Laurel Road $300 Checking Bonus, Available Nationwide (Requires Student ReFi)

You can now do this without the student refi.

Offer at a glance

• Maximum bonus amount: $300
• Availability: Nationwide
• Direct deposit required: $2,500+ within 60 days
• Additional requirements: None
• Hard/soft pull: Unknown
• ChexSystems: Unknown, Chexsystems sensitive
• Credit card funding: Unknown
• Monthly fees: None
• Early account termination fee: $25, 180 days
• Household limit: None listed
• Expiration date: June 30, 2022

The Offer

Direct link to offer

• Laurel Road is offering a $300 bonus when you open a new checking account and complete the following requirements:
  • Make one or more direct deposits totaling at least $2,500 within 60 days after account opening
  • You must also be refinancing your student loans with Laurel Road

The Fine Print

• Effective February 1, 2022, you must open a Laurel Road Checking account simultaneously while refinancing your student loan with Laurel Road by 06/30/22 at 11:59 p.m. (ET) and make one or more qualifying direct deposits via an Automated Clearing House (ACH) transaction into the Laurel Road Checking account totaling at least $2,500 within the first 60 days after account opening to receive the $300, which will be deposited into your account within 60 days of meeting requirements
• The Laurel Road Checking discount is available to borrowers who open a Laurel Road Checking account simultaneously while refinancing their student loans with Laurel Road. You may also be able to utilize a checking account opened simultaneously with a prior Laurel Road student loan refinance to obtain a discount on your new Laurel Road student loan refinance. Borrowers will receive a 0.25% interest rate discount for their first three monthly billing cycles. Starting with the 4th billing cycle and continuing with each billing cycle thereafter, the interest rate discount applied each billing cycle will be based on the amount deposited via qualifying Automated Clearing House (ACH) transactions into the Laurel Road Checking account during the preceding calendar month–0.25% for deposits between $2,500 and $7,499 per month and 0.55% for deposits $7,500 or greater per month. To continue to receive the discount for the 4th billing cycle, you must begin making qualifying ACH deposits to your Laurel Road Checking account during the second month after your loan funds. Note that the discount is only available to the primary checking account owner and is not available to a joint checking account owner. If the primary account owner is no longer an owner on the checking account or the account is closed, the discount on their student loan will cease. Discounts subject to change without notice and cannot be combined with the Linked Savings discount. Click here for more information on the Laurel Road Checking Account.
• All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them

Avoiding Fees

Monthly Fees

This account has no monthly fees

Early Account Termination Fee

$25 if closed within 180 days

Our Verdict

Unfortunately this requires you to refinance your student loans with Laurel Road to be eligible, unlike the $500 deal last year that didn’t. I’m mostly posting this so people don’t think this deal is the same as that last one. We won’t be adding this to our list of the best checking bonuses due to the refi requirement.

Hat tip to B^2

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