Worth opening Chase checking acct for $100 promo?

[conniez]

I keep receiving these offers in the mail where you get $100 for opening a free Chase checking account...are these legit? And is it worth it? DH said just go for it; it's free money! But I read on their site that for the base account you have to use the Chase Debit card at least 5 times or you'll be charged a fee. The fee is only $6/month, but that could start adding up if I never use the Chase d. card. I'm the type that hates having things on my "mental" to-do-list, so if I get this I'd have to get in the habit of using the Chase dc instead of my Visa. What do you think?

[boogiemomz]

if you think you wouldn't use it at all, i probably wouldn't bother. FWIW, though, i have chase debit/credit cards and we LOVE banking with chase. good perks, easy online banking, great customer service (at least at our local branches). so if you're thinking of adding a card for other reasons, i would recommend chase anyway.

[wellyes]

I played that game in college. Just remember the house always wins.

If, however, you're LOOKING to open an account somewhere anyway then an incentive like that would make me look at Chase vs another company.

[conniez]

if you think you wouldn't use it at all, i probably wouldn't bother. FWIW, though, i have chase debit/credit cards and we LOVE banking with chase. good perks, easy online banking, great customer service (at least at our local branches). so if you're thinking of adding a card for other reasons, i would recommend chase anyway.

Glad to hear of your experience. It seems like most people have good experiences with chase.


I played that game in college. Just remember the house always wins.

If, however, you're LOOKING to open an account somewhere anyway then an incentive like that would make me look at Chase vs another company.

I know...I have been very good about not accepting new credit cards just for discounts (15% off at Express, etc.), but with our upcoming DL trip I'm starting to think this one might be a good idea. I'm sure it would ding our credit history, but I'm thinking no harm since it's a checking acct.? I dunno..I am not really in need of a checking acct, but it's hard to pass up free $. Oh yeah, add $25 if you open a connected savings acct. with that, too.

[vonfirmath]

I did it but felt the hassle of making sure I got "5 debit purchases" was too much. So I closed it as soon as I could.

[conniez]

I did it but felt the hassle of making sure I got "5 debit purchases" was too much. So I closed it as soon as I could.

thanks for your input! Did you get charged a penalty since you decide to close it after receiving the promo? I haven't called them up about it yet, but it seems like there'd be some stipulation that you either have to keep your acct. open for x number of days, or they'd take back the $ if you close, etc.

[vonfirmath]

I kept it open the 6 months. And got charged some of them, and others spent more than I'd have been charged. But I would not do it again.

(Personally, Chase gives me a bad taste in the mouth. I've had problems with every Chase Credit card I've ever had too)

[conniez]

I kept it open the 6 months. And got charged some of them, and others spent more than I'd have been charged. But I would not do it again.

(Personally, Chase gives me a bad taste in the mouth. I've had problems with every Chase Credit card I've ever had too)

Hmm...I don't know anyone personally who had problems, but I may have heard something to that affect. If I may ask, what were some of the issues you had with the card/Chase? TIA

[vonfirmath]

Hmm...I don't know anyone personally who had problems, but I may have heard something to that affect. If I may ask, what were some of the issues you had with the card/Chase? TIA

Changing the terms of the card with little notice. (including due date) jacking up rates for no perceivable reason. Being absolutely unflexible (IE giving me a late payment fee when my payment arrived TOO EARLY -- so therefore there was no payment in the specified window. And being unwilling to remove it even when I pointed out that it covered more than was owed). Some of it may be my fault because I don't open mail every day, etc. But I don't have problems with any of my other credit cards I've had through the years (Capital One, BECU, American Express) Discover was even better back when I had it because if you overpaid, then you technically didn't owe anything the next pay period (so it didn't matter when you sent your payment in). But they hiked my rate to 19+% when everything else I had was under 10 so I got rid of them years ago. I don't have any chase cards anymore and won't get another that I know. I have gotten rid of cards as soon as they came when I realized they were with Chase.

[conniez]

Changing the terms of the card with little notice. (including due date) jacking up rates for no perceivable reason. Being absolutely unflexible (IE giving me a late payment fee when my payment arrived TOO EARLY -- so therefore there was no payment in the specified window. And being unwilling to remove it even when I pointed out that it covered more than was owed). Some of it may be my fault because I don't open mail every day, etc. But I don't have problems with any of my other credit cards I've had through the years (Capital One, BECU, American Express) Discover was even better back when I had it because if you overpaid, then you technically didn't owe anything the next pay period (so it didn't matter when you sent your payment in). But they hiked my rate to 19+% when everything else I had was under 10 so I got rid of them years ago. I don't have any chase cards anymore and won't get another that I know. I have gotten rid of cards as soon as they came when I realized they were with Chase.

yikes! Thanks for letting me know. I'm glad I asked here first before signing up because it definitely does not sound like it's worth $100 for that kind of headache!

