This bonus has expired, you can view the best bank bonuses here. Or click here to see if there is a new 1st Constitution Bank.
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $200
- Availability: NJ, must present coupon in branch with Signature card [Branch locator found here]
- Direct deposit required: Yes, no minimum mentioned
- Additional requirements: See below
- Hard/soft pull: Soft
- ChexSystems: Unknown
- Credit card funding: None
- Monthly fees: $15, avoidable
- Early account termination fee: Six months, bonus forfeit
- Household limit: None
- Expiration date: May 15th, 2017
The Offer
- Open a new Easy Pay Checking account with 1st Constitution Bank online and receive a bonus of $200 when you complete the following requirements:
- Deposit $100 or more at account opening
- Have your direct deposit made to this account within 60 days of account opening
- present your coupon with offer code WELCOME200 when you submit your signature card (coupon can be generated online)
The Fine Print
- Bonus/Account Information: Offer not available to existing 1st Constitution Bank checking customers, those with fiduciary accounts, or those whose accounts have been closed within 90 days or closed with a negative balance.
- To receive the bonus: A ) Open a new Easy Pay Checking account online only, which is subject to approval; B) Deposit $100 or more at account opening; C) Have your direct deposit made to this account within 60 days of account opening; and D) present your coupon with offer code WELCOME200 when you submit your signature card.
- Your direct deposit needs to be an electronic deposit of your paycheck, pension or government benefits (such as Social Security) from your employer or the government.
- After you have completed all the above requirements, we’ll deposit the bonus in your new account within 10 business days.
- You can receive only one new checking account related bonus each calendar year and only one bonus per account.
- Bonus is considered interest and will be reported on IRS Form 1099-INT.
- Offer not available for 1st Constitution Bank employee accounts, account conversions or in combination with any other offer.
- If there is not a recurring direct deposit, the account will revert to a Regular Checking account which requires a minimum daily balance of $100 to avoid monthly service fee of $15.
- Account Closing: If the checking account is closed by the customer or 1st Constitution Bank within six months after opening, we will deduct the bonus amount at closing.
- This special offer expires on May 15, 2017.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
The Easy Pay Checking account has a $15 monthly service charge, if you receive a direct deposit this fee is waived. If there is not a recurring direct deposit the account will revert to a regular checking account ($100 minimum balance to avoid the monthly service fee of $15).
You forfeit the bonus if you close the account within 6 months. I’m not sure if the above forced account conversion would count as a cancellation and you forfeit the bonus or not.
Our Verdict
I’m a bit worried you need a direct deposit for six months to actually get the bonus (read the fees section above). Apart from that concern there is a pretty good bonus if you live in the target area, because of that I will add it to our best checking promo page. They have also offered a bonus of $250 with no requirements before, but that was only for students.
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
- Banks That Allow/Don’t Allow Out Of State Checking Applications
Vanguard brokerage doesn’t work. It seems the only thing that works is deposits from work. I’m tempted to call them b/c of vanguard, but I’m pretty sure they’ll deny my claim.
Is there a DD minimum to qualify for the bonus and/or avoid the monthly fee?
I think it’s $500. THat’s what I did each time.
I did $100 real payroll DD and received a bonus on the next day so I think $100 is the minimum.
DP – The following is how the transactions were posted on 1st Constitution site.
5/15 – Accnt Opened Online
5/22 – DISCOVER BANK P2P
5/26 – Santander Bank Payment
6/02 – [COMPANY] DIRECT DEP
6/05 – Misc Credit 200.00
NOTE: Under CATEGORIZE tab, the transactions: DISCOVER is categorize as “Credit Card Payment”; Santander Bank as “Auto Payment”; Work Company as “Income : Paycheck”. Thus, it seems that what triggered the $200 Bonus was indeed the official job DD.
Thanks
I can also confirm Santander and Capital One 360 do not work as direct deposit.
Thanks, added those useful DP
So far, Discover, CapitalOne360, Ally, Santander, Chase, Paypal don’t work. Ally is categorized as “uncategorized.”
Thanks, added those DP
Anyone know any DPs that work?
My mistake *DD.
The clause “If the checking account is closed by the customer or 1st Constitution Bank within six months after opening, we will deduct the bonus amount at closing.” is a bit worrisome because if this bank feels you’re not a valuable customer they could decide to close it, and claw back the bonus earned. And very likely the paperwork they force you to agree to gives them the right to close for any or no reason, not just for bounced or rejected checks as you might suspect.
Thankfully First Niagara / Key Bank didn’t claw back the bonus when they closed my account. It was just as well, because the First Niagara account types were going away.
There is no CC funding option, bank transfer funding only. I’ll try to get some additional information for you when I drop off my signature card.
Cheers,
PedroNY
Thanks, Pedro. Soft pull?
Yes, it was a soft pull.
Thanks 🙂