Deal has ended, view more bank account bonuses by clicking here.
Update 7/4/22: Extended until 12/31/2022.
Update 3/13/22: Deal is back and valid until 6/30/22
Update 6/29/21: Extended until 12/31/21.
Update 2/28/21: Deal is back and valid until 6/30/21. Hat tip to reader Steve.
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $200
- Availability:Must be a resident of Illinois
- Direct deposit required: Yes, complete 2 or more direct deposits totaling $500 or more
- Additional requirements: See below
- Hard/soft pull: Soft pull
- ChexSystems: Unknown
- Credit card funding: None
- Monthly fees: $3.95, waivable
- Early account termination fee: $25, 90 days
- Household limit: One
- Expiration date:
April 30th, 2020December 31, 2020
Contents
The Offer
- Old Second Bank is offering a $200 checking bonus. Bonus is broken down as follows:
- Get $50 when you – Open a new checking account online with promo code EM2 (or open in-branch and mention this ad), get a debit card, and enroll in eStatements.
- Get $100 when you meet the previous requirement and – Complete 2 or more direct deposits totaling $500 or more
- Get another $50 when you meet the requirements for the first $50 bonus, and – Open a Money Builder Savings account
The Fine Print
- An account is not eligible to receive a cash bonus under this offer if 1) the primary account holder currently has an existing personal checking account (Basic Checking, Convenience Checking, Interest Checking, Interest Plus Checking, Military Checking, Minimum Balance Checking, Premier Checking, O2 Checking, Premier Plus Checking, Convenience Plus Checking and Prime Time Checking (“existing personal checking account”) at Old Second National Bank, 2) has had an existing personal checking account open in the 12 months prior to the date of account opening, or 3) the primary account holder has received a personal checking account-related bonus in the twenty-four months prior to the date of account opening.
- The bonuses described in this ad are limited per primary account holder, regardless of the number of accounts opened.
- The new “personal checking account” (02 Checking, Premier Plus Checking, Convenience Plus Checking, Military Checking, and Prime Time Checking) must be opened during the promotion period with the code and must have a positive balance on the 90th calendar day from the date the new personal checking account was opened in accordance with the bank’s procedures.
- Offers are only available on personal checking accounts and the Money Builder Savings account; business accounts, trusts accounts with EINs, Health Savings Accounts, employee accounts and estate accounts are excluded from this offer.
- To receive the first $50 cash bonus,
- 1) provide the offer code and open a new personal checking account, subject to approval,
- 2) apply for, and be issued, a debit card tied to the personal checking account within 90 calendar days of account opening and
- 3) enroll in e-Statements within 90 calendar days of account opening.
- To receive $100 cash bonus,
- 1) you must first meet the requirements of the first $50 cash bonus and
- 2) receive two or more direct deposits totaling at least $500 in the personal checking account within 90 calendar days of account opening. For purposes of this bonus offer, a direct deposit is defined as any payment made by a government agency, employer, or other third-party organization that is made via an electronic deposit. A direct deposit does not include teller, ATM, mobile, remote deposits, or transfers between accounts at Old Second National Bank.
- To receive the second $50 cash bonus,
- 1) you must first meet the requirements of the first $50 cash bonus;
- 2) open a Money Builder Savings account, which requires a minimum opening deposit of $1,000;
- 3) build your savings by depositing funds; if your deposited funds total $5,000 on the 90th calendar day from the date you opened the personal checking account and your account has a positive balance, you will receive any cash bonuses for which you qualified by the 100th calendar day following the date you opened the personal checking account.
- Offer expires April 30, 2020.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
Money connection account has a $3.95 fee if you opt for paper statements, this is waived with paperless statements enabled.
Early Account Termination Fee
According to this comment there is an early account termination fee of $25 if closed within 90 days.
Our Verdict
Bigger than the previous $150 bonus, but this one also requires opening a money market account. You also get $50 for opening the checking account, whereas the previous offer was $100 so that was the better offer for people that didn’t want to do the direct deposit requirement. I’ll still be adding this to our list of the best checking account bonuses.
Hat tip to reader TD
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
Post history:
- Extended until December 31st, 2020. We just saw a $150/$150 bonus that expired after a few days sadly.
back again at $300 until 6/30/2023 https://www.oldsecond.com/personal-banking/checking-300
7/5 – opened checking and savings accounts
7/13 – 2x $250 real DDs (Brex)
7/19 – $1k deposit to savings to waive monthly fee
9/27 – $4k deposit to savings to meet $5k savings balance on day 90
10/5 – withdrew $5k from savings to checking, savings account auto-closed due to $0 balance
10/26 – $100 DD bonus and $50 checking account bonus posted, sent SM asking why I didn’t receive $50 savings bonus
10/28 – received SM stating that I did not qualify because my savings account was closed prior to reaching the 90 day requirement, replied that they need to re-check their math because it was definitely open for at least 90 days
10/31 – received SM stating that the marketing department made an error and that I’ll be credited the $50
11/1 – $50 savings bonus posted
11/2 – zeroed out checking account
11/3 – sent SM requesting checking account be closed, account was closed later that same day (it might have auto-closed on it’s own like the savings account)
for initial funding during application, do you have the option of trial deposits to link external account or you must go through Plaid?
For those of you opened the accounts and got bonus, do you open both checking and Money builder Saving account at the same time during application? or you must follow their bonus term : 1) open a checking account, apply and being issued a debit card and enroll for estatements. 2) after completing step 1), come back to open a Money Builder savings account?
If you come back to open the Money Builder Savings account after step 1), do you need to apply the promo code again?
Chuck William Charles Deal has increased to $300. https://www.oldsecond.com/personal-banking/checking-300?gclid=EAIaIQobChMImuz8yaXP-gIVxdcYAh0JaAjSEAEYASAAEgIyCfD_BwE
Successfully approved on 7/5 with Chex score of 544 (unlike my denial last year with a score of 577).
Last 30: 8
Last 60: 12
Last 90: 16
Last 180: 29
Last 365: 82
Last 730: 133
04/29 DD $500
05/13 DD $500
07/01 $150 bonus posted
Extended until the end of the year. This bodes well for those of us who did the elevated 300 bonus 2 years ago, will become eligible before it expires.
Also, doesn’t look like there’s any restrictions on households in the fine print.
I’m encountering an error when making the account, on the second page where I put in my DL info the page asked for
Password-Secret word to identify you” but everything I put in as a password is invalid and I can’t progress past this page. Obviously as a new customer there is no established password for this field to match, so I have no idea what they could possibly want me to enter. There also is not list of password rules shown that would incidate my password is lacking the correct number of characters, numbers, etc. Does anyone know what the solution is to this issue?
I put in money in an investment company with high hopes of making more Ps for myself but to my disappointment, when it was time to make a withdrawal it became an issue they started asking for tax fee, withdrawal fee and lots more. I was recommended to JIMFUNDSRECOVERY @ CONSULTANT d0t COM where I filed a complaint and I was able to get my money after meeting certain requirements. Thumbs Up guys