Deal has expired, view the best current checking bonuses by clicking here.
Update 11/25/18: Deal is back and valid until December 31st, 2018. Hat tip to reader Maks
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $300 for checking + $100 for savings
- Availability:Â LA, MS, FL, AL, & TX only. Keep in mind they will sometimes get you to go in branch to verify information
- Direct deposit required:Â Yes, $250+
- Additional requirements:Â E-statement enrollment and 5 transactions
- Hard/soft pull:Â Soft
- ChexSystems: No
- Credit card funding:Â None
- Monthly fees: $10, avoidable
- Early account termination fee: $20, 180 days
- Household limit: One (this is enforced)
- Expiration date:
March 31st, 2017 June 30th, 2017 December 31st, 2017Â April 30th, 2018 July 31st, 2018 October 31st, 2018Â December 31st, 2018
Contents
The Offer
- Open a checking account with Whitney Bank and receive a $300 bonus when you complete the following:
- Must set up and receive a monthly qualifying direct deposit of at least $250 or more before 2/25/19
- Open a Silver Savings account and receive an additional $100 bonus when you deposit a total of $20,000 or more in new money and maintain your $20,000 balance through October 25th, 2018.
The Fine Print
- To be eligible for the checking promotion: Bring the code above to your nearest financial center or apply online and open a new personal checking account with money not currently on deposit at Hancock Whitney by 7/31/18.
- The promo code is required at account opening.
- This offer is non-transferable and cannot be combined with any other offers, and valid only for the person residing at the address the mail was sent to. (This has never been enforced before)
- Limit of one new consumer checking-account-related bonus redemption per calendar year per household.
- Enroll in online banking and select online statements, and make five eligible purchases with your debit card by 08/25/18. Eligible purchases include those with either a signature or PIN, excludes Online Bill Pay and ATM withdrawals.
- â€If you meet all of the requirements and your eligible personal checking account remains open and active, we will deposit the earned bonus into your new personal checking account within 6 weeks aafter the qualification expiration date of 8/25/18.
- This offer expires on July 31, 2018. The Bank may change or discontinue this offer at any time before this date without notice.
- To be eligible for the savings promotion: A Silver Savings account, with new money not currently held by Hancock Whitney, must be opened by 07/31/18, with a minimum opening deposit of $20,000 or more.
- The promo code is required at account opening.
- The email given at account opening must match the email address submitted to get the offer promo code.
- Then simply maintain your $20,000 minimum daily balance through 10/25/18. Limit of one new consumer savings-account-related bonus per household per calendar year.If you meet all of the requirements and your eligible Silver Savings account remains open and active, we will deposit the earned bonus into your Silver Savings account within 6 weeks after the qualification expiration date of 10/25/18.
Avoiding Fees
Access Checking $10 Monthly Fee
This is waived if you do any of the following:
- Minimum daily balance of $250+ OR
- Under age 24 or over age of 64 OR
- Receive a direct deposit of $250+
Early Account Termination Fee $20
This account has an early account termination fee of $20 if the account is closed within 180 days of account opening.
Our Verdict
They have offered this bonus before, worth reading through that old thread for data points and common questions that have likely been asked & answered. It’s important to keep in mind the targeted language, that has never been enforced before but as always YMMV. It’s great that it’s possible to churn this bonus (although you’re limited to one checking & one savings bonus per year). Also keep in mind they currently have a $400 business checking bonus you’ll want to stack this with if possible, fingers crossed that comes back.
The checking bonus is a must do if you live in the target area (sorry not sure if out of state applications will work or not) as there is no direct deposit requirement and it’s incredibly easy to meet the other requirements and keep the account fee free. I don’t think the savings bonus is worth doing as you need to tie up $20,000 in funds for at least three months and the APY is 0.01% (if you put that into a 2% APY account you’d earn almost $100) – you can view high interest accounts here. Because of that the checking bonus will be added and the savings bonus won’t be added to our best bank bonus page. They also specifically state you can do the bonus online now as well which is great, previously it had worked for people but it’s great to see it specifically allowed now.
Useful posts regarding bank bonuses:
- A Beginners Guide To Bank Account Bonuses
- 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
Bonus history:
Update 08/20/18: Deal now requires a direct deposit of
Bonus has been extended until October 31st, 2018. A word of caution if you’re in TX, the bonus doesn’t really seem to be working for you. If you go in branch reps say the bonus isn’t for Texas and if you apply online they claim the bonus is only for $150 despite the terms. Up to you if you want to risk it or not.
