This bonus has unfortunately expired. You can view more bank bonuses here.
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $250
- Availability: CT, MA, PA & NY
- Direct deposit required: $250+, in the past any ACH transfer worked but the fine print has been updated so please keep that in mind
- Additional requirements: Yes, see below
- Hard/soft pull: Soft, ChexSystems
- Credit card funding: Up to $1,000 in initial funding, no American Express cards
- Monthly fees: $9.95 – $25, waivable
- Early account termination fee: 180 days, $25
- Expiration date: September 25th, 2014
Contents
The Offer
- Receive up to a $250 bonus when you sign up for a Pinnacle or Pinnacle Plus checking account from First Niagara bank. Complete any one of the following and receive $50, complete any two and receive $100 and complete any three and receive the full $250:
- Make a direct deposit totaling $250 or more
- Make ten debit card transactions
- Make five bill payments using Online/Mobile banking
The Fine Print
- Your direct deposits need to be an electronic deposit of your paycheck, pension or government benefits (such as Social Security) from your employer or the government. This was not in the fine print last time, which means that ACH transfers may no longer trigger this bonus.
- Above requirements must be completed within 60 days of account opening
- Bonus will be paid out within 30 days of the month after you complete the requirements
- Checking account must be open and have a positive balance at the time the bonus posts
- Customers must live in CT, MA, PA or NY to participate in this offer
- Only valid for new First Niagara checking customers that haven’t held an account within the last 365 days
- Limit of one bonus per customer
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
There are three different accounts that can be opened, the fine print on this offer is confusing on whether the choice checking account works, but last time this promotion was offered it was eligible for the bonus. I’d recommend calling customer service to confirm this before signing up though.
Choice Checking $9.95
To avoid the monthly fee you must do one of the following:
- Maintain an average daily balance of at least $300 or
- Maintain direct deposit or
- Complete 10 debit card transactions or
- Maintain at least $5,000 in combined deposits or loans with First Niagra (excluding mortgages)
Pinnacle Checking $15 Monthly Fee
- Maintain an average daily balance of at least $1,000 or
- Maintain at least $25,000 in combined deposits or loans with First Niagra (excluding mortgages)
PinnaclePlus Checking $25 Monthly Fee
- Minimum daily balance of at least $5,000 or
- Maintain at least $50,000 in combined deposits or loans with First Niagra (excluding mortgages)
Early Account Termination Fee $25
If you close your account within 180 days, First Niagara will charge you a $25 early account termination fee. If your account has a balance of $0, it will go into negative and be reported to ChexSystems. This would make it nearly impossible to open bank accounts in the future.
Our Verdict
Earlier in the year I completed this bonus when it was open to all states and didn’t have the fine print about what qualifies as a direct deposit. It was one of the easiest and highest checking sign up bonuses I completed for the year and I encouraged all of my readers to jump on the opportunity multiple times.
This is still a great deal, it’s just now available to less States. It’s also worth noting the change in the fine print that states only paycheck/pension or government benefits will trigger the direct deposit requirement. This doesn’t necessarily mean that an ACH transfer won’t trigger the bonus (lots of bank bonuses have this fine print and ACH transfers still work) but it means that they are probably aware that’s how people fullfiled the bonus requirements in the past.
If I was to complete this bonus again, here is what I’d do:
- Open a choice checking account after confirming it was valid for this offer with a customer service rep and getting a reference number for the call
- Use a credit card that earns at a high rate on every day purchases to do $500 in initial funding (+$10 if using a card that earns 2% cashback). This will also be enough money to keep the account fee free.
- Make ten debit card transactions. Here’s some ideas on how to easily and cheaply rack up these transactions.
- Pay five bills using the online or mobile bill pay feature. If you don’t have five bills that need paying anyway, paying the same bill in small increments may work, we’d recommend avoiding this if possible.
- Receive a direct deposit of $250 or more. Normally I’d just say do an ACH transfer from an existing account, but the change in fine print spooks me a bit so change your payroll or government benefits if possible.
In total you should make $260 – taxes, it really didn’t take me long to complete the above and it’s well worth doing if you live in the participating states. It should also serve as a reminder as to why it’s important to sign up to these deals when they come around and not leave it to till it’s too late. This won’t be making it to our list of the best bank account bonuses due to the geographical restrictions, but it will be listed on our master state specific checking promo page.
Direct link to offer | Screenshot of offer
It’s sad it’s only available to limited area this round.