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For Top Rates, Can Credit Unions Compete?Several Notable $150 Checking Account Bonuses
In today's environment with very low interest rates, bank bonuses can provide a better way to make some money from the banks. This is most useful for those who don't have much savings. If you only have $15,000 in a savings account that pays 1%, you'll only earn $150 in one year. There are several checking account promotions that pay $150. I thought it would be useful to summarize these $150 bonuses in this blog post. A couple of these are scheduled to end this month so you'll have to hurry.
The problem with bank bonuses is that they require you to open an account that is rarely a good deal over the long run. The checking accounts typically have many fees. The banks hope that the customer will be an average type of customer who won't close the account and will keep using the account. For the bank, the bonus is just a loss leader. If the customer can carefully manage the account to avoid fees, these bank bonuses can be good deals for the customer.
Some of the following bonuses are from banks that have a history of extending the promotions or coming out with new ones. So be sure to check the bank's website to see if the promo has been extended. If you see one that has been extended, please leave a comment.
- $150 checking account bonus at Flushing Bank in NYC. Its Totally Free Checking qualifies, and you can qualify for the bonus without direct deposit. A visit to one of the bank's NYC branches may be required (Flushing bonus review).
- $150 checking account bonus at PNC Bank in several eastern and midwestern states. Scheduled to expire 4/1/13. PNC regularly extends this bonus. Direct deposit is required, and the checking account has potential monthly fees (PNC bonus review).
- $150 checking account bonus at Citizens Bank in northeastern states. Scheduled to expire 2/28/13. Direct deposit is required to receive the full bonus, and the checking account has potential monthly fees (Citizens bonus review).
- $150 checking account bonus at Bank of the West in western states. Scheduled to expire on 3/8/13. Direct deposit is required, and the checking account has potential monthly fees (Bank of the West bonus review).
- $150 checking account bonus at Dollar Bank in Pittsburgh and Cleveland metro areas. Scheduled to expire on 2/28/13. Direct deposit is required for the full bonus. The bank's free checking account, FreeMONEY Checking, qualifies (Dollar Bank bonus review).
- Expired: $150 checking account bonus at Amplify Credit Union in Austin Texas metro area. Scheduled to expire on 4/13/13. Direct deposit is required. The checking account is free with e-statements (Amplify bonus review).
- $125 checking account bonus at Chase Bank in all of U.S. Scheduled to expire on 4/6/13. Direct deposit is required. The checking account has potential monthly fees. Chase sometimes offers bonuses online for amounts of $200 and $150. There are also ways to get these bonuses offline (Chase bonus review).
Other Bank and Credit Union Bonuses
We have a bank promotions page with a table of all of the active bank and credit union promotions. You can filter the table based on the type of promotion and based on your state. I have more details about how to use this page in this blog post.
You can view my latest bank bonus blog posts in this bank bonus page. I and DepositAccounts.com readers often post on bonuses in the checking account deals forum.
Some banks delay their bonus for 3-6 months and some have to be pushed and begged to give you the bonus.
Some are trying to find excuse not to pay you anything.
Some of the requirements are impossible to fulfill within required time, like DD must be done within 30 days period of account opening.
Most of them do hard credit pulls and if you intend to get bank loan within a year, the rate quoted is higher than usual.
Some banks change their mind about the bonus, if you read the fine print it says, we deserve rights to discontinue this bonus at any time and they can change the requirements in the middle of the “game”.
After opening the account, new requirements can pop up in order to avoid fees.
If you close the account within a year, most banks will take back the bonus and charge closing fees.
All of the above had happened to me in the last 10 years, so, I’m passing these mishaps to the new bonus chasers not to fall to some of those bank’s tricks.
Remember, the banks make more money from the ignorant customer than from regular business investments and loans combined.