Citizens Bank $150 Checking Bonus, At Supermarket Branches [CT, DE, MA, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, VA, VT]

Offer is back but there is currently a better bonus for $150/$250.

• Maximum bonus amount: $150
• Availability: Must open in supermarket branch [Location finder here]. Not sure if all states have supermarket branches, but they operate out of the following states: CT, DE, MA, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, VT
• Direct deposit required: Yes, $500+
• Additional requirements: None
• Hard/soft pull: Soft pull as long as you opt out of over draft protecton.
• Credit card funding: Up to $1,000, Visa & MasterCard only (most likely cash advance due to have to opening in branch)
• Monthly fees: $9.99, waive-able
• Early account termination fee: None
• Household limit: None mentioned
• Expiration date: February 24th, 2017 June 9th, 2017 (New bonus valid July 29th until September 1st)

The Offer

Direct link to offer

• To receive the $150 bonus, complete the following:
  • Open your first new personal checking account between July 29, 2017 and September 1, 2017 at a Citizens Bank supermarket branch
  • Set up a single direct deposit of $500 or more that posts to your new account within 60 days of account opening

The Fine Print

• To qualify for the $150 bonus you must open your first new personal checking account between 5/6/17 and 6/9/17 and have at least 1 single direct deposit of $500 or more post to your new checking account within 60 days of account opening.
• Primary signer on the new checking account may not be or have been a primary or secondary signer on any personal checking account within the previous six months.
• Offer only available in select branches.
• The new account must be open and in good standing to qualify for this offer.
• Offer may be withdrawn without notice and cannot be combined with any other checking offer.
• $150 Bonus will be deposited into your qualifying checking account within 90 days after the first qualified direct deposit has posted and will be labeled as “Balance Builder Bonus.”
• One bonus per customer.
• Bonus will be reported to the IRS.

Avoiding Fees

• One Deposit Checking Account: $9.95 fee is waived with any deposit (according to this comment they really do many any deposit, even a transfer from another Citizens Bank account will trigger this)
• Citizens Bank Platinum Checking: $25 fee is waived with $25,000 in combined deposits
• Citizens Bank Platinum Plus Checking: $25 fee is waived with $25,000 in combined deposits & either $5,000 total deposits posted to the primary checking account before the end of your statement period OR $10,000 average daily checking balance

As far as I know there is no early account termination fee.

Our Verdict

It’s annoying that this bonus is in branch and requires a direct deposit for the bonus, at least any deposit will keep the account fee free. That being said it’s probably still a good option for those that live near a branch as we do have some datapoints on what counts as a direct deposit. They have offered a similar $150 bonus online in the past as well. I’ll be adding this to our best checking promos page, but it won’t be one of the top bonuses listed.

Big thanks to reader, Don who let us know. Please consider sharing bank bonuses with this site so we can make it even better.

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