Update 4/1/24: Deal is back, this time for $400. Promo code TE and valid until 5/31/24
Update 3/4/24: Deal is back, this time $350. Valid until 3/29/24.
Update 1/5/24: There is now a $400 checking offer, requires a $1,000 direct deposit and promo code TK
Update 11/5/23: Deal is back until 11/24/23 .
Update 10/19/23: Deal is back until 10/27/2023.
Update 9/19/23: Deal is back valid 9/29/23. Bonus is $350 this time. Promo code is CA.
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $100/$150/$200/$250/$350
- Availability: CT, DC, DE, MD, NJ, NY, PA, VA, WV
- Direct deposit required: Yes, $500
- Additional requirements: None
- Hard/soft pull: Soft
- ChexSystems: Yes
- Credit card funding:
None - Monthly fees: Avoidable
- Early account termination fee: $50, 180-days
- Expiration date:
JulyAugust 15, 2018 September 5, 2018 October 31st, 2018November 26th, 2018 January 16th, 2019 February 25th, 2019 April 1st, 2019May 13th, 2019March 2, 2020 September 15, 2020January 11, 2021April 5, 2021 October 5, 2021 April 30, 2022May 27, 2022June 28, 2022February 24, 2023August 25, 2023 - Household limit: None listed
Contents
The Offer
Input your zip code and see what offers show for you:
- ($350) Open an M&T MyChoice Premium checking account and receive a sign up bonus of $350 & maintain a $10,000 average daily balance in November 2022 and December 2022. Promo code TK. Can also get a $100 bonus when you open a MyChoice Money Market account.
The Fine Print
- We will credit one cash bonus to the account if the account receives a total of at least $500 in qualifying direct deposits within 90 days of account opening.
- Qualifying direct deposits include, but are not limited to, recurring electronic deposits such as payroll, pension or Social Security. Person-to-person, bank transfers or other electronic money transfers such as those made through internet payment services do not qualify.
- Bonus will be credited to the account within 90 days of direct deposit activation as long as the account is in good standing and all of the eligibility requirements are satisfied at the time we seek to credit the bonus.
- Only one Premium Checking Bonus and one Direct Deposit Bonus will be awarded per customer regardless of the number of accounts opened.
- The bonus(es) are not available to existing personal M&T checking account customers, or those whose accounts have been closed within 180 days, employees of M&T Bank or any of its affiliates, or customers who have received a bonus in connection with a personal M&T checking account within the preceding twelve-month period.
- A $50 early close-out fee applies if the account is closed within 180 days of opening.
- Bonus offers may vary by product and region, are not transferable and are reportable for tax purposes.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them.
Avoiding Fees
EZChoice Checking
This account has no monthly fees.
Basic Banking
This account has a non-waivable $3 monthly fee.
Classic Checking
This account has a monthly fee of $4.95 that can be waived with any one of the following methods:
- Have at least 1 direct deposit to your M&T Classic Checking with Interest account
- Keep an average daily balance of $500 or more in the account per monthly service charge cycle
- Make 10 or more debit card purchases or payments
- Keep combined balances of $1,500 or more in eligible personal deposit accounts
MyChoice Plus Checking
This account has a monthly fee of $14.95 that can be waived with any one of the following methods:
- Keep an average daily balance of $2,500 or more in the account per monthly service charge cycle
- Have direct deposits to your MyChoice Plus Checking account totaling at least $1,500 per monthly service charge cycle
MyChoice Premium Checking
This account has a monthly fee of $24.95 that can be waived with any one one of the following methods:
- Keep an average daily balance of $7,500 or more in the account per monthly service charge cycle
- Keep total combined balances of $25,000 or more in eligible personal deposit accounts, loans and home equity outstanding balances, investments6 and business deposit accounts
Early Account Termination Fee
Looks to be $50 now if closed within 180 days.
Our Verdict
The direct link above is just a generic M&T website link, so the bonus should work for any zip code deemed eligible (not sure what the “not transferable” means in the fine print). I’m assuming this bonus is available in the the states listed above, as was the case last time around (note it won’t work in all areas in those states). Let us know if you see eligible areas elsewhere. Remember, you can’t do this if you’ve gotten a bonus within 12 months.
There’s also a $50 referral offer from M&T which should stack with the regular bank bonus. More details and referral sharing can be found on this dedicated page. Do not share referrals in the comments here.
Thanks to reader Michael for letting us know about this bonus. Learn how to find bonuses and contribute to the site here.
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
Bonus history
- Update 7/6/23: Another bonus option can be found at this link – get $200 and $150 with potentially easier requirements. (ht Yukun) Again, this should also stack with the $50 referral offer.
- Update 7/3/23: Extended through 8/25/23 with promo code CC. Referral $50 offer still around too as a stack. (ht Shawn)
- Update 6/15/23: There’s also a $50 referral offer from M&T which should stack with the regular bank bonus. More details and referral sharing can be found on this dedicated page. Do not share referrals in the comments here.
- Update 5/14/23: New $450 link. Does say use code found in the mailer, but the landing page says the code is CB so unsure if that is enforced.
