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Dave_B
Dave_B (@guest_291627)
September 4, 2016 16:44

I went for this bonus last year, and there’s a few things you should know. https://www.doctorofcredit.com/pa-only-fidelity-bank-offering-200-checking-100-savings-bonus-2/

When they say that you need to open a savings account and fund it with 10k dollars within 30 days of opening the checking account, they really mean that you need to do those two things at the same time. Your opening deposit must be the amount listed(although you can wait 30 days to open the savings account). When I opened the account, the banker didn’t know this(especially since the offer fine print was vague on this point). I opened the checking and savings the same day, and he said I could hit the 10k balance requirement within 30 days. Well, I did that. No bonus. After nearly a year of calling the banker every couple months to ask about it, he finally got he paperwork through to give me the savings bonus anyway(since he had told me I had 30 days). So, save yourself a year and ~20 phone calls and deposit the required amount when you open the savings.

You don’t need to live in PA to get this bonus. I live in NY, and not near the PA border, and I happened to be driving through northeastern PA on the way to somewhere else. I stopped by a branch, and the banker didn’t give me any trouble about opening the account despite living hours away from the nearest branch(and in a different state). That offer didn’t allow for opening online, so no idea if that changes things here.

Another thing to note; their website is terrible. They’re a small regional bank system, and their website is about what you’d expect. There’s no way to transfer money to external accounts, or even setup bill pays online. Clearly the website is meant to be something you use between visiting an actual branch, not a replacement.

Of course, things may have changed since the last time they offered this bonus, so YMMV.

Jason
Jason (@guest_289402)
August 29, 2016 14:19

I’m in New York, still applied for the checking account online and account approved instantly. However, I do not know whether they will be cancelling my account later due to too many inquires in Chex like what Popular Bank done to me.

At least some data points here:

Credit Card Funding: Yes, all four major type of CC. Min. $25, Max. $500 (It doesn’t matter how many accounts you open but the max. should add up to max of $500)

Funded with Citi Double Cash, $500, coded as purchase, BUSINESS SERVICES,NOT ELSEWHERE CLASSED

I am not supposed to be eligible but using one of their branch’s zip code and easily pass their area limitation (Northeast of PA). And when filling out the application, they don’t limit the state to PA , so open to select from other states. Their branches zip codes can be found here:
https://bankatfidelity.com/about/locations/

In the application form there is a place where you can enter the promotion code, I don’t know what it is. It’s not required to continue the application but I entered 300 and didn’t get a invalid message and let me proceed. However, this does not mean the promotion code “300” is working. I don’t think it’s necessary to get the promotion either.

You can select to add their saving account but I did not test whether adding multiple saving accounts is possible, because I am not doing the saving account bonus anyway. But whether or not adding any saving account, the total funding amount should not exceed $500.

I got my checking account full number and bank’s routing number after approval.

You don’t have to wait for the debit card to create online banking login. You can create online account with full account number and banking PIN. The banking PIN by default is your last four digit of SSN, was told by their CS @ 800-388-4380. It can be changed by calling 888-343-3525, after entering the full digit of account number and select the account type (1 for checking), system will read the account balance which is 0. (so the initial funding is not even showing pending status in their system but my Citibank credit card showing pending already). Follow instruction to change PIN.

The initial setup of the online account still pulls from Chex to generate 3 security questions for identification purpose. It even asked me the total buying price of my house that I am having mortgage with. After login, I see balance 0, cannot see pending $500, so that’s why I said I don’t know whether my account will be closed later as this happened to me when I opened up Popular Bank account but not seeing the pending initial funding.

I’ll use discover and/or alliant to test for DD later.

PhillipD
PhillipD (@guest_289415)
August 29, 2016 14:46

My recent experiences with out of area enrollment have been very discouraging. In the case of Webster Bank and Central Bank, applications opened the accounts fine and they even deposited the initial funding, but within 24-48 hours, both accounts were closed with no notice.

Webster Bank even sent the Visa debit card but the online banking I configured was suddenly locked. When I called, I learned the higher-ups closed the account because I did not reside within 50 miles of the nearest Webster Bank branch. Central Bank closed the account on the next business day and returned the funds with a letter indicating the account was closed because I did not live in their service area. In that case, it was my own fault for trying to apply.

My assumption with regional bank promotions published online showing state restrictions implied anyone in those states could apply for an account, but in the case of Webster Bank (I’m in New York) it is much more than that. You also have to live near a branch.

What I am doing now is (without referencing any promotion) calling up these banks as a prospective customer and asking about their account holder residency rules. I don’t feel like wasting any more ChexSystems inquiries on DOA accounts because at some point, many banks get antsy when they see a lot of inquiries over a period like a year. So it may not be an issue with ChexSystems at all. It could be as simple as residing too far away.

We need more data points on this.

Arron
Arron (@guest_289786)
August 30, 2016 13:23

I would be cautious about calling as that will kill the deal for sure.

CSR’s are often clueless and will either cite the fineprint, or provide misinformation.

Often they don’t know, and ask higher ups, who will then make sure that nobody will slip through.

PhillipD
PhillipD (@guest_289835)
August 30, 2016 15:36

You missed what I said. I would be cold calling as a new customer, not mentioning any promotion whatsoever. The majority of new banking customers do not sign up with a promotion. I am well aware not to draw attention to it, but if there is a clearly understood policy of account closures for out of area customers, it would save a lot of ChexSystems inquiries if we knew sooner than later. Hopefully Jason will keep us updated.

Jason
Jason (@guest_290112)
August 31, 2016 10:14

Account closed but this is what I expected at the beginning. You are right it wasn’t even because of inquires on Chex. CSR(customer service representative, not the CSR recently released by Chase) did advise the reason that it was because I’ve lived in New York, not their serving area therefore account is closed. The initial funding will be returned to the original funding sources. That being said, my credit card.

Some review:

1) Even account is closed, I can still login to online banking (at least for now)but the account info is unlinked. Most functions have been disabled except the security message still allows me to use. I can still change password for login and reset security questions.

2) Their security message is like an internal bank email, they assign unique email address to customer by using your full SSN @link.securebanksolutions.com . So if one’s SSN is 123-45-6789, the email will be [email protected]

That being said, your full SSN is exposed to all of their CSR. This is totally different than the Chase online security message.

3) Their CSR is nice.

4) Of course they check address used on application to determine eligibility.

5) Not much review on their apps but you should know which right Fidelity is before downloading.

David M
David M (@guest_290092)
August 31, 2016 09:04

You nailed it with this comment. My account was opened 8/29, funded, and then closed today. CSR specifically stated that the account was closed because my primary address was out of state. Funny thing is that I have a local PA address, just not as local as they needed it.

You win some, you lose some.

David M
David M (@guest_289440)
August 29, 2016 16:31

Thanks for the detailed update!