Illinois Deposit Account Rates and Deals

Associated Bank is offering up to a $150 bonus for opening a checking account and performing specific activities. The offer ends on April 20, 2010. Refer to the bank's promotion page for the full details. Requirements for the bonus include:

• Open a new qualifying personal checking account (excludes Free and Student) by 4/20/2010
• $50 with your first check order and completion of five debit card signature purchases
• $50 with your enrollment in Online Bill Pay and completing three bill payment transactions
• $50 with a regular direct deposit of your payroll check

Some important small print includes:

• Limited to one bonus per household
• Minimum opening deposit of at least $100 is required to obtain a bonus
• All qualifying activity must occur within 60 days of account opening to obtain applicable bonus
• The bonus will be deposited into your new checking account within 90 days of account opening
• Checking account must remain open and active with a minimum of five transactions monthly to receive bonus payment

Two important things to note about this promotion:

1. The free checking does not qualify so you'll have to watch out for fees. Monthly fees can be avoided in the Advantage Checking with direct deposit or with a $500 minimum balance.
2. The first $50 requires that you order checks which are not free

There's an online application on the promo page. However, the application states that they are only able to open checking accounts for persons residing in Wisconsin, Illinois, or Minnesota.

Branches are located in several cities in Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota including Madison, Green Bay, Milwaukee, Chicago, Peoria, Minneapolis, Saint Paul and Rochester.

Associated Bank has been a FDIC member since 1934 (FDIC Certificate # 5296).

Credit for this find goes to Fatwallet member sideout who mentioned it in this FW thread.

Other Bank Bonuses

Refer to the Bank Bonus page for other bonuses at banks and credit unions around the nation.

Cornerstone Bank & Trust is offering a high-yield reward checking account called eVantage Checking. It offers the following rates and features if certain monthly requirements are met:

• 3.56% APY on the portion of your balance $30,000
• 1.26% APY on the portion of your balance above $30,000
• 0.35% APY base rate if requirements are not met
• Refundable ATM Fees up to $12.00 per cycle

Monthly requirements include:

• 10 debit card purchases
• 1 Direct Deposit or ACH Transaction or active online bill pay
• Access Online Banking
• Receive Electronic Statements (when available)
• Maintain a valid email address

Additional features of this account include:

• $200 minimum initial deposit
• No monthly service fee
• No minimum balance
• Free online Bill Pay

It appears that a branch visit is required to open an account. Branches are located in the west Illinois cities of Alton, Carrollton and Jerseyville.

The bank's ratings for safety and soundness are average: 3 stars (adequate) at BauerFinancial and 3 stars (performing) at Bankrate.com. Both ratings are based on 9/30/09 financial data. The bank has been a FDIC member since 1934 (FDIC Certificate # 15317).

Other High-Yield Reward Checking Accounts

The Cornerstone reward checking rate may not be the best, but the larger-than-average balance cap of $30K helps offset this.

Refer to the reward checking section of DepositAccounts.com to find reward checking accounts in your area or that are available around the nation.

American Eagle Bank of Chicago continues to offer a competitive 29-month CD special with a 2.50% APY. It had been 2.75% last year. Minimum deposit is $1,000. The bank also has a promotion for its Platinum NOW Checking account with a 1.75% APY guaranteed for 3 months. Direct deposit is required. Minimum balance is $500 to obtain APY and to avoid a $10 fee. These rates are listed in the bank's Chicago promotions page as of 2/2/2010.

One nice feature to note of the bank's CDs is a mild early withdrawal penalty. According to the small print at the bottom of the bank's rate table, it's 90 days of interest for terms over 12 months.

Accounts can only be open by residents of the Chicago metro area and current customers.

This promotion appears to only be available in Chicago. The bank's other branch in South Elgin doesn't list these promotions.

American Eagle Bank of Chicago's ratings for safety and soundness remain the same as I reported last year: 3½ stars (good) at BauerFinancial and 2 stars (below peer group) at Bankrate.com. Both ratings are based on 9/30/09 financial data. The bank has been a FDIC member since 2007 (FDIC Certificate # 58514).

Suburban Bank & Trust is offering a high-yield reward checking account called SBT Rewards Checking. The account has the following rates and features if certain monthly requirements are met:

• 4.02% APY on balances up to $25,000
• 1.00% APY on portion of balance over $25,000
• 0.05% base rate if requirements are not met
• ATM fee refunds up to $20 per month

The monthly requirements include:

• 10 debit card purchases
• One direct deposit or auto debit
• Receive e-statements

Additional features of the account regardless of the monthly requirements include:

• $100 minimum initial deposit
• No monthly fees
• No minimum balance requirements
• Free online bill pay

There's an online application link at the bank's website and at its microwebsite. The application at the microwebsite states that you must visit a branch to complete the application process.

Branches are located throughout the Chicago metro area.

The bank's ratings for safety and soundness are a little weak: 3 stars (adequate) at BauerFinancial and 2 stars (below peer group) at Bankrate.com. Both ratings are based on 9/30/09 financial data. The bank has been a FDIC member since 1971 (FDIC Certificate # 20443).

