Update on ING Direct's Electric Orange $50 Promotion - Update

Update 6/11/10: A new $50 Electric Orange promotion is listed on ING Direct's home page as of 6/11/10. Refer to the second half of the post for a EO review.

ING Direct has another $50 promotion for opening a new Electric Orange Checking account. The promo page is located at www.ingdirect.com/electric50, and the new reference code is EM352. To qualify for this promo, you have to be an existing ING Direct customer without an Electric Orange account.

You're required to use your Electric Orange Debit Card Card to make at least 3 signature-based purchases in the first 45 days after your account has been opened. Signature-based means that you have to use it like a credit card without providing your PIN.

This promo is very similar to the one ING Direct was offering in May. When I called ING Direct in May, I was told that existing ING Direct customers without an EO account should qualify. Note, in past promotions readers have reported receiving an invalid code response if they didn't qualify.

If you're not an existing ING Direct customer, you may be able to make $75 in bonuses. In past promotions there were reports that you could qualify for this $50 promotion if you first opened an ING Direct Orange Savings Account. You could make a total of $75 if you first sign up for the savings account with a $25 refer-a-friend bonus. I can send you a $25 refer-a-friend referral. This requires a minimum $250 deposit. Send me email at bankdeals at gmail dot com. Make sure to include your first and last name and let me know that you want the referral for the savings account.

Electric Orange Issues and Updates

A few important details about the Electric Orange Account:

• ING Direct does a hard credit pull when you apply for the EO (see ING Direct's FAQ)
• I've read that overdraft protection is mandatory for the account. So if you have bad credit score, your application could be declined.

The EO yields have fallen quite a bit. As of 9/13/09, the APYs are 0.25% for under $50K, 1.50% for $50K to $100K and 1.55% for $100K and above. It's hard to believe that in November 2006 the rate tiers were 3%, 5.05% and 5.30%.

ING Direct is known for its easy online interface rather than the best rates. However, it does have a few features that are not the best for online banks. These have to due with their ACH transfer system. The downsides include:

• limit of 3 linked checking accounts
• Linked account must be a personal checking account, not a brokerage, money market or savings account
• ING Direct places a hold of 5 business days for deposits (initial deposit has a 10-day hold)

One important improvement ING Direct made a year or two ago was the capability to add links online without having to send in a voided check.

ING Direct's bank deposit products are FDIC insured (FDIC Certificate # 35489)

Credit for this latest promo code goes to SlickDeals member Frankcd who posted it at SD thread.

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.