Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $20 per month for a year ($240 maximum)
- Availability: AL, CT, D.C., MD, VA, WV, FL, NJ, NY, and PA Only
- Direct deposit required: Yes, $750 or more per month
- Additional requirements: None
- Hard/soft pull: Soft
- ChexSystems: Unknown. Chexsystems sensitive, might be less so in branch.
- US Citizen: US Citizen or US Permanent Resident only
- Credit card funding: None
- Monthly fees: None
- Early account termination fee: None
- Household limit: None listed
- Expiration date: None listed
Contents
The Offer
- Valley National Bank is offering a sign up bonus of $20 per month for a year when you meet the following requirements:
- Receive qualifying direct deposits totaling $750 or more per month
The Fine Print
- For new consumer checking customers only. Minimum to open is $100 with no monthly balance requirement.
- To receive the $20 monthly reward for the first year, the account must receive a cumulative total of $750 or more in qualifying direct deposits per month.
- Limit of one cash reward per customer.
- A qualifying direct deposit is defined as a recurring payroll direct deposit or electronic deposit of pension or government benefit such as Social Security.
- Transfers from one account to another or deposits made at a branch or ATM do not qualify as direct deposits.
- The first cash reward will be credited within 35 days of the monthly qualifying recurring direct deposit and may be IRS reportable.
- After the first year and if direct deposit is discontinued, the monthly reward will not be paid; the account will revert to a VNB All Access Checking account.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
As far as I know this account has no monthly fees to worry about.
Early Account Termination Fee
There is no early account termination fee. Although the terms do say “After the first year and if direct deposit is discontinued, the monthly reward will not be paid; the account will revert to a VNB All Access Checking account.” not really sure what that means.
Our Verdict
The problem with this bonus is only getting $20 per month, previously they had a $200 bonus but you got that bonus all at once. This bonus is an extra $40 over 12 months, but I’d prefer the other bonus personally. Still this might be worth doing for some people, especially if you can split your pay check into multiple accounts easily. I’ll likely add this to our best bank bonus page.
Big thanks to reader, IS250 who let us know. 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
They’re changing their systems (the letter says “a better banking experience for you”, yeah right) and as of 10/10/23, you will need to keep a $99 balance to avoid a $15 monthly charge. I just got my 12th $20 credit this month, so I guess it’s time to close the account.
Not clear if the Rewards account will remain available for new customers, since it seems like they’re changing most of their checking accounts to a single product. The letter does not say anything about rewards other than that you will get a 1099-B.
Bill,
What were your Chex stats before you applied?
Sorry, I do not pay attention to Chex since I don’t open that many accounts. And I opened the account online.
Was having trouble connecting to Quicken, so I contacted them via secure messaging. Finally had to call and ot some woman who told me that I needed to manually download transactions. Was not happy, but I tried it, and Quicken then asked if I wanted to set up automatic downloads. Turns out that their Quicken name is “Valley – OnlineBanking”, even though Valley National Bank is also listed. They really are incompetent.
M
So, in light of the post below saying that people had the bonus clawed back when they did bank transfers instead of true direct deposit, have people been successful getting the $20/mo this time with something other than a true DD?
Update — I did an ACH from Fidelity and got my first $20. Will have to set up a recurring transfer for the same amount (I did not do exactly $750).
Have you been using Fidelity for the DD each month and if so, have you been receiving the $20 monthly reward?
Yes and yes. Have recurring transfers set up in and out.
Are you same person as MisterBill?
Yes, sorry. Was replying from my phone while out of town and obviously did not have the posting info saved in cookies here. I was wondering why my reply went into moderation. Apparently I also mistyped my email address.
Are you doing Fidelity and not getting the $20, or did you not try it?
I haven’t applied yet. I applied a couple of years ago and got rejected for Chex. Do you happen to have your Chex stats for when you were approved? Did you apply online or in-branch?
Also, do you use Fidelity brokerage or CMA?
MisterBill,
I just wanted to make sure that you didn’t miss my 2 replies to you on 7.8.23.
I use my brokerage account, but I think it’s irrelevant since the transfer looks the same from both.
Bill,
Thank you for answering that question but these are the questions I was more interested in seeing your responses.
“Do you happen to have your Chex stats for when you were approved? Did you apply online or in-branch?”
Just signed up to this one as I also have one of their high yield savings account. Just did my first transfer in from Fidelity and waiting to see if it still works. How long was it between time of the “direct deposit” and when you would get the $20.00? It just says it will be within 35 days, but what was your experience?
gordda40 Over this year, the $20 would typically post between the 2nd and 5th of each month. However, they recently switched over to a new system and I needed to bring the missing $20 for November to their attention and they manually credited it. I haven’t yet received for December (met requirements during November).
Thanks! I will have to see what I get in January. Were you using real DD or Fidelity or something else?
Real DD
P2, about 2x Chex hits per month…. Denied. In listed state (VA), but OOF.
“Thank you for your recent application. We’re sorry, but at this time we are unable to open the checking account you applied for. Our decision was based on information we received from the consumer reporting agency listed below.
Credit reporting agency details
Chex Systems, Inc., Attn: Consumer Relations
7805 Hudson Road, Suite 100
Woodbury, MN 55125”
I was denied in January of this year due to Chex even though I am within footprint (in FL).
I plan to try in branch.
Gadget
Yeah, I am not sure why they even list VA as a footprint state… when the nearest branch is in NJ. Anyway, good luck with that. I can’t say I have seen a difference in approval standards in-branch vs online with other banks, you just bypass identity issues.
I was approved in-branch back in 2019 with a pretty full Chex report.
What did you use for the DD?
Did you end up applying in-branch? If so, were you approved?
Eric Sorry, I didn’t see this until random chance just now. Yes, I was approved. I didn’t record what my Chex stats were at the time but I was denied several times online before opening in branch.
Christopher Robin,
You seem to apply to a lot of accounts like I do so I might be better off trying in-branch. Are you using Fidelity as your DD like Bill or something else?
Eric Yes, I tend to average at least 2 Chex hits per month. I am using a real DD.
Bill,
Fidelity is still working fine for you, correct?
P2 got a letter today with the adverse action, LOL, over a year later…
I think they just added the below additional info.
Chex Score 655
Key factors:
– Asset ownership history
– Recent unique FI DDA inquiry history
– Non-derogatory public record history
– Property ownership history
DP:
P2 applied, clean chex, only 1 entry from 2017. DECLINED.
Is the bonus churnable?
Folks that were denied for Chex- how many accounts do you have in the past 12mo? I’m at 8 and wondering if I should bother with this.
US Citizen or US Permanent Resident only
I don’t get approved for checking deals anymore. Years 2014- 2017 was great. Now all of sudden I get messages about identity can’t be verified. If Chase deny me later this year it will be the straw that break the camel’s back. I’ll just stop doing checking deals.
Anything that count as DD? Like paypal or ?