Bank of America's $500 checking bonus, read closely

The largest widely available checking bonus right now, the flagship of the Almanac's calendar since August, and the one people most often collect a tier below what they planned.

What changed in October 2026

Through September the offer was a flat $500 for $10,000 in deposits. In early October it became tiered and was extended to January 31, 2027. The top tier is identical to the old offer, so a sequence built for $10,000 still collects $500.

The new failure mode is the middle. Under the flat version, a deposit that failed to code voided the bonus, and you knew. Under the tiered version it drops you a tier. A $10,000 requirement met with one slice posting as a transfer pays $300, and nothing on the statement flags it until the bonus arrives short. Check each slice as it posts, and send a replacement for any that shows as a transfer while the window is still open. How to read a deposit's classification is its own page.

The fee, and the one waiver that works

Advantage Plus, the calendar's pick, charges $12 a month. The offer page says there are several ways to waive it, including direct deposit. Read the Personal Schedule of Fees and the two definitions diverge: the fee waiver's qualifying direct deposit, $250 or more per statement cycle, is defined more narrowly than the bonus's, and Bank of America's own FAQ excludes online and mobile transfers and account-to-account transfers from the waiver. A transfer that counts toward the bonus can still leave you paying the fee.

The waiver that does not depend on classification is a $1,500 minimum daily balance, measured at the lowest point in the cycle rather than the average. Hold $1,500 in the account from day 0 until exit and the fee question goes away. The remaining route, Preferred Rewards status, depends on qualifying combined balances held at Bank of America and Merrill, a different arrangement from a bonus sequence.

The timeline

• Day 0Open online through the offer page. Fund to $1,500 and keep it there.
• Day 3–45Clear the $10,000 requirement on the calendar's schedule, checking each slice as it posts.
• Day 90Deposit period closes.
• ≤ Day 150Bonus posts. Bank of America has 60 days after the deposit period.
• AfterHold until the bonus posts, then exit. Closing starts a new 12-month lockout from the date of closure.

Net

$500 on $10,000 cycled for about six weeks, with perhaps 45 minutes of hands-on effort, assuming every transfer codes correctly. On a $25,000 track this runs alongside two or three smaller lanes; on a $10,000 track it is most of the year's first quarter.

What this page leaves out

The row that makes the sequence work is which transfer Bank of America counts and where to send it from. Send the wrong kind and nothing counts. Send the right kind the wrong way and you land a tier down. That row ships with the calendar within the hour of checkout, with the rest of the 12-month sequence and the weekly re-verification behind it.