BMO Promotions: Up to $400 for a New Checking Account

BMO Bank is an FDIC insured bank based in Chicago, IL and has over 1,000 locations spread out across several states – but the offer is available nationwide.

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 — $250 Bonus
  2. BMO Smart Money Checking — $250 Bonus
  3. BMO Relationship Checking — $400 Bonus
  4. BMO Relationship Plus Money Market Account — up to $3,500 Bonus [EXPIRED]
  5. BMO Business Checking — up to $1,000
  6. How Does This Offer Compare?

💵 U.S. Bank – up to $700

Earn up to $700 when you open a new U.S. Bank Smartly® Checking account and a Standard Savings account and complete qualifying activities. Subject to certain terms and limitations. Offer valid through June 27, 2024. Member FDIC.

Offer may not be available if you live outside of the U.S. Bank footprint or are not an existing client of U.S. Bank or State Farm.

Learn more about this offer

🔃Updated: BMO Bank just updated their offer with a new expiration date of May 3rd, 2024. The offer is now a $250 or $400 bonus, based on the account you open.

BMO Smart Advantage Checking — $250 Bonus

BMO Bank is offering a $250 bonus* when you open a BMO Smart Advantage Checking and have at least $4,000 or more qualifying direct deposits within the first 90 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

Accounts are subject to approval. BMO Bank N.A. Member FDIC

👉 Learn more about this offer

(Offer expires 5/3/2024)

BMO Smart Money Checking — $250 Bonus

There is also the BMO Smart Money Checking with a $250 cash bonus* when you open an account and have at least $4,000 or more qualifying direct deposits within the first 90 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

Accounts are subject to approval. BMO Bank N.A. Member FDIC

👉 Learn more about this offer

(Offer expires 5/3/2024)

BMO Relationship Checking — $400 Bonus

If you receive a larger paycheck, BMO Bank will give you a $400 bonus* when you open a BMO Relationship Checking and when you have at least $7,500 in qualifying direct deposits within the first 90 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

Accounts are subject to approval. BMO Bank N.A. Member FDIC

👉 Learn more about this offer

(Offer expires 5/3/2024)

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

(unfortunately this offer has expired)

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

BMO Business Checking — up to $1,000

BMO has a bonus on their business checking accounts:

You’ll earn $300 if you have 10 electronic transactions post to the account within the first 90 days and have an average collected balance of between $4,000 and $9,999 for 90 days.

You can earn $500 if you have 10 electronic transactions in the first 90 days and have an average collected balance of between $10,000 and $29,999 for 90 days.

You can earn $1,000 if you have 10 electronic transactions in the first 90 days and have an average collected balance of over $30,000 for 90 days.

BMO has four business checking accounts:

  • BMO Simple Business Checking: Each month you’ll get 100 free transactions and up to $2,000 in cash deposits. There is a monthly fee of $10 per month unless you have an average collected balance of at least $100 per month.
  • BMO Premium Business Checking: Each month you’ll get 200 free transactions and up to $5,000 in cash deposits. There is a monthly fee of $15 per month unless you have an average collected balance of at least $1,500 per month.
  • BMO Elite Business Checking: Each month you’ll get 500 free transactions and up to $20,000 in cash deposits. There is a monthly fee of $25 per month unless you have an average collected balance of at least $10,000 per month or have a combined monthly business balance of $25,000.
  • BMO Digital Business Checking: You’ll unlimited free ACH and incoming wire transactions and up to $1,000 in cash deposits. There is a monthly fee of $10 per month unless you have an average collected balance of at least $500 per month.

Learn more about this offer

(Offer expires 4/30/2024)

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:

Barclays – $200

Barclays Bank will give you a $200 if you open a new savings account and deposit $25,000 or more within 30 days and maintain at least $25,000 for the next 120 days. The savings account also pays a competitive interest rate of 4.35% APY while you wait.

👉 Click here to learn more


BMO Relationship Checking – $400

BMO Bank is offering a $400 bonus* when you open a BMO Relationship Checking and when you have at least $7,500 in qualifying direct deposits within the first 90 days. It is a very straightforward offer that is available nationwide.

*Conditions apply

👉 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® – $300

Chase Bank will give you $300 when you open a Total Checking account and set up and receive direct deposits totaling $500 or more 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


HSBC Premier Checking – up to $4,000

HSBC has an offer where you can get up to $4,000 for eligible new customers who open an HSBC Premier checking account, make a sizable deposit, and make recurring monthly qualifying direct deposits of at least $5,000 for 3 consecutive months.

👉 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.

Other Posts You May Enjoy:

First Horizon Bank Bonus: $450 Checking

First Horizon Bank has a $450 bonus on their checking account with very reasonable qualification requirements. If you've been thinking about getting this account, see how you can get a $450 bonus.

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.

As Seen In: