[Expired] [CA only] Fremont Bank $200 Checking Promotion

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Offer at a glance

Maximum bonus amount: $200
Availability: Must be a Californian resident
Direct deposit required: Yes, $500+
Additional requirements: See below
Hard/soft pull: Soft pull
ChexSystems: Unknown, ChexSystems sensitive
Credit card funding: $100
Monthly fees: $18, avoidable
Early account termination fee: $50, six months
Household limit: One
Expiration date: September 30th, 2019

Contents

1 The Offer
2 The Fine Print
3 Avoiding Fees
- 3.1 Monthly Fees
- 3.2 Early Account Termination Fee
4 Our Verdict

The Offer

Direct link to offer

Fremont Bank is offering a bonus of $200 when you open a Freedom checking account and complete the following requirements:
- Use promo code Freedom200
- Deposit a minimum of $100 to open the account
- Make $500 or more in qualifying direct deposits within 60 days of account opening

The Fine Print

Offer valid for new Fremont Bank personal checking clients only.
Clients who already have a personal checking account with Fremont Bank as a primary or secondary account holder are not eligible for this promotion.
The client must not have closed a personal checking account within 180 days of the promotion start date (on or after August 15, 2019).
The primary account holder must be 18 years or older at the time of account opening.
Offer available only to legal U.S. residents with a U.S address in California.
Account bonus is limited to one per household.
The offer is non-transferable and may not be combined with any other offers.
Offer subject to change and may be discontinued at any time.
Offer available to accounts opened online only and does not apply to account opened in a branch.
The account bonus will be credited to the new Freedom Checking account within 30 days from the end of the month after the qualifying direct deposit is made.
“Freedom 200 Bonus Offer” will appear on the checking account statement when the bonus is credited to the account.
The new account must be open and in good standing at the time the bonus is credited to the account.
The account bonus will be forfeited if the account is closed before the bonus is posted to the account.
If the account is closed within six months of opening an account closure fee may be charged, see Deposit Account Agreement Book for more information.
Bonus is considered interest and will be reported to the IRS on Form 1099-INT as required by applicable law. Client is responsible for any taxes.
A qualifying Direct Deposit is your salary, pension, Social Security, or other regular monthly income totaling $500 or more electronically deposited to your account during the statement period by your employer or an outside agency. Transfers from one account to another, or deposits made at a branch or ATM, do not qualify as a Direct Deposit.

Avoiding Fees

Monthly Fees

This account has a $18 monthly fee (plus $2 paper statement fee). This is waived if you do any of the following:

Recurring $500 direct deposit to your checking account or
$2,500 minimum daily balance or $5,000 with Combined Balance Option or
Automatic Loan Payment to an existing Fremont Bank personal mortgage loan or Home Equity Line of Credit.

Early Account Termination Fee

According to the fee schedule there is an early account termination of $50 if closed within six months of account opening.

Our Verdict

Last year they offered a bonus of up to $500, but that required a deposit of $50,000. Most people would have done the smaller easier Freedom checking bonus and that was only for $150 but didn’t require a direct deposit. This bonus is slightly higher but does require a direct deposit this time. Still worth doing if you live in the area, from memory last year the bonus was pulled early so I’d recommend signing up now if you’re interested.

Hat tip to Sean K

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