[Expired] [NYC only] Sterling Bank & Trust (SBT) Up To $250 Checking/Savings Bonus

Deal has expired, view more bank account bonuses by clicking here

Update 11/18/19: Deal is back, valid in NYC only this time. Hat tip to reader Joe F

Update 10/5/19: Deal is back but only available in NYC. Hat tip to reader Joe F

Update 9/11/19: Also available in Chino Hills & Bellevue now as well. Hat tip to reader Joe F

Update 9/6/19: Deal has been extended until September 30th, 2019, also available in Los Angeles now as well.Hat tip to readers Anduhsun & Joe F

Offer at a glance

  • Maximum bonus amount: $250
  • Availability: NYC Angeles branch
  • Direct deposit required: Yes, $500 for 3 consecutive months
  • Additional requirements: Maintain $25,000 for 90 days
  • Hard/soft pull: Unknown
  • ChexSystems: Unknown
  • Credit card funding: Unknown
  • Monthly fees: None
  • Early account termination fee: Unknown
  • Household limit: None listed
  • Expiration date: August 31st, 2019 October 31st, 2019 November 30th, 2019

The Offer

Direct link to offer for NYC | Los Angeles | Chino Hills | Bellevue, Washington

  • Sterling Bank & Trust (SBT) is offering a bonus of up to $250. Bonus is broken down as follows:
    • Open a checking, savings or money market account with a minimum opening deposit of $25,000 and maintain a $25,000 balance for 90 days and get a $100 bonus
    • Open a checking, savings or money market account and set up a monthly direct deposit and get a bonus of $150
    • Do both and get a bonus of $250

The Fine Print

  • To qualify for the $100 credit to your SBT Advantage Bank account, each customer must: (1) open a new savings, checking, or money market account with a minimum opening deposit of $25,000 at any SBT Advantage Bank branch; and (2) maintain the minimum monthly statement cycle account balance of $25,000 for 90 days.
  • To qualify for the $150 credit to your SBT Advantage Bank account, each customer must: (1) open a new savings, checking, or money market account; and (2) set up a monthly direct deposit of $500 and receive the deposit into your account for 3 consecutive monthly statement cycles within 120 days of account opening.
  • A qualifying direct deposit is the customer’s salary, Social Security, pension or other regular monthly income electronically deposited through the Automate Clearing House (ACH) network by an outside agency or your employer.
  • This offer is intended for new customers only. You are not eligible for this offer if:
    • you are a current SBT Advantage Bank customer;
    • you are a SBT Advantage Bank employee; or
    • you have received a bonus for opening a SBT Advantage Bank account within the last 24 months.
  • All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them

Avoiding Fees

Monthly Fees

Convenience checking account has no monthly fees to worry about.

Early Account Termination Fee

I wasn’t able to find a full fee schedule so I’m unsure if there is any early account termination fee or not

Our Verdict

Looks like the savings accounts earn 0.7% APY. That means for most people it won’t be worth doing the savings bonus because you’d be earning a total rate of slightly over 2.5% APY during the 90 day period and there are basic savings accounts offering that rate. Because of that I only think the checking/direct deposit bonus is worth considering and we need to know if that is a hard or soft pull to open.

Hat tip to reader Joe F

Useful posts regarding bank bonuses:
    William Charles
  • On November 18, 2019, 23:29

View Comments (30)

  • The real issue is that this bank is not a real bank. The sell liar loans, aka advantage loans. These loans are stated loans they do for foreigners, mostly Chinese, and charge higher rates. They use appraiser they know so they get higher values and they also have loan officers that lie and make up cpa letters to get these loans approved. You really want to leave your money with a bank like that??

  • Happened to be not too far away from the branch today so I went in to open an account. Only the branch manager was there. He said the bank is a no-cash bank in that one cannot deposit or withdraw cash from the bank. Said the minimum opening deposit for the checking account is $100 but cannot be cash and has to be check. No debit or CC funding either. I didn't have a check with me so I was not able to open the account.

    He said it's a soft pull. He said they do look at chex but he didn't seem to be clear whether high chex inquires could lead to denial and whether he'll be able to override it in branch. Felt like he didn't have too many experience opening up accounts with more than a couple of chex inquires. And the promotion that he had on the email expired on Aug 31, so he said he'll email to find out about the extended promo. I'm not sure if I'll drive down again to try to open up the account at this point but just wanted to share my experience. Make sure to bring a check to open up the account!

    • The hire incompetent people that would never be able to get a job with a real bank. You’ll see what your experience is like once you bank with these people

  • Opened the checking account at the flushing branch. Deal has been extended until 9/30/19. $10 ETF if under 6 months. FYI They also do atm rebates like Schwab for those who need this info.

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