[Iowa] Premier Bank 1% APY Checking on Balances up to $5,000 & $100 Bonus

Update 12/13/20: Now only 1% APY

Offer at a glance

• Maximum bonus amount: 5% APY on $5,000 & $100
• Availability: Must open in-branch in Iowa
• Additional requirements: 20 debit card purchases
• Hard/soft pull: Unknown
• ChexSystems: Unknown
• Credit card funding: None (must open in branch)
• Monthly fees: None with paperless
• Insured: FDIC

The Offer

Direct Link to offer

• Premier Bank offers a 5% APY on balances up to $5,000 with their Life Checking account. The even guarantee the rate through at least December 2018.
• They are also offering a $100 bonus, the only requirement seems to be that the account must be kept open for six months.

To be eligible for the 5% rate you need to make 20 debit card purchases each statement cycle. Signature and PIN-based transactions both qualify. Data point of it being closed down for just making 20 small transactions.

Avoiding Fees

The account doesn’t have any monthly fees. The only thing to look out for is the $2 paper statement fee. Be sure to signup for online banking and electronic statements.

They reimburse up to $20 of ATM fees each month.

You also need to keep the account open for six months to keep the $100 bonus.

The Fine Print

• All consumer checking accounts have a minimum opening deposit of $25.  
• ATM refunds up to $20 per month. Does not include foreign currency charge.
• On daily balances up to $5,000.00 or less earn an interest rate of 4.90% with an Annual Percentage Yield (APY) of 5.00%. The initial rate on your account for this tier will not drop below the floor rate of 5:00% APY through 12/31/18.
• On balances $5,000.01 or greater earn a rate of .25% APY.
• Must make 20 debit card purchases per statement cycle; signature or PIN based transactions qualify.
• Debits are determined on the date it is posted to your account and not the date of the transaction/purchase. Debit purchases at or near the end of the month may post in the next month’s statement cycle.
• If requirements aren’t met earn a base rate of .01% APY on all balances.
•  Limit one Life Checking account and $100 bonus per household.
• Bonus only available to new consumer checking account customers as long as promotion is offered.
• If account is closed within 6 months the $100 bonus will be debited from your account as well as a $25 early closure fee.
• No minimum balance required.
• ATM transactions do not count as debit transactions to qualify for the preferred rate.

Our Verdict

Nice to find another 5% account on $5k. Unfortunately, they require opening the account in-branch which limits this to people in the area of their three branch locations in Iowa (Locations). This sounds like a solid option for those in the area; hopefully, they don’t do a hard pull for opening the account. We’ll add this to our list of Best High Interest Savings Accounts. Even better now that they are offering a $100 bonus with no requirements as well.

Hat tip to reader Calvin