Vermont Deposit Account Rates and Deals

Sovereign Bank is offering a checking and money market promotion in which you can earn a bonus of $150 and receive a 1.50% APY guarantee for 3 months in the money market account. The promo is scheduled to expire 3/13/2010. Here's the promo page link.

First, here are the requirements for the $150 checking account bonus:

• Open a new Sovereign Premier Checking, Business Owner Premier Checking, Interest Checking, or Partnership Checking account by March 13, 2010, with a minimum opening deposit of $100
• Open any Sovereign savings or money market savings account with a minimum opening deposit of $100 or already have a savings or money market savings account
• Enroll in Online Banking at account opening
• Set up and receive one direct deposit within 60 days of opening your account
• Request a Sovereign Debit Card and make 5 Debit Card purchases within 60 days after you open your account

When you qualify, you will receive a credit of $150 to your new checking account within 75 days after you open your checking account.

Some important small print:

• Offer available only to residents in the following states: ME, VT, NH, CT, RI, MA, NY, NJ, PA, MV, MD, DE, and District of Columbia.
• Direct deposits you initiate from an account at another bank do not qualify
• The amount of the bonus credited to your account will be reported to the IRS as interest
• Current personal checking customers or anyone who has had a personal checking account with Sovereign Bank in the last 6 months are not eligible for this offer.
• Current savings customers are eligible

An important note regarding the Interest Checking is that direct deposit is required to avoid a $10 monthly fee. 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 $30/month fee. For the savings accounts, the Money Market Savings appears to be a good choice since it has no monthly maintenance fee and no minimum balance requirement. Note, the monthly fees and minimum balance vary considerably based on your state.

Here are the requirements to qualify for 1.50% APY for 3 months:

• Open a new Premier Checking account and open a new Premier Money Market Savings account by March 13, 2010
• Bonus rate will apply for each day your balance is $10,000 to $499,999 and is guaranteed for 3 months from the date you open your account

Some important small print:

• Same geographic restriction as mentioned above
• Anyone who has had a Sovereign savings, money market savings, or personal checking account with Sovereign in the last 6 months are not eligible for the bonus rate

Unlike the checking account promotion, this requires a Premier Money Market Savings account. Details of this account are in the promo page (click more for this account in the promo page). The Premier Money Savings is free of minimum balance requirements and has no monthly fees as long as you have a Premier Checking account (which, as I mentioned, has its own fees)

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. However, the small print states that residential addresses must be located in the northeast states (see above).

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 a FDIC member (FDIC Certificate # 29950).

Other Bank Bonuses

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

Citizens Bank has a checking account promotion in which you can earn $100. The details of the checking account bonus are listed at www.citizensbank.com/holidayoffer. Offer ends 12/15/2009. The requirements to earn the $100 include:

• $50 for setting up direct deposit of $50 or more
• $25 for making 5 online bill payments
• $25 for making 5 signature-based debit card or credit card purchases

The Green Checking qualifies for this bonus, and it's a free checking account with no monthly fees. Minimum opening balance is $50.

The Green Checking also qualifies for the Green$sense program. Citizens Bank says you can get paid up to $120 per year in Green$ense. However, this would require 100 debit card purchases, online bill payments or automatic payments per month for 12 months. For each of these non-paper transactions, Citizens Bank pays you 10 cents.

There's an online application at the promotions page. However, it only accepts zip codes in their market area. Their market area includes Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont.

Citizens Bank operates under two FDIC charters: Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania (FDIC Certificate # 57282) and RBS Citizens, N.A. which has branches in several states outside of PA and NJ (FDIC Certificate # 57957).

Other Bank Bonuses

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

TD Bank is offering a promotion on its Elite Savings Account with a 1.50% APY guaranteed for 3 months. Minimum daily balance of $10,000 must be maintained to qualify for the 3-month guarantee, and new money is required. Also, a TD Bank checking account is required. The offer is scheduled to end on November 30, 2009. Refer to the bottom of the bank's savings account page for the full details. The account has a $12 monthly maintenance fee if you don't meet the $10K balance requirement or if you are under 62.

Why Report on 1.50%?

