Update 12/3/24: Bonus now $250 + ring doorbell and requires a Home Town Free Checking and direct deposit.
Update 11/11/24: Checking bonus now $200, savings bonus $100. Checking bonus only requires $500 in direct deposits now. Hat tip to reader snailrock
Update 5/14/24: Extended until June 30, 2024.
Update 3/1/24: Extended until 4/30/2024
Update 2/18/24: Deal is back and valid until 2/29/2024
Update 7/31/22: Deal s back and valid until 9/30/2022.
Update 12/10/21: Deal is back and valid until 1/31/22.
Update 8/21/21: Deal is back, but the extra $50 bonus isn’t available this time round.
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount:Â $200
- Availability:Â In branch only. All branches are in FL, MA, NJ, NY, VT [Branch locator]
- Direct deposit required:Â Optional
- Additional requirements:Â See below
- Hard/soft pull:Â Soft
- Chexsystems:Â Yes
- Credit card funding: Yes, unknown maximum
- Monthly fees:Â None
- Early account termination fee:Â $26 if closed within three months + you forfeit bonus
- Household limit:Â One
- Expiration date:Â None listed
Contents
The Offer
- Trustco Bank is offering a bonus of up to $300 in branch. Bonus broken down as follows:
- Get a $200 bonus when you open a new Hometown Premier or Hometown Free Checking and receive $500 in direct deposits
- Get a $100 bonus when you Open a Hometown Savings account (club accounts excluded) with
$5,000$10,000 minimum balance for 60 days (checking account must be opened at the same time) Get a $50 bonus when you enroll in online banking and E Statements
The Fine Print
- Direct Deposit must be from a recurring Payroll, Social Security, and/or Pension
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
They offer a free checking account with no monthly fees to worry about. The savings account has no monthly fees to worry about as long as you have a balance of $200+
Early Account Termination Fee
If the account is closed within three months you have to pay a $26 fee, you also forfeit the bonus.
Our Verdict
We’ve seen a $100 checking, $100 savings & $100 CD bonus in the past as well. Requirements were similar but this is a better deal as the CD bonus required $20,000 in deposits making it not worth doing. We will add this new bonus to the best bank bonus page. Although keep in mind it might not be available in all states/branches.
Hat tip to reader newbie
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
The bonus is actually for up to $350 now, not $250. It is the Checking bonus alone that is for $250.
Unfortunately, your address is outside of the area we service. We won’t be able to open an account for you at this time.
“Open a Home Town Free Checking account with direct deposit and receive a Ring Doorbell and $250!*
PLUS – If you open a new savings account with $10,000 in new money, you will receive an additional $100!**”
This version may be back to in-branch only? “Ask your local branch manager today!”
I noticed the same thing. I will probably go in-branch to do the offer like I have in the past.
Anyone have experience closing an account with this bank? They give me vibes that it will require a branch visit or phone call vs just a couple clicks online. Would like to know before opening an account with monthly fee
Why can’t you just call? It’s 10 minutes to make $250.
I just wanted to see if anyone could provide insight to make sure I don’t have to travel 6 hours round trip to close out in branch, saving myself a call to the branch asking if I can close my newly created account online/over the phone
Maybe you could send a notarized letter in that case.
In the past, I have needed to go in-branch to close my accounts so your instinct seems to be correct.
Unfroze all credit bureaus and chex well before initial application. Still got a credit freeze notification when trying to apply online. Just to confirm with others, there’s no code to input or special link to apply through? The direct link to offer only has a phone number to call
Yes, no code or special promo link that I saw
I was asked to re-apply after my first app and was able to open the account with TU unfrozen. Btw, their phone CS goes straight to a human, no menu at all.
Did you fund with a credit card? If so, who much did you fund and what card did you use?
I submitted my first application with cc funding, but not on the second one due to @ntn DP below. CC was not charged.
I wasn’t able to fund through bank transfer during the setup process either, and ending up doing a push as there was no option to link an account in online banking. So far the process has been quite buggy.
Lol why is “wig/millinery” one of the 20 occupations listed?
Hmm. Lots of hatmakers in the area? A partnership with a specific manufacturer?
What’s included on the list of occupations is so odd sometimes…
Says hometown premier account.
No mention of the free account as an option in the offer bylines.
They must’ve changed the terms; old terms had Free Checking as an option in the offer details.
Funding with USB Biz card was processed as a cash advance (finalized and charged a fee). Likely that most cards will be charged as CA since the charge came through via a third party called “Fundnow”. I was going to attempt a 10k cc funding for the Savings account for that bonus, but won’t bother now. In hindsight, I should have suspected since they make a distinction between Debit and CC funding.
In footprint, auto-approved instantly. No Chex pull. A bit wary of the DD requirement to be the “entire” paycheck amount so I guess we shall see.
You opened online?
Yes
🫡
Based on their app process and online banking setup, I wouldn’t be too surprised if they do a manual review. I’ll do at least two real DDs but not my whole paycheck. I guess there’s a small chance they could ask for the paystub to verify?
“Direct Deposit must be the entire amount from a recurring Payroll, Social Security, and/or Pension (minimum of $500 monthly Direct Deposit).”
Correction – “open a new Savings Account with a minimum of $10,000 in new money and maintain a minimum balance of $10,000 for 90 days” (post says 60 days)