Chase $900 Checking + Savings Bonus

[Gash]

Friends - seems like a good deal with little effort for those who qualify. What are your thoughts?

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/targeted ... ngs-bonus/


Chase is offering a checking & savings bonus worth up to $900. Bonus is as follows:

-Receive a bonus of $300 when you open a Chase Total checking account and have a direct deposit post to the account within 90 days.
-Receive a bonus of $200 when you open a Chase savings account and deposit $15,000 or more in new money within 30 days and maintain a balance of $15,000 for 90 days.
-Receive an extra $400 bonus when you complete both of the above bonuses.

[ryanpj]

Signed up for it and tried to ACH in the $15k and the transfer was instantly rejected and my account locked. I had assumed having had a credit card with them for the past five years and linked bank account would let it happen. Tried to explain to their fraud department that they should be expecting $15k transfers with a large bonus like this out there but no luck. Now I have to fund a different way. Best way I can think of is to go to a branch and deposit a check written to myself.

[02nz]

Signed up for it and tried to ACH in the $15k and the transfer was instantly rejected and my account locked. I had assumed having had a credit card with them for the past five years and linked bank account would let it happen. Tried to explain to their fraud department that they should be expecting $15k transfers with a large bonus like this out there but no luck. Now I have to fund a different way. Best way I can think of is to go to a branch and deposit a check written to myself.

Mobile deposit? And yes I've had similar experiences with Chase in the past - they're super-sensitive about ACH transfers for some reason, often things would go "under review" and sometimes be rejected after that. However, I never had trouble pushing a ACH deposit from another bank into Chase, so maybe start from the other bank.

[Gash]

Great info. Would making multiple smaller deposits over a few days trigger an alert?

[volstagg]

Great info. Would making multiple smaller deposits over a few days trigger an alert?

Chase is pretty notorious for locking accounts on ACH pull requests to their banking products. DoctorOfCredit has discussions going back to 2016 regarding this for other Chase bonuses. People who signed up for the $900 in the last week report similar issues with doing an ACH pull and their account immediately getting locked. The only work around is to do a 3 way call with Chase, you and and the bank you're pulling the funds from, once the bank you're pulling funds from confirms this isn't fraud, Chase will unlock the account. The general consensus on the best work around is, either deposit a check via the app or ACH push funds to them from external.

I signed up for the $900 bonus this morning, but have a $7,500 monthly check deposit limit according to the app, so I am linking my Alliant Credit Union account and will push the $15,000 to them once the link is confirmed with micro deposits.

[JazzTime]

Wow. Sounds a bit crazy that they want a $15K deposit, then reject your deposit. Who thought that one up? I thought only the gov't was that stupid.

So what's a reasonable workaround? I'm not going to mail a check, although I suppose I could bring a check to the local Chase branch.

Any time I get these promo offers, I generally don't bother because the work on my part outweighs the benefit. However, even I choke on passing up this offer, so I will likely try to get it.

[ChrisC]

I linked a Wells Fargo bank account to the new Chase accounts I opened for the Bonus promotion. The link was approved by both banks on Wednesday. The next day, I transferred $100 as a test run from Wells to Chase, and it was in process by Chase this Thursday and Friday. And on Friday, a hold was placed on the deposit by Chase. Wells has already debited my account this Friday. Yet, this deposit shows up in my Chase account, but with the hold.

I decided to do a $15K transfer from the Wells account to the Chase Savings account. Initially, Chase said it was pending review and then it rejected the request, a few minutes later. If I have to go to a branch to make a deposit to fund the savings account, I'll be pissed and might even decide to unwind the accounts I started. These snafu's might be the harbinger of WAFM.

[Gash]

Sound like the easiest way to to just use mobile deposit.

[JazzTime]

Sound like the easiest way to to just use mobile deposit.

Again, rather an idiotic snafu. How is writing a check, taking a photo, then depositing it easier (and more secure) than simply setting up an electronic transfer after setting up a link between two accounts? Why demand a $15K deposit, then make it impossible to actually make the deposit? Ugh!

I haven't tried this yet so I can't complain about being shut out. It makes no sense to me, however. I've had several Chase cards over the years and charge fairly high balances from time to time and never had an issue paying off the balance electronically. It would be remarkable that opening a savings account would suddenly be cause for a security lockdown.

