Update 7/25/25: Deal is back, this time $400 for checking and savings not required. Valid until 9/13/25. Hat tip to Kevin F.
Update 7/17/25: Deal is back, this time $350 + $50. Hat tip to Daniyo
Update 5/16/25: Deal is back, this time for $300 + $50 (previously was $350 + $50). Valid until June 28, 2025 Hat tip to Tikky
extended till May 17th
Update 3/4/25: Bonus is back and now $350 + $50 (was $300 + $50). Hat tip to reader GC
Update 2/1/25: Deal is back and valid until February 22, 2025. Hat tip to Alexi
Update 9/14/24: Deal is back and valid until 12/31/24. Now $300 + $50 instead of $350 + $50
Update 3/15/23: Extended until April 22, 2023. Hat tip to RXSAMG
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $400
- Availability: PA, NJ (specific zip codes only)
- Direct deposit required: Optional
- Additional requirements: See below
- Hard/soft pull: Unknown
- ChexSystems: Yes
- Credit card funding: Up to $500 per account, Mastercard & Discover accepted
- Monthly fees: None
- Early account termination fee: Six months, bonus forfeit
- Household limit: None listed
- Expiration date: December 3, 2022
Contents
The Offer
- Penn Community Bank is offering bonuses of up to $400. Bonuses are broken down as follows:
- $350 cash bonus for opening a qualifying new checking account and completing one of the following within the first 60 days of account opening:
- Receive direct deposits totaling $1,500 or more OR
- Complete 20 or more debit card purchases that post to your checking account.
- Earn an additional $50 cash bonus for opening a Statement Savings account at the same time as the checking and maintaining the Statement Savings account minimum daily balance or more for 60 days from opening
- $350 cash bonus for opening a qualifying new checking account and completing one of the following within the first 60 days of account opening:
The Fine Print
- New account bonus(es) will be deposited to the checking account within 45 days after meeting offer requirements. Offer available to new checking customers only.
- Must not have closed a Penn Community Bank checking account within the preceding twelve (12) months or received a prior new checking account incentive.
- Limit one bonus offer per household.
- If multiple accounts are opened with the same signer, only one account will be eligible for the bonus.
- Account must be open, active and in good standing at time of incentive fulfillment to receive bonus(es).
- If account is closed within six (6) months from date of opening, early termination fee may apply, and amount of new account bonus received will be debited from final account balance. All bonuses are subject to IRS 1099 tax reporting.
- Offer expires December 3, 2022
- The up to $400 new account cash bonus offer (“offer”) is available on any new Penn Community Bank personal checking account type. S
- tandard account eligibility requirements apply, and the program promotional code must be presented at opening.
- To receive the $350 new checking cash bonus the account must be opened with $25 or more and complete one of the following within the first sixty (60) days of account opening: a) receive qualifying direct deposits totaling $1,000 or more to the checking account OR b) complete 20 or more debit card purchase transactions that post to the checking account. Qualifying direct deposits are defined as recurring electronic deposits of payroll, Social Security, pension, government benefits or other eligible regular monthly income.
- To earn an additional $50 cash bonus, checking bonus offer requirements must also be met, and you must 1) open a new Statement Savings account at the same time as the qualifying checking account with standard account minimum opening deposit of $25 or more, and 2) maintain in the Statement Savings account for the first 60 days from account opening the minimum daily balance to avoid a monthly service fee and earn interest, which is $100.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
There is a free checking account with no monthly fees to worry about.
Early Account Termination Fee
Bonus is forfeit if account is closed within six months of account opening.
Our Verdict
Much better than the previous $200 bonus that required opening in branch. We still don’t know if it’s a hard or soft pull, but it should be worth doing even if it turns out to be a hard pull. We will add this to our list of the best bank account bonuses.
Hat tip to reader Mark E
Useful posts regarding bank bonuses:
- A Beginners Guide To Bank Account Bonuses
- Bank Account Quick Reference Table (Spreadsheet) (very useful for sorting bonuses by different parameters)
- 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
- Banks That Allow/Don’t Allow Out Of State Checking Applications
- Bank Bonus Posting Times
There are no datapoints on what counts as a direct deposit.
Is anyone structuring debit card transactions >$20 each times 20 = $400. A little much for me to put on Amazon balance.
Has anyone successfully churned this?
Back on and now you don’t need a savings to get the full $400. Expires 9/13/25. Must live within 10 miles of a branch
Looks like expiration was 7/19/25.
I’m 40 miles from nearest branch. Entered zip and saw error. Called closest branch and the teller said in person should be ok. Spoke to mgr ? next day, said same but said he’d double check with “back office”. Later called and said no go. Must be within 10 mile radius of a branch whether opening online or in branch.
They also told me new (same/similar) offer running 7/21-9/13/25. Couldn’t find on site and link here on DOC brings you to expired 7/19 page
Just spoke with banker trying to schedule an appointment.
1. They may enforce the one offer per household limit.
2. They may enforce residency requirements for in-branch applications, not just online.
Does anyone know if Monroe County works?
Be the datapoint you want to see
P1 and P2 applied in December and both denied. No actual reason provided even after inquiring with customer service. P1 applied again this week and again denied. This time they stated it was due to a “flag for identity theft.” There is no such flag on Chex or any credit agency, so I presume they mean an internal flag. They also informed me that they pull credit from Experian, so that needs to be unfrozen. They did not know whether it was a hard or soft pull. Every time I get an email from CS, the response is different than the time before. They instructed me to come into the branch to re-process the application, but I am not holding my breath.
p.s. They still allow $500 per acct CC funding ($500 checking + $500 savings = $1k). CIU codes as purchase. Reversed if app denied, which is nice. Some of these banks take your money even after a denial and make you go into the branch to get it back.
Not valid for Allegheny County, PA (western PA around Pittsburgh).
There are several comments below stating certain counties do not work. It’d be really, really helpful if these sorts of bonuses could be filed under the “more specific” area on the site. Spending time to select a doable bonus and then getting hit with the “zipcode not valid” makes a guy want to put a laptop through the window.
Allegheny county res here too, was about to put in an application too, thanks for saving me the wasted time
Declined due to Chex
Not valid for Somerset county, NJ