[Expired] [IL, IN MN & WI only] Associated Bank $400 Checking & Savings Bonus

Deal has expired, but there is now a $500 bonus available.

Update 3/27/20: Reposting as it also works in Indiana as well. Hat tip to reader Hoops

Offer at a glance

  • Maximum bonus amount: $400
  • Availability: IL, IN, MN & WI only
  • Direct deposit required: Optional
  • Additional requirements: See below
  • Hard/soft pull: Soft
  • ChexSystems: Unknown
  • Credit card funding: Up to $1,200, no American Express cards.
  • Monthly fees:
  • Early account termination fee: Bonus forfeit if closed within 12 months
  • Household limit: None listed
  • Expiration date: June 30th, 2020

The Offer

Direct link to offer

  • Associated Bank is offering a bonus of $400 when you meet the following requirements:
    • Open an Associated Forward Checking account with a minimum deposit of $100 and 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 AND
    • Open an Associated Relationship Savings account with a minimum deposit of $25,000 AND
    • Maintain a minimum combined balance in the accounts of $25,000 for 90 days and receive your $400 within 120 days of opening

The Fine Print

  • Offer limited to Associated Forward Checking and Associated Relationship Savings opened through June 30, 2020.
  • Minimum deposit required to open is $100 for Associated Forward Checking and $25,000 for Associated Relationship Savings. Deposits from existing accounts do not qualify; funds must be from outside of Associated Bank.
  • Customer must open an Associated Forward Checking account and complete a minimum of three payments using online bill pay OR have one direct deposit of $300 or more to their account within 45 days of account opening AND must open an Associated Relationship Savings and maintain a minimum combined balance of $25,000 and at least such amount must remain on deposit for 90 days to receive the bonus.
  • All accounts must be opened with the same primary accountholder within 10 days.
  • If multiple Associated Relationship Savings accounts are opened in the 10 day timeframe, all accounts will be used to calculate the combined balance requirement.
  • $400 bonus will be deposited into the Associated Forward Checking account within 120 days of account opening. 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.
  • Primary owner on the account must be 18 years or older to qualify.
  • Offer not available to customers who already have or have had a checking account or Associated Relationship Savings account at Associated Bank within the last six months. Associated Bank colleagues are not eligible.
  • Person to Person payments and transfers to external accounts do not qualify for the required transactions to receive the monetary bonus. Exclusions apply.
  • Offer limited to one per customer, cannot be combined with other offers and is subject to change (at Associated Bank’s discretion) at any time without notice.
  • For tax reporting purposes, a 1099 may be issued at year-end for the year in which the bonus is given.

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.

Savings Account

This account has a $5 monthly fee, this is waived with any of the following:

  • $300 minimum daily balance OR
  • $25 or more per month in recurring automatic deposits, such as Automated Clearing House (ACH), online banking transfers from another account or direct deposit OR
  • Be under the age of 18

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. Previously you’ve been able to get referred and also get the bonus, I’m not sure if that is the case with this bonus or not. Because of this I’d kindly ask you not to share your referrals in the comments for now.

Our Verdict

Previous bonuses would let you get a bonus of $175 for opening the checking account and another $100 for opening a savings account with a minimum balance of $10,000. This is an extra $125 but you do need to deposit and maintain a balance of $25,000 for 90 days. For a lot of people they won’t have that much in liquid funds. If you do, this bonus will be better than having it in a high yield savings account. I’ll be adding this to our list of the best checking/savings bonuses.

Useful posts regarding bank bonuses:
    William Charles
  • On March 27, 2020, 21:15

View Comments (63)

  • Can someone kick me, please? I missed this and the US Bank $300 deal that both ended at the end of June. Both on my spreadsheet, but I just spaced out the deadlines.

  • Did the previous offer for $275 total
    DP: Push from PNC triggered DD requirement
    Opened - 2/21/20
    Checking Bonus Posted - 3/4/2020
    Savings Bonus Posted - 5/27/2020

  • The person being referred only gets the bonus they sign up for, and the referer gets the $50 gift card.

    • Based on what? Terms, calling-in, or real-life? Because, Referlive has always had terms saying you cannot combine, and if you ask the bank, they will tell you that too. But in practice, Referlive has stacked every time I used them in the past.

  • Opened account for $175 bonus using St. Louis, MO address (the nearest branch is 15 min drive in IL)
    Initial funding using chase SW doesn't go through (with CA limit as $100)

  • This bank offers multiple similar offers.

    If you click the middle option:
    You can do DD $300 or bill pay as well as $100 in savings to get $175. That is a 43.75% return on your money. Assuming it takes the maximum amount of time to get the bonus (120 days), it is an annualized return of 202%.

    Compare this to the current posted Choice Checking and Savings with $25k needed, (right most option) you only get a 1.57% return on your money and 4.87% annualized return.

  • This article is incorrect. There is no forward checking account. To get this bonus, you must open the "Choice checking" and it has a $25 monthly fee that can be waived with a $10k balance.

    • Yeah, the $175 normal offer, + Money market $100 for 30 days of $10K was/is a better deal.

        • Yeah, my mistake. I signed up back in October.

          Open 10/10/19
          Funded full 10K 10/17/19
          Paid out 1/9/20 (just under 90... which leads me to believe they go off the open date, not the full 10k funding date)

          I primarily did that account in order to do a Joint account, then P2 did a separate checking for the $175 once she had a login. Worked beautifully.

          • I just don't know if the $10K/90 is worth doing it. I have an account earning 2.25% apy (through end of Q2/2020). So I'd earn an additional $45 for by going this route. 4% vs 2.25% for 90 days. BUT,

            Then there's the added hassle of keeping both accounts open for a year so they don't claw back the bonus. The money market account has a min balance of $1K to avoid fees.

            Are you keeping $1K in the monkey market account to avoid fees?

          • Currently, yes, I left $1K in there. I plan to call them and either downgrade to something else like a savings with a $300 minimum, or, if not possible, zero it and close. I really don't think they will retract the bonus if it's closed early, and technically there is nothing to retract if the balance is zero. Obviously I am not going to point that out so they do, and yes, in some strange universe they could bill us. Highly unlikely. Or, I might just leave the $1K in there. The best I can do for the interest rate on my overflow accounts is less than 2% because I don't play the rewards checking game. So, I am ok with floating $20 of lost interest to a bank that paid my family $175 x 2, plus the$100, plus $50 referral VGC's x 2. Oh, and a baseball player bobblehead that will make a great gag gift.

            Plus, I mostly did this that MM account, so I could make a joint account. P2 wouldn't have had access to get an acct, as we are both out of footprint and I am having to find ways to keep it alive. And, with the $15K that didn't go into Associated, it was repurposed for Citi $500 bonus, and later this month, the Chase $600 bonus.

            Oh, and speaking of closing, because we had 4 months of no activity on SO's checking, they sent her a card in the mail saying at month 6 they turn over the money to the abandoned acct state dept and close the account. So, it appears they aren't a fan of inactive accounts, which means they probably auto-close $0 balances on the no min fee checking. (card said any withdrawal or deposit would keep it active & reset the clock)

      • That offer still seems to be available. Click the link but click the $275 tab instead of the $400.

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