How to read a sign-up bonus's fine print
A bonus is a contract with conditions. Six clauses decide whether the headline number ever reaches your account.
“Get $300 when you open an account.” The headline is the offer's best case. The terms and conditions describe the actual one. Reading them takes five minutes and is the difference between a bonus and a fee.
The examples below use invented numbers on purpose. Offers change often, and the only version that counts is the one on the provider's own terms page on the day you apply. Save a copy or a screenshot of it.
1. Eligibility: are you a “new” client?
Most bonuses are limited to new clients, and “new” is defined narrowly. Look for phrases such as “has not held a [product] with us in the past 12 months,” “one offer per household,” or “not available to existing clients who open an additional account.” Joint accounts, business accounts and accounts opened through a branch rather than online are sometimes excluded. If you are unsure whether you qualify, ask in writing before you apply.
2. The qualifying actions
This is the part that does the real work. Typical conditions include a minimum deposit, a recurring payroll deposit, a set number of bill payments or pre-authorized debits, or a minimum spend on a new card. Read for the exact wording:
- Does “deposit” mean new money from outside the institution, or can it come from an account you already hold there?
- Does “payroll deposit” require an employer deposit, or will a transfer you initiate yourself count?
- Does “spend” exclude balance transfers, cash advances, fees, or purchases later refunded?
3. Deadlines: two clocks, not one
There is usually a window to apply (the promotion end date) and a separate window to qualify (for example, “within 60 days of account opening”). Missing the second deadline by a day can forfeit the whole bonus. Put both dates in your calendar on the day you apply.
4. Holding periods and clawbacks
Many offers require you to keep the account open, or the money deposited, for a set period. Some state that the bonus will be reversed, or a fee charged, if you close the account early. For investing apps, check whether the bonus is cash, a credit that must be invested, or a share whose value can move, and whether you must keep it for a minimum time before withdrawing.
5. Fees and the end of the promotion
A bonus on an account with a monthly fee is partly paid for by you. A credit card with an annual fee waived for the first year will charge it in year two (see how credit cards work). A promotional interest rate eventually reverts to a regular rate.
Under Canada's Financial Consumer Protection Framework, banks must send reminders before a promotional offer expires: two reminders, 21 days and 5 days before the end, for terms of 30 days or more, and one reminder 5 days before for shorter terms. The reminders must state the rates, charges or penalties that will apply afterwards. Use them, but do not depend on them: the framework applies to banks and federal credit unions, not to every fintech, brokerage or card issuer you may deal with.
6. Payout timing and form
When does the bonus arrive? “Within 8 weeks of meeting all conditions” is very different from “after your sixth statement.” In what form: cash, points, a statement credit, a gift card? Points have a value that depends on how you redeem them; cash does not.
Now do the arithmetic
A simple test: net value = bonus − fees you would not otherwise pay − interest or growth you give up.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Headline bonus | $300 |
| Monthly fee, $16.95 × 6 months required | −$101.70 |
| Interest forgone on a $3,000 minimum balance, 6 months at 3% a year | −$45.00 |
| Net value | $153.30 |
Still positive, but half the headline. If the fee could be waived by keeping a higher balance, run the numbers again with that balance's forgone interest instead. And if the conditions push you toward spending you would not otherwise do, the honest net value may be negative.
About referral links, including ours
Creators who share referral or affiliate links usually earn something when you use them. Canada's Competition Bureau expects that relationship to be disclosed clearly and close to the link, not buried in a profile bio. Carnet discloses on every page where a link appears; see our disclosure. A link should never be the reason you choose a product. The fine print should be.
The five-minute checklist
- Confirm you meet the definition of a new client.
- Copy the exact qualifying actions and both deadlines into your calendar.
- Note the holding period and any early-closure fee.
- List every fee you will pay during the qualifying period.
- Save the terms page as it read on the day you applied.
- For credit products, remember each application can be a hard inquiry on your credit report.
Noted.
Sources
Figures in this note were checked against these sources on the date shown above.
This note is general education, not personal financial, tax or legal advice. Rules and figures change; confirm with the source and, where needed, a qualified professional. Terms are defined in the glossary.
