Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $100
- Availability: Nationwide, must have a Silver, Gold or Platinum Checking accounts, paired with a Package Money Market Savings account with U.S Bank
- Deposit Required: $1,000
- Length of deposit: One year
- Interest rate: 0%
- Additional requirements: None
- Hard/soft pull: Soft pull
- Credit card funding: Up to $500 (might not be possible to fund the S.T.A.R.T account, but can fund the checking and then transfer)
- Monthly fees: None for S.T.A.R.T
- Early account termination fee: Account has to be kept open for a year to get full bonus. No mention of a EATF in the fee schedule.
- Expiration date: None listed
Contents
The Offer
Direct link to offer (via Chasing The Points)
- Open a S.T.A.R.T account and receive up to $100 in Visa gift cards from U.S Bank.
- Receive a $50 Visa gift card when you save $1,000
- Maintain that balance for a year and get another $50 Visa gift card
The Fine Print
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
To be eligible for a S.T.A.R.T account you need to have a Silver, Gold or Platinum Checking accounts with U.S Bank and a package money market savings account.
Silver Checking $6.95-$8.95
The monthly fee on this account is $6.95 if you have online statements and $8.95 with paperless statements. The fee can be waived if you have combined monthly direct deposits totalling $1,000+ or a combined account balance of $1,500.
Gold Checking $10.95-$12.95
The monthly fee on this account is $10.95 with online statements and $12.95 with paper statements. It’s waived if you have a U.S bank personal loan, line or credit card.
Package Money Market Savings Account
This account does not have a monthly fee.
Our Verdict
I always try to get at least $100 in value out of any bank bonus. This bonus is a maximum of $100, but you have to discount that a little because it’s two $50 Visa gift cards and you need to lock up $1,000 for a year ($1 or so in lost interest). Because of that, it falls below my $100 requirement.
In the past U.S bank have offered $150 for opening a regular checking account, I think this S.T.A.R.T bonus becomes attractive when you pair the two together. You should hopefully only get hit with ChexSystems once. I already closed my U.S Bank checking account that I had from the $150 bonus, otherwise I probably would have given this bonus a go.
When another sign up bonus comes along, I’ll see if I can get that one again and also complete this S.T.A.R.T bonus. We’ve added this bonus to our list of saving account bonuses.
Direct link to offer | Screenshot of offer
Hat tip to Chasing The Points
US Bank now has a current checking account offer. Exp 08/10/2015. Here’s the way I’m looking at it.
Deposit $1800.00 to open Silver checking. DD optional or make 2 bill pays within 60 days. I will make 2 bill pays @ $150.00 ea. Receive $125.00 cash bonus to account. Open a Package Money MMS With $25.00. Transfer $1000.00 from checking into MMS. $50 Reward card. Hold for 1 yr. Another $50 reward card.
Maintain combined $1500.00 @ 0 maintenance fees for 1 yr. (I would withdraw the $125 & work it elsewhere.)
Total bonuses for 1 yr of $225.00 which I choose to look at as interest @ 15% for 1 yr. (Actuality is the $125 is considered interest.)
Am I missing anything?
I believe you must enroll in S.T.A.R.T. before doing any transfers to get the $50 bonus,
Desperately want to avoid calling. That is why I am searching for how do I enroll online in S.T.A.R.T.?
Will,
I have been hitting a lot of bank account bonuses lately (2 in the last month alone), but I’m worried that it may negatively impact my credit history or create false alarms (such as other banks that I bank with like Chase)….last thing I want is Chase to think I am a high risk customer and close my accounts…
New bank account openings are recorded in your ChexSystems report, not on your credit report (which is handled by Equifax, TransUnion, Experian) as long as a soft pull is done. Some banks will do a hard pull, but this is pretty rare and usually only for overdraft protection or if it’s a credit union. There is actually a big push to put less reliance on ChexSystems at the moment because so many people are unbanked/underbanked because of it.
The main worry with opening lots of bank accounts is that you will be denied for future deposit accounts due to too many recent account opens. Very few financial institutions actually look at the amount of new accounts you have, as long as they are all in good standing they are happy. Chase isn’t a bank that worries about new accounts on ChexSystems, so you should be fine.
Thanks for the reply, Will.
Looks like previous customer may also get the bonus. I enrolled to it last summer and only completed Goal 1. Now when I log in, it does not show “Goal 2 is not completed” anymore. I will try and see