US Bank Start Program $50 bonus Visa gift card and $50 Visa gift card on $1000 which equals 5% interest

I just heard the program on the radio this morning. Start Program. They want you to automatically save, blah blah blah....

The requirements:
1. stardard checking, no minimum, no fees, dd
2. savings account with automatic transfers from the checking account (minimum $25/mo).
3. No hard pull on the savings (I already have a checking).

The benefits

1. $50 visa rewards card when the savings account reaches $1000 (1099 int)
2. For every year that the balance does not fall below $1000 you get a $50 visa rewards card (1099 int)

For the year it amounts to 5% interest which is way better than any other rewards account with no work. The only thing is to transfer back the minimal automatic deposits to the checking account. Overall it is worth the minimal time.

Yeah it is a gift card and not cold hard cash, but it takes me less than a month to pay a bill online with one of these cards.

Edited to fix the title....

Actually you could get 10% back if you put $1000 in there to start. You get the initial $50 GC and a second $50 GC a year from now.

you're missing a '$' sign before the 400, correct ?

wyzgie01 said: From the website, it looks like the maximum you can transfer is $50/month. That's $600 a year. To get to $1000, we will need to do 400 additional transactions on the US Bank check or credit card. So it seems like some work is still require.

Looks very interesting, but I don't see anything about it earning 5% on the website.

ah, thanks for indulging my laziness.

wyzgie01 said: cheaprulz said: you're missing a '$' sign before the 400, correct ?

wyzgie01 said: From the website, it looks like the maximum you can transfer is $50/month. That's $600 a year. To get to $1000, we will need to do 400 additional transactions on the US Bank check or credit card. So it seems like some work is still require.

No, they transfer $1 for every transaction you make. So to get $400, you have to do 400 transactions.

I just got off the phone with a CSR with US Bank, and the CSR did not tell me that I was not eligible to do this promotion even though my local US Banks are not participating. If your local US Banks are not participating, the website says to call their 1-800 phone#.
I asked the question as to whether I could open the Checking with $100 & the Savings with $1,000 & setup recurring monthly transfers of $25 from checking into savings. And would that then entitle me to get a $50 Gift Card after the 1st month of $25 transfer because I would then have a Savings account balance of $1,025. The CSR was not able to answer that question & had to research my question and will call me back hopefully this afternoon.
I will post the CSRs answer to both the eligibility question & to my question after I receive the callback from the US Bank CSR.

wyzgie01 said: aviationwiz said: Looks very interesting, but I don't see anything about it earning 5% on the website.

50/1000 = 5%
your money don't earn 5%, you just get the $50 bonus which is equivalent to 5% since you're putting it for a year.

Why does it state in the title; US Bank Start Program $50 bonus and 5% interest on $1000.

I think the OP is an idiot.

aviationwiz said: wyzgie01 said: aviationwiz said: Looks very interesting, but I don't see anything about it earning 5% on the website.

50/1000 = 5%
your money don't earn 5%, you just get the $50 bonus which is equivalent to 5% since you're putting it for a year.

Ah, ok. So this program isn't so hot then, unless you have exactly $1k in there. That, of course, isn't easy, since you can only transfer $50 a month max without using the debit/credit card. I do like this "Optional Savings Accelerator" though:
"Choose to automatically transfer the FlexPerks Cash Rewards1 you earn each month to your savings account. This is a great way to reach your saving goals even faster."

FlexPerks points are accumulated by earning 1 point for every $2 spent. 5000 points is equivalent to $50. That's only 0.5% Cash Back when almost every other Cash Back card out today is offering at least 1%. Your money is better spent elsewhere.

SFpuppy said: Per a CSR at US Bank, everyone is eligible for this promotion by calling US Bank at 1-800-720-2265, even though their local US Banks are not participating.

Thanks for the info. I saw the no participating branches and didn't bother calling. As to starting the account with $1K to get the bonus right off the bat, the language makes is sound like having the balance go over $1000 due to a qualifying deposit was the trigger. Might be best to open the account with $990, and let the first auto-transfer kick it over the 1K mark.

I don't understand the red, I use US bank for ATM access and have a small DD put in there every pay period. Transfer $50/mo automatically and then every couple of months transfer it back to checking. I do not have to make manual transactions but a couple times a year.

LawrenceofArabia you can KMA.

Mithrin said: This is only in participating markets, put your zip code into their website to see if your area is participating.

I live 15 mins from a USB branch. I have an account there. My zip code isn't included.

Thank you for your interest in S.T.A.R.T. At this time, there are no participating branches near you. Please call 800-720-BANK (800-720-2265) for any additional questions.

Good deal for the initial $50 bonus, but unfortunately the $1000 minimum kills it for me, and any other prospective college student looking for financial aid. The $1000 requirement would be an increase of $200 to the EFC, which is 4x the rewards this program offers.

Be very careful in opening up a 5 Star Silver checking and money market savings to get the $50 bonus. I just s/w a rep who advised that START is still a pilot program. It is only available to select test markets so even though anyone can open the Silver Star checking with savings, it WON'T be officially tagged with the START label which is the key to triggering any bonus(es). The rep suggested that I wait till October or even November to call back as the START should then be available nationwide, once their accountants have run cost benefit analysis, to see if the Program has generated results. The rep advised that the major advertising for this deal is expected to run in another 30 days or so which should coincide with this going from a test area to a national platform.

I already have a checking account with US Bank. The CSR I spoke with at the toll-free number said I could apply at my local bank. Said there would be no hard pull to open the savings. (Possibly because I already have an account with them - I don't know).
But she did have to keep putting me on hold and checking things out to be able to tell me anything.