Update 10/14/21: Extended until December 15, 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, 2019March 4th, 2020April 29th, 2020 August 3rd, 2020September 30th, 2020 December 4, 2020March 3rd, 2021June 23, 2021October 13, 2021
The 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 6/24/21: Extended until August 18, 2021
- Update 5/2/21: Extended until June 23, 2021.
- Update 3/4/21: Extended until April 28, 2021
- 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.
Has anyone tried to churn this? I know the bonus disclosure says one per lifetime, but are they enforcing it?
“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.”
Does “this is YMMV” mean that there are dp’s of OOS approvals?
I entered a zipcode from elsewhere in California and the response is:
“We are unable to open an account since you do not reside in our service areas within Colorado, Arizona, or Riverside County, California.”
Delete
Applied 10/5, approved and set up a DD. Account was closed due to Chex 10/6.
How can we do a DD for 3 consecutive months if the bonus requirements must be met within 60 days?
‐‐–‐—————‘
-Have at least one qualifying direct deposit of $500 or more for 3 consecutive months.
-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.
In the disclosures it says: “The first required deposit ($500 minimum) must be made within 60 days of the open date” so only the first deposit needs to be within 60 days.
looks like it has ben extended:
https://www.efirstbank.com/_jensen/pages/bloom2008/bloom.htm
hopefully they have opened up locations where this is available, I don’t see the specifics on the website.
Did this bonus a few years ago, was OK.
Wondering whether anyone has ever tried to churn it — they are very explicit about only one bonus per person (and per household), ever. So probably impossible to churn.
P2 never did it, but she could try — different last name ….
Received a USPS flyer today in Denver, CO for the $300 Bloom offer. Terms state that DD is required ($500/month for first 3 months). Bonus is valid August 18 to October 13, 2021. All other terms appear to be the same as above.
Opened August 2, 2021 with my real Denver, CO address. Instant approval, didn’t get any immediate credit alerts that would indicate a hard pull. Will keep an eye out for identity verification or other requests.
Semi-annoying verification – I was told to go to a branch, I did so, then I had to call again for them to call the branch to confirm that I’d … gone to the branch. In the branch, I asked about credit card funding and was told that it would be using my card at the ATM with a cash advance fee. My initial ACH apparently never happened, so I funded the two accounts (checking and savings) for $5 each with a $10 bill. I was told that the $10 annual fee for the debit card is mandatory, unless you downgrade to a different account.
I’m thinking of giving this a shot but I live in West Los Angeles, no way am I driving out to fucking Indio (which is apparently the nearest branch) if they make me go into a branch.
Worst Bank Ever, I have tried twice and both times my account was closed within two weeks of opening. They have rules about inactivity and then you have to go into confirm your identity in branch within a time limit. Just an FYI
Something to keep in mind: it has to be $500+ in a SINGLE transaction for 3 months – mine was deemed ineligible because of that