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KeyBank is famous for offering GPS or iPod Nano for new customers who open a new checking account at Key Bank. And now Key Bank is running a new checking account bonus from which customers can earn either $125 or $225 bonus. The promotion page about this banking bonus is at: here.

According to the promotion page, it is pretty easy to get the $125 or $225 sign up bonus:

• Open a qualifying checking account and enroll in KeyBank Rewards by November 20, 2009
• Make one debit card transaction and a combination of two direct deposits and/or automated payments each of $100 or more by January 22, 2010

$125 is available for opening the free checking account which has no minimum balance requirement or monthly service charge. The $225 bonus needs to open either the Key Privilege Checking or Key Privilege Select Checking. Both of the two checking accounts have high minimum balance requirements to avoid a monthly service fee.

Fine print:

Free personal checking applies to Key Express Free Checking account. Between 10/17/09 and 11/20/09, you must open a Key Express Free Checking (this is the basic banking account in NY) or a Key Advantage Checking account and by 1/22/10 make one KeyBank Rewards debit card transaction and a combination of two direct deposits and/or automated payments each of $100 or more to get $125 or 60,000 KeyBank Reward Points. Limit one $125 gift or 60,000 points per qualifying account. Limit one $125 gift or 60,000 points per individual. The $125 gift will be reported on Form 1099-INT. Your $125 gift will be deposited into this account or you will receive 60,000 points within 90 days of meeting requirements. Maximum point accumulation is limited to 295,000 per calendar year. When you redeem points for a reward, you and the merchant are responsible for compliance with all laws related to the reward, including the payment and collection of any federal, state, and local taxes.

Between 10/17/09 and 11/20/09, you must open a Key Privilege or a Key Privilege Select Checking Account and by 1/22/10 make one KeyBank Rewards debit card transaction and a combination of two direct deposits and/or automated payments each of $100 or more to get $225. Limit one $225 gift per qualifying account. Limit one $225 gift per individual. The $225 gift will be reported on Form 1099-INT. Your $225 gift will be deposited into this account within 90 days of meeting requirements. Minimum combined balances required to avoid a monthly Maintenance Service Charge (ask for details).

Recently, we have seen a lot of sing up bonus opportunities from major US banks. Some are even offering up to $300 bonus! Now, KeyBank is offering $200 bonus at new branched opened in 2009 in Colorado state. If you happened to be a resident at Colorado and have a new Key Bank branch nearby, please do not miss this chance. You can also forward this post to your friends at Colorado.

This $200 bonus promotion is advertised at Denver Post (link) but not at Key Bank’s website.

Rules to get the $200 bonus:

• open a qualifying relationship package checking account by 12/4/09
• make one debit card transaction
• make a combination of two direct deposits and/or automatic payments each of $100 or more by 2/5/10

These new branches are located in the Colorado cities like Denver, Aurora, Louisville, Littleton, Centennial and Thornton.

Please be advised that this is a local only opportunity. Key Bank is not accepting internet account application now.

For those who still do not have a checking account at Key Bank, there is good news! Key Bank is offering free Garmin nuvi GPS for opening a new checking account with required banking activities. There are couples of checking account products to choose from and two different GPS units to choose from as well.

The promotion page for this offer is here. Although there are different checking accounts to choose from at Key Bank, the requirements for each checking account is same.

Get a Garmin® nüvi® GPS when you open a qualifying checking account at KeyBank by April 24, 2009 and make one debit card transaction plus a combination of two direct deposits and/or automated payments each of $100 or more by June 26, 2009.

There are two different Garmin units for different checking accounts:

Garmin nuvi 205W GPS for Key Express Free Checking and Key Advantage Money Market Checking Account.

Garmin nuvi 265WT GPS for Key Privilege Checking Account and Key Privilege Select Checking Account.

One debit card transaction and two direct deposits are equal to a Garmin nuvi GPS! I would take the chance to get the GPS from Key Bank.

