Although we may all know that National City Bank is to be sold to PNC Bank by the end of this year. It seems that this deal got some troubles. Rep. Steve LaTourette, an Ohio Republican wrote a letter to Henry Paulson and asked for an immediate investigation into PNC’s recently deal to acquire National City Bank. Even the GOP president candidate John McCain says he supports a probe as well. According to the latest news, a Delaware law firm has filed a class-action lawsuit against National City Corp., its board of directors and PNC Financial Services Group over PNC’s purchase of National City.

Although there is so many troubles out there, National City Bank is continuing to attract more new money from new customers by offering great sign up bonus opportunities. The previously reported $200 bonus for opening a new National City Checking Account onlie has expired on Oct. 31, 2008. But there is a new promotion just released: $150 National City Visa Gift Card for opening a new checking account. This time you can also open a new checking account at your local branch! And the promotion time has been extended to the end of 2008!

This is definitely a great opportunity to open a new checking account at National City Bank either online or at local branch. This sign up bonus is even better than the all-year-long Chase checking account bonus.

Here is how to get the $150 bonus:

1. Open any new personal checking account online, at a branch or by phone by 12/31/2008 with a minimum $50.
2. Set up a direct deposit to your newly opened checking account with at least $250 per month. Direct deposit must be received within 60 days of your account opening.
3. Make 10 check card purchases within 60 days of account opening.
4. Limit of one bonus per household and available only to households without an existing National City checking account.
5. Visa gift card will be mailed within 60 days after all conditions have been met.

The most important part is how to establish a direct deposit to National City Bank. Someone might not want to direct their payroll to National City. Some may have already had a checking account at Chase which also requires direct deposit. Actually, all ACH transfer will be counted as direct deposit. In this way, ING and PayPal should work. But I’m not sure.

Since National City branches located only in IL, MI, IN, FL, KY, MO, OH, WI and PA, only the residents in the above states can participate in the promotion.

The promotion page can be found at www.nationalcity.com/cash.

National City Bank is running another huge checking account bonus promotion which will give you $200 bonus for opening a checking account online with qualified direct deposit. One week ago, I reported that National City Bank was offering $150 bonus for opening a checking account online with direct deposit. That promotion was scheduled to end on October 22, 2008. But now National City Bank extends this checking account promotion to October 31, 2008 and increases the bonus to $200.

The promotion page can be found at www.nationalcity.com/cash. This is a web-only promotion and not available in the local branches. If you want to open a new checking account at National City Bank, you have to apply for a National City checking account online.

Details about this promotion:

• Open a new personal checking account online by 10/31/2008 with a minimum initial deposit of $50
• Establish a direct deposit to your checking account of at least $250 or more and a Visa® CheckCard* issued to you within 60 days of account opening
• Limit of one bonus per household and available only to households without an existing National City checking account
• $200 bonus will be credited to your account within 60 days after all conditions have been met
• Your account must be open to receive the bonus

National City checking accounts feature:

• Unlimited transactions
• Free Visa® CheckCard
• Free Online Banking
• Free Online Bill Payment
• Personal savings account (with no monthly maintenance
• fee and no minimum balance)
• Free online statements
• Free banking rewards program - points from National City®

National City Bank is one of the largest regional banks, so this promotion is limited to the residents of states where National City has business. National City branches located in IL, MI, IN, FL, KY, MO, OH, WI and PA.

This is no hard inquiry during the account opening process. But National City will check the ChexSystems.

National City Bank is seeking more capital from US government and other sources. Running checking account bonus with direct deposit is a way to attract more new customers and thus increase the deposits. I doubt whether there will be a $250 checking account bonus in the near future.

Update: National City Bank was acquired by PNC Bank today.

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.

National City Bank is still in trouble and the stock price is bouncing around $3 per share recently. Wachovia Bank is acquired by Wells Fargo some days ago following WaMu’s step. Some expect that National City Bank is the next one. But, the good news is, National City Bank is trying to offer checking account bonus to attract more new customers.

I previously reported that National City was offering $163 for opening a new Work Perks Checking Account in local National City Bank branch. And this promotion was said to be “the best promotion I have seen in my 4 years here at National City” by a National City Bank branch manager. At local National City Branch I could still see the banner about this promotion with $163 bonus. If you haven’t had a checking account with National City Bank, it’s a great time to open one with direct deposit.

Some may worry that National City Bank will fail or be acquired by other banks. Actually, the bank failure will only affect the account owners with deposit higher than $100K. Because the amount higher than $100K is not covered by FDIC. Otherwise, for account owners will less than $100K at a bank, the bank failure essentially has nothing to do with you. After take over by FDIC, the bank is still under operation as usual until the bank find a new owner. So I personally think for account owners with less than $100K money at a bank, you are worry-free.

This new promotion is an online special offer. The promotion page can be found at www.nationalcity.com/cash. When you open a new checking account with direct deposit before October 22, 2008, you will be awarded with $150 bonus. The minimum initial deposit is required to be $50.

