[Expired] First Tennessee $300 Checking Promotion + $100 Savings Bonus + $50 Referral [Middle Tennessee and North Carolina only]

This checking bonus has expired, click here to view the best current checking bonuses.

Offer at a glance

• Maximum bonus amount:
• Availability: Middle Tennessee and North Carolina only
• Direct deposit required: Yes, no minimum mentioned
• Additional requirements: Open with at least $300
• Hard/soft pull: Soft
• ChexSystems: Yes
• Credit card funding: Up to $300
• Monthly fees: $7-$12, waiveable
• Early account termination fee: Account must be kept open for six months, or bonus forfeit
• Household limit: One
• Expiration date: May 31st, 2017 July 15th, 2017 September 2nd, 2017 October 21st, 2017 December 9th, 2017

The Offer

Direct link to offer

• Open a new First Tennessee checking account with the promo code COF300 and receive a bonus of $300 when you complete the following requirements:
  • Open account with at least $300
  • Have at least one direct deposit post to your account within 60 days of account opening
• You can also get a $100 bonus by opening a money market savings bonus and depositing $10,000. You need to enter the promo code OFS100.  You need to maintain that balance for 30 days after account opening

The Fine Print

• Offer Details: Offer expires July 15, 2017.
• This offer is non-transferrable and only available to residents of Middle Tennessee and North Carolina. (It does say the offer is non-transferrable, but should still be open to anybody)
• To receive your bonus, you must open your account and present your mailer at a financial center or open the checking account online (starting at ftb.com/earn300) and ensure the code COF300 appears in the online application where “Offer/Promo code” is requested.
• You must have an opening deposit of at least $300, and at least one direct deposit must post to your account within 60 days of account opening.
• Opening deposit cannot be transferred from existing First Tennessee accounts.
• If you meet the stated requirements of this promotional offer, the $300 bonus will be credited to your account within six weeks of the first direct deposit and will be reported as income on Form 1099-INT.
• Limit one bonus per household.
• Cannot be combined with other checking offers.
• This offer is for new checking households only, or for households who have not had an open First Tennessee checking account in the previous 12 months.
• Customer agrees to maintain account in good standing for a minimum of six months
• All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them

Avoiding Fees

Express Checking, $7 Monthly Fee

This is waived if you have at least 1 direct deposit during a statement cycle and is the obvious choice for which account to pick.

Classic Checking $8 Monthly Fee

This cannot be waived (and has been increased in the last couple of months).

Select Checking $9 Monthly Fee

This is waived if you have at least 1 direct deposit and 15 customer-initiated debit transactions during a statement cycle.

Premier Checking, $12 Monthly Fee

This is waived if you have a minimum of $5,000 in combined monthly balances (checking, savings, bank IRAs, or CDs) during a statement cycle.

Early Account Termination Fee

The fine print states that the account must be kept open and in good standing for 6 months. We can assume that they will take the bonus back if you don’t fulfill this requirement.

Referrals

Even though the terms of the offer state that it “cannot be combined with other checking offers”, readers in the past have had success combining the referral bonus with the checking account bonus. In order to receive the referral bonus, you must submit the referral form first, THEN sign up for the $300 bonus.

Note that the terms of the referral are slightly more strict with respect to the direct deposit requirement. You will need to complete two direct deposits of at least $100 each within 60 days of account opening.

If you meet the requirements, both you and the referrer will receive a $50 Visa Gift Card (within about 6 weeks).

You can leave your referral links in the comments below. Please only leave your link once and post your full link for the domain referlive.com (not the bit.ly link you are provided if sharing via Twitter). If we find you doing this more than once, we will remove your comments and ban you from leaving future referral links.

Our Verdict

This is better than the $200 bonus that is open to more states (AR, GA, MS, NC, TN, or VA) as the requirements are exactly the same. Definitely worth doing if you live in the target area as it’s one of the better checking sign up bonuses and you can also churn it (can’t have had a First Tennessee account in the last 12 months). They also have a $150 business checking bonus available.

Big thanks to reader, Mike & /r/churning 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
• 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