4.19% Reward Checking Account and 3.19% Savings Account at D.L. Evans Bank in ID – Local Only

POSTED ON THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2009 BY Ken Tumin

Update: These accounts are no longer available.

D.L. Evans Bank is offering a high-yield reward checking account called Free SMART Rewards Checking. The account has the following rates and features if certain monthly requirements are met:

4.19% APY on balances up to $30,000
0.79% APY on portion of balance over $30,000
0.09% APY base rate if requirements are not met
ATM fee refunds nationwide up to $20 per cycle

The monthly requirements include:

12 check card purchases
1 direct deposit or ACH debit or bill pay
Sign up for and receive e-statements

Other features of this account include:

$100 minimum initial deposit
No monthly service charge
No minimum balance requirement
Free online banking (includes bill pay service)

In addition to the reward checking account, the bank also offers SMART Rewards Savings with the following rates, but it, too, depends on satisfying the monthly checking requirements:

3.19% APY on balances up to $30,000
0.79% APY on portion of balance over $30,000
0.29% APY base rate if requirements are not met

The reward savings account serves to automatically accumulate monthly interest and ATM refunds from the checking account when its requirements are met. With both checking and savings fully funded, it’s almost like having two accounts but with only one set of requirements. Like the reward checking account, savings has no monthly service fees and no minimum balance requirement.

The reward checking account has a secure online application (contact information). After submittal, they will contact you with follow-up steps and mail you documents to be notarized and returned. Update 11/12/09: I contacted another CSR who unfortunately stated that new applicants must be in their service area.

Branches are scattered throughout southern Idaho: Boise, Burley, Albion, Hailey, Idaho Falls, Jerome, Ketchum, Meridian, Nampa, Pocatello, Rupert and Twin Falls.

The bank's ratings for safety and soundness are average: 3 stars (performing) at Bankrate.com and 3½ stars (good) at BauerFinancial. Both ratings are based on 6/30/09 financial data. D. L. Evans was founded in 1904 and has been a FDIC member since 1934 (FDIC certificate #11666).

Other Reward Checking Accounts

This account is reminiscent of First New England Credit Union (see post) very early this year with slightly modified features. Tying checking and savings together as an increased deposit incentive is not uncommon.

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.

Previous Comments

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Obama Data | Nov 11, 2009 | Comment #1

I just spoke with the banker and they told the reward checking is not available nationwide.

Banking Guy | Nov 11, 2009 | Comment #2

Thanks for the info. It's common for bank reps to have different info on this issue. Also, as I mention in the post, it's common for small banks to change their policy. I'm trying to contact other bank reps to see what their availability policy really is.

Anonymous | Nov 12, 2009 | Comment #3

I'm surprise that this bank is open for Veterans Day.

Anonymous | Nov 12, 2009 | Comment #4

Got declined as not living in service area:-(

Anonymous | Nov 12, 2009 | Comment #5

Banking Guy, I think you should investigate more before posting on availabilities of such accounts.

I applied and got this answer:

"Dear Customer,
Thank you for your interest in our Smart Rewards Checking product. We are unable to open an account for you as you do not live in our service area.

Sincerely,

Becca Pincock
Operations Support Specialist
D.L. Evans Bank
Corporate Annex Building
Phone 208-679-3834
Fax 208-678-1532 "

Waste of time even when I spoke with them after receiving the above e-mail.

AtHome Dad | Nov 12, 2009 | Comment #6

To Anonymous 9:20AM, relax amigo. I'd rather BG err on the side of getting info to us timely than 100% accurate. 100% accurate one minute can change the next. Banks do change their policies on a whim, and one CSR can provide inaccurate information. Over time, (and yes applying can be time consuming) the value of BG's service far out weigh any inconvenience I might endure. On this account, I sent an email with a few a questions before applying and finally heard back the same message. It never hurts to do your own due diligence.

I for one count on BG and his followers. Over time, this source has proven to be extremely valuable.

As for the combined savings and checking reward account, I for one hope to see this trend pick up. I think this is an outstanding value.

Anonymous | Nov 12, 2009 | Comment #7

I spoke with the manager of the bank and he said that it was never their policy to deal from out of state customers and their was no policy change after the fact.
Therefore, no CSR ever had said that this account is available nationwide.
He ask me for the name of the CSR that had stated in opposite of the bank policy to be punished for spreading inaccurate info..

Anonymous | Nov 13, 2009 | Comment #8

I also got rejected for being a non-local. Does anyone know if they did a hard pull before declining the app?

Anonymous | Dec 16, 2009 | Comment #9

I opened my account tonight. I asked about a hard pull and was told they only do a Chex Systems pull.