[This offer has expired, click here to view the best current checking promos]
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $150
- Availability: Wisconsin only
- Direct deposit required: Optional, ACH transfers should count as they are specifically mentioned
- Additional requirements: See below
- Hard/soft pull:Â Soft (according to the rep)
- Credit card funding: Unsure
- Monthly fees: $0-$10
- Early account termination fee:Â $20, 180 days
- Expiration date: June 13th, 2014
The Offer
- Open any checking account with first bank financial centre and receive $150 when you complete one of the following qualifying activities within 45 days of account opening:
- A direct deposit credit (ACH credit) of $250 or more
- Five signature based debit card transactions
The Fine Print
- Offer only available on personal accounts
- Cash bonus will be deposited into the account within 60 days of account opening
- Only one offer per household
- Only valid for new checking accounts
- Only available to Wisconsin residents
- Accounts can be opened via phone on (888) 569-9909 or at one of the branches in Wisconsin: Brookfield, Germantown, Grafton, Hartford, Hartland, Menomonee Falls, Oconomowoc or West Bend.
- Accounts must be opened with new money not currently banked at with First Bank Financial Centre
- Valid until June 13th, 2014
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
First Bank Financial Centre do not post their fee schedule online, we’ve e-mailed them to try and get a copy. There is no mention of any early account termination fees, but that doesn’t mean they don’t charge them. We will update this post as we get more information.
Update: This account does come with an early account termination fee of $20 if you cancel it within the first 180 days of account opening.
Monthly Fees $0-$10
There are four different accounts and the monthly fees vary based on the account:
- Free checking: $0 month
- Value checking: $6 month, each debit card transaction lowers this by $0.25
- Premier checking: $10 a month, waived if $500 minimum daily balance
- Classic checking: $0 month
Our Verdict
If this is a soft credit inquiry to open then it’s a great deal for those living in Wisconsin (it looks like this will just be a chex systems inquiry). The requirements are easy to meet (a simple ACH push), the bonus pays quickly and you don’t need to do anything to avoid monthly fees which makes the early account termination fee unimportant.
This deal would only be made better if it’s possible to fund by credit card (we’re unsure if this is possible) to earn some additional money via a rewards credit card. If you decide to do this deal, please share the information you find out with us in the comments. We’ve added it to the state specific checking promotions, it didn’t make it to the best checking promo page due to it only being available to Wisconsin residents.
Direct link to offer | Screenshot of offer