Please Help

ranchorama | May 10, 2019 | 1 posts since 2019

I'm not smart enough to figure out how to notify Mr. Tumin about a problem with the Chase bonus deals he shows on this site and am hoping that someone here can do so.

I signed up for one that requires a 90-day commitment and then saw this in the small print:

2 Account Closing: If either the checking or savings account is closed by the customer or Chase within six months after opening, we will deduct the bonus amount for that account at closing.

So to get the bonus one needs to leave their money in a checking account that doesn't even pay 1% interest (it's .01% actually!) for not 3 months, but 6. I'll leave it to smarter people than me to figure out how much money one really gets after that (granted it's not the whole $10k, but it's around $1800, as near as I can figure for the remaining 3 months)

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Answers

Anon456 | May 11, 2019 | 224 posts since 2011

I cannot speak for Ken, but I think he will take responsibility for web site information but cannot help you directly with CHASE. I think you may have mis-read the small print. There are two requirements: 1) open and fund the account with required amounts, and leave the funds there for 90 days 2) keep the account open, even if you draw down most of the funds (but you do not have to keep the required balance in there after the 90 days .... just DO NOT close the account).

Banks and credit cards offer these type of deals because most people do not manage the money and leave most or all of it there even after the 90 days That trait in human nature is how they make their money on the deal. I think you can still do what you want, just do not close the account. The 90 days is still correct .... must leave the funds for 90 days ..... after that is up to you as long as you do not close the accounts.

Call CHASE to see if my understanding is correct. I think the letter of the law in the agreement is OK .... just up to you to manage the cash flow for both the 90 days, and then keeping the account open with whatever minimum balance requirements.

Ken Tumin | May 11, 2019 | 6,053 posts since 2009

The time requirement to keep the account open to avoid being penalized is something we can add to the bonus deal summary. Thanks for noting this. With many checking account bonus deals, the checking accounts often have monthly fees if minimum balances aren't maintained. And they rarely offer any significant interest rate. So every additional month you have the account opened is a month of either a monthly fee or losing out on interest that you could be earning in an online savings account.

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