Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount:Â $300
- Availability:Â Â Greene, Columbia, Ulster and Albany counties in New York State
- Direct deposit required:Â Yes, for 12 months. No minimum mentioned
- Additional requirements:Â See below
- Hard/soft pull:Â Unknown
- ChexSystems:Â Unknown
- Credit card funding:Â Unknown
- Monthly fees:Â None
- Early account termination fee:Â $40, six months
- Household limit:Â None listed
- Expiration date:Â None listed
Contents
The Offer
- Bank of Greene County is offering a bonus of up to $300 when you open a new e-Lightning Checking. You receive $25 in GreeneRewards bonus each month you receive a direct deposit for 12 months as long as the direct deposit continues.
The Fine Print
- Direct deposit required to receive $300 GreeneRewards bonus.
- Direct deposit transaction includes payroll and must begin within the first 90 days of account opening to receive the bonus offer.
- $25 in GreeneReward points will be awarded to your enrolled Bank of Greene County Visa® Debit Card for 12 months as long as direct deposit continues
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
This account has no monthly fees.
Early Account Termination Fee
Account Closure (in less than 6 months) ………………….. $40.00
Our Verdict
Previous best bonus was $250, that was restricted to fewer counties. This bonus is annoying as a direct deposit is required for 12 months, but there is no minimum specified so that is nice. Might be worth doing if you can easily change a portion of your payroll to this account otherwise too much mental headache in my opinion.
Hat tip to reader snailrock
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
Could also be worth doing if scheduling DDs.
Geofenced application, so no OOS
Approved, got account by phone talk with a bank rep (as the submitted application says ), then followed an emailed link to finish the application by e-signing. New account number shown in the application.
Bank pulled Chex. My score’s 649
Account Closure (in less than 6 months) ………………….. $40.00
Fees are at end of the account agreement pdf
Thanks for sharing, added to post.
Drilling down I see I can supposedly convert my GreeneReward points into a Cash Back option of $8 $20 $40 or $80 ‘statement credits’. “reward is provided in the form of a statement credit, which will be issued in 2 – 4 weeks after the order is placed”
See https://www.dreampoints.com/greenerewards/product.php?seq=13&product=39146&brand=00430&model=1001-0008&gift=true
Can also convert for various gift cards for places of no use to me.
I’ll try Treasury Direct and see if it counts as a DD and if $20 of GreeneReward points buys me a $20 ‘statement credit’ . 5% on up to $500 balance is good too
That dreampoints link gets Session expired. do
https://www.dreampoints.com/greenerewards/ click View Sample Rewards, then Browse rewards > Cash back
You should also mention the elightning checking account has 5% interest on the first $500 unlike many checking accounts.