Update 5: Offer has now been completely removed
Update 4: It looks like if you’re based outside of Ohio and signed up, your account will be automatically denied.
Update 3: Reps are now saying this bonus is restricted to Ohio only
Update 2: Seems to be working but they just can’t handle the load…
Update: Online account opening is no longer working. Will update when it is again, you’ll get the following error:
Online Account Opening – System Unavailable
We are sorry. The Online Account Opening system is experiencing technical difficulties. Our team is working on resolving the issue. Please, try refreshing this page or come back later.
Thank you for your patience.
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $100
- Availability:
NationwideOhio only &Â US Citizens and Green Card holders only - Direct deposit required: No
- Additional requirements: Minimum opening deposit of $100
- Hard/soft pull: Soft according to CSR
- ChexSystems: Unknown
- Credit card funding: Up to $2,500. Can fund with American Express, Discover, Mastercard & Visa.
- Monthly fees: None
- Early account termination fee: 180 days, bonus forfeit. Also $50 fee charged if closed within 12 months & $5Â $5 per month inactivity fee after 396 days without any deposit activity.
- Household limit: One per address
- Expiration date: March 13th, 2017
The Offer
- Westfield Bank are offering a sign up bonus of $100 on their Dream Big checking account when you complete the following requirements:
- Open with at least $100
- You can also receive a bonus APY rate of 1.66% when on balances up to $15,000 when the following requirements are met:
- At least 12 debit card transactions per statement cycle
- Be enrolled in online banking & eStatements
- Receive at least one direct deposit OR one automatic payment per statement cycle
The Fine Print
- To obtain the $100.00 (bonus), you must open a new Dream Big Checking account with an initial deposit of at least $100.00 on or before March 13, 2017.
- The bonus will be credited to the account within 10 days of the account being opened with required minimum opening deposit.
- The new account must be opened with money not currently on deposit at Westfield Bank, FSB.
- The new account must remain open for al least 180 calendar days, or the amount of the bonus will be deducted from the account at closing.
- There is a limit of one bonus per household (same address).
- The amount of the bonus will be reported to the IRS.
- Â The qualification cycle begins on the last day of the previous statement cycle and ends on the last business day before the next statement cycle ends.
- The statement cycle ends on the 25th of each month.
- If the 25th falls on a weekend or bank holiday, the statement cycle would end on the previous business day.
- An individual business determines the timing of processing its POS transactions.
- Therefore, the bank has no control over the date items post to an account.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
There are no monthly fees on this account, you do need to keep it open for 180 days otherwise the bonus will be clawed back. Also $50 fee charged if closed within 12 months & $5 $5 per month inactivity fee after 396 days without any deposit activity.
Our Verdict
This is a pretty crazy deal, they used to be Ohio only but now they are nationwide (and this has been confirmed with their customer service representatives that this isn’t an error). The fact there is no bonus requirements and you can fund with a credit card makes this a great deal.
My main concern is that this deal is a bit too good, in the past with similar deals we have seen the financial institution try to change terms/requirements/restrictions on the fly after an unexpected flood of applications. Something people should be aware of. Fingers crossed everything goes fine with this promotion. Other thing worth mentioning is you don’t get your account details immediately.
I’ll most likely add this to our best checking bonus page in a few days time if everything is still tracking as expected.
Big thanks to reader, Gadget Geek via Deposit Accounts who let us know. Learn how to find bonuses and contribute to the site here.
Useful posts regarding bank bonuses:
- A Beginners Guide To Bank Account Bonuses
- 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
Got my certified letter from Westfield on 5/20 saying they reviewed the OCC complaint and then they listed 3 reasons why they declined to open a checking account for me: more than 5 chex inquiries, I had no previous relationship with bank and I am not in Ohio. LOL (initially they couldn’t verify my identity). Just knowing they had to pay the certified postage, field the inquiry from the OCC and devise a response made me smile.
Also, just received notice Chex removed the inquiry after I disputed it.
Get the disputes in if you haven’t yet! Got the response back from ChexSystems yesterday. Westfield did not respond so the inquiry was removed. I disputed within 5 days after trying to open the account.
What did you say in your dispute? I tried to do this and received an letter back from ChexSys that said ‘we are unsure of your request’. Do you dispute the completeness or accuracy of the information in the enclosed report?
I said dispute inquiries initiated by consumer action. The only explanation/reason I provided was “bank error”. Let them respond to that…I’ve never gotten the “unsure” response from them, maybe it is because you didn’t write anything for an explanation?
Maybe I ‘explained’ too much 😉 I’ll try the short answer. Thanks!
Thanks Sam, just sent in my dispute. Got my ChexSystems report and saw that there are two inquires about three weeks apart from Westfield.
Just got the Chex Systems response – they removed BOTH of the inquires.
“ChexSystems has been unable to verify the accuracy of the disputed information submitted by Westfield Bank within the timeframe required by the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act….therefore it has been removed from your consumer file.”
+1
However, check your report… There were TWO inquiries since the system fumbled/stalled on all the extra people applying, in the process two inquiries were done. I guess the failed web screens during the account application still went through to Chex.
Just got my ChexSystems Report. Westfield Bank did pull ChexSystems when applying for their Dream Big checking account on 02/20/2017. No word yet about ChexSystems dispute.
Had filed a CFPB complaint on Feb. 22 and Westfield finally got around to replying via Certified Letter. I am actually surprised they listed 6 total issues with my application for this account, the least/last being that I am not actually based in Ohio.
Love what they pulled from my Chex report. Since I found bank bonus churning, 2016 was quite a wild year for applications. I’m sure the person that got to right up this letter had a hoot complying all the info into a kiss-off letter.
I think the person got bored by the time they got around to mine as they only listed 3 reasons in my kiss-off letter 😀
To file the complaint with the OCC, do we have to contact Westfield to complain first? They are asking for a contact person at the bank. Can anyone post the detailed explanation of the complaint that they filed? Are you asking for compensation and to have the Chex inquiry removed?
CFPB referred and forwarded my complaint to OCC as well.
Did you complain that you wanted the Chex inquiry removed or that you actually wanted the $100 bonus?
Go big or go home 😉 I complained I wanted the $100 (not that I expect to get it). The least I’m getting out of this is some knowledge of the OCC, which is something I didn’t have before. (Admittedly I had to google what it was they did.)
I got my ChexSystems report. It was something I needed to order anyway so I used my yearly report since I didn’t know Westfield had run it since they were “unable to verify my identity”. (Westfield said I was denied because they were unable to verify my identity in an email.) Well, my report lists Westfield Bank under Inquiries Initiated by Customer Action on 2/21/2017. Just finished filing my CFPB complaint.
Just received the below email from the CFPB regarding the complaint I filed a couple weeks ago:
We received your complaint and after our review found that the best agency to help you with this issue is the OCC. We have forwarded your complaint to them.
If you have questions about your complaint or to get an update on its progress, contact the OCC at:
http://www.helpwithmybank.gov
Phone: (800) 613-6743
Fax: (713) 336 – 4301
OCC Customer Assistance Group
1301 McKinney Street, Suite 3450
Houston, TX 77010-9050
Thank you,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
consumerfinance.gov
(855) 411-CFPB (2372)
Everyone should file a CFPB complaint to get the Chex inquiry removed. False advertising through bait and switch technique.
Thank God I waited.