Chase Bank is offering a $125 bonus for new customers if you open a new Total Checking account with $100 and set up direct deposit within 60 days of account opening. They state that the direct deposit must be “an electronic deposit from your employer or the government of your paycheck, pension or government benefits (such as Social Security)”, but I’m not sure if they manually check. You must keep the account open for 6 months. To avoid a monthly fee, you must do one of the following each statement period:
- have at least one direct deposit of $500 or more post to your account (two or more direct deposits that add up to $500 or more do not qualify), or
- keep a minimum daily balance of $1,500 or more in your checking account, or
- keep an average balance of $5,000 or more in qualifying accounts with Chase.
Otherwise, a $12 monthly Service Fee will apply ($10 monthly Service Fee in CA, OR and WA). Per the fine print, if are not a current customer and you’ve closed an account more than 90 days ago, you count as a “new” customer again. However, you can only receive one checking account-related bonus per calendar year. Thanks to reader Andy for the tip. Offer expires 10/7/11.
The Best Credit Card Bonus Offers – March 2024
Big List of Free Stocks from Brokerage Apps
Best Interest Rates on Cash - March 2024
Free Credit Scores x 3 + Free Credit Monitoring
Best No Fee 0% APR Balance Transfer Offers
Little-Known Cellular Data Plans That Can Save Big Money
How To Haggle Your Cable or Direct TV Bill
Big List of Free Consumer Data Reports (Credit, Rent, Work)
I see that note that two deposits totaling $500 do not qualify in the fine print. I thought they just changed that for Total Checking and now you can avoid the fee by having direct deposits totaling $500. I hope this is an error on their part, and not them reinstating the fee.
http://www.mybanktracker.com/bank-news/2011/08/04/chase-eases-direct-deposit-policy-checking-account-fee-waiver/
For anyone in NY/PA/MD/DE/VA, M&T Bank has a $100 bonus on opening a “My Choice Checking” account. You have to add direct deposit, but the minimum balance to avoid a fee is only $500, or you can use your debit card 10 times per month. And if you miss, the fee is only $7.
Also if you know a non-branch employee (like me), they can give you a referral card that — through December — will get you an ADDITIONAL $100.
I got a similar offer to this in the mail, but no direct deposit requirement…at least I think it had no requirement. I will have to check when I get home.
I like the service I get with Chase, but hate the fact that I need to have $1,500 in my checking account. I like the security of being able to spend my money without being fined. 🙁
Anyone can get the promotion, but… Chase will then only let you open an account if you live within certain zip codes.