Kentucky Banking Rates and News

KeyBank has another checking promotion in which you can earn $150. It's very similar to the $150 bonus that it was offering last year. Like before it's an online-only offer, but the online application only accepts certain areas which appear to be in their market area (see below).

KeyBank doesn’t have the best reputation among many DA readers. You can read the problems customers have experienced in the comments of my 2012 KeyBank post and in my 2011 KeyBank post. If you have experience with KeyBank promotions and checking accounts, please leave a comment below.

Here's the

Update 5/17/13: According to an Irvine branch CSR, the You Choose CD rate has fallen to 1.50% APY. All other features remain the same.

SharePlus Federal Bank is offering special CDs called the You Choose CD. It allows you to choose any term on the bank’s regular CD products between 1 year and 5 years and earn 2.00% APY. Minimum deposit is $10,000. The maximum deposit is $25,000 without a checking account. It’s $50,000 when you have an active SharePlus checking with either direct deposit or an average account balance of at least $1,000 (must remain for the life of...

Checking account promotions are still common at large banks, but one thing that’s not common are free checking accounts. Huntington Bank is one large bank that’s still has a free checking account. It’s called Asterisk-Free Checking. It has no monthly checking maintenance fee, no minimum balance, and no required number of debit transactions.

Huntington Bank’s promotion for its Asterisk-Free Checking offers a $150 bonus. This promo does have direct deposit and debit transaction requirements which are common for checking account bonuses. At least you don’t have to worry about these requirements to keep the account free.

Here’s the

Regions Bank is again advertising a checking account promotion in which you can earn $125. This is another big bank that lacks free checking so you'll have to be careful to avoid monthly fees. The offer requires a new customer open a LifeGreen Checking Account online with the promo code 125, have at least $500 in total direct deposits and at least 10 Visa check card purchases in the first 60 days. Offer is scheduled to end on 4/7/2013. The offer is listed in this Region's promotion page.

There's no mention of this offer on Region's home...

It has been awhile since I reviewed a new reward checking account. Most new reward checking accounts haven't been worthy of a blog post due to their disappointing low rates and/or balance caps. This one at Community Financial Services Bank (CFSB) is good enough to make it worthy of a blog post. CFSB's reward checking account isn't really a new account. We have been tracking its rates since 2010. However, the reward checking account name has recently changed from free eRewards Checking account to Kasasa Cash. The bank has also added a linked savings account called Kasasa Saver. Thanks...

Just two weeks ago I posted on a BB&T $100 checking account bonus. Now it's offering a $125 bonus with the same requirements. The nice aspect of this bonus is that you can qualify for it without direct deposit. The downside is that BB&T's checking accounts have potential monthly service fees. So if you open the checking account for the bonus, you have to make sure to avoid the fees.

To qualify for the $125 bonus, customers must open a BB&T checking account and set-up and receive 2 direct deposits of at least $100 OR make 3 online bill payments...

BB&T is again offering a $100 bonus for opening a checking account and performing some additional activities. Just like most large banks, BB&T's checking accounts have potential monthly service fees. So if you open the checking account for the bonus, you have to make sure to avoid the fees.

To qualify for the $100 bonus, customers must open a BB&T checking account and set-up and receive 2 direct deposits of at least $100 OR make 3 online bill payments of at least $25. The offer is scheduled to end on 3/1/2013. Here's the link to the BB&T...

If you haven't been turned off by what Fort Knox Federal Credit Union did in 2011, you may want to consider its current CD specials. These include a 1.50% APY 23-month CD, a 1.20% APY 14-month CD and a 1.00% APY 6-month CD. Minimum deposit is $500. These rates are listed in the credit union's Term Share Certificate Rates page as of 12/28/2012.

Even though Fort Knox FCU makes it easy for anyone in the nation to join, not everyone can qualify for these special CDs. Only long-time members or residents of Kentucky, Tennessee or Indiana...

BrandBank has started a checking account promotion which is guaranteeing a 1.07% APY through June 30, 2013. A minimum balance of $50,000 is required. The rates are much lower for smaller balances (0.25% for $10K to $50K and 0.10% for under $10K). There's also another requirement. One of the following criteria must be met within 60 days of account opening: 1) sign up for recurring Direct Deposit on this account; 2) enroll in Brand Bill Pay; or 3) open a CD with at least $25,000 in new money not currently on deposit with BrandBank. If this requirement isn't met,...

KeyBank has another checking promotion in which you can earn $150. It's very similar to the $150 bonus that it was offering last year. Like before it's an online-only offer, but the online application only accepts certain areas which appear to be in their market area (see below).

Here's the KeyBank promotions page. The offer is scheduled to last until September 28, 2012. Like last year, it requires quite a bit of work:

• open a qualifying KeyBank checking account online and enter offer code ONFT0912 by September 28, 2012, and
• make at least 30 payments and/or purchases within 3...

Regions Bank is advertising a checking account promotion in which you can earn $125. This is another big bank that lacks free checking so you'll have to be careful to avoid monthly fees. The offer requires a new customer open a LifeGreen Checking Account online with the promo code Online125Bonus, have at least $500 in total Direct Deposits and at least 10 Visa CheckCard transactions in the first 60 days. Offer is scheduled to end on 9/30/2012. The offer is listed in this Regions promotion page.

There's no mention of this offer on Region's home page. I...

Update 2/27/13: The promotion has regularly been extended. The latest expiration date is 4/1/2013.

PNC Bank has increased its checking account bonus from $100 to $150. It has also made a change to the requirements. As before, customers will have to be careful to avoid fees. One of the qualifying checking accounts is Virtual Wallet with Performance Spend which is an "upgraded" version of Virtual Wallet, and it has potential monthly fees.

Here's the link to PNC's promotion page. The offer is scheduled to end on 4/1/2013 9/30/2012. You can open the account online or choose to have...