Update 12/3/24: Bonus now $250 + ring doorbell and requires a Home Town Free Checking and direct deposit.
Update 11/11/24: Checking bonus now $200, savings bonus $100. Checking bonus only requires $500 in direct deposits now. Hat tip to reader snailrock
Update 5/14/24: Extended until June 30, 2024.
Update 3/1/24: Extended until 4/30/2024
Update 2/18/24: Deal is back and valid until 2/29/2024
Update 7/31/22: Deal s back and valid until 9/30/2022.
Update 12/10/21: Deal is back and valid until 1/31/22.
Update 8/21/21: Deal is back, but the extra $50 bonus isn’t available this time round.
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $200
- Availability: In branch only. All branches are in FL, MA, NJ, NY, VT [Branch locator]
- Direct deposit required: Optional
- Additional requirements: See below
- Hard/soft pull: Soft
- Chexsystems: Yes
- Credit card funding: Yes, unknown maximum
- Monthly fees: None
- Early account termination fee: $26 if closed within three months + you forfeit bonus
- Household limit: One
- Expiration date: None listed
Contents
The Offer
- Trustco Bank is offering a bonus of up to $300 in branch. Bonus broken down as follows:
- Get a $200 bonus when you open a new Hometown Premier or Hometown Free Checking and receive $500 in direct deposits
- Get a $100 bonus when you Open a Hometown Savings account (club accounts excluded) with
$5,000$10,000 minimum balance for 60 days (checking account must be opened at the same time) Get a $50 bonus when you enroll in online banking and E Statements
The Fine Print
- Direct Deposit must be from a recurring Payroll, Social Security, and/or Pension
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
They offer a free checking account with no monthly fees to worry about. The savings account has no monthly fees to worry about as long as you have a balance of $200+
Early Account Termination Fee
If the account is closed within three months you have to pay a $26 fee, you also forfeit the bonus.
Our Verdict
We’ve seen a $100 checking, $100 savings & $100 CD bonus in the past as well. Requirements were similar but this is a better deal as the CD bonus required $20,000 in deposits making it not worth doing. We will add this new bonus to the best bank bonus page. Although keep in mind it might not be available in all states/branches.
Hat tip to reader newbie
Useful posts regarding bank bonuses:
- A Beginners Guide To Bank Account Bonuses
- Bank Account Quick Reference Table (Spreadsheet) (very useful for sorting bonuses by different parameters)
- 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
- Bank Bonus Posting Times
Called the local branch multiple times and every time I was informed that the bonus should appear in several days. A month later, still nothing.
Opened in branch 12/05/24 in Florida and in foot print.
Transaction Date
12/05/2024
Posted Date
12/05/2024
Type
Deposit (initial deposit)
Transaction Date
12/19/2024
Posted Date
12/19/2024
Type
ACH (126.34 of real dd and full dd)
Transaction Date
01/07/2025
Posted Date
01/07/2025
Type
ACH (400.00 from Chase Business)
$32.59
Available Balance (td and waiting for bonus)
Called local office and spoke with the same person on two different occasions. I got very vague answers and that it should post should and it should post by March……..
I opened my account dec 05 2024.
Direct $501 deposit posted on dec 20
I stopped direct deposits since the terms did not state reoccuring deposits over multiple months. it just had to be 1 deposit within 60 days of account opening.
it’s march 8th and I still haven’t received $250 or the ring camera. I will try to call on Monday.
Is this expired?
Need some help figuring out if I should/how to fight this one please!!
Opened the account for the original $200 bonus premier checking account on 11/21/24.
Had a real work DD hit for $501.57 on 11/29/24.
Messaged SouthState via secure message and also sending screenshots of the promotion on 2/3/25 saying:
“Good evening!
I just wanted to reach out and see if you could help me figure out when the $200 checking account bonus should be applied to my checking account?
I opened the account on 11/21/24.
I had my payroll direct deposit come in on 11/29/24.
I have not seen the bonus hit my account yet despite meeting the requirements for the bonus.
I am also attaching a screenshot of the $200 checking account bonus.”
Heard back on 2/7/25 saying:
“I am sorry to hear you promotion has not been funded yet. This inquiry is one to refer to your local branch. There is a period in which the direct deposit or other recurring deposits are reviewed to ensure they will be recurring. This process usually takes a few weeks, however, you branch can inform you further about the potential specifics.”
I do not have a local branch to reach out to as l opened the account online and the nearest branch to me is a 1 hour drive one way from me.
The fine print for the direct deposit is as follows:
“1. To receive the $200 bonus, you must open a new Home Town Premier Checking, with Direct Deposit. Direct Deposit must be the entire amount from a recurring Payroll, Social Security, and/or Pension (minimum of $500 monthly Direct Deposit). Direct Deposit must be completed within 45 calendar days from the date that the account was opened.”
It mentions “recurring payroll” in the instance of it needing to be a normal payroll/direct deposit you receive every month.
It does not mention needing more than 1 direct deposits in order to qualify for the bonus.
What should I do/say to them, or should I just chalk this up as a loss?
#1. You wrote “SouthState” but it seems that you meant to write “Trustco” based on the rest of your comment.
