This offer has expired, click here for the best new checking bonuses.
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $150
- Availability: In branch only. [Locations here]
- Direct deposit required: Optional
- Additional requirements: Direct deposit of 10 debit card transactions of $10+
- Hard/soft pull: Unknown
- ChexSystems: Unknown
- Credit card funding: Unknown
- Monthly fees: $5.95, avoidable
- Early account termination fee: Unknown
- Household limit: One
- Expiration date: December 30th, 2017
The Offer
No Direct Link, see image below
- Open a new Colorado State Bank and Trust Checking account and receive a bonus of $150 when you complete the following requirements:
- Print the coupon or show it on your mobile device
- Complete one of the following within 60 days of opening:
- Active a direct deposit of at least $250
- Make 10 debit card purchases ($10 minimum per purchase)
The Fine Print
- $150 offer is valid for personal checking accounts opened at a banking center on 5/1/17 through 12/30/17. Offer is not available for account opened online, on account conversions, is not applicable to Student or Employee Checking accounts, and is limited to households that do not currently maintain a personal checking account.
- Accounts are subject to our standard eligibility and documentation requirements.
- $50 minimum opening deposit balance required.
- Bonus will not be considered part of the minimum opening deposit. Bonus cash is considered interest and is reportable on IRS Form 1099-INT.
- Limit one (1) per household.
- The $150 will be deposited ten (10) days after the conditions noted below have been met, if the account is open, active and in good standing.
- Requirements: Checking account must remain open for a minimum of six (6) months or the $150 will be debited from account during closing transaction. One of the following must be completed within sixty (60) days of account opening date: a. Set up a $250 recurring direct deposit such as Social Security, Pension or Payroll. Each recurring direct deposit must be a minimum of $250. b. Complete 10 eligible Debit Card transactions of at least $10.00 per transaction. ATM transactions are not eligible.
- We reserve the right to disqualify Debit Card transactions in circumstances where we reasonably believe they were not made in good faith.Banker Instructions: To process offer, select Notice Code “Online Checking Bonus” Notice Code in TPSS. Once qualifying conditions have been met, bonus will automatically be credited to the new checking account within ten (10) business days. Does not apply to Student or Employee Checking accounts.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Access checking seems to be the easiest account to waive the monthly fee on. It has a $5.95 monthly fee and this is waived with eStatements and by using self service channels. I wasn’t able to find a fee schedule so I’m unsure if there is any early account termination fee charged or not.
Our Verdict
Not a bad deal if it turns out to be a soft pull as the direct deposit isn’t required. Obviously need to live near a branch as well to make it worth it. Please share your data points in the comments below. Seems to be the same as the Bank of Texas bonus as well.
Hat tip to reader Divyesh
Useful posts regarding bank bonuses:
- A Beginners Guide To Bank Account Bonuses
- 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
Ugh. Not worth the trouble, in my case. I first tried ACH pushes from CapOne and Ameritrade as I mentioned above. No bonus resulted from that, so I made 10 debit transactions of more than $10 to ensure I’d meet the requirements. Waited for statements to cycle just to be sure something wasn’t right. The terms say the bonus will post within 10 days of meeting the requirements. Mine did not post within 10 days of the last debit transaction posting, so I called. Sent to “back office” for “research” who called back same day and said “bank-to-bank” transfers don’t count (CO360 & Ameritrade). Fair enough, I said, but I also did the 10 debits. They agreed. Said they’d call back in two days, but didn’t. A couple calls later, I got a CSR who acknowledged that there’d been a lot of “back and forth” on my issue (me calling several times), and she’d try to get a supervisor on the phone. Before she put me on hold I mentioned that I’d be filing a CFPB complaint if this couldn’t be resolved. Got the supervisor. She said they’d been waiting on a response from the branch manager where I opened, which is different than what I was told previously– that they were waiting on the “bonus department” to “manually approve”. Also told the supervisor that I’d file CFPB if no resolution by the end of the day (it’s been a week on & off on the phone with the bank). Bank called back within 10 minutes, apologized, said the banker in branch “entered the wrong promo code” and that they posted the promo. Logged in, and sure enough, the $150 was there. I almost never call banks and am always super polite & patient when I do have to call, but this was the worst experience out of the 30+ bonuses I’ve done, including crazy ones like HSBC and Citi. I would never threaten them with CFPB if I didn’t feel like I had to, and I never have had to before now. All told I probably spent 2 hours on the phone/on hold, not counting the time to go to branch to open. $150 is nice but not worth it in the case. Glad I did get it finally though. The silly part is that if the in-branch banker hadn’t screwed it up (and also failed to order my debit card; see my previous post), CO360 or Ameritrade probably would’ve triggered the bonus, and if not, the debit purchases probably would have. Anyway, I will say that their CSRs are nice, but not able to do much. Try to get a supervisor if you have problems. I’m not even blaming the bank, just saying that the one in-branch rep really screwed things up and fixing it all was not easy. I’m certainly not whining to/about DoC either, post is much appreciated as always. Just wanted to share my experience in case it helps someone else. Also, thanks again Casey… Read more »
Thanks, Rick!
fee schedule:
https://www.csbt.com/-/media/Files/PDF/CSBT/CSBTSummaryOfFeesAndDefinitions.pdf
They charge a $3 fee for ACH transactions initiated on their side, but I haven’t gotten dinged for initiating them remotely.
7/25 $305 ACH from Chase
7/26 $150 “online checking bonus”
Interesting DP Casey, thanks. So far I’ve tried:
$251 ACH from Cap One 360 checking on 7/11
$255 ACH from TD Ameritrade brokerage on 7/25
…and still nothing.
I’m thinking the banker who opened my account (in-person) forgot/failed to add the promo to my account, seeing as she also forgot to order my debit card, despite having me pick a design and PIN in the branch. Had to call in to have card reordered.
After giving up on ACH, I did 10 legitimate debit card transactions (>$10 each) throughout July, the last of which should post in the next couple days. So they shouldn’t be able to deny the bonus even if they don’t like my ACH.
I’ll update if I get anything from them, but I bet it’s going to require calling at the very least.
Good luck! I hope it works out for you. 🙂
Once you have online access, be sure set to set up online only statements. Go to Actions & Tools, pick Statements & Account Forms, then Manage Statement Preferences.
Otherwise you’ll pay $5.95/mo. Took me a while to figure it out. The default configuration is Paper & Online statements.
What do you guys make of this:
“Offer … is limited to households that do not currently maintain a personal checking account.”
How would that be detected or enforced?
Probably a deal-killer for me…
I think they mean maintain a personal checking account with THEM