need to sing up on email or text reminders to be alerted of the eligible weekends.
  • You must present your BOA or Merrill Lynch Credit or Debit Card and a photo ID to get free admission into the museum.
  • The offer is only available on specific dates.
  • Additional requirements may apply.

12 Months of McAfee Antivirus Offer; Bank of America

12 Months of McAfee Antivirus Offer; Bank of America

This is another product that is available to the existing BOA customers only. After joining the bank, they shall offer to protect your computer for a year when you sign up for the 12-months McAfee Antivirus offer.

  • You must sign up for the offer on the bank’s online page and then receive a redirection to the McAfee site.
  • You shall need to create a McAfee user account and password.
  • You shall be requested for your registration information such as your name, city, address, phone number, and state.
  • You must provide your billing information for the McAfee automatic 12-month renewal. Please note that they shall not charge your credit card during the offer period and you may choose to cancel the offer when the trial period expires.
  • This offer is available to customers living in Canada and the US.
  • When you sign up for the offer, as a BOA online customer, you shall receive an online downloadable McAfee LiveSafe at no extra cost for the first 12 months.
  • The subscription shall be subject to automatic renewal each year unless you choose to cancel it.
  • If you currently have a McAfee subscription you are not eligible for the offer.

Benefits of having a Bank of America Account:

Easy accessibility:

The BOA is omnipresent. When you open an account with them, you are sure of a branch close by, as they are in every state and their ATMs are a legion. This reduces the likelihood of having to look for a branch or ATM in vain, plus this saves you the pain of having to pay the astronomical fees of using a foreign atm.

Ease of use:

The Bank of America offers an easy to use online banking portal and a mobile banking app. These make it not only convenient but also makes it easy to do all of your banking in the comfort of your home. You rarely have to visit a bank for transactions.

This is an incentive that will make any new customer very happy. The fact that there is no need for you to travel all over looking for a branch. This is because, there are high chances of landing into a branch that is right near you.

But, if you would rather visit the physical location of a bank, there are plenty of those all over too.

Bank of America is available in more than 30 countries all over the work, and they also have an extensive network of ATMs when you need some money quickly.

Automatic savings:

When using your debit card purchase, there is a program called “keep the change” this rounds up your purchases into the nearest dollar and deposits any rounded up the amount in your linked Bank of America savings account.

Easy banking transactions:

The QuickDeposit feature offered by the Bank of America enables you to deposit checks by taking a picture of the check and uploading it on the app using your mobile phone.

This takes banking to a whole new level, where everything is easy and within reach. The process of deposit is similar to what would happen if you ever visited the bank.

The funds deposited with a check can be withdrawn the next morning.

Mobile banking:

The mobile banking system of Bank of America is always on point when it comes to sending you alerts and notifications concerning your account.

They enable you to keep track of your account balance, and all transactions that are made using your bank account. This makes it easy for you to identify where something is amiss or when your funds are almost depleted.

Any significant transactions are always communicated immediately.

Safety and security:

BOA provides its customers with free security features such as “site key” which is used with online banking. When you log into your banking account, you are presented with a caption and an image that you should choose beforehand.

Any site that doesn’t have them is not the real Bank of America site.

Another feature is the “SafePass,” which is a six-digit one-time passcode that you can use when authorizing cash transfers. It is sent as a text message on your mobile phone or generated from a card.

The “ShopSafe” feature allows you to create a temporary number for your credit card each time you make an online purchase. This number is usually linked directly on to your real account number.

Many different accounts:

When shopping for the right account to open and have no clue which one suits, you can be quite daunting. Bank of America offers two-personal checking accounts, a Core Checking account, and the Bank of America Interest Checking accounts.

You are sure to find something that shall suit your needs.

All of these accounts offer online banking, text messages, and mobile banking, plus the free bill pay feature. The debit cards come with a Total Security Protection which also includes a $0 liability guarantee in case of any fraudulent charges credited on your account.

In addition, you may choose to add a photo on your credit card to help protect it in case it is lost.

Drawbacks of Bank of America:

Account fees:

The bank created an uproar a couple of years bank when they had proposed a $5 monthly fee on all debit card transactions that did not have a mortgage attached to them, or a Merrill Lynch or all balances of $20,000 and above.

The public backlash was so severe that they were forced to drop this terrible idea. However, all of their checking accounts – i.e., The core checking and the Interest checking require the account holders to do a few activities in them in order to avoid the monthly fees as mentioned above.

Slow services:

The size of the bank is sometimes a drawback, as there are too many customers to be served, which makes it very slow. There have been many customer complaints concerning this, and they say that whenever they go inside the bank to speak to a banker, they end up spending too much time.

Low-interest rates:

With large banks, this is a given. They are less eager to pay their customers the most competitive rates in the market.

BOA is no exception, and, when you compare them with the competition, their rates are not good enough for someone looking to save.

Conclusion

I have tried my best to give you all of the current Bank of America bonuses and promotions, so you are not left out. Unfortunately, most of the promotions have already expired, and we are only left with those that shall expire by 31st of December, 2019, and I shall be sure to update you with the latest promotions for 2020.

Check out what other banks are offering, in order to maximize your chances of making as much money as possible, and remember there are many other types of bonuses that can be on offers such as credit card bonuses and even loan promotions.

Sometimes it pays to be wise. Opening a bank account that offers you free money simply by doing so is very wise.

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