Examined Sep 18, 2026 Paid in cash, monthly 14 states only BMO pays its $600 checking bonus as $100 a month for six months, and only to new customers in 14 states.
BMO's headline is $660. The other $60 is a separate reward on a new Savings Builder account: $5 for each month the balance grows by $200 or more, for the first year. Earning all twelve means adding $2,400 over the year, which is $200 times 12. The checking bonus needs no invitation and no referral, but it does need the promo code, an address in one of 14 states, and an account opened between September 9, 2026 and December 15, 2026.
What pays what
| Each tracked month with $1,000 or more in qualifying direct deposits, up to 6 months | $100 |
|---|---|
| A tracked month with less than $1,000, such as BMO's own $900 example | $0 for that month |
| Savings Builder: each month the balance grows by $200 or more, for the first year | $5, up to $60 |
| Primary applicant living outside the 14 named states | $0 |
| Existing BMO personal checking clients, or a BMO checking account closed in the past 12 months | $0 |
| A second new checking account opened in the same window | $0 |
Offer is not available for existing BMO personal checking clients (including trustees, signers, and joint account owners) or those who have closed a BMO personal checking account within the past 12 months.
Note the brackets. Being a signer or a joint owner on someone else's BMO checking account counts as being a client. The 14 states are Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin, judged by where the first person listed on the account lives at the time of application.
Do this, in this order
- Pick the account by its fee. BMO's page lists Smart Advantage Checking at a $0 monthly maintenance fee with no minimum balance, Smart Money Checking at $5 a month or $0 if you are under age 25, and Relationship Checking at $25 a month or $0 if waived. The page we read does not say what waives the $25. Over six tracked months, $5 a month is $30 and $25 a month is $150, so the fee-free account keeps the whole bonus.
- Make sure the promo code is on the application. The terms say: “To take advantage of the new personal checking account cash bonus offer, you must open your account between September 9, 2026 and December 15, 2026, and use the promo code.” The page text we saved does not print the code itself. You may open online, at a BMO financial center, or by phone. If the application does not show a code applied, ask BMO before you submit. The minimum opening deposit is $25.
- Do not leave it to the last day. An online application on December 15, 2026 must be submitted and approved before 9:00 p.m. Central Time. By phone, BMO must receive your opening deposit and all signed documents by December 15, 2026.
- Move payroll straight away, and count by calendar month. Tracking begins the first calendar day of the month after you open. A qualifying direct deposit is regular income from an employer or similar third party, such as salary, a pension, Social Security or other government benefits, sent with your account number and BMO's routing number.
- Never let the balance sit at zero. “Your account must be open, in good standing, must have a balance greater than zero, and must be Smart Money Checking, Smart Advantage Checking, or Relationship Checking when the cash bonus(es) is paid.” BMO also says it may close an account with a zero balance. If you sweep each paycheck out, leave something behind.
- Know the calendar. Each $100 arrives approximately 10 days after the beginning of the next month. Open in October and tracking starts November 1; six tracked months run November through April, so the sixth payment would land around May 10. Bonuses may be reported to the IRS, and the tax is yours.
What BMO does not publish, and what we could not read
Whether a missed month can be made up. The terms say: “If your account does not meet the offer requirements outlined above in a particular month, you will not be disqualified for subsequent months.” They also say the last $100 can be earned 6 months after tracking begins. As we read those two lines together, a missed month is lost, not moved to the end. BMO does not say so in those words.
The offer can go at any time. “Offer can be changed or canceled without notice at any time and cannot be combined with any other offer.” The page carries no revision date. BMO's general special offers page did not list this bonus when we read it; it showed mortgage, line of credit and credit card offers. A second BMO checking promotions page timed out on every attempt, so we have not read it.
The savings reward has small print of its own. Growth is measured from the ledger balance on the last business day of one month to the last business day of the next, and interest and earlier rewards do not count toward the $200. If your first deposit arrives the month after opening, the account is eligible for 11 rewards, not 12. Accounts switched into Savings Builder from another product, second Savings Builder accounts, and people who took part in an earlier BMO Statement Savings rewards offer are excluded. The savings footnote prints no opening deadline and no list of states.
No US refer a friend program that we could find. The current BMO referral offer we could read is written for a Canadian Dollar Primary Chequing Account, pays a $75 digital gift card, and runs from July 1, 2026 until October 31, 2026. It is closed to the public: “The Offer is available to BMO Clients who have received a communication from BMO inviting them to participate in the offer, and the Referees they refer.” It adds: “This Offer can only be used for personal, non-commercial purposes.” A second referral terms PDF on bmo.com is an expired offer: it ran “from September 15, 2021 until October 31, 2021”, paid a $50 digital gift card, and was also invitation only.
Is it worth your time?
If you live in one of the 14 states and your pay can be pointed at BMO, yes. $600 is a large bonus for a $1,000 monthly threshold, and the structure is forgiving in one way: a bad month costs you $100, not the whole offer. It is demanding in another: it asks for direct deposits six months running, so your paycheck lives at BMO for half a year. Choose Smart Advantage Checking unless you have a reason not to, because it is the one the page lists with no monthly fee.
If you live anywhere else, or you have been on a BMO checking account in the past 12 months even as a signer, there is nothing here for you. The savings reward is small enough to ignore unless you were going to save $200 a month anyway: it pays $5 on each $200 you add.
