First Tennessee Bank is offering a great bonus of $250 when you open a new checking account with promo code ONLINE. To earn the bonus, you must have an opening deposit of at least $300 and set up direct deposit. The offer is available from September 1, 2015 to March 31, 2016.

There is no monthly service charge with direct deposit and no minimum balance required. It’s a soft pull, so no worries. You’ll get all the usual stuff for free as well such as free Banking Online, free Bill Pay Online, free Mobile Banking, and free Monthly Statements Online.

Express Checking is the best option. It comes with a $5 monthly fee which can be waived with at least one direct deposit per statement cycle and online statements.

If you’re opening multiple accounts from the same PC, make sure to clear your history before applying again, or use different browsers.

The offer is available to residents of AR, GA, MS, NC, TN, & VA, (terms updated, HT to Jim in comments below) but I opened it from NYC and I received the bonus ($150 offer) earlier this year so most likely this is available nationwide. Must be a U.S. citizen.

The $250 bonus will be credited to your account within 6 weeks of meeting all requirements and will be reported as income on Form 1099-INT.

This offer is for new checking households only, or for households who have not had an open First Tennessee consumer checking account in the previous 12 months. Limit one bonus per household, but not really enforced.

First Tennessee $250 Offer Details

• Sign up Offer (Link is dead. Code ONLINE should still work, but verify with CSR before applying. Otherwise you can still apply for $150 bonus)
• Account Type: Express Checking
• Availability: AR, GA, MS, NC, NY, TN, & VA (Most likely nationwide)
• Expiration Date: 03/31/2016
• Inquiry Type: Soft pull
• Opening Deposit Credit Card Funding: Up to $300
• Direct Deposit Requirement: Yes, set up DD within 60 days of account opening.
• Monthly Fee: $5 monthly fee, but waived with direct deposit
• Additional Requirements: You must have a $300 opening deposit. Use promo code ONLINE when opening the account.
• Closing Account Fee: You must keep the account open for 6 months, otherwise the bonus will be reverted back.

HT: DoC