Update 8/23/26: Deal is back and valid until December 31, 2026. Hat tip to reader Avi
Update 7/26/25: Deal is back and valid until September 30, 2025.
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $250
- Availability: OK & TX
- Direct deposit required: Optional
- Additional requirements: See below
- Hard/soft pull: Unknown
- ChexSystems: Unknown
- Credit card funding: Unknown
- Monthly fees: None
- Early account termination fee: Unknown
- Household limit: None
- Expiration date: December 31, 2026
December 31, 2024
The Offer
- Great Plains Bank is offering a $250 bonus when you open a new checking account and complete the following requirements:
- Have a Direct Deposit of at least $500 or average balance of $2,500
- Have two of the following: (A) 20 posted GPB debit card transactions, (B) 3 GPB bill pay or ACH payment transactions, or (C) enrollment in eStatements. All requirements must be met within the first 90 days.
The Fine Print
- $250 New Consumer Checking Account Bonus: Limited to individuals who have not owned or co-owned a consumer Great Plains Bank (GPB) checking account within the last twelve (12) months. A $250 checking account bonus will be awarded to accounts with a recurring Direct Deposit of at least $500 or average balance of $2,500, along with two of the following: (A) 20 posted GPB debit card transactions, (B) 3 GPB bill pay or ACH payment transactions, or (C) enrollment in eStatements.
- All requirements must be met within the first 90 days.
- Offer cannot be combined with any other checking account offer and is limited to one bonus per account and per customer.
- The offer expires on Dec. 31, 2024
- . After all account requirements are satisfied, we will deposit the earned bonus directly into your new Great Plains Bank account within sixty (60) calendar days of the criteria being met.
- The new Great Plains Bank account must be open and in good standing up to and including the date any earned bonus is paid. Account applications are subject to approval.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
Simply free checking has no monthly fees to worry about.
Early Account Termination Fee
I wasn’t able to find a fee schedule so unsure if there is any EATF.
Our Verdict
If anybody signs up for the account please share your experiences below. Hopefully it’s a soft pull to open.
Hat tip to ShawntheShawn
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
- Bank Bonus Posting Times
so i guess bring passport and DL and stop by the branch next time I go to Dallas.
Another DP for opening in branch, in footprint (DFW). Chex and CBs frozen. They required secondary form of identify verification (due to Chex/CBs frozen) even in branch.
Nope. But I’m fairly confident it’s because of Chex. “ Thank you for applying for a Simply Free Checking account with Great Plains Bank. Unfortunately, we are unable to open your account at this time.”
no reason given huh?
William Charles $15 EATF if closed within 90 days. If you go to their apply page that lists all the accounts there’s a disclosure under each account that lists it. No actual fee schedule or exact service area listed as far as i can find though.
Similar experience. Located within 10 miles of a branch.
Applied last night and went into review. Email this morning with denial. No stated reason. Chex unknown
Application status updated and denied early this morning
Druberswartzen in branch or online
Which branch did you go to? The only ones I can find near Dallas are Irving, Frisco, and Southlake
look forward to your update
Applied and went to review. Chex is laughable so probably won’t get approved. I’ll update either way
William Charles Chuck This offer is back. This time at $300.
8.1 opened the account met requirements 11.5 received bonus
I believe this bank, unlike other banks to my knowledge, monitors your account up to 4 weeks before they give you access to things like external transfers, bill pay or zelle. You could try doing ach payment transactions.
how do i bill pay from the account…I do not see it after i log in
.
The bonus was posted as a deposit with a deposit slip handwritten by the banker who opened my account – it looks like they process the bonuses manually.
Somehow my edit was lost: 8/4 three bill pays completed 8/6 All requirements for bonus completed: e-statements + 2 direct deposits + 3 bill pays
DP Data point: 7/30 Opened in branch in Dallas, TX. In-state, 5 miles from the branch. Chex was frozen. 8/4 3 bill pays 8/5 $501 direct deposit from chase business payroll 8/6 $502 direct deposit from chase business payroll 8/6 All requirements for bonus completed: e-statements + recurring direct deposit + 3 bill pays 8/27 $250 bonus posted
Dallas resident. Applied Saturday 8/23. Uploaded DL, passport, and utility bill. Monday 8/25 – received denial e-mail. No information given just “Unfortunately we are unable to open your account at this time”.
I got approved with chex frozen
Would need to check with banker. I’m in Fort Worth, planning to apply later this month in the branch. It looks like not chex sensitive from two recent DPs. What is your chex number?
Tried to apply today from Austin, TX Was denied due to being outside the Service Area
#1980848
under “MOVE MONEY”
Average Collected Balance= sum of everydays’ balance(of the first 90days) / 90 ？？？
The footnote at the bottom of the webpage says: “ A $250 checking account bonus will be awarded to accounts with a recurring Direct Deposit of at least $500 or average collected balance of $2,500, “ I’m a little confused of how many DD of $500+ should we make for the 90 days. And when to calculate the average balance
opened at the branch in frisco, TX with chex frozen.
Where can I setup Bill Pay? couldnt find it anywhere online