An APY of 1.50% is nothing to get excited about, but unfortunately, in today's environment, it's fairly competitive. It's higher than the savings account rates offered by ING Direct, HSBC Direct and iGObanking. Also, for those who prefer to bank at a brick-and-mortar branch, this may a decent option for your short-term money. I doubt the rate will remain competitive after the 3 months.

Branches

There's an online application, but you are still required to select a local bank office to service your account. Branches are located in Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Virginia.

TD Bank is part of the bank holding company Toronto-Dominion Bank which is Canada's second largest lender. It was recently reported by Bloomberg that they are actively looking at FDIC-assisted deals to acquire more banks specifically in Florida, Boston and Washington.

TD Bank's ratings for safety and soundness are fair: 3 stars (performing) at Bankrate.com and 4 stars (excellent) at BauerFinancial. Both ratings are based on 6/30/09 financial data. TD Bank has been a FDIC member since 1961 (FDIC Certificate # 18409).

Thanks to the reader who emailed me info on this promotion.

Other Competitive Money Market Accounts

• Savings Account Weekly Rate Summary
• bank deals by state

KeyBank has a new checking account promotion in which you can receive up to $225 when you:

• Open a qualifying checking account and enroll in KeyBank Rewards by November 20, 2009
• Make one debit card transaction and a combination of two direct deposits and/or automated payments each of $100 or more by January 22, 2010

The $225 bonus requires that you open either the Key Privilege Checking or Key Privilege Select Checking. Both of these have high minimum balance requirements to avoid a monthly service charge. A smaller bonus of $125 is available for opening the free checking account which has no minimum balance requirement or monthly service charge.

Here's an important detail listed in the promotion's FAQs:

• This offer is not available in all states. Individuals and businesses will only be eligible in areas where KeyBank has branches. Key has branches in the following states: Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, and Washington.

And here's some of the important small print:

• Direct deposit transactions are limited to: payroll, social security, pension and government benefits.
• Automated payments exclude Key Bill Pay, debit card automated payments, PayPal transactions and account to account balance transfers.
• Offer not available to individuals who have opened a KeyBank checking account in the last 12 months.
• The value of the gift card will be reported on Form 1099-INT.
• If you close your account within 180 days of account opening, you will be charged a $25 account early closure fee.

It appears you can apply online, by phone (1-877-539-6659) or at a branch. Note, if you want the 60,000 KeyBank Rewards instead of the $125 cash bonus, you'll need to call or visit a branch.

According to the customer service rep, they don't do a hard credit inquiry. They only use ChexSystem in the application approval process. This is based on my conversation with the CSR last year.

KeyBank has been a FDIC member since 1956.

Credit to iBankDesign for this find.

Other Bank Bonuses

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

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

• Open a Premier or Interest Checking Account along with a minimum $100 deposit by 10/31/2009
• Open any Sovereign savings or money market savings account with a minimum $100 deposit (or already have a savings account)
• Request a Sovereign CheckCard and make 2 check card purchases within 60 days of opening your account
• Enroll in Online Banking at account opening
• Whey you qualify, you will receive a $100 credit to your new checking account within 75 days after you open your checking account

Some important small print:

• Residential address must be located in the following states: ME, VT, NH, CT, RI, MA, NY, NJ, PA, WV, MD, DE, District of Columbia.
• 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 $10 monthly fee (fee used to be $5). 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 $30/month fee (used to be $25). For the savings accounts, the Statement Savings appears to be the best choice with only a $100 minimum balance to avoid a monthly fee. Note, the monthly fees and minimum balance vary considerably based on your state.

This promotion is similar to Sovereign's April promotion. This new one requires a savings account, but on the plus side it only requires 2 check card purchases with no minimum purchase requirement. A reader in that April post commented about his positive experience with Sovereign and a previous promotion:

I signed up for the very similar January promo. I live out-of-state (Southwest); online application worked flawlessly, no hard pull. I made six online purchases with the debit card and got my $100 bonus about a week before the due date. ACH push (e*trade) counts as direct deposit for me -- no monthly fee.

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. However, the small print states that residential addresses must be located in the northeast states (see above).

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 a FDIC member (Certificate # 29950).

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

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.

Update 9/07/09: The top rate has fallen to 2.50% APY.

