Deal has ended, view more bank account bonuses by clicking here.
Update 3/15/23: Extended until April 22, 2023. Hat tip to RXSAMG
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $400
- Availability: PA, NJ (specific zip codes only)
- Direct deposit required: Optional
- Additional requirements: See below
- Hard/soft pull: Unknown
- ChexSystems: Yes
- Credit card funding: Up to $500 per account, Mastercard & Discover accepted
- Monthly fees: None
- Early account termination fee: Six months, bonus forfeit
- Household limit: None listed
- Expiration date: December 3, 2022
Contents
The Offer
- Penn Community Bank is offering bonuses of up to $400. Bonuses are broken down as follows:
- $350 cash bonus for opening a qualifying new checking account and completing one of the following within the first 60 days of account opening:
- Receive direct deposits totaling $1,000 or more OR
- Complete 20 or more debit card purchases that post to your checking account.
- Earn an additional $50 cash bonus for opening a Statement Savings account at the same time as the checking and maintaining the Statement Savings account minimum daily balance or more for 60 days from opening
- $350 cash bonus for opening a qualifying new checking account and completing one of the following within the first 60 days of account opening:
The Fine Print
- New account bonus(es) will be deposited to the checking account within 45 days after meeting offer requirements. Offer available to new checking customers only.
- Must not have closed a Penn Community Bank checking account within the preceding twelve (12) months or received a prior new checking account incentive.
- Limit one bonus offer per household.
- If multiple accounts are opened with the same signer, only one account will be eligible for the bonus.
- Account must be open, active and in good standing at time of incentive fulfillment to receive bonus(es).
- If account is closed within six (6) months from date of opening, early termination fee may apply, and amount of new account bonus received will be debited from final account balance. All bonuses are subject to IRS 1099 tax reporting.
- Offer expires December 3, 2022
- The up to $400 new account cash bonus offer (“offer”) is available on any new Penn Community Bank personal checking account type. S
- tandard account eligibility requirements apply, and the program promotional code must be presented at opening.
- To receive the $350 new checking cash bonus the account must be opened with $25 or more and complete one of the following within the first sixty (60) days of account opening: a) receive qualifying direct deposits totaling $1,000 or more to the checking account OR b) complete 20 or more debit card purchase transactions that post to the checking account. Qualifying direct deposits are defined as recurring electronic deposits of payroll, Social Security, pension, government benefits or other eligible regular monthly income.
- To earn an additional $50 cash bonus, checking bonus offer requirements must also be met, and you must 1) open a new Statement Savings account at the same time as the qualifying checking account with standard account minimum opening deposit of $25 or more, and 2) maintain in the Statement Savings account for the first 60 days from account opening the minimum daily balance to avoid a monthly service fee and earn interest, which is $100.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
There is a free checking account with no monthly fees to worry about.
Early Account Termination Fee
Bonus is forfeit if account is closed within six months of account opening.
Our Verdict
Much better than the previous $200 bonus that required opening in branch. We still don’t know if it’s a hard or soft pull, but it should be worth doing even if it turns out to be a hard pull. We will add this to our list of the best bank account bonuses.
Hat tip to reader Mark E
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
Got a 1099 in the mail from them, but for only $365. The bonus was $350 checking + $50 savings, for $400. Why would they send a 1099 for only $365?
Called and spoke to someone helpful. Interestingly they issue 1099-MISC forms, and not -INTs
They confirmed they did screw up my amount and did a correction and sent me a copy via secure email. Checking promo was corrected to $350. The $50 savings promo will be coming in a separate -MISC form, and those were just mailed out last week so they should be coming soon.
Had to call their general number to close out this account. They did check my open date to make sure I was not within 6 months to avoid bonus clawback, and asked for a reason for closing, I gave my standard “Just doing some account consolidation on my end, that’s all” which is general enough. Only took a minute and didn’t have to wait on hold, just a heads up this seems like the only way to close out your account here.
I just closed same way, the rep asked me if I received a bonus & notified me that i will not be elligible for any future promotions. Guess they want to blacklist me lol
Did anyone else not receive the additional $50 for the savings? I opened both accounts on 3/16, funded 800 in checking and 200 in savings (terms say 100 is the minimum). I got the $350 in May, and the terms have been met for the savings. Has anyone received it this late or should I contact them at this point?
DPs:
3/21/23: Checking and savings accounts opened.
