[Expired]SunTrust $100/$200 Checking Promotion

This bonus has expired, but there is a new bonus for $150, click here for more information.

Offer at a glance

• Maximum bonus amount: $200
• Availability: Nationwide: Possibly only: AL, AR, FL, GA, MD, MS, NC, SC, TN, WV, VA, and D.C
• Direct deposit required: Yes, up to $2,000. Almost anything will trigger this requirement, but they often request you bring in pay stubs to prove your depositing your full pay check into your account.
• Additional requirements: Yes, see below.
• Hard/soft pull: Soft pull
• Credit card funding: Up to $1,000 (although there have been reports of cash advances and issues with CC funding)
• Monthly fees: $7, waivable with direct deposit of $100 or more or minimum daily balance of $500 or more
• Early account termination fee: $25 if closed within 6 months
• Expiration date: None

The Offer

Direct link to offer

Remember to use the promotional code “FALL14CHECKING”. Otherwise you might not receive your bonus.

• Receive $100 bonus if you:
  • Make a direct deposit of $1,000 or more and
  • Make one online bill pay of at least $50
• Receive a $200 bonus if you:
  • Make a direct deposit of $2,000 or more and
  • Make two online bill payments of at least $50 each

The Fine Print

• All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
• Direct deposit and bill pay requirements must be completed within 60 days of opening the account
• You can only receive one bonus and limit of one offer per household
• You must have a balance of at least $1 when they go to deposit your bonus, otherwise you will not receive it
• Bonus will post to your account within 8 weeks of you completing the requirements
• A qualifying direct deposit is a direct deposit of your salary, pension, social security, or other regular income. In the past this has not been enforced, click here to see what has triggered the bonus in the past.

Avoiding Fees

The full fee schedule can be viewed by clicking here.

Everyday Checking $7 Monthly Fee

You can avoid the $7 monthly fee by having a minimum daily balance of $500 or more, or receiving a payroll direct deposit of $100 or more.

Early Account Termination Fee

If you cancel your account within six months, they will charge an early account termination fee of $25

Our Verdict

SunTrust have been offering a lot of checking promotions this year:

• SunTrust $300 InStore Branch Checking Promotion
• [Expired] $100 SunTrust Checking Account Bonus With A $500+ Direct Deposit

I think that this is the best bonus that SunTrust has offered so far though, I didn’t like the $300 InStore offer because it required you to keep your direct deposits active so long (although it is a good bonus if you want to switch your payroll permanently) and when the $100 promo came along I thought SunTrust were still asking for paystub verification (they no longer are).

I’m going to apply for this offer if I can (SoCal might not be able to), at the moment their New Account Center is down for scheduled maintenance. Here is how I’ll complete the deal:

• Open everyday checking account, I will not bother funding with a credit card as people have reported issues in the past.
• Transfer $2,000+ from an existing account to trigger the first part of the bonus
• Make two online bill payments over $50 to trigger the second part of the bonus
• Remove funds back into a checking account that earns at a high rate of interest, making sure to leave at least $500 to keep the account fee free
• Wait for my bonus to post
• Close the account after six months to avoid any early account termination fees

Should be a pretty easy way to earn $200. You could potentially make another $20+ by funding with a credit card that earns at a high rate on every day purchases, but lots of complaints in the past of this not working so I’m not going to bother. If you’d like to see more bank sign up bonuses then click here.

Direct link to offer | Screenshot of offer

Hat tip to jadesphere from Slickdeals