Update: There is a better offer for $250, more details here.
Reposting this since it’s been more than a year since we last posted this deal.
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $150
- Availability:Â TN, FL, NC, SC, VA Only
- Direct deposit required: Yes, no minimum specified
- Additional requirements: Use promotional code “MGR150”
- Hard/soft pull: Soft
- Credit card funding: Up to $300
- Monthly fees: $5-$9, waive able
- Early account termination fee: Six months, otherwise bonus is clawed back
- Expiration date: March 31st, 2016Â
September 30th, 2015ÂMay 31st, 2015ÂJanuary 31st, 2015
The Offer
- Receive a $150 bonus when you open a consumer checking account with First Tennessee bank, use the promotional code “MGR150” and receive a direct deposit
The Fine Print
- Minimum account opening is $300
- Direct deposit must be received within 60 days of account opening
- Bonus will be deposited within 6 weeks after meeting the direct deposit requirement
- Limit of one bonus per household
- Only available to new checking customers or those who haven’t held a Checking account with First Tennessee within the last 12 months
- Account must be kept open for a minimum of six months
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Express Checking $5 Monthly
This is waived as long as you have at least one direct deposit in the month.
Our Verdict
There is a higher bonus of $200 that this bank is offering with similar terms. This lower sign up bonus of $150 might be better for two reasons:
- You can open online, rather than in branch
- You can get this bonus on the Express checking account which doesn’t require $5,000 to be kept fee free
Because of the above I’d be more likely to recommend this deal than the other one. The only downside is there aren’t a lot of data points on what does or doesn’t count as a direct deposit. If I lived within the promo area, I’d be giving this bonus a go but unfortunately I don’t. We’ve added it to our list of state specific checking promos.
If you don’t live within one of the participating states, look at our list of the best new checking account sign up bonuses.
Direct link to offer | Screenshot of offer
Hat tip to our other writer, Chuck.
Does Discover ACH push count as Direct deposit for this bank? any DP? Many thanks!!!
FYI, I had been using an ACH push from Discover Bank to meet the DD requirement for Express Checking, but it’s now showing up as P2P for me. For the past several months, it showed as:
DISCOVER BANK PREARRANGEYYMMDD########### (My Discover Bank Account Number)
However, my latest push is showing up as:
DISCOVER BANK P2P YYMMDDMATTHEW **** (My Last Name)
They’ve been sending several e-mails lately about their new upgraded online banking system, maybe that’s related to this, who knows.
I know these bonuses are long since expired, but they say it’s required to keep accounts open for a minimum of 6 months, in order to avoid a claw-back. For those of us out there who are still trying to fulfill that requirement, and avoid the Express Checking monthly fee, this might be something to keep an eye on.
If anyone out there is reading this, I hope this data point helps you!
Wish I saw the $250 before signing up for the $150 bonus. But I deposited $300 with Capital One Quicksilver. It went through as a purchase. I also did an ACH Push from my Capital One 360 Savings for .01 cent and got the $150 bonus a few days later.
Discover should code as cash advance.
I set my cash advance to 0 and it didn’t go through.
Thanks for the data point.
I just opened an account through the $250 link. I actually found that link a few days ago from Maximizing Money. I DO NOT live in one of the states mentioned so it doesn’t appear to be restricted to them. I used my Freedom for the $300 opening deposit. At the end it said “Summary of Products Pending Review” so hopefully that won’t cause any problems.
Can you let us know if it goes through?
I just checked. It posted as a purchase yesterday.
Better offer: $250 https://www.firsttennessee.com/250online
I live in TN and can walk to a 1st Tennessee bank in about 10 minutes. I opened the account with $300, pushed $100 from CapitalOne and had the bonus 3 days later.
I avoid the $5 monthly fee of Xpress Checking by pushing/pulling $50 a month via ACH from CO.
Nice Find FC!
I presume the expiration for this is March 2016 – not 2015, correect?
Sure is, fixed this.
opened 6/23, bonus posted 8/28. will close in january to ensure they don’t take the $150 back
Chase Visa worked…$300
Was $300 the maximum you could fund? Thanks for the data point.
I also used a Chase (Hyatt) Visa, and $300 was the max I was allowed to use.
Coded as a purchase?
Yes…was the Chase (Hyatt) Visa coded as a purchase or cash advance…”inquiring minds want to know.”
Wouldn’t allow me to do a $301 opening deposit, but it did allow $300 on the nose.