[CA, AZ & CO] $300 FirstBank Checking Bonus

Update 5/2/21: Extended until June 23, 2021. 

Update 3/4/21: Extended until  April 28, 2021

Offer at a glance

• Maximum bonus amount: $300
• Availability: Only available for those in Colorado, Arizona, or Riverside County, California (possibly only Palm Desert). This is a bit YMMV, so just hope for the best.
• Direct deposit required: Yes, $500+ per month for three months $500+
• Additional requirements: Enroll in internet banking
• Hard/soft pull: Soft according to a reader via e-mail. Report of a hard pull here. and another report of hard pull. Another hard
• ChexSystems: Unknown
• Credit card funding:
• Monthly fees:
• Early account termination fee: 12 months, bonus forfeit
• Household limit: One
• Expiration date: June 24th, 2018 August 17th, 2018 October 12th, 2018 December 7th, 2018 March 6, 2019 April 30th, 2019 June 26th, 2019 August 20th, 2019 October 15th, 2019 December 6th, 2019 March 4th, 2020 April 29th, 2020 August 3rd, 2020 September 30th, 2020 December 4, 2020 March 3rd, 2021 June 23, 2021

The Offer

Direct link to offer

• FirstBank is offering a bonus of $300 when you open a new Anywhere account and complete the following requirements:
  • Have at least one qualifying direct deposit of $500 or more for 3 consecutive months.

The Fine Print

• Cash offer is not available to existing FirstBank consumer checking customers or those whose accounts have been closed within 90 days or closed with a negative balance.
• Past customers who ever received a gift from FirstBank are ineligible for this offer.
• Offer valid for new personal checking accounts opened between April 28, 2018 to June 24, 2018.
• The account must be opened online at efirstbank.com/offers or bring in this advertisement to any FirstBank location to receive the $300 offer.
• Limit one gift per household, per lifetime.
• Limit one gift per account.
• The cash offer will be given if the account opened is in good standing, and the customer enrolls for online banking, and one direct deposit greater than $500 posts to the new checking account.
• Direct deposit must be new to FirstBank and must be payroll, pension, Social Security or other recurring government benefits.
• Direct deposit cannot be multiple direct deposits combined that exceed $500.
• Requirements must be met within 60 days of account opening and the cash offer will be deposited into the new checking account within 90 days of account opening.
• We reserve the right to substitute gifts offered at any time with an item of similar value. Limited time offer.
• The $300 cash offer is considered interest and is subject to IRS and other tax reporting.
• The cash offer is considered a bonus that can be revoked if the account is closed within six months of opening.
• FirstBank employees are not eligible to receive the offer.
• Online Banking plus direct deposit or Visa Debit Card purchases required.
• The Visa Debit Card is free for the first year after which an annual fee (currently $10 per card) applies
• All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them

Avoiding Fees

The visa debit card has a $10 annual fee, but that is waived the first year. The account has no monthly fees to worry about.

Early Account Termination Fee

If the account is closed within 12 months the bonus can be revoked

Our Verdict

Deal isn’t as good as it previously was as you now need a direct deposit.  Because of the reports of it being a hard pull, I don’t think it is worth doing but that depends on how much hard pulls matter to you.  Because of that we will not be adding this to our list of the best checking accounts.

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

Post history:

• Update 10/7/20: Extended until December 4, 2020.
• Update 8/3/20: Extended until September 30th, 2020.
• Update 6/25/20: Extended until August 3rd, 2020
• Extended until June 24th, 2020.
• Extended until April 29th, 2020.