Deal has ended, view more bank account bonuses by clicking here.
Update 5/3/25: Deal is back, this time for $350. Valid until July 3, 2025. Hat tip to ShawntheShawn
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount:Â $250
- Availability:Â TN, GA, AL. Must live near a branch otherwise opening a checking account won’t be possible
- Direct deposit required:Â Yes, $1,000+
- Additional requirements:Â None
- Hard/soft pull:Â Soft pull
- ChexSystems: Unknown, sensitive
- Credit card funding:Â None
- Monthly fees:Â None
- Early account termination fee:Â None
- Household limit:Â None
- Expiration date:
April 29th, 2019June 28th, 2019July 3, 2025
Contents
The Offer
- FirstBank is offering a bonus of $350 when you open a new checking account and complete the following requirements:
- Post and settle a total of $1000.00 or more in direct deposits into the account during a statement cycle good through September 30, 2025
- On the last day of the statement cycle in which the qualifying direct deposit requirements are met, the account balance must be $0.01 or above
The Fine Print
- Offer extended February 15, 2019 thru April 29, 2019.
- This offer may be modified or cancelled at any time.
- To receive the $250 opening bonus: Open a new eligible FirstBank consumer checking account (eligible accounts are highlighted at FirstBankOnline.com/250Bonus).
- Keep the account in good standing for 60 days.
- Have a single monthly ACH direct deposit of at least $300 after 60 days of account opening date.
- Complete all requirements on or before October 31, 2019.
- Customers with an existing FirstBank checking account are not eligible for this bonus offer.
- You must not have closed a FirstBank checking account within 180 days of the offer start date (February 15, 2019).
- Limit one (1) bonus per customer.
- Enrollment and participation in this promotion does not automatically guarantee eligibility.
- Bonus Processing: After meeting the bonus qualification requirements, the $250 account opening bonus will be credited to the new FirstBank checking account up to eight (8) weeks after all qualifications are met.
- The $250 bonus will appear on the monthly checking account statement when the bonus is credited to the account holder’s checking account.
- The bonus is limited to one (1) per customer.
- If a bonus is earned it will be reported to the IRS as interest, in the year received, as required by applicable law and will be reported on IRS form 1099-MISC for the year received. Customer is responsible for any applicable taxes and consulting a tax advisor.
- For additional fees, see our FirstBank Consumer Schedule of Fees. This offer is non-transferable and may not be combined with any other offers.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
Essential checking account has no monthly fees to worry about as long as you opt for paperless statements.
Early Account Termination Fee
I wasn’t able to find any mention of an early account termination fee in the fee schedule.
Our Verdict
Seems like a good deal considering it’s a soft pull and there are no monthly fees to worry about. It’s annoying that you need to live near a branch to have the option to open a checking account but this deal is still worth doing if you’re eligible. I’ll add this to our best checking bonus page.  If anybody has any specific experience with this bank then please share your experiences in the comments.
Hat tip to reader Andrew D
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
After going through their “3 step application” which asked for more data than any bank app I recall in recent memory… I got a note the next day saying I’m denied for “Number of inquiries to other financial institutions.” They pulled ChexSystems and my “risk score” was 741.
I got approved yesterday in branch with a chex score of 605. Sheesh.
Acct opened: 5/6/25
Real DD $340 5/30/25
Real DD $340 6/6/25
Real DD $340 6/13/25
Real DD $340 6/20/25
Real DD $340 6/27/25
Bonus Posted $350 6/30/25
(1st statement that cut only had 1 DD on it or I probably would have received Bonus quicker….my Employer DD takes about 3 pay periods to add new bank)
I was approved but only after having to answer more questions over a longer period of time (more than a week) than any bank account I’ve ever opened. I haven’t received the bonus yet but today I learned that FirstBank doesn’t allow transfers to external banks, i.e. no outgoing ACH transfers. Your only option is to use Zelle if you want to transfer money from FirstBank to another bank account. Thus, once I’ve earned the bonus, I’m closing my account.
I called about this and you can actually use the Bill Pay option to “Pay a Person” (they use the iPay Bill Pay system) and you just setup yourself as a Payee with it and do the Electronic Direct Deposit option, you input your other banks routing and account number and it works. I’ve been using it weekly to move money to my primary bank, each time it has only taking 1 business day to transfer as well. No fees either.
Denied for Chex.
What DD methods work?
DP: I was able to go into the branch and open the account with Chex score of 610. Was denied online a month back.
Account Opened: 6/20/2025
Real Employer DD: $1050 on 6/30/2025
Bonus Received: $350 on 07/01/2025
Does it worth to visit a branch? I believe I’ll get instant denial if apply online.
Got denied today after applying over the weekend. Chex score was 818 out of 899. What a joke.
can someone verify is this hard or soft
Wondering the same thing. Did you find it out?
My wife applied online and was immediately rejected due to chex. I went in branch and was approved with no issues. My chex is about as high as my credit score (over 800). Wife will apply again in branch next month, will update.
Was your Chex unfrozen when you tried to applied in branch? Branch is 45 mins drive , so just wanted to see if it’s worth the drive with Chex frozen. Thank you!