[Expired] [OH, IN, MI] Farmers & Merchants State Bank $100 Checking Bonus, Must Be 25 Years Or Younger – No Direct Deposit Required

Deal no longer being offered, view more bank account bonuses by clicking here.

Update 4/11/20: Deal is back but bonus has been reduced to $100.

Update 4/18/19: Confirmed to be a soft pull, keep in mind they are ChexSystems sensitive.

Offer at a glance

• Maximum bonus amount: $100
• Availability: Must be 25 years of age or younger and have residency in Ohio, Indiana or Michigan
• Direct deposit required: None
• Additional requirements: 8 debit card transactions
• Hard/soft pull: Soft pull
• ChexSystems: Unknown, sensitive
• Credit card funding: None
• Monthly fees: None
• Early account termination fee: $25, 180 days
• Household limit: None listed
• Expiration date: None listed

The Offer

Direct link to offer

• Farmers & merchants state bank is offering a bonus of $200 when you open a new smart 25 checking account. This is only available if you’re under 25 years of age. Bonus is broken down as follows:
  • $100 bonus will be deposited within 10 days of account opening when you complete as long as you have 8 point of sale debit card purchases post and settle to the account
  • Addtional $100 bonus will be deposited within 90 days as long as you have 8 point of sale debit card purchases post and settle to the account

The Fine Print

• Minimum to open a Smart 25 Checking account is $50.00. A $200.00 account opening bonus will be paid on this account as follows: 1) $100.00 within 10 days of account opening; and 2) $100.00 within 90 days of account opening if eight (8) Point-of-Sale (POS) purchases have posted and settled to this account.
• Account opening bonus paid will be treated as interest for IRS (Form 1099-INT) reporting.
• All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them

Avoiding Fees

Monthly Fees

This account has no monthly fees as long as you have paperless statements

Early Account Termination Fee

I wasn’t able to find a fee schedule so I’m unsure if there is any early account termination fee or not. According to this comment there is a $25 fee if closed within 180 days.

Our Verdict

Shame that you need to be 25 or younger to do this bonus, because it’s definitely worth doing as it’s a soft pull. Keep in mind they are ChexSystems sensitive so most people won’t be eligible. I’ll still be adding this to our list of the best checking bonuses. Please share your experiences with this bank in the comments below.

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