Update 11/25/24: There is now a $350 bonus in Houston, TX
Update 8/5/24: Now $350 in AZ & $300 in OK. Hat tip to Churnelius Caesar
Update 9/13/23: Bonus is back and now $300 in AZ & $250 in OK.
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount:Â $200 checking & $100 savings bonus
- Availability:Â Available to Arizona & Oklahoma residents only
- Direct deposit required:Â Optional
- Additional requirements:Â See below
- Hard/soft pull:Â Soft
- ChexSystems:Â Yes
- Credit card funding:Â Unknown
- Monthly fees:Â $6, avoidable
- Early account termination fee:Â 90 days, bonus forfeit
- Household limit:Â One
- Expiration date:Â 6/30/2023
The Offer
Direct link to offers:Â AZÂ |Â OK | Houston, TX
- MidFirst Bank is offering a $300 checking bonus. Bonus requirements are as follows:
- $200 checking bonus when you open a MidFirst Bank checking account and complete one of the following requirements within 90 days of opening your account:
- Receive at least $500 in direct deposits
- Complete 10 debit card purchases and three Zelle® transactions
- Three Zelle® transactions
$100 savings bonus when you open a Summit Savings account and deposit at least $10,000 in new money and maintain that for 90 days
- $200 checking bonus when you open a MidFirst Bank checking account and complete one of the following requirements within 90 days of opening your account:
The Fine Print
- *Offer Information: Promotional offer valid for qualifying accounts opened 4/1/2023 through 6/30/2023.
- Promotional offers are available in Oklahoma and Arizona only, are subject to change without notice and are not valid with other promotional offers.
- Checking offer not available to existing MidFirst Bank consumer checking customers.
- Savings offer available to new consumer checking customers and existing MidFirst Bank consumer checking customers that meet offer requirements.
- Accounts must be open and in good standing to receive an account credit.
- Promotional offers are not available to those whose MidFirst accounts have been closed during the current or previous calendar year or previously closed at any time with a negative balance. Checking and savings offers are limited to one checking and savings offer per household.
- Must be age 17 or older
- . Account credits are considered interest and will be reported on IRS Form 1099-INT, or applicable tax form. Account openings are subject to MidFirst Bank’s approval.
- Â Accounts closed within 90 days of opening may forfeit the amount equal to the promotional account credit received.
- Checking Offer: Open a new qualifying consumer checking account and receive $200 when you complete ONE OF THE FOLLOWING TWO OPTIONS within 90 days of account opening: 1) Have direct deposits totaling $500 or more made to your new account. Direct deposit must be an electronic deposit of the account owner’s paycheck, pension or government benefits, such as Social Security. Electronic deposits made from one consumer account to another do not qualify, such as Zelle®, PayPal®, Venmo®, or small-dollar verification transactions. OR 2) Complete 10 debit card purchase transactions with your MidFirst Bank debit card AND three Zelle® transactions in the MidFirst Mobile App. Multiple swipes for the same purchase amount or at the same merchant in succession do not qualify for eligible debit card purchase transactions. Credit will be made to new account within 30 days of meeting checking requirements 1 OR 2.
- Savings Offer: New and existing MidFirst Bank consumer checking customers can open a new Summit Savings account and receive $100 when you complete the following: 1) Deposit a total of $10,000 or more in funds new to MidFirst Bank within 10 days of account opening and 2) Maintain at least $10,000 balance in new account for 90 days. Credit will be made to new Summit Savings account within 30 days of meeting savings requirements 1 AND 2. The Annual Percentage Yield (APY) for Summit Savings as of 03/10/2023 is 0.35% for balances up to $10,000 and 3.25% for balances $10,000 and above. Interest rates are variable and subject to change. Fees may reduce earnings. Please go to midfirst.com/summit-savings-promo-az to view our current Summit Savings rate. Eligible account types: Checking offer is available on most consumer checking accounts. Consumer checking accounts that are not eligible for the checking offer include Student Checking accounts, Go! Checking, and all Sooner® and Broncho Checking accounts. Savings offer is available on new Summit Savings accounts only.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
The M checking account required for this bonus has a $6 monthly fee, this is waived with a $250 or more monthly recurring direct deposit or $1,000 minimum average daily balance
Early Account Termination Fee
Account must be kept open for 90 days to avoid any early account termination fee.
