[Expired] M&T Bank $150 Checking Bonus [CT, DC, DE, FL, MA, MD, NJ, NY, OR, PA, VA, WV]

Offer now expired, you can view more bank bonuses here.

Update: There is now a direct link for this offer, thanks to reader Heidi!

Offer at a glance

• Maximum bonus amount: $150
• Availability: While it will let you open an account online anywhere, it won’t actually work unless you live in one of the following states: CT, DC, DE, FL, MA, MD, NJ, NY, OR, PA, VA, WV
• Direct deposit required: Yes, must direct deposit $100+
• Additional requirements: None
• Hard/soft pull: Soft
• Credit card funding: None
• Monthly fees: $6.95, waive-able
• Early account termination fee: $10, 180 days
• Expiration date: March 31st, 2015 Extended to June 30th, 2015 September 30th, 2015

The Offer

Direct link to offer

• Open a MyChoice checking account and receive a $150 cash bonus when you set up a qualifying direct deposit of $100 or more.

The Fine Print

• Valid until March 31st, 2015
• Direct deposit must be received within 90 days of account opening
• Qualifying direct deposits include but are not limited to: electronic deposits such as payroll or social security.
• Bonus will post to the account within 90 days of meeting the bonus requirements
• Limited to one bonus per customer
• Offer may vary by region
• All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them

Avoiding Fees

Early Account Termination Fee

There is an early close out fee of $10 according to these terms & conditions if you cancel within 180 days of signing up.

MyChoice Checking

The easiest account to keep fee free is the basic MyChoice checking account. This account has a monthly fee of $6.95 that can be waived with any of the following methods:

• Receive direct deposits totaling $200 or more per monthly service charge period
• Make 10 or more monthly debit card purchases per monthly service charge period
• Keep an average daily balance of $500 or more per monthly service charge period

M&T Bank is one of the few banks that doesn’t give you a grace period, these must be completed your first month otherwise you’ll be charged the fee.

Our Verdict

In the past M&T bank have offered similar $150 sign up bonuses and lower bonuses of $75-$100.

This is a quite a good deal, just make sure you confirm that your area is participating in this promo before completing it.  That way you can confirm you will actually get the $150 as promised.

Here is what I’d do if I was going to do this promotion (which I won’t be, because I don’t live in the target area)

• Go into a branch and state I lost my promo page.
• Confirm the bonus with a banker there, making sure to get all of their employee details in case something goes wrong
• Open a MyChoice checking account
• Transfer $500 in the form of a direct deposit (I’d just use my payroll to make sure it worked, but ACH transfers have worked in the past). This would trigger the direct deposit requirment and keep the account fee free.
• Wait for the bonus to post
• Wait 180 days to avoid early account termination fee
• Close account

I’ve added this bonus to our dedicated page. It has not made it to our best checking sign up page because of the geographical restrictions.

Hat tip to reader Avi via slickdeals. He could win $225 by letting us know about this bonus