I would be interested to hear from other BHers if they were successful or not in making an e-deposit.

[pshonore]

I signed up for an earlier bonus (with a monthly direct deposit) and have had no problem pushing deposits from Chase to BOA. On the other hand I've gone into a local branch twice to add spouse as POD and struck out twice.

[lws]

Wow. Sounds a bit crazy that they want a $15K deposit, then reject your deposit. Who thought that one up? I thought only the gov't was that stupid.

So what's a reasonable workaround? I'm not going to mail a check, although I suppose I could bring a check to the local Chase branch.

Any time I get these promo offers, I generally don't bother because the work on my part outweighs the benefit. However, even I choke on passing up this offer, so I will likely try to get it.

Looks like we have no choice.
Many private entities provide really crappy service these days.
Stopped complaining about community run entities long ago.

[DeliberateDonkey]

Never had an issue with one of these, but also increasingly wary of participating, as banks seem to be getting increasingly aggressive at snuffing out anything that looks remotely like churn. Even if you follow the terms and conditions to the letter, they could tag you as an undesirable customer and make it difficult to get a product that you actually want to keep at some point in the future.

[Invictus002]

Good to know about these holds, rejects and account locks.

I am going to try walking into a brach with a check.

Wonder how drug dealers, money launderes have no problems and they are thriving, when common man, moving money between their own accounts are getting things locked up!

[azphx1972]

Chase is ridiculous with their fraud prevention algorithms. I take advantage of banking bonuses and opened a checking & savings account for the $600 bonus lasts year, and funded the accounts with an ACH transfer request from my Citi HYSA. Chase wouldn't let the transfer occur until their fraud dept had a conference call with me and Citi to confirm that the account was mine and had sufficient funds in it to fund the ACH (and there was no notice to inform me that the transfer wouldn't go through, it simply didn't process and I had to call in to check on it). And even then, the automated response from Citi's IVR system confirming my account status & balance wasn't sufficient, they insisted on having me talk to a live human Citi service rep to confirm everything again. Chase sucks and I will be closing my accounts after I've met all the requirements for the bonus.

BTW, make sure you read the fine print about how to avoid the monthly account maintenance fees. I'm not sure if they waive the first month's fee so I used Zelle to transfer $1500 into checking & $500 into saving immediately after opening the accounts to ensure that I wouldn't be charged anything.

[Nyc10036]

Chase is ridiculous with their fraud prevention algorithms. I take advantage of banking bonuses and opened a checking & savings account for the $600 bonus lasts year, and funded the accounts with an ACH transfer request from my Citi HYSA. Chase wouldn't let the transfer occur until their fraud dept had a conference call with me and Citi to confirm that the account was mine and had sufficient funds in it to fund the ACH (and there was no notice to inform me that the transfer wouldn't go through, it simply didn't process and I had to call in to check on it). And even then, the automated response from Citi's IVR system confirming my account status & balance wasn't sufficient, they insisted on having me talk to a live human Citi service rep to confirm everything again. Chase sucks and I will be closing my accounts after I've met all the requirements for the bonus.

BTW, make sure you read the fine print about how to avoid the monthly account maintenance fees. I'm not sure if they waive the first month's fee so I used Zelle to transfer $1500 into checking & $500 into saving immediately after opening the accounts to ensure that I wouldn't be charged anything.

Would you rather that they let the transfer go through then lock the account?
That's what Citi does. It happened to me. And it was $5000.
Given a choice I would rather have it done Chase's way. This way my money is not in limbo out of my hands and in Chase's hands. The worse that happens is that I don't get $600.
My Citi account was locked for 1 month!

Chase didn't charge a fee the first month even though my initial deposit was $20 to open the account.
I was concerned about the $1500 daily balance requirement.

[Triple digit golfer]

Reading this gives me a headache. I'm not going to be jumping around like a circus monkey for what amounts to, if I execute and jump through all hoops perfectly, well under $900.

I am always tempted until I read the 97 stipulations and then people discussing all the problems.

[Nyc10036]

Reading this gives me a headache. I'm not going to be jumping around like a circus monkey for what amounts to, if I execute and jump through all hoops perfectly, well under $900.

