Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: 25,000 Alaska Miles
- Availability: Nationwide, but targeted. In the past people have been able to sign up for a $300 bonus that was also targeted and receive the bonus even though they weren’t targeted. YMMV. Read this post for more information about people’s experiences.
- Direct deposit required:Â Yes, two qualifying direct deposits of $2,000+
- Additional requirements: None
- Hard/soft pull:Â Soft
- Credit card funding:Â None, but you can fund with a debit card up to $250
- Monthly fees: Waive-able
- Early account termination fee: None
- Expiration date: July 31st, 2015
Contents
The Offer
- Receive a sign up bonus of 25,000 Alaska miles when you open an interesting checking or core checking account with Bank of America and receive two direct deposits of $2,000 or more each within 90 days of account opening.
The Fine Print
- Valid until July 31st, 2015
- Offer only available to customers who receive this offer via a direct communication from Bank of America. In the past this hasn’t always been enforced, but YMMV.Â
- You’re not eligible for this bonus if you were a signer or owner of a Bank of America checking account within past twelve months
- A qualifying direct deposit is a paycheck, pension, Social Security or other eligible regular monthly income, electronically deposited by an employer or an outside agency into your new checking account
- They will make every attempt to deposit your bonus of 25,000 miles within 60 days of meeting all of the requirements. Account must be open and in good standing.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them. The fine print states that you might have a 1099-INT form sent out for this bonus, but it doesn’t state how much they will value the 25,000 miles at.
Avoiding Fees
There is no early account termination fee.
Core Checking $12 Monthly Fee
The $12 monthly fee is waived if you meet one of the following requirements:
- Have at least one qualifying direct deposit of $250 or more
- Maintain an average daily balance of $1,500 or more
- Are a student under the age of 23
Interest Checking $25 Monthly Fee
The interest rate on this account is 0.03% APY, so I really wouldn’t bother personally. The monthly fee on this account is waived if you hold balances of $10,000 or more in your eligible linked accounts. Combined balances include the following:
- Average daily balances for the statement cycle in eligible linked checking, savings and money market savings accounts
- The current balances, as of the end of the checking statement cycle in linked personal CDs and IRAs
- The current balance, as of two business days before the end of the checking statement cycle, in your eligible linked Merrill Edge®and Merrill Lynch® investment accounts
Our Verdict
As I’ve mentioned, in the past you’ve been able to get these bonuses even if you weren’t specifically targeted. The fine print mentions the Alaska Airlines credit card, so at minimum you’ll need one of those cards open to get this bonus (sign up bonus on those cards is currently 25,000 miles + $100). If you haven’t received this targeted communication, then I’d recommend confirming with BofA first that you will be eligible for the bonus.
That being said, I’m pretty hesitant to recommend this bonus to anybody as we don’t know how much the miles will be valued at for tax purposes or if they will be taxed at all. Obviously if they aren’t taxed, this deal is incredible. If they are valued at 2¢ then this offer is pretty average.
It’ll be interesting to see how this bonus develops, as it has the potential to be very very good. If you have any personal experience, please share in the comments. In the mean time you can read our post on the $300 and $500 BofA checking bonuses (looks like they are desperate to improve their numbers).
Direct link to offer | Screenshot of offer
Hat tip to reader Kolby
