• Account is free for a year
• First order of checks is free
• Free online statements, mobile banking, debit card and banking by phone
• Funds deposited must be from another institution
• Insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC)

All requirements must be met within 60 days of opening a checking account to qualify for the cash rewards. Once requirements are met the cash rewards will be credited within 90 days of the account being opened.

Only new checking account customers can qualify for the cash rewards. The offer is limited to one per customer and two per household. Accounts that qualify for the offer are the Perfect Checking, Student Reward Checking, Basic Consumer, Senior Citizen Checking and NOW Checking. Valley National Bank is based in Wayne, N.J.

The checking account offers free mobile banking and refunds of other banks’ ATM fees. It also offers six months of free identity protection and a free CheckPlus Debit MasterCard. You’ll also receive free estatements, email and text alerts. The $3 monthly fee on the account is waived for meeting certain requirements during each monthly statement cycle.

Other details of the bank’s offer include:

• Minimum balance of $250 to receive the incentive for the SaveUp Savings
• SaveUp Savings has a 0.5 percent annual percentage yield (APY)
• Savings rate falls to 0.25 percent if automatic transfer requirement is not met
• Savings rate is subject to change after opening account
• Fees may reduce earnings
• Fee may be imposed for closing account within first 120 days

Metcalf Bank is based in Lee’s Summit, Mo., and is a leading financial service provider in the state.

• Earn $100 for each new Citigold or Citibusiness account
• Earn $50 for each new Citibank account
• Earn $25 for each new Citibank EZ checking account
• Only five referrals per customer
• Cash bonus deposited within 120 days of verification of new customer’s account opening
• New bank customer also receives a bonus

New customers who open an account must deposit $1,000 or more ($500 for EZ Checking) within 60 days to receive the cash.  Depending on the account opened, the customer receives a bonus of $100, $50, or $25. The bank’s terms also require one direct deposit, two electronic bill payments, or five or more qualifying non-PIN transactions with the bank’s debit card. The account must be open and in good standing to receive the cash bonus.

The bank deal is only available in Citibank branches, and only one offer is allowed per Citibank customer. You also must be a resident of the U.S. or a resident alien with a valid U.S. taxpayer identification number to qualify for the bank’s deal.

Here are some of the details of this bank checking deal:

• This offer is available only to new customers who open a qualifying personal checking account with a minimum balance of $500
• The new checking account must be open for at least 30 days
• You must make a minimum of one transaction with the newly assigned check card
• To take advantage of this offer, you must use the Offer Code provided to open your qualifying new Bank of America personal checking account by 09/30/2009
• To open a new checking account, apply online or go to a banking center and reference offer code AOU260709

For more information on this bank deal, check the Bank of America promo page.

The bank has heavily promoted similar deals there, including last winter’s $50 bonus for new personal checking accounts and $200 bonus for new business checking accounts.

You’ll also need a “coupon code” from the mailing to qualify for the bonus. It appears that the bonus codes are one time use, so if you didn’t get a mailer you’re out of luck. Hopefully they will open this bonus up to everyone else soon!

The fine print says you have 60 days from the time you open the account to deposit at least $100 in new money. Within 10 days of doing that, the $150 bonus will be added to your account.

If you try and close the account in less than six months, Chase will retract the $150 bank bonus.

In order to receive the $25 bonus, you have to complete the following:

• Open the account – enter reference code “EM255″
• Activate your electric orange debit card
• Use your debit card to make 3 transactions within the first 45 days

Once these requirements have been met, your $25 bonus will automatically be added to your account.

In order to qualify for the bonus you must:

• Open a qualifying Citibank regular checking account
• Fund it with a minimum of $1,000 by 12/31/2008
• Make at least one direct deposit into your account within the first month or at least two electronic bill payments from your account each month for three consecutive months

The offer only applies to new Citibank checking customers. You will receive your bonus in the checking account within $100 days. The offer is only available to Citi members who are the primary account holders. See site for more details.

Here are some of the details on this great deal:

• No minimums or fees
• Only a $1 deposit required
• ATM cards are available
• Free checks for life
• Cash back on debit card purchases
• No hard credit pulls

It’s true that WaMu has had some problems recently–this is part of the reason they are offering such great rates. However, WaMu is FDIC insured for the standard $100,000, and if you keep your deposits below 100k you shouldn’t have anything to worry about. I recently opened this account a 3.75% and was pleasantly surprised when they announced an increase to 4.00%.

By opening a savings account instead of a CD, you keep your assets liquid and have them ready if and when you need to make a withdrawal.

Here’s some details on the checking account:

• Free checking – no monthly service fees, minimum balance requirements
• Free access to Wells Fargo Online
• Limit one $50 bonus per household
• Minimum initial deposit of $100 required
• The $50 bonus will be deposited to your new Wells Fargo checking account within 45 days of opening
• The $50 bonus is available with all Wells Fargo checking accounts, including non-interest-earning checking accounts, except for Wells Fargo College Checking^®, Wells Fargo Teen Checking^SM and Wells Fargo Opportunity Checking^® accounts

• Open a iGOChecking account
• Pay 3 bills online using Bill Pay and Presentation
• Be one of the first 400 accounts to fulfill the bill pay requirement

The checking account in question is a no-minimum checking account without paper checks, with an interest rate of 2.65% APY. iGOBanking is a division of Flushing Savings Bank, FSB.