WaMu (not Chase yet) Free Checking $100 Bonus

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WaMu is offering a $100 bonus (Update 2: Found new link, thanks to reader Matt) if you open a WaMu Free Checking account and set up direct deposit or make five debit card purchases. Selected fine print:

Bonus/Account Information — To qualify for the reward, you must open a new checking account with a $100 minimum opening deposit of new money (money not currently held by this bank). Also, within 60 calendar days of account opening, you must initiate a monthly direct deposit such as payroll, pension or Social Security, or have at least five debit card purchases (using your PIN or signature) posted to your account. The reward will be deposited into your new account within 2 weeks after the initial direct deposit or the five debit card purchases have posted to your account. Limit one personal checking account-related reward/premium per customer, per calendar year.

Based on this text, it would appear that this promotion would be available to existing customers opening an additional new checking account, as long as you haven’t had a bonus within this calendar year. Offer expires 6/16/09.

Although WaMu is to become Chase, these “WaMu branded products are only available at WaMu branded branches. In CA only, WaMu branded products available at Chase branded branches.” Sooner or later, your account will be converted to the Chase Free Extra Checking account.

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Comments

  1. Link to Apply Now says “Offer has expired”

  2. Hmm… that’s not good.

  3. Offer has expired, even though it still says through 6/16/09….
    Must have been replaced by the Chase offer…

  4. The offers are linked to each other, but maybe some branches are switching over to Chase earlier than planned?

  5. How much do the debits cost?

  6. John Steim says

    How disappointing. Here I thought was an easy hundred. Is the chase offer replacing the WaMu one? Bummer, cause the closest branch in the midwest is Illinois -__*__-

  7. Margaret says

    Sorry to change the topic somewhat but I didn’t really know how to get this question over any other way. Has anyone had experience with the Ally Bank I saw it advertised on television yesterday, looked it up and the rates look more favorable than Dollar Savings Direct. If anyone has input I would be happy.

  8. Ally Bank is the new name for GMAC Bank and is still part of GMAC Financial Services. I opened a savings account with GMAC Bank last fall and I’ve been really satisfied.

  9. Hey I found this link and it works, the offer hasn’t expired yet!

    http://bonus.wamu.com/AspxFiles/S_Offer.aspx?Offer=3420408

  10. Reader Matt has sent in a new $100 link that works as of right now. Thanks!

  11. This offer is B.S. I filled out the application last night and when I was finished, a window came up that said, “we are having trouble with our system, your application did not go through, try back again tomorrow.” When I went on the site today and pressed the “apply now” orange button, nothing happen. I just spent 47 minutes on the phone with dozens of different CSRs all of whom were dumber than the next, only to finally discover that if the site were actually working, I would still need A PROMOTIONAL CODE. I do not have a PROMOTIONAL CODE and the site does not say that i need a PROMOTIONAL CODE. FALSE FALSE advertising. Waste of my time. Really unfriendly and ineffective CSRs. FYI I am in Cali so I had to use the WAMU site. Maybe other states using Chase are having a better experience.

  12. Yes, I have similar experience with nancy. This is a false AD. Do not waste your time again!

  13. I would be careful about using the website posted by Matt. Unfortunately I entered my personal identity information at the site like Social Security Number and Driver’s license, birth date, etc. However, I could not open an account. I have sent a query to both WaMu and Chase asking of the website is legitimate.

  14. Anabelle says

    Nancy, that’s very bad if Matt’s link is a phishing scam. You should immediately lock your credit with all three CRAs. Would you let us know the results of your queries to Wamu and Chase? Normally phishing scams come via email. So I’m a bit skeptical. I have to be because I too entered my personal information but could not open an account. I got an insane message that said I already have accounts with WaMu and have to get an online ID in order to open the bonus account. I don’t have accounts with WaMu. But I did get an online ID with no accounts attached (since I don’t have any). I went through the account opening process again, this time giving them my new online ID. Same result at the end! So this is either a phishing link or WaMu is a con artist or incompetent.