Cornerstone Bank & Trust is offering a very competitive 12-month CD with a 2.22% APY. This is listed at the bottom of the bank's rates page as of 1/24/2010.

The bank also offers a reward checking account with a current rate of 3.56% APY on balances up to $30K (DepositAccount's Rates and Review page).

It appears that a branch visit is required to open an account. Branches are located in the west Illinois cities of Alton, Carrollton and Jerseyville.

The bank's ratings for safety and soundness are average: 3 stars (adequate) at BauerFinancial and 3 stars (performing) at Bankrate.com. Both ratings are based on 9/30/09 financial data. The bank has been a FDIC member since 1934 (FDIC Certificate # 15317).

Several of the banks of the Metropolitan Bank Group are offering up to a $75 bonus. Here's what is required to receive the full $75:

• $25 for a new savings account by 3/22/10
• $25 when you add direct deposit of $100 or more by 4/28/10
• $25 for automatic transfers between the checking and savings using online banking by 4/28/10

One of the banks in the Metropolitan Bank Group (a bank holding company) with this promo is Archer Bank, and it has the details at its promotions page. Its Statement Savings Account has a minimum balance of $200 to avoid a monthly fee. Its free checking account has no monthly fees.

The other banks in the Metropolitan Bank Group with this same promo include:

• Archer Bank (FDIC Cert. # 18625)
• Chicago Community Bank (FDIC Cert. # 14267)
• Citizens Community Bank (FDIC Cert. # 16641)
• North Community Bank (FDIC Cert. # 20624)
• Northwest Community Bank (FDIC Cert. # 58575)
• Plaza Bank (FDIC Cert. # 18055)
• The First Commercial Bank (FDIC Cert. # 14688)

All of the above banks are in the Chicago Metro area. Refer to the banks' websites for the branch locations. It appears a branch visit is required to open the accounts.

Credit for the find goes to markber who posted it at this iBankDesign thread

As I've been reporting, banks are trying new ways to encourage customers to use their debit cards with the credit (signature-based) option. High-yield reward checking is one way, and this mostly benefits those with larger balances ($25K or more). The larger banks have tried reward checking that rewards with cash back rather than high interest rates. M&I Bank is the latest example with their Cash Back Checking.

In addition to the cash-back features, M&I Bank is offering a $100 cash bonus for opening their Cash Back Checking Account. Offer is scheduled to last until 2/12/2010. Here's the small print of the offer:

Simply open an M&I Cash Back Checking account by February 12, 2010. To receive your $100 you must make five qualifying** purchases with your M&I Bank Check Card within the first 45 days after account opening. Your account will be reviewed 45 days after opening. The $100 cash bonus will be paid within 2 weeks of that review if the requirement above has been met. Offer applies to new accounts opened with new money not currently on deposit with M&I Bank, no exceptions. One bonus per household ever 12 months. Cannot be combined with other offers.

Note, qualifying purchases requires signature-based purchases with the debit card.

Here's the summary of the cash back features of this checking account:

• 0.25% cash back bonus based on the total amount of your net signature-based M&I Bank Check Card purchases made during the statement cycle.
• $0.25 for a deposit up to a maximum of $2 per statement cycle (8 deposits)
• $0.25 for each monthly online statement
• $0.05 for automatic payments deducted from your account (Online Bill Payment, internal M&I loan payment and ACH debit) up to a maximum of $2 per statement cycle (40 payments)

Note, high-yield reward checking accounts often require the above activity to qualify for the high yield. For those with small balances, the above cash-back features could earn you more than high interest rate.

One downside to the Cash Back Checking is the potential of a $10 monthly maintenance fee which would eliminate the benefits of the above rewards. The bank lists these three options to avoid this fee:

• making 3 transactions per statement cycle
• maintaining $1,000 minimum average daily balance in the account
• if you are under the age of 25

The offer appears to only be available where M&I Bank has branches. You need to enter your zip code if you apply online, and it'll tell you if you're not in their market area. According to their branch locator, the states where they have branches include: Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada and Wisconsin. Most of the branches are located in Wisconsin which is where their headquarters is located.

M&I is a large regional bank with $51.6 billion in assets. It has been a FDIC member since 1934 (FDIC Certificate # 1020).

Credit for this find goes to FW member buyerbware who posted it on this FW thread.

• 4.01% APY on balances up to $25,000
• 2.25% APY on portion of balance over $25,000
• 0.20% base rate if requirements are not met
• Nationwide ATM fee refunds

• 10 debit card purchases
• Access Online Banking
• Receive electronic statements

• $25 minimum initial deposit
• No minimum balance requirement
• No monthly maintenance fee
• Free Bill Pay

• CD rates at DepositAccounts.com (overview of DepositAccounts.com)
• My weekly list of hot nationwide and local CD deals

• CD rates at DepositAccounts.com (overview of DepositAccounts.com)
• My weekly list of hot nationwide and local CD deals