8 replies to this topic

[markber]

LINK

Terms:

Now when you open a checking and savings account as a new customer of Sovereign Bank by April 24th, we’ll give you $50. Think of it as our thank you note to you.

To obtain the bonus, you must open both a new checking and a new statement savings with a minimum deposit of $500 in each account as well as request a Sovereign Visa® CheckCard by April 24, 2007. The funds must come from another financial institution. In addition, you must have a minimum balance of $500 in your statement savings account 45 days after the account is opened. We will credit the bonus to your savings account approximately 45 days after your accounts are opened. This offer is not available to customers who currently have a Sovereign Bank deposit account or had a Sovereign Bank deposit account within the last 6 months. As of 2/14/07, the annual percentage yield (APY) for a statement savings account was 0.60%. APY subject to change after a statement savings account is opened. Fees could reduce earnings. Bonus will be reported to the IRS as interest and included on your Form 1099INT. One bonus payment per customer.

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[SegaRob]

See attached images for details

what's the fine print? TIA

[markber]

See attached images for details

what's the fine print? TIA

I added an image of the fine print to OP. You have to open both checking and savings, put $500 in each, order a Visa check card, and keep $500 in the savings for 45 days.

[ichaelm]

promo available nationwide

See attached images for details

what's the fine print? TIA

I added an image of the fine print to OP. You have to open both checking and savings, put $500 in each, order a Visa check card, and keep $500 in the savings for 45 days.

[rtom]

I had a pretty bad experience with this bank. In early December I opened a checking a savings account online, just to get the bonus. They were slow to get back to me, but by mid-January I was all set up, and I had the direct deposit working for the Jan 31 paycheck.

Now things got interesting. Sometime in late December or early January they sent me a note saying I hadn't returned the signature card, even though I had already done this. Strange, I thought -- so I filled out another one and mailed it right away. A few weeks later I got another letter saying they would close my checking account in about 2 weeks if I did not send the signature card. So this time I went into a nearby branch and filled out a signature card with a bank rep. Weird, I thought, and a pain -- but at least I had finally got that taken care of. I started trying the billpay service, and a few had gone through when, early one Saturday morning, I logged in to check on the account. Imagine my surprise when I saw that someone had transferred -- apparently by phone -- my entire checking balance to the savings account. I quickly canceled the remaining billpays that were scheduled to go out; fortunately I never went into a negative balance. I phoned, and a rep told me that the account had been closed, but she couldn't see why. "We'll have to put in a research request", she said. A few days later I phoned again and another rep still could not tell me anything more. Finally I went into my local branch and was told that the account had been closed because I had never sent in a signature card. I did mention that I had sent in a total of 3, including one from the very person sitting in front of me. Anyway, the accounts are all closed now, I got all my money back (plus about 10 cents of interest), and now I am eagerly awaiting the results of their research.

I won't bother to explicitly enumerate all of the various ways these guys screwed up -- but beware!

[SegaRob]

kind of silly how they don't have an online application form? it takes too much time for me to call or visit a branch..

[markber]

kind of silly how they don't have an online application form? it takes too much time for me to call or visit a branch..

I have not tried to complete them but there are links to online application forms for checking and savings accounts.

[SegaRob]

kind of silly how they don't have an online application form? it takes too much time for me to call or visit a branch..

I have not tried to complete them but there are links to online application forms for checking and savings accounts.

Thanks. For some reason on the promo page, it says call or visit a branch to open an account. And on the side it says "Next steps: Call XXXXXXXX or visit a branch." They didn't give an option to open an account online.

[markber]

kind of silly how they don't have an online application form? it takes too much time for me to call or visit a branch..

I have not tried to complete them but there are links to online application forms for checking and savings accounts.

Thanks. For some reason on the promo page, it says call or visit a branch to open an account. And on the side it says "Next steps: Call XXXXXXXX or visit a branch." They didn't give an option to open an account online.

Hmmmm... considering that there is no code associated with the bonus, the offer may indeed require opening an account over the phone or in branch.


Mark