The terms above are pretty simple to meet but the account must also stay opened for at least six months and be used as your “primary” checking account. Bonuses will be deposited within 6-8 weeks after you meet each requirement. Anchor bank states that a direct deposit must be from a payroll, pension, social security, or other government checks but we have reports that ACH pushes from other Banks also count.

This offer is only available to new customers of AnchorBank and changing your existing account will not qualify you for this incentive. Visit http://www.anchorbank.com/basiccomparison.asp for account comparison. The “Free” account has a $0 balance requirement but there is a fee of $4.95 for online bill pay. The “Direct” package requires a monthly direct deposit to avoid a $9 monthly service fee but comes with free bill pay. Choose the account that works best for you but make sure you leave the account open for at least six months or risk losing your incentive.

Visit AnchorBank at http://www.anchorbank.com/freemoneyhugs/for more details and to apply.

What makes this account different is the fact that it earns rewards. Capital One has included their “No Hassle” rewards program. You will earn 20 miles for every non PIN based transaction you do with your debit card and 10 miles for every PIN transaction. You get another 20 miles for every electronic bill pay you set up and 10 miles for withdrawal transactions. Earn 1000 bonus No Hassle miles after your first debit card transaction. Bonus miles will post within 6-8 weeks after each qualifying transaction.

Terms:

• Must open new account between midnight 10/24/11 and 2/29/2012.
• This offer is only available to new Capital One customers with a limit of one bonus per person.
• You must have at least one online bill payment post to your new checking account by the end date of the promotion to receive the incentive.
• Incentive will post within 6-8 weeks after the 30 day mark.

Print your coupon HERE and then bring the coupon into a branch. Visit the Capital One website for full details.

Betterment puts a new spin on traditional investment options. They claim to do all of the “research” for you and present you with a mixture of stocks and bonds depending on risky you want to be. Betterment claims to drive higher “long term” returns for its customers.

Additional offer terms:

You must open a new brokerage account with a minimum opening deposit of at least $1,000 within the first 60 days of opening. Betterment will deposit $100 into your account as long as you do not withdrawal the opening amount during the first 60 days.

This promotion is available only to new customers and limited to one offer per household.Betterment does not charge any transaction fees and there is no minimum balance requirement but keep in mind they do charge a management fee of .3%-.9% depending on how much you keep in the account. If you plan to be “in and out” after the first 90 days then you have nothing to worry about. If you keep the $1,000 in your account for a year you will pay a maximum of $9 per year.

Ready to apply? Check out the Betterment site HERE for the full terms and conditions of this great offer.

ShareBuilder is a great brokerage account for those new to the market. They provide many online tools to help you make better trading decisions and empowers you to learn along the way with easy to understand articles and explanations.

ING Direct offers two separate plans, each of which have no account minimum. Market and Limit orders are 9.95 for the standard plan and 7.95 for the ShareBuilder Advantage plan.

Additional offer details:

The $100 bonus offer is available to new ING Direct ShareBuilder customers. If you have an existing account you will not qualify. You must open the brokerage account by 12/31/11 and complete five trades by 3/31/2011. ING will deposit the $100 incentive within 4-6 weeks after you complete your fifth trade.

This offer is available for personal and custodial accounts. IRA and ESA’s will not qualify for the bonus. ShareBuilder also offers an Automatic Investment Plan, trades completed through that plan will not count towards the 5 required.

Visit the ING Direct website HERE for full details and to apply. Make sure you mention promotion code 100WCHB by 12/31/11 when you open the account.

Additional terms:

You must currently be an existing Bank Of America credit card holder and your account must be in good standing at the time of application.This promo is available only to people who open a new personal checking account with promotion code UQEM2 by January 20th. You must have not had a BOA checking account within the last 12 months (you also can not have one currently open).

You have to make qualifying net deposits of at least $2000 into your account for three consecutive months (total money deposited minus any cash back you get from the teller). Also must pay at least the minimum amount due on your BOA credit card from your new checking account for three consecutive months. This means, you can pay electronically via bill pay, ACH transfer, or by phone.

Bonus will be put into your account within 90 days of meeting all of the above qualifications. If BOA is unable to put it into your account they will mail you a check, assuming both accounts are in good standing.

Incentive amount will be reported to the IRS as taxable interest.

Visit the Bank Of America site HERE to apply and for full details.

Incentive terms:

Simply open a new Total Checking account with at least $100 and establish a direct deposit and Chase will deposit $125 into your new account. The direct deposit must be sent up within the first 60 days of account opening. After the direct deposit posts you will receive the $125 within 10 business days.

Opening deposit must be with new money not currently held with Chase or any of its affiliates.

Your direct deposit should to be an electronic deposit from your employer, pension, or government benefits like social security.

Chase only allows one bonus per calender year. Act quickly before this year is over!

Make sure you keep the account open for at least six months. A $25 fee will be applied to your account if you close it within 90 days and the bonus will be debited if you close the account within the first 6 months.