#2. You wrote “It does not mention needing more than 1 direct deposits in order to qualify for the bonus.” That is incorrect. It shows “recurring”, which means “occurring again periodically or repeatedly” based on the definition provided from a Bing search.
#3. They didn’t reject you yet so you might get lucky and they might overlook that requirement and still give you the bonus.
#4. You can simply call the closest branch to you rather than drive there. I had to follow up many times during my previous churns and I always followed up by calling them rather than going in-branch.
Thanks Eric!
#1. Yep I meant Trustco lmao! I just moved money from the SouthState bonus and accidentally typed the wrong thing.
#2-4. What would you recommend that I say to the branch knowing that I did not do the recurring direct deposit? How should I navigate this when I call the branch?
This is the first time that I’ve had to fight for a bank account bonus so this is uncharted territory for me.
The previous rep didn’t tell you that you did anything wrong. If I was you, I would call the closest branch and tell them that you were told by CS to follow up with them about your missing bonus.
They will then probably ask your name and other info. Let them tell you that you messed up the requirements. Like I wrote, maybe they will overlook that requirement and give you a time frame for when the bonus will post.
If they do, keep track and keep on following up. For 1 bonus, I needed to follow up 3 or 4 times before my bonus finally posted!
The good thing is that you used a “real” DD. Was it actually your entire paycheck or did you split it?
If the latter, they could technically fall back on the part of the terms that I bolded but I doubt that it will come to that: “Direct Deposit must be the entire amount from a recurring Payroll”.
It was only part of my paycheck of course lol, I knew I should have done the full thing but I was sending real DD to 3 different banks for bonuses.
Thank you for your help, I will call them this week!
If it’s handled by individual branches, maybe some are just faster than others?
“Recurring” does not necessarily mean “make more than one deposit to this account.” It would have been good to do, but if they wanted that, they could’ve said so. It’s also a qualifier for the type of deposit they want (ie, paycheck, benefits). Clearly they want you to switch your paycheck to the account, but it’s not like it’s clear-cut that’s what the terms are saying.
You could either try another rep or call your closest branch — if you do that, it may help to have a story prepared for why you switched it, like you wanted to start building an emergency fund or something. Act naturally (not like you were deliberately doing the bare minimum for their bonus).
If they still say no there’s the option of making a complaint to a regulatory agency, but I dunno what that would look like now.
That’s a good point about their use of recurring – the only mention of recurring in the T+C was “Direct Deposit must be the entire amount from a recurring Payroll.” So technically a single dd from a recurring payroll would be ok (they could fall back on the entire amount part though).
For what it’s worth, I had the same opening date under the same terms, completed 2 employer DDs by 12/30/24, and have not received the bonus. I don’t intend on reaching out to support until 120 days after the 45 day qualifying period per their terms.
Although, it seems like those who opened in branch received their bonuses rather quickly, so maybe I should reach out…
I opened on 11/10/24 and have maintained 1 DD per month since then. I did call the nearest branch early on to confirm the promo was attached to my application/ account. However, like you I am waiting until after the timeline they laid out before calling about the bonus.
Yeah it seems like branches are in charge of paying out all of the bonuses and these online ones have not started rolling out yet.
The good news is that we will have some DPs on what actually triggers their DD requirements
I had understood recurring to mean multiple DDs, although it was definitely a bit ambiguous and up for interpretation. For what it’s worth, the SUB didn’t post for me until after my second DD (these were monthly deposits, not more typical weekly or bi-weekly DD). I did also do the full DD amount on the off chance someone needed to manually review it and asked for paystubs, but fortunately it all went through automatically. Signed up in-branch and actually had an unexpectedly pleasant experience (enough that I’m probably going to close out an account at another institution and keep this one open for my local, non-online banking).
As Eric suggested I don’t think there’s any harm calling up the closest branch and seeing what they’d be able to do over the phone. If they refuse to budge or want you to come into the branch to discuss it, though, might not be worth the trouble IMO.
Has anyone actually been paid out the $200 bonus for the “apply online premier checking account bonus” in November?
I’m not seeing any chatter on this page about bonuses being paid out.
Still waiting. I am not seeing it either. I used real DD.
Same, used real DD $501.57 and the terms for the original $200 only mention 1 direct deposit needed.
How much was yours and how many times?
Mine it’s $535, two times so far.
Has this offer expired? Where can I find the offer or its terms on the bank’s website?
12/5/24: checking account opened in branch. No hassle account opening and doesn’t seem to be Chex sensitive.
-Used real DD.
1/2/25: $250 bonus posted in account.
No notification on the ring camera and how I can receive it. This bonus definitely came ahead of schedule
How much DD did you have hit your account?
Anyone get their bonus yet for the original $200 offer for opening online?
I opened my account on 11/21/24 and had a real DD of $501.57 hit the account on 11/29/24.
I don’t see a payout timeline in the T&C so I don’t know how quickly to expect the bonus.
Edit: Sorry I see the language now.
“All bonuses will be paid within 60 calendar days of verification that the requirements have been satisfied for each offer.”
Note, language says “deposits.”
DP: approved OOS in branch. Not Chex sensitive in person. They do not ask for proof of in-footprint address.
They no longer pull Chex.
Opened this in branch
Banker told me $500 min DD for 4 months!
That’s not what the offer says and should not be enforced.