MyCardBlog

These days I have seen a lot of sign-up promotions from many US banks. Here are some new banking bonuses other than I previously posted two days ago.

The first one is the $50 checking account bonus from Wells Fargo. The second one is $100 checking account bonus from Provident Bank. And the third one is $150/$100 from Sovereign Bank.

I only reported one banking bonus from Wells Fargo Bank in 2007. And this one is similar to the one in 2007. The $50 bonus is a really easy free money. Because Wells Fargo doesn’t require you to maintain minimum balance with this checking account. At the same time, you don’t have to make direct deposit to this account to receive the $50 bonus. There is no monthly fees associated with this account.

To get the $50 bonus, you have to open a new Wells Fargo checking account with a minimum initial deposit of $100 (not including the $50 bonus) by October 17, 2008. The $50 bonus will be deposited to your account in 45 days after account opening. To apply online, you can go to here. Or you can call 866-245-3452 to open a new checking account.

Please note that: The $50 bonus is available with all Wells Fargo checking accounts, including non-interest-earning checking accounts, except for Wells Fargo College Checking^®, Wells Fargo Teen Checking^SM and Wells Fargo Opportunity Checking^® accounts.

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Provident Bank has a $100 checking account bonus for opening a checking account with direct deposit. The new checking account should be opened before Nov. 21, 2008. And you must have direct deposit and a Provident Master Money debit card by 12/31/08. The minimum opening deposit is $25. Offer only available to residents at DC, MD, PA, VA or WV.

The promotion page can be found here. Please remember that you have to make direct deposit to qualify for this offer.

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The Sovereign Bank is also running 2 checking account promotions.

If you open an Interest Checking Account with at least $10 and making a direct deposit into the account within 90 days of account opening. You will receive $50 bonus. If you use their visa check card and make 6 purchases, you will be awarded with another $50 bonus. The Interest Checking Account doesn’t requrie minimum balance but you have to make direct deposit to avoid monthly fees.

If you open a Premier Checking Account with a combined balance of $15,000 in 90 days, you will be awarded $100. Another $50 is awarded when you make 6 qualifying visa check card purchases within those same 90 days. The Premier Checking has a $25 monthly fee if your combined balance falls below $15,000. Please consider this before you pull the triger.

Recently, I have seen some great banking bonus offers from some major US banks. Does this mean that the economy is becoming better? I hope so.

US Bank is offering $75 bonus (gas card) for opening a free checking account in branch and using the check card associated with the account to make gas purchases. This promotion is listed in the Oakland Tribune.

Here is how to get the $75 bonus:

• Visit your local branch by 9/26/2008 (I suggest you print out the ad and take it with you. The ad can be found here.)
• Open a new Checking Account
• Spend up to $75 at pumps with your new check card

The Free Checking Account at US Bank has a $50 minimum opening deposit requirement. No minimum balance requirements. And no monthly maintenance fees. Yes, you don’t have to alter your direct deposit which is often required by some prmotional offers.

You have to pay attention on the specific requirements of the promotion offer:

• The gas purchases must be non-PIN
• The gas purchases must take place within 30 days of the new checking account opening
• Gas receipts must be brought into the branch where the account was opened by 10/31/2008

You will receive the $75 bonus in your checking account after you give them the gas receipt as required.

There is another banking bonus which I think might be of some interest to the residents at Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Wyoming, Idaho, Washington, Oregon and California.

Bank of the West is offering $100 bonus for competing a series of checking account activities.

In order to earn the full $100 bonus, you have to:

• $25 for opening a new free checking account
• $25 for using your debit card 10 times
• $25 for signing up for direct deposit
• $25 for using online bill pay

This offer requires a monthly direct deposit higher than $100. The checking account must be opened before Novmber 1st, 2008 with $100 initial deposit. This is an in-branch only offer. The pomotion page can be found here.

