[TN only] Pinnacle Financial Partners $200 Mastercard Checking Bonus

Update 11/19/23: Bonus is now $200 + be entered into the Grizzmas Floor Seats Drawing. Hat tip to Samantha

Update 1/8/22: Deal is back. Hat tip to reader Andrew D

Offer at a glance

  • Maximum bonus amount: $200 Mastercard gift card
  • Availability: Presumably TN only, but the reader who sent it in tried a dummy Alaska address and it seemed to accept it so YMMV? Update: Looks like they are requiring most people to go in branch to verify identity so make sure you have a branch not too far away [Branch locator]
  • Direct deposit required: Yes, must be full paycheck or government benefits
  • Additional requirements: Minimum opening deposit of $100+
  • Hard/soft pull: Unknown
  • ChexSystems: Unknown, ChexSystems sensitive
  • Credit card funding: None
  • Monthly fees: $3, avoidable
  • Early account termination fee: None
  • Household limit: One
  • Expiration date: Direct deposit must post and clear by June 30th, 2020 July 31st, 2020 August 31, 2020 February 28, 2021

The Offer

Direct link to offer

  • Pinnacle Financial Partners is offering a checking bonus of up a $200 Mastercard gift card when you complete the following steps:
    • Open account online or in branch
    • Make a minimum deposit of $100
    • Set up a recurring direct deposit of your full payroll (or gov’t benefits) to your new account. One recurring direct deposit must post and clear your account by March 1, 2024

The Fine Print

  • Offer expires August 31, 2018.
  • This offer is for new Pinnacle checking households, or for households that have not had an open Pinnacle consumer checking account for at least 24 months.
  • Limit one bonus per household. Cannot be combined with other offers.
  • Must be 18 or older at time of account opening.
  • Offer is non-transferable.
  • Account is subject to approval.
  • To receive the $200 Mastercard® gift card, you must (1) open your account with $100, and (2) have at least one recurring direct deposit post and clear your account before Aug. 31, 2018.
  • Direct deposit is a recurring electronic deposit and must be your full payroll or government benefits.
  • The Mastercard gift card will be mailed to you via USPS within 2-4 weeks of meeting the qualified requirements.
  • Mastercard is a registered trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated.
  • Please note: there is a monthly inactivity fee of $2.95 after 12 months of inactivity on your Mastercard gift card.
  • Bonus will be reported as income on IRS Form 1099-INT and is valued at $200 total.

Avoiding Fees

The easiest account to keep fee free is the Grizzlies Basic Checking account, this has a $3 monthly service fee that is waived with eStatements. Fee schedule says there is no early account termination fee.

Our Verdict

Previously they have offered $100 in Grizzlies tickets or $200 in titans gear. This deal is much better as the $200 gift card is much more flexible. We need to know whether it’s a soft pull to open and how flexible they are on the direct deposit requirement (e.g do any work arounds work?) before knowing if this is a good deal or not. Maybe it’s possible to fund with a credit card as well? If anybody knows or has any experience with this bank then please share in the comments below. For now I won’t be adding it to the best bank bonuses due to all the unknowns but it has the potential to be a goood deal.

Big thanks to reader, Josh H who let us know. Learn how to find bonuses and contribute to the site here.

Useful posts regarding bank bonuses:

Post history:

  • Update 5/2/20: Deal is back and valid until June 30th, 2020.
    William Charles
  • On November 19, 2023, 12:00
Tags: direct deposit requiredtn bank bonuses

View Comments (48)

  • TN resident.
    We have reviewed your application and are unable to open an account for you at this time. You will receive a letter with information on why we made this decision in 7-14 business days.

  • -TN resident here
    -No ETF
    -Emailed documents that required signature & TN ID.
    -Mailed $100 check to deposit.
    -Push from Chase x2
    -Received gc bonus via mail ~3-4 weeks after posting of DD from chase.
    - They are chex sensitive as they reviewed mine before approving the account.
    -NOT a hard credit pull.

  • In TN here, approved and they sent all the documents to sign and mail back in. I was able to setup online banking and it even let me do a mobile deposit (was hoping it would work instead of mailing a check) but now when I try to login it says my account is disabled. Ugh... maybe when they get my documents it will get cleared up. Anybody else experience this?

  • Is it likely we will see more of these GC promotions for bank account openings, as opposed to cash money deposits? Not my cup of tea.

    Time will tell...

  • 12-31 Applied OOS, will see if I get the email to go to a branch... I'm hoping there is a different process since there is Covid19. It says you need to mail a check in, but I also guess you can transfer money in too? Will see and update within 1-3 business days.

        • I'm in their foot print but still they asked me to visit the branch to open the account. This is stupid, i applied online because i don't want to go in (requires appointment) due to the COVID-19. I will pass that $200 gc.

  • Received my $200 MC gift card today. Mail also said I will receive a signed blanket by Jaren Jackson Jr of the Memphis Grizzlies and a picnic tote (will ship as separate package). Opened account 5/4/20. Had to mail in cheque ($100) for opening deposit, as well as copy of ID and signature document, after I received official email. Ally ACH ($1013), which arrived on 5/20/20, triggered the direct deposit. This was a quick turn around. Thanks!

  • I have a question for some of you that are more experienced at this than I am. I have been doing the bank bonus thing for about a year. Have been fortunate in having nearly all bonuses pay and most apps approved. Was forced to go to the branch w/this one bc of a glitch in the software that would not allow me to go forward. (It kept saying that my previous address, state, and zip were inconsistent and they were not! But it would not allow me to go forward).

    So I went to the branch, which is actually closed. but they helped me. We got it done, BUT she mentioned the fact that I had about 10 chexsystems inquiries on my record and that had taken her awhile. My question is, should I be concerned about the chexsystems? I have not had a problem before. No one has mentioned it. I do most of my account opening online and skip the personal confrontations. Will this be an issue?

    Anyone that has experience, please advise. And thanks. They did open the account.

    • I do not have experience with this but thought I would weigh in politely. I think it's likely that with a smaller bank (yes, Pinnacle has impressive assets but it's not Chase, BOA, etc.), it's likely that they take a second look at a number of chex system inquiries, especially within a year's time.

      With that many inquiries, it's apparent that you are successful at what you are doing. One might be careful moving forward and let some time go by or try to stick with a maximum of 12, if that. Not a sermon, just a thought worth about 2 cents. Happy New Year! :)

      • Chase and BofA pull EWS.

        @guest_972332 just be mindful who pulls what. It would be to your advantage to pull your Chex every so often so it doesn’t surprise you. There should be enough info on DoC to see how sensitive banks are.

        • This has been awhile. Had no problem, really, w/Pinnacle. Got the bonus w/no problem. BOA has always turned me down for some reason. Had not problem w/Chase w/checking and even got a cc w/them, as well as an Amazon cc.
          Who knows?

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