Update 9/9/23: Bonus is back, now $250 instead of $300 and includes IL now as well. Hat tip to knuds1b
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $250
- Availability: IN, OH, IL
- Direct deposit required: No
- Additional requirements: Use promo code
- Hard/soft pull: Soft pull
- ChexSystems: Unknown
- Credit card funding: Yes, $1,000+ with Visa/Mastercard
- Monthly fees:
- Early account termination fee: 180 days, bonus forfeit
- Household limit: One
- Expiration date:
Contents
The Offer
- F&M Bank is offering a $300 bonus when you open a new checking account and complete the following requirements:
- Use promo code BONUS250
The Fine Print
- You may be eligible for a $300 account opening bonus if you open a new Personal Checking Account.
- The account opening bonus will be treated as interest for IRS (Form 1099-INT) reporting purposes.
- No minimum balance is required to obtain this bonus.
- A minimum deposit may be required to open a Personal Checking Account.
- Offer is not available to existing F&M checking account customers or those with an F&M checking account closed within the last six months.
- Offer limited to one account per household and one account opening bonus per account per calendar year.
- If you close your new Checking Account within 180 days of account opening, the account opening bonus will be forfeited and it will be deducted from the account balance at closing.
- F&M employees and their immediate family members residing in the same household are not eligible for the account opening bonus.
- Account specific requirements may apply based on the account opened but would not affect the eligibility for receiving the bonus.
- Health Savings Accounts are not included in this promotion.
- Limited time offer.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
Smart checking has no monthly fees to worry about.
Early Account Termination Fee
Bonus is forfeit if account is closed within 180 days.
Our Verdict
Doesn’t look like there are any requirements apart from the promo code. Seems to be a very good deal if that’s the case.
Hat tip to Woody
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
View Comments (182)
Any current bonuses at this bank, and does it still work for IL residents?
Is this still active? Link in post is 404 and I tried to sign up and clicked through some pages to see if it asked me for a promo code but it didn't so I stopped before verifying myself.
Tried to open an account with the new grad promo and don't see anywhere on the promo page to open an account so I just went to the page to open an account, but got all the way to the end and don't see anywhere to put a promo code. Ugh.
Current bonus
https://www.fm.bank/personal/bank/checking/graduate-checking-promo
Looks like it's down
Says, "If you are a 2024 Graduate." I'm assuming they don't check?
CC funding triggered fraud alert and failed. Which gave me trouble just opening the account. But after a few phone calls I got online banking working.
DP:
8/7 $25 pushed from Discover Checking
8/9 $250 pending around lunch time
So I applied me and P2 about 2-3 weeks ago. Had to use check deposit through app for initial deposit ($50) requirement. Waited a week or so and nothing. So then I did an actual deposit from employer in both ($50) and it’s been about a week and still no bonus for either. Bonus code used was the BONUS250. Should I wait longer or call? It seems like a lot of people got there’s within a few days..
Household limit was enforced for us.
It looks like the offer has been pulled. The link currently takes you to a "404" error page.
The offer states "Offer is not available to existing F&M checking account customers or those with an F&M checking account closed within the last six months. Offer limited to one account per household and one account opening bonus match per account per calendar year." I opened my last account with them on 6/23/23, got a $250 bonus 7/24/23, and closed the account 12/26/23. So it was closed more than six months ago, but any thoughts or data points on if "one account opening bonus match per account per calendar year" means I have to wait to apply until 7/24/24 (12 months after I last received the bonus, or if it that condition has been satisfied since we are no longer in "calendar year 2023"?
My interpretation is that you became eligible to sign up for another bonus on 6/27/2024 once you reached 6 months post-closure.
Be careful. My account was auto closed the next day because my VPN/IP address showed a location in a different state.