Update 1/22/23: here’s a $450 link (ht jd)
Update 12/2/22: Bonus is down to $350 with promo code CJ, new link here, valid through 1/27/23 (ht Jim). There’s another link here for $250/$350 which is valid through 2/24/23.
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $100/$150/$200/$250/$350
- Availability: CT, DC, DE, MD, NJ, NY, PA, VA, WV
- Direct deposit required: Yes, $500
- Additional requirements: None
- Hard/soft pull: Soft
- ChexSystems: Yes
- Credit card funding:
None - Monthly fees: Avoidable
- Early account termination fee: $50, 180-days
- Expiration date:
JulyAugust 15, 2018 September 5, 2018 October 31st, 2018November 26th, 2018 January 16th, 2019 February 25th, 2019 April 1st, 2019May 13th, 2019March 2, 2020 September 15, 2020January 11, 2021April 5, 2021 October 5, 2021 April 30, 2022May 27, 2022June 28, 2022February 24, 2023 - Household limit: None listed
Contents
The Offer
Input your zip code and see what offers show for you:
- ($350) Open an M&T MyChoice Premium checking account and receive a sign up bonus of $350 & maintain a $10,000 average daily balance in November 2022 and December 2022. Promo code TK. Can also get a $100 bonus when you open a MyChoice Money Market account
and maintain an average monthly balance of at least $10,000 in June 2022 and July 2022 ($250) Open an M&T MyChoice Plus or Premium checking account and receive a sign up bonus of $250 when you set up a qualifying direct deposit of $500 or more within 90 days of account opening. Promo code: TL or G.($200) Open an M&T EZChoice, Classic, or Basic checking account and receive a sign up bonus of $200 when you set up a qualifying direct deposit of $500 or more within 90 days of account opening. Promo code: TL or TG.
The Fine Print
- We will credit one cash bonus to the account if the account receives a total of at least $500 in qualifying direct deposits within 90 days of account opening.
- Qualifying direct deposits include, but are not limited to, recurring electronic deposits such as payroll, pension or Social Security. Person-to-person, bank transfers or other electronic money transfers such as those made through internet payment services do not qualify.
- Bonus will be credited to the account within 90 days of direct deposit activation as long as the account is in good standing and all of the eligibility requirements are satisfied at the time we seek to credit the bonus.
- Only one Premium Checking Bonus and one Direct Deposit Bonus will be awarded per customer regardless of the number of accounts opened.
- The bonus(es) are not available to existing personal M&T checking account customers, or those whose accounts have been closed within 180 days, employees of M&T Bank or any of its affiliates, or customers who have received a bonus in connection with a personal M&T checking account within the preceding twelve-month period.
- A $50 early close-out fee applies if the account is closed within 180 days of opening.
- Bonus offers may vary by product and region, are not transferable and are reportable for tax purposes.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them.
Avoiding Fees
EZChoice Checking
This account has no monthly fees.
Basic Banking
This account has a non-waivable $3 monthly fee.
Classic Checking
This account has a monthly fee of $4.95 that can be waived with any one of the following methods:
- Have at least 1 direct deposit to your M&T Classic Checking with Interest account
- Keep an average daily balance of $500 or more in the account per monthly service charge cycle
- Make 10 or more debit card purchases or payments
- Keep combined balances of $1,500 or more in eligible personal deposit accounts
MyChoice Plus Checking
This account has a monthly fee of $14.95 that can be waived with any one of the following methods:
- Keep an average daily balance of $2,500 or more in the account per monthly service charge cycle
- Have direct deposits to your MyChoice Plus Checking account totaling at least $1,500 per monthly service charge cycle
MyChoice Premium Checking
This account has a monthly fee of $24.95 that can be waived with any one one of the following methods:
- Keep an average daily balance of $7,500 or more in the account per monthly service charge cycle
- Keep total combined balances of $25,000 or more in eligible personal deposit accounts, loans and home equity outstanding balances, investments6 and business deposit accounts
Early Account Termination Fee
Looks to be $50 now if closed within 180 days.
