There is now an offer for $150: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/mt-bank-150-checking-bonus-ct-dc-de-fl-ma-md-nj-ny-or-pa-va-wv/
[Expired: Sorry folks, this deal has now expired. Click here for other bank account bonuses]
[This post doesn’t contain any affiliate links, that’s because we always post bonuses regardless of our financial incentive to do so. You can support this site by using our links when we do post them.]
Contents
The Offer
- Receive a $75-$100 bonus when you sign up for any M&T MyChoice checking account (regular, Plus or Premium) and receive a qualifying direct deposit of $100 or more within 90 days of account opening.
If you don’t see mention of the bonus after you’ve entered your zipcode you won’t be eligible for this bonus. We’ve done screenshots of what it looks like below.
The Fine Print
- Valid from February 3rd to June 27th, 2014
- Qualifying direct deposits are payroll or Social Security
- Bonus will be credited to the account within 90 days of receiving a qualifying direct deposit
- Bonus will be reported to the IRS and you must pay taxes on it (this is true for all bank account bonuses)
- Limited to one bonus per person
- Minimum opening deposit of $25
- Only available in select locations. I can’t seem to find out what causes some locations to be participating and some not. Even if you enter a zip code where a branch is located very few of them seem to be participating.
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fee $6.95
M&T Bank is one of the few banks that doesn’t give you a grace period, these must be completed your first month otherwise you’ll be charged the fee. You can avoid this monthly fee by doing one or more of the following:
- Receive direct deposits totaling $200 or more per monthly service charge period
- Make 10 or more monthly debit card purchases per monthly service charge period
- Keep an average daily balance of $500 or more per monthly service charge period
Early Account Termination Fee
There is an early close out fee of $10 according to these terms & conditions if you cancel within 180 days of signing up.
Our Verdict
- Opening this account is a soft credit pull
- You cannot fund this account with a credit card
- There are lots of different work arounds to trigger the direct deposit bonus. It looks like any regular ACH transfer will work.
I don’t bother with checking account bonuses unless there is at least $100 on offer and most of the time it’s really not worth it unless they are in the $150-$200+ ball park. I’m also not in a participating bonus zip code so I couldn’t take part even if I wanted to. For those who do want to take part here is the easiest way to do so:
- Open a MyChoice checking account with minimum deposit of $25
- Send an ACH transfer of $475 from one of your existing checking accounts to trigger the $75 bonus. This will bring your account total to $500 (prebonus) which will avoid any monthly fees
- Receive $75 bonus
- Wait six months to avoid early account termination fee
- Close account
M&T usually send you a letter 2-3 days after account opening requesting a copy of your drivers license & social security card. This makes this deal even less attractive.
Most people won’t be able to participate because it’s such a small footprint anyway. If you do, let us know how it goes in the comments.
Screenshot of the offer | Direct link to offer
