Free money? Yes, please!

Update 7/5/12

I funded my account with the minimum amount needed to keep it free on June 29. The $150 bonus posted on July 3. Easy peasy!

For the longest time, Chase Bank has sent me offers for $100, $125 or $150 bonus if I opened a checking account with them. After weighing the pros and cons, I finally decided to take them up on one of their $150 offers.

Pros

• Free $150-Duh! I will be putting this toward my replacement car down payment fund.
• Chase Exclusives program—offers some extra Ultimate Rewards points for Chase Freedom cardholders (I am one). According to the fine print, you will earn 1 base point for each $1 of net purchases. You will earn an additional 1 point for each $1 of eligible airfare net purchases made online through the program booking tool. As a Chase checking customer, you will also earn 1 bonus point for each $10 of net purchases (which equates to 10% of base points earned), and an additional 10 bonus points for each individual net purchase. This doesn’t really make a lot of sense to me, but all I know is it means more points I can use for cheap travel! Also, I will be shopping for a car loan in the future and this program offers up to .75% off, so something to take into consideration.
• I don’t have to change my direct deposit to get the bonus.

Cons

• I already have three other checking accounts (!)
• Have to jump through hoops to keep the account fee-free (direct deposit or minimum balance requirements).
• Can’t close the account for six months or Chase will take back the $150 dollars.
• Bonus is considered interest and I will have to pay taxes on it.

So, I opened the account and will keep it for at least six months, maybe longer. Many people seem to keep the account open for six months, close it, and then open a new one the next year for a new bonus. Maybe I will do that.