This offer has now expired, view more bank bonuses by clicking here.
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $300
- Availability: DE, PA and NJ only
- Direct deposit required: Yes, $1,000-$5,000 depending on bonus
- Additional requirements: Yes, 1-3 bill pays depending on bonus
- Hard/soft pull:Â Soft
- ChexSystems: Yes
- Credit card funding: $550
- Monthly fees: None
- Early account termination fee: None
- Expiration date: July 31st, 2015
The Offer
- Receive a sign up bonus of up to $300 when you open a Sun East Free Checking Account in branch or online. There are three different bonuses for $100, $200 and $300. They each have different requirements which we’ve outlined below:
- $100: Establish a qualifying direct deposit of $1,000 or more and make at least one online bill payment using SunPay
- $200: Establish a qualifying direct deposit of $2,500 or more and make at least two online bill payments using SunPay
- $300: Establish a qualifying direct deposit of $5,000 or more and make at least three online bill payments using SunPay
The Fine Print
- Valid for customers who open a new primary checking account, not valid for current customers who have a primary or joint checking account. Also not valid for previous customers that have closed their account within past five years
- Bonus requirements must be completed within 90 days of account opening
- Bonus will post within 30 days after the completion of the program
- Qualifying direct deposits are defined as:Â recurring Direct Deposit of a paycheck, pension, Social Security or other regular monthly income electronically deposited by an employer or an outside agency into your Sun East checkin
- Account must remain open to receive bonus
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
There are no monthly fees on this account and as far as I am aware there is no early account termination fee, but you must keep your account open until the bonus posts. You will need to deposit $5 into the Share Savings account when you become a member as well (this can be withdrawn when the accounts are closed)
Eligibility
To become a member of this credit union, you have a few free options and one paid option. We’ll discuss the paid option first because it’ll be applicable to the majority of people. Anybody can simply make a $10 donation to the Sun East Charitable Foundation to become a member.
In addition if you live, attend school, volunteer, work or worship in any of the following locations you can join for free:
- Nottingham, Pennsylvania
- Oxford, Pennsylvania
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Newark, Delaware
- Wilmington, Delaware
If an immediate family member is a member, you can also join for free. There are also 4,000 affiliate businesses, groups within DE, PA & NJ  and if you’re part of one of them you can also join for free.
Our Verdict
The biggest problem with this bonus is that we’re unsure if it’s a hard or soft pull, I don’t live within the service area otherwise I would just go into a branch to find out. Thankfully other writers for Doctor of Credit do live within the service (and both are getting addicted to bank bonuses, just like me) so I’m sure they’ll find out this important information in due time.
I think almost any ACH deposit will trigger the direct deposit requirement despite what the fine print says, but we won’t know for sure until after the promotion has ended. Obviously it’s best if you can easily change your employer payroll, but this isn’t possible for everybody.
If you have any experience with this bonus, please share with us in the comments below.
Direct link to offer | Screenshot of offer
Hat tip to Maximizing Money
Has anyone closed the account with them? Do they need written notice or just a call will suffice?
Why does it surprise everyone that you can only do legitimate direct deposits as the offer clearly states? So interesting that people are supporting one another in how to get one over on a company. I followed the rules and got my $300 as promised. They have great rates too, happy to have found them.
You must be new to following these blogs. Many of the articles and comments are about exploiting loopholes. There is even a post by DoC devoted to which banks trigger direct deposits for other banks. I’m not sure if your comment was directed at me but I was certainly not surprised that I missed out on the bonus. I am not upset at all that Sun East actually enforced their terms. Many banks don’t though.
I received a letter in the mail today asking me to send in paystubs to prove that my direct deposits were “qualifying”. I wonder if more banks will start doing this.
bonus posted within 30 days after completing the last direct deposit. funded through actual paycheck though. so offer was legit, just had to be through legit dd i guess.
Jon,
I received your message by email but for some reason it is not showing on the actual website. I tried Fidelity and Serve and haven’t gotten anything. I will wait 35 days after my last deposit but I won’t be holding my breath. Signing up for that account was a waste of time and $10.
Unless you funded with a real DD you will not be getting your bonus. It looks like they are manually reviewing each account. Both my wife and I were denied the bonus. I funded with serve and chase (10k total) and she funded with serve (5k).
My direct deposits exceeded $5,000 on August 20. I had already used SunPay at least 3 times by then.
I just received my $300 bonus from Sun East today. I had my paychecks direct deposited into Sun East. I do not make $100K+, so it took a few paychecks to reach the $5,000 plateau.
How long after your last direct deposit hit did your $300 bonus post?
Has anyone received the $300? If so, what did you use for the “direct deposit”? It has been over 30 days for me and no bonus has posted.
I know this deal is done, but wanted to let you guys know. I funded account with Discover and got my statement today. It was coded as “services” and no CA fee!
Mr Charles, can you add this as Data point please?