[Expired] [GA only] Cornerstone Bank $250 Savings & $100 Checking Bonus

This checking bonus has expired and is no longer available. Click here for a list of the best checking bonuses.

Offer at a glance

Maximum bonus amount: $300
Availability: Seems to be in branch only. They have locations in GA [Branch locator]
Direct deposit required: Yes, $500+ for six months for checking bonus
Additional requirements: See below
Hard/soft pull: Hard Pull/Report of soft pull
ChexSystems: Unknown
Credit card funding: Up to $10,000o
Monthly fees: None
Early account termination fee: Six months, bonus forfeit
Household limit: None mentioned
Expiration date: December 31st, 2017

Contents

1 The Offer
2 The Fine Print
3 Avoiding Fees
4 Our Verdict

The Offer

Direct link to offer

Cornerstone Bank is offering up to $350 when you open a checking and money market account.
- Get $100 when you open a new cornerstone checking account and complete the following requirements:
  - Deposit $500 or more at account opening
  - Have your monthly direct deposit of at least $500 made to this account within 60 days of account opening. This must continue for a minimum of six months
  - Sign up for online banking and execute three bill pay transactions each statement credit
- Get a $200 bonus when you open a new money market account (APY of 0.30%) and complete the following requirements:
  - Deposit $10,000 at account opening
  - Maintain a balance of at least $10,000 for six months

The Fine Print

$100/$250 Bonus Account Information: Checking offer is not available to existing Cornerstone checking customers and money market offer is not available to existing Cornerstone money market customers.
Offer not available to those with fiduciary accounts, or those whose accounts have been closed within 180 days or closed with a negative balance.
To receive the $100 checking bonus: 1) Open a new Cornerstone Checking account, which is subject to approval; AND 2) Deposit $500 or more in new money at account opening; AND 3) Have your monthly direct deposit made to this account within 60 days of account opening. Your direct deposit must be at least $500 and needs to be an electronic deposit of your paycheck, pension or government benefits (such as Social Security) from your employer or the government and must continue for a minimum of six months; AND 4) you must sign up for online banking and execute three (3) bill pay transactions each statement cycle. 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 $250 money market bonus: 1) Open a new Cornerstone Money Market account, which is subject to approval; AND 2) Deposit $10,000 or more in new money at account opening; AND 3) Maintain at least a $10,000 balance for six months from the date of deposit. The new money cannot be funds held by Cornerstone or its affiliates. After you have completed all the above money market requirements, we’ll deposit the bonus in your new account within 30
business days. The Annual Percentage Yield (APY), for the Cornerstone Money Market account effective as of 09/25/2017, is 0.30% for all balances. Interest rates are variable and subject to change. Additionally, fees may reduce earnings on the account.
You can receive only one new checking and one new money market 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.

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

Last time they offered this it was $200 for the checking account and $100 for the savings account. The requirements for both bonuses this time are much harder than last time. If it is a hard pull then I don’t think this is worth considering at all. If it’s a soft pull I’d still avoid the checking bonus as they offered more in the past with fewer requirements (and who really wants to deal with direct deposits for six months for $100?) but the $200 savings bonus is worth considering I think. You’re basically getting a 4% APY on the $10,000 balance for six months with no requirements, better than most high interest savings accounts.

I won’t be adding this to our best savings account bonuses though due to the reports of it being a hard pull.

Update: Might still be worth it with the $10,000 in credit card funding.

Big thanks to reader, DSG who let us know. Learn how to find bonuses and contribute to the site here.

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