Update 1/19/21: Same deal also available at sister bank for CT & other parts of MA. Hat tip to reader G
Update 4/4/19: Deal is back again. Hat tip to reader ellisder
Update 01/24/18: Only available in MA now unfortunately. No longer available in CT, RI (it will show the MA only restriction on second page of sign up). Hat tip to reader Sarah.
- Maximum bonus amount:Â $200
- Availability:Â MA (Hampden, Hampshire or Franklin County), CT, RI
- Direct deposit required: Optional
- Additional requirements: See below
- Hard/soft pull: Soft
- ChexSystems: No
- Credit card funding: Can fund up to $1,000 with a credit card, Visa, MasterCard or Discover are all accepted
- Monthly fees: None
- Early account termination fee: Need to keep account open for 365 days to get full bonus, $10 early account termination fee if closed within 6 months
- Expiration date: None listed
The Offer
Direct link to offer: MA | CT & MA
- Open a new checking account with bankESB and receive a bonus of up to $200. Bonus is broken down as follwos:
- Open account with a debit card and either activate online banking and make 5 debit card transactions or direct deposit (minimum of $25) and receive $100
- Make 5 bill pays & Activate eStatements and receive $50
- After 1 year activate checking account anniversary receive $50
The Fine Print
- $100.00 promotional offer is for opening a personal checking account and activating direct deposit (of at least $25.00) or signing up for online banking and conducting 5 debit card transactions using your debit card within the first 60 days of account opening ($100.00 will be credited to the account by the last day of the statement cycle following the 60th day the account has been open).
-  $50.00 promotional offer is for making 5 bill payments using online banking and enrolling in eStatements within 60 days of account opening ($50.00 will be credited to the account by the last day of the statement cycle following the 60th day the account has been open).
- Minors (anyone under the age of 18) are not eligible for Online Bill Pay.
- $50.00 loyalty bonus will be paid after the account has been open for 12 months ($50.00 will be credited to the account by the last day of the statement cycle following the 365th day the account has been open).
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
The basic checking account doesn’t have any monthly fees, it makes sense to just keep this account open for at least a year so you get the $50 anniversary bonus as well. There is a $10 early account termination fee if the account is closed within six months.
Our Verdict
This is a great bonus, it’s a soft pull and you can fund with a credit card and there is no direct deposit requirement. Only downside is that you have to wait 365 days to get the last $50, but not really a big deal because there is no monthly fee on the basic checking account. We’ve added this to our list of the best bank account bonuses because of how good it is.
They’ve previously had a similar $200 deal, but it required referring somebody so this is a lot less hassle for people.
Big thanks to reader, Dave who let us know. Please consider sharing bank bonuses with this site so we can make it even better.
Useful posts regarding bank bonuses:
- A Beginners Guide To Bank Account Bonuses
- 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
Went to a branch in May. The 5 bill payments are not needed as shown on their brochure. The banker told me the $50 only needed enrollment in e-statement, which can be done immediately on the app. No CC fund is allowed, must be cash. They had a better offer of $237 last year when the school starts, but seemed to be only in branch.
Update: They now provide a $300 bonus from June 18-25 in branch. The opening $100.00 promotional offer rose to $200. Rest two parts are the same.
Just checked my Chex report, and apparently they pulled it on the day I applied (I believe only when I went in-branch, not when I initially tried signing up online and was rejected, which was a few days earlier I think) as well as three (!) other times within that month and again once two months later. I had a good amount of history though
3/12 – account opened
3/30 – debit card transactions and billpay done
4/8 – $50 and $100 bonus post
I opened a BankHometown account in-footprint (MA), look like the same terms
DP1: Chase World of Hyatt Visa funding coded as “Financial institutions: merchandise and services” , not cash advance
DP2: Ally bank transfer did not work as DD (just reported on Bank DD page)
DP3: The “$50.00 promotional offer” does not trigger if the first stage (“$100.00 promotional offer”) is not completed.
Just want to confirm that you can get a bonus at both bankESB and their sister bank, Hometown Bank at the same time.
I know there’s no language about it, but ive had issues with sister banks before, and I was concerned it would be an issue. I hope this DP helps anyone eligible for both bonuses.
I was denied online for an account with some generic excuse. Didn’t get a ChexSystems pull. The rep at the phone line I was directed to suggested if I went in branch I’d be able to open one, and when I went in-branch they did do a pull and approved me at 26/24.
Additionally, the Amherst branch has an offer $100 higher than the normal one (added onto the first requirement). And if you open in-branch (any branch I’m assuming), there’s a referral bonus available, which they confirmed was stackable with the normal offer. $50 for the referrer if the referred has a DD of at least $25 or sets up online banking and has 5 debit card transactions.
Fifteen days since canceling this account, yet still no refund.
Dispute filed with CC yesterday.
says online session timed out when i try to access application on three different browsers.
Account opened Jan 21, setup online login, all looks good. $1000 charge posted BoA Jan 23, Then Jan 27, got a short email from bank stating account is closed with no reason explained. $1000 charge still not refunded as of today. I did not have many new accounts. Never been denied by any bank. Just an FYI, this bank is weird.
Still waiting for my funding refund also, tinker. I’m going to dispute the charge
if it is not received by Monday morning. Never again with this bank..
did you provide a good phone number because they will call to verify about the CC funding. i found out that they will only process the funding if they reach you on the phone.
This small-time bank was holding my initial funding along with the
voicemails that others mentioned, so I told them to just close it.
They now sent a letter saying that [they’ve] decided not to grant
the account. What a sad sack of potatoes spin there 🙂
Were you able to get your funding amount automatically refunded to you after that, or was that an additional hassle?