Update 05/09/18: Deal is back and valid until July 31st, 2018. Hat tip to reader Newbie
Update 01/25/18: Deal is back and valid until April 30th, 2018. Hat tip to reader NN
Had the code sent, but when I try to apply it says the code is invalid. Did this happen to anyone else?
Real DD, Bonus batch posted on 3/19/2019. Opened end of Dec, met requirements early Jan.
Does anybody know if they sent a 1099 for this? I didn’t save a copy of the T&C of how the bonus is described.
Thanks
I’m not a lawyer and the following is for entertainment purposes only.
You don’t need a 1099 to claim this on your tax return. If they don’t issue one, it won’t mess up your taxes. If you don’t claim it, and they later send one (as has happened with other banks who have sent them as late as early April because too many people asked about it), you are in big trouble. Ok, maybe not big trouble, but you’ll have to amend your tax return and physically mail it and pay some interest charges. Big pain.
Yes, the deadline for banks to send it is January 31, but they can still send it later, and simply pay a few bucks penalty for missing the deadline.
If you are in this game, I’d wait until April 15 to file your taxes. It happens to me every other year, where I get a tax form / correction of a form in March/April.
I didn’t receive any 1099s for this. Anyone got one in previous years? I will keep waiting.
I agree it is a pain. the main reason I am asking is my december statement showed ytd interest paid as 0.00 I guess my main question should have been does anybody know if this treated as interest or rebate. On the statement the month I earned it, it is listed as “Your Bonus” and no interest paid ytd.
Purchases with debit card were required, so it could be treated as a rebate (non-taxable).
Still haven’t received one for this bonus. Anyone else get one? I’ll probably assume it was treated as a rebate (non-taxable) for filing purposes unless someone else reports receiving a 1099.
I’m in the same boat. I still haven’t received a 1099.
Opened in Sarasota, FL branch on 10/11/18 real DD and 5 debit transactions completed in Oct. 18. No bonus posted yet. Will give them a call.
So what’s working as DD? No data points yet, as there hasn’t been a DD bonus.
I opened an account 12/31/17 and received bonus in 2018 – Am I eligible to open another account by 12/31/18 as the bonus won’t be received until 2019? Thanks
William Charles
Adding my Data Points to assist.
10/18 – Open acct & Initial Deposit $100
11/08 – 5x Amazon debit transactions
11/09 – ACH Transfer $260 from Chase
12/20 – ACH Transfer $250 from Chase
01/18 – Rec’d $300 Bonus from Hancock Whitney
For me the ACH transfers pushed from Chase counted as Direct Deposits.
Thanks added DP
Opened 8/13, did two real DDs and 5 Amazon reloads. No bonus yet. Used Texas address of family, will call them. Has bonus posted for everybody on 1/18?
A few comments saying promo not working in Texas. Hopefully you will get the bonus.
I opened in a branch in Louisiana, if this doesn’t work, I have to file CFPB I think.
Thanks for DP!! Can I ask what Chase coded as for you?
any more current DP of Chase Transfers working as DD for?
Hancock Whitney Bank $300 Checking Bonus
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/la-ms-fl-al-tx-hancock-whitney-bank-300-checking-bonus-2/
…both Chase online banking transfer options will work the same? i- instant transfer (no Zelle but regular), ii- slow transfer from Chase
Thx
Biweekly auto deposits from a personal Bank of America checking account did not work. (Didn’t expect it to–was going to do a real DD from work before I hit a speed bump–but had to try.) They coded as P2P.
Just tried to apply and it does ask you for your zip immediately in the application. I’m about 90 miles from the nearest branch in FL and got the message that I couldn’t apply online, have to go into a branch. Probably will next time I’m driving near one.
Called branch here in Houston and was told that this offer is not for Texas. Texas has a different $300 targeted offer.
Not Working for Austin, TX area code even with online promo code
Dallas address doesn’t work still
This may be a good news / bad news thing (since last time I tried to open an account with them).
Bad news: I got the “We are unable to process your application online. Please visit one of our convenient branch locations to apply. Thank you.” response. I live in the Dallas area.
“Good” news: This came up after I sent myself the email offer, clicked on it, selected the checking, and then right after putting in my zip code. So…if they are getting more sophisticated at screening out out-of-area zip codes, they appear to be doing this before you do anything more than entering a zip code without any other personal info. Thus, if you’re not targeted at least you don’t waste time or a Chexsystem hit to find out later. Also makes it pretty easy to test and see if you might be able to get the bonus using whatever geography footprint they came up with.