I am always tempted until I read the 97 stipulations and then people discussing all the problems.

It is not that hard.
I didn't have the $15K for the additional bonus.
Went into a branch.
15 minutes and I was done.
I consider it an excellent exchange for $300.

[azphx1972]

Would you rather that they let the transfer go through then lock the account?
That's what Citi does. It happened to me. And it was $5000.
Given a choice I would rather have it done Chase's way. This way my money is not in limbo out of my hands and in Chase's hands. The worse that happens is that I don't get $600.
My Citi account was locked for 1 month!

Chase didn't charge a fee the first month even though my initial deposit was $20 to open the account.
I was concerned about the $1500 daily balance requirement.

I'm sorry about your experience but Citi did not do that to me when I took advantage of their banking offers. I did have issues with getting verification codes sent to my Google Voice number, and their offshore based customer service leaves much to be desired, but everything else went through without much fuss. I know there's another thread on here about others' really bad experiences with Citi, but that has not been the case for me so far (knock on wood).

[Nyc10036]

Would you rather that they let the transfer go through then lock the account?
That's what Citi does. It happened to me. And it was $5000.
Given a choice I would rather have it done Chase's way. This way my money is not in limbo out of my hands and in Chase's hands. The worse that happens is that I don't get $600.
My Citi account was locked for 1 month!

Chase didn't charge a fee the first month even though my initial deposit was $20 to open the account.
I was concerned about the $1500 daily balance requirement.

I'm sorry about your experience but Citi did not do that to me when I took advantage of their banking offers. I did have issues with getting verification codes sent to my Google Voice number, and their offshore based customer service leaves much to be desired, but everything else went through without much fuss. I know there's another thread on here about others' really bad experiences with Citi, but that has not been the case for me so far (knock on wood).

Whether it Citi locked your account or not is irrelevant.

Chase's method is easier on my nerves than Citi's.
If you haven't had your account with $5K locked for 30 days, you should try it.

[stocknoob4111]

There have been plenty of complaints about Citibank illegally locking funds on the guise of fraud.. one report had a user where he transferred a six figure sum and Citi locked his account and refused to release his money and then became unresponsive pending "investigation" which went on for weeks without resolution. It took intervention from the Consumer bureau to get his money back. The fact that banks are doing this with impunity is scary. Where are the regulators?

[azphx1972]

Whether it Citi locked your account or not is irrelevant.

Chase's method is easier on my nerves than Citi's.
If you haven't had your account with $5K locked for 30 days, you should try it.

You're trying to compare who's worse, which isn't the point, and this thread isn't about Citi anyway. Besides, just because there's a worse actor doesn't make a bad one good. There's no reason for Chase to trigger fraud protection measures (especially without any notification) when transferring money from one's own account where all the ownership details match. That's just overkill and unnecessary.

[HotWheels22]

The automatic rejection on trying to deposit $15K happened to me last year when trying to get the Chase bonus. Baffling as others have pointed out given it's a requirement. I broke it down into 3 $5K deposits and no rejection.

[boglegirl]

Reading this gives me a headache. I'm not going to be jumping around like a circus monkey for what amounts to, if I execute and jump through all hoops perfectly, well under $900.

I am always tempted until I read the 97 stipulations and then people discussing all the problems.

It is not that hard.
I didn't have the $15K for the additional bonus.
Went into a branch.
15 minutes and I was done.
I consider it an excellent exchange for $300.

I agree - it's a pretty easy $900, although the hoops that Chase makes you jump through means a little more effort than some. I'm not employed outside the home so I don't mind spending an hour or two on big bonuses like these - it's my little contribution to the household budget

[boglegirl]

I linked a Wells Fargo bank account to the new Chase accounts I opened for the Bonus promotion. The link was approved by both banks on Wednesday. The next day, I transferred $100 as a test run from Wells to Chase, and it was in process by Chase this Thursday and Friday. And on Friday, a hold was placed on the deposit by Chase. Wells has already debited my account this Friday. Yet, this deposit shows up in my Chase account, but with the hold.