Capital One is reported to launch a nee type of rewards debit card that would change how banks and consumers approach debit cards last year. The unique feature of this debit card is: It can be linked to any bank account and used for purchases and ATM withdrawals, just like the debit card consumers get from their bank when they open a checking account. Another appealing feature of this card is better rewards. Plus this card also features zero-liability. This new type of debit card is being used by some Capital One credit card users.

Today, I received an email from Capital One indicating that if you apply for a new Capital One Debit MasterCard and make a first purchase, you would get 5,000 bonus No Hassle Points. The 5,000 No Hassle Points card be redeemed as a $50 gift card from Macy’s, Amazon.com, or Spa Finder. Furthermore, you can get 1 No Hassle Point for every dollar you spent on this card just like other Capital One credit cards do. However, this offer appears to require you to be a current Capital One credit cardholder.

During the application process, you have to link you current bank checking account to this debit card. You have to verify bank account access.

Basic features of this debit card:

• Earn No Hassle Points^SM on debit purchases. Earn 1 point per dollar spent when you sign for debit purchases.
• No need to open a new checking account. Your transactions are deducted from your existing checking account, wherever you bank.
• Shop with confidence, this card comes with MasterCard Zero Liability.
• There are 9 card designs to choose from.

Please note that, in order to get 1 No Hassle Point, you have to choose “credit” purchase at the check out. A credit purchase means a signature-based purchase. A signature-based purchase is one where you select “credit” (not “debit”) and typically sign a receipt instead of entering a PIN.

The application page can be found at: http://www.capitalone.com/debit/index2.php

The reference code is:K3E6L8K149

You can also call Capital One at 1-866-812-6923 to apply for this card.

National City Bank just released a new checking account promotion—”the best promotion“—as rated by one of the National City branch manager. I received this information from one of the local branch manager in an email. From what I can tell, you can get $163 bonus for opening a new National City Work Perks Checking Account with at least $250 direct deposit.
Following is the email I received:

I wanted to see if you would pass some information on to your readers concerning the best promotion I have seen in my 4 years here at National City. We are now offering $163 to any customer that opens up a Work Perks account and has at least $250 direct deposited. This offer is better than any other bank that I have seen so I wanted to ensure that I let you know so I can give as many of your readers $163 as possible. This is only for new relationships to National City so anyone who has already opened there accounts are not eligible unfortunately. I have attached a flyer that tells a little about it……..Of course with this account they can get the free savings, check card, online banking, online bill payment, free checks, and Credit Card.

According to the flyer, you can get $163 bonus in 60 days after you open a work perks checking account and make first direct deposit (>$250).

Some of you might be not familiar with the Work Perks Account which I currently have. There are three Work Perks Checking Account: Work Perks Interest Checking, Work Perks Preferred Interest Checking, Work Perks Elite Checking. Only the Work Perks Interest Checking doesn’t require monthly maintenance fees and there is no minimum balance requirement for this account. Both of the preferred and elite accounts require minimum balance to avoid monthly fees. The Work Perks Interest Checking account also provide free checks. However, this account requires you to maintain direct deposit from your employer to your account. Otherwise, your account will be converted to Free Checking account. You can visit www.nationalcity.com/workperks to get more information.

Fine print about this offer:

$163 offer available for new Work Perks checking accounts opened within two weeks of a National City onsite event at any qualifying company location. Offer limited to one per household and available only to households without an existing personal checking account at National City. A Visa® Check Card must be issued, and an ACH direct deposit of your paycheck for at least $250 must be received within 60 days of account opening to qualify for this offer. Your account must be open to receive the bonus. $163 will be credited to your checking account within 60 days after all conditions have been met. $163 credit is subject to 1099 reporting. Offer cannot be combined with any other offer and may be withdrawn at any time. Rates and minimum balance to earn interest may vary, depending on Work Perks checking account opened. For example, Work Perks Interest Checking requires a minimum balance of $1,500 to earn interest. 0.10% Annual Percentage Yield for Work Perks Interest Checking is accurate as of 8/8/08 and may change before and after account opening.

