[IL, MN & WI only] Associated Bank $175 Checking + $100 Money Market (Direct Deposit Not Required)

There is a bigger $400 offer worth considering

Offer at a glance

  • Maximum bonus amount: $150 for checking, $100 for money market and $50 for credit card
  • Availability: IL, MN & WI only
  • Direct deposit required: Optional
  • Additional requirements: Three bill pays or a direct deposit of $300+
  • Hard/soft pull: Soft
  • ChexSystems: Unknown
  • Credit card funding: Up to $1,200 no American Express cards.
  • Monthly fees: $11, waivable
  • Early account termination fee: 12 months, bonus forfeit
  • Household limit: One
  • Expiration date: December 31st, 2017 December 31st, 2018 December 31st, 2019

The Offer

Direct link to offer

  • Associated Bank is offering a bonus of up to $300, broken down as follows:
    • $1750= when you open a new personal checking account
      • Make three payments using Associated Bank Online Bill Pay OR have at least one direct deposit of $300 or more within 45 days of account opening
    • $100 for opening a money market account with a minimum deposit of $10,000, must retain this balance for 90 days
    • $25 for opening a new Visa Bonus Rewards PLUS Credit card and making your first purchase

The Fine Print

  • $150 will be deposited into your account within 75 days of account opening after meeting the qualifications
  • Account must be open at the time the bonus is paid and must remain open for a minimum of 12 months. If the account is closed within 12 months, Associated Bank reserves the right to deduct the monetary bonus from the account prior to closing.
  • Customers with an Associated Bank checking account in the last six months, joint owners on an existing Associated Bank checking account and Associated Bank colleagues are not eligible
  • Offer limited to one per household, cannot be combined with other offers and is subject to change (at Associated Bank’s discretion) at any time without notice.
  • A minimum opening deposit of $10,000 is required to receive the bonus and at least such amount must remain on deposit for 90 days to receive the bonus.
  • Deposits from existing accounts do not qualify; funds must be from outside of Associated Bank.
  • $100 bonus will be deposited into money market accounts within 120 days of account opening.
  • All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them

Avoiding Fees

Checking Account

There is a $11 monthly maintenance fee which is waived if you meet any of the following requirements:

  • $1,000 minimum daily balance
  • $2,500 in combined deposits
  • Direct deposits combining $500 or more per month
  • Under the age of 24 and enrolled in paperless statements.

Money Market Account

This account has a $16 fee that is waived with a $1,000 minimum monthly balance.

Early Account Termination Fee

There is no early account termination fee, but the account needs to be open  for 12 months or the bonus is forfeit.

$50 Referral Bonus

You can also refer friends if you visit here. You’ll receive $50 Visa gift card per person you refer and they should still be able to sign up for the $150 bonus (if anybody successfully does this, please confirm). Feel free to share your referral links in the comments, but make sure you also let us know some useful information (e.g soft pull/credit card funding etc etc) or your referral link will be removed.

Our Verdict

The $150 checking bonus has been around for some time. That is definitely worth doing, let’s see if the money market account is or not.

  • You need to keep a $10,000 balance for 90 days to trigger the bonus
  • Then you need to keep $1,000 in there for another 9 months to avoid the early account termination fee (forfeiting the $100 bonus)
  • Account earns at 0.05% APY

If you put the $10,000/$1,000 into a 5% account you’d be ~$160 anyway so I don’t think the money market account is a great deal. Might be useful to some people that have already maxed out the easy 5% accounts though. You can view the best high interest accounts here and the best checking bonuses here.

Big thanks to reader, Curmudgeon who let us know. Learn how to find bonuses and contribute to the site here.

Useful posts regarding bank bonuses:
    William Charles
  • On January 27, 2018, 16:00

View Comments (70)

  • SO's link - keeping her account alive until at least November. https://bit.ly/2Z6gPyW

    The biggest advice I have is if you are going to try CC funding, make sure you have lowered your CA limit to less than the amount you plan to fund, and be ready to clear a fraud alert at the card-issuing bank.

    After you get your bonus, downgrade the checking to Access checking, which has no minimum balance. The terms do not say you cannot downgrade, and I know from experience you can without issue. Just do an SM to request it.

  • From the latest coupon, extended to year end of 2020.
    "1. Offer limited to new Associated Balanced Checking accounts opened through December 31, 2020. Minimum deposit required to open is $100. Deposits from existing accounts do not qualify. Customer must complete a minimum of three payments using Associated Bank Online Bill Pay OR have one direct deposit of $300 or more to their account within 45 days of account opening. Bonus will be deposited into their account within 120 days of account opening after meeting the qualifications. Account must be open at the time the bonus is paid and must remain open for a minimum of 12 months. If the account is closed within 12 months, Associated Bank reserves the right to deduct the monetary bonus from the account prior to closing. "

  • I keep getting all the way to the end and getting denied. Anybody know why? It says 'sorry we cannot open an account for you at this time. Please visit a branch.'

  • Checking offer looks to be $175 now from same link. Credit card bonus offset from $50 to $25- I'll take that tradeoff any day of the week.

  • Received both the bonus and the $50 gift card. The $50 referral gift card expires very soon after receiving it so be sure to drain it via amazon reload or whatever satisfies you. Will keep it open for 12 months even though some DP are mentioning that closing it early with zero balance did not require bonus to be given back.

  • ChexSystems inquiry. Solid bank, still open from a year ago. No hassle.

    I opened the account first, and then filled out the referral form:
    [removed]

    Within 60 days after account opening:
    a) Make three or more payments using Online Bill Pay, OR
    b) Complete a direct deposit of $300 or more

  • DP: Successfully funded $1200 using Freedom Unlimited. Coded as Sale, according to Chase app. Chase app also lists 1800 points earned on sale purchase.

  • Checking account opened 9 Feb 2018 online
    $1,200 funded on Chase Marriott, coded as a purchase
    $300 employer direct deposit posted on 1 March 2018
    $150 bonus showing as pending today, 20 March 2018

    Now I'm just waiting on that $50 referral rewards card from the referral link I used. And in case anyone has used or will use my referral link, maybe I'm actually waiting on more than one! :]
    http://bit.ly/2H536O7

      • Ouch! Did it post (not just pending) as cash? Sometimes they look like cash advance until they actually post.

  • I'd bet that if you get the $150 bonus, drain the account, and request to close before 12 months, they wont be taking it back (even though they say they reserve the right). Seems like deterrence language. Anybody tested this?

    • I closed mine 3 months after I opened it and they did not take the bonus back. Closed with no issues. I am now testing the one per household, and having my husband open an account...

  • I just successfully completed this in Dec. 2017, and it was incredibly easy & quick. From account opening, completing 3x bill pays & bonus posting was about 2 weeks.

    I'm not eligible for the offer but greatly would appreciate using my referral link!
    http://bit.ly/2ElPH2W

Leave a Comment