Expired: This offer has now expired. Check out other checking promos or view the best bank deals available.
[This offer has been extended until June 14th, 2014. People have also started receiving their bonuses so we now know which transfers from other banks will be considered a direct deposit and trigger the bonus]
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First Niagra Bank is currently offering up to $250 if you sign up to one of their online checking accounts. Click here for the application link.
Contents
The Offer
To receive the $250 bonus you must complete the following:
- Make a direct deposit totaling $250 or more.
- Make ten debit card purchases.
- Make five bill payments using Online/Mobile Banking
You’ll receive $50 if you complete one and $100 if you only complete two out of the three.
- This offer is available for all of the US
The Fine Print
This is a great way to help meet minimum spend requirements on credit cards or just earn a bit of extra cash or points on an existing card. See which cards count as a cash advance and which don’t.
- Must open a Choice, Pinnacle or PinnaclePlus account online with First Niagra Bank
- Must complete the requirements of the bonus within 60 days of account opening
- Bonus will be paid out within 30 days from end of the month in which you satisfy offer criteria (bonus payments can be either in a lump sum or individual payments)
- If account is closed within 180 days you must pay a $25 early termination fee
- Minimum opening deposit of $50 for the Choice & Pinnacle accounts, $500 for PinnaclePlus
- APY is currently 0.01%
- [Offer extended until June 14th, 2014]
Offer valid until the 29th of March, 2014
By calling them immediately you can request a debit card which is necessary to complete the requirements for the $250 card. They will call you to ask if you want this card, but by calling them you avoid the delay which can sometimes be as much as five days. Your debit card should arrive within 4-6 days. You can also get your debit card instantly if you live close by to a branch by going into one and requesting it.
Does A Choice Checking Account Count?
[UPDATE: It’s been confirmed that Choice Checking Accounts will receive the sign up bonus. This is because people who hold the choice checking accounts have received their bonuses: 1]
There is some debate on whether you need to open a Choice Checking or Pinnacle (or PinnaclePlus) account to be eligible. At the top of the page it states that:
“It’s as easy as using your Pinnacle or PinnaclePlus Checking account”
Then in the fine print it states:
“To qualify for a cash bonus, a new Choice, Pinnacle or PinnaclePlus checking account must be opened online…”
Update: Multiple people have confirmed with customer service reps that the Choice checking account is eligible for this promotion: 1, 2
You can call in and downgrade to the Choice account which is still eligible for the bonus.
For my peace of mind, that is too unclear on whether the choice checking account is eligible for this promotion or not. You also have to apply for the Choice account at a local branch, as there are no local branches near me I’ll settle for the Pinnacle account.
Waiving Account Fees
All of these accounts come with a monthly fee, below we show you what is necessary to get these waived:
Choice Checking $9.95 Monthly Fee
To avoid the monthly fee you must do one of the following:
- Maintain an average daily balance of at least $300 or
- Maintain direct deposit or
- Complete 10 debit card transactions or
- Maintain at least $5,000 in combined deposits or loans with First Niagra (excluding mortgages)
Pinnacle Checking $15 Monthly Fee
- Maintain an average daily balance of at least $1,000 or
- Maintain at least $25,000 in combined deposits or loans with First Niagra (excluding mortgages)
PinnaclePlus Checking $25 Monthly Fee
- Minimum daily balance of at least $5,000 or
- Maintain at least $50,000 in combined deposits or loans with First Niagra (excluding mortgages)
Our Verdict
$250 is a nice bonus and it shouldn’t be too hard to reach. I’m going to go with the Pinnacle checking account and just park $1,000 in it to avoid the fees. One good thing is that you can fund the account with credit cards up to $1,000, so I’ll also earn a few points on one of our cards.
To hit the ten debit card transactions I will purchase $0.15 gift cards from Amazon ($1.5 in total, plus I use Amazon regularly). Credit transactions such as these do count towards the total of 10 purchases needed: 1, 2
I’ll use the BillPay feature to pay some regular bills we have coming up. For the direct deposit I’ll make a few $250 ACH transfers from other banks and hope that causes it to count as a direct deposit, if it doesn’t we’ll have to ask our employer to change some of our funds for a month (which they are happy to do, after I explained the situation).
There is also nothing in the fine print that says this is one offer per household. So feel free to earn this multiple times per household.
- This is not counted as a hard pull, but there will be a Chex Inquiry
- Find out what counts as a direct deposit for First Niagra
 Screenshot of the offer | Application link | More current bank account bonuses
