Minnesota Deposit Account Rates and Deals

Bank of the West has extended its $100 checking account bonus. According to the bank's promotions page, the new checking account must be opened by 4/16/2010. You can receive a $100 when you open a checking account with funds new to Bank of the West and set up direct deposit of at least $250 OR pay 10 bills online. I reviewed the small print in this January post.

Update: It appears Bank of the West has changed the availability of the promotion since January. According to the CSR, online account opening is limited to states which have Bank of the West branches. These states include AZ, CA, CO, ID, IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, NV, NM, ND, OK, OR, SD, UT, WA, WI and WY.

When I contacted the bank in January, I was told this bonus was available to people in any state, and you didn't need to come into a branch. Readers seemed to confirm this in the comments in January. Here's one of the comments:

We did this offer in late 2009 as well. We did NOT visit a local branch. We filled out the application online. We used direct deposit to fulfill the requirement. $100 bonus was paid eventually.

If you have participated in similar promotions in the past, please leave a comment about your experience.

Also from my January call, I was told they don't do a hard credit inquiry in the application (only a soft pull). So you shouldn't have to worry about a ding to your credit score. It should be noted that I've often received wrong info on this issue from CSRs so please leave a comment if you have personal experience on this issue.

Checking Account with no ATM Fees for One Year

Bank of the West's free checking account qualifies for the bonus. In addition, they have a new checking account called Choice ATM checking which offers one year of free ATM use within the USA. This allows you to withdraw cash from any financial institution's ATM free of charge for one year. Surcharges assessed by other banks will be automatically refunded. One thing to note about this Choice ATM Checking is that you have to worry about a $10 monthly fee unless you meet certain balance or activity requirements. Also, Choice ATM checking is only offered in the following states: CA, CO, MN, NV, OK and OR.

Online Savings Account

Bank of the West continues to offer an online savings account with a competitive yield. It has gone down from 1.50% APY in January to 1.25% APY as of today (3/10/10). Unfortunately, 1.25% APY is a decent savings account rate these days. This rate requires a $10,000 minimum balance. The low tier rate has also gone down by 0.25%. It's now 0.25% APY for balances under $10,000. In August I was told by the CSR that there's a $2/month fee if the balance falls below $300. Another downside is that their ACH bank-to-bank transfer service has a transfer limit of $2,000 per day.

Bank Overview

Branches are located throughout the Western and Midwestern states including Oklahoma, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, Wyoming, Washington, Oregon and California.

Bank of the West is one of the large regional banks with $60 billion in assets and $40.2 billion in deposits. Its ratings for safety and soundness are a little weak: 3 stars (adequate) at BauerFinancial (based on 12/31/09 data) and 1 star (lowest) at Bankrate.com (based on 9/30/09 data). The bank has been a FDIC member since 1934 (FDIC Certificate # 3514).

Other Bank Bonuses

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

Center National Bank is offering a high-interest reward checking account called Centers Rewards Checking. The account has the following rates and features as of 3/09/2010 if certain monthly requirements are met:

• 4.11% APY on balances up to $25,000
• 1.01% APY on portion of balance over $25,000
• 0.25% base rate if requirements are not met
• Unlimited ATM fee refunds nationwide

Monthly requirements include:

• 10 debit card purchases
• One direct deposit or authorize one ACH automatic payment
• Receive e-statements

Other features of the account include:

• No minimum deposit requirement to open
• No minimum balance requirement
• No monthly maintenance fee

According to the banking representative, Center National Bank has been offering this account since May 2009, and the 4.11% APY has remained the same since then. Of course the rate is subject to change at anytime.

There is an online application, but they do require a branch visit for ID and signature verification. Branches are located in the Minnesota cities of Litchfield and Plymouth. Plymouth is just west of Minneapolis.

The bank's ratings for safety and soundness are strong: 5 stars (superior) at BauerFinancial (based on 12/31/09 data) and 4 stars (sound) at Bankrate.com (based on 9/30/09 data). The bank has been a FDIC member since 1934 (FDIC Certificate # 10976).

Other Reward Checking Accounts

It's not easy these days to find a reward checking account with a yield over 4.00%. The best reward checking accounts that are available nationwide are just over 4% APY.

To find nationally available reward checking accounts and reward checking accounts in your local area, please refer to the reward checking section of DepositAccounts.com.

Wells Fargo is offering a $50 cash bonus for opening any of its checking accounts. Here's the link to the offer. According to the small print, it's "available only at participating Wells Fargo stores in Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota and Wisconsin." The list of participating branches is available here. You're required to print the coupon and take it to the Wells Fargo branch and open the checking account by 5/31/2010. Here are some additional important small print details with my highlighting of things to note:

To qualify for your $50 bonus, you must open and fund a new personal Wells Fargo checking account with a minimum opening deposit of $100 (not including the $50 bonus) by 5/31/2010. The $50 bonus is available with all Wells Fargo checking accounts, including non-interest earning checking accounts except the Wells Fargo Teen Checking and Wells Fargo Opportunity Checking accounts. You will receive the $50 bonus within 30–45 days of account opening.