  15. S*#t I’m freaking out now that it may be a phishing scam!
    I called a CSR last week and she didn’t know about the website and I had to give her the URL. She too tried hitting APPLY NOW and couldn’t get onto the next page. She then talked to her tech support and they said they had been having problems with the page all day. So I didn’t question it when I had filled out the application the night before and had problems. But every CSR I have dealt with there has not been the brightest bulb. I am going into a WAMU/Chase branch now to hopefully get to the bottom of it. I am freaking out right now and feel like such an idiot if I fell for this phishing scam. I thought they only came through emails and wouldve never thought it came like this. Ahhhhh. I will report more info as I get it.

  16. Anabelle says

    I too sent a message to WaMu asking whether it was a legitimate website belonging to Wamu. I specifically asked them to verify (or not) that http://bonus.wamu.com/AspxFile…..er=3420408 is an actual WaMu website and not a phishing site. My question was not answered.

    Here is what I got back — not at all helpful and it didn’t answer my question…

    Thanks for contacting WaMu, now a part of Chase!

    We are aware of recent “phishing” scams targeting our customers. Most of the scams involve the use of fraudulent email or text messages that appear to be from your bank or another trusted business. The email may employ fraudulent web sites to trick people into sharing personal financial information, such as account numbers, passwords, Social Security numbers and other data.

    Forward phishing spam to the company, bank or organization impersonated in the phishing message so that action can be taken against the phisher.
    Most organizations have information on their websites about where to report problems. Phishing messages pretending to be from WaMu should be reported to spoof@wamu.com. There is no harm in reporting a message that you believe may be phishing, but in fact is not.

    We’d like to assure you that WaMu data was not compromised and we do not send email or text messages or make phone calls asking for personal financial information.

    Please call us immediately at 800.788.7000 so that we may work with you to determine what additional action should be taken.

    However, in spite of the CSR non-answer, I do think that the web link is an actual WaMu web page. It’s just incompetent programming or an intentional ruse.

  17. I seriously, seriously doubt it is a phish, as it is on an official wamu.com domain name. http://online.wamu.com is the same domain that you get to when you try to apply from the original wamu.com website.

  18. okay, so i have spent the afternoon dealing with this. i first went into a chase (old wamu) branch. when i calmly expressed my concern that there may be a phishing scam happening, the CSRs literally looked at me like I was crazy and didn’t seem very interested in helping me. Even the manager had this blank look on her face. Finally a regular guy who works there decided to help when I told that I was concerned about my credit.
    Anyway, he made a few calls to the risk management center and then to the help line. he got no definitive info except that they told him i should call the better business bureau.
    i then came home and called the chase number. after being bumped around to 3 different people, i finally got this GREAT guy Eric in customer service to help me. He called the fraud department (866-513-9186) while i stayed on hold. eventually he came back and said that they don’t know for sure, but they believe the site is a scam because their sites start with “free.wamu.com” and this one we have been clicking on is “bonus.wamu.com”. eric off the record said that it is easy for these scammers to copy the image of any site.
    in any case, i contacted all three credit bureaus and no fraudulent activity has occurred at this time. i did, however, put a fraud alert and a freeze on my credit reports – which seems like a good idea despite having any problems.
    two last things, one, i know it may sound crazy after all this research i did, but my instincts say that it wasn’t a phishing scam – which doesn’t mean i am not be uber protective right now.
    and lastly, how ironic that in the mail today i got one of those coupons from chase to open a free checking account with a 100 dollar bonus.
    okay, let me know your thoughts and anything else you find out.
    thanks!
    nancy

  19. Anabelle says

    Jonathan says that http://online.wamu.com is part of the wamu.com domain. It is not. The wamu domain is http://www.wamu.com. A URL that looked like this would be legitimate: https://wamu.com/bonus. Also note that the link uses http, not https (which tells you that the information you enter is secured by encryption). One of the ways frauds are perpetrated is by making a name that is similar to the actual domain name. //online.wamu.com is close but no cigar as they say. That’s what got me concerned when I realized that the site wasn’t actually allowing me to open an account and falsely said that I already had an account with wamu — after I had entered critical, confidential data. Ironically, the page http://bonus.wamu.com/AspxFile…..er=3420408 is gone (as of 6/10/2009 7:50 am East coast time).

  20. That is not true, Anabelle, about how domain names work. You cannot have a website with “xxx.wamu.com” without the explicit permission of the person owning “wamu.com”.

