I just heard about this promotion for free money on the radio tonight, and so I had to check it out!

Details - Open a free checking account with PNC Bank using their website below, set up a direct deposit of at least $400 from your employer, and you will be credited your $50...not bad! I would recommend doing this is it is easy to switch deposit accounts with your employer. I'm going to do this tomorrow at work!

https://www.pnc.com/webapp/unsec/Blank.do?siteArea=/pnccorp/PNC/Home/Personal/Checking/Checking+Offers/Bonus+Days&WT.ac=BONUS_0110_P_MH

Select fine print details shown below


The payout of $50 will be credited to the eligible account within 30 days of the first Direct Deposit, which must occur before 3/31/10. The payout will be identified as "Direct Deposit Reward" on your monthly statement. A qualifying Direct Deposit is defined as a Direct Deposit of a paycheck, pension, Social Security or other regular monthly income electronically deposited into a Free, Performance or Performance Select Checking account or the Spend Account for Virtual Wallet. The minimum amount of any single Direct Deposit must be at least $400. The Direct Deposits must be made by an employer or an outside agency. Transfers from one account to another or deposits made at a branch or ATM do not qualify as Direct Deposits. Offer available to new PNC Bank checking account customers only who must open the account using the on-line application. Offer only available to residents of: DC, DE, FL, IN, KY, MD, NJ, OH, PA, VA.

One thing to keep in mind if you are searching for checking accounts that offer bonuses for opening:

Many offers only give you the free money bonus is you either 1) keep the account open for a set amount of time, or 2) make a minimum number of debit transactions each month. As you might guess, keeping up with these required transactions can be tedious. Micromaximus is a good website for helping you manage your rewards checking accounts by automatically making the transaction each month.