It seems this is an in-branch only offer. You might have to print out the flyer and take with it to your local National City Bank. The flyer about this promotion can be downloaded from MyCardBlog.Com.

As of 2007, National City Corp. ranked number 188 on the Fortune 500 list, and 9th in terms of revenue in the commercial banks industry with total assets of about $140 billion and a market cap of $24.542.1 billion.

Citi just released a new checking account bonus last week. Just followed Citi’s step, Amboy Direct is offering a $50 sign-up bonus for its Amboy Direct eSavings Account. Amboy Direct was offering $50 bonus back to this February. If you are not familiar with Amboy Direct, Amboy Direct is a division of Amboy National Bank which has been around for 118 years. The Amboy Direct division is aimed at online banking and has been around for about ten years.

This offer is good through 09/30/2008. Another reason why I introduce this banking bonus is the yield on the eSavings account is now 3.25% APY for balances of over $3K.

How to receive the $50 bonus?

To receive the $50 bonus, you must open a new Amboy eSavings account and keep a minimum monthly average balance of $3,000 or more for 90 days. The bonus will be credited within the following statement cycle after account meets 90 day balance requirements. Only one new client bonus per household. This bonus offer cannot be combined with other promotional offers. Offer good until 9/30/08.

Please note that if you previously have an account at Amboy Direct, you are not qualified to get the $50 bonus.

Features of the eSavings Account:

• No monthly balance minimums or service fees
• $100 minimum opening balance
• 3.25% APY on balances from $3K to $100K
• 1.00% APY on balances from $300 to $2,999
• No interest on balances below $300

The Amboy Direct’s eSavings Account has the ACH transfer feature like ING Direct’s Organge Savings Account, HSBC Direct Savings Account or Capital One Savings Account does. The ACH feature can allow you to do direct deposit to other bank accounts. Meanwhile, there is no hard pull during the account opening process.

Another banking news is TD Banknorth is offering a 2GB iPod Shuffle for opening a new checking account with direct deposit before 09/17/2008. If you apply for their credit card on the same day you apply for the checking account and get approved, you can get a 4GB iPod Nano.

You can either apply online at their website or you can go to the local branches to open an account. But this bonus is only eligible to residents in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Upstate New York. Promotion page can be found here.

Citibank just released a new checking account bonus promotion on Friday. Citi had many promotion offers this year and all of the promotion offers were proved to be true. Indeed, Citibank is a reliable bank to jump their promotional offers. The new promotion code is CY73. You can apply for a regular citi checking account online or by phone at 1-800-374-9500.

How to get the $100 bonus?

• Open a qualifying Citibank regular checking account and fund it with a minimum of $1,000 by 12/31/2008
• Within the first month after your account is opened, make at least one direct deposit into your account or make at least two electronic bill payments from your account each month for three consecutive months

The promotion page can be found here.

Some important information you have to notice within the fine print:

• This offer is only available to Citi cardmembers who are the primary credit card account holders
• Offer is not valid for existing Citibank checking customers
• Checking account must be funded with $1,000 or more by 12/31/2008 and must be in a Citibank Account, Citibank Everything Counts or Citigold account relationship package
• The $100 cash bonus will be deposited to your Citibank checking account within 120 days from the end of the statement period in which you met the qualifying requirements

Although $100 bonus is good, you will find that you have to keep combined minimum $6,000 balance in your citi account (checking, savings, loans and/or credit card account) to avoid monthly fees. When you apply for this account, you should think about this. My previous post has some useful thoughts from Jim Semple.

Good news is there is no hard pull reported during the account opening process.

