Bank of the West New Account Promotions – $250 or $600 for Checking

Bank of the West is a regional bank with an enormous footprint in the Midwest and Western United States. With over 600 branches and 9,000 employees, it’s headquartered in San Francisco and is a subsidiary of financial giant BNP Paribas.

Bank of the West is FDIC insured up to $250,000 under FDIC certificate #3514 as a State Chartered Bank and regulated by the FDIC.

In December 2021, BMO reached an agreement to acquire Bank of the West for $16.3 billion. BMO runs bank promotions so now you’ll want to look at those as Bank of the West will no longer be, at least under their name, be offering them. We will keep you updated as we learn more.

🚨 BMO has a $400 bonus available!

They periodically run some good promotions but at the moment both are expired. (likely because of the acquisition)

They had previously offered two – one for $250 and one for $600, here were the details:

💵 U.S. Bank – up to $450

Earn up to $450 when you open a new U.S. Bank Smartly® Checking account and complete qualifying activities. Subject to certain terms and limitations. Offer valid through 1/28/2026. Member FDIC.

Get started with an initial deposit of $25 within 30 days. Offer may not be available if you are an existing U.S. Bank customer or live outside of the U.S. Bank footprint.

Learn more about this offer

Table of Contents
  1. Bank of the West Checking Bonus — $250 [EXPIRED]
  2. Bank of the West Premier Checking Bonus — up to $600 [EXPIRED]
  3. Bonus Offer Restrictions
  4. How Does This Offer Compare?

Bank of the West Checking Bonus — $250 [EXPIRED]

Bank of the West has a checking account bonus of $250 when you open an Any Deposit Checking account (except for UCB Student Checking and Bank of the West Premier Checking) with any opening deposit amount (a penny or more).

Then, set up a direct deposit with your employer or benefits provider and make direct deposits totaling $1,000 or more per month for three months in a row. Check the offer qualification periods and key dates in the terms and conditions for all the details.

That’s the only active requirement – after that, you get the bonus.

The account has a $10 monthly fee that you can waive if:

  • You make any deposit per statement cycle (this can be using the mobile app, in-branch, via ATM, or directly into the account)
  • You are under the age of 25

Otherwise, no minimum balance and it takes just ten minutes to open the account.

You can open an account online (it’ll enter the promo code automatically) or go into a branch but you must be a resident of Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin or Wyoming.

Learn more about the Bank of the West promotion
(Offer expires 9/30/2022)

Bank of the West Premier Checking Bonus — up to $600 [EXPIRED]

This offer is higher because the requirements are a bit higher.

First, you get $500 when you open a Premier Checking account by 8/6/2021 and deposit at least $25,000 that same month and maintain a $25,000 average monthly balance for three full calendar months.

Then, you get an additional $100 when you open a Choice Money Market Savings account by 8/6/2021. You must deposit a minimum of $10,000 in funds new to Bank of the West and maintain an average monthly balance of $10,000 for three full calendar months to get the extra $100.

The Premier Checking has a $25 monthly service charge that is waived for the first two statement cycles. It’s also waived with a $25,000 average monthly combined balance, which you’ll meet if you meet the bonus requirements.

You can open an account online (it’ll enter the promo code automatically) or go into a branch but you must be a resident of Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin or Wyoming.

Learn more about the Bank of the West promotion
(Offer expires 8/6/2021)

Bonus Offer Restrictions

There are a few restrictions on both offers (confirm this on the offer page, we may be out of date):

  1. You can’t have had an open consumer checking account as of 8/15/2021
  2. You can only get one consumer bonus between 2/1/2020 and 2/27/2022
  3. One individual per residential address
  4. Must keep the account in open status and with a positive balance as of 1/31/2022

How Does This Offer Compare?

This is an above average bonus for a checking account with no minimum and no maintenance fee (with a direct deposit), you typically see offers like this at around the $200 – $250 range so this offer is good.

U.S. Bank – up to $450

Earn up to $450 when you open a new U.S. Bank Smartly® Checking account and complete qualifying activities. Subject to certain terms and limitations. Offer valid through 1/28/2026. Member FDIC.

Get started with an initial deposit of $25 within 30 days. Offer may not be available if you are an existing U.S. Bank customer or live outside of the U.S. Bank footprint.

👉 Click here to learn more


Barclays – $200

Barclays Bank will give you a $200 if you open a new savings account and deposit $30,000 within 30 days of opening the account. The savings account also pays a competitive interest rate of 3.60% APY while you wait.

👉 Click here to learn more


BMO Checking – $400

BMO is offering a $400 bonus* when you open a BMO Checking account and you have a cumulative total of $4,000 in qualifying direct deposits within 90 days of account opening between 9/9/25 - 1/28/26. It is a very straightforward offer that is available nationwide.

*Conditions apply

👉 Click here to learn more


Capital One 360 Checking – $250

Capital One 360 has a $250 cash bonus when you open a new account and then receive two direct deposits each of $500 or more within 75 days of account opening. Valid for new 360 Checking account customers. If you had a If you had a 360 Checking, Simply Checking, or Total Control Checking account with Capital One on or after January 1, 2022, you are ineligible.

👉 Click here to learn more


Bank of America – up to $500 cash offer

Bank of America offers a up to $500 cash offer cash bonus if you open a new account and To qualify, open a new eligible Bank of America Advantage Banking account through the promotional page and set up and receive Qualifying Direct Deposits* into that new eligible account within 90 days of account opening. Your cash bonus amount will be based on the total amount of your Qualifying Direct Deposits received in the first 90 days. . It has a monthly fee that is easy to get waived.

👉 Click here to learn more

If you can get this Bank of the West promotion, it’s a solid offer that’s easy to satisfy.

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About Jim Wang

Jim Wang is a forty-something father of four who is a frequent contributor to Forbes and Vanguard's Blog. He has also been fortunate to have appeared in the New York Times, Baltimore Sun, Entrepreneur, and Marketplace Money.

Jim has a B.S. in Computer Science and Economics from Carnegie Mellon University, an M.S. in Information Technology - Software Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, as well as a Masters in Business Administration from Johns Hopkins University. His approach to personal finance is that of an engineer, breaking down complex subjects into bite-sized easily understood concepts that you can use in your daily life.

One of his favorite tools (here's my treasure chest of tools, everything I use) is Empower Personal Dashboard, which enables him to manage his finances in just 15-minutes each month. They also offer financial planning, such as a Retirement Planning Tool that can tell you if you're on track to retire when you want. It's free.

>> Read more articles by Jim

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Cheri Larkowski
4 years ago

How do I get a promo code?

wilson
4 years ago
Reply to  Jim Wang

i plan to apply at the branch, how to get the promo code for premier checking $500 bonus through email?

Meri Orshansky
4 years ago

Hi, I just call Bank of the West to make an appointment to open the account for $500.00 bonus promotion, but the banker said that I have to have a “mailer” from the bank in order to do so or I have to have a promotional code. It does not say “Targeted” on your website. Am I mistaken and the bank is right? Any suggestion? I have only couple days to open it, if so. I know you will suggest to do it online, but I always prefer to go to the branch. I live just 2 miles from it.… Read more »

Michael L.
4 years ago

Bank of the West didn’t give me the 500 bonus and after 9 months of asking what was the reason this is what they told me: “Your checking account was opened on March 25, 2021. You only deposited $5,000.00 in March 2021. Therefore, the account did not qualify for the bonus. We apologize for any inconvenience.” I think they should not let people apply after the 20th of the month since most banks have monthly transfer limit and definitely will take about 10 days to transfer $35K (March was the start of USA COVID lockdown and we only do online… Read more »

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