Deal has ended, view more bank account bonuses by clicking here.
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount:Â $300
- Availability:Â Must Reside in the State of Colorado or Texas
- Direct deposit required:Â Yes, $1,500+
- Additional requirements:Â None
- Hard/soft pull:Â UnknownÂ
- ChexSystems: Unknown
- Credit card funding:Â UnknownÂ
- Monthly fees:Â None
- Early account termination fee:Â Unknown
- Household limit:Â One
- Expiration date:Â July 31, 2024
Contents
The Offer
- Independent Financial is offering a bonus of $300 when you open a new checking account and complete the following requirements:
- Receive $1,500 in qualifying direct deposits within the first 90 days
The Fine Print
- $300 bonus requirements: Offer applies to new customers only who open a consumer checking account with a $25 minimum opening deposit.
- During first 90 days from account opening, customer must make a total of $1,500 in qualifying automated direct deposits (salary, pension, social security or other regular income) in new account. Person-to-person payments and micro deposits are not eligible.
- One bonus per household. If qualifications are met, $300 will be credited to new consumer checking account within 120 days after opening.
- Bonus may be reported on a 1099-INT.
- Offer good through July 31, 2024.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
This account has no monthly fees, there is a $2 paper fee.
Early Account Termination Fee
I wasn’t able to find the fee schedule so unsure if there is any EATF.
Our Verdict
Doesn’t seem to be working online but does seem to be working in branch. As always share any experiences in the comments below.
Hat tip to Nickelanddimeman
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Got a SM that they closed my account, hat been zero balance for three months.
Received an email that Independent Financial was merged with SouthState.
Also is it churnable? I wonder if I should keep this account.
Has anyone received a 1099, either online or in the mail? I closed my account in the fall but can still sign in. However, it pops up an error screen if I try to go to the statements page. I haven’t received anything in the mail yet, either.
Their customer service just confirmed on the phone they sent out 1099INTs in the mail on 1/30. I haven’t received mine yet.
Have you received yours yet?
Never ended up receiving it. I just called them again, and customer service said one wasn’t issued for my account since I didn’t have > $10 in interest. Sounds like they don’t count the bonus as int or misc.
Nothing yet on the 12th.
what is the easy way to close the account. (is online chat working?) I assume there is no early account termination
They closed my account after zero balance for a few months
Wise worked for DD
Called CS today after 120 period (following real DD) elapsed with no bonus. Agent said I didn’t meet the requirements because I had $1 in the account and I had withdrawn my DD the day after it posted. I replied the terms don’t stipulate how long funds must remain in the account. She escalated to a supervisor. Has anyone else had this problem?
That’s definitely not true. I also withdrew my DD immediately after receiving it (leaving $1 in the account) and received my bonus, plus like you said, the terms don’t stipulate a holding period. Hope you were able to get this resolved.
1-Jun-24 – Opened Account
15-Jul-24 – $1500 Real DD
29-Sep-24 – 120 Days since account open, no bonus posted
18-Oct-24 – Called 800* customer care number, they mentioned some issue in the backend and that he would send a note to the back office to have the bonus posted and to call back the following Wednesday if not posted
23-Oct-24 – Called 800* again and this rep looked into it and again assured me I qualified and that she would notify the back office to post the bonus
23-Oct-24 – $300 Bonus posted.
Overall a pretty terrible bank experience from opening to bonus post – I was also impacted as others were with the account being thrown into a -$1,000,000 balance or something crazy like that and the only way to resolve it was to go to a branch physically to provide an ID; the bonus not posting until I followed up twice with customer service is the cherry on top.
1-Jun-24 – Opened Account
15-Jul-24 – $1505 Real DD
2-Oct-24 – 120 Days since account open
8-Oct-24 – Called 800* customer care number, they mentioned some issue in the backend and will be corrected in couple of days. I also sent a secure message, but both did not work
10-Oct-24 – Called 800* again and this rep did some research and said she will contact the nearby local branch and ask them to verify and process the bonus.
11-Oct-24 – $300 Bonus posted.
DP:
05/31 – Opened Account – funded $25 with bank transfer
06/04 – Push $1,500 to TD
06/07 – Push $1,500 from TD
06/10 – Pull $1,500 to external bank
09/28 – 120 days since account opened
10/01 – Called CS – $300 manual credit will be deposited in 2/3 days
Once the bonus posts I will pull all funds and close the account.
I didn’t have the issue of a locked account, as many have reported. I used Plaid to connect (no trial deposits) and I pushed/pulled from external accounts.
If you haven’t gotten your bonus & it’s been more than 120 days – call. The requirements we’re pretty easy and you shouldn’t have a problem getting the bonus.
Maybe your process will be faster 🙂
Thanks
PaulinTexas – My bonus was posted today. I directly contacted the nearest branch yesterday via email.
Where can we find the branch email
You can call the branch directly. Look for the phone number on Google Maps and ask for an email.
Did you really contact customer service knowing you were faking DD? You’re not playing by the rules Paul in Texas. Shame shame shame.
I’m curious, why did you feel the need to call me out?
Pauline, quit acting so obtuse. You know you’re in the wrong. You’re going to ruin it for others. Please don’t reply to this post and STOP CALLING THE BANK when faking a DD. Thank you!
opened account on June 4th. Multiple DD’s. No bonus yet. Going to wait until next week.