[Expired] Bank Of The West – $250 Checking Bonus [AZ, CA, CO, ID, IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, NV, NM, ND, OK, OR, SD, UT, WA, WI, WY]

Deal has ended, view more bank account bonuses by clicking here.

Update 7/14/22: Deal is back and valid until September 30, 2022.

Offer at a glance

• Maximum bonus amount: $250
• Availability: AZ, CA, CO, ID, IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, NV, NM, ND, OK, OR, SD, UT, WA, WI, WY
• Direct deposit required: Yes, direct deposits totaling $1,000 or more for the first three months
• Additional requirements: None
• Hard/soft pull:  Soft
• ChexSystems: Yes (inquiry sensitive)
• Credit card funding: $500 max, Visa/MC only. Recent data points show it coding as a cash advance
• Monthly fees:  $10, avoidable
• Early account termination fee: $25, 91 days
• Household limit: One per mailing address
• Expiration date: August 2nd, 2019 September 13th, 2019 December 6th, 2019 2/28/20 October 30, 2020 December 4, 2020 February 19, 2021 July 31, 2021.

The Offer

Direct link to offer

• Bank of the West is offering a bonus of $250 when you open a new any deposit checking account and complete the following requirements:
  • Make direct deposits totaling $1,000 or more for the first three months
  • Must also keep a positive balance

 

The Fine Print

• Open a new personal Any Deposit Checking account with a promotion code either online at bankofthewest.com or in a branch between 06/24/19 – 08/02/19 with any opening deposit amount ($0.01 or more).
• Offer is not available to existing Bank of the West customers with an open consumer checking account as of 07/12/2020.
• An individual can receive only one consumer checking account opening related bonus between 07/01/2019 and 07/29/2021 and only one bonus per individual per account.
•  Limit of one $250 consumer checking bonus per individual and per mailing address.
• Opening deposit must post to the account by 08/16/19.
• This offer is also available for any other consumer checking account (minimum $100 to open). UCB Student Checking and Bank of the West Premier Checking accounts are excluded.
• To receive the $250 bonus, customer must make direct deposits totaling $500 or more, monthly for three consecutive calendar months by 11/29/19.
• Two or more separate direct deposits in a single month that add up to $500 qualify.
• A qualifying direct deposit must be payroll, Social Security, pension or other government benefits.
• Non-qualifying direct deposits include transfers from Bank of the West or Bank of the West affiliate accounts or any credit from Bank of the West, or person-to-person transfers using a mobile payments service such as Zelle, or deposits made at a branch or ATM.
• Calendar months do not necessarily coincide with statement cycles.
• Qualifying deposits must be funds new to the Bank. All deposits must be posted by 11/29/19.
• All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them

Avoiding Fees

Monthly Fees

The any deposit checking account has a $10 monthly fee. This is waived if you qualify for one of the following:

• Choose any deposit method (mobile, ATM, in-branch, or direct) and make a deposit of any amount each statement cycle
• If any account holder is under 25 years of age

They also charge a $3 paper statement fee, so make sure you have paperless statements set up.

Early Account Termination Fee

There is an early account termination fee of $25 if your account is closed within 91 days of account opening.

Our Verdict

Last bonus they offered was also for $250, but didn’t have a direct deposit requirement. That bonus was a lot better because of that, but if you can easily do a direct deposit then this bonus is still worth considering. If not I’d just wait for the better bonus to come along. I’ll still add this to our best bank bonus page, but it won’t be as high on the list as it normally would be.

Hat tip to reader JUN & Kyle

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

Post history:

• Update 1/13/21: Deal is back and valid until February 19, 2021.
• Update 10/28/20: New link with October 30, 2020 ended.
• Update 8/9/20: Added new link with 10/2/20 end date.
• Update 7/19/20: Deal is back until August 21st, 2020. Hat tip to reader Kona
• Update 3/5/20: Deal has been extended until 3/30/20.
• Update 1/21/20: Deal is back and valid until 2/28/20. Hat tip to reader Adam
• Update 10/16/19: Deal is back and valid until December 6th, 2019. Hat tip to Jx
• Update 9/4/19: Deal has been extended until September 13th, 2019
• Update 8/6/19: Deal is back, now requires direct deposits totaling $1,000 or more for the first three months. Hat tip to SeanK