This bonus has expired, click here for a list of the best checking bonuses.
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $200
- Availability: Online account opening eligible for New York State and Fairfield County residents only
- Direct deposit required: Yes, minimum of $250
- Additional requirements: No
- Hard/soft pull: Soft
- Credit card funding: Cannot be funded with a credit card
- Monthly fees: $0-$10
- Early account termination fee: $0
- Expiration date: None listed
The Offer
- Receive a sign up bonus of $200 when you open a new checking account with Ridgewood Bank with the promotional code ‘200good’. Bonus broken down as follows (requirements must be met within 60 days of account opening):
- Receive $100 when you enroll in direct deposits of at least $250
- Receive $50 for performing ten debit card transactions
- Receive $50 for enrolling in eStatements
The Fine Print
- Minimum $25 to open a checking account
- This offer may not be combined with any other offers and applies to checking account customers only.
- This offer is limited to one checking account per tax ID#.
- You will receive promotional compensation as follows if you use the promo code and the required actions are performed within the first 60 days of opening your checking account: $50 if you sign up and receive eStatements; $100 for direct depositing a minimum of $250 from a recurring Direct Deposit of payroll, Federal/state government benefit, or pension benefit; $50 for using your debit card ten times to complete a signature or PIN transaction.
- Promotional compensation will be credited to your checking account within 30 days after the qualifying time period passes (90 days). Existing checking account customers are eligible if the promo code is provided and the required actions are performed after the start date of this offer and prior to the offer’s termination. Bonus will be considered interest and will be reported to IRS form 1099-INT.
- Online account opening eligible for New York State and Fairfield County residents only
Avoiding Fees
They have a free checking account, it’s free as long as you have one of: online banking, a direct deposit or combined total balance relationship of $2,500.00 in your Ridgewood deposit accounts. I couldn’t find any mention of an early account termination fee in their fee schedule, so I’m going to assume there isn’t one.
Our Verdict
This is a nice bonus, it’s easy to keep the account fee free and you can get $100 of the bonus without a direct deposit requirement. No credit card funding is a bit of a downside, but not the end of the world. If I lived within the target area, I’d be completing this deal. Because of this we’ve added it to our list of the best bank account bonuses currently available.
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
- 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
Hat tip to Danny Deal Guru
Looks like $350 offer active on this bank….
https://www.ridgewoodbank.com/home/personal/checking
Money orders are not accepted as deposit through the app, also, I had it unlocked a few minutes after emailing the address specified in the app, [email protected]. I sent my name, scan of my license, scan of my passport and the account number.
I had to call in, a rep from the branch I opened it at said he’d look into it and call me back. He said they’d deposit it that day. They did indeed. It just showed up as “Deposit” no promo language or anything. Seems like they manually did it.
I’m actually going to keep this account as it’s the closest bank to my house, and I actually really like the people and their available services.
But everyone who says their tech is outdated is dead on. Their ATMs require envelopes and are manually entered into the system by people, so if you deposit Saturday after closing hours…prepare to not have access to that cash til Monday AM. Even the banker that helped me open my account acknowledged that. She said that Ridgewood’s policy is to let other banks do the “exploration” of technology and adopt it after it proves successful. I actually personally agree with that.
Here’s what I’ve discovered and will share with everyone.
1) USPS Money orders clear the next day, despite the “your account is less than 30 days old so you have an 11 day hold” rule.
2) Cash and direct deposits are available immediately.
3) Their website updates at 6am EST.
4) They can print debit cards and starter checks in branch.
5) Almost everything shows as direct deposit. PayPal, Schwab, Alliant, Stripe. When I went in branch to ask how my bonus requirements were going, I had fulfilled direct deposit. I’m going to keep depositing PayPal to the account.
6) For whatever reason, despite me selecting e-statements online immediately after opening the account, when I asked about the requirements, she said I hadn’t selected e-statements, but she was able to change it for me from her system. So make sure to check on that.
Finally got the $200 bonus today after calling my local branch last week. Used payroll direct deposit.
I only got $100 bonus. Guess that is $50 eStatement + 10 Debit transactions
Initiated 5 ACH transfers from other banks. It doesn’t seem to be working, 🙁
I did 2 transfers (Bofa Business and Etrade), and they appeared on the account with the description “Direct Depost”. Even so, I only got the $50 bonus for getting bill statements, but not the $100 bonus for DD.
when did you open the account? I did real DD and have not received any bonus (even the bill statement). Guess might have to contact them soon?
Anybody get the bonus yet? I completed all the requirements, sent in the form, and bonus has not posted yet.
I was approved instantly when I applied online on a Sunday. But got a denial email on Monday stating excessive inquiries. I however received a paper statement at the end of the month. I called up the bank and when they checked, the account was actually opened and the denial was for the online banking signup. So the banker deleted my online profile and asked me to signup again!
Those who were denied when applying online – it might be worth calling them and checking if the account was indeed denied!
anyone know .. one per person or one per household?