Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $250
- Availability: Must open in branch, all branches are Tennessee. Branches are in Clarksville, Springfield, Greenbrier, Dover, Bumpus Mills, Lebanon, Mt. Juliet, White House, Murfreesboro, Hendersonville, and Cookeville.
- Direct deposit required: Optional, $500+ for two months (+$200)
- Additional requirements: Open with minimum deposit of $200 (+$50)
- Hard/soft pull: Soft
- Credit card funding: Unknown, unlikely due to in branch requirement
- Monthly fees: None
- Early account termination fee: $25, 90 days
- Household limit: One
- Expiration date:
June 20th, 2015July 31st, 2015None specified
The Offer
- F&M Bank is offering a sign up bonus of up to $250 on any of their checking account, the bonus is broken down as follows:
- $50 for opening any checking account with a minimum deposit of $200. Bonus will be deposited at the time of opening
- $200 for setting up a recurring direct deposits totaling $500 or more of $500
The Fine Print
- To receive the full $250 bonus (1) open the checking account with a minimum deposit of $100 and (2) set up a qualifying, monthly recurring direct deposit or deposits totaling $500 or more within 30 days of account opening.
- Checking account must be opened with funds NOT on deposit at F&M Bank and direct deposit cannot draw from an F&M account.
- Bonus will be paid as follows: (1) $50 will be added to your balance at the time of account opening, (2) $200 will be deposited when the first monthly direct deposit(s) totaling the minimum of $500 is received and posted to your account. Cannot be combined with other checking offers.
- Limit one bonus per household.
- Not available for existing F&M checking account customers or customers with checking accounts that have been closed by F&M within the last 12 months.
- Bonus will be reported as interest income on FORM1099-INT.
- VIP Interest Checking is a variable rate account with an interest rate of .15%//15% APY (Annual Percentage Yield) earned on total balance and compounded monthly.
- An $8 maintenance fee may be avoided per statement cycle with a $500 minimum dily balance or direct deposit posted to the account per statement cycle.
- Fees may reduce earnings.
- Limited time offer.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
According to their fee schedule there is an early account termination fee of $25 if you closed your account within 90 days of opening. If your checking account is dormant for twelve months or more you’ll also be charged a $5 per month fee.
F&M bank currently has four checking accounts that qualify for this bonus:
- Express Checking: No monthly fee
- VIP Interest Checking: $8 per month, waiveable
Our Verdict
This seems like a pretty good deal if you live near a branch. The bonus is nice and big and the requirements aren’t too difficult to meet. They also offer a 4% APY checking account we just posted about. Sadly that account doesn’t qualify for this bonus, but I wonder if you can product change to it after receiving this bonus? If not maybe you can open both at the same time. I will be adding this to our best checking bonus page.
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
