Sovereign Bank Checking $100 Bonus

Here’s an alternative to the high-yield checking accounts we’ve been writing about.

Open a new “Premier” or “Interest” checking account at Sovereign Bank and you can qualify for a $100 bonus in less than three months.

We think you should pass on the Premier account because it imposes a $25 monthly maintenance fee if your balance falls below $15,000.

No one should keep $15,000 in an account that’s only paying a lousy 0.15%.

Interest Checking pays even less — a ridiculous 0.02%. But there’s no minimum balance requirement and the $5 monthly maintenance fee is waived if you have at least one regular, direct deposit.

To qualify for the bonus you must make six check card purchases totaling at least $250 during the first 60 days the account is open. Do that and the $100 is credited within the next 15 days.

You’d have to put $10,000 into a high-yield checking account paying at least 4% interest to earn $100 in three months.

Play this deal right and you can earn $100 in less than three months while tying up less than $1,000 of your money.

Even if you don’t bother with the direct deposit and pay the $5 monthly maintenance fee, you still net $85.

If you like Sovereign’s service and other perks, such as its Cash Rewards program, maybe you stick around.

This offer is available nationwide.

But if you don’t live near one of Sovereign’s 700 branches in the Northeast, here’s something to keep in mind.

Sovereign doesn’t charge a fee for using someone else’s ATM, but it won’t reimburse you for the fees other banks charge like high-yield checking accounts.