[Expired] Ends Today: Amalgamated $150 Checking Bonus – Available Nationwide

[Reposting this on 6/30 since the deal ends today.]

Offer at a glance

• Maximum bonus amount: $150
• Availability: Nationwide
• Direct deposit required: Yes, $500
• Additional requirements: None
• Hard/soft pull: Soft
• Credit card funding: $500, Visa or Mastercard only (you can also fund a savings account with another $500, but cannot be opened at the same time as checking otherwise limited to $500 across both accounts)
• Monthly fees: $10, waived with direct deposit of any amount
• Early account termination fee: None mentioned
• Expiration date: June 30th, 2016

The Offer

Direct Link  Update: here’s a better link which gives you a choice of charities

• Open a Convenience+ checking account with Amalgamated Bank and get $150 bonus after receiving a $500 direct deposit within 60-days

[Update: they’ve now added in wording of “a recurring direct deposit” (underlining is mine). Could be they now want it to come monthly.]

Aside from the $150 bonus for you, Amalgamated Bank will also donate $50 to Color of Change (or one of five other charities).

The Fine Print

• To qualify for this bonus of $150, you must open a Convenience+ Checking Account between April 15 and June 30, 2016, using the URL provided or by mentioning this special offer when you apply by visiting a branch
• “Direct deposit” includes ACH credits of payroll, pension or government payments payable to you
• Bonus will be deposited into your Convenience+ Checking Account within 30 days of getting the direct deposit
• The value of the bonus may have to be reported to the IRS; consult your tax advisor
• Offer is limited to one per customer, is subject to withdrawal at any time, and is valid only for accounts in good standing

Avoiding Fees

There is a $10 monthly fee on this account. The only way to get it waived is to have a monthly direct deposit of any amount.

“A qualifying direct deposit is an electronic deposit of your salary, pension, Social Security, or other regular monthly income to your account. Transfers from one account to another, or deposits made at a branch location, ATM or through a mobile device, do not qualify as direct deposit. The monthly service fee will be waived for the first statement cycle to allow you to receive direct deposit to your account. After the first statement cycle the monthly service fee will be assessed unless your account received direct deposit.”

Geographic Availability

Amalgamated Bank allows anyone to open an account with them online. The offer landing page will bring you to an application page for anyone in the USA.

Credit Card Funding

The system gives the option to do the initial account funding with a Visa or Mastercard, credit or debit. Max funding is $500. You can view what coded as a purchase or cash advance here.

If you open a savings account at a different time to the checking account, you can fund that account with another $500. Thanks to reader, Charles.

Hard/Soft Pull

A friend opened the account and reported that he did not get any hard pull. It’s probably a Chex inquiry or a soft pull. More data points here.

Our Verdict

This offer hits most of the right buttons: it’s a soft pull, it’s available online, it’s available nationally, it comes with $500 in credit card funding, and it’s $150 which is decent.

The downside is the direct deposit requirement; it requires an initial direct deposit of $500, and – subsequently – a direct deposit of any amount to keep it fee free. This obstacle is somewhat mitigated by the fact that the bonus is promised to post within 30-days of receiving the $500 direct deposit; you can probably get away with just one or two direct deposits before closing out the account. There’s no mention in the fee schedule of any Early Termination Fee, and we thus assume there is none.

We’ll add this bonus to our list of the best bank bonuses. Check out our full list of bank account promotions here.

Useful posts regarding bank bonuses:

• A Beginners Guide To Bank Account Bonuses
• PSA: Don’t Call The Bank
• Introduction To 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

Hat tip and thanks to friend Allen for letting us know about this offer and for providing other necessary information