Deal has ended, view more bank account bonuses by clicking here.
Update 6/20/20: Deal is back but has been decreased to $200. Hat tip to reader AnnaR
Update 11/27/19: Deal has been increased to $300, valid until December 2nd. Hat tip to SuperBankOfferMan
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $200 Amazon giftcard
- Availability: Most likely MA only [Branch locator]
- Direct deposit required: Yes, $1,000+ per month for three months
- Additional requirements: Enroll in online banking
- Hard/soft pull: Soft
- ChexSystems: Unknown
- Credit card funding: None
- Monthly fees: $10, avoidable
- Early account termination fee: None
- Household limit: None listed
- Expiration date: None listed
Contents
The Offer
- Stoneham Bank is offering a bonus of a $200 Amazon gift card when you open a new Optimum Plus or Optimum One Checking account and complete the following requirements for the first full three calendar months:
- Receive a monthly direct deposit(s) totaling $1,000 or more
- Enroll in online banking
The Fine Print
- Earn a $200 Amazon Gift Card when you open a new Optimum Plus or Optimum One Checking account with a $10 minimum opening deposit balance and complete the following requirements within each of the first full three calendar months following the date the new account is funded:
- (1) Receive a monthly direct deposit(s) totaling $1,000 or more and;
- (2) Enroll in Online Banking.
- For example, a qualifying account type opened and funded during the month of April must complete the requirements in the months May, June and July in order to qualify for the gift card.
- Examples of qualifying direct deposits are electronic deposits of your paycheck, pension or government benefits from your employer or the government.
- You must not currently have a StonehamBank personal checking account or have had one in the last 12 months.
- A $200 Amazon Gift Card claim code will be emailed to you within 30 days of completing requirements if qualification conditions are met, and the account remains in good standing.
- To redeem your gift card for online users: Simply set up or log in to your Amazon account; Click the “Your Account” tab; Click on “Gift Cards”; Click on “Redeem a Gift Card”; Enter your gift card’s claim code in the claim code field; Click on “Apply to Your Balance”. For mobile users: Simply set up or log in to your Amazon account; Go to “Your Account”; Tap the “Manage Gift Card Balance” from the “Amazon Wallet” options; Tap “Redeem Another Gift Card” and enter or scan your claim code; then Tap “Apply to Your Balance”.
- The retail value of the Amazon.com gift card is $200.00.
- The primary account holder is solely responsible for any federal, state and local taxes, and must provide StonehamBank with a valid social security number or taxpayer identification number before the gift card will be provided.
- A form 1099-MISC will be issued to the primary account holder.
- Limit one gift card per customer.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
Optium One is the easiest of the two accounts to keep fee free. It has a $10 monthly fee, this is waived if you do any of the following: Maintain a monthly direct deposit of $500 or; Maintain an average daily balance of $1500 or; Use your debit card 5 times per month for point of sale transactions.
Early Account Termination Fee
I wasn’t able to find any early account termination fee though in their fee schedule.
Our Verdict
Previous best bonus was for $130 cash, this is a bigger bonus but there is a monthly fee to worry about and bonus is in the form of an Amazon gift card. Still think this is a better bonus. I will be adding this to our list of the best bank account bonuses.
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
William Charles Deal is back, MA and NH only, Cannot have had an account for the last 2 years, $250 with 1000 in total DD for the 3 calendar months following account opening. Must enroll in online banking,. $250 is cash this time and not Amazon Card, 1099 mentioned:
https://www.stonehambank.com/getmore/
Did anyone get a 1099 for the amazon gift card from this promotion?
William Charles Link is dead.
On chat a customer service representative said that the offer is not available. I guess they forgot to delete the page when the offer expired. I could not find a link to the offer from the bank’s home page.
It seems this is back, at stonehambank.com/OptimumIngredients for $200? Maybe? It doesn’t have an end date on it anyway.
AnnaR When it was offered before it was prominently displayed on the main page and when you went to open an account. I don’t see that this time. I’d say this is the 2019 offer I last did, the amount is the same as are the terms. There’s no end date but this is a clue on the page as to the date it was posted “Annual Percentage Yield (APY) is effective as of 5/13/19.” Sadly, I’d say it’s dead based on what other poster said about chatting with the bank.
Ah, hmm, guess so. Oh well :/
12/05/2019 Opened Account $10.00
01/13/2020 SoFi Transfer $1001.23
02/11/2020 SoFi Transfer $1001.23
03/19/2020 SoFi Transfer $1001.23
03/31/2020 Email with $300 Amazon Gift Card
Also got mine today. Used WF for all DD, no others.
SoFI || BBVA || Gesa || Citi worked as a DD requirement for me
Anyone get gift card from the BF deal? I haven’t. Would have thought it would arrive by now.
I haven’t either from the BF deal.
I too got it today.
I got it today as well. Used wells fargo for direct deposit.
DP: Gift card arrived via email today 3/31. 2 $500 DDs each in Jan/Feb/Mar, last of which posted 3/27.
Posting this for anyone thinking about applying because of the new deal Stoneham Bank is offering: They are definitely chex sensitive. I’m 100% positive I answered all the verification questions right, but got the following message afterwards:
“Thank you for your interest in opening a new account.
Unfortunately, we cannot process your application.”
I have about 13 inquiries in the last 10 months.
https://www.stonehambank.com/optimumchecking/ William Charles Chuck new deal out 250 bonus and a free oil change
DP:
Apply 7/16/19, Approve 7/18/19
Logged into Online Banking (already registered from prior offer)
Employer DD – 2 x $502 – Aug 2019
Employer DD – 2 x $502 – Sept 2019
Employer DD – 2 x $502 – Oct 2019
Amazon GC Emailed 11/12/2019 (got caught in spam filter so just saw it now)
William Charles This seems to be dead now. The link is dead and I see no mention on the site anymore.
Great news, I just completed DD requirements for the $300 Amazon card on 2/7/20, hoping for gift card soon
did you get it yet?
What was the subject of the email? Wondering if it will get caught in my spam as well!