[GA, NC, SC, VA] South State Bank $200 Checking Bonus – Direct Deposit Not Required

Update 1/15/20: Deal is back and valid until March 31, 2021.

Offer at a glance

• Maximum bonus amount: $200
• Availability: Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Need to live near a branch according to this comment [Branch locator]
• Direct deposit required: Direct deposit or automatic draft of at least $25
• Additional requirements: Yes, 15 debit card transactions
• Hard/soft pull: Soft pull
• ChexSystems: Unknown
• Credit card funding: Up to $1,000
• Monthly fees: $8, avoidable
• Early account termination fee: None
• Household limit: None mentioned
• Expiration date: September 29th, 2017 November 30th, 2017 May 31st, 2018 July 31st, 2018 November 30th, 2019 November 30th, 2019

The Offer

Direct link to offer

• South State Bank is offering a $200 checking bonus when you meet the following requirements within 60 days of account opening:
  • Use promo code EARN200
  • Have total qualifying direct deposits of $250 OR monthly automatic draft of $25
  • Make a minimum of 15 debit card purchases or payments

The Fine Print

• Eligibility & Qualifications for the Promotional Rebate Offer: To receive the $100, you must meet each of the following criteria:
  • At account opening, you cannot be: an owner, or joint owner, on a South State Bank personal checking account or a South State Bank employee. You must open the account with a minimum opening deposit of $25.00 (excluding the Promotional Rebate amount).
  • Within 60 days of opening the checking account have either: monthly cumulative direct deposits of at least $250 which includes salary, pension, Social Security, or other regular recurring monthly income. (Note, however, that internal account transfers, deposits made at banking locations, by mobile deposits and ATM deposits do not qualify as a direct deposit.) OR one or more automatic draft of at least $25 to a non-South State Bank account.
  • Have 15 or more posted and cleared debit card purchases/payments from the account.
• Promotional Rebate Payment: If you meet all of the Eligibility and Qualifications above, we will credit the Promotional Rebate to your Account within 2 business days of the completion of the 60 calendar day qualifying period. The Promotional Rebate will be reported to the appropriate taxing authorities, as required by law or regulation.
• All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them

Avoiding Fees

South State Checking

This account has no monthly fees when you enroll in eStatements

Choice Checking Account $8 Monthly Fee

This is the easiest account to keep fee free fr most people. It has a $8 monthly fee that is waived if you do any of the following:

• 5 debit card purchases/payments per statement cycle or
• $250 in combined direct deposits, or
• $1,000 average daily balance

Early Account Termination Fee

I didn’t find any mention of any early account termination fee in the fee schedule.

Our Verdict

Reasonably good deal as no direct deposit is required, obviously not the biggest bank account bonus but still worth doing if you’ve done the more lucrative bonuses. As always if you have any experiences with this bank or bonus then please share them in the comments below.

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

Post history:

• Update 9/16/20: Deal is back and valid until November 30, 2020. Hat tip to reader Ben
• Update 2/3/2020: Bonus is back and has been increased to $200 from $100.
• Update 9/22/19: Bonus is back and valid until November 30th, 2019. Hat tip to DDG