First Niagara Bank is offering a $200 bonus when you open e checking account. The previous offer expired on 12/31/2015, but it has been extended until 3/31/2016. Update: Now there’s a direct link to offer.
To qualify for the $200 cash bonus, within 60 days of opening your new Pinnacle or PinnaclePlus checking account, you must receive direct deposits totaling $250 or more. Your direct deposits need to be an electronic deposit of your paycheck, pension or government benefits (such as Social Security) from your employer or the government.
The cash bonus will be deposited into your new checking account within 30 days from end of month in which direct deposits totaling $250 or more are made to your account. Account must be open and maintain a positive balance in order to obtain the bonus.
Eligibility
The offer is available to residents of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and New York only. Also you won’t qualify if you’ve had any consumer checking relationship with First Niagara in the previous 365 days.
How To Apply
I read about the offer at DoC but there’s no direct link to the promo. A few CSRs confirmed to me through chat that the offer is available.
Yes, it is available through March, 31st 2016. You can earn a $200 cash bonus for opening a Pinnacle or PinnaclePlus checking account or a $100 cash bonus for opening a Simple or Choice Checking account with qualifying direct deposit. Within 60 of account opening, you would need to receive $250 or more in direct deposits into the new account.
There isn’t a link that you would need to use, you can select the account you would like to open and your account will automatically be flagged for the promotion.
I would suggest that you double check again through chat, mostly so you can have something in writing in case there’s problems later on. Maybe they’ll add a promo page soon.
Fees
Both the Pinnacle and PinnaclePlus checking accounts come with monthly fees, $15 and $25 respectively. To avoid the monthly fee, you need:
- $1,000 minimum daily balance or $25,000 in average combined balances – Pinnacle checking
- $5,000 minimum daily balance or $50,000 in average combined balances – PinnaclePlus checking
Obviously, Pinnacle Checking would be the best option.
Bank ACHs that work for direct deposit requirement
- Alliant Credit Union
- Ally Bank
- Capital One
- Capital One 360
- Chase Bank
- Discover
- Paypal
Offer Details
- Apply Online or In Branch
- Account Type: Pinnacle or PinnaclePlus Checking
- Availability: CT, MA, PA, NY
- Credit Card Funding: Yes, up to $1,000
- Expiration Date: 3/31/2016
- Hard Inquiry: Soft pull
- Direct Deposit Requirement: $250
- Monthly Fee: $15 fee (Pinnacle Checking), waived with $1,000 minimum daily balance
- Closing Account Fee: $25 if closed within 180 days
3 thoughts on “(Expired) First Niagara Bank, $200 Checking Bonus (CT, MA, PA, NY)”
2-27-16 Unbelievably easy to get the $200 bonus: open the account online with an ACH pull by FirstNiagara of funds from your existing checking account at another bank and that ACH initial deposit gets you the $200!
I opened my First Niagara account online Feb 3rd with a $1000 ACH pull from my checking account and on Feb 26 I was credited with $200 bonus even though I’d made no other deposits and my pension direct deposit wouldn’t arrive at First Niagara until Feb 29!
Great!!! Thanks for data point.
What bank did you use?
Small local bank, Capital Bank in Albany, NY. I doubt the bank matters since First Niagara seems to have programmed the bonus to be deposited upon any ACH credit of $250 or more. My online First Niagara account referred to the initial account funding as ‘FIRSTNIAGARABANK P2P ‘