[Expired] Ally Bank Deposit Bonus of up to $1,000, Existing Customers INCLUDED [Last Days]

This deal has now expired, click here to view the best current checking bonuses.

Update 10/20/18: Reposting as you need to sign up before 11:59 p.m. EST on 10/21/18.

Offer at a glance

• Max Bonus Amount: 1% of deposit, up to $1,000
• Minimum: Minimum $1,000 deposit of new money
• Maximum Balance: $100,000 deposit gets max $1,000 bonus
• Direct Deposit Required: No
• Additional Requirements: No
• Hard/Soft Pull: YMMV (perhaps savings is soft and checking is hard)
• Credit Card Funding: None
• Monthly Fees: None
• Availability: Nationwide, new or existing users
• Expiration Date: October 21, 2018
• Insured: FDIC

The Offer

Direct Link to offer

• Ally Bank is offering a 1% bonus on your deposit to a checking, savings, money market, or CD account, up to $1,000. Offer available to new customers and existing customers who bring new money in.

For example, if you deposit $10,000 in new funds, you’ll get $100 bonus. If you deposit $100,000 in new funds, you’ll max out the bonus of $1,000.

The Fine Print

• New or existing Ally Bank account customers who 1) Enroll for the Cash Bonus through the designated website during Enrollment Period AND 2) Deposit new funds into their eligible account(s) between 10/08/18 and 11/05/18 will receive a Cash Bonus of 1% of their new deposit, up to a maximum of $1,000.
• New deposits must remain in the eligible account(s) through 1/15/19 in order to qualify for the Cash Bonus.
• Withdrawals made during the Retention Period may reduce the Cash Bonus amount.
• Cash Bonus payout will occur within 30 calendar days following fulfillment of these requirements.
• Eligibility – This offer is only valid for new or existing personal Ally Bank Online Savings, Money Market, Interest Checking, and CD accounts.
• Account(s) must be open, funded, and in good standing from the time the new funds are deposited into the account(s) until the time of Cash Bonus payout.
• Minimum new deposit amount to receive a Cash Bonus is $1,000 into the eligible account(s).
• Limit one Cash Bonus per customer of no more than $1,000.
• Ally Bank reserves the right to refuse to open an account or pay out the Cash Bonus, at any time, for any reason.
• Deposit Retention Period – Qualifying funds must remain in the eligible account(s) from 11/05/18 until 1/15/19. Any withdrawals prior to 1/15/19 may reduce the qualifying funds total, thereby reducing Cash Bonus payout.
• Eligible Account(s) – Includes any single or combination of Ally Bank Online Savings, Money Market, Interest Checking, and CD accounts.
• Excluded Account(s) – Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), Trust Accounts, Custodial Accounts, Uniform Gift to Minors Act Accounts (UGMA), and Uniform Transfers to Minors Act Accounts (UTMA), Ally Invest accounts.
• Enroll – To participate, the customer must enroll at our website on ally.com/payback during the Enrollment Period and must submit the email address linked to the Ally Bank account that the new funds are deposited to. This is an online offer only. There are no in-person, mail-in, call-in, or other offline methods to enroll for this bonus. Failure to enroll through ally.com/payback or failure to provide an email address linked to the account will disqualify the customer from eligibility for the Cash Bonus.
• Enrollment Period – The timeframe in which a customer can enroll for the Cash Bonus begins at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on 10/15/18 and continues through 11:59 p.m. EST on 10/21/18. These timeframes can be modified or shortened at any time, without any notice to customers.
• Account Opening & Funding – Accounts must be approved, opened AND funded by 11/05/18 to qualify. New deposit of funds must be posted in the eligible Account(s) by 11/05/18. Pending deposits, transfers “in-flight”, or returns on or after the funding deadline will not qualify for the Cash Bonus. Cash Bonus is calculated using the total deposit of new, external funds received into any eligible account(s) between 10/08/18 and 11/05/18. The new funds deposited into the account(s) must be from outside the Ally Financial family of companies. Transfers from other banks can take multiple days to complete, so be sure to initiate any transfers well in advance of 11/05/2018.
• Cash Bonus – Eligible customers that fulfill required enrollment and eligibility requirements will be paid the Cash Bonus within 30 calendar days to an account held by the enrolled customer. If the enrolled customer has more than one account with Ally Bank, the account that receives the Cash Bonus will be determined using the following logic:
  • Online Savings Account with highest balance
  • If no Online Savings Account: Money Market Account with highest balance
  • If no Online Savings or Money Market Account: Interest Checking Account with highest balance
  • If no Online Savings, Money Market, or Interest Checking Account: CD with highest balance. The Cash Bonus will be paid as interest during the term of the CD.
• The Cash Bonus payout amount will be rounded up to the nearest dollar. The maximum Cash Bonus payout amount per customer is $1,000. The minimum Cash Bonus payout amount is $10.
• Ally will treat the Cash Bonus as interest for tax reporting purposes. Please consult your tax advisor for potential impacts to your 2019 tax liability.

Our Verdict

Terms are conflicting about whether the funds need to remain there until January 15th or until payout (which may not be until February 15th) so worth waiting until payout. Also some conflict whether funds need to be deposited by 10/31 or 11/5. (I believe it means that there must be some initial funding by 10/31, but you can continue adding funds until 11/5. Maybe worth doing it all by 10/31 out of caution.)

Terrific deal and very nice that they include existing Ally customers too. If your funds are tied up for 3 months, the bonus amounts to a 4% bump on top of their regular competitive interest rates – their savings rate is currently 1.9% APY which would give you 5.9% for those months. Even if we’ll be more generous and give 4 months of tied up funds, you’ll still get a 3% bump, and a total APY of 4.9% on those months.

I don’t have an Ally account, but thinking of opening one up for this deal. Debating whether to open a savings account with 1.90% rate or do the 11-month no penalty CD with 2.10% rate. Just keep in mind, you have to empty out the CD all at once if you decide to break it. 

Note (update): a lot of people are asking about taking money out of Ally and then sending it back. That probably won’t work since the qualification date already began on October 8th so your balances won’t have increased from that date.

As always, check our page for Best Savings Rates here. 

Hat tip to reader Ryan