Update 3/3/24: Offer is back until April 14
Update 11/17/23: Offer is back and valid until November 30, 2023. Hat tip to reader EN
Update 3/17/23: Deal is back and valid until April 30, 2023. Hat tip to ShawntheShawn
Update 5/17/22: Extended until August 31, 2022.
Update 4/21/22: Extended until 6/30/22 with this link.
Update 2/19/22: Deal is back and good through April 30, 2022. Now available in more states: DC, MD, VA, DE, PA, or WV
Update 10/16/21: Bonus has been increased to $200 and valid until November 15, 2021.
Update 4/22/21: Deal is back and valid until 4/30/21. Hat tip to ShawntheShawn.
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $300
- Availability: DC, MD, VA, DE, PA, or WVÂ only
- Direct deposit required: Yes, $500+
- Additional requirements: eStatements & debit card transactions
- Hard/soft pull: Soft
- ChexSystems: Yes,  according to this comment they are sensitive to too many frequent inquiries. Other datapoints below indicate they are not. This comment says they will deny if you have more than 3 in last 90 days.
- Credit card funding: Up to $250, Visa or Mastercard onlyÂ
- Monthly fees: None
- Early account termination fee:Â $25, 180Â days
- Household limit: None
- Expiration date:Â
February 28th, 2017May 31st, 2017 October 31st, 2018 March 31st, 2019April 30th, 2019August 31st, 2019October 31st, 2019April 30, 2021
The Offer
- Open a new checking account with Sandy Spring Bank and receive a bonus of $300 when you complete the following requirements:
- Receive a direct deposit of $500+ within 60 days of account opening. Then continue to receive a monthly direct deposit of at least $500 for 4 months
The Fine Print
- Open any checking account (excluding Student Banking) online or mention the offer when you call our client service center or visit our community offices between September 1, 2018 and October 31, 2018.
- Establish direct deposit of at least $300 within 45 days of account opening from a paycheck, pension, social security or other regular monthly income electronically deposited. Transfers from one account to another or deposits made at the branch or ATM do not qualify as direct deposits. Then continue to receive a monthly direct deposit of at least $300 for 4 months.
- Limited time offer available only to individuals who currently do not have a personal checking account with Sandy Spring Bank or have not had one within the last 90 days.
- Offer subject to change and cancellation without notice and cannot be combined with any other offer.
- Only one bonus per individual.
- Bonus will be deposited within 125 days of account opening, into the checking account meeting the bonus requirements.
- Accounts must be in good standing.
- All applicable taxes are the sole responsibility of the recipient.
Avoiding Fees
The my free banking account has no monthly fee and also no monthly minimums. According to this comment the early account termination fee is $25 if the account is closed within 180 days.
Our Verdict
Previous years it required no direct deposit, or only a direct deposit for one month. This new offer requires it for 5 months. It’s at least better than the $10 monthly bonus they offered earlier in the year. It sucks that this bank is inquiry sensitive, because this is actually a pretty good bonus.I guess if you don’t have too many inquiries on your ChexSystems report then this is worth it, otherwise you’ll most likely be denied. As always please share your datapoints in the comments below. Might add it to our best checking sign up promo page if we can get some more datapoints on how sensitive they are to inquiries.
Big thanks to reader, Curmudgeon & Fork 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
Post history:
- Update 9/15/19: Deal is back and valid until October 31st, 2019. Now requires a $500 direct deposit instead of $300. Hat tip to reader TK
- Update 7/13/19: Deal is back and valid until August 31st, 2019. Hat tip to Andrea
- Update 2/10/19: Deal is back and valid until March 31st, 2019. Hat tip to reader Gadget.
- Bonus is back for 2018. Hat tip to reader YAR.
I have a potentially interesting DP to share. I got my Chex report on 3/17.
P1 (resident alien with SSN):
P2 (resident alien with ITIN):
“Unfortunately, your application was declined”.
Chex stats are:
5/1 month.
10/2 months.
13/3 months.
Despite the DPs, I figured it was worth a shot.
Looks like credit card funding is up to $1000 now.
Which card did you use?
Thanks, 1000$ CC funding went through, I am 4/24 Chex
Successful DP;
19/11/23 – Account Opening
22/11/23 – Pushed $600+ from US Bank
20/12/23 – Pushed $500 from US Bank
17/01/24 – Pushed $500 from US Bank
14/02/24 – Pushed $500 from US Bank
pulled the money out of the account days later on each occasion.
06/03/24 – $300 bonus posted from Spot.
This was surprising though since I thought it was supposed to post 125 days after account opening and was expecting it next week.
Will wait until after the EATF period expires
Is that us bank push from personal or business account?
personal
Chex sensitive. I’m lol/24, automatically denied.
Can anyone referral me to open account?
Are you local to a branch? The referral program is not online you have present referral certificate to a branch.
https://www.sandyspringbank.com/personal/banking/personal-checking/send-a-friend#:~:text=With%20Sandy%20Spring%20Bank's%20Send,and%20you%20can%20get%20%24100.
It is about 2 hours driving distance. Thanks anyway!
Offer is back until April 14: https://www.sandyspringbank.com/offer/genchk-300-bonus?utm_source=Drupal&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=EMTO
For future reference for anyone opening this account and is required to do it in-person: make sure to bring a utility bill to confirm your address.
In November, I opened the account for my wife (GC holder) and they requested that she do it in-person at the branch, which she did. She gave them her driver’s license (which has our correct house address; unlike my ID which still has our old address), which they photocopied, and she brought her SSN card. Account was opened. Opening deposit was successful in-branch. $500 ACH transfer from Wells Fargo was successful. December true DD from my work was successful. In the first week of January right before the January DD was supposed to hit, we got an overnighted FedEx package from SandySprings with a $50 check from them. They had closed the account and mailed the remaining balance. My wife called to find out what happened. They claimed she never verified her address – nevermind the fact that they successfully MAILED us the check with her balance. She received NO communication from them since opening in November regarding her address being unverified – no phone calls, no texts, no e-mails, no mailers, nothing. They claimed she needed to bring in a utility bill at some point, something which was not communicated to her when she opened the account.
As a result she forfeited the $300 bonus possibility. They would not honor the bonus if she opened a new account since the promo ended in 2023.
Anyone get 1099 for this bank?
Nothing yet.
Nothing here either, anyone with an open account able to check online docs to see if one was issued? My account is closed and I no longer have access.
I checked online and nothing.
P1 instant approval a couple weeks ago.
P2 applied on the last day Nov. 30 and it is in review.
If P2 gets approved and account is opened post Nov. 30 do you think they’ll honor the bonus based on application date or is it too late?
Not sure I’ve encountered this specific situation before.