[MS only] The Citizens Bank $1,000 College Savings Bonus

Offer at a glance

• Maximum bonus amount: $1,000
• Availability: In branch only, all branches are in MS
• APY: 0.10% for balances over $99
• Additional requirements: See below
• Hard/soft pull: Unknown
• ChexSystems: Unknown
• Credit card funding: Unknown
• Monthly fees: None
• Early account termination fee: Yes, $10 if closed within 365 days
• Expiration date: None
• Household limit: None listed

The Offer

Direct link to offer

• Open a college savings account and receive a bonus of $1,000 when your child turns 18 if you meet the following requirements:
  • If your child is 0 to 5 years old then the minimum opening deposit is $25 and you must contribute at least $25 per month until their 18th birthday
  • If your child is 5 to 10 years then the minimum opening deposit is $500 and you must contribute at least $50 per month until their 18th birthday

The Fine Print

• You’re allowed to miss one deposit per year
• All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them

Avoiding Fees

$5 fee is charged to withdrawals or transfers over one per month. There is also an early account termination fee of $10 if the account is closed within 365 days.

Our Verdict

Let’s compare this to a 1%/5% checking account if you made only the minimum required deposit each month and no withdrawals. When your child reached 18:

• Starting when they are aged 5:
  • This account: $4,950.62
  • 1% account: $4,191.47
  • 5% account: $5,525.56
• Starting when they are 10:
  • This account: $6,323.07
  • 1% account: $$5,536.68
  • 5% account: $6,632.32

As you can see this is a pretty good deal if you were just going to put the funds into a 1% account, but a terrible deal if you put them into a 5% account. Interest rates are at a low point at the moment so I’d expect them to increase in the next 8/13 years. The above also assumes an optimum situation where you’re child is exactly 5 or 10, the 1%/5% accounts will be better value if you don’t fall into that category.

In addition to all of this, $6,000 isn’t going to go a long way towards college (although your kids will appreciate anything you do to help them) so you’ll likely need an addition account anyway. I’d recommend reading up on the best savings accounts here and picking one of those and making regular contributions to the account.

All of that being said, I do see a way to game this bonus if I am reading the bonus correctly. There is nothing saying you have to keep the funds invested in the account, just that you need to make that deposit monthly. Ideally what you’d do is this:

• Deposit $25/$50 11 times in a year
• Withdraw all the funds from the account in month 12

This avoids the $5 fee for activity (remember one withdrawal/deposit per month) and satisfies the deposit requirement as you’re allowed to miss one deposit annually. I suspect they will tighten up on this at some stage and it might be an issue to get them to honor the current terms, so make sure you take screenshots of everything if you decide to go for this deal. We also don’t know if it’s a hard/soft pull and if you can fund with a credit card, so I won’t add it to our list of the best saving bonuses. Feel free to share your data points in the comments.

Useful posts regarding bank bonuses:

• A Beginners Guide To Bank Account Bonuses
• PSA: Don’t Call The Bank
• Introduction To ChexSystems
• Banks & Credit Unions That Are ChexSystems Inquiry Sensitive
• What Banks & Credit Unions Do/Don’t Pull ChexSystems?
• How To Use Our Direct Deposit Page For Bank Bonuses Page
• Common Bank Bonus Misconceptions + Why You Should Give Them A Go
• How Many Bank Accounts Can I Safely Open Within A Year For Bank Bonus Purposes?
• Affiliate Links & Bank Bonuses – We Won’t Be Using Them
• Complete List Of Ways To Close Bank Accounts At Each Bank