$100 Checking Account Bonus at Sovereign Bank

Sovereign Bank has a promotion in which you can earn $100 for a new checking account. The promotion page is located at sovereignbank.com/100. Here are the details:

• Open a Premier or Interest Checking Account along with a Sovereign CheckCard and a minimum $10 deposit by 5/22/2009
• Make 6 check card purchases totaling at least $250 within 60 days of opening your account
• Receive a $100 cash bonus credited to your account 15 days after the 60-day opening period

Some important small print:

• bonus will be reported to the IRS as interest
• Current personal checking customers or anyone who has had a personal checking account with Sovereign Bank or any of its divisions in the last 6 months are not eligible for this offer

An important note regarding the Interest Checking is that direct deposit is required to avoid a $5 monthly fee (I'm not sure if any ACH deposit will count as a direct deposit). On the plus side is that they provide free checks. The Premier Checking is even worse in terms of potential fees. A $15,000 combined balance is required to avoid a $25/month fee.

This promotion is similar to Sovereign's January promotion except that they now require the 6 debit card purchases total $250. One reader who commented in the January post was pleased with Sovereign Bank:

I opened an account at Sovereign in September and received the bonus in a very timely fashion, it was credited to the account on the 91st day it was open. I opened the account in person, and the staff was very friendly and helpful.

However, a reader in my September 2008 Sovereign Bank post reported problems with a previous promotion and poor customer service. If you've tried a previous Sovereign promotion, a comment about your experience would be appreciated.

When I called Sovereign Bank in April 2008 regarding a similar promotion, I was told that there's no account closure fee if an account is closed after 90 days. Otherwise, it's $25. The CSR also said they don't perform a hard credit inquiry. They just use ChexSystem in the application.

There's an online application link in the promo page, and it appears available to people in any state. However, in April 2008 I received conflicting reports about if a branch visit was required to receive the bonus. A reader commented about this same issue in January. He received 4 emails from Sovereign saying that it was good for out-of-state applications. When he applied, the application was rejected without an explanation. One customer service rep said it was because he didn't live in Boston. So if you don't live in Sovereign's market area, your miles may vary. Branches are located in the Northeast in the states of Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. The bank is FDIC insured (Certificate # 29950).

Thanks to the reader who mentioned this latest promotion in the Daily News & Deals Post.

Other Bank and Credit Union Bonuses

To find other bonus deals, please refer to my bank bonus page which has all of my recent bank bonus posts.