Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: Android Smartphone
- Availability: CT, DC, DE, FL, MD, ME, MA, NC, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, SC, VT, & VA only.
- Direct deposit required: No
- Additional requirements: None
- Hard/soft pull: Soft
- Credit card funding: Up to $300
- Monthly fees: Up to $25, waive-able
- Early account termination fee: Possible $15 ($0 after 90 days)
- Expiration date: Unkown
The Offer
- Open a new personal checking account online and receive a free Android phone.
You will have to lock yourself into a 2-year agreement and there isn’t a whole lot of detail on the site about the phone or the plan. Presumably, it will be a standard 2-year contact with one of the major carriers.
Update: A reader found a link to the available phones – Link.
The Fine Print
- Android phone offer is eligible on all checking accounts.
- Checking account must be open online.
- Offer valid while supplies last.
- Phone offer must be redeemed within 60 days of the submitted application.
- Free phone offer is only available with select service plans, data and messaging features and a new two-year subscriber agreement.
- Price valid for primary and secondary lines only.
- Phone offer is subject to identity, credit, and/or eligibility check, and may require a deposit.
- Contract renewal and upgrade options may also be available for existing eligible customers, however price may vary. Service may not be available in all markets or on all wireless carriers.
- Must be 18 or older to qualify.
- Not valid with any other offer or for business accounts.
- Limited time offer.
Avoiding Fees
All checking accounts are eligible for this offer:
- TD Convenience – $15 Monthly Fee, waived when you maintain $100 balance
- TD Student – $0 monthly fee, available for full-time students under the age of 24
- TD Simple – $5.99 monthly fee, non-waivable
Those are the basic options. See more options here.
Early Account Termination Fee
In their online fee schedule, there is no mention of an early account termination fee. Whereas on this help page they say there is an early account termination fee of $15 if you close the account within 90 days. That page does redirect to the Canadian site so that may be the difference. In any case, we’ll be cautious and say to keep the account for 90 days before closing.
Our Verdict
This bank bonus is a real easy one; just choose the TD Convenience option and park $100 in it to keep it fee-free. There are no additional requirements. Even students can get this deal as well using the Student checking account.
It’s unclear what the tax implications are for this offer – it’s possible they’ll issue a 1099, but I don’t see that mentioned in the fine print and in a previous offer they did mention it, so I’m optimistic that there won’t be any 1099 for this.
It’s also unclear which phone is being offered and that makes it really hard to put a value on this deal. Often you can get certain phones free with a 2-year contract, in which case TD isn’t doing anything for you. Newer phones usually don’t have such offers; if TD is offering a better phone there can be a nice value here.
If anyone goes for this offer, let us know more details on what phone is offered and which plan you need to lock into.
HT: Reader Carlos
I tried to get a free phone but they say my Verizon info I incorrect they thought if I opened an acct it would help but did not so please close any account in my name email keithnmike @msn.com
Thank you
I’ve got two issues I’m desperate for answers for about this offer. I chose the $45 plan and then Verizon sends me an estimated bill near worth $130..I’m honestly scared out of my wits because I’m just a student and I wasn’t expecting this high bill. Will this amount ALWAYS be my bill? Or am I going to have to cancel this service and switch carriers?
Also if I do cancel and switch, Do I have to pay verizon a Termination Fee, and do I have to send back the phone? Since I technically got it from TD…It’s all so confusing for a student and TD Bank doesn’t give proper answers at all…I can’t afford to pay a $130 monthly bill for -excuse my french- Shit service.
I got this offer last month when I created my account. The phones are not that great Samsung S5 i believe is the best one they have but they all require 2 year agreements which defeats the purpose pluse the S5 is almost 2-3 years old now as the S7 should be announced sometime this year or early next year. I would pass on this
People need to compare the contract price of a $100+ plan vs a no-contract $40/month plan. That’s $1,440 over that same 24 month contract for your “free” phone. People never do the simple math to realize how much cheaper it would be to just buy a phone outright and then be free to switch carriers whenever they want. This 2 year contract business model is only used in the US, and it is a dying dinosaur. It has lasted so long because it’s so easy to swindle American consumers. And you can buy top end, brand new Nexus phones right now for $300.
I found the weblink to the phones
http://tdbank.wasvcs.com/catalog/list
Ooh, thanks, I’ll add that in.
The android phones are not the latest models. I opened an unsecured personal line of credit which had the same free phone offer. The latest android phone, offered through carriers Sprint and Verizon, is the Samsung S5. So nothing new.
Or you could get $150 cash
https://dannydealguru.wordpress.com/2015/10/14/td-bank-150-checking-bonus-online-no-dd/
Nevermind, Dead deal.
Chuck, a lot of service providers are pulling out of that free phone with a 2 year contract jazz.
Verizon, and Sprint are on the leasing game now.
If im wrong I apologize but I dont see many free phone deals out there anymore.
I’m not really knowledgable about this, but I searched around and it seemed like there are free phone offers. So the real question to me is if this TD deal will be getting you the latest and greatest phone or just a mediocre phone which you could have gotten free anyway with a 2-year contract.
I don’t know the answer to the question. If you do the bonus, let us know what phone they offer and what plans you had to choose from and which carriers.
Hi Doc,
Love your work, and your sense of ethics. I notice that the “Best Bank Account Bonuses For” page hasn’t been updated since September. When can we expect an update?
Once again, awesome blog. Thanks!
Will is busy now. Hopefully he’ll do it in December.