I decided to do a $15K transfer from the Wells account to the Chase Savings account. Initially, Chase said it was pending review and then it rejected the request, a few minutes later. If I have to go to a branch to make a deposit to fund the savings account, I'll be pissed and might even decide to unwind the accounts I started. These snafu's might be the harbinger of WAFM.

I'm not sure from your post if you were pulling from WF to Chase, on Chase's end..or pushing from WF to Chase? In my recent experience, the pull transaction resulted in the lock on the account, a 3-way phone call, and an eventual approval of the transfer which still was put on hold for a few days. A push transaction resulted in immediate credit to my Chase account after it left my push account.

[JazzTime]

This post concerns the hoops one must jump through to obtain the bonus. But let's look at the back end. You've opened two accounts, fulfilled the requirements and obtained the bonus. Now, how do you close these accounts? Do you have to go to a branch? Can you e-transfer the funds or write yourself a check to zero out the account? If so, will that incur a fee?

Although I try to minimize my interaction with banks, I find that opening or closing an account is a painful process. It seems to take forever. That's another reason I am reluctant to participate in bonus offerings, although this bonus is rather tempting. The biggest hassle is having to change one of our direct deposits, then later changing it back. Plus, since there is a delay in getting the payer to change the direct deposit, that means the account probably has to stay open for a couple of additional months.

[ChrisC]

I linked a Wells Fargo bank account to the new Chase accounts I opened for the Bonus promotion. The link was approved by both banks on Wednesday. The next day, I transferred $100 as a test run from Wells to Chase, and it was in process by Chase this Thursday and Friday. And on Friday, a hold was placed on the deposit by Chase. Wells has already debited my account this Friday. Yet, this deposit shows up in my Chase account, but with the hold.

I decided to do a $15K transfer from the Wells account to the Chase Savings account. Initially, Chase said it was pending review and then it rejected the request, a few minutes later. If I have to go to a branch to make a deposit to fund the savings account, I'll be pissed and might even decide to unwind the accounts I started. These snafu's might be the harbinger of WAFM.

I'm not sure from your post if you were pulling from WF to Chase, on Chase's end..or pushing from WF to Chase? In my recent experience, the pull transaction resulted in the lock on the account, a 3-way phone call, and an eventual approval of the transfer which still was put on hold for a few days. A push transaction resulted in immediate credit to my Chase account after it left my push account.

Mine was a pull from WF by Chase from an account that it linked and had already pulled $100 from WF (though it placed a hold on the $100) and WF debited the $100.

I’ve never had an issue like this from any of the pushes or pulls though multiples depository institutions: 5/3 bank pulled $50k from WF a few years ago; I routinely and monthly pull, since 2017, over $6500 from PNC to WF; I’ve pushed and pulled stuff from NFCU to other accounts, including external accounts owned by my children. I recently had Fidelity pull a Roth contribution from a NFCU checking account.

It’s infuriating to have this occur from Chase. Sounds like Chase is fraud phobic and might be justified after reading yesterday’s NY Times Business Section article on how Chase got scammed on a business acquisition. After the $100 hold is lifted from Chase, I’ll try another ACH run to deposit funds in the checking and savings I set up with Chase. If that fails, I’ll deposit at the bank, fulfill the bonus requirements and think about closing the accounts. I’ll have to switch the electronic direct deposits I set up with Chase.

[barreg]

This post concerns the hoops one must jump through to obtain the bonus. But let's look at the back end. You've opened two accounts, fulfilled the requirements and obtained the bonus. Now, how do you close these accounts? Do you have to go to a branch? Can you e-transfer the funds or write yourself a check to zero out the account? If so, will that incur a fee?

Although I try to minimize my interaction with banks, I find that opening or closing an account is a painful process. It seems to take forever. That's another reason I am reluctant to participate in bonus offerings, although this bonus is rather tempting. The biggest hassle is having to change one of our direct deposits, then later changing it back. Plus, since there is a delay in getting the payer to change the direct deposit, that means the account probably has to stay open for a couple of additional months.

Based on my past experience with Chase bank bonuses, before closing the Chase accounts, I just transfer the money via ACH, pulling from a different bank account of mine, and then once they have a zero balance, send a secure message via the Chase website or app, requesting to close the account(s).

