DOC Compass — Offers, decoded

Unfortunately this bonus has expired, click here to view the best current checking bonuses.

Offer at a glance

Maximum bonus amount: $200
Availability: 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.
ChexSystems: Unknown
Credit card funding: Up to $1,000, Visa & MasterCard only
Monthly fees: $9.99, avoidable
Early account termination fee: None listed
Household limit: None
Expiration date: ~~July 31st, 2018~~ September 30th, 2018

The Offer

Direct Link to offer

Open a Citizen’s Bank One Deposit checking account and get a $200 bonus if you make a direct deposit of $500 or higher within 60 days of account opening.

The Fine Print

Valid online only.
Valid from 6/29/18 through 7/31/18.
Direct Deposit is recurring income electronically deposited into your Citizens Bank checking account and may include salary, pension, Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits and other regular monthly income.
Primary signer on the new checking account may not be or have been a primary or secondary signer on any Citizens Bank personal checking account within the previous six months.
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 Offer may be withdrawn without notice and cannot be combined with any other checking offer.
In order to be eligible to participate in this promotion, the customer must open their first new One Deposit Checking account via Citizens Bank’s online account opening system accessed by clicking on the link on the offer page. Customer should print this screen for their records. Customer may only be paid a bonus associated with this program one time.
If you meet all of the above requirements and open a One Deposit checking account you will receive a $200 bonus. Bonus will post to the checking account within 90 days after direct deposit has posted and will be labeled as “Balance Builder Bonus.”
Bonus will be reported to the IRS for income tax purposes.

Avoiding Fees

No Early Account Termination Fee

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

Monthly Fee

The One Deposit checking account comes with a $9.99 monthly fee. Fee is waived by making one deposit each statement period. (According to this comment they really do count any deposit – even a transfer from another Citizens Bank account will trigger this.)

Paper Statements

Paper statements come with a $2 monthly fee. Be sure to opt in for paperless.

Our Verdict

This is an excellent bonus for those in the eligible area. Looks to be fairly easy to meet the direct deposit requirement, very easy to keep fee-free, and comes with $1,000 in credit card funding as well. We’ll add this to our list of the best checking bonuses.

There’s also the Citizen’s Bank $400 Platinum bonus, but that one is probably a worse deal due to the $25 monthly fee. Prior Citizen’s Bank bonuses for the One Deposit account (which is easy to maintain fee-free) have typically been for just $150, and usually in-branch only. This one is a larger bonus, has the convenience of being available online, and the added benefit of credit card funding.

Edit: I see now a Reddit data point indicating the Platinum checking has a grace period for the monthly fee. So that’s probably a better deal if you can manage a $1,000 direct deposit, and you do it quickly to avoid the monthly fees. Just remember, the full $400 will show up on the 1099.

Big thanks to reader @SwarthyOgre for sharing this bonus with us. Learn how to find bonuses and contribute to the site here.

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