- Update 3/1/23: new $350 link
- Update 2/27/23: the $350 and $450 links are expired. Here’s a lower $200 link.
- Update 1/22/23: here’s a $450 link (ht jd) and another link (ht DailyGrindit)
- Update 12/2/22: Bonus is down to $350 with promo code CJ, new link here, valid through 1/27/23 (ht Jim). There’s another link here for $250/$350 which is valid through 2/24/23.
- Update 10/14/22: $450 bonus is back.
- Update 10/13/22: $350 bonus is back, not as good as the $450 bonus. Valid until October 28, 2022
- Update 9/5/22: The $450 is expired. Seems only $200 is now available (link).
- Update 7/10/22: New $450 offer link here. Promo code UB. (ht Elena)
- Update 6/9/22: New $350 offer link, use promo code CC. (ht TallyTime)
- Update 4/28/22: $350 checking bonus + $100 direct deposit bonus now available online. Promo code TY
- Update 4/12/22: Instead of a savings bonus you can get a $100 direct deposit bonus
- Update 4/11/22: There is also a $100 savings bonus now as well. Hat tip to reader MC
- Update 4/2/22: Extended through June 30th
- Update 2/21/22: Extended through April 30, 2022. Hat tip to reader alopez14
- Update 1/13/22: Looks like there is a $450 bonus as well.
- Update 1/11/22: Extended through 1/28/22.
- Update 4/7/21: Extended through July 12, 2021
- Update 1/14/21: Extended through April 5, 2021 now
- Update 7/1/20: Extended through September 15, 2020. It seems like promo codes are now state restricted. E.g TH doesn’t work in NJ/NY.
Update 3/11/20: New $250 checking/$100 savings bonus with promo code TK. Hat tip to Peckerwood17. Valid until 6/1/20Looks like the TK promo code has not been extended.- Update 1/15/20: There is a $400 bonus now.
- Update 1/7/20: Deal has been extended until March 2, 2020.
- Update 11/8/19: Deal has been extended until January 6th, 2020.
- Update 8/20/19: Deal has been extended until November 4th, 2019.
- Update 7/10/19: Deal has been increased to $300 for MyChoice Plus or Premium & $200 for EZchecking & basic. Hat tip to readers Sean A & Allen W
- Update 7/2/19: Now available until August 19th, 2019
- Update 5/14/19: Deal is now available until July 1st, 2019.
- Update 4/7/19: $350 bonus now available in branch. Hat tip to reader Gerald
- Update 2/26/19: Bonus has been extended until April 1st, 2019.
- Update 1/17/19: Offer has been extended until February 25th, 2019.
- Update 11/28/18: Offer has been extended until January 16th, 2019.
- Update 11/01/2018: Offers extended until November 26th, 2018
- Repost 09/17/18: There is now a $300 in branch offer. Details below. Hat tip to Lazy Traveler’s.
- Repost 8/19/18: Offer extended through September 5, 2018.
- Repost 7/19/18: Offer extended through August 15th.
No dice yet, did a Schwab push as well as a real DD on 4/19. Looks like they may have slowed the bonus payout once people started downgrading…not sure I want to shuffle 7.5k in until it pays out…
Has anyone seen a bonus post with the new code TE? Seems like something has changed with how they are processing bonus compared to the last one.
It looks like no one has gotten it yet. M&T either limited what counts as DD for the bonus or changed the speed of payout.
I met the TE offer qualifications last week but still waiting on the bonus. Seems the $50 referral component is also delayed.
I sent an SM to them last week and they replied(after a few days) that the TE code and promo is added to my account. I have a real DD coming Friday so I’ll report how it codes. So far I’ve tried pushes from Cap One, Sofi, Star One CU, and Alliant and they all post as bank transfer or something similar.
To be clear, are you saying that they simply confirmed that it was added properly when you signed up or did they need to add it because it did not apply correctly by the system?
Novacat05 how do you know how they post as? My account does not say anything about the type of the deposit… I did a Schwab transfer and all it says is MoneyLink. I will probably write this bonus off, as I don’t want to keep 7.5k for 6 months in this account for the bonus that might or might not come…
Do we know how many / if M&T forgives any monthly fees for a certain period? Don’t want to downgrade too early.
Tried a transfer from BofA ACH, coded as deposit initially when pending and then P2P. No bonus. Trying real DD this upcoming paycheck.
Also not having a great experience with M&T this go around. P1 account had login issues where a call to the fraud department was necessary to unlock. Then both P1 and P2 accounts got locked out from making transfers and required an in-person visit to the branch. Fidelity transfers of $500×2 did not trigger the bonus as expected. I am now attempting to send from various other institutions I have on hand.
You might want to confirm that the bonus is attached to your account before going hog wild.
Transfer from my local credit union posted as P2P, Schwab was a MoneyLink transfer
Opened late Jan, met requirements in Feb. Legit DD. Nothing yet.
First they said I need to wait 90 days until they know if it met the criteria. I know it should post pretty quickly. Asked if they can check.
Now they are trying to deny me since I don’t have direct deposits each month.