As a side note, I've always initiated ACH transactions to/from Chase accounts at a different bank account (I use Ally the most), since I've heard of some issues when initiating some ACH transactions from the Chase accounts.

[JazzTime]

Just took first steps to grab this offer:

Day 1: Used the link mentioned above referring to Dr. of Credit post and had Chase email the offer to me. I clicked on the link in the Chase email and that brought me to the page where you fill in information. (No bonus offer info is provided on this page.)

Problem 1a: Can't apply for a joint account online. Thus, I had to apply in my name only. (You must go to a branch for joint account.)

After resigning myself to a solo account, it was straightforward opening the two accounts after logging in with my Chase credit card user/password.
Once the required info was completed, I had both checking and savings accounts that can be viewed along with the credit card accounts. It was straightforward to access the routing and account numbers from there. Also, at the confirmation page, it listed the $300 + $200 + $400 bonus offer, so some relief there that I was actually getting the desired offer.

I then tried to transfer funds to each of the accounts - $10 for checking and $100 for savings. Chase is supposed to "pull" these funds from the Fido account already authorized to pay my Chase credit card accounts. So far, those transfers are listed as "pending."

I then went to my Fido account and listed the new Chase savings account as one of my authorized banks. Supposedly, Fido will make micro-deposits in the next few days that I must verify. Once I verify, I will attempt to transfer funds to Chase via "push."

I will submit a follow-up post to advise what worked or didn't work. Hopefully, I will be successful in making additional deposits although I have no intention of making a $15K deposit given the problems identified in the posts above.

PS- I called Chase and spoke to two different people who assured me that e-transfers are the safest way to move funds and the fraud dept should not be involved. They were incredulous when I mentioned that there were numerous reports of transfers being blocked. We'll see.

[ChrisC]

My online account was locked today. I’m heading to the local branch to get this straightened out with a check in hand to make a deposit in the checking and savings accounts. Also, when I applied online last Wednesday it was under a $600 bonus promotion; the online CR couldn’t adjust it to the current $900 bonus promotion. I’m hoping the branch can make an adjustment.

[JazzTime]

Just took first steps to grab this offer:

Day 1: Used the link mentioned above referring to Dr. of Credit post and had Chase email the offer to me. I clicked on the link in the Chase email and that brought me to the page where you fill in information. (No bonus offer info is provided on this page.)

Problem 1a: Can't apply for a joint account online. Thus, I had to apply in my name only. (You must go to a branch for joint account.)

After resigning myself to a solo account, it was straightforward opening the two accounts after logging in with my Chase credit card user/password.
Once the required info was completed, I had both checking and savings accounts that can be viewed along with the credit card accounts. It was straightforward to access the routing and account numbers from there. Also, at the confirmation page, it listed the $300 + $200 + $400 bonus offer, so some relief there that I was actually getting the desired offer.

I then tried to transfer funds to each of the accounts - $10 for checking and $100 for savings. Chase is supposed to "pull" these funds from the Fido account already authorized to pay my Chase credit card accounts. So far, those transfers are listed as "pending."

I then went to my Fido account and listed the new Chase savings account as one of my authorized banks. Supposedly, Fido will make micro-deposits in the next few days that I must verify. Once I verify, I will attempt to transfer funds to Chase via "push."

I will submit a follow-up post to advise what worked or didn't work. Hopefully, I will be successful in making additional deposits although I have no intention of making a $15K deposit given the problems identified in the posts above.

Today's followup:

The two "pulled" deposits of $10 and $100 showed up in the two accounts today.

Also, the two Fido micro-deposits were there and I verified those deposits with Fido so the Chase savings account is now listed as an authorized bank at Fido. I then had Fido "push" a transfer of $900 to the Chase savings account. I received an acknowledgement from Fido and those funds later showed up in the Chase savings account.

I then wrote a check for $400 on my Fido account made out to me and signed over to the Chase checking account on the back. I deposited the check via the Chase mobile app. Chase acknowledged receipt via email and the funds later showed up in the Chase checking account (although unavailable, presumably until the check actually clears).

So all deposits so far seemingly have worked, whether via pull, push or mobile check.

What remains to be seen is whether Chase will accept a large deposit or will it cause problems as some have experienced?

