[NY, Great Kills Branch Only] Northfield Bank $250 Checking Bonus

Offer at a glance

• Maximum bonus amount: $250
• Availability: Great Kills branch only. Evergreen Plaza at 150 Greaves Lane, Staten Island
• Direct deposit required: Yes, $500+ for first 90 days
• Additional requirements: See below
• Hard/soft pull: Unknown
• ChexSystems: Unknown
• Credit card funding: Unknown, but unlikely due to in branch requirement
• Monthly fees: $8, avoidable
• Early account termination fee: None listed
• Household limit: One
• Expiration date: None listed

The Offer

Direct link to offer

• Open a new checking account with Northfield Bank and receive a bonus of $250 when you complete the following requirements over the first 90 days:
  • Maintain a monthly average balance of $500+
  • Have a monthly recurring direct deposit of $500+
  • Perform 10 point of sale debit card transactions per month

The Fine Print

• Bonus reward offer is available to new personal MyChecking, MyChecking 60+, or MyChecking Student customers who do not have an existing or prior Northfield Bank checking account AND who meet the required qualifying criteria within 90 calendar days from account opening.
• Qualifying criteria is defined as maintaining a $500 average monthly balance in the new account AND having a monthly recurring direct deposit of $500 or more, AND performing 10 point of sale debit card transactions per month.
• Qualifying direct deposits are recurring electronic deposits of your paycheck, pension, or government benefits (such as social security) from your employer or the government. Person-to-person and bank transfers between your Northfield account or accounts you have at other financial institutions do not qualify.
• Once the offer criteria is met, the bonus reward will be credited to the new MyChecking account no later than 30 business days following the end of the 90 day period.
• Account must remain open, active, in good standing and in the same product type through the qualifying period to receive the bonus.
• If the account is closed by the customer or Northfield within six months after opening, we will deduct the bonus amount from the account at closing.
• The bonus will be reported as taxable income to the IRS on a 1099-INT.
• Offer is effective as December 8, 2017 and may be withdrawn at any time and is subject to change without notice.
• One bonus per household and cannot be combined with any other offer. Bonus reward only available at Great Kills office.
• All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them

Avoiding Fees

I wasn’t able to find any mention of an early account termination fee in the fee schedule.

MyChecking $8 Monthly Fee

This is the easiest account to keep fee free. It has a $8 monthly fee that is waived if you do any of the following:

• Maintain a monthly average balance of $500+
• Have a monthly recurring direct deposit of $500+
• Perform 10 point of sale debit card transactions per month

Our Verdict

Nice large bonus, shame it’s in branch only. The upside to that is you should be able to find out if it’s a soft or hard pull before opening the account. If it’s a soft pull and you don’t live too far from the branch then it’s probably worth doing,otherwise I’d given it a miss. I won’t be adding this to the best checking bonus page until we know more about this bonus. Please share your experiences with the bonus in the comments below.

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