Credit for this find goes to markber at iBankDesign.

Wells Fargo Checking Review

The $50 bonus isn't much for a checking account these days, but at least this doesn't require direct deposit or debit card usage. One thing to note is that there may be a hard credit inquiry. This is based on my conversation with a Wells Fargo CSR in 2008.

Even though Wells Fargo's Free Checking has no monthly service fees, the online bill pay is not free with this checking account. Also, there are no free checks, not even the first order. You can get free online bill pay and free checks with other Wells Fargo checking accounts, but you'll have to watch out for monthly fees.

Wells Fargo's New Way2Save Program

Wells Fargo has a new Way2Save program. I don't think it's available nationwide yet. It's going to be introduced on a state-by-state basis as Wells Fargo converts the Wachovia branches. I reviewed this new program in depth in this October post. I did an update post in January reviewing the progress Wells Fargo is making in the conversions. For those who have Wachovia's Way2Save accounts, you may be disappointed if you've been maxing out the bonus. However, the new program should make it easier to receive a small bonus for the first year.

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.

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.

Bank of the West has brought back its $100 checking account bonus. This new bonus is available until 2/19/2010, and like the last one it allows either direct deposit of at least $250 or 10 online bill payments. The promotion details are listed in the bank's promotion page. Some important details mentioned in the small print include:

• Open any new personal checking account
• First recurring direct deposit must be posted to your account within 60 calendar days of your account opening date
• The 10 bill payments must occur within 60 calendar days of your account opening date
• Bonus will be credited to your account within 60 days after satisfaction of conditions
• Offer valid for a new personal checking account opened from with $100 or more from a financial institution other than Bank of the West
• Offer does not apply to second or multiple checking accounts and/or existing checking customers
• Limit of one $100 bonus per household per calendar year
• Value of the offer reported to the IRS on Form 1099

I just called the bank's customer service number (800 488-2265 / option 8), and according to the CSR, you don't need to come into a branch. People in any state can apply online and qualify for the bonus. Note, in a call last year I was told a branch visit would be required for the bonus. If you hear something different, please leave a comment. Also note, I was told they don't do a hard credit inquiry in the application (only a soft pull). So it shouldn't have to worry about a ding to your credit score. It should be noted that I've often received wrong info on this issue from CSRs.

A few readers shared their experience with this bonus last year. If you participated in this promotion last year, please leave a comment about how it went. Hopefully, the bonuses were paid without problems.

Branches are located throughout the Western and Midwestern states including Oklahoma, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, Wyoming, Washington, Oregon and California. The bank has been a FDIC member since 1934 (FDIC Certificate # 3514).

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

Online Savings Account

Bank of the West continues to offer an online savings account with the competitive yield of 1.50% APY for balances of $10K and above as of 1/14/2010. This is the same rate when I posted on this account last August. Unfortunately, 1.50% is now competitive for online savings accounts. However, the rate is low for balances under $10K (0.50%). In August I was told by the CSR that there's a $2/month fee if the balance falls below $300. Another downside is that their ACH bank-to-bank transfer service has a transfer limit of $2,000 per day.

Other Bank Bonuses and Online Savings Accounts

To find other bonus deals, please refer to my bank bonus page which has all of my recent bank bonus posts. Refer to my weekly rate summary and the savings account section of DepositAccounts.com for the best nationwide savings account rates.

St. Paul Federal Credit Union is offering a high-yield reward checking account with the following rates if certain monthly requirements are met:

• 5.01% APY on balances up to $10,000
• For portion of balance over $10,000, the rate is the default current rate of the respective checking account
• If requirements are not met, account will earn the default current rate of the respective checking account

The monthly requirements include:

• 15 debit card purchases
• 1 direct deposit
• Receive e-statements

Membership is open to those who live, work, worship, or attend school in the cities of Saint Paul or Minneapolis and their relatives. Please refer to the credit union's membership page for the full details.

The credit union's ratings for safety and soundness are fair: 3 stars (adequate) at BauerFinancial (based on 9/30/09 data) and 3 stars (performing) at Bankrate.com (based on 6/30/09 data). The credit union is federally insured by the NCUA (Charter # 24358).

Thanks to the reader who emailed me info on this reward checking account.

Other Reward Checking Accounts

The 5.01% yield is rare these days for reward checking, but the $10K cap is a downside. On the plus side, the low cap should make it easier for the credit union to maintain the high rate.

To find reward checking accounts in other areas of the nation, please refer to the reward checking section of DepositAccounts.com. To learn more about reward checking, please refer to this reward checking overview.

Thrivent Financial Bank is offering a $50 bonus for opening its rewards checking account. They call it a reward checking, but it's not a high-yield reward checking account. There are no debit card usage requirement, but it does require direct deposit.

