[Expired] Regions Bank $400-$450 Checking Bonus [AL, AR, FL, GA, IL, IN, IA, KY, LA, MS, MO, NC, SC, TN & TX]

Update: Regions has taken down this offer page.

Just a week ago, we covered the $300-$350 bonus you could get from Regions Bank. Now they’ve upped the offer and made it even easier to get by exchanging the requirement for direct deposit with requiring you to enroll in online statements. With the previous offer, a lot of people were having issues with Google Chrome, so you may want to use Microsoft Edge to be safe.

• Maximum bonus amount: $450
• Availability: AL, AR, FL, GA, IL, IN, IA, KY, LA, MS, MO, NC, SC, TN & TX. Note that opening online doesn’t seem to work in some areas, according to some, you need to live within 50 miles of a branch. [Branch locator]
• Direct deposit required: None!
• Additional requirements: See below
• Hard/soft pull: Soft
• Credit card funding: Up to $1,000 (and another $1,000 when you open a free savings account). American Express not accepted.
• Monthly fees: $8-$18, waive-able
• Early account termination fee: $25 if closed within 180 days
• Household limit: None mentioned
• Expiration date: January 31st, 2017

The Offer

Direct link to offer. Note that this link redirects you to the landing page & you cannot link the landing page directly. This seems to be how Regions’s promotions work, as the same thing happens when you try to directly link to the $300 bonus landing page. I don’t think there’s anything to worry about.

Please note that reader MJC was told that this is only valid for the LifeGreen Checking Account instead of any LifeGreen Checking Account, despite the graphic claiming it is any account and the terms directly implying that any of the LifeGreen checking accounts are valid (“only applies to personal LifeGreen checking accounts”; mentioning the LifeGreen Preferred Checking Account;  “A monthly fee may apply to your LifeGreen checking account, depending on account type”, etc.). This may be a case of a customer representative not being correct, but you may want to call to confirm the bonus beforehand.

• Open any new LifeGreen Checking Account online with the promo code, by phone, or in person with your personalized voucher by January 31, 2017 and a receive a bonus of $400 when you do the following:
  • Register your e-mail using the e-mail my voucher option (thanks to reader Tim), AND use the promotional code 400MC3. You must register your e-mail before applying by phone or in person, but this may not be necessary for online openings.
  • Make 10 purchases with a Regions Visa Checkcard (must post within 60 days of account opening)
  • Enroll in Online Statements through Online Banking (within 60 days of account opening)
• You may be able to get another $50 by using a referral link (see below)

The Fine Print

The fine print is the exact same as the previous offer:

• The offer is available only to the person who has registered and is non-transferable. (this is the same language in the previous offer, which was not targeted, so there’s no reason to believe this is targeted).
• $400 bonus offer may not be combined with any other offer, does not apply if you have or had a Regions checking account on or after August 1, 2016, only applies to personal LifeGreen checking accounts
• To earn this bonus, you must meet all requirements of the offer described above within 60 days of opening your new account. If earned, the bonus will be issued within 120 days of meeting these requirements, and will be in the form of a credit to the new checking account, which must be open at the time the credit is issued.
• All LifeGreen checking accounts require a $50 minimum opening deposit.
• The only checking account with an APY is LifeGreen Preferred. No interest is paid on other LifeGreen checking accounts.
• For accounts opened in Iowa, certain account fees are subject to Iowa State Tax of 6%, which will be assessed at the time the fee is charged, unless exempt. Taxes are the responsibility of the recipient.
• Regions associates are not eligible.

Avoiding Fees

Regions offers six LifeGreen checking accounts. One applies only to ages 62+, one applies only to students, and one has a $5 non-waive-able fee, leaving three. Of the three, the eAccess Account is the easiest to waive the fee on, given the requirements of this bonus, though the LifeGreen Checking account will also work.

LifeGreen eAccess Account, $8 Monthly Fee

The monthly fee goes from $8 to $10 if you opt for paper statements instead of online statements, but this bonus requires you to opt for online statements. The monthly fee is waived if you make 10 or more Regions CheckCard purchases per statement cycle.

LifeGreen Checking, $8 Monthly Fee

The monthly fee goes from $8 to $10 if you opt for paper statements instead of online statements, but this bonus requires you to opt for online statements. The monthly fee is waived if you do any of the following:

• Receive a single ACH direct deposit, such as a recurring payroll or government benefit deposit, of at least $500, OR
• Receive multiple ACH direct deposits, such as a recurring payroll or government benefit deposit, with a total combined amount of at least $1,000, OR
• Have an average monthly balance of $1,500 or more (this is presumably calculated using a daily average and is not the same as a minimum monthly balance)

LifeGreen Preferred Checking, $18 Monthly Fee

The monthly fee of $18 is waived if you meet any of the following:

• $5,000 average monthly balance, OR
• Combined minimum deposit balances from all of your Regions checking, savings, money markets, CDs and IRAs of $25,000, OR
• Combined $25,000 minimum outstanding loan balances from all of your Regions personal installment loans, lines of credit, equity lines of credit, equity loans, direct loans and credit cards in good standing, OR
• Any first-lien home mortgage with Regions in any amount and in good standing (excluding home equity loans and home equity lines of credit, and construction, manufactured housing and business loans)

Regions notes that the balances for the middle two requirements are determined at the beginning of the last day of your checking account statement period. (They also note that “good standing” means you are not past due or in default under your credit agreement, but hopefully everyone already knows that!).

Early Account Termination Fee

There is an early account closure fee of $25 if you close your account within 180 days of account opening.

Referral Bonus $50

There is also a referral bonus you can receive in addition to this $400 bonus (bringing the total to $450). This has worked in the past, but it is no guarantee to work this time around.  You need to mention the full name and e-mail address of the person who refers you to get this bonus (they’ll also receive a $50 bonus). Reader and reddit user mgoulart first posted this bonus. He can refer you by DM on reddit or via email at [email protected].

Reader Jason in the comments of the $300 article notes that you may not even need to be referred by a Regions account holder, though we won’t know if that works for a while yet.

Our Verdict

This is by far the best bank account bonus Regions have offered given the bonus, easy requirements, and the fact that it’s valid for all 15 states in which they have branches. It’s no stretch to call it the best bank account bonus currently available, and certainly the best personal banking bonus I’ve ever seen—with the caveat that you must live in a state with a Regions branch. I’d recommend reading through our previous posts about them if you have any questions as they might be answered there.

Regions does seem to be matching customers from the $300 offer to the $400 offer. Twitter DMs and e-mailing [email protected] has worked. Relevant DPs can be found in the comments.

This probably will not last very long, since they can pull the offer at any time, so I’d recommend signing up sooner rather than later if you’re interested. We still aren’t sure whether referrals work, so for now, please don’t share your referrals in the comments.

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

Hat tip to u/mgoulart on r/churning