Deal has ended, view more bank account bonuses by clicking here.
Update 12/12/22: Deal is back and valid until 12/31/22.
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $300
- Availability: In branch only, all branches are in WI [Branch locator]
- Direct deposit required: Yes, no minimum specified
- Additional requirements: See below
- Hard/soft pull: Soft pull
- ChexSystems: Yes
- Credit card funding: Unknown
- Monthly fees: None
- Early account termination fee: $20
- Household limit: Possibly one
- Expiration date:
April 30th, 2019 October 31st, 2019 May 31, 2022August 31, 2022 December 31, 2022
Contents
The Offer
- Open a new Monona Bank True Choices checking bonus and complete the following requirements to receive a $300 bonus:
- Open at least one additional deposit product like savings or money market account
- Move your payroll or monthly social security direct deposit to your new account
The Fine Print
- Your $300 bonus will be deposited into your new non-interest bearing account within 90 days after you complete the three easy steps above.
- We really want to be your new bank, so while we truly value our current clients, this special offer is only available to households that have not received a similar bonus in the past and don’t currently have a checking account with us.
- Offer expires on April 30, 2019.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
This account has no monthly fees to worry about.
Early Account Termination Fee
I wasn’t able to find a full fee schedule so I’m unsure if there are any early account termination fees.
Our Verdict
Nice big bonus with no monthly fees to worry about. Downside is account needs to be opened in branch, given that it’s a soft pull to open this account we will be adding this to our list of the best checking bonuses. Might also be able to open a 4% APY CD up to $10,000 at the same time.
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
Post history:
- Update 9/11/22: Extended through November 30, 2022.
- Update 6/23/22: Extended until August 31, 2022.
- Update 3/19/22: Deal is back and valid until May 31, 2022. Hat tip to reader Addison K
- Update 3/17/20: Deal is back and valid until April 30th, 2020. Not sure I’d recommend going in branch at this stage. Hat tip to reader Ethan
- Update 9/8/19: Deal is back and valid until October 30th, 2019. Don’t have a direct link to the new offer, but available in branch. I believe the requirements are the same.
Anyone received a 1099 tax form them yet?
Finally got it. apparently me changing my address after I closed the account didn’t stick — they sent the form to my old address.
Called a week or so ago to close out my $0 accounts. No problems.
this bank is kind of a PITA to deal with. The person who is in charge of paying out the promotions will do everything in their power to deny you the bonus as if the bonus comes out of her paycheck directly.
We did it for the 2 of us. For me, they said I had to have more “activity” (more than the 6 debit card tx’s I had) in the account and they would check back and credit me if I did. For p2, they enforced the household requirement.
I’ve been doing real DD and bill pay regularly to drain, with a few p2p transactions using my debit card as a funding source. Contacted support about the bonus and they confirmed that the account had been used for deposit and withdrawals, but they asked why I was not using the debit card for purchases. They also indicated that they don’t post the $300.00 before the 90 day mark and that I still had a few days left. Strangely though, the bonus posted the day after, so ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯. Will report back with closing details in a few months.
how did you contact them?
secure message
anyone received bonus yet?
Lol I sent a message and they said that they have 1 employee who keys in the bonus and sometimes they need a little nudge 😛
This was the reply after reaching out – they aren’t following their terms as there was no requirement to leave money in there nor size of the transaction.
> I spoke with the department in charge of crediting new accounts with the $300 offer and they were unable to make the request. The reasoning being they want to see you actively using the account. The only debits from the account are $0.50 deductions and your direct deposit is transferred to your other bank account. Once the account receives more activity they will credit the account, this is to prevent clients from opening accounts to receive the $300 offer and then closing once paid out.
fyi
Chuck
received the bonus 7/6/22. P2 hasn’t received, they might have to reach out too.
any datapoints on what counts as a direct deposit for this? I don’t have a real employer DD that I can set up.
Yes, can apply online but you have to be close to a branch I guess.
Entered my zip code (in WI) and got this message “Unfortunately, accounts are not available in the ZIP Code you provided. Please contact system administrator for more details.”
Opened online. Requires microtransaction verification for initial deposit. You can probably select the “Mail in a check” option to get it opened faster and just ACH in your initial funds ($100 minimum). All big 3 bureaus frozen during application. No CC funding available.
After the external account was confirmed via microtransactions, the account was instantly approved and given full account number and online login access. Had to turn on eStatements manually.
Does it really have to be done in branch? The link above seems to take you to a page, which further has a link to an online application.
Also, the terms (now?) say you have to “…actively use your new accounts and services (5+ transactions per month).”
And the name of the product is True Checking, not True Choices (maybe that changed since the original post).
Cool, it does look like you can open online, I’m going to try.
I was insta denied, but P2 was approved. Bonus terms were in the truth and savings document you had to agree to, so this is no longer “in branch only”
approved when i went in. easy to open.
Requirements: OPEN a True Checking account ($100 minimum deposit to open) and at least one additional deposit product, like a savings or money market account. Our True Checking account makes your banking simple with no minimum daily balance requirement and no monthly service charge. MOVE your payroll or monthly Social Security direct deposit to your new account to start taking advantage of the many benefits Monona Bank offers. Our ClickSWITCH® tool makes it easy to move your direct deposit, automatic payments and more!
Terms: Your $300 bonus will be deposited into your new non-interest-bearing account within 90 days after you complete the two easy steps. Of course, you’ll need to keep your accounts in good standing and actively use your new accounts and services (5+ transactions per month). While we truly value our current clients, this special offer is only available to households that have not received a similar bonus in the past and don’t currently have a checking account with us. Offer expires on May 31, 2022.
Offer PDF link
https://www.mononabank.com/300-offer
https://b075912712.account-open.online-banking-services.com/openaccount/#!/acctopening