Our Verdict
The direct link above is just a generic M&T website link, so the bonus should work for any zip code deemed eligible (not sure what the “not transferable” means in the fine print). I’m assuming this bonus is available in the the states listed above, as was the case last time around (note it won’t work in all areas in those states). Let us know if you see eligible areas elsewhere. Remember, you can’t do this if you’ve gotten a bonus within 12 months.
Thanks to reader Michael for letting us know about this bonus. Learn how to find bonuses and contribute to the site here.
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
Bonus history
- Update 10/14/22: $450 bonus is back.
- Update 10/13/22: $350 bonus is back, not as good as the $450 bonus. Valid until October 28, 2022
- Update 9/5/22: The $450 is expired. Seems only $200 is now available (link).
- Update 7/10/22: New $450 offer link here. Promo code UB. (ht Elena)
- Update 6/9/22: New $350 offer link, use promo code CC. (ht TallyTime)
- Update 4/28/22: $350 checking bonus + $100 direct deposit bonus now available online. Promo code TY
- Update 4/12/22: Instead of a savings bonus you can get a $100 direct deposit bonus
- Update 4/11/22: There is also a $100 savings bonus now as well. Hat tip to reader MC
- Update 4/2/22: Extended through June 30th
- Update 2/21/22: Extended through April 30, 2022. Hat tip to reader alopez14
- Update 1/13/22: Looks like there is a $450 bonus as well.
- Update 1/11/22: Extended through 1/28/22.
- Update 4/7/21: Extended through July 12, 2021
- Update 1/14/21: Extended through April 5, 2021 now
- Update 7/1/20: Extended through September 15, 2020. It seems like promo codes are now state restricted. E.g TH doesn’t work in NJ/NY.
Update 3/11/20: New $250 checking/$100 savings bonus with promo code TK. Hat tip to Peckerwood17. Valid until 6/1/20Looks like the TK promo code has not been extended.- Update 1/15/20: There is a $400 bonus now.
- Update 1/7/20: Deal has been extended until March 2, 2020.
- Update 11/8/19: Deal has been extended until January 6th, 2020.
- Update 8/20/19: Deal has been extended until November 4th, 2019.
- Update 7/10/19: Deal has been increased to $300 for MyChoice Plus or Premium & $200 for EZchecking & basic. Hat tip to readers Sean A & Allen W
- Update 7/2/19: Now available until August 19th, 2019
- Update 5/14/19: Deal is now available until July 1st, 2019.
- Update 4/7/19: $350 bonus now available in branch. Hat tip to reader Gerald
- Update 2/26/19: Bonus has been extended until April 1st, 2019.
- Update 1/17/19: Offer has been extended until February 25th, 2019.
- Update 11/28/18: Offer has been extended until January 16th, 2019.
- Update 11/01/2018: Offers extended until November 26th, 2018
- Repost 09/17/18: There is now a $300 in branch offer. Details below. Hat tip to Lazy Traveler’s.
- Repost 8/19/18: Offer extended through September 5, 2018.
- Repost 7/19/18: Offer extended through August 15th.
Which is correct – 180 days (in The Fine Print) or 12 months (in Our Verdict)?
Both according to the Disclosures on the M&T website:
“The bonus(es) are not available to existing personal M&T checking account customers, or those whose accounts have been closed within 180 days, employees of M&T Bank or any of its affiliates, or customers who have received a bonus credited to a personal M&T checking account within the last 12 months”
Thanks. Didn’t read it thoroughly. I closed my account 8 months ago, have to find when I received the bonus.
Is that one year from bonus to bonus or from bonus to opening.
$450 bonus now requires 20k balance for 2 months
That’s what it looks like to me as well… $10k@4% for 2 months is $65. Doesn’t seem worth it considering, you can get better interest rates than 4%, and it’ll probably be tied up for more than 2 months, and you’ll have a bunch of extra effort. I’m thinking the deal hear is the checking account for $350.
Anybody get charged the $50 early termination fee? At about $25/month in lost interest at 4%, looks like it worth it to pay the fee. Can you ACH out the balance then close? Does M&T post fee/negative balance?