Some additional requirements:

• Have a direct deposit to your checking account of $250 or more and a Visa® CheckCard* issued to you within 60 days of account opening.
• Your account must be open to receive the bonus.
• Limit of one bonus per household and available only to households without an existing National City checking account.
• $150 bonus will be credited to your account within 60 days after all conditions have been met. ($150 credit is subject to 1099 reporting.)
• Offer cannot be combined with any other offer and may be withdrawn at any time.

National City checking accounts feature:

• Unlimited transactions
• Free Visa® CheckCard*
• Free Online Banking
• Free Online Bill Payment
• Personal savings account (with no monthly maintenance
• fee and no minimum balance)
• Free online statements
• Free banking rewards program - points from National City®

Because National City Bank only has business available in the Midwest, this offer is only available to residents at Midwest states.

Hurry up and take the chance to get $150!

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.

This Everyday Rewards Visa Card issued by National City Bank is one of my favorite rewards card. I use this card essentially everyday. I have also mentioned this card in “My Favorite Rewards Credit Cards” post. I forgot to mention that this card was selected as one of Kiplinger’s Best of the Cash Back Card. I personally use this card together with Chase Freedom Card a lot. The default APR of this card is also among national average. So this is an ideal cash back card for daily use.

This Everyday Rewards Visa Card is designed for those with average credit who would like to earn cash back on everyday purchases. You use this card for everyday purchases and accumulate rebates every month. Once your rebate accumulated in your account is more than $100, they will automatically send rebate check to you with your monthly statement. Or you can call them up and ask them to deposit the rebate check as a credit in your account.

How about the cash back compared to other rewards cards?

You can earn a certain percentage cash back on each purchase depending on where you use your card.

4% cash back on gasoline at the pump—up to $250 in eligible monthly net purchases. Although there are many 5% gas rebate card out there, 4% cash back is not that bad. Because you have many other rewards categories from which you can still earn cash back. $250 is enough for most drivers (but not business travelers).

3% cash back on cinema and movie rentals—up to $150 in eligible monthly net purchases. If you watch or rent movies a lot, this might be a right card for you. Or if you want to get more for what you spent, you can try the Citi mtvU Visa Card which gives 5 thankyou points for every dollar spent at theaters and video stores.

2% cash back on groceries, restaurants, and fast food—up to $750 in eligible monthly net purchases. This is why I love this card. With a single credit card, you can maximum you cash back from wherever you spend. You don’t have to carry many credit card in your wallet and wondering which card to use at checkout. You can even get 2% cash back from Wal-Mart (categorized at grocery).

Of course, you can earn up to 1% cash back on everything else. (only 0.25% for the first $10,000)

In addition to the rewards program, cardholders can also get up to $25,000 in travel accident insurance, auto rental insurance, and other varies travel and emergency assistance services. There is no annual fee associated with this card.

To apply for this card, you’d better go to your local branch and submit your personal information there. In this way, National City can make a decision very soon. If you submit your application online, you would probably have to wait for about several days. Their online application system seems to not make instant approvals.

Another important note for international students: If you have a checking or savings account at National City Bank, you can talk to the banker and ask him/her to apply for this card for you. According to what I know, many international students can get this card without SSN.

The famous TCF “Cash is King” Event has come back! You can get $100 cash bonus if you open a free checking account with direct deposit and make 5 debit card transactions within 30 days of account opening. This promotion expires on April 30, 2008.

To receive the offer, you have to:

1. Open a TCF free checking account;

2. Set up your direct deposit to TCF checking accout before May 31, 2008;

3. Make 5 debit card purchases within 30 days of account opening;

The Totally Free Checking Account has no monthly service charges and no minimum balance requirements. Plus you will get free online bill payments!

According to the fine print, the offer is only available in Colorado, Michigan and Minnesota.

©2008 TCF National Bank. Member FDIC. *New accounts must be opened between March 1 - April 30, 2008. To qualify for the $100 Cash Offer, a direct deposit of $25 or more from a third party source must post to the new account by May 31, 2008, and account owner must make five purchases using their new TCF Check Card within 30 days of account opening. Offer is available to individuals and small businesses without a TCF Checking account in the past 90 days. TCF reserves the right to cancel or modify this promotion at any time. Customer is responsible for all applicable taxes. $100 Cash Offer will be automatically deposited directly into the customer’s new checking account within 6-8 weeks of account opening, assuming all conditions are met. Offer not available in IL, IN, WI, or AZ. Visit your neighborhood branch for local promotions in your area

The details can be found here.

Here is another $100 bonus from Nationl City:
According to a National City employee, National City Bank is also offering $100 cash bonus for a new Work Perks checking account with direct deposit. This offer is valid from 3/3/2008 through 3/21/2008. An ACH direct deposit of your paycheck for at least $250 must be received in 60 days with account opening. Offer is limited to new customers without a personal checking account at National City. At last, you have to open the Work Perks checking in branch.