[Expired] Bank Of The West – Up To $300 Checking Promotion [AZ, CA, CO, ID, IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, NV, NM, ND, OK, OR, SD, UT, WA, WI, WY]

This deal has now expired. You can view more great bank bonuses here.

Offer at a glance

• Maximum bonus amount: $300
• Availability: AZ, CA, CO, ID, IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, NV, NM, ND, OK, OR, SD, UT, WA, WI, WY
• Direct deposit required: Yes, $250+ 
• Additional requirements: Optional, 10 or more debit card transactions for an additional $50
• Hard/soft pull: Soft
• Credit card funding: $500 max, Visa/MC only
• Monthly fees: Yes, waiveable
• Early account termination fee: $25, 91 days
• Household limit: One per mailing address
• Expiration date: November 18th, 2016 March 3rd, 2017 April 14th, 2017

The Offer

Direct link to offer

• Open an easy checking account with Bank of the West and receive a $150 bonus ($200 minimum opening)
  • Receive $100: Enroll in direct deposits and receive a direct deposit of $250 or more (must be a single direct deposit of $250+, two direct deposits which combine to $250+ will not work)
  • Receive $50: Request & use your debit card ten times in each of the first two months following the month the account was opened. Must be at least $3 each.
• Open a premier checking account with Bank of the West and receive a $300 bonus ($500 minimum opening)
  • Must maintain a combined balance of $50,000 for the first two full calendar months immediately following the month in which the opening deposit posts to the account

 

The Fine Print

• Account must be in open status and have a positive balance as of 05/31/17 to be eligible to receive any bonus.
• Bonus will be credited by 06/30/17 to the open Bank of the West Premier Checking account.
• Limit of one consumer checking bonus per individual and per mailing address. If the customer or other individuals residing at the same address received or may receive any other consumer checking bonus from the Bank between 06/01/15 – 06/29/17, then no one at that address is eligible.
• Offer does not apply to second or multiple checking accounts.
• Limit of one consumer checking bonus per individual and per mailing address
• All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them

Avoiding Fees

There is an early account termination fee of $25 if your account is closed within 91 days of account opening. All of these accounts have a monthly fee (apart from Student checking which is fee free) which can be waived and which is as follows:

Easy Checking Account $10 Monthly

Waived when you do any of the following:

• Maintain an average monthly balance of $1,000 or more each statement cycle
• Receive at least one direct deposit of $250 or more each statement cycle
• Use your bank of the west debit card for 10 or more purchases

Premier Checking Account $30 Monthly

Waived when you do the following:

• Maintain at least $50,000 combined average monthly balance4 in this Bank of the West Premier Checking account plus other eligible personal Bank checking, money market, savings, CDs, and IRAs, and prior end-of-month account balances in eligible BancWest Investment Services5 investment accounts

Our Verdict

They offered a similar bonus last year ($150 bonuses are the same, but $300 bonus is different). Let’s take a look at the $300 bonus first, the APY you receive depends on the state but it’ll be around 1% less than competing banks. This means you’re basically loosing $41.6 in interest every month you have the account open.

• Wait till near the end of the month and deposit $49,500 (triggers direct deposit requirement and keeps the account fee free)
• Wait two months
• Withdraw funds
• Wait ~3 months for bonus to post (you’d pay $30 in fees per month, cheaper than the $41.6 in lost interest)

You’d basically end up paying $173.2 in fees/lost interest. You’re much better off just going after the $150 bonus instead. Here is what I’d do:

• Open easy checking account
• Add a qualifying direct deposit (or workaround) of $1,060 (enough to keep account fee free, trigger direct deposit requirement and have enough to make the 20 debit card transactions)
• Make 10 x $3 debit card transactions for the next two following months
• Wait for bonus to post
• Withdraw funds & close account if it’s been more than 91 days since opening (should be)

Not a bad deal with the credit card funding, don’t tink the Premier offer is worth doing but the smaller $150 bonus is worth a look. We’ve added it to our best bank bonus page.

Hat tip to reader Catapult