Update 5/7/19: Another round has been sent out. Keep in mind there was recently a $300 public offer. Hat tip to legalloli69_
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount:Â $250
- Availability:Â Targeted offer sent out via snail mail
- Direct deposit required:Â Yes, two deposits totaling $1,000 or more
- Additional requirements:Â None
- Hard/soft pull:Â Soft
- ChexSystems:Â Mixed data points
- Credit card funding:Â Can fund up to $50 with a credit card
- Monthly fees:Â $6.95-$24.95, avoidable
- Early account termination fee:Â None listed
- Household limit:Â None
- Expiration date:Â April 30th, 2019
Contents
The Offer
No direct link, sent out via snail mail
- U.S. Bank is offering a bonus of $250 when you open a new checking account and complete the following requirements:
- Open a Platinum checking or easy checking account by April 30th, 2019
- Complete two recurring direct deposits that total $1,000 or more within 60 days of account opening
The Fine Print
- The checking account bonus will be deposited into your new checking account within 60 days of direct deposit verification, as long as your account is open and has a positive balance.
- Bonus will be reported as interest earned on IRS form 1099-INT and recipient is responsible for any applicable taxes.
- Offer may not be combined with any other checking account bonus offers.
- Offer is not valid if you or any signer on the account has an existing U.S. Bank consumer checking account, had a U.S. Bank consumer checking account in the last six months, or received other U.S. Bank bonus offers within the past 12 months (limit 1 bonus per customer).
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
Easy Checking $6.95
This account has a $6.95 monthly fee, this is waived if you do any of the following:
- Combined monthly direct deposits totaling $1,000+
- Average account balance of $1,500
- Account holders age 65 or greater
Platinum Checking $24.95
The Platinum checking account package has a $24.95 monthly fee. This is waived with :
- $25,000 in combined personal deposits, credit balances with U.S. Bank and/or investments through U.S. Bancorp Investments OR
- A personal trust relationship with U.S. Bank Wealth Management
- U.S. military, both former and active, can get the platinum checking without the monthly fee
Early Account Termination Fee
There is no early account termination fee to worry about
Our Verdict
There is currently a public bonus for $300. Requirements are fairly similar, but this $250 bonus has a lower direct deposit requirement and in addition you can open the easy checking account rather than having to deal with the Platinum account. Because of that some people will prefer this smaller but easier bonus. Unfortunately it’s targeted so we won’t be adding this to our list of the best checking account bonuses.
Hat tip to Miles to Memories
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
Hi, newbie churner here. I was targeted for this bonus. I applied and was approved 6/18/19. I then pushed:
$505 from Ally on 6/26:
Electronic Deposit From ALLY BANK
REF=191770088303770N00
and
$505 from Ally on 7/2
Electronic Deposit From ALLY BANK
REF=191830037386830N00
I also made 11 Amazon gift card reloads, each between $0.5 and $2.
I then pulled $1,000 back to Ally on 7/3
I was also charged a charged a $6.95 maintenance fee on 7/12 that was then waived that same day, and credited back to my account.
So far, no sign of the $250 bonus. Is it time to have some real paycheck money go in that account in order to get the bonus?
Quick update: $250 bonus posted yesterday, 8/7/2019, after only one real work DD that had posted on 7/25/2019. I therefore think pushing from Ally still work for this bank.
Any tips on transferring money out? My account has an external transfer limit of $200 with a $3 fee.
Can you use an external bank, like Wells Fargo, and pull money out? Is it possible to use the bill pay feature and send yourself a check or pay a bill?
There is no reason to take this targeted offer. I opened the Platinum Checking through the link for public offer, ACH transferred 2 $1000 from Wells Fargo and Discover within a week. The bonus was posted within a month with plenty of time to downgrade it to a Gold Checking account with no fee.
I received an email on this (I have a US Bank credit card). I’m tempted. Since I do write a few checks and a free book of checks isn’t provided with this offer, does anyone know what US Bank charges for their basic checks?
I have opened a US Bank account online 3 times in the past and it always included an initial order of checks (25 count) for free. Maybe they’ve changed policy recently.
I currently have a gold checking account. Ordering checks online through US Bank kicks me to deluxe dot com and the minimum order is 1 box for $34.05 before whatever fees and taxes there might be. It would be less expensive to order checks using other means, like Sam’s Club Checks or whatever.
They sent me 40 free checks on the $300 bonus.
any tips on possibly getting targeted for these? Over the years, I’ve never received anything.
I have received the US bank credit card bonus during the past year. Am I still eligible?
Yes
my transfer from cap360 account shows as “Electronic Deposit
Capital One N.a.” in the U.S bank checking account. Does it mean “Direct Deposit” to be eligible for bonus?
Yes.
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/u-s-bank-300-online-checking-bonus/#comment-746349
$24.95 monthly fee unless they hold lots of your money at practically no interest.
Just an FYI, I recently got my checking account shut down by US Bank.
I had a USB checking account that I opened when I first applied for the US Bank Altitude Reserve credit card. I had the USB checking account open for about a year and a half but I never really used it. I recently tried to deposit a $4,000 check at my local branch. I wrote the check to myself from myself (from a different bank account), I was only trying to transfer some funds.
Two days after my deposit, the check cleared in both of my US Bank account and in my external source account.The deposit triggered a hard closure due to “suspicious activity” and “activity not consistent with the terms and conditions”.
I spoke to the local Branch Manager, and there was nothing they could do. My account was frozen and and I have to wait until all funds were verified and I am supposed to receive a cashiers check within 2-3 weeks for the remaining funds in US Bank account. I spoke to my external bank and they were not seeing any returned checks on their end, it looks like the check cleared with no issue.
Kind of a pain, I’ve never had issues writing a check to myself before at other bank accounts, but just a precautionary warning to others who may use US Bank.
That’s really weird, and distressing. Did you have any open credit cards with them, with regular activity? Or, just a largely dormant bank account?
Me,too. US used to be easy to get there bonuses. Now with a high DD.
I also received that mailer. Is it not DD of 2 x 500 within 60 days eligible for bonus?