This post was originally published on January 29th, 2014. I’m republishing it because I think this is the best current checking bonus. I’ve now received over $260 in bonuses from having this account.
[Update 11/22/15: This bonus is no longer available.]
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $20 per month, no end date.Â
- Availability: Nationwide
- Direct deposit required: Yes, $1,500+ per month (+$10). They have tightened what counts, read this post for more details.
- Additional requirements: Two bill pays per month (+$10)
- Hard/soft pull: SoftÂ
- Credit card funding: Up to $500 can be initially funded
- Monthly fees:
- Early account termination fee: $25 if closed within 90 days
- Expiration date: None listed, has been going since January 2014.Â
Santander recently took over Sovereign bank in an attempt to increase their North American operations. They are currently the fourth largest bank in the world by profits. To try and gain market share they’ve introduced a promotion where you can earn up to $20 per month by opening an extra20 checking and extra20 savings account with them.
Contents
The Offer
- Receive $10 a month when you receive direct deposits totaling $1,500 or more per month
- Receive $10 a month when you pay two bills per month through the BillPay tab in online banking. You must receive the direct deposit bonus to be eligible for this bonus
Santander will send a 1099-INT form which will label these bonuses as interest, as such you must pay interest on these bonuses.
The Fine Print
- You must have a extra20 checking ($25 minimum opening balance) and extra20 savings account ($10 minimum opening balance). Extra20 savings will be opened automatically when you open the extra20 checking account
- $10 monthly fee if you don’t have direct deposits totalling $1,500 or more per month. Fee is not charged for the first two months (1)
- Limit of 1 extra20 package per person (e.g one extra20 checking and one extra20 savings account)
- Bonuses are added to the extra20 savings account on the first business day after your extra20 checking account service period ends.
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Account Fee $10
Santander charges a monthly account service fee of $10. This is waived if you have a direct deposit of $1,500 or more. The account fee is also waived automatically for the first two months.
Early Account Termination Fee
There is an early account termination fee of $25 if you close it within the first 90 days of account opening. You’d want to keep the account open anyway to continue to get the bonus.
The Verdict
It’s definitely worth signing up for this offer, it may take a little bit of fiddling around to get everything working but once you’ve done so it should be relatively hands free. The easiest way to do everything is to set up an automatic ACH transfer each month that will transfer $1,500 into your account, then set up two Bill Pays (these can just be partial Bill Pays – e.g for your electricity or gas or credit card). You’ll also want another ACH pull that will get the money back out of the account.
There is no end date on this offer, so as long as it sticks around for at least a year you’ll be making more than the other bank sign up bonuses currently out there. Update: I originally signed up for this account back in January of 2014 and have received the bonus every month since then. This is currently my favorite bank bonus, you can see a list of all my recommended bonuses here and a full list of bonuses here.
Direct link to this offer |Â Screenshot of this offer
F.A.Q’s About This Offer:
Does Santander Do Online Checking Deposits?
No, they do not do online check deposits.
How Do I Set Up Automatic BillPays?
- Click “Manage My Bills” in the BillPay area
- Click add automatic payment
To make sure your application is processed quickly it’s a good idea to upload both your primary and secondary IDs as soon as you’ve finished your application.
Got another question? Ask in the comments and we’ll do our best to answer it.Â
