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Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $100
- Availability: Nationwide
- Direct deposit required: None
- Additional requirements: Deposit $100+
- Hard/soft pull: Unknown
- ChexSystems: Unknown
- Credit card funding: Unknown
- Monthly fees: $0
- Early account termination fee:
- Household limit: None
- Expiration date: July 4th, 2018
The Offer
- Denizen is offering a $100 bonus when you open a new account and deposit $100 or more on your first deposit (also need an average balance of $100 for 60 days according to this comment)
The Fine Print
- Bonus/Account Information: Account offer is not available to existing Denizen customers.
- To receive the $100 Deposit Match bonus:
- 1) Open a new Denizen account, which is subject to approval;
- 2) Deposit $100 or more on first deposit.
- After you have completed all the above requirements, we’ll deposit the bonus in your new account within 90 business days.
- You can receive only one new Denizen account related bonus each calendar year and only one bonus per account.
- Bonuses are considered interest and will be reported on IRS Form 1099-INT (or Form 1042-S, if applicable).
- Only one denizen account per person (One SSN and/or One EU Tax ID). Multiple submissions under multiple emails or phones for one person can not be used. Submitting multiple applications may result in your Denizen account to be closed.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Early Account Termination Fee
If the account is closed within six months, the bonus is forfeit and deducted at account closing.
Our Verdict
I think whoever created the bonus page must be a doctor of credit reader, as they basically ripped off our ‘offer at a glance’ section. Sadly they didn’t include whether it’s a soft/hard pull though. Denizen is a start up that has been backed by BBVA, it looks like it’s mainly targeted towards those living abroad or working in different counties. They have no monthly fees, no ATM fees, no transfer fees and no foreign exchange fees.
You also receive a free Visa card (Mastercard debit card is for those in Europe). Overall that sounds pretty good, especially when coupled with a $100 sign up bonus. My only concern would be what exchange rate is being used, according to the knowledge base they use the prior days exchange rate for direct transactions and Visa/Mastercard set the rate for the debit card transaction. For consumers it’s basically impossible to get a better rate than what Visa/Mastercard set so this is a good deal. The general thought is that Mastercard offers slightly better rates than Visa, but it shouldn’t be a huge difference and tiny compared to cards charging 3% fees.
Looks like the opening process requires a passport and you need to show the passport and your face on video. It will also take up to 24-48 hours, so won’t know for sure if it’s a hard/soft pull. If it’s a soft pull then this bonus is definitely worth doing and would possibly replace Charles Schwab as the best account for overseas travel.
Big thanks to reader, Bob S 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
- 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
Just got an e-mail from Denizen, saying they are permanently closing operations on December 17, 2019 because they failed.
I never actually used the account after getting the bonus, but kept it open.
Received an email from Denizen today:
Denizen is Saying Goodbye
We created Denizen as the premier account for global citizens, making international banking easier for those of us who call the world our home. Together we built a product that allowed our fellow Denizens to manage their funds from wherever, whenever.
While we are proud of what we have created together, Denizen was not able to achieve the scale needed to sustain operations in the current market. It’s been three years of tremendous learnings and collaborative workings and we thank you for being a part of our community.
As a result, we will be closing and our last day of account operations will be December 17th, 2019.
What this means for you
On December 17th, 2019, we will close your Denizen account, including any underlying bank account, debit card, and access to the application that has been established as part of your use of the Denizen service.
You may continue using the Denizen service until sixty days from this notice, as provided in the User Agreement for Denizen Service. If you are a Founding Member nothing will change for you during this time. If you are a Global Member, you will be considered a Founding Member from this day forward and will be subject to the terms of the Founders Fee Schedule (attached) for your remaining time at Denizen meaning you will not be charged any monthly membership fees by Denizen.
Because your access to the Denizen application will be discontinued on the date mentioned above, we recommend that prior to such date you use the application to download any account records that you may need. After that date, you will need to contact customer support for assistance with such matters.
Please contact our Customer Support team in order to validate the address where we should send a check with the remaining funds in your Denizen account after its closure. You can also transfer all funds out of your Denizen account before December 17th, 2019, and your account will be automatically closed. If we don’t receive your instructions prior to the date of the closure of your Denizen Account, or if you don’t otherwise request to close your account prior to such date, we will mail to you at your address on record with Denizen a cashier’s check in the amount of your Denizen balance.
The Denizen team thanks you for being part of this journey.
Please contact our customer support at [email protected] or call us at +1 855-220-0472 (US) or +34 91 123 72 24 (EU) for more information.
Has anyone used this oversees? I would like a backup ATM card. I have a Schwab ATM.
Any ideas if you’re travelling, whether you need to submit a travel notification on the account?
Received my $100 bonus
7/2 Opened account
7/4 $120 from Ally posted (transferred via Denizen app)
7/6 Trial credits/debits from Ally to link Denizen from Ally
7/6 >$5 square cash transaction
7/7 >$5 Amazon load
7/7 >$5 Comcast payment
7/10 Added $20 from Ally (was worried about average balance, forget exactly why)
9/17 Denizen Bonus $100 posted (also received email subject “100 Ways To Say Thank You”)
FWIW, I am planning to keep this account to use as a fee-free international debit card.
Just needed manual approval, should be fixed now.
I got my bonus today.
But how can I transfer out? I only see an option to transfer in to Denizen.
How can we transfer funds out? Or do we need to pull from external account?
In the app go to: Move Money, Send from my Account.
By the way my account was opened on 6/22, bonus posted on 9/10.
I signed up with the lesser terms.
– 5/9 Applied
– 5/31 Approved
– 6/8 $105 ACH transfer deposit
– 6/11 1x $1.50 Amazon gift card reload
– 9/11 $100 Denizen Bonus posted
Easy as that, but when they said it could take 90 days, they weren’t joking.
Bonus posted today! 3 x $5 reloads worked, and kept the balance over $100 the entire time. Cool!
$100 Bonus DP
– 6/15 – Application submitted and approved
– 6/19 – $100 funding from Ally bank posted
– 6/27 – 3x $5 Amazon GC reloads
– 9/10 – $100 bonus posted