Fine print:

Qualifying debit card transactions include signature, PayPass®, and PIN-based purchases. ATM and over-the-counter withdrawals and deposits are excluded. Direct deposit transactions are limited to: payroll, Social Security, pension, and government benefits. Automated payments exclude Key Bill Pay, debit card automated payments, PayPal® transactions, and account to account balance transfers. Limit one Garmin® GPS per qualifying account. Limit one Garmin® GPS per individual. Offer valid while supplies last. The value of the Garmin GPS will be reported on Form 1099-INT. You will receive your Garmin® GPS within 90 days of meeting requirements. Offer available to individuals without an existing checking account at KeyBank as of 3/27/09.

Note: This offer is only available to the residents of the states where Key Bank located.

Key Bank is offering $100 checking account bonus for new customers. This promotion is the latest bonus promotion from Key Bank which is famous for offering iPod Nano as sign up bonus for its customers. I have reported the situation of some regional banks some days ago. National City Bank was acquired by PNC Bank. The future of other banks including Key Bank is till not clear. Key Bank reported a 36 million loss in the 3rd quarter. But the good news is Key Bank together with other major regional banks have just accepted the bailout money from federal government. Key Bank received 2.5 billion while PNC got 7.7 billion. Capital One got 3.6 billion.

With the money from US government, I personally think the situation of Kay Bank might be better in the 4th quarter. I reported a similar $100 bonus promotion in this March. The latest mention of sign up bonus from Key Bank was in July. Apparently, there is no other promotion from Key Bank for a while. So this $100 bonus is a good offer for those who want to open an account at Key Bank now.

As the promotion indicates:

Get a $100 Key Possibilities Card when you open a qualifying checking account and make one debit card transaction plus a combination of two direct deposits or automated payments each of $100 or more. Offer ends November 7, 2008.

The recommended checking account is the Key Express Free Checking Account which features:

• No monthly maintenance service charge
• No minimum balance requirement on your checking account
• No per-check fees or limits
• No monthly or annual KeyBank Debit Card fee
• No fee for using your KeyBank Debit Card on purchases when using a PIN or signing for a purchase
• Free, unlimited use of Key’s nationwide network of ATMs
• Free Key Bill Pay to pay your bills quickly and easily online
• Transfer funds between your Key checking accounts and accounts at other banks

The promotion page can be found here.

No hard pulls were reported at the account opening process.

I heard a lot about the worry that many banks may follow WaMu and Wachoiva’s step. It’s understandable that they don’t know that their money is covered by FDIC (current limit is lifted to $250K). I have seen a lot of friends transferred their money from other banks to Chase Bank. Hereby I want to state that your money is covered by FDIC. Even your bank collapses in an unexpected way, your account at your bank is safe. Your money is covered by FDIC. You can cash your deposit at the collapsed bank immediately after FDIC takes over it.

Today I came across the article at New York Times which indicated that five regional banks reported another round (third quarter) of painful results on Tuesday. Furthermore, analysts say their business will worsen as the economy deteriorates.The results are expected as a result of the financial crisis.

Following is a brief summary of the report:

US Bank—quarterly profit but not up to investors’ expect, bank stocks are down about 42 percent in the last year.

National City Bank—fifth quarterly loss, would cut 4,000 jobs.

Fifth Third Bank—second quarterly loss, lost $56 million.

Key Bank—second quarterly loss, lost $36 million.

Regions Financial of Alabama—$79.5 million profit.

To address the problems, banks are in great need of money. That’s why National City Bank promote their checking account products with $150 bonus with qualified direct deposit. At the same time, all of the banks are running great long-term CD deals in the past months. If their customers lose the confidence and transfer all of the money to other banks, I think it’s really the time for them to collapse.

Of course, there is also good news. The above mentioned banks are seeking the involvement of US government. They might join the government’s $250 billion plan to recapitalize banks.

All I want to say is let give them some time and confidence.

It seems iPod Nano is a very popular gift from banks. I have a post summarized the promotions that use iPod Nano as a sign-up bonus last year. This year I haven’t seen any promotion about offering free iPod Nano as a sign-up bonus. (Compass Bank is offering a free 2GB iPod Shuffle.) But, finally, Key Bank released this promotion again! Key Bank offered free iPod Nano for their new checking account customers in 2006 and 2007. This year, they offer a free 4GB iPod Nano when opening a new Free Student Checking Account. The retail value of this 4GB iPod Nano is about $150 in the market.