Our Verdict
Previously we saw a bonus of $300 that didn’t require a direct deposit. I’d recommend waiting for that offer to return as the $100 savings bonus isn’t worth considering at the moment with interest rates so high.
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
Opened online AZ 12/10
DD posted 12/16 (ACH from my checking account at University of Michigan CU)
Received $350 bonus 12/17
No recent ChexSystems
Per their website, the offer is only valid until 12/31
Also, does anyone know if the $100 opening deposit ever unlocks?
Tried to open online for P1 and P2 for Texas (option was available) but both got needs further information and someone will call you.
Opened in the branch in Sugar Land, the banker called the supervisor and was told TX residents CAN open in Houston. Chex 1/1, 5/3, didn’t ask any question about Chex (Probably the banker overwrote it). Also recommended me the 4.9% CD (but have to open in-branch…
Chex was pulled BTW
Super easy $350 here in AZ
Opened on 10/21
DD completed on 11/8
Bonus paid on 11/12
Does anyone know if Novo works as a direct deposit source for this?
The banker did not ask any Chex question, despite my high Chex count, and so no Chex issue. The account has to be opened in branch, but it was a simple process. Takes about 30 minutes to set it up, enroll in banking, and select electronic statement.
P1 and P2 both applied in Houston branch. P1 – The manager did ask why there’s lot of Chex inquiries but okay when mentioned about CDs. P2 – I think the numbers are under the acceptance rate hence no questions raised. I’ll hold on sharing referral until I see
William Charles allows the referral.
I was told that one household can only have one bonus. Were you able to get two bonues?
Previous DPs have suggested that they do not automatically enforce the household limit. However, it would probably be wise to not apply at the same time (especially if using the same branch).
Positive DP: Successfully opened LiveFree checking account in Houston-area branch today.
Inside the branch, there were posters everywhere advertising this $350 checking bonus as well as the $50/$350 referral bonus that I’d mentioned below.
The account opening process went very smoothly–I was in and out within 30 minutes. Zero mentions of Chex or any other credit-related issues.
Chex stats: 4/3, 9/6, 17/12, 27/24
Went back home and immediately enrolled in online banking and eStatements using the account number from my paperwork. It also asks for the account’s last statement balance, but you can just use “0” since it’s a new account.
Important: For this LiveFree checking account, there is a $4 monthly paper statement fee if you do not enroll in eStatements. Please don’t forget to enroll in eStatements ASAP.
I will attempt to satisfy the DD requirement using a free ACH transfer from my Chase business checking account (NOT the paid ACH Payment service).
Chase ACH worked:
12/02: Chase ACH posted
12/11: $350 bonus posted
Went to a branch in Katy TX. Denied Chex. They asked why many inquiries. The usual response of testing banking relationships while looking for CDs, investment banking, car financing, etc. didn’t work.
Good luck all. Seems to be Chex sensitive
They didn’t seem to care about my Chex inquiries (which were at a steady pace of more than one a month, see above). What were your stats?
I’m 4/1, 6/3, 10/6 and 12/12
Interesting, thanks. Wonder if it’s the 4/1 that did you in, or whether each branch/banker just has different tolerances.
I’m thinking it was 4/1 too. Win some lose some
4/1 is very high. At that rate, that’s 48 accounts in a year. Generally 1 per month is relatively safe.
Anyone have a reference link they can share privately? Says that it can stack here – https://www.doctorofcredit.com/az-ok-only-midfirst-bank-200-checking-promotion-direct-deposit-not-required-100-savings/#comment-1887487