[JBTX]

Reading this gives me a headache. I'm not going to be jumping around like a circus monkey for what amounts to, if I execute and jump through all hoops perfectly, well under $900.

I am always tempted until I read the 97 stipulations and then people discussing all the problems.

I recently did it for $600 and have done it a few times between business a consumer. I’ve never had a problem as I recall. Main thing is push the money in from an external bank.

[retireIn2020]

Reading this gives me a headache. I'm not going to be jumping around like a circus monkey for what amounts to, if I execute and jump through all hoops perfectly, well under $900.

I am always tempted until I read the 97 stipulations and then people discussing all the problems.

I recently did it for $600 and have done it a few times between business a consumer. I’ve never had a problem as I recall. Main thing is push the money in from an external bank.

Thats why I only did the checking account with $300 bonus, it's simple, open the account 1 direct deposit and done!

[tunerunner]

There seems to be some disagreement about when you can close the account(s) after signing up without losing the bonus. 90 days or 6months?

[postal007]

There seems to be some disagreement about when you can close the account(s) after signing up without losing the bonus. 90 days or 6months?

Yeah, I'm a bit confused about that. DoctorOfCredit's https://www.doctorofcredit.com/targeted ... ngs-bonus/ offer page seems to indicate there's an early termination fee of the bonus amount if you close the account before 6 months, but that's not in the official T&Cs -- just that you have to keep the accounts open for when you receive the credit, which is ~90 days.

Curious as well what the requirement is here....

[nalor511]

There seems to be some disagreement about when you can close the account(s) after signing up without losing the bonus. 90 days or 6months?

Yeah, I'm a bit confused about that. DoctorOfCredit's https://www.doctorofcredit.com/targeted ... ngs-bonus/ offer page seems to indicate there's an early termination fee of the bonus amount if you close the account before 6 months, but that's not in the official T&Cs -- just that you have to keep the accounts open for when you receive the credit, which is ~90 days.

Curious as well what the requirement is here....

Whatever the terms say for the offer you completed.

[Blue456]

Great info. Would making multiple smaller deposits over a few days trigger an alert?

Chase is pretty notorious for locking accounts on ACH pull requests to their banking products. DoctorOfCredit has discussions going back to 2016 regarding this for other Chase bonuses. People who signed up for the $900 in the last week report similar issues with doing an ACH pull and their account immediately getting locked. The only work around is to do a 3 way call with Chase, you and and the bank you're pulling the funds from, once the bank you're pulling funds from confirms this isn't fraud, Chase will unlock the account. The general consensus on the best work around is, either deposit a check via the app or ACH push funds to them from external.

I signed up for the $900 bonus this morning, but have a $7,500 monthly check deposit limit according to the app, so I am linking my Alliant Credit Union account and will push the $15,000 to them once the link is confirmed with micro deposits.

+1, had this happen to me. All of the sudden you can't log into the app and every payment will get rejected. You will need to go to branch to get this account unlocked. And this was to an account that was open in local branch in the first place. Please make sure to be aware of this real risk and plan accordingly.

[AllMostThere]

This just proves that sometimes "easy money" juice is not worth the squeeze. With all the negative comments on Chase account locks (& Citi in another savings bonus thread) and all the side-stepping hoops, I think I'll pass on this one.

[boglegirl]

...
+1, had this happen to me. All of the sudden you can't log into the app and every payment will get rejected. You will need to go to branch to get this account unlocked. And this was to an account that was open in local branch in the first place. Please make sure to be aware of this real risk and plan accordingly.

You don't have to go to a branch. I did it over the phone.

[sunny_socal]

This just proves that sometimes "easy money" juice is not worth the squeeze. With all the negative comments on Chase account locks (& Citi in another savings bonus thread) and all the side-stepping hoops, I think I'll pass on this one.

No, it doesn't prove a thing. Some people just want to avoid a real direct deposit and try shortcuts.

I'm planning on doing it this week:
- Walk into Chase with $15k cashier's check from bank across the street
- Open account
- Set up direct deposit from my employer (I already have about 10 going to different banks)
- Wait for bonus to be awarded

$900 is pretty good considering I'm just spending a lunch break

[Blue456]

...
+1, had this happen to me. All of the sudden you can't log into the app and every payment will get rejected. You will need to go to branch to get this account unlocked. And this was to an account that was open in local branch in the first place. Please make sure to be aware of this real risk and plan accordingly.

