[Expired] Ally Bank $200 Checking Bonus (GET200)

Update 10/2/23: Deal has had a change of end date, now ends on 10/13/2023 10/12/2023.

Offer at a glance

• Maximum bonus amount: $200
• Availability: Nationwide
• Direct deposit required: Yes, $1,500
• Additional requirements: None
• Hard/soft pull: Mixed DP
• ChexSystems: Yes
• Credit card funding: None
• Monthly fees: None
• Early account termination fee: None
• Household limit: None
• Expiration date: November 30, 2023

The Offer

Direct Link to offer

• Ally Bank is offering a $200 checking bonus (they call the account a ‘Spending Account’) when you open a new checking account and get at least $1,500 in total direct deposits within 90 days.

Here’s how to go about doing this bonus:

1. Open your first Spending Account by November 30, 2023. Use code GET200. Make sure to fund your account within 30 days of opening it.
2. Set up one or more direct deposits. Make sure they total at least $1,500 within 90 days.
3. You’ll get the $200 bonus within 30 days of your account receiving $1,500 in qualified direct deposits.

The Fine Print

Terms (pdf)

• Offer valid August 21 through November 30, 2023
• New Customers can get a cash bonus of $200 for opening and funding a new Ally Bank Spending Account using offer code GET200, setting up a Qualifying Direct Deposit, and receiving at least $1,500 in Qualifying Direct Deposit payments within ninety (90) days from opening a new Eligible Account.
• Three key steps: 1. For a limited time, no later than November 30, 2023 (we may shorten this timeframe without notice), open a new Ally Bank Spending Account by using promo code GET200. Remember! You must fund your account (with any amount) within 30 days of opening it, otherwise the account will automatically close. 2. Set up a Qualifying Direct Deposit (QDD) and receive QDD payment(s) totaling a minimum of $1,500 within 90 days after opening your new Ally Bank Spending Account. 3. Keep your Ally Bank Spending Account open and in good standing until we deposit your $200 bonus, which will be within 30 days after you reach the $1,500 QDD minimum within the 90-day period outlined in Step 2.
• “New Customer” is someone who does not currently have, nor within the last twelve (12) months has had, an Ally Bank Spending Account(s) [formerly known as Ally Bank Interest Checking Account], at any ownership level, whether it be primary owner, joint/secondary owner, or fiduciary owner.
• Additionally, customers who received a cash bonus from Ally Bank within the last twelve months for setting up QDD, regardless of account type, are not eligible for this bonus and not considered a New Customer.
• “Eligible Account” is a New Ally Bank Spending Account, opened by a New Customer, with standard ownership structure (formal trust, Uniform Gift to Minors Act (UGMA) accounts, Uniform Transfer to Minors Act (UTMA) accounts, and other fiduciary ownership are excluded).
• “Account Opening & Funding Period” – To receive the $200 bonus you must open your new Eligible Account no later than November 30, 2023, and we may shorten this timeframe without notice. There is no minimum funding amount to open; however, your new Eligible Account must be funded within thirty (30) days of account opening, otherwise it will automatically close. Note a trial deposit may be required when setting up the transfer from your other financial institution – this trial deposit is not considered to be a funding transaction.
• Direct Deposit Requirement – You’ll have ninety (90) days from when you open your new Eligible Account (during the Account Opening & Funding Period) to receive a minimum of $1,500 of Qualifying Direct Deposit payments in your Eligible Account to qualify for the $200 bonus.
• Ally Proprietary Ally Proprietary Qualifying Direct Deposit (QDD) – Your Qualifying Direct Deposit needs to be an electronic deposit from an employer payroll, payroll provider service, or benefits payer (such as Social Security or Military Pay) and must be clearly identifiable by Ally as such. Person to Person payments (such as Zelle®) are not considered a QDD. Electronic check deposits made via your device (eCheck) are not considered QDD.
• Only New Customers who open and fund an Eligible Account using promo code GET200 are eligible to participate. The offer is limited to one (1) bonus per customer (even if you open more than one Eligible Account, you can only earn one $200 bonus). A joint owner on the same Eligible Account will not receive a separate, additional bonus. You must open your Eligible Account within the Account Opening & Funding Period.
• Note: it’s common for QDD transactions to take longer than thirty (30) days after account opening to be setup successfully (some may not take effect until two (2) payroll cycles), so you may need to fund your account with any amount from another source to ensure your account remains open (also note that trial deposits do not count as a funding transaction).
• By participating in this offer, we reserve the right to consider you ineligible for other offers that involve opening an Ally Bank Spending Account and/or Savings Account, and/or other offers that involve establishing direct deposit payments, that Ally Bank may have in market, both present day or in the future through December 31, 2024. If you participate in more than one offer at the same time, the first offer for which you meet the requirements will be the one that we fulfill. If we believe you’re trying to game or abuse this offer or any other offers, we reserve the right to revoke your eligibility for this offer and any other offers.
• This is an online offer only—there are no in-person, mail-in, call-in, or other offline methods to participate.
• Ally Bank will treat the bonus as interest for tax reporting purposes. You should talk to your tax advisor about potential impacts to your tax liability.

Avoiding Fees

Ally Bank Spending Account has no monthly fees to worry about.

Our Verdict

Some people might only have the Ally Online Savings account or might not have any account with Ally, and they’ll be eligible for this  $200 bonus.

It would be really sweet if this stacks with the $100 referral bonus. However, the terms stipulate that only the first offer met will be fulfilled. And so if you risk it and do both offers you’ll likely end up getting just the $100 referral offer and not this $200 bonus offer. Other suggest stacking this with an offer for $50 from Swagbucks (found in ‘Discover’). But again, the terms exclude getting both bonuses, and we don’t know how it’ll play out.

This $200 offer and the recent $100 referral offer are the first times that Ally Bank has had a direct deposit requirement, and so we are still learning what counts as direct deposit for bonus purposes with this bank. We’ll add this to our list of Best Bank Account Bonuses.

Hat tip to reader Josh