Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $100
- Availability: Nationwide (YMMV)
- Direct deposit required: None
- Additional requirements: $25 bill pay to a telecommunications, energy, water, cable, or waste management service provider
- Hard/soft pull: All recent data points say soft
- ChexSystems: Unknown
- Credit card funding: $500 Visa only and personal cards only (you can also fund savings account for another $500)
- Monthly fees: None
- Early account termination fee: Yes, account must be kept open for one year
- Household limit: One
- Expiration date: July 31, 2018
The Offer
BBVA ClearConnect (free, no check writing; available nationwide)
BBVA ClearChoice (free, comes with free unlimited check writing; only available in Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, California, Florida, New Mexico, and Texas.
- BBVA Compass is offering a bonus of $100 when you open a new checking account and have a qualifying Bill Pay transaction to a telecommunications, energy, water, cable, or waste management service provider in the amount of at least $25 within 60 days of account opening.
Use promo code: BP12018 to get this deal. You can alternatively use this link for ClearConnect or use this link for ClearChoice, and promo code will auto-apply. (You can also apply the promo code to the ClearChoice Interest checking, but that one comes with a $25 monthly fee.)
The terms have language about the bonus only going to those who received the email. It’s a generic promo code, and hopefully there won’t be any issues for whoever uses it.
The Fine Print
- This offer is only available for accounts opened online.
- You must be a new BBVA Compass consumer checking customer who has not had a BBVA Compass consumer checking account open within the last 90 days.
- Eligible account is BBVA Compass ClearChoice Free Checking. (Promo code is applying to the ClearConnect as well.)
- Person who receives this email must be the primary account holder on the new checking account.
- Employees of Fiserv, Inc. and of BBVA Compass and their respective parent and affiliate companies, as well as board members and the immediate family (spouse, parent, siblings, and children) and household members of each such employees are not eligible. Rules are subject to change without notice.
- Within 60 Days of account opening, the Bill Pay subscriber must complete a minimum of one (1) qualifying transaction from his or her Consumer Bill Pay account. A Qualifying Bill Pay Transaction is one of the following: Adding and paying a new qualifying biller; setting up a new recurring or auto payment; or, using Same Day Bill Pay for the first time through BBVA Compass. Qualifying Bill Pay transactions must be sent to a unique party with a different mailing address from the Bill Pay subscriber that fits into one of the following categories: cable television provider, phone or cellular phone service provider, Internet service provider, electricity service provider, gas provider, water provider, waste management service provider (ie. garbage, sewage and recycling). Payments to oneself are excluded. Bill Payments must be of at least $25 or more to qualify for the account bonus.
- The cash bonus will be deposited into your new BBVA Compass consumer checking account within 90 days of meeting the bonus requirements described above.
- Account must be open and in good standing with a balance greater than or equal to $0.00 at the time of payment in order to receive the new account bonus.
- There is a maximum of one (1) Bill Pay Bonus per account.
- Checking accounts are subject to approval, which may include credit approval.
- $25 minimum opening deposit required.
- BBVA Compass may report the value of the bonus to the IRS as required by law. Any customer whose tax status would require BBVA Compass to impose tax withholding of any sort will be ineligible to receive the bonus(es).
- We reserve the right to deduct the bonus amount if the account is closed within 12 months of opening.
Avoiding Fees
The BBVA Compass ClearChoice Free Checking and ClearConnect checking accounts don’t have any monthly fees to worry about. There is a $3 fee on ClearConnect for paper statements, so make sure you opt for paperless statements.
Early Account Termination Fee
Account needs to be kept open for 12 months otherwise they reserve the right to deduct the bonus.
Our Verdict
$100 nationwide online bonus is a nice offer, though we have seen BBVA offer $200 in the past. The $500 of credit card funding is nice as well, though it seems some are having difficulty with it with some cards not going through properly. Reader Jenn had success using a Visa gift card, though.
The fact that they confine the bill pay requirement to select categories is a pain. I imagine paying your cellular bill would qualify as “telecommunications”, please contribute any data points in the comments. Fine print makes it sound a bit like any bill pay to an address outside your own will work, so the categories might not be enforced well.
Thanks to reader Mark for making us aware of 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
