BMO Promotions: Up to $4,100 for a New Checking Account

BMO Bank is an FDIC insured bank based in Chicago, IL and has over 500 locations spread out across eight states.

BMO Bank isn’t as well known as some of the other banks we cover but their promotions will get your attention.

As of this writing, they have three active personal account bonuses you should check out. They frequently run consumer banking promotions and we will update those as soon as they release more information about those offers.

Table of Contents
  1. BMO Smart Advantage Checking — $400 Bonus
  2. BMO Smart Money Checking — $400 Bonus
  3. BMO Relationship Checking — $600 Bonus
  4. BMO Relationship Plus Money Market Account — up to $3,500 Bonus
  5. How Does This Offer Compare?

🔃Updated November 2023: These offers were renewed in the last cycle and improved significantly. The bonus amounts have been increased, to $400 and $600, and you now have a longer time period to get the direct deposits. Also, there is a tiered deposit bonus of up to $3,500.

That’s how you get to a total potential bonus of $4,100. If you’ve been waiting to take advantage of this offer, now is the best time I’ve seen in quite a few bonus cycles.

BMO Smart Advantage Checking — $400 Bonus

BMO Bank is offering a $400 bonus* when you open a BMO Smart Advantage Checking and when you have a total of $4,000 or more in qualifying direct deposits within the first 120 days. It is a very straightforward offer that is available nationwide.

The BMO Smart Advantage™ Account is great because there is no monthly fee if you used Paperless Statements.

*Conditions apply

👉 Learn more about this offer

(Offer expires 12/8/2023)

BMO Smart Money Checking — $400 Bonus

There is also the BMO Smart Money Checking with a $400 cash bonus* when you open an account and have at least $4,000 or more qualifying direct deposits within the first 120 days. There are no overdraft fees or NSF fees*. No minimum balance required and no monthly maintenance fee if you’re under 25 years old.

Available nationwide.

*Conditions apply

👉 Learn more about this offer

(Offer expires 12/8/2023)

BMO Relationship Checking — $600 Bonus

If you receive a larger paycheck, BMO Bank will give you a $600 bonus* when you open a BMO Relationship Checking and when you have at least $7,500 in qualifying direct deposits within the first 120 days. There are no additional requirements, it’s just a higher direct deposit total amount over the 90 days.

The account does have a $25 waivable monthly maintenance fee with unlimited non-BMO Bank ATM transactions plus $25 monthly rebate on ATM fees from other banks and a Relationship Package that provides increasing rewards across multiple products sets the deeper your relationship is with the bank. Also available nationwide.

*Conditions apply

👉 Learn more about this offer

(Offer expires 12/8/2023)

BMO Relationship Plus Money Market Account — up to $3,500 Bonus

You can do this in conjunction with the above offers or on its own, but open a BMO Relationship Plus Money Market Account and within 30 days of opening your account, deposit $25,000 or more of new money into it.

On Day 30, you will be placed in one of five tiers. Maintain a qualifying balance from Day 31 to Day 120 to earn your bonus.

Minimum balance
to deposit
Cash bonus
$25,000 – $49,999.99$300
$50,000 – $99,999.99$500
$100,000 – $249,999.99$1,000
$250,000 – $499,999.99$2,500
$500,000+$3,500

How Does This Offer Compare?

The BMO Bank offer is a solid one because you get a significant cash bonus on any of the checking accounts and you get plenty of time to accumulate the required amounts.

Also, if you have a large cash balance somewhere and want to put it into a MMA that has a big bonus, you have that option too.

This is how it compares with some other nationally available bank offers:

⭐ BMO Smart Advantage Checking – $400

BMO Bank is offering a $400 bonus* when you open a BMO Smart Advantage Checking and when you have a total of $4,000 or more in qualifying direct deposits within the first 120 days. It is a very straightforward offer that is available nationwide.

*Conditions apply

👉 Click here to learn more

⭐Citi Priority Account – up to $2000

Citi Priority is offering up to $2000 bonus when you open an account by 1/9/2024. Then, within 20 days of opening your account, deposit at least $10,000 in New-to-Citi® funds and keep it there for 60 days after the 21st day. The bonus amount is based on how much you can transfer but the lowest tier starts at $10,000.

👉 Click here to learn more

Discover Online Savings Account – $150 or $200

Discover Bank is offering a $150 or $200 bonus when you open your first Discover Online Savings Account with the promotion code WH923 and deposit at least $15,000 into the account within 30 days. You get $150 if you deposit $15,000 or more and $200 if you deposit $25,000.

👉 Click here to learn more

Bank of America – $200 Bonus Offer

Bank of America offers a $200 Bonus Offer cash bonus if you open a new account and Set up and receive qualifying direct deposits totaling $2,000 or more into that account within 90 days of account opening. It has a monthly fee that is easy to have waived.

👉 Click here to learn more

Chase Total Checking® – $200

Chase Bank will give you $200 when you open a Total Checking account and set up and receive a direct deposit within 90 days. There is a $12 monthly fee that is waivable with a monthly direct deposit of just $500, so no gotchas on this deal!

👉 Click here to learn more

As with any bank offer, BMO Bank or otherwise, make sure to review this guide on bank account bonuses – I share tips on how to make sure you get the bonus you earned with as little headache as possible.

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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 Personal Capital, 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.

He is also diversifying his investment portfolio by adding a little bit of real estate. But not rental homes, because he doesn't want a second job, it's diversified small investments in a few commercial properties and farms in Illinois, Louisiana, and California through AcreTrader.

Recently, he's invested in a few pieces of art on Masterworks too.

>> Read more articles by Jim

Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank or financial institution. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

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