Mascoma Savings Bank is offering a high yield reward checking account called Free Rewards Checking. It has the following rates and features if certain monthly requirements are met:

• 2.50% APY on balances up to $50,000
• 1.01% APY on portion of balance over $50,000
• 0.10% base rate if monthly requirements are not met
• Refunds ATM fees nationwide

The monthly requirements include:

• 12 debit card purchases (non-ATM transactions)
• 1 direct deposit or ACH debit transaction
• Receive e-statements

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

• $50 minimum initial deposit
• No minimum balance requirement
• No monthly service charge

A bank visit is required to open an account. Branches are located in the New Hampshire cities of Lebanon and West Lebanon, Canaan, Enfield, Hanover, Lyme, New London plus the Vermont cities of Bethel, Chelsea, Hartland, Norwich, S. Strafford, and White River Junction, Windsor and Woodstock.

The bank's ratings for safety and soundness are superior: 5 stars (superior) at BauerFinancial and 4 stars (sound) at Bankrate.com. Both ratings are based on 3/31/09 financial data. The bank was formed in 1899 and has been a FDIC member since 1959 (FDIC Certificate #18013).

Other Reward Checking Accounts

Although the New England states have many $50,000 reward checking accounts, this is my first within these two states. 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.

Rate History:
09/01/09: 2.50% APY up to $50K
08/20/09: 3.05% APY up to $50K; 1.01% over; 0.10% base

KeyBank has a new checking account promotion that's similar to what they were offering in March except with new versions of the Garmin GPS. In this new promo you can receive a free Garmin nuvi 1200 GPS or a Garmin nuvi 1350 GPS.

The 1200 GPS requires that you open a qualifying checking account by 9/11/09 and make one debit card transaction and make two direct deposits or automated payments each of $100 or more by 11/13/09. The Express Free Checking qualifies. One thing new in this promo is that you must have or request a KeyBank Rewards debit card and enroll in the KeyBank Rewards points program. There is a $20 annual fee for the KeyBank Rewards Program that will be waived for the first year. The current price of this 1200 GPS is $179.99 at newegg.com.

The more expensive 1350 GPS requires opening either the Key Privilege or Key Privilege Select checking account. The other requirements seem to be the same. These two personal accounts require large minimum balances to avoid monthly fees. The current price of this 1350 GPS is $279.99 at newegg.com.

You will receive your Garmin GPS within 90 days of meeting requirements. Here's some of the important small print. Please refer to the promotion page and the FAQ page for the official details.

• Direct deposit transactions are limited to: payroll, social security, pension and government benefits.
• Automated payments exclude Key Bill Pay, debit card automated payments, PayPal transactions and account to account balance transfers.
• Offer not available to individuals who have opened a KeyBank checking account in the last 12 months.
• The value of the Garmin GPS will be reported on Form 1099-INT ($145 for the 1200 and $212 for the 1350)
• If you close your account within 180 days of account opening, you will be charged a $25 account early closure fee.
• You can apply at a KeyBank branch, Key.com or through 1-877-539-4477
• Only available in areas where KeyBank has branches. Key has branches in the following states: Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, and Washington.

Some features of the Key Express Free Checking include:

• $50 Minimum opening deposit
• No monthly fees
• No minimum balance requirements
• ACH transfer capability
• free pill pay

According to the customer service rep, they don't do a hard credit inquiry. They only use ChexSystem in the application approval process. This is based on my conversation with the CSR in 2007.

KeyBank has been FDIC member since 1956.

Other Bank Bonus Deals:

• my last 40 posts on checking and savings account bonuses

Update 8/18/09: Crossed out Florida from list of eligible states per info from reader. FDIC database does show KeyBank branches in Florida, but these zip codes are not accepted in the online application.

Update 7/08/09: There's still an active checking account promotion for a Key Student Checking Account. In addition to a free 1GB flash drive, you can also get an iPod nano whey you apply and get approved for the student credit card. See Key Bank's promo page for details.

KeyBank has a new checking account promotion in which you can receive a free Garmin nuvi 205W GPS or a Garmin nuvi 265WT GPS. The 205W GPS requires that you open a qualifying checking account by 4/24/09 and make one debit card transaction and make two direct deposits or automated payments each of $100 or more by 6/26/09. The Express Free Checking qualifies.

The more expensive 265WT GPS requires opening either the Key Privilege, Key Privilege Select, or other business checking accounts. The other requirements seem to be the same. These two personal accounts require large minimum balances to avoid monthly fees.

