Update 5/8/25: Union Bank & Trust reached out and stated it’s only for NE & KS.
Update 5/7/25: List of eligible states seems to be: AL, AZ, AR, CO, FL, IL, IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, NY, OK, SD, TX, WY. Reports of people being locked out of their accounts in the comments.
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount:Â $500
- Availability:NE & KS
- Direct deposit required:Â Yes, $2,500+
- Additional requirements:Â None
- Hard/soft pull:Â Soft pull
- ChexSystems:Â Unknown
- Credit card funding: None
- Monthly fees:Â None
- Early account termination fee:Â Unknown
- Household limit:Â None listed
- Expiration date:Â 9/30/2025
Contents
The Offer
- Union Bank & Trust is offering a $500 bonus when you open a new checking account and complete the following requirements:
- Have $2,500 in direct deposits posted to your account within 90 days
- Enroll in paperless statements within 90 days
The Fine Print
- To qualify for the checking promotion, you cannot be a primary accountholder on an existing UBT personal checking account.
- Offer not valid if existing checking account closed in the last 120 days.
- Receive $500 when you open a Simply Free, Simply Free Plus, Simply Free Platinum, or Premium Interest Advantage checking account and complete the following within 90 calendar days of account opening: (1) have $2,500 in electronic direct deposits posted; and (2) enroll in paperless statements via online or mobile banking. Bonus is credited to your active account within 100 days of account opening if you meet requirements. $1,000 opening deposit required on Simply Free Plus checking accounts.
- Â Promotion offers limited to one new checking account per person and cannot be combined with other offers. Simply Free Platinum accounts designed for people ages 50 and over. Premium Interest Advantage is limited to residents of Douglas, Sarpy, and Washington counties in Nebraska
- . Available 5/01/2025 to 9/30/2025.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
They offer a free checking account.
Early Account Termination Fee
Wasn’t able to find a fee schedule so unsure if there is any EATF.
Our Verdict
Insane bonus, especially compared to previous bonuses. I wouldn’t be surprised if this gets pulled early, so if you’re interested I would recommend applying ASAP. We will add this to our list of the best checking bonuses.
Hat tip to reader Bockrr
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
OOS DP:
5.28 opened the account
6.3 wise push
8.28 bonus
any successful dp of bonus posting for OOS applicants who opened after 5/8?
My OOS app (OK) was initially declined on May 10 but was re-processed on May 16 when the bank called to say they reconsidered and would honor my original application. The bonus posted Aug 14 after five real employer DDs.
That’s very interesting – did they call you completely out of the blue saying they were reconsidering? Or was it in response to some contact you’d made to them?
Pretty much. They called me and explained the offer was posted on a non-UBT website but management decided to honour the offer and requested I re-apply. After re-kyc they approved and set up the DD.
My residency is in one of the states initially listed on DoC for the original offer which might have made some difference.
Very cool of them.
Great, thanks for the DP, I opened sometime in late May so guess I am out of luck, did not check the Doc’s update when I opened.
I did a push from Schwab Brokerage and it just says “deposit” in UBT.
Will this still code as a direct deposit or would it say that?
DPs suggest that Schwab would work but it doesn’t say if it was from checking or brokerage, so I assumed brokerage.
I’m in TX and opened my account around 5am on 5/8. They changed the requirements later that day to limit it to only certain states so I thought I might have to argue to get my bonus, but it posted on 8/7 (used Square Payroll as DD)
Seems that they are now more Chex sensitive. In footprint and tried to churn for 5th time. Previously had no issues getting approved and receiving bonus but those were when the bonus was $150. Time between accounts was usually 5-6 months even though it’s only 120 day cooldown.
Chex Stats: 0/1 1/2 3/3 6/4 10/6 16/12
5.8 opened the account
5.12 discover push $2501
7.1 Wise push $2501
8.7 $500 bonus
P1- in KS
Opened 5/9
Real DD on 5/20 $2500
$500 Bonus 8/8
Feel lucky and fortunate to get this bonus…think I’ll buy a lottery ticket this weekend:
5/7 Opened account OOS
5/8 Locked out of account
5/9 $25 Opening deposit hit, able to login and access account again
5/23 $2501 sent from Discover Savings used due to a previous DP
8/7 $500 bonus posted
Not in hurry to close this account, as I doubt they make the same mistake and make this available OOS again and if they do hope it’s a savings account version.
Got the bonus today using real dad’s , was one of the lucky ones that’s opened in tx right when this got posted
What’s a fake dad? 🤪
5/7 opened
5/30 – Real DD of $2,500
6/3 – pulled out $2,500, left $10 in account.
8/6 – $500 Promotion received
I’m in NY, so I’m happy this one came through!!
Same here. (o: