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: $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: Yes
- Credit card funding: Up to
$1,000$250 - Monthly fees: $8, avoidable
- Early account termination fee: $25 if closed within 90 days
- Household limit: None mentioned
- Expiration date:
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
View Comments (696)
P3 & P4 approved online, just started doing 4p mode so i'm hitting all these Chex and EWS banks first, so far PNC, SouthState, and BOA.
Shot down due to CHEX. I applied for three accounts in the same day....the first two were fine. South State said no.
With the other two included, CHEX stats: 3/5/6/16/19 (for 1/3/6/12/24 months).
Wondering is TX and CO is now eligible for this bonus. South State merged with Independent Financial, which served TX and CO.
Additionally, I’m wondering if I recently got an IF bonus if I would still be eligible for this.
Probably. It's been churnable in the listed states in the DoC title. DoC has a note about someone stating that you need to be within 50 miles, but I am more like 90 miles and done this one a couple times.
I'd just make sure you have branches in your state.
https://www.southstatebank.com/global/locations
There would no way to know if they have your past account would be in their records for bonus purposes. I guess you could ask the bank, but may or may not get the correct answer.
The churning rule here is: "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."
If your past account was never converted/merged, I'd go for it. @guest_2067916
@guest_2067916 @guest_897691 DP to share.
Just opened biz checking in branch today without issue (prev. failed ID verification when I attempted online), so got home and decided to apply for personal as well to combine chex inquiries. I previously opened a personal acct with Independent Financial in 2024, earned bonus, and closed in early 2025 before merger. Enrolling for online banking with SouthState forced me to use old IF credentials. Then when attempting to add the personal promo code during application, I get an error that I'm not eligible, so yes, it seems IF account history is considered when applying (but at least they let you know that before submitting the application!).
Chex probably wouldn't have been combined. Branches, when they pull Chex, often show their street address for the branch, and online usually use the corporate address. YMMV. Plus, biz & personal could make a difference.
It ended up being moot. Their back office decided to close the biz checking the next business day under suspicion of fraud. I may have inadvertently triggered a review by attempting to apply for the personal or maybe it was something else. No way to know.
Hmmm. Not nice. Yeah, maybe they are sensitive to people going for both bonuses. Generally speaking it's not an issue at a larger bank, but this isn't Chase/WF etc.
If it makes you feel any better, I wasted two Chex inquiries on them recently and cannot get approved for the personal checking. I assume I am right on the edge of what they will accept, but of course they won't just let me know, and a branch is too far away to make the trip.
Still exactly 62 days from open to bonus if you get approved and meet requirements as it has been for the past few years.
Recently approved in branch for business and personal with chex stats 0/1, 2/3, 4/6, 10/12, 13/24
Applied online few days ago via phone, was able to fund $250 using credit card
For "monthly automatic draft" does anyone know if that counts manual credit card payments?
It's worked in the past - no reason to believe it's changed.
Log into your Credit Card acct... add a payment account via ACH RTN & acct number, and pay your CC. Do it for two calendar months in a row.
will it work if you only did it for 1 calendar month?
thank you! wasn't sure what counted exactly, but that's an easy one to do
Applied with Chex frozen - Instantly Denied. Email stated it was due to Chex, not identity issues. Noticed no score was listed like other people who reported Chex denials. (some banks will say a score of 9999 or maybe 0000 if Chex is frozen)
Applied again with the Chex freeze lifted - Went pending. Said 1-2 biz days to process.
They pull Chex before you get to enter the promo code. Do REMEMBER to ENTER promo code EARN200 and click APPLY next to the promo code, as it was NOT auto-filled. If you get to the last page of the application and you don't see the "SouthState Checking Promotional Bonus" PDF on your list of documents, go back.
As part of the application, they did request ID/DL or Passport upload, which I did.
CC funding was (still) broken, couldn't even open the screen, and had no choice but to click "Fund Later". Thanks for breaking that, @guest_1059711.
I applied and was approved at the branch after being denied online due to Chex. Banker pulled Chex again unfortunately but didn’t mention anything specifically about my report.
Lame sauce. Declined this morning due to Chex. Email attachment stated:
Chexsystems Score: 814 (out of 899) <--definitely a deadbeat
The key factors that adversely affected your Chexsystems score:
1) Insufficient DDA history
2) Unique DDA activity
3) Recent unique FI DDA inquiry history
4) Asset ownership history
I am assuming they were spooked by my two application attempts with Chex frozen, or my recent inquiries. I don't recall having this issue here before.
