The fine print of this offer has changed significantly. Because of this we are marking this promo as ended and we will write a new post on this offer shortly. In the mean time you can view a complete listing of all checking & savings promotions by clicking here. Update: new post is now live.
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $200
- Availability: Nationwide
- Direct deposit required: Yes, $200+
- Additional requirements: None
- Hard/soft pull: Soft, make sure you don’t opt in for overdraft protection otherwise it will be a hard pull
- Credit card funding: No
- Monthly fees: $8, waivable
- Early account termination fee:Â $25 if closed within six months.Â
- Expiration date: January 12th, 2015
The Offer
- Receive a $200 checking bonus from Nationwide when you do the following:
- Open a new Nationwide E-Checking account with a minimum opening deposit of $50 using offer code 02106460
- Set up an automatic monthly direct deposit of at least $200 (this must be received within 60 days of account opening)
The Fine Print
- Valid until January 12th, 2015
- Account must remain open for at least 90 days to receive $200 bonus
- Bonus will post within two weeks after the 90 day requirement is reached
- Limited to one offer per household
- Offer not available to existing customers
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Nationwide’s echecking account comes with a monthly fee of $8. This is waived if you do one of the following:
- Receive a direct deposit of $25 or more and 8 debit card point of sale transactions (the debit card requirement is not listed on the offer page, but it is listed here. We’d recommend completing it to avoid the $8 fee)
- Maintain a combined average daily balance among your Nationwide Bank deposit accounts of at least $10,000 (excludes CD balances)
The Nationwide Bank fee schedule states that there is an early account termination fee of $25 if you close your account within six months.
Our Verdict
I always try to aim for at least $100 when going after bank account sign up bonuses, in this case it’s $200 so I’ll be making use of this offer. Here is how I’ll be completing it:
- Open eChecking account with promotional code 02106460, making sure I don’t opt in for overdraft protection to ensure that a hard credit inquiry is not done.
- Fund the account with at least $50 from an external bank account
- Get my employer to change $200 of my payroll per month over to this new account (usually I’d just do an ACH transfer from an existing account but there are no data points that this will work. It might be worth waiting for these data points to come in if you’re not able to change your employers payroll details). This will trigger the $200 bonus and also help to keep the account fee free.
- Purchase 8 $0.5 amazon gift cards per month to fullfill the debit card requirement. Here are some other techniques for fulfilling this requirement (loading your Chime card is also another good way)
- Wait for my bonus to post
- Wait six months after the account was opened to avoid the early account termination fee
- Withdraw funds to my regular checking account
- Close the eChecking account
This bonus is a bit more work than some, but it’s definitely worth doing. We’ve added it to our list of the best bank account bonuses currently available.
Direct link to offer | Screenshot of offer
Now is says the offer expires at 10/31/14.
It’s also clearly stated that to avoid the $8 monthly fee, you need BOTH a DD of $25 or more AND 8 or more debit card transactions.
Is anyone aware of any data points as to what counts as a DD?
Thanks
Found this on the Fat Wallet forums. Looks like someone asked a bank rep about the direct deposit requirements.
Nationwide rep: As a benefit for being part of our Nationwide Associate banking segment, you do not have the 8 transaction requirement for your e-Checking account. To avoid a service fee, you only need to have a $25 minimum monthly direct deposit. For the promotional incentive, you are required to have a $200 minimum monthly direct deposit, so this requirement outweighs the service fee requirement. You are welcome to have the $200 split up, so long as it is a direct deposit and not simply a transfer from another bank account. Please let us know if we can be of further assistance to you.
http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/finance/1381312/m18619127/#m18619127
Can you deposit MO’s with a smartphone into this account?
Typically bigger banks distinguish between an ACH push from another bank account. Those banks usually code direct deposits as ACH PPD, if you see this then you know for sure it’s a direct deposit and you’ll get your bonus. Most smaller banks don’t make the distinction and an ACH push will work. If you’re worried about whether an external account will trigger a DD, just add it to payroll, this is a big enough bonus to be worth it.
Do you think it’s a bad idea to call the bank and ask if an ACH transfer will work as a direct deposit? I just really don’t want to hassle my employer with changing my payroll docs all the time for these bank bonuses 🙂
Yes, it’s a bad idea. They’ll never say that an ACH transfer will work and it will only draw more attention to your account. The deal doesn’t expire until early 2015, so just wait a bit and see if others have success doing non payroll transfers first.
How about using AP as DD to trigger the bonus? Since it count for the $50 bonus for Serve for finishing 2 DD. It is annoying to charge $200 of payroll for 6 month to this account and then cancel. If this is doable,am considering to take this offer. Don’t mind all the other works need to be done.
There are no data points on whether that will work or not yet, feel free to try it and report back.