The Premier Checking upgrade bonus is back. You need to get a code below, then open the account at a local branch. The deposit requirement is fairly high: $250,000 in new money. However, the funds can be placed in Savings, CDs, or Investment Accounts to earn higher interest or investment returns. Premier Checking account holders also get some extra bonuses when applying for credit cards, so the account does have some use.

The regular Checking account $400 opening bonus is here! The Direct Deposit requirement is not high either: only $1,000 total over three months. You can also satisfy it with a LemFi transfer. The promotion ends on November 9.

The requirements for the account-opening bonus are as follows:

  • Deposit at least $25 when opening the account;
  • Within 90 days after account opening, complete Direct Deposits totaling more than $1,000; (using a LemFi transfer directly can satisfy this, and it is very reliable)
  • Keep the Checking balance above $0 before the account-opening bonus posts
  • You cannot currently have a Wells Fargo Checking account, and you must not have closed a Wells Fargo Checking account within the past 12 months

This is a very good bonus. I have added it to our high-value bank bonus ranking; you can check our roundup here:

About Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company headquartered in San Francisco, California, with central offices across the United States. By market capitalization, it is the fourth-largest bank in the world; by total assets, it is the fourth-largest bank in the United States. One major blemish is that employees once misused customer data and opened many credit cards for customers without authorization. Also, Wells Fargo’s credit cards are somewhat unusual in that they can only be applied for by green card holders or citizens. There are also data points suggesting that holding a Wells Fargo Checking account can help you get approved for a credit card.

Wells Fargo Checking

Account Opening Bonus

See the beginning of the post.

Direct Deposit

If you do not want to, or cannot, use payroll to complete DD, you can try some of the unofficial transfer (ACH) or withdrawal methods below to satisfy the $1,000 requirement (source: DOC). The process is to add Wells Fargo as an external bank at another bank, then initiate a transfer. Alternatively, add Wells Fargo to an investment or PayPal account and withdraw funds directly.

  • ACH transfers: Chase, Discover, AMEX Serve
  • Investment accounts: Schwab, Fidelity, Robinhood
  • Other: PayPal, Venmo
  • Because Wells Fargo data points are relatively inconsistent, we recommend checking DOC’s summary

According to reader reports, after satisfying the DD requirement, the account-opening bonus posts within a few business days. So if yours does not post, you can try a different workaround. You can open the account at a local branch; in the link above, choose in-branch to get a promo code. If you are an F1 resident, you may be able to open the account online directly, though you may need to provide additional documents such as a driver’s license/State ID, student visa, passport, credit card statement, etc.

Fees

Everyday Checking has a $10 monthly fee, which can be waived by meeting any one of the following requirements:

  • 10+ debit card purchases or payments per month (regular card swipes or online purchases both count)
  • $500 in Direct Deposit per month, which can be split across multiple deposits
  • At least $1,500 in daily balance (the balance at each daily settlement must be above this amount)
  • Link this account to a Wells Fargo Campus ATM or Campus Debit Card
  • No monthly fee for people age 17–24

In addition, these three checking accounts do not have an early termination fee, which means that in theory, you can close the account after receiving the account-opening bonus. That said, I still recommend keeping it open for a bit longer.

Saving (No Bonus Currently)

There is now also a $525 savings account opening bonus. You need to deposit $25 when opening the account, then deposit $25,000 within 30 days and keep it there for 90 days. If you are an existing customer, there is also a dedicated link available. However, both require opening the account at a local Wells Fargo branch. This offer is pretty good; annualized, it is about 8.4%. If you have idle cash, it is worth considering. Of course, ideally you would do checking, savings, and Premier Checking all together. If you are doing the Premier Checking opening bonus, the money deposited in savings also counts. So it is effectively a chance to pick up an extra savings account opening bonus at the same time.

Although the savings account has a $5 monthly fee, the waiver requirements are easy to meet. The easiest is the first one: maintain at least a $300 daily balance.
  • Maintain at least a $300 daily balance. $300 minimum daily balance
  • Automatically transfer at least $25 from a checking account to the savings account. 1 automatic transfer each fee period of $25 or more from a linked Wells Fargo checking account
  • Make 1 automatic transfer from a checking account to the savings account each business day. 1 automatic transfer each business day within the fee period of $1 or more from a linked Wells Fargo checking account
  • Make at least 1 transfer from a checking account using the Save As You Go® feature. 1 or more Save As You Go® transfers from a linked Wells Fargo checking account. A qualifying Save As You Go transfer is an automatic transfer of $1 from your linked Wells Fargo checking account to your Way2Save Savings account each time you (or any authorized signer or joint owner) use your debit card for a one-time purchase or complete a Bill Pay transaction through online banking, and the one-time debit card purchase or bill pay transaction posts to the account. We reserve the right to determine through our sole discretion if a particular transaction is a qualifying transaction.
  • The primary account owner is age 24 or under. Primary account owner is 24 years old or under. (When the primary account owner reaches the age of 25, age can no longer be used to avoid the monthly service fee.) Customers 12 and under must have an adult co-owner.

Wells Fargo Premier Checking

Account Opening Bonus

See the beginning.

Features

Based on the description, there are not many substantive benefits; most are services that make consulting and investing more convenient for high-net-worth customers. In addition, this account earns interest. The current annual percentage yield (APY) depends on the deposit amount: 0.25% for balances of $0–$99,999.99, and 0.50% for $100,000 or more. Better than nothing.

  • Interest on the Premier Checking account is compounded daily and paid monthly. The amount of interest earned is based on the daily collected balances in the account. The following Annual Percentage Yields (APYs) are accurate as of November 25, 2022. The account pays an APY of 0.25% if the balance is $0–$99,999.99 and 0.50% if the balance is $100,000 or more. Rates are variable and subject to change without notice. Fees could reduce earnings on this account.

This account itself has a $35 monthly fee. It can be waived if your total balances at Wells Fargo (including checking accounts, savings accounts, time deposits (CDs), FDIC-insured IRAs, investment accounts, and so on) reach $250,000 or more.

  • The Wells Fargo Premier Checking account has a $35 monthly service fee which can be avoided each fee period with $250,000 or more in statement-ending qualifying linked (a) bank deposit account balances (checking, savings, time accounts (CDs) , FDIC-insured IRAs) and (b) investment account balances (brokerage available through our brokerage affiliate Wells Fargo Advisors, applicable bank fiduciary and custody accounts, annuities, and eligible foreign exchange transactions) .

Also, if you currently have a Premier Checking account, you can log in to apply for Wells Fargo credit cards (or visit a branch) to get an additional bonus:

My Take

If you can successfully open the account, the bonus is quite good, and the direct deposit requirement is not very high. If you are interested in other bank account bonuses, you can also consider the offer below:

Checking account bonuses are taxable. The bank will send a 1099-INT the following year, and you can report it as interest income.

Application Link