Inquiries/Months: 2/1, 4/2, 6/3, 9/6, 18/12, 36/24, 51/36.
Pulled my Chex Score via the Chex website: 688
I applied again. Instant decline. I figured since the ONLY Chex inquiry I had in the last 30 days was SouthState, maybe they would cut me some slack?
"Your account application has been declined due to information we received from a consumer reporting agency and/or identity checks."
No additional Chex inquiry was done. But, that also means they didn't give me a chance.
Current Chex numbers: 1/1, 3/2, 7/3, 10/6, 18/12, 36/24
Tried again for SouthState yesterday... And this time they puled Chex as soon as I submitted the application, so I know I had a "shot" at getting an account.
Chex numbers now: 0/1, 2/2, 4/3, 8/6, 17/12, 33/24, 53/36
Email arrived today: DENIED
Adverse Action:
Chexsystems Score: 857 (out of 899) [I pulled my score just now = 720]
The key factors that adversely affected your Chexsystems score:
1) Insufficient DDA history
2) Unique DDA activity
3) Time since DDA inquiry activity
4) Asset ownership history
I'd say I'm blacklisted, or need to open in branch, which is two hours away, one way. If I am feeling froggy, I might give them a call tomorrow just to see what they reveal. Probably nothing other than Chex was used and to review my report.
Called today. No recourse. Rep just read off the standard ChexSystems boilerplate from the adverse action and couldn't see details of why it's declined.
Could try applying in branch was the mutual agreement made during the call. I won't be getting right on that, if at all, as that's like a 3-4 hour round trip and may end in the same conclusion.
So, now I am going on a (bank account) bender and applying for anything that moves for awhile. FNB Savings (approved), CIT (approved)... t.b.d. on what is next.
@guest_897691 Yea, I think they run a tight ship now. I got grilled last year when I attempted a personal checking churn in branch. At the time, I had recently earned the bonus for and still had the business account open.
They shutdown the business account after my in branch visit.
That's cold. 🥶
@guest_1270173 True.. though I would expect no less if I was a shareholder of the bank.
January 2025 Applied without prior login credentials. Instant decline with Chex 1/1, 2/2, 6/3, 11/4, 16/6, 27/12 & 55/24. Oddly, no Chex Pull alert or Adverse Action Letter.
"Thank you for your interest in a SouthState Checking. Your account application has been declined due to information we received from a consumer reporting agency and/or identity checks. Application Confirmation Number: SUB-XXXXXXX. You will receive an email with additional information"
Back in February 2023, approved with Chex 1/1, 3/2, 5/3, 16/6, 31/12, 59/24
dayum that was unexpected. You running into bad luck too.
It all started in Feb... applying for Chartway in branch = Declined. CCCU = Declined (but approved two weeks later when reapplying). BMO = Declined. Now here.
I might try SouthState again in a few weeks like I did with CCCU. Retry DP: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/must-be-a-member-of-a-christian-ministry-christian-community-credit-union-100-checking-100-savings/#comment-2016563
Since you believe in DOG, you should try it. The same 3 letters go a long way. Stackable referral too. @guest_1059711
Instant approved on churn but wasn’t able to initially fund account at all with ANY method, it threw an error and I am forced to fund later.
Mother father.
I've been watching your churn efforts the past few days and just want to say sorry it's been so ruff! @guest_2013109
It be like that sometimes. 🥲
Oh and I was instant approved for South State but still haven’t received the actual approval email with my account numbers to register online, only approval confirmation from the final screen of submitting application. Going to have to follow up with this one too. Son of a gun.
And my net worth is absolutely plummeting with crypto and stock. Might be more active on DoC at this rate to do more conservative moneymakers and refill my bankroll.
Ugh, the stock market has turned ugly. Hope you get the churning mill working!
Wow I’m dumb. The approval email was in my spam folder. Been out of the game too long.
02/19: Applied, VA. NFCU CashRewards 250 coded as purchase.
"We will send you an update via email within 1 to 2 business days"
02/21: Denied
“ We were unable to verify your identity or other personal information. At this time, we cannot open your account online”
I’ll give them a call and see