You will receive your Garmin GPS within 90 days of meeting requirements. Here's some of the important small print. Please refer to the promotion page and the FAQ page for the official details.

• Direct deposit transactions are limited to: payroll, social security, pension and government benefits.
• Automated payments exclude Key Bill Pay, debit card automated payments, PayPal transactions and account to account balance transfers.
• Offer not available to individuals who have opened a KeyBank checking account in the last 12 months.
• The value of the Garmin GPS will be reported on Form 1099-INT ($166 for the 205W and $240 for the 265WT)
• If you close your account within 180 days of account opening, you will be charged a $25 account early closure fee.
• You can apply at a KeyBank branch, Key.com or through 1-877-888-3658
• Only available in areas where KeyBank has branches. Key has branches in the following states: Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, and Washington.

Some features of the Key Express Free Checking include:

• $50 Minimum opening deposit
• No monthly fees
• No minimum balance requirements
• ACH transfer capability

Some fees to be aware of include:

• $2 fee for using non-KeyBank ATMs
• $25 early closing fee if closed before 180 days

According to the customer service rep, they don't do a hard credit inquiry. They only use ChexSystem in the application approval process. This is based on my conversation with the CSR in 2007.

As with any non-cash gift, you can probably get the gift cheaper than the value that's going to be reported on the 1099-INT. The best price that I've found for the 205W model is $120 at Newegg.com.

This promotion is very similar to KeyBank's iPod nano promotion that I posted on last year. Three readers reported receiving the iPod as promised.

KeyBank has been FDIC insured since 1956.

TD Banknorth has a checking account promotion in which you can receive a free iPod Shuffle 2GB or an iPod nano 4GB for opening a checking account with direct deposit. The iPod nano requires that you apply for their credit card on the same day you apply for the checking account. Offer expires 9/17/08.

You can apply online, but it's only available in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Upstate New York.

The bank's checking account page has the checking account details. The Simply Free Checking has no minimum balance requirements or monthly maintenance fee. The minimum initial deposit is $25. The bank has three credit cards and all seem to have no annual fee. Note, with the credit card, it's very likely that there'll be a hard credit inquiry which will temporarily ding your credit score.

Credit for this find goes to Fire Finance.

Update 8/22/08: The promotion has been extended. Checking account must be opened by 8/29/08. Debit card transactions and payments must be made by 11/14/08.

KeyBank has a new checking account promotion in which you can receive a free iPod nano or an iPod touch. The iPod nano gift requires that you open a qualifying checking account by 8/15/08 and make one debit card transaction and make two direct deposits or automated payments each of $100 or more by 10/31/08. The Express Free Checking qualifies.

The iPod touch gift requires opening either the Key Privilege, Key Privilege Select, or other business checking accounts. The other requirements seem to be the same.

You will receive your iPod within 90 days of meeting requirements. Here's some of the important small print. Please refer to the promotion page for the official details.

• Direct deposit transactions are limited to: payroll, social security, pension and government benefits.
• Automated payments exclude Key Bill Pay, debit card automated payments, PayPal transactions and account to account balance transfers.
• Offer not available to individuals who have opened a KeyBank checking account in the last 12 months.
• The value of the iPod will be reported on Form 1099-INT.
• If you close your account within 180 days of account opening, you will be charged a $25 account early closure fee.

You can apply at a KeyBank branch, Key.com or through 1-877-888-3658. However, based on the online application, it appears you have to live in a state where they have branches. This includes the following states: AK, CO, ID, IN, KY, ME, MI, NY, OH, OR, UT, VT, or WA.

KeyBank still has an iPod nano promotion for its Free Student Checking Package. I reported on this deal in this June post.

This is the third consecutive July in which they've had an iPod promo. You may want to read the comments from my previous posts in July 2007 and in July 2006 to see what problems people have experienced.

Some features of the Key Express Free Checking include:

• $50 Minimum opening deposit
• No monthly fees
• No minimum balance requirements
• ACH transfer capability

Some fees to be aware of include:

• $2 fee for using non-KeyBank ATMs
• $25 early closing fee if closed before 180 days

According to the customer service rep, they don't do a hard credit inquiry. They only use ChexSystem in the application approval process. This is based on my conversation with the CSR last year.

KeyBank has been FDIC insured since 1956.