Account terms:

The “Total Checking” package has a monthly service fee unless you do one of the following. Have a direct deposit of at least $500 each month. Keep at least $1,500 in your account. Or, keep at least $5,000 in other accounts with Chase.

Visit the Chase website HERE to get your $125 coupon. You can also have the code emailed to you.

Terms of the offer:

You must open a new Virtual Checking account with First Trade Union Bank by 12/31/11. They only require an initial deposit of $100 to open the account. After the account is opened and funded with new money all you need to do is set up a direct deposit and bill payment, after that First Trade will deposit a $100 cash bonus into your new account.

The terms state that you must enroll in the FTUB bill pay service and pay at least one of your bills by 1/31/12. You will earn $50 for bill pay and another $50 for setting up a direct deposit that posts to your account by 1/31/12. Qualifying deposits are considered salary, pension, Social Security or other monthly electronic deposits.

You must have at least $1 in your account when the bonus posts. The incentive will be paid within 15 days of meeting bill pay and/or direct deposit requirements. One bonus per individual. You are responsible for taxes.

Additional benefits:

• Free bill pay
• Free online banking
• Free estatements
• Free first order of checks
• Free ATM usage. (They will credit up to $20 a month for other banks ATM fees.)
• Free debit card

Visit First Trade Union Bank HERE to apply or call 1-800-242-0272.

Each month PerkStreet picks different purchase categories that they call “PowerPerks”. These PowerPerks can earn you up to 5% cash back. For example, during the month of August, earn 5% cash back on purchases from the Apple store, textbooks.com, half.com, amusement parks, as well as other purchases when you use your debit card for non pin transactions.

What PerkStreet Financial offers:

• 37,000 free ATM’s across the country
• Stay out of debt by using your debit card instead of opening a credit card
• Free online banking
• Free online bill pay
• 24/7 customer support

The fine print:

You earn 2% unlimited cash back for the first 90 days of opening. After the first 90 days you must maintain at least $5,000 in the checking account to get the full 2%. If not, then you only earn 1% cash back. You must make signature based purchases from your debit card to earn cash back (transactions where you enter your PIN number will not earn cash back).

Visit PerkStreet HERE for full terms and conditions and to apply online.

How to earn the miles:

• 1,000 bonus AAdvantage miles from BankDirect when you open a new checking or money market account.
• 10,000 bonus miles when you establish a direct deposit from your company payroll check.
• Earn another 5,000 miles for using BankDirect’s online bill pay service.
• Earn an additional 5,000 miles when you use the BankDirect Visa debit card.
• Earn 1,000 miles when you refer a friend and they open a mileage checking account.
• BankDirect also allows you to earn 50,000 American Airlines miles with the purchase of a single Mileage CD.

The direct deposit bonus seems rather strict. They state that you must direct deposit your entire check from all of your income sources for at least three consecutive months. The bonus is paid out after you meet those somewhat stringent requirements and notify them that you have.

For the bill pay bonus it states you must complete at least three bill payments every month for 12 consecutive months. Those bonus miles will be deposited within 6 to 8 weeks after you notify them you met the requirements.

5,000 Visa debit bonus miles will be paid after you do at least 12 transactions per statement cycle for 3 consecutive months.

Visit BankDirect HERE for full details

There have not been many new checking account bonuses this year, but we now have a new offer from Chase! Open a new qualifying Chase checking account and receive a $125 cash bonus.

The terms of this offer are pretty straight-forward. Open a new checking account with a minimum deposit of at least 100 in new money not currently held with Chase and establish a monthly direct deposit within the first 60 days and Chase will deposit a $125 cash bonus into your new checking account within 10 business days after your first direct deposit posts.

This offer available on personal Chase checking accounts excluding the ones below:

• Chase High School
• College
• Access
• Customized
• Online Checking.

Some Chase checking accounts eligible for this offer have monthly Service Fees of around $10-$15 depending on which market you are in. On most accounts you can avoid the monthly fee by having a direct deposit each month.

A few of the many benefits from Chase:

• Free access to over 16,000 ATM’s nationwide
• Free Online Banking & Online Bill Pay through Chase
• A free Chase Debit Card with security features built in
• Free text and e-mail alerts to protect your account and keep you up to date
• Access with Chase Mobile from your cell phone

A few additional terms:

• This offer not available to existing Chase checking customers.
• Must open new account by 8/15/11.
• Open the account with at least $100. This money can not come from a Chase account.
• Within 60 days of opening your account you must begin a monthly direct deposit.
• Maintain a monthly direct deposit from your employer or the government. Valid direct deposits include: payroll, pension or government benefits (such as social security benefits).
• Bonus will be deposited with 10 business days of your direct deposit posting.
• Bonus incentive is not credited towards your minimum deposit requirement.
• Chase allows only (1) checking account bonus per year.
• Employees are not eligible for this promotion.

Click here to visit the Chase website and have your coupon code emailed to you.

10/26/11 update- the above bonus is no longer active but CLICK HERE to see the new $125 bonus. This new offer is only valid until 11/26 so apply today!