How to get the iPod Nano?

This year, they add more requirements. To get a free iPod Nano, you have to:

1. Open a Free Student Checking Account with Debit Card
2. Open a No Annual Fee Credit Card (Student Credit Card) with 1% cash back
3. Enroll in Free Online Banking and Online Statements

The first requirement is very easy. NO direct deposit is required. NO minimum balance is required. And this is no monthly maintenance fees associated with this account. There is a $50 minimum opening deposit.

Features of this Free Student Account:

• No monthly maintenance fee or minimum balance requirement
• No per-check fees or limits
• Free KeyBank Debit Card or KeyBank ATM card with no retail transaction fees
• Free use of any ATM, plus receive reimbursement, up to $6 per month, of ATM fees charged by other banks when you sign up for KeyBank’s Student Checking Package
• Free Online Banking which offers you 24-hour access to your accounts
• Free Key Bill Pay to pay your bills quickly and easily online

The second step is kind of risky. Although it’s a student credit card, you have to have enough credit references to let them approve your application. If you already have some credit cards and an active student, then this is not a problem. This key Bank student credit card actually is issued by Citi bank.

This offer is valid between 06/16/08 and 08/29/08. All of the requirements shoule be fulfilled by 09/26/08. And the value of the iPod Nano will be reported on Form 1099-INT.

Key Bank doean’t do a hard pull when you open a checking account there.

Key Bank is the 12th largest bank in the United States by total assets and headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. I believe Key Bank will run the similar promotion next year during the same time.

I’d like to thank John for reminding me of the promotion from Key Bank. As far as I can recall, Key Bank is famous for the previous banking promotion which offered a free iPod for opening a new account with them. This time, Key Bank is offering $100 Key Possibilities gift card for opening a new Key Express Free Checking Account with direct deposit or automated payments. In order to get the $100 gift card, you have to open a Key Express Free Checking Account between 03/29/2008 and 04/25/2008. You can open an account at Key Bank local branch, www.key.com or by phone at 877-888-3658. To qualify for this bonus, you have to make a combination of two direct deposits and/or automated payments each of $100 or more by 6/27/08. If you close your account within 180 days of account opening, you will be charged a $25 account early closure fee.

Fine Print:

Must open a qualifying checking account at a KeyBank branch, Key.com or through 1-877-888-3658 between 3/29/08 and 4/25/08 and make a combination of two direct deposits and/or automated payments each of $100 or more by 6/27/08. Free checking only applies to a Key Express Free Checking account. Qualifying accounts include Key Express Free Checking (this is the basic banking account in NY) and Key Advantage®. You will receive your $100 Key Possibilities MasterCard® card within 90 days of meeting requirements. The gift card can be used at locations that accept Debit MasterCard cards. Direct deposit transactions are limited to: payroll, social security, pension and government benefits. Automated payments exclude Key Bill Pay, debit card automated payments, PayPal® transactions and account to account balance transfers. Offer available to individuals without an existing checking account at KeyBank as of 03/28/08. Offer not available to individuals who have opened a KeyBank checking account in the last 12 months. Employees of KeyBank, its affiliates and subsidiaries are not eligible for this offer. Limit one $100 Key Possibilities Card per qualifying account. Limit one $100 Key Possibilities Card per individual. Offer valid while supplies last. The $100 value of the Key Possibilities gift card received for opening a checking account with direct deposit and/or automated payments will be reported on Form 1099-INT. If you close your account within 180 days of account opening, you will be charged a $25 account early closure fee.

Features of Key Express Free Checking Account:

• No monthly maintenance service charge
• No minimum balance requirement
• No per-check fees or limits
• No monthly or annual KeyBank Debit Card fee
• No fee for using your KeyBank Debit Card on purchases when using a PIN or signing for a purchase
• Free, unlimited use of Key’s nationwide network of ATMs
• Free 24-hour access to your accounts with Online Banking
• Free Key Bill Pay to pay your bills quickly and easily online

NO hard pulls were reported for opening this account at Key Bank. They need your personal information to identify you. Details of this promotion can be found here. Key Bank is the 16th largest bank in United States based on total deposit and is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. In 2007, key Bank was ranked 319 on Fortune 500.