[GA only] Cornerstone Bank $100 Savings & $200 Checking Bonus

Offer at a glance

• Maximum bonus amount: $200 checking & $100 savings
• Availability: Seems to be in branch only. They have locations in GA [Branch locator]
• Direct deposit required: Yes, no minimum specified
• Additional requirements: See below
• Hard/soft pull: Hard Pull/Report of soft pull
• ChexSystems: Unknown
• Credit card funding: Unknown
• Monthly fees: None
• Early account termination fee: Six months, bonus forfeit
• Household limit: None mentioned
• Expiration date: June 30th, 2017

The Offer

Direct link to offer

• Cornerstone Bank is offering a $200 checking bonus and $100 savings bonus. The offers are as follows:
  • Checking $200 bonus requires the following:
    • Open a new free checking account, depositing at least $100 at account opening
    • Have your direct deposit made to this account within 60 days of account opening (direct deposit needs to be an electronic deposit of your paycheck, pension or government benefits (such as Social Security) from your employer or the government)
  • $100 savings bonus has the following requirements:
    • Open a new savings account
    • Deposit a total of $5,000 or more in new money within 10 business days of account opening
    • Maintain a balance of at least $5,000 for 90 days from date of deposit
    • APY is 0.25%

The Fine Print

• Checking offer is not available to existing Cornerstone checking customers.
• Savings offer is not available to existing Cornerstone savings customers.
• Both offers are not available to those with fiduciary accounts, or those whose accounts have been closed within 90 days or closed with a negative balance.
• To receive the $200 checking bonus: 1) Open a new Cornerstone Free Checking account, which is subject to approval; 2) Deposit $100 or more at account opening; AND 3) Have your direct deposit made to this account within 60 days of account opening. Your direct deposit needs to be an electronic deposit of your paycheck, pension or government benefits (such as Social Security) from your employer or the government. After you have completed all the above checking requirements, we’ll deposit the bonus in your new account within 30 business days.
• To receive the $100 savings bonus: 1) Open a new Cornerstone Savings account, which is subject to approval; 2) Deposit a total of $5,000 or more in new money into the new savings account within 10 business days of account opening; AND 3) Maintain at least a $5,000 balance for 90 days from the date of deposit. The new money cannot be funds held by Cornerstone or its affiliates. After you have completed all the above savings requirements, we’ll deposit the bonus in your new account within 30 business days.
• The Annual Percentage Yield (APY), for Cornerstone Savings effective as of 03/01/2017, is 0.25% for all balances.
• Interest rates are variable and may change after the account is opened. Additionally, fees may reduce earnings on the account.
• You can receive only one new checking and one new savings account opening related bonus each calendar year and only one bonus per account.
• Bonuses are considered interest and will be reported on IRS Form 1099-INT.
• Account Closing: If either the checking or savings account is closed by the customer or Cornerstone within six months after opening, we will deduct the bonus amount for that account at closing.

Avoiding Fees

The savings & checking accounts both have no monthly fees to worry about. You do forfeit the bonus if the accounts are closed within six months though.

Our Verdict

Update: Really not worth considering as it’s a hard pull to open the account, you’d be better off signing up for a credit card with a high cash sign up bonus instead.

Let’s look at both bonuses independently:

• Checking bonus is a good deal if you live near a branch and it’s a soft pull.
• Savings bonus requires tying up $5,000 for 90 days, basically getting a 2% return over a 90 day period. That’s better than any other savings account and is worth doing if paired with the checking bonus.

If anybody signs up, please share your experiences in the comments below. For now due to the unknowns it won’t be added to our best account bonus page.

Useful posts regarding bank bonuses:

• A Beginners Guide To Bank Account Bonuses
• 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