Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $200
- Availability: CT, DC, DE, MD, NJ, NY, PA, VA, WV
- Direct deposit required: Yes, $100+
- Additional requirements: None
- 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: October 20th, 2017
The Offer
No direct link to offer (go to mtb.com/checking and enter promo code QK (read the our verdict section)
- Open a new M&T personal checking account by October 20th, 2017 with the promotional code QK and receive a sign up bonus of $200 when you do the following:
- Set up a qualifying direct deposit of $100 or more within 90 days of account opening
The Fine Print
- Qualifying direct deposits include but are not limited to electronic deposits such as payroll or social security and do not include electronic money transfers or credits such as account-to-account transfers or those made through internet payment services
- Bonus will post to the account within 90 days of meeting the direct deposit requirement
- Limited to one bonus per customer
- Offer may vary by region and product
- Offer is nontransferable
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
The bonus is available on any personal checking account, including: EZChoice Checking, MyChoice Checking, MyChoice Plus Checking, MyChoice Premium Checking, Classic Checking, Basic Banking. Let’s look at the easiest options for keeping fee free.
[Note that M&T Bank is one of the few banks that doesn’t give you a grace period, the requirements mentioned below must be completed your first month to keep it fee-free.]
EZChoice Checking
This account has a monthly fee of $9.95, soon changing to $6.95.
- Monthly fee is waived by making just ONE transaction such as a deposit, withdrawal, or debit purchase.
MyChoice Checking
This account has a monthly fee of $6.95 that can be waived with any of the following methods:
- Receive direct deposits totaling $200 or more
- Make 10 or more monthly debit card purchases
- Keep an average daily balance of $500 (might be $1,500 depending on your area) or more
Basic Banking
This account has a non-waivable $3 monthly fee.
Early Account Termination Fee
Account must be kept open for 180 days otherwise $50 bonus will be charged.
Our Verdict
Recently there has been issues with M&T Bank, the last code released (QJ) resulted in a lot of people not getting the bonus. Also lots of reports of newly opened accounts being closed. My gut feeling is that this will be similar to the QJ code and won’t work out of state and still won’t work for a lot of people in one of the eligible states but at the moment that’s just a guess. The good thing about M&T bank is that the bonus usually posts shortly after receiving a direct deposit so I suspect we will know sooner rather than later. I won’t be adding this to our best checking bonus page until we know more. They have used this promotional code before, I decided to create a new post as things have changed significantly since last time.
Big thanks to reader, MarylandMama, Matt & /r/churning who let us know. Learn how to find bonuses and contribute to the site here.
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
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