Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $500
- Availability: AL, CA, IL, NJ, NY, TX, VA, WA. Must be opened in branch. [Branch locations]
- Direct deposit required: No
- Additional requirements: See below
- Hard/soft pull: Soft pull
- ChexSystems: Unknown,
sensitiveno longer sensitive (one person approved with lots of inquiries) - Credit card funding: None
- Monthly fees: $7, avoidable
- Early account termination fee: Unknown
- Household limit: None
- Expiration date: September 30, 2021
Contents
The Offer
- Bank of Hope is offering a bonus of $500 when you open a new checking account and complete the following requirements:
- Maintain an average balance of at least $20,000 for the first 4 months of account opening
- Complete the following requirements within 90 days of account opening:
- Request a debit card and make at least one debit card purchase or ATM deposit/withdrawal
- Register for Personal Online Banking or Business Online Banking
- Enroll in e-Statements
The Fine Print
- Eligible Customers” are (1) new or existing customers who do not currently have a Bank of Hope personal or business checking account, (2) be at least 18 years old and (3) furnish or have a valid Form W-9 or Form W-8BEN on fi le with Bank of Hope and are not subject to backup withholding.
- Customer who currently has an existing personal or business checking account(s) is not eligible.
- Eligible Customer must open a new checking account and enroll to participate in the Cash Bonus Offer at the time of account opening or within 30 days of account opening.
- By enrolling in the Cash Bonus Offer, customer agrees to be bound by these Terms and Conditions.
- “Eligible Account” must be a personal or business checking account opened by Eligible Customer during the Promotion Period with new money.
- New money is defined as funds not currently on deposit with Bank of Hope.
- Only the first checking account opened during the Promotion Period is eligible for the offer.
- Subsequent checking account(s) opened under the same account ownership type and account title are not eligible.
- Limit one Cash Bonus per account.
- A new checking account opened after closing an existing checking account during the Promotion Period is not eligible for the promotion.
- Eligible Account must remain open, and in good standing from the account opening date of your Eligible Account until the Cash Bonus is paid. The Cash Bonus will be paid to your Eligible Account within six (6) months from the account opening date.
- IMPORTANT TAX INFORMATION ($500 Cash Bonus Offer): The Cash Bonus will be reported on IRS Form 1099-INT to the primary account holder on the account, in the year received, as required by applicable law. Customer is responsible for any applicable taxes. Consult your tax advisor.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
The regular checking account has a $7 monthly fee. This is waived with a minimum daily balance of $500, or average daily balance of $1,000 during each statement is maintained.
Early Account Termination Fee
Wasn’t able to find a fee schedule so unsure if there is any early account termination fee or not.
Our Verdict
Interest rate is 0.01% so basically nothing. This is really a savings bonus rather than a checking bonus due to the $20,000 requirement. $500 bonus for $20,000 deposit is a 2.5%, annualized is 7.5%. Worth doing if you have the $20,000 to spare for four months. Will add this to our best bank bonus page.
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
does schwab ach count as dd for this?
Bank of Hope $388 personal checking bonus. Use code,
LUNAR
https://www.bankofhope.com/personal-checking-offer
“How to Receive Your $388 Bonus*
Open a new Bank Simply Checking account by February 28, 2025, using promo code: LUNAR
Set up and complete qualifying direct deposit totaling $1,000 or more within 90 days of account opening”
Online apps are accepted for this promo.
Applied last night, went through PII verification, and received a “we are reviewing your application” screen. One minute later I got a denial letter.
I was eventually approved and was able to open an Online account
I hope the mods make this a new post so we can get some DPs for it.
What’s the significance of it being $388?
3 8’s is chinese lucky number
But it’s only two…
If you zero out your account they will close it automatically after 5 business days.
I opened for P1, P2, P3 and P4 on July 6 and just got the bonus yesterday. Anyone know how to conveniently close the account and if there is early termination fee? Based on the comments does not appear so. I would rather have to go into the branch to close though.
P2 and myself seems to have got the bonus. We opened on July 2, 2021. The balances for us have increased by $500 but there is no record of transaction yet. Maybe they are still posting it so the transaction should be visible in the morning.
I opened my account on 6/23 and complied with the terms, and have NOT yet received the bonus.
Is anyone else that opened an account on or around 6/23 still waiting for the bonus?
I want to make sure I’m not the only one. It seems many have already received their bonus who opened around when I did.
I opened my account on 6/19 in NYC is a Saturday and with an open deposit check $25, clear on 6/21. Transfer $20050.00 on 6/24 balance $20075.00. Make a debt purchase $10.29 purchase on 6/25. Balance $20064.71 since then. Called today, was told I am not qualify for the promotion, due to my 4 months balance under $20000.00. I think it is ridiculous. They said, they called me and left message. I never received any call or message. Going to file report with NY State Department of Finance how to cheat people.
I think you messed up because you had 3 days were your balance was only $25. For this bonus they start the count right away so for you to have an average balance of $20k for your first statement, you would have needed to deposit much more then “$20050.00 on 6/24” to make up for the 3 days where your balance was so low. I did the same thing as you and only deposited about a $100 for my initial deposit but calculated the amount I would need to deposit on my second deposit a few days later that would bring the average up to $20k for the first statement cycle.
By my estimates, you had an average balance below $19,600. You should have deposited some amount greater than $20,500 instead of $20,050 to have arrived on 6/24 to meet the offer requirements. That is certainly frustrating, but they are not acting deceptively based on the information you provided. You could definitely make the argument that they should have clearer digital tracking of offer progress, though.
As expected: Opened in branch 06/23/21 with 20k deposit by check, fulfilled easy additional requirements over next 2 months, $500 promotional bonus posted 11/18/21.
Thanks for the heads up. I just checked and my bonus also posted on 11/18. I opened my account 1 day later than you.
You might want to notify people that the bonus possibly posted in their accounts earlier this month.
No problem WC. Some were calling this one the Bank of Hope and Pray but like most financial hubs, if you fulfill the terms exactly as stated and not look for shortcuts or end-arounds instead, it’s pretty easy pickings.
I wrote that comment to you. It was not
William Charles.
Ah yes. As you can see, I don’t comment on here too often.
Closed my bank of hope checking. No early termination fee. Can close checking account right after bonus posts.
How did you close the account? Call?
Walked in the branch. Took 10 mins no questions.
Are there early termination fees for closing the bank after the bonus and before 6 months?
same 50k and 49.5k debit today
What was your opening date?
6/21/21