[Expired] Salem Five $150 Checking Bonus

Deal has expired, replaced with a new deal offering free Netflix, Spotify, Birchbox, Harry’s, or Graze up to $14.95 per month for a full year.

Offer at a glance

• Maximum bonus amount: $150
• Availability: Nationwide
• Direct deposit required: Yes, cumulative deposits of $1,500 within 60 days of account opening
• Additional requirements: Use promo code STAR
• Hard/soft pull: Hard (all datapoints are quite old though). Recent datapoint says soft, new dp say hard as well
• ChexSystems: Unknown, sensitive
• Credit card funding: None
• Monthly fees: $15, avoidable
• Early account termination fee: None
• Household limit: None listed
• U.S. Citizen: Yes or permanent resident alien if opening online.
• Expiration date: None listed

The Offer

Direct link to offer

• Salem Five Direct is offering a bonus of $150 when you open a new Star checking account and complete the following requirements:
  • Use promo code STAR
  • Receive cumulative direct deposits of $1,500 or more within 60 days of account opening

The Fine Print

• This Star Checking offer is not available to customers with an existing personal checking account at Salem Five Bank.
• Closed accounts that were opened at any time in the 12 months prior to account opening are considered existing accounts for the purpose of qualifying for this promotion.
• Only available to new personal Star Checking customers with cumulative direct deposit funds of $1,500 or more made within 60 days of account opening.
• Qualifying direct deposits are recurring electronic deposits of your paycheck, pension or government benefits (such as Social Security) from your employer or government. Person-to-Person and bank transfers between your accounts or accounts you have at other financial institutions or brokerages do not qualify.
• Minimum balance to open the account is $10 in branch and $100 online.
• Once the offer criteria is met, the bonus will be credited into the new Star Checking account within 10 days
• All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them

Avoiding Fees

Monthly Fee

This account has a $15 monthly fee. This is waived if you do any of the following:

• Monthly maintenance fee waived with payroll direct deposit
• $1,500 minimum daily balance
• Automatic transfer to a Salem Five Mortgage
• Combined deposit/loan balance of $5,000 (excluding mortgage loan balances)

Early Account Termination Fee

There is no early account termination fee according to the fee schedule

Our Verdict

They also have a 2.05% APY savings account.  It looks like most of the time account opening results in a hard pull, but sometimes it’s soft. It also looks like they are ChexSystems sensitive. because of that we won’t be adding it to the best bank account bonuses.

Hat tip to Danny Deal Guru

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