About 10 million U.S. households save online and more are going to open online savings accounts, money market accounts or CDs. According to Celent, a market-research firm, about 23 million U.S. households will have an onine accounts by 2010.To attract more customers, online banks usually pay higher interest rates on savings accounts, money market accounts, or CDs. Another feature is online banks always run great promotions to lure new customers.

WT Direct, the online branch of  Wilmington Trust FSB, is offering up to $250 bonus for depositing a certain amount of money to its high yield savings account for 60 days.

If you open a new high yield savings account by September 5, 2008, you will receive:

• $100 if your balance is between $10,000-$14,999
• $150 if your balance is between $15,000-$19,999
• $200 if your balance is between $20,000-$24,999
• $250 if your balance is $25,000+

This offer is available to new WT Direct clients only, through 9/5/08. To get the bonus, you have to enter the promotion code: WTF3SOB at the time of account opening. There is no minimum balance required to open the account. Account must remain open and in good standing and balance level cannot decrease from initial funding balance for 60 days to receive bonus. Bonus will be credited to client’s WT Direct account during the first week of November.

The current APY is 3.31% which is relatively high compared to other online banks. But after the first 60 days, the APY for the account will have two tiers: (a) a higher APY for accounts with balances of $10,000 or more (variable and currently 3.31% APY); and (b) a lower APY for accounts with balances of less than $10,000 (variable and currently 0.50% APY).

I personally think this is a great deal to catch. The promotion page can be found here.

Other high rate savings account are:

• HSBC Direct Online Savings Account 3.50% APY
  No fees and no minimums, FDIC insured
• Capital One Direct Banking 3.00% APY
  No fees and no minimums, FDIC insured
• E*TRADE Bank Complete Savings Account 3.30% APY
  No account fees and no minimums, FDIC insured
• Washington Mutual (WaMu) Free Checking 3.75% APY
  Free Checks, Free ATM Cash Withdraws
  Minimum balance to open is $1, FDIC insured
• ING Direct Electric Orange Checking Account Up to 3.40% APY
  No fees and no minimums, FDIC insured
• ING Direct Orange Savings Account 3.00% APY
• No fees and no minimums, FDIC insured

Today I was notified by a reader about the new promotion from HSBC. According to the promotion page, you can get up to $100 MasterCard gift card for opening a Plus checking account and an HSBC credit card. Although I personally think this promotion is not attractive to all of us, I’d like to mention this promotion at MyCardBlog together with another checking account bonus offer from Wells Fargo.

HSBC usually offers banking bonus for their savings account. But it’s really rare to see the bonus offer for their checking account. To take the chance to get $100 gift card, you have to:

1. Open a Plus Checking Account at HSBC with initial deposit of $4,000 in new money into any HSBC Deposit Account (not include OSA and OPA accounts). If your account is still at good standing after 180 days, a $75 gift card will be sent to you. This offer expires on September 12, 2008.

2. You can get an additional $25gift card if you apply for an HSBC Cash or Fly MasterCard when you open the Plus Checking Account. You have to make the first purchase before September 30, 2008.

The reason why I don’t like the Plus Checking Account offer is: To avoid a $15 monthly maintenance fee, you need to maintain $15,000 in total combined balances including personal deposit, investment and qualifying credit balances.

The HSBC Platinum MasterCard with Cash or Fly Rewards is a decent credit card offer which allows you to choose cash back rewards or fly miles rewards. Currently, this card offers 0% APR on purchase and balance transfer for up to 12 months.

HSBC also offers $25 sign-up bonus for opening a Premium Money Market Plus Savings Account by 9/30/2008. This account features no monthly fees.

Another banking offer is from Wells Fargo. This promotion is available only at local Wells Fargo branches. Although there is no online advertisement about this offer, I was confirmed by the CSR at Wells Fargo at the phone. According to my “Hard Pull and Soft Pull” post, Wells Fargo typically pull your credit report at the process of opening a new banking account. The minimum deposit to open the checking account is $100. My previous post about Wells Fargo can be found here. This one should be similar to that one.