You don't have to go to a branch. I did it over the phone.

We called and we were told that we were required to go to the branch. We got locked out one more time after that and they were able to remove the lock over the phone.

[atdharris]

This is tempting. I hate how hard it is to trigger a DD with Chase. I don't really want to jerk my office's accounting department around to change my bank account over and over. You also have to factor in that Chase savings pays 0% so you will lose out on potential interest payments for those 3 months you hold $15k there. Then you pay taxes on the $900 bonus on top of that.

[ChrisC]

This just proves that sometimes "easy money" juice is not worth the squeeze. With all the negative comments on Chase account locks (& Citi in another savings bonus thread) and all the side-stepping hoops, I think I'll pass on this one.

No, it doesn't prove a thing. Some people just want to avoid a real direct deposit and try shortcuts.

I'm planning on doing it this week:
- Walk into Chase with $15k cashier's check from bank across the street
- Open account
- Set up direct deposit from my employer (I already have about 10 going to different banks)
- Wait for bonus to be awarded

$900 is pretty good considering I'm just spending a lunch break

It's not a shortcut when Chase, itself, promotes the bonus with an email or website solicitation that tells you can either open up the account online or go into the branch. Opening up the accounts for the bonus online is relatively simple and without any problems. It then says you can fund the account by linking external accounts to the Chase accounts -- and that's where the process goes off the rails. You link the external account: Chase authenticates it by doing trial deposits into the linked account. You follow the authentication process by telling Chase the amounts of the trial deposits on the Chase online account portal you have for the accounts. But when you try to transfer $15K from that linked account to fund the Chase savings account -- Chase then suspects fraudulent conduct and locks you out of the account. You can call the Chase fraud folks and get a 3-way conversation with the external linked account people, Chase fraud, and yourself to settle this messed up lock by Chase (mind you Chase was the one encouraging you on the ACH "pull" from it to the external account) or you can go into the branch, which I will do tomorrow, to get the account unlocked and make the appropriate deposits into the Chase accounts.

It's kind of misleading for Chase to set up this online process for establishing the accounts and suggesting you can fund the accounts through ACH pulls; it's also misleading for them to suggest it's a real simple process for making direct deposits from SS or government pension payment through Chase -- you can't do it that way and as most of us know, you have to go thru the SS an government pension online accounts to "push" the payments to new bank accounts.

It would be more appropriate for Chase to let people know, if they are trying to fund their new accounts with Chase, that the first alternative to funding the accounts would be going to a branch to deposit funds, that the next alternative, if you can't go to a branch, would be to have the external linked account financial institution do an ACH push of funds, that the next choice would be a mobile deposit with a check written out to yourself, and lastly have Chase pull the funds.

[xpy1999]

This is tempting. I hate how hard it is to trigger a DD with Chase. I don't really want to jerk my office's accounting department around to change my bank account over and over. You also have to factor in that Chase savings pays 0% so you will lose out on potential interest payments for those 3 months you hold $15k there. Then you pay taxes on the $900 bonus on top of that.

We are paid weekly. If the DD change misses our payroll cycle, they would have to issue a physical pay check. A pain.

There is also potential 6 months locked in the checking account with 0% rate, that is a $300 opportunity cost. Also potential $15K locked in savings for 6 months. May also have to call or go to the branch to deposit.

Tempting all right but seems not worth it to me. YMMV.

[MathWizard]

Friends - seems like a good deal with little effort for those who qualify. What are your thoughts?

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/targeted ... ngs-bonus/


Chase is offering a checking & savings bonus worth up to $900. Bonus is as follows:

-Receive a bonus of $300 when you open a Chase Total checking account and have a direct deposit post to the account within 90 days.
-Receive a bonus of $200 when you open a Chase savings account and deposit $15,000 or more in new money within 30 days and maintain a balance of $15,000 for 90 days.
-Receive an extra $400 bonus when you complete both of the above bonuses.

I threw mine out.

