Up to $500 for Opening Chase Checking and Savings Accounts
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available.
While we typically focus on excellent credit card offers, we don't want you to miss out on other great deals that we find, such as these new publicly available Chase checking and savings bonuses that can earn you up to $500 cash back. (And no, unfortunately there's no option to take the bonuses in Ultimate Reward points.)
Here's the deal: Now through November 15, open a new checking ($300) and/or savings ($200) account to earn up to $500 in bonuses. To get started, log into an existing Chase user account to generate a unique coupon code, which you can take into any Chase branch to open the account(s). Note that this offer may not be available for all customers.
Bonus
Checking: In order to get the $300 checking bonus, you need to open a new Chase Total Checking account with at least $25. Then, within 60 days, a direct deposit must be deposited into this checking account. It's that easy.
Savings: The $200 savings account is a bit harder to get. To get the bonus, you must open a Chase Savings account and deposit at least $15,000 into the account within 10 business days. Then, you must maintain at least a $15,000 average balance for 90 days to receive the bonus.
Fees
Checking: $12 per month — unless you qualify for an exemption. The easiest exemption is to have direct deposit(s) of at least $500 per month. If you're unable to change your payroll direct deposit, you need to maintain a $1,500 average balance in the checking account — or $5,000 in all linked Chase accounts — to avoid the monthly fee.
Savings: $5 per month — unless you qualify for an exemption. You just need to keep a $300 average balance to get the monthly fee waived. You'll need to have at least $15,000 in the account for the first 90 days, so you won't have to worry about this fee for the first three months. If you withdraw the $15,000 after 90 days, there are a few other options to still avoid the fee.
Credit Impact
No worries here. While Chase will check your credit history, doing so won't affect your credit score. It'll be similar to you checking your own credit score — rather than the inquiry that would appear during a credit card application.
Restrictions
Current customers: The $300 checking bonus isn't available to current Chase checking customers. Similarly, the $200 savings bonus can't be earned by customers who currently have a Chase savings account. However, if you only have one or the other, this is a great way to get a bonus just for opening a new account. Neither bonus is available if you have a fiduciary account with Chase.
Former Chase customers must have closed accounts more than 90 days ago to earn these bonuses. If you close an account within six month of opening, Chase reserves the right to withhold the bonus from your closing balance.
Taxes
Unlike cash back credit card bonuses, these checking and savings bonuses are taxable. Chase will provide a Form 1099-INT to you reporting the bonus(es) you received. You'll need to include this on your tax return.
Is It Worth It?
If you have less than $15,000 in available bank funds, you're only going to be able to earn the $300 checking bonus. But, this is still a great deal. All you need is the bonus code, $25 as an initial deposit and direct deposit(s) of at least $500 per month for six months to net $300 fee-free.
If you have at least $15,000 sitting in another low-interest bank account, moving it to Chase can make a lot of sense. Assuming you have $15,000 in a 1% savings account, you're only going to earn $75 of interest on that money in six months. Instead, you can move this money — and a direct deposit — to Chase for six months and earn $500 on the same balance.
Since the interest rate on the savings account is currently just 0.01%, the bonus is truly your only interest earnings. This makes the Chase Savings account a hard sell for long-term use.
H/T: Doctor Of Credit