Examined Oct 1, 2026 Paid in cash Offer expires Jan 4, 2027 Fifth Third pays $300 for $500 of direct deposits within 90 days, but the account must be opened by January 4, 2027, and transfers and mobile deposits count for nothing.
This is a public offer that needs no invitation and no referral. The code is applied automatically when you select Open Your Account on Fifth Third's offer page. If you are not ready, Fifth Third will email you a code to use later, online or in a branch. The offer page describes Momentum Checking as having no minimum deposit to open and no monthly service fee. Fifth Third says the $300 lands within 10 business days of your qualifying deposits.
What pays what
| A new Momentum or Preferred Checking account, opened with the offer code by Jan 4, 2027, with $500 or more in qualifying direct deposits within 90 days | $300 |
|---|---|
| Transfers from other accounts, or mobile deposits, as your $500 | $0 |
| Anyone with any ownership in an existing Fifth Third checking account, or by the footnote any Fifth Third deposit account | $0 |
| Anyone whose Fifth Third checking account, or by the footnote any deposit account, closed within the last 13 months | $0 |
| An account opened without the offer code | $0 |
| Stacking this bonus with another Fifth Third promotion | Not allowed |
The offer is only available for new customers who do not have any ownership in an existing Fifth Third checking account or Fifth Third checking account that closed within the last 13 months.
The words that matter are “any ownership”. The clause is not limited to primary owners. We read that as covering a joint checking account you share with a partner or a parent, and Fifth Third does not say otherwise. The footnote under the page uses the same sentence with one word changed: “Offer is only available for new customers who do not have any ownership in an existing Fifth Third deposit account or a Fifth Third deposit account that closed within the last 13 months.” A deposit account is a wider class than a checking account, so a Fifth Third savings account may shut you out as well; where the two disagree, plan around the stricter one. On stacking, the FAQ says: “Each customer is eligible for one bonus per account type.”
Do this, in this order
- Check the lookback, joint accounts included. Do you have any ownership in a Fifth Third checking account today, or in one that closed within the last 13 months? If yes, the offer is not available to you. If what you hold or held is a Fifth Third savings account, the footnote’s wording, “deposit account”, may exclude you too; ask the bank before you open.
- Open through the offer page, or carry the code. Fifth Third's answer to whether you need a code is yes: you need to use the offer code provided on the promotion page when opening your account. Online, it is applied when you select Open Your Account. In a branch, you provide the emailed code in person.
- Open by January 4, 2027. The page says the offer expires on that date. We read it on October 1, 2026, a little over three months before that. After you open, you have 90 days to complete the deposits.
- Point payroll or a benefit payment at the account straight away. The total has to reach $500 or more within 90 days of opening. The page does not ask for a minimum number of deposits.
- Do not abandon the account afterwards. Fifth Third's Momentum page says an account with no deposits or withdrawals for 12 months is considered dormant and a $5 monthly fee applies. It also says how to avoid it: make at least one transaction per year. The FAQ on the offer page states no minimum time the account must stay open, but the footnote says the account must be open and in good standing for the bonus to be paid, so do not close it before the $300 arrives.
“No hidden fees or gotchas”, and the one fee
What the offer page says. Under the heading “No hidden fees or gotchas” it lists free checking, no overdraft fees for your first 90 days, no minimum deposit to open and no monthly service fee. Its FAQ on fees says there are no monthly fees for Momentum Checking, then adds a warning to keep the account active to avoid dormant account fees. It gives no amount.
What the account page says. The amount is on the Momentum Checking page: “No, there are no hidden fees with Fifth Third Momentum® Checking. However, a $5 dormant account fee applies if there are no deposits or withdrawals for 12 months.” The fee is monthly, so a forgotten account costs $5 times 12 months, or $60 a year. So the fee is disclosed. The amount is just not on the page that advertises the bonus.
What the offer page does not settle
The footnote behind almost every line. The headline, each of the three steps and most FAQ answers carry a footnote marker. The text of that footnote was not in the copy of the page we read on September 18, 2026. It was in the copy we read on October 1, 2026, and it is stricter than the FAQ in two places. The lookback covers any “Fifth Third deposit account”, not only checking. And the deposits it names are “payroll or government issued direct deposit(s)”; the FAQ adds pension, the footnote does not. It also adds rules the FAQ leaves out: “Account(s) must be funded within 90 days of account opening or account may be closed, and you may not be eligible for the bonus.” “In order to receive the cash bonus, your checking account must be open and in good standing.” “The Bank reserves the right to limit the number of promotional offers per customer to one (1) per year from account opening.” “Eligibility may be limited based on your account type and ownership role.” “Not valid with any other offer.” It says the bonus is considered income and may be reported to the IRS. It still gives no list of states.
Which account, exactly. One FAQ answer says to open a new Fifth Third Momentum or Preferred Checking account. The answer about the deadline names only Momentum Checking. Every fee statement on the offer page is about Momentum. Nothing we read gives the monthly fee on Preferred Checking, so check it before choosing that account.
Where you have to live. Fifth Third says it has branches in 15 states, with more than 1,400 full-service locations, and that you can open online. The page we read gives no list of eligible states.
A date, a terms document, and a referral program. The offer page carries no revision date, and we found no separate terms document for this offer. An older Fifth Third terms PDF for a $300 cash bonus, which search results still surface, now returns a not-found page. We found no refer-a-friend program for Fifth Third checking.
Is it worth your time?
Yes, if a paycheck or a benefit payment can be pointed at the account. $500 across 90 days is a single modest pay deposit for many people, Momentum Checking has no monthly service fee to work against the bonus, and a payout within 10 business days is quick for a bank. The account then costs nothing to keep as long as you make at least one transaction per year.
Skip it if you have had any share in a Fifth Third checking account in the last 13 months, and ask first if it was a savings account, or if the only money you can move is your own from another bank. And do not leave it to the last week: on the day we read the page, the offer had a little over three months left, and nothing on it says whether the offer will be extended again.
