$100 Checking Account Bonus in TX, OK, NM and CO

Several of the subsidiaries of the bank holding company BOK Financial Corporation are offering $100 in cash for opening a checking account and performing a few extra activities. The following subsidiaries have the promotion listed on their website: Bank of Oklahoma, Bank of Texas, Colorado State Bank and Trust and the Bank of Albuquerque. In Oklahoma the checking account promotion rewards you with $100 in cash for opening a checking account and either

• activating direct deposit and making 5 signature-based check card transactions
• OR, making 5 signature-based check card transactions and completing 5 online BillPay payments

The offer is valid for new personal checking accounts opened through 11/28/2008. There's also a free mug/thermos when you open the account.

For the official details, please refer to the bank's promotion page. Some of the important small print includes:

• Offer limited to one per household
• $50 minimum opening deposit required
• Bonus is considered interest and is reportable on IRS Form 1099-INT
• Account must remain open for 6 months
• your first recurring direct deposit such as Social Security, Pension or Payroll must be completed within 60 calendar days of your account opening date
• 5 Check Card transactions and 5 Online BillPay transactions must be posted to your account within 60 calendars days of your account opening date
• $100 will be automatically deposited 6-8 weeks after the conditions noted above have been met

The bank's Free Checking 2.0 has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements. Online BillPay is free. You also can get free incoming and outgoing wires.

I called Bank of Oklahoma, and I was told that an account could be opened by phone/mail. The banking reps that deal with this promotion were not in so I'm not sure if they'll require you to visit a branch to qualify for the bonus. According to the CSR, there is no hard credit inquiry (just ChexSystem). If you're interested, I suggest you call. Please leave a comment about your experience.

Each of the banks have branches in several major cities of their states. These include Dallas, Houston, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Denver, Colorado Springs, Tulsa and Oklahoma City. The banks have separate FDIC insurance: Bank of Texas FDIC Certificate # 21674, Bank of Albuquerque FDIC Certificate # 34992, Colorado State Bank and Trust FDIC Certificate # 1769 and Bank of Oklahoma FDIC Certificate # 4214.

Thanks to the reader who emailed me news of this promotion.

Tags: Bank of Oklahoma, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, checking account, Oklahoma