[Expired] [CA only] State Bank Of India (California) $150 Checking Bonus

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

Update 8/23/19: It looks like this will actually work for areas outside of CA. Lots of DP of that in the comments. I’m going to keep the title as CA only for now to hopefully avoid too many new applications in a short period of time.

Offer at a glance

• Maximum bonus amount: $150
• Availability: I assume CA only?
• Direct deposit required: Yes, $500+ for three consecutive statement cycles
• Additional requirements: See below
• Hard/soft pull: Soft pull
• ChexSystems: Yes
• Credit card funding: Up to $1,000 with a Visa or Mastercard None
• Monthly fees: $18, avoidable
• Early account termination fee: Bonus forfeit, six months
• Household limit: None listed
• Expiration date: None listed

The Offer

Direct link to offer

• State Bank of India (California) is offering a $150 checking bonus when you open a new checking and complete the following requirements for three consecutive statement cycles within five statement cycles from the date of opening:
  • At least 1 Direct Deposit of $500.00 or more from pension, credit of your salary, Social Security or other regular monthly income (for 3 consecutive statement cycles).
  • At least 2 Point-of-sale (POS) debit transactions (for 3 consecutive statement cycles).
  • Register for eStatements after enrolling in State Bank of India (California)’s Consumer Online Banking Service.

The Fine Print

• If your account meets all the required conditions above, the account is eligible to receive a one-time $150.00 reward credit after 120 days.
• Reward will be credited to the account at the end of fifth statement cycle. If your account is closed before the credit is applied, you will forfeit the $150.00 reward credit.
• Reward credit is available to new consumer customers only.
• Reward credit is available to new consumer customers only. A new consumer customer is defined as an individual who has not maintained an account with State Bank of India (California) within the past 90 days. Consumers can only receive one reward credit every two years from the date of the initial account was closed.
• All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them

Avoiding Fees

Monthly Fees

This account has a $18 monthly fee. This is waived if you do any of the following:

• Minimum Daily Balance of $2,000 in the account or
• Combined Daily Balance of $7,500 in consumer linked checking or savings deposit accounts

Early Account Termination Fee

You forfeit the bonus if the account is closed before the bonus posts. Should post at the end of the fifth statement cycle.

Our Verdict

A lot of requirements and they need to be done for three statement cycles to get the bonus. It also isn’t so easy to keep the account fee free. That being said there is a nice $1,000 in credit card funding and people in  California are always complaining there aren’t enough bank bonuses in that area so I will be adding this to the best checking bonuses.

Big thanks to reader, Curmudgeon who let us know. Learn how to find bonuses and contribute to the site here.

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