Deal has ended, view more bank account bonuses by clicking here.
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $300
- Availability: Offer only available to residents of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Wisconsin
- Direct deposit required: No
- Additional requirements: eStatements, 10 debit card transactions & deposit $2,500
- Hard/soft pull: Soft
- ChexSystems: Yes
- Credit card funding: None
- Monthly fees: $7.49, avoidable
- Early account termination fee: $25, 12 months
- Household limit: None listed
- Expiration date: December 18, 2020
Contents
The Offer
- First Midwest is offering a bonus of $300 when you open a new checking account and complete the following requirements within 60 days of account opening:
- Make 10 debit card transactions of $25 or more
- Make deposits totaling $2,500 or more
- Enroll in online banking and e-statements
- Check your account balance on our mobile app
The Fine Print
- This offer is limited to new personal checking clients (individuals who have not maintained a checking account with First Midwest Bank in the past 90 days) who complete the following required qualifying criteria:1. Open and fund a new Easy, Midwest, or Diamond checking account in branch or online by December 18, 2020. Minimum opening deposit is $100. Account opening subject to First Midwest Bank approval in its sole discretion.
- The account must be opened and funded with new money which is defined as funds not on deposit at First Midwest Bank within the last 90 days.
- Make deposits totaling $2,500 or more within 60 days of account opening. Transfers from other First Midwest deposit accounts do not count as a deposit.
- Make 10 debit card purchases of $25 or more with a First Midwest Mastercard® debit card within 60 days of account opening. ATM withdrawals do not qualify.
- Enroll in e-statements via Online Banking within 60 days of account opening.
- You must download and log into the First Midwest Bank Consumer Mobile banking app and check your account balance within 60 days of account opening. If you do not have the mobile banking app on your mobile device/tablet, simply text iPhone or Android to 57759 from your device and a link to the mobile app will be sent to your phone.
- Once all requirements have been met, a $300 bonus will be issued as a credit to the account approximately 120 calendar days after account opening in branch or online.
- If the account is closed or does not have a balance greater than zero on the day of bonus processing, the $300 credit will not be issued. Promotional credit may be subject to IRS 1099-INT form reporting and may be considered taxable as interest income to you. Consult your tax advisor.
- Offer only available to residents of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Wisconsin. Offer may be changed or withdrawn at any time without notice. Limit of one bonus per client, regardless of the number of accounts opened. Offer is not available to existing First Midwest Personal checking clients (either as the primary or joint account holder), accounts that have been closed within the past 6 months, clients who received a promotional bonus in the last 12 months or First Midwest colleagues.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
Easy checking account is the easiest to keep fee free. There is a $7.49 monthly fee that is waived if you do any of the following:
- Maintain $100 average daily balance in Checking OR
- make qualifying deposits totalling $100 or more per statement period OR
- be at least 65 years of age
Early Account Termination Fee
Previously account needed to be kept open for six months otherwise you’d forfeit the bonus, but that is no longer in the fine print. Looks like there is an early account termination fee of $25 if closed within 12 months
Our Verdict
Previous bonus was $250, requirements are basically the same except that this time the debit card transactions need to be $25+. That’s worth doing for the extra $50 (plus there is no guarantee that bonus will return). We will add this to our list of the best bank account bonuses.
Hat tip to reader Realnapster
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
- Bank Bonus Posting Times
