Chase US Referral Review: Which of the $175, $400 and $650 Checking Bonuses Is Worth It?

The link opens Chase's US refer-a-friend page, where you pick one of three personal checking accounts from JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.: Secure Banking with a $175 bonus, Total Checking with $400, or Premier Plus Checking with $650. Each choice carries its own offer code, which Chase applies when you select "Open an account". You can also enter your email address to receive the code and take it into a branch.

Deposits are FDIC-insured up to $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, for each account ownership category. Chase has more than 5,000 branches and 14,000 ATMs, and the Chase Mobile app handles mobile check deposits (QuickDeposit), bill payments and Zelle.

Disclosure: this is our own Chase referral link. Chase pays referrers a cash bonus of up to $50 for each friend who opens an eligible account, so we may receive one if you open an account through it.

The offers are for new Chase checking customers. You can't get one if you already have a Chase checking account, closed one within the last 90 days, or closed one with a negative balance within the last three years. Chase also allows only one new checking account opening bonus every two years, counted from your last coupon enrollment date, and one bonus per account. Opening is subject to approval.

To apply online you need to be 18 or older with a US address, a government-issued photo ID and a Social Security Number; Chase's guidance for non-citizens living in the US accepts an ITIN in place of an SSN, plus proof of address such as a lease or utility bill. Seventeen-year-olds can open Secure Banking in a branch. If you're moving to the US, wait until you have a US address and an SSN or ITIN; this link is no use before then.

Open Chase Secure Banking and complete at least 10 qualifying transactions within 60 days of coupon enrollment. Debit card purchases, online bill payments, Chase QuickDeposit, Zelle and ACH credits all count, in any combination. There is no minimum deposit to open.

It is Chase's simplest account: no overdraft fees (Chase declines a payment rather than charging you), no fees on money orders or cashier's checks, and no paper checks. Early Direct Deposit can make your pay arrive up to two business days sooner. Incoming wires cost $15; outgoing wires aren't offered.

The monthly fee is $4.95, or $0 in any statement period with $250 or more of qualifying electronic deposits (pay or government payments by ACH, RTP, FedNow or card networks; Zelle, cash, checks and wires don't count), or if an account owner is 17 to 24.

Open Chase Total Checking and have direct deposits totaling $1,000 or more paid into it within 90 days of coupon enrollment. A direct deposit is an electronic payment of your paycheck, pension or government benefits (such as Social Security) from your employer or the government, using your Chase account and routing number.

These don't count: depositing a check in a branch or the app, Zelle and other person-to-person payments, micro-deposits, transfers from another bank, brokerage or investment account, tax refunds, dividends, retirement distributions, direct payments, debit card transactions and wire transfers. If your pay can't be split or redirected, this offer is not for you.

The monthly fee is $15, or $0 in any statement period with one of: $500 or more in qualifying electronic deposits, a $1,500 balance at the start of every day, a $5,000 average beginning-day balance across this account and linked Chase deposits or investments, or a linked qualifying Chase checking account. Overdrafts cost $34 per item, up to three a day ($102), with no fee if you're $50 or less overdrawn at the end of the business day or get back within $50 by the end of the next one.

Open Chase Premier Plus Checking, deposit a total of $15,000 or more in new money within 30 days of offer enrollment, and keep at least $15,000 for 90 days from enrollment. New money can't be funds you already hold at Chase or its affiliates. Chase counts combined deposits and balances across your qualifying Chase checking and savings accounts towards the requirement.

The account pays interest, but only 0.01% APY on all balances (effective 18 September 2026). Its extras are real if you travel or use cash services: no Chase fee at non-Chase ATMs anywhere in the world (the ATM owner may still charge), no Chase foreign exchange fee on debit card purchases and ATM withdrawals, and no fee on money orders up to $1,000.

The monthly fee is $25, or $0 with a $15,000 average beginning-day balance (including other qualifying Chase deposits and investments), a linked qualifying Chase checking account, a linked Chase first mortgage paid automatically from the account, or an account owner who is a US servicemember or veteran. While you hold the $15,000 for the bonus, the fee is waived; once you move it out, it isn't.

Secure Banking: $175 for 10 small transactions. With no fee for the first two statement periods and none at all if you're 17 to 24 or get $250 of electronic deposits a month, it costs nothing to hold through the 60 days. Without a waiver, each later month costs $4.95.

Total Checking: $400 for pay you'd receive anyway. Route at least $500 of each paycheck to Chase for two or three months and you meet the $1,000 and waive the $15 fee at the same time. Per dollar of effort, it is the strongest of the three.

Premier Plus: $650 on $15,000 for about 90 days is a 4.3% return in three months, roughly 17.6% a year. The account itself would pay about $0.37 over the same 90 days at 0.01% APY. The real cost is what the cash could earn elsewhere: every 1% a year forgone costs about $37 over 90 days, so if that money would otherwise earn 4% a year, you give up about $148 and are left with roughly $502 before tax.

Chase treats every bonus as interest and reports it on IRS Form 1099-INT (or Form 1042-S for some non-resident customers), so it is taxed at your income-tax rate. Chase deposits it within 15 days of you finishing the requirements, and the account must not be closed or restricted at that point.

The referral pages also offer a separate Chase Savings bonus to people who aren't existing Chase savings customers: $100 for depositing $5,000 to $9,999.99 of new money, or $200 for $10,000 or more, within 30 days of coupon enrollment. Chase sets the amount on day 30, and you must keep the new money there for 90 days; if it falls below the threshold, the bonus can shrink or disappear. It is paid within 15 days and, like the checking bonus, counts as interest.

Chase Savings has a $5 monthly fee, waived with a $300 balance at the start of each day, $25 or more of automatic transfers from a Chase checking account, or a linked Premier Plus Checking among other options. Chase doesn't say the same dollars can earn both the Premier Plus and savings bonuses, so plan separate money for each.

Open our link on your phone's default browser (Chase asks you to leave in-app browsers such as Facebook or Instagram), choose the account, and select "Open an account"; the page confirms that the checking offer code is applied. Keep the code or the offer email: your 30-, 60- or 90-day clock runs from offer enrollment, not from the day you first deposit.

Complete only the requirement for the account you chose, and keep proof: statements showing the 10 transactions, the payroll deposits or the $15,000 balance. Chase deposits the bonus within 15 days of the last requirement. Leave the account open and in good standing until it arrives; after that, decide whether the account is worth keeping on its own merits and its fee waiver.

On 24 October 2026 the Chase Mobile app was rated 4.8 from about 9.6 million ratings on the US App Store (version 4.794, released 11 October 2026) and 4.8 from 2.17 million reviews on Google Play, with more than 50 million downloads (last updated 22 October 2026).

The recurring complaints: mobile check deposits rejected late in the process, monthly service fees that people on benefits struggle to waive, cards frozen for suspected fraud while travelling, and inconsistent answers between phone support and branches. App updates that drop older phones are another theme.

Use it if you live in the US, have no Chase checking account and haven't had a Chase checking bonus in two years. Choose Total Checking if you can point part of your pay at Chase; Secure Banking if you want a no-overdraft account or can't move your pay; Premier Plus only if $15,000 of new money can stay put for 90 days and you've compared the bonus with what that cash earns now.

Skip it if you already bank with Chase, live outside the US or don't yet have a US address and SSN or ITIN, would have to borrow or empty an emergency fund to qualify, or would end up paying monthly fees on an account you don't use. A bonus is only worth having if the account doesn't cost it back.