Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $100
- Availability: AR, KY, IL, MO, & TN. Update: account must be opened in branch now to be eligible.
- Direct deposit required: Optional (+$25)
- Additional requirements: eStatements (+$25)
- Hard/soft pull: Soft
- Credit card funding: Unknown
- Monthly fees: None
- Early account termination fee: None
- Expiration date: None specified
The Offer
- Receive up to $100 when you open a checking account with focus bank. Here are the requirements:
- $50 bonus for opening the account
- $25 bonus for enrolling in eStatements (must be enrolled within first 60 days)
- $25 bonus for receiving direct deposit of $25+
The Fine Print
- Opening bonus will be paid after the account has been opened for at least 30 days (will be paid out within 10 days of this), the account must also have a positive balance
- eStatement bonus will be paid within 10 days of qualification
- Direct deposit bonus will be paid within 10 days after the direct deposit has been received and posted to the account
- Limit of one account per household
- Account must be opened in branch
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
This account does not have any monthly fees and there is no mention of an early account termination fee in either the fine print or the online fee schedule.
Our Verdict
Given that opening this account results in a soft pull (thanks Compeek!) this might not be a bad option for those living within the service area. One of the main benefits of this bonus is the fact that you can get most of it without meeting the direct deposit requirement, you can always try to do an ACH transfer to see if that triggers it
All of that being said, I’d only recommend completing this bonus if you’ve completed all of the better nationwide bonuses first. Which I imagine isn’t most of you, it’s probably also worth having a look to see if there are any other state specific bonuses you want to check out.
Hi doctor, you said this offer can be used in TN, and have to open account in branch. However, I didn’t find any branch in TN. Is that a mistake?
As of 6/1/15 this bonus is in-branch only: “*Effective June 1, 2015, bonus offer is only available to accounts opened inside a FOCUS Bank branch NOT ONLINE at http://www.focusbank.com”
Online banking is running again; I was able to sign up for and receive the e-statement bonus. I never did get an ACH transfer to trigger the deposit bonus.
Thanks as always, J T. Updated the post.
Potential workaround for the lack of online access: called and set up telephone banking (866) 683-7070. Note that this number is not listed on the Focus website, that I could find, likely due to phone banking scheduled to be shut down permanently on 7/1/15. Again the CSR was very forthcoming and shared that phone banking is being phased out due to a persistent lag in current balance reporting. Their system is very clunky to navigate but I was able to confirm trial deposits, so I’m hoping to capture the deposit bonus if my ACH will trigger it. If you need to enroll in phone banking, the ID is your SSN and the PIN is last 4 of SSN. I may call the CSR again to “enroll” in e-statements.
FYI the acct opening bonus posted at one month +3 days from opening date.
For anyone who recently opened this acct, or is considering it, I’ve been unable to setup online banking to confirm ACH deposits and enroll in e-statements. When I finally called, the CSR confessed the whole customer side of their system has been down for 4 days, and counting. Sounded like they were considering scrapping the whole system and starting from scratch.
This is not the cutting edge of virtual banking. I’ve received the $50 opening bonus, but I have my doubts if I will ever be able to complete the other two.
Also, Chexsystems pull, listed by name in consent to validate identity.
After approval for Focus free checking,
“How would you like to make your first deposit to your account?”
“Transfer from another checking or savings account.” – the only option. Minimum $100, max $500.
Hey Doc…let me show you something!
Offer says:
*Online Accounts limited to residents of Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky & parts of Illinois.
You Wrote:
“[AR, KY, IL, MI, & TN] Focus Bank $100 Free Checking Bonus
Offer at a glance
Maximum bonus amount: $100
Availability: AR, KY, IL, MI, & TN”
I Write:
MI is the abbreviation for Michigan!
MO is the abbreviation for Missouri!
~ Michigan is not included in this offer…Please correct your abbreviation
Good catch, fixed.
I did this same promotion this summer, and it was definitely not a hard pull.
Thanks, compeek! Always great to get a data point. Will update the post shortly.
How about credit card funding? Also, what did you do for the direct deposit bonus?
To add to my previous comment, I found the email I received from their customer service with written confirmation that it is a soft pull: “If you were to sign up for a Focus Free Checking account it will be a soft pull on your credit.”
Unfortunately I don’t have a concrete answer for you on credit card funding, but I’m pretty sure they do not offer it. I would have done it if it was offered to me, but I just transferred the minimum deposit from anothe checking account when I did it. I tried going through the application again just now (as an existing customer to save time), but it looks like you don’t see funding options until you are approved for a new account, so I stopped. The FAQ mentions nothing about it, either.
I opted not to do the direct deposit part for this one, so I can’t offer any data on that, sadly.