Looking at the fine print on the offer that I got, beyond the $15,000, I saw that you had to have electronic deposit, and/or (I forget) you
needed so many debits per month, or you get hit with a $12 service charge.

I told my wife that I would likely make money, but get hit with a $12 service charge sometime, and get mad. It's not worth the hassle.

I can get 4.4% CDs at my Credit Union, which would be $660/yr on $15,000, and there is no hassle or potential service charges.

iBonds will likely return more, and stocks even better (eventually).

At some point, chasing these teasers is not worth the effort, and opportunity cost. It just distracts from
my overall finances.

[Blue456]

At some point, chasing these teasers is not worth the effort, and opportunity cost. It just distracts from
my overall finances.

+1. That has been my view on checking account bonuses. Too much hassle. Plus you are required to pay taxes on these bonuses. On the other hand I will go after credit card bonuses as they are easy to score. Generally I will open two credit cards a year to get around $300-400.

[ChrisC]

This is tempting. I hate how hard it is to trigger a DD with Chase. I don't really want to jerk my office's accounting department around to change my bank account over and over. You also have to factor in that Chase savings pays 0% so you will lose out on potential interest payments for those 3 months you hold $15k there. Then you pay taxes on the $900 bonus on top of that.

We are paid weekly. If the DD change misses our payroll cycle, they would have to issue a physical pay check. A pain.

There is also potential 6 months locked in the checking account with 0% rate, that is a $300 opportunity cost. Also potential $15K locked in savings for 6 months. May also have to call or go to the branch to deposit.

Tempting all right but seems not worth it to me. YMMV.

The fine print on the bonus offer says you need to keep the $15k for 90 days in the savings account. I intend to close that account or move the funds elsewhere, 15 days after the 90 day requirement is met.

I don’t normally chase (no pun intended) bonus offers but for other reasons I needed to establish checking accounts at another bank I don’t have current accounts. The Chase bonus promotion was settling one need for me while providing bonus funds. If all works out, I intend to keep the checking with electronic deposits for the long haul.

[sunny_socal]

The chase deposit problem has nothing to do with the offer. My son had his account frozen due to suspected fraud and he was trying to pull money out, not put it in.

Chase is as good or bad as wells Fargo or bofa for example.

[ChrisC]

The chase deposit problem has nothing to do with the offer. My son had his account frozen due to suspected fraud and he was trying to pull money out, not put it in.

Chase is as good or bad as wells Fargo or bofa for example.

Well, if they truly suspect fraud; they need to call the account holder, close the account, open up another account for the account holder and establish a safe word for the account. That’s what NFCU did on 2 occasions for us when they truly suspected fraud. And that was similarly done at Chase credit too for us.

My recent experiences with PNC, Wells, Capital One against my limited experience with Chase Bank is that Chase appears pretty messed up.

[sunny_socal]

The chase deposit problem has nothing to do with the offer. My son had his account frozen due to suspected fraud and he was trying to pull money out, not put it in.

Chase is as good or bad as wells Fargo or bofa for example.

Well, if they truly suspect fraud; they need to call the account holder, close the account, open up another account for the account holder and establish a safe word for the account. That’s what NFCU did on 2 occasions for us when they truly suspected fraud. And that was similarly done at Chase credit too for us.

My recent experiences with PNC, Wells, Capital One against my limited experience with Chase Bank is that Chase appears pretty messed up.

Indeed they should! We have several threads with Chase problems, they're all too common. My son wasn't notified in any way and the local branch manager couldn't (wouldn't?) tell us anything. Took a week to figure out.

As for Cap One, I'm actually closing my accounts with them in order to fund this little Chase bonus. Their online experience is pretty good but they closed the local B&M branch closest to me. My local CU is almost within walking distance of my house and they offer better rates across the board. After the free chase $900 I'll move much of my business to the CU.

[MathWizard]

At some point, chasing these teasers is not worth the effort, and opportunity cost. It just distracts from
my overall finances.

+1. That has been my view on checking account bonuses. Too much hassle. Plus you are required to pay taxes on these bonuses. On the other hand I will go after credit card bonuses as they are easy to score. Generally I will open two credit cards a year to get around $300-400.

I do grab CC bonuses, at least if they have rewards, and are at least $100.