Great deal today and tomorrow only: earn $176 for opening a free checking and savings account

The offer

Today and tomorrow only (well, yesterday too if you can go back in time), Capital One 360 is offering new customers $100 for opening a checking account and $76 for opening a savings account. 

The accounts

Capital One 360 is an online bank that used to be known as ING Direct until Capital One bought it. An online bank means there are no branches, but you can deposit checks by scanning them or taking a picture of them with your phone. Capital One 360 has a huge ATM network they contract with, so any fees you are charged at those ATMs get reimbursed.

Checking

360 Checking is a no-monthly-fee, no minimum balance account. This means you don't pay any money to have the account open, and your balance can be as low as $0 at any time. You can also withdraw money using your ATM card at any of 38,000 ATMs in the Allpoint network around the country. Allpoint ATMs are located all over the place (I guess the name is a giveaway there). You can use the 360 website to find ones near you. Personally I've never had a problem finding one close by. The account also earns some nominal interest.

Savings

360 Savings is also no-monthly-fee, no minimum balance. It earns higher interest than 360 Checking. 

The catch

Checking

To get the $100 you need to make 5 debit card purchases or deposit 5 checks using their mobile app or online scanning in the first 45 days (you can do a combo of both, as long as they add up to 5). This is pretty easy to do since the account comes with a free debit card. 

Savings

Although there is no ongoing minimum balance, in order to make the $76 you need to make an opening deposit of $500. 

My take

This is a fantastic deal for new 360 customers. No reason not to sign up. Worst that happens is you have a free bank account you don't use. Best that happens is you love it way more than your old bank because 360 customer service is fantastic and you get much larger ATM access than your current bank probably provides.

I personally prefer Ally Bank and Charles Schwab for my banking needs. Ally has free ATM access across the nation, not just in the Allpoint network. I also love Ally's customer service and online interface, which is easy to use and easy to set up to transfer between my other bank accounts. My primary checking and savings accounts are both with Ally. Charles Schwab is fantastic because it gives you free ATM access worldwide, which comes in very handy when I travel abroad. Their online interface is not quite as good, so I keep Ally as my primary bank and just leave some money in Charles Schwab for when I need to take out cash.

The links

My referral link actually makes you less money for the checking account, so I'm placing the regular non-referral link to the checking offer below. But if you do open a savings, please consider using my link, as you'll make the same amount as the non-referral link and I'll earn a referral bonus for myself. 

Checking
Savings