Clawbacks, Closures and Traps

This chapter is about loss. What a Bank Account Bonus Really Pays gave you the return, and the other chapters covered tax, effort and rules. Here the question is what takes the bonus away after you have done the work. Offers shown on SwitchWize are not endorsements. Credit card bonuses, transfer bonuses and referral programs are out of scope.

The rate side of the same problem, a teaser rate that drops, is covered in the promotional rate checklist.

Where are you in the process?

• You have not opened anything yet. Read the trap table and the fee example, then use the checklist below.
• You opened an account and met the deposit target. Your risk is the stretch between meeting the target and the bonus posting. Read the real-offer check.
• You want to close an account. Go straight to the pre-close checklist. The cheapest mistake to avoid is closing before the bonus has posted.
• A fee or a reversed deposit has already appeared. Read the fee example, then ask the bank in writing.

How is a bonus lost?

A bonus is a payment for meeting conditions, and each condition is also a way to lose it. The terms of an offer are where each one is written down. They vary by offer and can change, so this table shows what to look for and how to test it. It does not describe what banks in general do.

"Good standing" means the account is open and not restricted, overdrawn or in breach of the account agreement. Offers often require it until the bank pays.

Two things apply to the whole table. First, the hold does not end when you meet the deposit target. The hold is the time you must keep the account open, and it ends when the bank pays. Some offers say payment can take weeks. Second, a trap you cannot find in the terms is not a trap you are safe from. If a clause is missing or unclear, ask the bank before you open.

This guide gives no clawback window. No source we read states a typical one, and a number from an unrelated offer would mislead you. If your offer names a period after payment in which the account must stay open, that sentence is the rule for your offer.

What does a fee during the hold cost?

A fee paid during the hold reduces the net bonus one for one. Net bonus is the bonus minus fees paid during the hold. A fee that is "only $12" can change the return more than the headline suggests.

The case below is hypothetical. Bank A pays a $300 bonus for a 90-day hold, you keep an average of $5,000 tied up, and the account has a monthly fee that is waived only if you meet a condition. The fee figures are round numbers, not any bank's fee.

A $100 total in fees takes away a third of the bonus. It adds up fast if you miss the waiver condition. The annualized column is simple scaling to 365 days. It is not an APY, the yearly rate that savings accounts quote.

If the bonus is forfeited, the arithmetic changes. You earned nothing, so the net is minus the fees you paid. In the same hypothetical, a closed account that paid $36 in fees and no bonus is a net of -$36, and every hour you spent is lost on top of it. Is a Bank Bonus Worth Your Time? prices the hours.

Does the bank have to warn you before it changes an offer?

Two points from the federal rule for bank deposit accounts (Regulation DD, 12 CFR Part 1030) bear on this. The bonus calculation itself is in What a Bank Account Bonus Really Pays.

• Some adverse changes need 30 days' notice. A bank must give at least 30 calendar days' advance notice of a change in a required disclosure term if the change may reduce the APY or adversely affect you (12 CFR 1030.5(a)(1)). The rule text does not say whether this reaches an advertised offer that a bank withdraws or changes before you finish it. The offer checked below reserves the right to change or end it without notice. Treat the offer's own terms as the answer.
• No clawback period is set. The Regulation DD sections read here do not set a clawback period or say how long an offer must stay open.

The practical use of the rule is the disclosure at opening: the bonus conditions, the fees and the waiver tests must be disclosed to you. If the account opening documents leave out something the offer page promised, put that question to the bank in writing before you move money.

A tax form may arrive after you close the account, because the income is still yours. Keep your own record of the date and amount of the bonus. The tax side is in Are Bank Account Bonuses Taxable?.

Real-offer check, as of October 5, 2026

This is a dated snapshot of one offer, taken from the bank's own page. It is not a recommendation or a ranking. Offers change, so check the bank's page before you act.

Next re-check due November 4, 2026.

The offer is the American Express Rewards Checking cash bonus terms (PDF), with its American Express Rewards Checking account page. Open by February 1, 2027, subject to approval. Paraphrased:

• The bonus is $300 for $7,500 or more of qualifying direct deposits within the first 90 days. After the criteria are met, payment can take 8 to 12 weeks in some cases.
• The account must stay open and in good standing until the bank awards the bonus. If it is closed for any reason before then, including closure by the bank, the customer is not eligible.
• The bank may rescind the bonus if it decides, in its sole discretion, that you broke the account agreement, and it may modify or revoke the offer at any time without notice.
• The page states no monthly fees; the account schedule governs.
• The page limits the bonus to certain American Express consumer Card Members and existing American Express savings or CD customers, and excludes anyone who has or had a Rewards Checking account.

The hold in this offer does not end on day 90. If the last qualifying deposit posts on day 90 and the bank takes the full 12 weeks (84 days), the account must stay open for 174 days from opening. A plan that ends at day 90 can close the account weeks too early. The same offer is checked against savings rates in Bank Bonus vs High-Yield Savings.

What should you check before you close?

Before you open, read the closure, fee and change language using the trap table above, and save a copy of the offer page with the date. Before you close, go through this list. Your own offer's wording is the rule; the list tells you where to look.

The tracker at /dashboard/tracking can hold the deadline and the amounts and emails a reminder as the deadline nears (it requires an account). It does not read your bank, so the posted bonus and the closure date are yours to confirm.

Limits of this guide. We found no source that sets a typical clawback period, so we give none. The Regulation DD text does not say whether the 30-day notice reaches a withdrawn offer. We state no fee amounts for any bank. The real-offer check shows one offer on one date, not a pattern across banks. A bonus has costs: the hold, the fees and the risk of a missed step. Skipping an offer whose conditions you cannot track is a valid decision. For eligibility see Bank Bonus Eligibility and New-Customer Rules, and for deposits and the hold see Direct Deposit Thresholds and the Hold.