[wellyes]

You know, now that you mention it, I remember my Amazon Visa was a Chase card as well. Despite the rather sweet rewards (I spend a lot at Amazon) I canceled it because of awful customer service. I'm not usually super picky about that kind of thing, either. There was some kind of billing error that wasn't our fault, at all, but they gave us the roundaround and raised our rate anyway.

[sunnyside]

I wouldn't personally do it. If I'm already opening an account I appreciate a nice perk, but I wouldn't open an account just to get a hundred clams... Just like I wouldn't open a TJ Maxx card just to save 10%. Those store cards can get dangerous if you are the least bit disorganized or busy. My credit is great, but I"m not super organized. I've never had a late or missed payment on any card, but I will say that being pregnant has made me a bit more distracted than usual and I almost was late on a CC payment just from lack of paying attention.

[conniez]

You know, now that you mention it, I remember my Amazon Visa was a Chase card as well. Despite the rather sweet rewards (I spend a lot at Amazon) I canceled it because of awful customer service.

wow. I only have my Wells Fargo Visa (since WF is my bank) & I've never had issues with them. Sad that Chase advertises themselves as being worry free yet it looks like they are not treating their customers well.


I wouldn't personally do it. If I'm already opening an account I appreciate a nice perk, but I wouldn't open an account just to get a hundred clams... Just like I wouldn't open a TJ Maxx card just to save 10%. Those store cards can get dangerous if you are the least bit disorganized or busy.

I typically don't open store cc's either for the perks, but I was so tempted with our trip coming up (I'm a SAHM so I jump at any legit opp. to earn some $). I'm pretty disciplined w/cc's so I wouldn't spend just because I had the cc & I rarely forget due dates, etc. However, hearing of these bad c.s. experiences with Chase is enough to scare me away!

[Mommy_Again]

As a former bank executive who used to design and implement these programs, I will tell you that the bank is looking to acquire new customers. They want your banking relationship. It costs the bank something like $83 to open a new account (counting personnel, paperwork, etc), so with this promotion is gets even pricier. It is definitely legit, but I'm not sure it's the most ethical thing to open an account just to get the promotion and then close the account later. The bank will certainly have stipulations to try to prevent that from happening - as they should. I have heard great things about Chase, though, so I am sure if you wanted to switch your banking relationship, you would be very happy.

[conniez]

As a former bank executive who used to design and implement these programs, I will tell you that the bank is looking to acquire new customers. They want your banking relationship. It costs the bank something like $83 to open a new account (counting personnel, paperwork, etc), so with this promotion is gets even pricier. It is definitely legit, but I'm not sure it's the most ethical thing to open an account just to get the promotion and then close the account later. The bank will certainly have stipulations to try to prevent that from happening - as they should. I have heard great things about Chase, though, so I am sure if you wanted to switch your banking relationship, you would be very happy.

Thanks for the info. I wasn't intending on opening to get the promo. then closing right after. I was just curious if the pp was penalized for doing so since she had a bad experience. I have no problems leaving my acct. dormant, but if it's going to be more trouble than it's worth (them raising rates, bad cs, etc.) then I'm glad to hear about it beforehand!

[SummerBaby]

Something else to consider is that the $100 will be treated as interest income and thus taxable. So depending on your tax bracket, it may only be $60-70. IMHO it's not worth the hassle of switching accounts.

[Mommy_Again]

Thanks for the info. I wasn't intending on opening to get the promo. then closing right after. I was just curious if the pp was penalized for doing so since she had a bad experience. I have no problems leaving my acct. dormant, but if it's going to be more trouble than it's worth (them raising rates, bad cs, etc.) then I'm glad to hear about it beforehand!

As far as the bank is concerned, a dormant account isn't much better than a closed one, because you're not bringing more deposits into the bank, KWIM? But I am admittedly WAY oversensitive to this because I saw my bank lose so much money from these types of promotions. If I were in another industry, I'm sure I'd be doing the same thing, lol.

A few other things to check for: opening deposit (might be $100, in which case you'd spend $100 to get $100), and a direct deposit stipulation (this is how they ensure the account doesn't lie dormant).

[conniez]

As far as the bank is concerned, a dormant account isn't much better than a closed one, because you're not bringing more deposits into the bank, KWIM? But I am admittedly WAY oversensitive to this because I saw my bank lose so much money from these types of promotions. If I were in another industry, I'm sure I'd be doing the same thing, lol.

A few other things to check for: opening deposit (might be $100, in which case you'd spend $100 to get $100), and a direct deposit stipulation (this is how they ensure the account doesn't lie dormant).

whoops that's right it wouldn't be dormant because i'd need to keep $ in the acct. since I'd have to use the d. card @ least 5x month to avoid fees. Just had DD throw out the offer card so I'm not tempted anymore! ;)