Examined Oct 15, 2026 Paid in cash Open by January 13, 2027 Wells Fargo pays a new checking customer $325 for $1,000 in qualifying electronic deposits within 90 days, and money you move in yourself does not count.
This is an open offer on Wells Fargo's own page, with no invitation needed. Open by January 13, 2027, with the bonus offer code. The page said October 13, 2026 when we read it on October 2, 2026; on October 15, 2026 it read “Limited Time Offer: ends January 13, 2027”, with the same $325 for the same $1,000. Under the terms as written, an account opened after January 13, 2027 earns no bonus from this offer. Check Wells Fargo's page for any offer that replaces it. There is a second, smaller offer of $125 on Clear Access Banking, its checkless second chance account, for 10 posted transactions in 60 days. You cannot take both. Each offer's terms limit you to one bonus per customer or account.
What pays what
| New checking customer, Everyday Checking opened with the bonus code by Jan 13, 2027, then $1,000 or more in qualifying electronic deposits within 90 days | $325 |
|---|---|
| New checking customer, Clear Access Banking opened with the code by Jan 13, 2027, then 10 or more qualifying posted transactions within 60 days | $125 |
| $1,000 that arrives by transfer, mobile deposit, Zelle, branch or ATM | $0 |
| Anyone who received a Wells Fargo consumer checking bonus within the past 12 months | $0 |
| Wells Fargo employees, and non-resident aliens signing an IRS Form W-8 | $0 |
| Account closed or restricted at the time of payout | $0 |
Transfers from one account to another, mobile deposits, Zelle®, or deposits made at a branch or ATM are not considered a qualifying electronic deposit.
The bonus goes only to the primary owner, the person whose Taxpayer Identification Number is on the account.
Do this, in this order
- Check the 12 month lookback first. The offer is for new consumer checking customers only. If Wells Fargo paid you a consumer checking bonus within the past 12 months, you are out, whichever of the two offers you pick.
- Open from the offer page by January 13, 2027. The terms require you to use the bonus offer code when opening. Online, Wells Fargo says the code is applied automatically when you complete the application from the offer webpage, and only Everyday Checking can be opened that way. For a branch, have the code emailed to you first; with it you may open any eligible consumer checking account. The minimum opening deposit is $25, and approval is not guaranteed.
- Point your direct deposit at the account straight away. You need $1,000 or more in total within 90 calendar days of account opening, and a deposit counts only once it has posted, so a paycheck released early through Early Pay Day waits until it is no longer pending. Any number of paychecks can add up to it; a transfer from your old bank adds nothing.
- Treat the $15 monthly service fee as a separate job. The terms say: “The actions required for this bonus are separate from the actions available to avoid the monthly service fee.” Each fee period you avoid the fee with a $1,500 minimum daily balance, $5,000 in qualifying deposit or investment balances, $500 or more in qualifying electronic deposits, a primary owner aged 17 to 24, or a qualifying military direct deposit. So $1,000 sent in one go earns the bonus but only covers the fee for the period it lands in. Earning the bonus can take 90 days and paying it up to 30 more, about four fee periods; with no waiver in any of them, four fees of $15 come to $60.
- Leave the account open, with money in it, until the $325 shows up. “To receive this bonus, the enrolled account must not be closed or restricted at the time of payout.” That is the wording we read on October 15, 2026; through October 12 the terms said “Your new account must stay open through the time we attempt to deposit the bonus.” The next sentence is the one to remember: “We may close accounts with a zero balance without prior notice.”
The $125 offer on Clear Access Banking
No direct deposit needed, but the list of what counts is narrow. The 10 transactions can be debit card purchases and payments, Zelle payments sent or received, checks deposited in the mobile app, and Bill Pay payments, all posted within 60 calendar days of opening. Teller and ATM transactions, anything that uses your account and routing number, and anything still pending on day 60 do not count.
The account itself. Clear Access Banking has no checks and, by Wells Fargo's description, no overdraft fees. Its monthly service fee is $5, avoided with $250 or more in qualifying electronic deposits each fee period or a primary owner aged 13 through 24. “You must be 18 years or older to open an account online.” A customer who could not open a standard account because of past credit or banking history cannot convert it to another Wells Fargo account for the first 365 days.
Where the page disagrees with itself, and what it leaves out
90 days from what. The headline and the terms count the 90 days from account opening, and the terms name that the qualification period. The numbered steps and one FAQ answer on the same page say the first 90 days of offer enrollment. Count from opening day.
No date on the terms, and no promise they hold. Neither offer page shows when its terms were written or last changed. Both say: “This offer may be discontinued or changed at any time without notice and cannot be combined with any other consumer deposit offer (limit one bonus per customer/account).”
Who counts as new. The page says new consumer checking customers only and spells out the 12 month bonus lookback. It does not say how it treats someone who once held a Wells Fargo checking account and never received a bonus.
Two other offer addresses are dead. Searches still turn up other Wells Fargo bonus pages. On September 18 the bonusoffer address returned Page Not Found and the premierbonus address read “Offer unavailable”.
Tax and abuse. You owe any tax due on the bonus, and Wells Fargo reports it as income. “If we suspect bonus or promotional offer abuse, we may close or restrict the account and decline or reverse any bonus.”
Is it worth your time?
For anyone paid by direct deposit, yes. $1,000 over 90 days is a low bar for anyone paid by direct deposit, and the same deposits, at $500 a fee period, also switch off the $15 monthly fee. Allow up to 90 days to qualify, then up to 30 more for the cash. After that it is an ordinary account with a $15 fee to keep waived.
If no employer or benefits payer can send money here, skip the $325; a transfer will not earn it. The $125 Clear Access offer needs only 10 card, Zelle, mobile check or Bill Pay transactions, but it is a smaller sum on a plainer account with no checks.
