FirstBank Has A $300 Checking Bonus Available in AZ, CA, And CO

I first wrote about Colorado-based FirstBank’s long-running Anywhere Account checking bonus in 2017. The amount of the bonus and the requirements have changed several times in the past five years, with the current offering being a $300 bonus when opening a new Anywhere Account with qualifying direct deposits.

The fine print on the bonus landing page lists all the ins and outs of the $300 bonus.

• Cash offer is not available to existing FirstBank consumer checking customers or those whose accounts have been closed within 90 days or closed with a negative balance.
• Past customers who ever received a gift from FirstBank are ineligible for this offer.
• Offer valid for new personal checking accounts opened between December 15, 2021 to March 2, 2022.
• The account must be opened online at efirstbank.com/offers or bring in this advertisement to any FirstBank location to receive the $300 offer.
• Limit one gift per household, per lifetime.
• Customer must have at least one direct deposit ($500 minimum) per month for three consecutive months following the open date of the account.
• The first required deposit ($500 minimum) must be made within 60 days of the open date. Direct deposit must be new to FirstBank and must be payroll, pension, Social Security or other recurring government benefits.
• The monthly direct deposit cannot be multiple direct deposits combined that exceed $500.
• The cash offer will be given if the account opened is in good standing (i.e. is not overdrawn or at a zero balance), and the customer enrolls for online banking on or before the posting date of the required ($500 minimum) direct deposit in the third consecutive month.
• All requirements must be met within 120 days of account opening and the cash offer will be deposited into the new checking account within 30 days of the final qualifying requirement.
• The cash offer is considered a bonus that can be revoked if the account is closed within twelve months of the opening date.
• Online Banking plus direct deposit required.

There’s one sentence I find a bit worrisome:

We reserve the right to substitute gifts offered at any time with an item of similar value.

I haven’t read or heard of any substitutions for the cash bonus, but caveat emptor.

Anywhere Account

The Anywhere Account is a non-interest bearing account. While there is no monthly service charge or minimum balance requirement, two of the many fees listed on the Consumer Fee Schedule are of note:

• The Visa Debit Card is free for the first year, after which there is a $10 annual card fee.
• Online banking has a $3 monthly fee that is waived with enrollment in eStatements.

Availability

Headquartered in Lakewood, Colorado, FirstBank has a brick-and-mortar presence in Colorado, Arizona, and Riverside County, California.

Applying for the $300 cash bonus and opening a new Anywhere Account can be done online, or at any of the 109 full-service branches located in Arizona (14), California (4), and Colorado (91).

The fine print on the promotion page states that if opening in-branch,

bring in this advertisement to any FirstBank location to receive the $300 offer.

Bank Overview

FirstBank has an overall health grade of "A" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 0.99% (excellent) based on September 30, 2021 data. In the past year, FirstBank has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $4.21 billion, an excellent annual growth rate of 20.15%. Please refer to our financial overview of FirstBank (FDIC Certificate # 18714) for more details.

Established in 1963 as the First Westland National Bank, FirstBank is one of the country’s largest privately held bank, with more than $27 billion in assets. The Bank has rebranded four times, with the FirstBank name adopted in 2010 following the acquisition of 24 separate Colorado “FirstBank” divisions; the FirstBank of Arizona was acquired in 2011. FirstBank has grown steadily over the past 42 years, going from the eighth largest Colorado bank to the largest Colorado bank.

Bottom Line

Checking bonuses are more attractive when interest rates are low, because they offer a significant return not available in either a liquid account or short-term CD. There are no liquid accounts or CDs that currently return $300 on a relatively small deposit in approximately 4-5 months. Earning $300 in an online savings account, with the current top rate of 0.65% APY, would require about $46k on deposit for a year.

If you don’t qualify for the FirstBank bonus, check our list of the best savings and checking account bonus offers for a bonus that’s right for you.

The above information and rates are accurate as of 1/28/2022.