Update 7/15/23: Deal is back.
Update 4/9/23: Extended until June 30, 2023
Update 1/10/23: Extended until 3/31.
Update 10/29/22: Deal is back and valid until 12/31/22.
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount:Â $200
- Availability:Â 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:Â Yes, 15 debit card transactions
- Hard/soft pull:Â Soft pull
- ChexSystems: Yes
- Credit card funding: Up to
$1,000$250 - Monthly fees:Â $8, avoidable
- Early account termination fee:Â $25 if closed within 90 days
- Household limit:Â None mentioned
- Expiration date:Â
September 29th, 2017 November 30th, 2017 May 31st, 2018July 31st, 2018November 30th, 2019November 30th, 2019 March 31, 202212/31/22
Contents
The 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 a current owner or joint owner of a SouthState personal checking account, or have been an owner or joint owner of a SouthState personal checking account in the past 12 months.
- 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
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 1/15/20: Deal is back and valid until March 31, 2021.
- 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
Both P2 and I declined due to identity verification and told to visit branch. We actually do live in Florida, but currently volunteering in another state until June. We’ll try again then if the offer is still going on.
Denied due to chex. Currently 10/1
01/27/24 Opened SouthState Checking
02/05/24 Push $250 from Fidelity Brokerage (FID BKG SVC LLC MONEYLINE)
02/20/24 20 $1 Amazon Reloads
02/22/24 $25 Chase Credit Card Bill Payment
02/26/24 5 $1 Amazon Reloads
03/22/24 $25 Chase Credit Card Bill Payment
03/26/24 5 $1 Amazon Reloads
04/01/24 $200 Bonus Posted (Promotional Bonus)
The $25 Chase Payments were scheduled through Chase, not the SouthState.
Both me and P2 received notices that there was a data breach and our SS numbers were probably leaked. Their solution is one year membership with some identity protection service that I’ve never heard of. Can’t wait for the class action lawsuit.
My P2 received this “Incident” letter as well. I wouldn’t hold your breath on that class action though.
Identity Defense is legit. https://www.consumersadvocate.org/id-theft-protection/c/identity-defense-identity-theft-protection-review
The activation code to sign-up appears to be unique, so unlike some other data breach “compensation” services, we won’t be able to gift the link to anyone who wants it.
Yep I got a notice too. Just part of the game I guess
Both P1 and P2 got them.
Made a DD from Schwab Moneylink on 01/31. Made 15 Amazon reloads using the debit card on 02/13. Paid amex for $26 on 02/14 and $31.46 on 03/15. Still haven’t seen the bonus. Any idea when it will come through?
You’re almost there…
“we will credit the Promotional Rebate to your Account within 2 business days of the completion of the 60 calendar day qualifying period”
They denied me the bonus because I only had one $250 DD (real DD) post to the account. It has to be monthly. It’s my own fault for not reading closer, just wanted to share that for others.
Never mind it posted on its own today!
Typical. Rarely do customer service reps get questions right about promotions and bonuses.
I went to branch to open personal and business checking account in the same time. I will reach the $600 reporting threshold this year. but the banker did not pull chex which it was so nice.
my account was automatically closed since the balance was zero for more than 60 days. Can I still churn next time?
They closed it as a courtesy, so they shouldn’t punish/ban you for it. Just make sure you find out the date of closure. If you don’t feel like doing that, go off the final statement end date, plus one day.
Per churning terms:
“At account opening, which is either the date the account is opened or the next business day if opened on a non-business day, you cannot be a current owner or joint owner of a SouthState personal checking account, or have been an owner or joint owner of a SouthState personal checking account in the past 12 months.”
Can’t pull statements since I don’t see any accounts in my banking portal. Will send them a message asking for the closure date. Thanks!
12/03/23 Account opened online
(CC funding failed – don’t recall the details now)
12/21/23 $251 Fidelity CMA funding
12/26/23 15x $1.0X Verizon debit payments
12/27/23 Amex CC ACH payment done from Amex site
01/02/24 Amex CC ACH payment done from Amex site
01/04/24 $252 Fidelity CMA funding
01/09/24 USAA CC ACH payment done from USAA site
02/01/24 USAA CC ACH payment done from USAA site
02/05/24 $200 Promotional Rebate (was not visible until 2/6)
Balance hoovered between $150-$300 up until 02/01, then at $73. Due to a recent shutdown DP below, I did more transactions than usual.
11/23/23 – Opened
12/01/23 – 15 amazon transactions on debit card
12/13/23 – $25 duke bill pay
1/23/24 – $25 duke bill pay
1/24/24 – $200 bonus received
Did you pay the Duke bill pay through the South State app or did you set it up on Dukes side?
You need to pay it on the CC/biller side. That way it “drafts” your SouthState account. Angela
Use your SouthState ACH RTN and account number, not the debit card.
Thank you!