[Expired]5/3rd (Fifth Third) Bank $200 Checking Bonus [FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, MI, MO, NC, OH, PA, TN, WV]

This offer has expired, you can view more current checking bonuses by going here.

• Maximum bonus amount: $200 
• Availability: Must present coupon in branch to sign up.Use this to find out how far you are from the nearest branch. They have branches in the following states: FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, MI, MO, NC, OH, PA, TN, WV
• Direct deposit required: Yes, $100 or more.Click here to see what has counted in the past.
• Additional requirements: None 
• Hard/soft pull: Soft
• Credit card funding: None
• Monthly fees: $11-$20, waivable
• Early account termination fee: None listed, in the past you’ve been required to keep it open for 9 months.
• Expiration date: July 26th, 2015

The Offer

Direct link to offer

• Receive a sign up bonus of $200 when you open a new Essential Checking with Fifth Third bank and completing the following:
  • Set up a direct deposit ($100 minimum in the past)
  • Pay three bills online using Fifth Thirds online bill payment service

The Fine Print

• Offer not available to existing checking customers or to those with a Fifth Third checking account that has been closed within the last 12 months
• Offer not available to new Fifth Third checking customers in Northeast Ohio
• Bonus offer available to new consumer checking customers, excluding Fifth Third Basic Checking, Fifth Third Private Bank products, and Business checking accounts
• Limit of one new account-related gift incentive per calendar year
• Requirements must be met within 90 days of account opening
• Bonus will be deposited within 6 weeks of meeting requirements
• One bonus offer per account per household
• All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them

Avoiding Fees

Essential Checking $11 Monthly Fee

You can waive the monthly fee by doing any one of the following:

• Maintain an average monthly balance of $1,500 or more across your savings and checking accounts
• Are a U.S Military member or participate in 5/3rd’s employer benefits program and receive $500 or more in direct deposits
• You’re a student

Our Verdict

In the past you could get a $250 bonus from 5/3rd, but it required you to open the Established Checking, which is much harder to keep fee free. If you opened the essential checking account that this bonus requires, you’d only get a bonus of $150.

This is a good bonus for those who live near a 5/3rd bank, we have a lot of data points on what counts as a direct deposit and it isn’t too difficult to complete the requirements. Having to go in branch is a pain, but if it isn’t too far away then I’d say this is worth it. As such, we’ve added it to our recommend checking promo page, and as always it’s been added to our huge database of checking & savings promotions.

Hat tip to reader J Smith