[FL Only] Bay First (First Home Bank) $400 Checking & Savings Bonus – Doctor Of Credit

Update 7/14/23: Deal is back and valid until 7/30/23. Hat tip to reader Liz.

Update 4/10/23: Deal is back and valid until 04/30/23. Hat tip to readers Shirley & Zindella

Offer at a glance

• Maximum bonus amount: $500
• Availability: Must open in branch, all locations in Florida [Branch locator]
• Direct deposit required: Yes, no minimum specified
• Additional requirements: Keep account open until bonus posts
• Hard/soft pull:Soft pull
• ChexSystems: Unknown, sensitive
• Credit card funding:Up to $1,500
• Monthly fees: None
• Early account termination fee: Unknown
• Household limit: None listed
• Expiration date: October 20th, 2018 None listed 3/31/2022

The Offer

Direct link to offer

• Open a new checking account with BayFirst and receive a bonus of $400 when you complete the following requirements:
  • Establish direct deposit of your salary, pension, SSI or other regular monthly income. They will match up to $400 in deposits (so $300 minimum for full bonus)
  • Keep account open until bonus posts (within 30 days of your first direct deposit)
• Open a new statement savings account with BayFirst Bank and receive a bonus of $100 when you complete the following requirements:
  • Maintain an active checking account with auto transfers of at least $25

The Fine Print

• To qualify for the $250 bonus, you must be a new First Home Bank checking customer and qualified to open a checking account in accordance with our normal standards.
• You must establish direct deposit of your salary, pension, SSI or other regular monthly income, electronically deposited to your new account
• . Your account must remain open in order to receive the $250 bonus, which you will receive within 30 days of the date your first direct deposit is received.
• This offer cannot be combined with any other offers or coupons and may be changed at any time.
• All other account terms pertaining to the particular checking account you choose will apply, including the minimum balance to open an account, which is $100.
• This offer applies to personal accounts only.
• The $250 bonus will be reported to the IRS in accordance with applicable law.

• To qualify for the $100 savings bonus, you must be a new First Home Bank customer and qualified to open a savings account in accordance with our normal standards. You must maintain an active checking account with auto transfers of at least $25.
• You will receive your $100 bonus within 30 days of the date your first direct deposit or automatic transfer of $25 is received in your savings account.
• The annual percentage yield (APY) on the Statement Savings Account is 0.15%.
• This offer cannot be combined with any other offers or coupons and may be changed or withdrawn at any time.
• All other account terms pertaining to the particular checking account you choose will apply, including the minimum balance to open an account, which is $100. The $100 bonus will be reported to the IRS in accordance with applicable law.

Avoiding Fees

The easiest account to keep fee free seems to be the Simply Free Checking account, this has no monthly fees or minimums to worry about. According to bankers asked in branch there is no early account termination fee.

Our Verdict

They have previously offered a bonus of $160, the advantage of that bonus was that no direct deposit was required. This is an extra $90, so definitely worth doing if you can easily change your payroll or they aren’t strict on what does/doesn’t count. Also remember when opening in branch they have a $350 business checking bonus that you should be able to do at the same time if eligible. I’ll be adding this to our best bonus page.

Useful posts regarding bank bonuses:

Post history:

• Update: Looks like that was an older landing page from 2021
• Update 8/14/22: Deal is back and now $400 instead of $500.
• Update 7/20/22: Now can be opened online
• Update 6/29/22: There is a $250 bonus that can be done online.
• Update 6/22/22: Deal is back and valid until 7/30/22.
• Update 5/17/22: Now called Bay First.
• Update 4/25/22: Bonus is now $500 ($350 checking & $150 savings)
• Update 4/2/22: Extended until 5/31/2022. 
• Update 2/28/22: Extended until 3/31/2022.
• Update 1/1/22: Deal is back and valid until 2/28/2022.
• Update 12/13/21: Bonus is now $400. Valid until 12/15/21, so not much time.
• Update 9/19/21: Deal is back and valid until 9/25/2021.
• Update 6/28/20: $100 savings bonus no longer available. $250 checking bonus is available but says it’s only available to Crunch Fitness members, YMMV if this is enforced or not (share your datapoints in the comments). Hat tip to reader Brian C
• Update 11/10/19: Bonus is back, available at all branches with no end date listed. Hat tip to reader Brian C
• Update 5/30/19: Deal is back but for May 31st and June 1st only at the Pinellas Park, FL branch. Hat tip to reader Nick