5/01/23: Pushed $1,000+ from Fidelity brokerage account after having some trouble with my payroll department for a real DD. Rec’d email alert (I set up various alerts) about the deposit, and the email showed it as a direct deposit.
05/01/23-05/18/23: Made 20+ purchases with debit card.
05/18/23: Rec’d $350 bonus for checking. That was fast.
Savings bonus: Still waiting for savings bonus to post.
Hard/soft pull: I see nothing on my credit reports to indicate this was a hard pull. I DID unfreeze my Equifax, Experian, and Transunion reports before applying.
Regionality: This worked for Mercer County, NJ.
Did you ever get your $50 for savings? it’s been almost two months since I got the $350 and nothing on the savings portion. Terms say only 60 days
P2 also got bonus (P1 a/c is still open and got bonus in Jan). Opened 3/17. Real employer DD and 5/17 bonus posted for $400. FWIW, they post bonus on every Wednesday after close of business.
Partial DP:
3/15/23 – Opened account. Required visit to a branch(closest about 30 min away, see detailed post below) to verify ID
$1000 CC funding coded as purchase on Fidelity 2% Visa.
3/29/23 – $1k real DD from work
5/10/23 – $350 bonus posted – “Descriptive Deposit Spring Bonus”
Still waiting for the $50 bonus for keeping $100 in savings for 60 days from open. Accidentally dropped it below $100 for a minute by transferring to checking, but realized it and put it back. Terms clearly state average daily balance, so should not be an issue with the bonus payout.
Very easy bonus. This bank has 6 month closure fee, so once savings bonus posts I’ll empty savings and wait out the clock then close.
+1 DP DITTO, virtually identical (minus your transfer slip)…. $350 bonus posted today. We’ll see when savings posts
$50 savings bonus posted today, right around 60 days from opening, impressive. Just pulled savings down to a buck until 4 months from today when I’ll close.
You may want to put $99 back into savings/ $100 is minimum balance to avoid $5/month service fee!
Also, +1 DP for the $50 Savings yesterday for me also.
Questions:
1. Any DPs on what can trigger a direct deposit to this bank?
2. Amazon reloads are OK to use for debit card purchases?
I’m in Mercer County, NJ, and had no problem opening both checking & savings.
My paycheck for this month was supposed to be deposited here to count as a real DD, but my payroll department screwed up, so now I’m scrambling to complete one of the requirements by 5/20.
I got a voice message from them. Called back and she said I need to come into a branch to get my signature and license to get the account opened. I mentioned the account was already opened (I’ve started on my 20 purchases). She saw that was true, but still wants me to come in for my license and signature and to meet the staff. I asked if there was a time deadline on this and she said no. Closest branch is 17 minutes, so not horrible, but any thoughts if i can skip this?
If the account is already opened and established, seems like a waste of your time. I’d probably try to call back and probe for more information, make sure that the account isn’t going to be closed if you don’t do this right away, if she says no then just be like I’ll try to stop by sometime in the next couple weeks, be vague. I’m guessing it’s just an attempt to provide “excellent” customer service. I sometimes get reached out to after opening an account. I usually don’t respond to the voicemail unless there are multiple calls or if I answer by mistake. It is always a super easy way to confirm the bonus is attached to your account so I’ll ask that. Otherwise I’ll just say something like “Yes I’m establishing external accounts, direct deposit, etc. I don’t have any questions right now but if I do I will be sure to get in touch with you, does that sound like a plan?” That gets the point across without being rude.
When they got my application I was immediately told I had to go in branch for ID check and such, but it was clearly related to account opening. They scanned in two forms of ID and I had to sign a couple electronic disclosures and that was it, account was approved within the hour and I was able to create online credentials and login. My closest branch was a 20 minute drive and $3 toll, I was in and out in 10 minutes, no appointment. $40 cash from the CC funding($2k) more than paid for gas and toll.
+1 Everything Novacat05 said…..was virtually same experience for me
It looks like they updated their applications system. My central NJ zip code no longer works. Using a PA zip code could pass the first screening, but it cannot be changed when putting in my actually address.
Seems like they’re enforcing the one bonus per lifetime limit now. Both myself and P2 tried applying and they called both of us to inform us that they could open the account but that the promotion would not be applied as we had received bonuses ~4 years ago. I asked if there was a time period after which I would be eligible and they confirmed it is one per lifetime.