Offer reference

Capital One's $250 checking bonus, read closely

No monthly fee, no minimum balance, a small requirement, and a lockout that catches more people than the terms suggest.

LAST VERIFIED 2026-10-13

Capital One 360 Checking — $250

NO STATED END DATE

The offer

$250 on a new 360 Checking account opened with promo code CHECKING250, after at least two qualifying direct deposits of $500 or more each within 75 days of opening. No expiration is published; Capital One may end or change it at any time. Verify at capitalone.com →

Qualifying deposit

"A regular periodic payment, such as salary, pension, government payments," arriving by ACH or Real-Time Payment credit from an employer or an outside entity. Excluded: wires, and transfers started from inside Capital One's own site or app.

The lockout

Ineligible if you held a 360 Checking, Simply Checking, or Total Control Checking account, as primary or secondary holder, on or after January 1, 2024. This is a fixed date, not a rolling window: a 360 account closed in early 2024 still disqualifies you today. Capital One credit cards do not matter.

Payout

Capital One allows itself 75 days to assess eligibility and up to 60 more to pay, so the bonus can post as late as day 135 from opening. The account must be open and in good standing when it does.

Fees

No monthly fee. No minimum to open or to keep the account.

Tax

Interest income, reported on a 1099-INT.

Two deposits, not one amount

The requirement is a count and a size: two deposits, each $500 or more. One $1,000 push satisfies the dollars and fails the count. Space them about a week apart so they post as distinct deposits, and confirm both show as direct deposits before day 75, which leaves time for a replacement if one posted as a transfer. How to read a deposit's classification is its own page.

The overdraft question

At signup, Capital One offers overdraft protection. Declining it keeps the application a soft inquiry through the deposit-account databases. Opting in is the one documented path to a hard credit pull on this account. The calendar's open-day event says decline.

The timeline

Day 0Open online with the code. Decline overdraft protection.
Day 3First deposit, $500 or more.
Day 10Second deposit, $500 or more, about a week after the first.
Day 25Confirm both posted as direct deposits. A miscoded one can be replaced until day 75.
Day 72Check for the bonus. Most post within weeks of the second deposit; the terms allow until day 135.
Day 90Exit unlocked once the bonus has posted. Never close before it does; a no-fee account costs nothing to keep.

Where it sits in a sequence

Small requirement, no fee, long payout clock. It runs well alongside a larger lane because the $1,000 it needs is released as soon as the deposits register, and it is the usual first lane for anyone the 12-month rule locks out of Bank of America. The method row for it, which sender Capital One's system currently counts, ships with the calendar.

Capital One is sequence one or two on every track, depending on your Bank of America history. The checkout question about your last 24 months decides which.

See the flagship sequence Pricing