Free Money Offers from Banks, it's Not all Bad

In my Email inbox today, I received an offer from Bank of America offering $75 free for opening a new checking account on their online site. If you happen to have a credit card from them, you could probably get a similar offer, but I digress.

 

Sometimes, people will not fulfill these offers because they are skeptical that the money is real. But generally speaking, it is. But how can the banks afford to do this?

 

First, it's important to read the terms of the offer. This particular one says that one needs to deposit at $25 and keep the account open for 50 days. Then, the $75 will be deposited. There was no special language about needing to keep the account open after that time, though we have seen this before, so be careful.

 

So what are they getting for your free $75? First, they're obviously hoping that you'll like the service enough and want to keep your account. Certainly, many will not cancel out of laziness or a desire to not switch bank accounts every few months. But if you're someone like me who just wants to get the $75 and jet, they still have other opportunities to rope me in.

 

While signing up for the account, I was offered no less than four or five other services, all written to sound appealing. Sign up for a free trial of a credit score watch system. Identity theft protection. Indeed, if I said yes to even one of these offers and kept the service or forgot to cancel, they'd get their $75 and more back in a heartbeat.

 

Bank of America also wanted me to sign up for a savings account. In fact, it was highly suggested. I say this because the box next to savings was selected by default when I filled out the form. Be sure to understand the complete offer and not sign up for any services that you don't want. Since the offer says nothing about a savings account, I unchecked that box.

 

Also, by signing up for this account, I certainly, through some loophole in corporate legality and ethics, gave Bank of America to sell my name to anyone who wanted it. There was a way to opt out of this, but it involved calling a toll-free number, again something that most lazy people won't do.

 

In summary, the free $75 is probably real, and I'll look forward to receiving it next month. But, it's important to not fall into the trap of signing up for additional services and stick to the offer that is making you money, not costing you.