Free $100 Bonus For Opening A Chase College Checking Account

Share the wealth!

If you’re coming here from my other post outlining Chase’s free $200 Total Checking account bonus, you may be finding yourself in the following scenario:

You wanted to open a Chase Total Checking account to get the $200 bonus, but also want to keep the account long-term. However, you aren’t sure if you’ll be able to keep a $1,500 minimum in the account every month (every day really, since even a one-day drop below $1,500 incurs the $12 fee for the month).

If that’s the case, this $100 bonus offer is your next best bet.

If you’re not finding yourself in the above situation, then I very much suggest that you go for the Chase Total Checking account bonus that gives you $200 instead of this College Checking account bonus that nets you only $100 in comparison.

As you’ve probably gathered in the above scenario, the biggest and probably the only advantage that the Chase College checking account offers is that you don’t have to keep a minimum account balance of $1,500 in the account at all times.

Who qualifies for a $100 College Checking account bonus?

Anybody who is 17-24 years old and attends or will attend a college or university qualifies for the $100 College Checking account bonus. If you’re 17 years old, you’ll need to physically go to a Chase branch location to open an account. If you’re 18 years old and over, you can apply online or at a Chase branch location.

It doesn’t matter if you’re attending college or university for a bachelor’s degree, master’s, or even Ph.D. You can still qualify as long as you meet the above requirements.

If you’ve got more than one family member attending college simultaneously, you can all apply separately to bank multiple $100 bonuses for your family. There are no household limitations to this offer.

If you’ve got 10 college-goers, you can bank $1,000! Not sure how often that happens, but that would be exciting to hear about.

You’ll also need to be considered a new Chase checking account customer.

To be considered a new checking account customer, be sure you tick the boxes below:

• You have no active Chase checking account under your name
• You have not closed any Chase checking accounts within the last 6 months

When do I receive the $100 College Checking account bonus?

Once you’ve signed up and have been approved, you’ll need to make at least 10 separate transactions within 60 days of opening the College Checking account. Once you do so, Chase will deposit the $100 bonus directly into your account within 15 days.

This should be pretty easy to do for most people. However, if you’re in a crunch and need the $100 real quickly, you can go to your nearest Target and buy 10 items via 10 separate transactions, and you’ll get your $100 within 15 business days of doing so.

Then, at some later point, you can return the 10 items you got long before the 90-day Target return period is up.

Disclaimer: I have not personally verified this exact tactic, so if you do this, do so at your own risk. However, there is nothing that I can see in Chase’s agreement that bars you from doing this to get your $100 bonus. Nor do I see anything in Target’s agreement that would prevent this from working.

Where can I sign up for the $100 Chase College Checking account bonus?

You can sign up directly using the link below!

Are there any fees?

While you have your College Checking account, you will incur no fees. That is the main advantage you have over the Total Checking account, and it’s a great feature.

However, your College Checking account will be good for 5 years, and then you’ll be converted to a regular checking account, which is the Chase Total Checking account.

This means that once your account is converted after the 5 years are over, you’ll have to start paying a monthly fee of $12 unless you waive it via at least one of the following:

• Linking a direct deposit totaling $500 or more per month
• Maintaining a balance of $1,500 or more each and every day of the month (failing to meet a $1,500 minimum for even one day of the month will incur the $12 fee for the month)
• Or, if you are unable to maintain a $1,500 balance every day, but can maintain a daily average of $5,000 in the account for the month, you won’t incur a fee

Can I close my Chase College Checking account at any time?

Yes, you may close your College Checking account at any time.

However, keep in mind that in order to retain your $100 bonus, you need to keep your account open for at least 6 months, or else Chase can rescind your bonus at any time.

Overall, there’s not really any significant risk to opening an account solely for the bonus in this case. There are no monthly penalties or fees to wipe out your bonus, unlike most other checking accounts that exist.

In almost any case, you’re basically guaranteed the $100 bonus no matter what.

Remember though, if you’re an account bonus hacker (that is, you open accounts mainly to claim bonuses), you can only do this every 2 years.

So, if you’ve opened a Total Checking account within the last 2 years and received a bonus from that, you won’t qualify for the College Checking account bonus, unfortunately.

If you haven’t, and you have enough to maintain a $1,500 account minimum, then I would choose wisely which account I would open, which would most likely be the Total Checking account instead of this one due to its larger bonus.

You can still claim separate offers for credit cards, business accounts, investment accounts, etc. since those are considered separate account categories from personal checking account offers. The 2-year rule to claim bonus offers applies to each category on an individual basis.

When does this $100 bonus offer expire?

Update: You now have a bit more time to take advantage of this offer.

This $100 bonus offer expires on October 18, 2023.

This $100 bonus offer expires on July 19, 2023.

This $100 bonus offer expires on January 25, 2023.

This $100 bonus offer expires on October 19, 2022.

This $100 bonus offer expires on July 20, 2022.

In conclusion

Great deal? Absolutely. Maybe not as good as the $200 Total Checking account bonus, but still free money nonetheless. Plus, this one’s relatively risk-free, as you don’t have to maintain a $1,500 minimum in your account at all times.

But if you are able to maintain that minimum, I highly recommend you go for the $200 bonus offer, as there’s no reason to go for the College Checking account bonus otherwise, even if you are a college student.

Share the wealth!