According to the promotions page, you have to open the account by 12/31/09 and set up recurring direct deposit of at least $100 within 90 days of opening your account. The instructions state:

Call 800-688-6031 today and have promo code: Checking1109 handy to take advantage of this offer.

The bonus is reported to IRS as interest, and it'll be credited to your account within 3 business days after qualifying for the bonus.

Notable features of the checking account that are listed in the checking account comparison page and from my conversation with the CSR include:

• $50 minimum opening deposit
• No monthly fees (CSR)
• 0.51% APY on all balances as of 12/16/09 (see rate table)
• Requires payroll direct deposit. Without direct deposit, it'll be converted to Simply Free Checking (CSR)
• Online ACH transfer service
• Unlimited ATM fee reimbursements
• Free first order of checks
• No hard credit pull in the application. Just ChexSystem (CSR)

The CSR said they have a ACH transfer limit of $2K/day, but you can initiate the transfer by phone without this limitation.

This isn't an account for rate chasers, but for someone looking for a regular checking account this is comparable to other online checking accounts like those at ING Direct, Charles Schwab and Salem Five Direct.

Thrivent Financial Bank opens accounts for customers in any state. The bank is headquartered in Wisconsin with branches in both Wisconsin and Minnesota.

The bank's ratings for safety and soundness are strong: 5 stars (superior) at BauerFinancial (based on 9/30/09 data) and 4 stars (sound) at Bankrate.com (based on 6/30/09 data). The bank has been a FDIC member since 1998 (FDIC Certificate # 34799).

Other Bank Bonus Deals:

• my last 40 posts on checking and savings account bonuses

Update 11/14/09: The rates have fallen, but they remain very competitive. Please refer to the credit union's website for the latest rates.

Wings Financial Credit Union continues to offer several very competitive CD rates. In addition, they have expanded their field of membership beyond just the airline industry to include all those who live or work in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area.

The special 27-month CD and all of their standard CDs have competitive rates. Minimum deposit is $500. These are also available in an IRA. Below is the full list of CD rates as shown on the credit union's rate sheet as of 11/03/2009:

• 1.96% APY 3 month
• 2.37% APY 6 month
• 2.78% APY 1 year
• 2.98% APY 2 year
• 3.09% APY 27 month (special)
• 3.14% APY 3 year
• 3.24% APY 4 year
• 3.49% APY 5 year

Another good deal is the credit union's Wings Investment Money Market Account. It's a tiered rate account with a 1.92% APY for balances of $5K to $50K, 2.07% APY for balances of $50K to $100K and 2.22% APY for over $100K. These rates are listed as of 11/03/09.

The expanded field of membership just occurred last month. In addition to those connected to the airline industry, those who live or work in the 13 County Minneapolis/St. Paul Metro are eligible for membership. Refer to the credit union's Membership Eligibility page for the full details.

Branches are located in California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Michigan, Minnesota, Tennessee and Washington.

The credit union's ratings for safety and soundess are above average: 5 stars (superior) at BauerFinancial and 3 stars (performing) at Bankrate.com. Both ratings are based on 6/30/09 financial data.

Wings Financial is a large credit union with $2.2 billion in assets and 122,394 members. It's federally in insured by the NCUA (Charter # 68601). Note, Wings' charter number has changed now that it's a state charter.

Other Competitive Certificate of Deposit Rates

• My weekly list of hot nationwide and local CD deals
• My weekly list of all nationwide CD deals
• Index of state CD and bank deals

Village Bank is offering a high yield rewards checking account called eChecking with the following rates and features if certain monthly requirements are met:

• 5.00% APY on balances up to $10,000
• 1.00% APY on portion of balance over $10,000
• 0.10% base rate if monthly requirements are not met

The monthly requirements include:

• 5 debit card purchases (excludes ATM transactions)
• Receive e-statements

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

• No minimum initial deposit
• No minimum balance requirement
• No monthly service charge
• First 5 checks free, thereafter $3.00 each
• Trial (free) bill pay for 3 months, thereafter $5.95 per month

Presently this is the highest yield, 5%, and lowest cap, $10K, in Minnesota. Note that the usual direct deposit or ACH debit/credit is not required, plus required debit card count is one of the lowest anywhere. On the downside, no ATM foreign fee refunds are mentioned.

Also, they also offer an attractive youth College Savings Fund that pays 10% on the first $500, 3% for any amount over that, contingent upon $100 minimum contributions annually.

A branch visit is required to verify identity when opening an account. Branches are located in five communities just north of Minneapolis: Blaine, Ramsey, Oak Grove, St. Francis and East Bethel.

The bank's ratings for safety and soundness are mixed: 2 stars (problematic) at BauerFinancial and 4 stars (sound) at Bankrate.com, both based on 6/30/09 data. The bank has been a FDIC member since 1993 (FDIC Certificate # 33761).

Other Reward Checking Accounts

To find reward checking accounts in other areas of the nation or to learn more about these accounts, please refer to my High Yield Checking website.