DOC Compass — Offers, decoded

Update 07/01/18: Deal has expired, click here to view more current Santander deals.

Update 04/14/18: Bonus is back until 06/30/18. Hat tip to @MordyNY.

Update 01/10/18: Bonus is back until March 31st, 2018. It had been expired since December 31st, 2017. Hat tip to reader Skippy.

Offer at a glance

Maximum bonus amount: $150
Availability: NH, MA, RI, CT, DE, NY, NJ or PA
Direct deposit required: Yes, $1,000+
Additional requirements: Use promo code DIGBONUSA5J
Hard/soft pull: Soft pull
ChexSystems: Unknown
Credit card funding: Up to $500
Monthly fees: $3, $10-$35, avoidable
Early account termination fee: $25 if closed within 90 days of opening
Household limit: None listed
Expiration date: ~~September 30th, 2017 December 31st, 2017~~ ~~March 31st, 2018~~ June 30th, 2018

The Offer

Direct link to offer

Santander is offering a bonus of $150 when you complete the following requirements:
- Open a new eligible checking account with promo code DIGBONUSA5J
- Have direct deposits totaling $1,000 or more within the first 90 days of account opening
- Keep account open for at least 90 days and open at the time of bonus payment

The Fine Print

You must be 18 years or older. Offer is not available if any account owner is a current deposit customer of Santander or had a Santander deposit account in the last 12 months prior to account opening.
Offer cannot be combined with any other bonus offer.
Eligible new account must be opened between ~~10/01/2017 – 12/31/2017~~. ~~1/1/2018 – 3/31/2018~~ 4/1/2018 – 6/30/2018
The account needs to be open for at least 90 days and remain open in an eligible account type until payment of bonus, which will occur within 30 days thereafter. In addition, the account must remain open and in good standing to be bonus eligible.
Bonus is considered interest and will be reported to IRS on Form 1099-INT.
If multiple accounts are opened with the same signer, only one account will be eligible for the bonus.
For the purpose of bonus, Santander considers direct deposits to be automated electronic deposits made to your account by someone else, such as an employer issuing payroll or a government paying benefits. It does not include deposits to your account that are made by an individual using online banking.
All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them

Avoiding Fees

$25 Early Account Termination Fee

Account needs to be open when bonus posts and in addition you need to keep it open for 90 days otherwise you will be charged an early account termination fee of $25.

Basic Checking

There is a non-waiveable $3 monthly service fee.

Simply Right Checking

There is a $10 monthly fee that is waived when you make any financial transaction that posts during a calendar month*. Includes deposits, withdrawals, transfers or payments. Excludes fees, rebates or adjustments posted by Santander.

*based on the footnote “per service fee period”, you should interpret this to refer to a transaction posting during each statement cycle (as you would expect) — if your statement cycle does not match up with the calendar month.

Premier Plus

Not that I think anyone here is considering this account, but there is a $35 monthly fee that is waived by maintaining $75,000 in combined balances in deposits and investments held with Santander Investment Services, OR 6,000 in total monthly direct deposits.

Our Verdict

A $225 bonus with direct deposits of only $500 just recently ended, so this new bonus has higher bonus requirements for a lower bonus. That being said if you didn’t do that deal this one might still be worth doing as you’re eligible again if you haven’t held an account in the last 12 months (making it churnable) so you really want to start that clock as soon as possible and there is no guarantee that a $225 bonus will come back. These used to be available nationwide, but sadly state restricted now. I will be adding this to our list of the best checking bonuses.

Hat tip to DDG

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