    You can have “bonus.wamu.com.mymoneyblog.com”, because it is the last part that matters. I can make “bankofamerica.mymoneyblog.com”, but nobody else can, because I control “mymoneyblog.com”. It is important to be careful, but please research your information further.

    Go directly to wamu.com and click on any application. It will start with “online.wamu.com” which is also owned by wamu. Same as the link in my post.

  21. When I signed up for a Wamu account a couple of months ago, I signed up hastily and didn’t put the full amount that qualifies you for the $100 bonus.

    I did nothing else with the account, except for one purchase and one deposit, and I check my account two days ago, and I received a $100 bonus! I checked to see if I actually qualify, but I don’t, so this is interesting.

    I’m not complaining!

  22. The link was working tonight and it is an official link. I clicked on the link on the original post. It showed the $100 bonus through June 16. When I clicked the Apply Now button, it let me apply.

    I already have a Wamu Account – so I clicked the button that says I already have an ID – gave my log in ID and password – and it pulled up my name, address, phone number, etc.

    Since it told me who I was before I had to enter any personal information, I certainly think it is a VALID link.

    I didn’t get a bonus on my other account, so according to the terms, I should qualify for this one.

    I had no problem processing my application and getting it approved in a minute.

    Saved screenshots of the Promotional page – just in case.

    There is no promotional code to enter. There is no place to enter a promotional code.

    Though WaMu does have some promotions where you have to enter a code, this does not seem to be one of them. I think the CSRs that ask for them are a bit misguided.

    If they have a website that offers a promotion, you click apply now and it lets you open an account – and there is no code mentioned, or place to enter it – they very much owe you that bonus, if you meet the terms.

    So if you are having trouble opening an account through the bonus link, you could try opening an account through another link – getting an online ID established, and then go back and open a NEW account through the bonus link.

  23. Oh..by the way.. also – when you click the APPLY NOW – it does take you to a secure (https) site. There is no reason for the bonus page to be secure, because you are not entering any information on that page. The application page is secure.

  24. I also signed up under the 3420408 link, if anyone’s in CA, please post if you’ve received the bonus amount. Thx.

  25. the website says offer expires 7/17/09…looks like it’s been extended.

  26. Opened the account. Did my five debits. $100 bonus. Pronto!

  27. http://bonus.wamu.com/AspxFiles/S_Offer.aspx

    I applied twice and after spending 15 mins each time, it finally asks to fund the account with a credit card. Both times, it failed. Huh? I used valid credit cards (wells fargo visa and chase visa).

    I am in Ca. I went into a Chase bank and they didnt know about it. I called Wamu and they didnt know about it and connected me to Chase CSR. Chase pulled it up online and said it is not a chase website but part of Wamu so they connected me back to a Wamu CSR (they are still separate co.s apparently). The wamu CSR with a heavy southern rap accent told me i needed a promo code. I corrected him and said that is another website and gave him http://bonus.wamu.com/. He did not know anything about it. I told him to educate himself on his own products and that I will be going to BofA with a similar offer and told him to go eat dirt.

  28. 2nd msg:

    http://bonus.wamu.com/ is a valid website. Why? Because I first went to http://www.chase.com , then did a search with the term “$100”. The chase website gave me a link. Eureka, bonus.wamu.com was given to me but too bad it does not work.

    Also, I noticed the first time the expiration was 7/17. Today, it was changed to 8/5. This is for California customers.

    So it is definitely both a chase and wamu joint venture because the link came from chase but the domain name was Wamu.

    It is also just another banking trick. Don’t trust banks.

  29. I opened an account with Chase to get the $100 Bonus and though I did not have the coupon they were circulating regarding the bonus the Branch manager told me if I happened to find one or have an email for a bonus they would honor it. Ha! Still waiting. They have come up with excuse after excuse why they have yet to give me my $100.

    And ….if you take out the money right away and the close the account they will take back the $100 they gave you. Chase says you must have the account for 6 months minimum with 5 debits each month or the direct deposit thing. So I will use my debits for the next 5 months and only debit out $1 here and there 5 times a month then I am closing it since they did lie to me.

    Bank at your own risk….Yikes!

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