Update 2/17/22: Deal is back and valid until December 31, 2022 Christopher Robin
Update 8/23/21: Available in FL as well. Hat tip to Snowbird
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $300
- Availability: IL, WI & FL [Branch locator]
- Direct deposit required: No
- Additional requirements: See below
- Hard/soft pull: Soft pull
- ChexSystems: Unknown
- Credit card funding: Unknown
- Monthly fees: $15, avoidable
- Early account termination fee:
- Household limit: None listed
- Expiration date:
June 30th, 2019December 31, 2020December 31, 2021
The Offer
Direct link to offer | St. Charles Bank (IL) or Town Bank (WI) or Lake Forest Bank (FL)
- Receive a sign up bonus of $300 when you open a new Entrepreneur checking account and complete the following requirements:
- Deposit and maintain $1,500 or more in new money
- Complete 5 qualifying transactions
- Enroll in online banking and activate eStatements
The Fine Print
- This Entrepreneur Checking account bonus offer is not available to existing or closed checking account customers of Wintrust Financial Corporation (WTFC) and its subsidiaries or its active employees.
- Limit 1 bonus payment per customer, regardless of the number of accounts opened.
- If you qualify for this Entrepreneur Checking account bonus offer, you are ineligible to receive this Entrepreneur Checking account bonus offer from any other WTFC location.
- If you qualify for any other WTFC savings offer it may be combined with this Entrepreneur Checking account bonus offer.
- Your new account must be open, in the same product, and have a balance greater than zero to receive the bonus payment.
- If you are a sole proprietorship or a single member LLC, the $300.00 bonus payment is subject to IRS 1099-INT reporting and may be considered income for tax purposes for the tax year in which the bonus was paid.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
This account has a $15 monthly fee, this is waived if you have an average daily balance of $1,500
Early Account Termination Fee
I wasn’t able to find a full fee schedule so I’m unsure if there is any early account termination fee or not.
Our Verdict
Looks like a relatively easy bonus to meet the requirements for. Assuming it’s a soft pull like the other WinTrust bank brands I do think this is worth doing if you live near a branch. I’ll likely add this to our list of the best checking account bonuses once we’ve confirm it’s a soft pull to open the account.
Hat tip to reader Matthew R
Useful posts regarding bank bonuses:
- A Beginners Guide To Bank Account Bonuses
- Bank Account Quick Reference Table (Spreadsheet) (very useful for sorting bonuses by different parameters)
- PSA: Don’t Call The Bank
- Introduction To ChexSystems
- Banks & Credit Unions That Are ChexSystems Inquiry Sensitive
- What Banks & Credit Unions Do/Don’t Pull ChexSystems?
- How To Use Our Direct Deposit Page For Bank Bonuses Page
- Common Bank Bonus Misconceptions + Why You Should Give Them A Go
- How Many Bank Accounts Can I Safely Open Within A Year For Bank Bonus Purposes?
- Affiliate Links & Bank Bonuses – We Won’t Be Using Them
- Complete List Of Ways To Close Bank Accounts At Each Bank
- Banks That Allow/Don’t Allow Out Of State Checking Applications
- Bank Bonus Posting Times
