[Expired] [Targeted] First Citizens Bank $300-$500 Checking Bonus, Direct Deposit Not Required [AZ, CA, CO, DC, FL, GA, KS, MD, MO, NC, NM, OR, OK, TN, TX, VA, WA, WV]

Update: Deal has expired, view more checking bonuses by clicking here.

Update: it does say Eligible customers received a direct communication with the offer and must present the accompanying offer code at account opening. So marking this as targeted for now

Some people have had their accounts closed the day after opening

Offer at a glance

• Maximum bonus amount: $500
• Availability: AZ, CA, CO, DC, FL, GA, KS, MD, MO, NC, NM, OR, OK, TN, TX, VA, WA, WV
• Direct deposit required: Optional
• Additional requirements: See below
• Hard/soft pull: Recent DP all say soft pull, older DPs say hard pull
• ChexSystems: Unknown, sensitive
• Credit card funding: Yes, up to $1,000
• Monthly fees: None-$18, avoidable
• Early account termination fee: Bonus forfeit, 12 months
• Household limit: One
• Expiration date: None listed

The Offer

Direct link to offer

• First Citizens Bank is offering a checking bonus of up to $500.
  • Earn $500 when you open a new Premier checking bundle and complete the following requirements:
    • Maintain a combined Checking and Savings average deposit balance of $15,000 or more for 90 days
    • Establish a direct deposit of at least $4,000 per month or make 10 debit card transactions within 90 days of account opening
    • Open a new savings account
  • Earn $300 when you open a Free checking account bundle and complete the following requirements:
    • Establish a direct deposit of at least $1,000 per month or make 10 debit card transactions within 90 days of account opening
    • Enroll in eStatements
    • Open a new savings account

The Fine Print

• Eligible Accounts: This offer is valid only on accounts where all account owners are new checking customers. A new checking customer is one who is not a current or prior owner customer of a First Citizens Bank checking account. Eligible customers received a direct communication with the offer and must present the accompanying offer code at account opening.
• Bonus Payment Details: To receive bonus payment you must bring all new deposits within 30 days of Account Opening and maintain said balance for at least 90 days after account opening. One offer per household, account funding must be new money not currently held by First Citizens Bank. Free Checking and Savings offers not available to existing First Citizens checking and savings customers, or to customers who have closed, or had their accounts closed within 90 days. If either the new checking or new saving account is closed by the customer within 12 months after opening, we will deduct the bonus amount for those accounts at closing.
• Bonuses to the eligible qualified accounts will be credited, at the bank’s sole discretion, any time within 120 days after all qualifiers have been met. The account must be open and in good standing at the time the bank credits the account. The value of the promotional bonus credit may be considered taxable income and may be reported against the Social Security Number of the primary account holder on an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 1099. Questions concerning any tax effect of this promotion should be directed to a qualified tax advisor. Limit 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

Monthly Fees

Free Checking Account

This account has no monthly fees, but you must be opted into eStatements otherwise it auto converts to another account

Premier Checking Account ($18 Monthly Fee)

This monthly fee is waived if you do any of the following:

• $5,000 combined daily balance in Premier Checking, Together Card^®, Regular Savings, Bonus Savings, e.savings, Tiered Money Market Savings, Premium Tiered Money Market Savings, CDs, IRAs or an Investor Services Account
• ACH Direct Deposits totaling $4,000 or more into your Premier Checking account
• An EquityLine of at least $25,000
• A consumer loan with original loan amount of $10,000 or more

eSavings (No Monthly Fee)

This account has no monthly fee to worry about

Early Account Termination Fee

There is an early account termination fee of $25 if the account is closed within 180 days. In addition if the account is closed within a year the bonus is forfeit

Our Verdict

The best savings account earns 0.05%, so that is basically nothing. The premier checking bonus is basically an additional savings bonus of $200 for $15,000 (that is also enough to keep both savings & checking account fee free) worth doing for people with the funds available, especially with interest rates dropping across the board. Main issue is that older datapoints say it’s a hard pull to open the account. Even if it does turn out to still be a hard pull, I think more and more people are less worried about this these days and I’ll be adding this to our list of the best checking account bonuses.

Hat tip to LivingInTheAir

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