After the two-month requirement you can lower the balance to $7500 to avoid fees. You can also downgrade the account to EZ Choice which has no fees.
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/mt-bank-150-checking-bonus-tn-available-online-ct-dc-de-md-nj-ny-pa-va-wv/#comment-1464636
Thanks Yaw. Downgrading looks like the way to go.
If you actually live out of state, they require you to go in-branch to close the account OR send a notary, which both cost $.
Also this account cannot be used internationally, as the system flags it if you log in from outside the US, and you usually have to spend minimum 1 hr on the phone to have them unlock it. There is no override for this w/ senior tech support. Coupled with the opportunity cost of the high deposit requirement, I highly recommend seeking a bonus elsewhere.
I was able to close via SM in November(though I was in-state, would they really check that before granting a request to close?)
a lot of these mid size banks are like this
the fact that it requires 7k to keep the checking account fee free and you have to keep it open for at least 6 months makes this deal not attractive.
After getting the bonus, the account can be downgraded to EZ Choice:
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/mt-bank-150-checking-bonus-tn-available-online-ct-dc-de-md-nj-ny-pa-va-wv/#comment-1464636
The opportunity cost of having money tied up is now at least worth thinking about. If I’m getting >3.5% on a savings account already, and assuming M&T pays close to 0%, there is an opp cost of >$120 in lost interest.
I’ve churned them before multiple times, it’s not quite 6 months.
For this bonus, you would deposit $20k by end of February, leave it in for 2 months. Once April hits, pull out all $20k. You might get hit for $25, but that’s way less than the amount of interest you lose in a month. Your bonus should post end of the following month(April). Once it posts, immediately close money market and downgrade checking to EZ Choice Checking. Wait out the 6 months to close out accounts.
When I did this last fall, I was not charged the monthly fee for the month following the bonus period. Even if you have to eat one $25 monthly fee you still come out ahead. My statement date was beginning of month, so I waited till that to roll over, then pulled out the $10k, my bonus posted at end of that month, less than 30 days, once it did I downgraded before next statement date to avoid the $25 monthly fee.
The $100 for the additional $10k is hardly worth it, 4% on that money over two months gets you $66. Interest in M&T MM account is pitiful.
If you are eligible for Chase, highly recommend doing that instead. Or if not, park $10k in Marcus for 90 days. That bonus is $100 bonus, but at least you earn a competitive interest rate, so it’s actually a legit extra $100. In fact, you should not do the extra $100 for $10k bonus with M&T at all, not while this Marcus bonus is available.
Why isn’t this best bank bonus qualifier?
I’m seeing it https://www.doctorofcredit.com/best-bank-account-bonuses/#MT_Bank_450_Checking_Bonus_8211_CT_DE_DC_MD_NJ_NY_PA_VA_WV
Thanks. Usually that is in the Our Verdict narrative section. I was confused because it was a generally favorably-written post.
Applied in October with Promo Code TK, (Part of the $450 bonus) with premium checking,
Got a DD bonus for $150 in December (a day after real DD)
When can I expect the othe $300?
FYI – the posts indicate it is $350 DD?
Same situation with me.
old link for the premium checking + money market bonus is alive again, DD one might follow soon too
Chuck
https://campaigns.mtb.com/premium-bonus-money-market
Also classic/basic checking are gone, replaced by ez choice which has no fees
So the link only creates a checking account. Do we need to apply separately for the savings account? FWIW I used the promo code “CD”.
Just got a mailer for the $250 bonus for a $500 DD in 90 days with code UB. $100 bonus is also around for monthly balance of $2.5k in Match and April
Chuck Also looks like MA is eligible now, I received this flyer there and they accepted my zip
Link to promo https://campaigns.mtb.com/digital-coupon/new-account-bonus-250
Added that one, thanks
Using above promo link I have opened checking account (observed that ‘CD’ as the promo code). What promo code to be used for Relationship Savings account? Please help. Calls to M&T Representatives said that I can’t use “CD” for savings account promo.
The extra savings promo needed offer UB, probably limited to new market areas.