[Expired] [Southern CA, In Branch only] OneWest Bank $250 Checking Bonus + 250 Meals Donated To Charity

This bonus has expired and is no longer being offered. View more bank account bonuses by clicking here.

Offer at a glance

• Maximum bonus amount: $250 + $250 charity
• Availability:Any OneWest bank [branch locator]. All branches are in Southern California
• Direct deposit required: Yes, $650 per month for two consecutive months. ACH deposit counts according to fine print
• Additional requirements: See below
• Hard/soft pull: Soft
• ChexSystems: Unknown, sensitive
• Credit card funding: Unknown 
• Monthly fees: $5, waivable
• Early account termination fee: Six months, bonus forfeit
• Household limit: 5 per household
• Expiration date: January 15th, 2019

The Offer

Direct link to offer

• OneWest bank is offering a bonus of $250 when you open a new checking account and complete the requirements listed below, They will also donate 250 to Feeding America meals. Bonus requirements are:
  • Open a new Personal, Premium, or OneAccount Checking account with $1,000 minimum deposit in new money
  • Maintain an average balance of at least $1,000 in your checking account during the first 90 days following account funding
  • Set up and receive recurring direct deposits or ACH deposits totaling $650 or more per month for at least two consecutive months to the new checking account within 90 days of account opening
• You can also vote for one of the Feeding America programs to receive a donation (each vote donates 10 meals).

The Fine Print

• Bonus will be paid as a statement credit to the Checking Account within 30 days after the requirements above are met within the specified time frames. Checking Account must be open to receive the bonus and in good standing for at least six months after account opening. If Checking Account is closed by the customer or OneWest Bank within six months after opening, the value of the bonus may be deducted from account at closing.
• Customers who enrolled in any other OneWest Bank checking reward or bonus offer in the past 12 months are not eligible for this offer.
• $250 checking bonus offer is limited to one per customer and five per household.
• Accounts cannot be opened in the name of a business. Employees of CIT Group Inc. or any of its affiliates, including CIT Bank, N.A. and its OneWest Bank division are not eligible for this offer.
• The value of this offer may be reported to the IRS and the customer is responsible for any federal, state or local taxes.
• All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them

Avoiding Fees

Monthly Fees

Easiest account to keep fee free is personal checking, this has a $5 monthly fee and is waived if you do any of the following;

• Receive eStatements or
• Maintain an average monthly balance of $1,000 or more
• Either be under 18 or over 55

Early Account Termination Fee

Account needs to be kept open for at least six months, otherwise the bonus is forfeit!

Our Verdict

Not sure what meals they are giving people, they say $1 = 10 meals. Either way the meals donation is just icing on the top of the $250 bonus you receive. Biggest bonus we’ve previously seen is $200, so this is an extra $50 + the meals donated. I do think this bonus is worth doing as it clearly states ACH will work for the direct deposit and keeping the account fee free is easy (just do eStatements). Only real problem is leaving $1,000 in the account for 90 days but that is manageable for most people. I’ll be adding this to our list of the best checking bonus.

Big thanks to reader, Ferris A who let us know. Learn how to find bonuses and contribute to the site here.

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