Chase's $400 checking bonus, and why it is the hard lane

The best-known checking bonus in the country, the smallest deposit requirement among the major banks, and the one place where "direct deposit" means exactly what it says.

Why Chase is different

Most banks' deposit systems accept a range of incoming ACH credits as direct deposits, whatever the terms say. Chase's accept fewer, and reported results from brokerage and bank pushes in 2026 are inconsistent enough that no sender can honestly be called reliable there. The Almanac treats Chase as the strict lane. The scheduled route is a one-cycle payroll split of $1,000 or more, submitted the day the account opens and reversed after the bonus posts. Government benefit payments such as Social Security also qualify under Chase's definition. Tax refunds, which Chase names as excluded, do not.

The payroll split is the hassle everyone pictures when they read "direct deposit required," and at Chase it is the honest answer. It is two edits in a payroll portal, about three months apart. The calendar puts both on your phone, with the reversal dated after the bonus is in the account. How deposit classification works, and why it differs by bank, is its own page.

The timeline

• Day 0Enroll the coupon, open online, and fund. The 90-day window counts from enrollment, not from the first deposit.
• Day 3Submit the payroll split. It takes effect the following pay cycle.
• ~Day 20Confirm the deposit posted as a direct deposit. If a push was tried instead and posted as a transfer, 70 days remain for the payroll route.
• MonthlyKeep $1,500 in the account at the start of each day once the two fee-free statement periods end.
• Day 75Deadline guard. If nothing has qualified, the payroll deposit must already be in motion.
• +15 daysBonus posts after the requirement is met.
• Day 181Standing exit date. The terms require only that the account is open and unrestricted at payout; six months is the calendar's own conservatism.

The two-year rule

One new-checking bonus every two years from your last enrollment date, and no bonus at all while you hold a Chase checking account. In a 12-month calendar, Chase is a lane you run once. The account-history question at checkout decides whether it appears in yours.

Net

$400 on $1,000 of payroll routed for one cycle, plus $1,500 parked for the fee waiver. It is the smallest cash requirement among the major bonuses and the one most people can clear, at the cost of the one chore the other lanes avoid.