Best Bank Deals

Citibank currently has a bank promotion with a $100 bonus for signing up to their e-savings account with free EZ checking.

$100 offer is only available for first-time Citibank deposit (checking or savings product) account customers, and will be paid only once to any individual. Persons who currently have or at any time have had a deposit account at Citibank (or any of its predecessor banks) are not eligible.

To receive this offer you must: 1.) make a single application for both a new regular checking and e-Savings Account in the EZ Checking package and open both accounts by 4/30/07 and fund the account with a minimum initial deposit of $5,000. $100 will be credited to your regular checking account within 90 days from the end of the statement period in which you met all of the above requirements.

To qualify for Free Citibank® EZ Checking, you must apply online for both a new regular checking and e–Savings Account in the EZ Checking package by 12/31/2007.

This offer is not available at Citibank Financial Centers.

Amtrust Direct currently has a checking account promotion with up to $50 in bank bonuses. In order to get the full $50 bonus, you need to complete the following:

• Pay with a debit card: It’s the fastest, safest, most convenient way to pay for everyday purchases right from your checking account.
• Sign up for Direct Deposit: Have your payroll, Social Security or retirement checks automatically deposited directly into your Totally Free Checking account.
• Use free Online Bill Pay: No need to buy stamps, run to the post office or worry about a late payment. Pay bills the quick, easy way, right online.

The actual checking account features:

• No minimum balance requirement.
• No monthly service fee
• Free 24/7 online banking with free unlimited bill pay
• Free monthly statements that include images of all your checks
• Free unlimited check writing
• Free debit card
• Free first order of checks
• Free 4-pc Corningware® Portable Round Casserole Set*

Visit Amtrust Direct’s homepage for more information on this account.

HSBC Direct is offering $25 for paying 3 bills using its Online Payment Account. Here’s the  link to the promotional page. According to the terms of the bonus:

You must use Bill Pay to make three bill payments through your Online Payment Account by January 31, 2008. If you qualify, $25 will be credited to your Online Payment Account 6-8 weeks after that date.

The Online Payment Account (OPA) is a free online checking account without paper checks similar to ING Direct’s Electric Orange account. All payments are designed to be done using their free online bill pay. There’s no minimum balance or fees. The current yield is 2.50% APY on all balances over $1.

E*Trade bank just increased their savings rate on their online complete savings account to 5.05%. With constant rate cuts, this is a rather unique move in the world of banking. It would appear that this is an effort to draw more money to maintain the required level of deposits. In addition, E*Trade is still running a $25 bank bonus promotion. In addition, they also increased the rates on their CD accounts, with a 5.10% on 3 month CDs, 5.25% on 6 month CDs, and 5.15% on 1 year CDs. Here are some of the details:

• $1 minimum deposit to open account
• No minimums or account fees
• No hard credit inquiry
• Free online ACH transfer system
• Typical 6 withdrawal limits per month

E*Trade bank has had some problems recently with their asset backed mortgage securities portfolio, but as long as you maintain under $100,000 in deposits you should be completely covered by FDIC insurance.

Citibank has a new checking account bonus in which you can earn $200. The promotional code is MVS4. You can call Citibank’s toll-free number 1-866-810-9043 to open the account. For more information visit the post over at BankDealsBlog.com where I originally found the deal.

Here are some of the details: (Taken from BankDealsBlog.com)

• Open a Citibank checking account (EZ checking does not qualify) with a minimum of $100
• First $100 earned after 3 months of direct deposit OR using online bill pay for 2 bills per month
• Second $100 earned after 3 more months of direct deposit OR bill pay
• Bonuses will be credited to account within 120 days of meeting qualifications
• Must be a new Citibank customer with no previous Citibank checking or savings account
• Expires February 29, 2008

Chase Bank is currently running a $100 promotion for their Free Checking account with direct deposit. It’s only available for two days; tomorrow and Saturday. This offer is only available in Texas, Illinois, Ohio, Colorado, Michigan, Oklahoma, New York, and Utah.

For those not in these states, a $75 bank bonus is available. Unfortunately, the $125 bank bonus that I mentioned previously is no longer available.

All bank bonuses require new customers.

Banco Popular is offering up to $125 promotional bonus for opening its Totally Free Checking Account. This is a three part bonus. The first $25 requires turning in your old debit card and unused checks from your other bank. $50 is for adding direct deposit, and $50 is for using their free online bill pay. They’re also giving away a free George Foreman Grill.

Their checking account features:

• FREE online bill pay
• FREE online banking
• 2 FREE foreign ATM withdrawals or inquiries
• Easy-to-balance monthly statement
• FREE return of check images for easy record keeping
• FREE Banco Popular MasterCard® Debit Card
• FREE Debit Card transactions

Visit their promotion page for more details.

Bank Midwest is currently offering a free iPod Shuffle if you open a free checking account with a Visa debit card. You do need to fund this account with $2000 or more to start, and it also requires having direct deposit from your employer. For more information on this iPod promotion, visit the promotional page here.

Heartland Bank recently opened a new high yield savings account called Heartland Bank Direct which offers a 5.05% APY rate. There’s a minimum opening balance of $500, but the balance can drop below $500 after it’s opened without any monthly fees.

The unique thing about this account is a bonus feature. You can earn $5 per $1,000 average monthly balance of the previous 6 months for a maximum bonus of $50. So for those who have $10K or less in deposits, the bonus would add about an extra 1% to the interest rate resulting in a rate close to 6% for the those 6 months.

This is a pretty good deal for those looking to store their money in the short term while keeping some liquidity. The bonus promotion is only limited to new customers.

Wachovia Bank is once again offering a $50 bonus for opening its free checking account. Here’s the promotion page link.

Here are some of the important details:

To qualify for the $50.00 bonus, you must be a new customer and open your new Checking account by 1/31/2008 with a minimum of $100.00 in new funds to Wachovia. Your bonus will be directly deposited into your new Checking account within 120 days of account opening. Limit one bonus offer per household. If you need to contact us regarding this offer, please reference pricing code ATM2. The value of this bonus will be reported to the IRS.

Wachovia’s free checking account has the basic components of free checking: no minimum balance requirements, no monthly fees, etc. A reader in the previous post mentioned that Wachovia does a hard credit pull (via Experian). Checks are not free, but they are optional. Prices vary by state. A reader just mentioned that Wachovia offered 50 duplicate checks for $8. There is a $25 fee if the account is closed before 6 months. In addition to the hard pull, Wachovia also does a ChexSystem verification.