Update: Free Choice Checking is a new account type that is not yet available. It will be available on 8/20 and the representative advised to hold off until that date to participate in the $300 SUB offer. Hat tip to reader Bob
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $300
- Availability: CT, NJ
- Direct deposit required: Yes, $1,000+ per month for three consecutive months.
- Additional requirements: 4 POS debit card purchases per month for three consecutive months
- Hard/soft pull: Unknown
- ChexSystems: No
- Credit card funding: Up to $7,000
- Monthly fees: None
- Early account termination fee: Varies?
- Household limit: None
- Expiration date: None listed
The Offer
- Ion Bank is offering a $300 bonus when you open a new free choice checking account and complete the following requirements:
- Minimum of $1,000 in direct deposits and 4 point-of-sale debit card transactions for 3 consecutive months after the account is opened
The Fine Print
- Offer is for Free Choice Checking accounts only opened during the promotional period ending on December 31, 2026.
- Bonuses are limited to one per individual.
- To earn a $300 bonus, you must deposit a minimum of $1,000 per month through direct deposit and make a minimum of four (4) point-of-sale Ion Bank Debit Mastercard transactions for three (3) consecutive months after the account is opened.
- The Free Choice Checking offer is not available to existing Ion Bank checking customers or to those whose Ion Bank checking account was closed within 90 days or closed with a negative balance within the last three (3) years.
- Your new account must remain open to receive the cash bonus payment.
- We may close accounts with a zero balance without prior notice.
- If you meet the qualifications outlined above, we will credit the $300 bonus to your account within one (1) statement cycle after completion period.
- Ion Bank deposited funds will be reported as income on IRS Form 1099.
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
This account has no monthly fees.
Early Account Termination Fee
Fee schedule says the early account closure fee varies?
Our Verdict
Requirements are a bit annoying as they need to be completed for three consecutive months. Difficult to know if it’s worth doing as we don’t know what the approval process is like currently.
Hat tip to reader Bockrr
Useful posts regarding bank bonuses:
- A Beginners Guide To Bank Account Bonuses
- 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 Calculate And Share Your ChexSystems Datapoints
- 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
- Bank Bonus Posting Times
Chex inquiries at time of application: 1 in last 1 month, 1 in last 2 months, 5 in last 6 months, 7 in last 23 months, 18 in last 24 months
Since Free Choice Checking is a new account type, the referral pages probably haven’t been updated to include it. The existing referral pages include all the current Personal Checking account types so it is highly likely Free Choice Checking is included as well.
Denied. Must be CHEX sensitive.
Looks like its been pulled. I would wait a bit because if that free checking account isn’t available till 8/20 they might add it back.
Account got approved today. Regarding CC Funding, I was able to do $7K with my CCR. I initially tried CSP but it didn’t work for me. I feel like CCR works well almost any bank that allows CC funding..pretty reliable
Looks like it was pulled ugh
this is why we can’t have nice things 🙂
That’s unfortunate. It seems they pulled the entire offer now. https://www.doctorofcredit.com/ct-nj-ion-bank-300-checking-bonus/#comment-2386544 See this data point from Bob as well. https://www.doctorofcredit.com/ct-nj-ion-bank-300-checking-bonus/#comment-2386412
Opened my acct, yesterday. Hope goes smoothly after I meet the requirements, in 3-4 months. posting my referral link below. Pls delete if it does not confirm to this site, [removed and banned. Read the site rules]
Someone from the bank just called me asking me to unfreeze chex..I politely asked them if there was a work around by coming into branch, and they said “No”. Guess I’ll try again in a month once my Chex -fast is over. Hopefully DoC crowd won’t get it pulled too quickly 🙂
page redirects to their home page for me
I applied last night and it was pending. 5 minutes earlier I just got a call from Ion bank, the agent asked to the lift the freeze on chexsystem and reapply. It seems they are using Chex.
Gave them a call to verify… Turns out Free Choice Checking is a new account type that is not yet available. It will be available on 8/20 and the representative advised to hold off until that date to participate in the $300 SUB offer. William Charles
CSP didn’t work for me but CCR worked
Free choice checking is the account to select. You’ll see it when you apply. I believe both options are the same.
Definitely Visa and Mastercard. I would still give AMEX a shot first if this is your card of choice. There’s usually some type of prompt that will tell you if the payment method is accepted or not.
The application went pending, not the payout.
Went pending? I thought it requires 3x $1000 DD?
Thorough!
Which checking account to select? Is the free checking the same as free choice checking?
Interesting data point. Decided to try on my phone, using data only. Scanned my license, but removed my middle initial on application, and typed in the address, vs using the auto filled address (which only thing difference was last 4-zip addition, so left those off). Got approved and was able to set up funding. Went pending, but assume I will be approved tomorrow during bank hours like Rae did. thanks y’all for another somewhat easy win..Now off to treat myself with a nice dinner DoC 🙂
I just submitted the application & its under review currently. I tried CC funding using CSP but it didn’t work. Then I tried with CCR (around $7K) and it was successful.
Could also be other identity verification reasons. Eg I’ve gotten that sort of message before after failing those Experian security questions.
No I dont. I might just try in branch tomorrow as its only 10 min away.
Strange… I definitely had Chex frozen but my other 3 credit reports were unfrozen. As snailrock asked, are any of your credit reports frozen?
Did you have credit reports frozen?
womp womp..got this error message with Chex frozen. * We were unable to open your account due to authentication verification failure. * I live in footprint so I guess I’ll try again next month.
Do you remember what they accepted for credit card funding? Hoping they have Amex available. Thank you.
You’re welcome. Don’t worry, I also forgot to check for previous posts on the “contact us” page as well 🫣
Thanks Rae for that detailed post! I always forget to check the “contact us” page 🫣