Deal has ended, view more bank account bonuses by clicking here.
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: $150
- 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 $150 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.
Had to submit tickets for this last round for and P2. They manually credited the bonus 1 week later. Applies in March/April.
Seconding this. Opened end of March, 4x real DDs April-August, contacted CS and credited a few business days later.
P2 DP:
4/3 applied
4/7 $500 ACH Capital One
repeat deposit every 7th of month
7/10 $200 bonus posted
P1 same timeline of events, no bonus yet.
Still awaiting my bonus… Getting anxious. Did initial direct deposit in April and subsequent months but still no bonus.
You might need to manually submit a ticket like I did to get the bonus.. Seems they are having an IT issue.
“Then continue to receive a monthly direct deposit of at least $500 for 4 months”
Does it need to be a single >$500 DD per month for 4 months?
Or can it be two >$250 DD per month, totaling >$500 per month, except for the 1st one which seems to need to be a single >$500 DD to meet “Receive a direct deposit of $500+ within 60 days of account opening” ?
I received a $200 bonus in 2022 and cannot find a 1099 from Sandy Spring Bank. Did anyone receive a 1099 for account opening bonuses received prior to 2023?
DP – Bonus-earning and account-closing data points:
– 3/30/2022 – Account (My Free Checking) opened online
– Apr 2022 – $500+ transferred in from E*Trade, US Bank, Schwab, and Citizens
– May 2022 – $500+ transferred in from E*Trade, US Bank, Schwab, and Citizens
– Jun 2022 – $500+ transferred in from E*Trade, US Bank, Schwab, and Citizens
– Jul 2022 – $500+ transferred in from E*Trade, US Bank, Schwab, and Citizens
– 7/27/2022 – $200 bonus deposited into account
– 3/31/2023 – Requested that account be closed (via secure message). Told would be closed within 3 business days.
– 4/15/2023 – No indication seen in online banking that account closed. Inquired into status via secure message. Told that account closed, but still temporarily accessible.
Is this the best the bonus has ever been? If they ever offered bonus?
Edit: Looks like the highest ever was $300 back in 2018.
I wasn’t given an option for credit card funding – might have something to do with their new application.
If you want a headache..open this account online and have them later freeze it (without telling you they’ve done so), say ppl will call u, who never do, later find out they demand you go to branch over an hour away to unfreeze. Ended up cfpbing just to get original deposit back. Huge time suck.
Had the same happen to me a year ago. Probably avoid this bank if you’re not comfortable driving to a branch.
Tried to sign up from PA. Website gives me an error when submitting application.
same here. My application get stuck at 25% progress. I tried to save the application, and resume it using the link sent to my email. It simple show 25% in progress, but there is no button to continue the application.
The terms and condition do not mention any prior/closed account. So I guess this is churnable?
Yeah looks like you just have to wait 90 days after closing an account to qualify. I got this bonus in 2022 so might close and try in 90 days (if this offer sticks around or a new one shows up).