Deal has now ended, view more bank account bonuses by clicking here.
Update 5/5/21: Available again and link working again. Hat tip to Ekrem
Update 3/15/21: Deal is available again, but it’s not being advertised online so you need to go in branch to get it. Not sure if it’s only specific branches or not. Hat tip to reader GI
Update 2/16/21: Bonus is now down to $400.
Update 2/1/21: Deal is back, but only valid in Germantown, MD, Tysons, VA, Asheville, NC and Greensboro, and NC (DOWNTOWN). Valid until February 27, 2021
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount:Â $600
- Availability:Â Offer available in the following states: Germantown, MD, Tysons, VA, Asheville, NC and Greensboro, and NC (DOWNTOWN)
- Direct deposit required:Â Â Yes, total of $2,500+ within 90 days
- Additional requirements:Â See below
- Hard/soft pull:Â SoftÂ
- ChexSystems:Â Unknown
- Credit card funding:Â Up to $50, all payment networks are accepted.Â
- Monthly fees:Â None with eStatements
- Early account termination fee:Â 180 days, $50
- Household limit:Â One
- Expiration date:Â
November 14, 2020February 27, 2021.May 29, 2021
Contents
The Offer
- First National Bank is offering a bonus of up to $400 when you open a new checking account. Use promo code PEN4000121. Bonus is broken down as follows:
- Earn $400 when you make direct deposits totaling $2,500 or more
Earn $200 when you make 15 customer initiated debit transactions must be made from your new personal checking account within the first 90 days after account opening; debit transactions could include POS, PIN, ATM withdrawals, transfers to other accounts, mobile banking, online bill pay, wire transfers, personal checks, and Zelle.
The Fine Print
- Offer does not apply to multiple checking accounts.
- Existing FNB checking accounts or accounts converting to another personal checking account are NOT eligible for this offer.
- You can receive only one new checking account reward related offer per household per calendar year; bank employees and members of their household are not eligible for this promotion.
- FNB may offer multiple promotions to its customers at one time.
- Even if you met the requirements for multiple promotional offers you are only eligible for and will receive one promotional reward offer.
- Checking accounts closed by customer within 180 days of opening are subject to a $50 account early closing fee.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
The easiest account to keep fee free is Freestyle checking, there is no monthly fee as long as you have eStatements enabled.
Early Account Termination Fee
$50 fee if closed within 180 days of account opening
Our Verdict
This is obviously better than the $400 we just posted about. According to those comments it seems like this is ChexSystems sensitive so keep that in mind. Don’t think they’ll match to this bonus unfortunately. Still a great bonus if you get approved and will be adding this to our list of the best bank bonuses.
Hat tip to the other Justin
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
Post history:
- Update 10/7/20: Terms now state Offer available in the following geographical locations: MD, DC, and Cuyahoga County in OH. $400 offer is still available in more areas. Hat tip to reader Gadget
Like others in recent posts, I received a mailer earlier this year ($300 for $2500 in DDs within the first 90 days, and $300 for 15 debit transactions within 90 days), but I haven’t received either bonus yet. DP:
2024/07/16: “eStyle” checking account opened.
2024/07/17: Opening deposit posts ($50).
2024/08/07: Transfer from Capital One 360 to FNB posts ($1275).
2024/08/14: Transfer from Capital One 360 to FNB posts ($2025).
2024/09/03-05: Paid electric bill in 17 separate increments with the debit card.
2024/12/03 (today): Still nothing.
Some notes:
1) Each debit card transaction was $5-$17 each.
2) Each debit card transaction shows a description of “POS PUR…”.
3) Each debit card transaction is categorized as “Cable, Satellite, and Other Pay Television and Radio”.
4) My Capital One transfers have the description of “Capital One Transfer” and are categorized as “Uncategorized”.
The mailer says that each reward will be credited to the account “within 15 business days following the 90-day period”. 90 days after account opening is October 14th, and 15 business days after that is roughly November 4th, so it’s been about a month since the bonuses should have paid out.
There are some DPs out there that took a bit longer, but my timeline is already longer than those. Obviously I’m not going to raise a stink claiming I should get the DD portion of the bonus, but I should at least qualify for the debit card spend bonus, correct?
I’ve churned this bonus twice so far, this is my third time. I closed my last account on 2023/04/04, so I should be good there as well.
Any advice?
Update:
2024/12/06 (almost two months after the bonus should’ve posted): Reached out to customer service over email saying that I should have received at least part of the bonus by now. Got a response on the same day saying they would look into it.
2024/12/13: Reached out to customer service again on the same email thread. They said “We have submitted research requests for your account. Once those have been completed, credit should be applied to your account assuming it is found that you completed the stipulations of the promotion”.
2024/12/19: “Promotional Reward SE6002407″ posts ($600).
I was not expecting to get the full $600 because I did not do real DDs (I used Capital One). I only reached out to the bank because I knew I was due for the $300 credit for meeting the debit card spend requirement. So this was a nice surprise.
TL;DR: Does Capital One still work as a DD? I guess so, especially since they manually reviewed my account, apparently. Thanks as always, Doc.
Opened 8/25, 15 ~$1 transfers to Bluebird 9/9-9/11, real DD 10/01, bonus hit 11/27
Received a targeted mailer for 300 + 300 (2.5k DD and 15 “debits” of any kind within 90 days) for a September 2024 campaign, must open by Nov 4, 2024. It specifically references my local branch, but is valid online and in person.
Got a targeted mailer for this. $300 for $2.5k DD and $300 for 15 debit transactions w/in 90 days. Good until 8/30/2024
I got the mailer and just opened the account. However my mailer has slightly different conditions to get the $600 bonus: $300 after $2500 deposit, and $300 after 15 debit transactions. I couldnt open it online and when I called they told me to get to the branch. I called the branch and they were able to open the acount by sending them the ID by private message.
Anyone else recently get a mailer? I was suppose to get one (saw it within informed delivery) but mail wasnt delivered that day, so not sure if it has a unique code or what the terms are. Can only see that it was a $600 bonus.
Yes, I got the mailer, it has a unique code that you have to use to get the $600 bonus. ($400 after $2500 deposit, and $200 after 15 debit transactions).
Just got the $600 offer in the mail. $400 for making direct deposit of $2500 or more, and $200 for 15 or more debit transactions
Deleted, wrong thread
DP – Bonus-earning and account-closing data points:
– 2/22/2021 – Account (Freestyle Checking) opened online
– 3/11/2021 – $2,521 transferred in from E*Trade
– 3/16/2021 – $2,520 transferred in from Chase
– 3/17/2021 – $2,522 transferred in from PNC
– 3/31/2021 – Completed 10+ “Online Bill Payments” (debits)
– 3/31/2021 – $25 PENGUINS PACKAGE ANNUAL FEE assessed
– 4/22/2021 – $2,510 transferred in from Capital One
– 6/23/2021 – $400 bonus deposited into account
– 2/14/2022 – Requested that account be closed (via secure message)
– 2/15/2022 – Account closed (without any notification)
– 2/16/2022 – Noticed unable to login to online banking
– 3/4/2022 – Called to verify that account closed, as requested, after waiting on hold for 51 minutes
I don’t understand how I got opted-in for the $25 “Penguins Package”.
I received a 1099-MISC from First National Bank in the mail today
Would you happen to have the Payer ID Number? Looks like mine got lost in the mail, because still nothing.
First National Bank
4140 E State St
Hermitage, PA 16148
Payer’s TIN 25-1255405