[Targeted, In Branch Only & Mailer Required] M&T Bank $250 Checking Bonus

Offer at a glance

• Maximum bonus amount: $250
• Availability: CT, DC, DE, MD, NJ, NY, PA, VA, WV
• Direct deposit required: None
• Additional requirements: Deposit $10,000
• Hard/soft pull: Soft
• ChexSystems: Yes
• Credit card funding: None
• Monthly fees: $24.95, avoidable
• Early account termination fee: $50, 180 days
• Household limit: None
• Expiration date: September 29th, 2017

The Offer

No direct link, bringing the mailer in branch is required

• M&T Bank is offering $250 bonus when you open a new MyChoice Premium checking account in branch with a mailer and complete the following requirements:
  • Deposit $10,000 or more in new money between July 25th and September 29th, 2017
  • Maintain a $10,000 average balance during October & November

The Fine Print

• Bonus will be credited in December, 2017
• All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them

Avoiding Fees

Unlike other M&T bank promotions, this one only works on the MyChoice Premium checking account. First month fee is waived according to this comment.

MyChoice Premium Checking $24.95 Per Month

This account has a $24.95 per month fee, this is waived when you do either of the following:

• Keep an average daily balance of $7,500 or more in the account per monthly service charge cycle OR
• Keep total combined balances of $25,000 or more in eligible personal deposit accounts, loans and home equity outstanding balances, investments⁶ and business deposit accounts

Early Account Termination Fee

$50 if closed within 180 days.

Our Verdict

It seems like the glory days of M&T might be behind us, this requires opening in branch with the mailer and also requires a $10,000 deposit for at least two months (much worse than the similar but different $250 offer)! We didn’t have much luck with the last M&T bonus either. If you did receive this offer then your best option would be to open the account on/around September 29th and then maintain exactly $10,000 for October & November. You’d still need to keep $7,500 in the account for another four months to avoid the $24.99 monthly fee or you’d need to pay the $50 early account termination fee.

Personally I don’t think this great offer  because at minimum you’re tying up $7,500 for six months (or paying a $50 early account termination fee). Even if you just had that $7,500 in a 5% account you’d be making $187.5, might be worth it if you need some extra capacity I guess. Because this is targeted I won’t be adding it to our best checking promos page.

Hat tip to reader Ann M

Useful posts regarding bank bonuses:

• A Beginners Guide To Bank Account Bonuses
• Bank Account Quick Reference Table (Spreadsheet) (very useful for sorting bonuses by different parameters)
• PSA: Don’t Call The Bank
• Introduction To ChexSystems
• Banks & Credit Unions That Are ChexSystems Inquiry Sensitive
• What Banks & Credit Unions Do/Don’t Pull ChexSystems?
• How To Use Our Direct Deposit Page For Bank Bonuses Page
• Common Bank Bonus Misconceptions + Why You Should Give Them A Go
• How Many Bank Accounts Can I Safely Open Within A Year For Bank Bonus Purposes?
• Affiliate Links & Bank Bonuses – We Won’t Be Using Them
• Complete List Of Ways To Close Bank Accounts At Each Bank
• Banks That Allow/Don’t Allow Out Of State Checking Applications