I asked them to show me where in terms and conditions it says that but they are just like “that’s how direct deposit works”.
Trying for a supervisor now before I CFPB this. Result: she can see that this issue was sent to the “back team” for looking at. There is no way to contact them directly (either them or me). It’s been over 2 weeks since apparently someone did. Only thing they said they can do is send a request to them again.
This person also tried to say that I wasn’t eligible since my account went under $25000. Again, this is not in the terms and conditions.
She told me I should try my local branch to see if code was entered correctly. I reminded her I applied online, and that multiple people including person I talked to before her on this same call, could see that it was. She was like, oh, I didn’t know that. Facepalm city!
I already had to go in person to verify my account that was a whole other deal (they didn’t tell me and I had to call multiple times to find out I had to go in, it was blocking me both from using debit and sending a payroll deposit.)
I hate MTB. Unless they give me money?
That’s ridiculous, i faked the DD with capital one and received the bonus the following day.
I will try CapOne! I just received a phone message from them saying that they can’t confirm or deny that my direct deposit worked, and said I have to wait until 90 days are up before they can discuss anything further.
Was it Capital One checking or savings? Would it matter?
That should not matter as it will almost certainly code the same way.
I’m unable to link my fidelity account. Called the M&T but they didn’t see any issues on their end.
I completed the docusign 2 weeks ago.
is edi payment considered as p2p or dd
Opened 4/2, jumped through all their ridiculous hoops to get the account opened, have had to call the fraud department multiple times to even get B2B transfers working.
4/10: Schwab Brokerage Push $1000.12
No bonus yet which is a bit concerning as most people get it within 1-2 business days, going to push from schwab again the beginning of next week in case it identified my first deposit as an account opening deposit or something as it’s my only inflow. If that doesn’t work, I’ve also got 1k of real DD slated to hit next Friday. I’d like to send that elsewhere to banks that are more strict about requirements but if I have to, I will.
Finally got my debit card and activated it. Was able to link Ally instantly but still not Fidelity. Pushed $1000 from Ally and it went through but coded as P2P. I thought I read somewhere in all these comments that Ally worked. Might just have to do real DD.
I’ve had the same experience as you. Ally seems to have connected fine (the actual transfer will complete tomorrow), but connecting Fidelity has been a huge pain. I want to try USAA as well, but I can’t even find where to add an external account through USAA’s interface.
how do you see the code P2P?
It shows in the mobile app only, not on desktop.
mine is shown as edi payment
Same, noticed a Sofi push coded as P2P yesterday. Lots of DPs of them triggering bonus next day. Something may have changed very recently in their backend.
I tried sending an SM to make sure the promo is attached correctly. Also might have to do real DD, which is fine, but unexpected.
Just for the heck of it I pushed $1000 from Chase personal (was able to link instantly). It coded as “external transfer” so I don’t know if that will work but I also have $1000 from real DD to hit soon.
I’m having the worst time with them. I had a non-bonus existing account, and I signed up for the current bonus offer on April 4th. I verified that I was eligible since I hadn’t ever received a bonus before, and they linked that new account number into my existing M&T login.
I got my debit card, no problem. Sent a DD there today. Logged in and the new account is…gone. So I called and the rep said that it was closed because I hadn’t signed the Docusign agreement….but I did, when I opened the initial account. I have proof in my email. They never sent me one for the new account, I’m assuming because I had already established my identity with them, but they closed the account regardless and now my DD is in limbo, waiting for them to reject it. She told me to open a new account and call back to get the Docusign sent so I did and…they said they can’t send it. They can’t do anything to manually trigger it, but if I don’t get it it will be closed again, like the one from last week was.
So, proactively, P2 called about his account because he also has not received a Docusign. He did receive and activate his debit card yesterday and the account is still active when he logs in. The rep told him that the account is scheduled to be closed because of no Docusign. He said he hasn’t received it, she verified his email and said they have a different email on file. She said they can’t change the email address, all they can do is close the account and he would have to open a new one. ???
We logged in to the account and literally there is only one email address on file, which is the correct email address where he received the welcome emails. There is no other email, no secondary email, nothing. He’s gotten all of the welcome & getting started emails, but no Docusign, and the bank is just confused-shrug-emoji when he asks what he’s supposed to do. They won’t tell him what email they sent the Docusign to, they won’t acknowledge that he only has one, correct email on file when he logs in and views his account, and they aren’t willing to do anything to fix it.
Sometimes you just gotta move on, which it sounds like you need to do, they have zero interest(no pun intended!) in earning your business as a customer(even if you were just opening for the bonus).
Be sure to follow up with your DD source so it’s not lost. If it’s a real work DD talk to payroll/HR about what happens if it’s rejected, if you just say you were going to use a new bank that shouldn’t really raise any flags on their end.
Easiest way to fix this, if you’re near a branch, is to just walk into one and tell a rep your new account has a security hold and you were told to visit a branch with IDs to lift it. They will bring up your account, look at your id, and click the boxes to clear the ID verification/Docusign freeze. Should be in and out in five minutes, unless they aren’t sure what to do and call the fraud office who will tell them to do exactly that.