Last summer, SunTrust bank offered a pretty great deal on their checking account/debit card product that we could not pass up. At the time, SunTrust was offering 30,000 Delta SkyMiles after opening up a checking account with a minimum $100 direct deposit and also getting a debit card, that came with a $75 annual fee, not waived the first year. However, the account also came with a $12 monthly fee unless you maintained a $3,000 balance.

Fortunately for our family, our boys had money sitting in their saving accounts that was not earning much of any interest. So we moved the money over, and just let it sit there. We valued the 30,000 Delta SkyMiles much more than the couple of dollars of interest that we lost on. Plus, at the end of the 6 months requirement for account closure with no fees, we added some extra money into the account to cover the lost interest.

While most people do not value Delta SkyMiles too highly since they are relatively difficult to redeem for a good value, we thought it a good move to increase our balances for simply doing nothing. All in, the 30,000 Delta SkyMiles cost $75 plus a couple dollars of lost interest. At a cost of roughly $0.0025 per mile, it was an opportunity not to be missed.

By July of last year, SunTrust had revised the offer to only award 5,000 Delta SkyMiles for the same requirements, which clearly was not worth the effort for most. The people that could really take advantage of it were the ones that could use the debit card portion of the account to manufacture spending by purchasing reloadable gift cards that could be liquidated to BlueBird. The funds could then be used to pay for things that normally would not accept a credit card (i.e. mortgages, student loans, etc.).

I personally never dove into the BlueBird scene. However, we will be writing more about this in the near future because of some changes that have taken place in our credit card portfolio.

Back to SunTrust. As of May 1, 2013, SunTrust has increased the bonus to 10,000 Delta SkyMiles for new accounts opened through June 30, 2013.

Is the New SunTrust Checking/Debit Account Right for You?

After opening your new Delta SkyMiles® Check Card (and associated checking account), you will earn 5,000 bonus miles after your first purchase. An additional 5,000 miles will be earned after spending $1,000 within the first 90 days after opening the account. This is in addition to the 1 mile/$1 spent on the card, making this at a minimum an 11,000 Delta SkyMiles bonus offer. Not as good as the original 30,000 mile offer, but better than the 5,000 they offered for the past 10 months. Again, the $75 annual fee on the Delta SkyMiles® Check Card is not waived the first year.

The good news is you still are effectively buying 11,000 Delta SkyMiles at only $0.0068/mile, still a stellar deal!

However, lets take a look at the checking accounts offered as part of this promotion, and the real key to the puzzle.

Solid Choice Banking
To waive the $17 monthly maintenance fee:

• Maintain a $5,000 minimum daily collected balance OR
• Keep $10,000 in minimum combined daily collected balances in Solid Choice Banking and linked checking, savings, money markets, CDs, IRAs4 OR
• Have a SunTrust Mortgage first mortgage with SurePaySM

Open your account with at least a $100 deposit

Signature Advantage Banking

To waive the $25 monthly maintenance fee:

• Maintain a $25,000 minimum daily collected balance OR
• $50,000 in total deposits (linked deposits and investments) OR
• $500,000 in total relationship balances (linked deposits, trust, investments and loans)

Open your account with at least $100 deposit

Balanced Banking

To waive the $12 monthly maintenance fee:

• Have $3,000 in combined daily collected balances in Balanced Banking and linked checking, savings, money markets, CDs and IRAs4

Open your account with at least a $100 deposit

So just like when we opened our account, the best value is the Balanced Banking option, requiring a $3,000 daily balance to avoid monthly fees. However, you also need to take into account the $1,000 spend required. Therefore, at a minimum, you should have $4,001 available to fund the account to take full advantage of this offer with minimal fees.

There is also a business version of this product, that comes with a $120 annual fee.

Disclaimers

The Delta SkyMiles World Check Card is available on Signature Advantage Banking, Solid Choice Banking, SunTrust at Work Solid Choice Banking and Balanced Banking accounts. The Delta SkyMiles Business Check Card is available on all business checking accounts except Primary Business Checking. The annual fee is $75 for the Delta SkyMiles World Check Card and $120 for the Delta SkyMiles Business Check Card. The Delta SkyMiles World Check Card earns 1 mile per $1 in PIN Point of Sale and signature-based purchases and 2 miles per $1 in direct Delta purchases. The Delta SkyMiles Business Check Card earns 1 mile per $2 in PIN Point of Sale and signature-based purchases and 1 mile per $1 in direct Delta purchases.

Qualified Purchases: Only PIN Point of Sale and signature-based purchases (including small dollar purchases that do not require a signature), Internet purchases, phone or mail order purchases or automatic bill payments qualify for mileage earnings. Cash advances, cash portion of a PIN POS sale with cash back, ATM transactions, payments for stored-value cards, wire transfers, money transfers, money orders, cashier checks, quasi cash, traveler’s cheques, purchase of a monetary instruments or a PIN POS/signature transaction that contains either in whole or part of one or more of the previously excluded transaction types do not qualify.

The one-time enrollment bonus is 5,000 miles for the Delta SkyMiles World Check Card and the Delta SkyMiles Business Check Card. The one-time enrollment bonus will be awarded after the first PIN Point of Sale or signature-based purchase is made within the first 90 days of opening the check card. Please allow 6-8 weeks for enrollment bonus miles to be credited to your Delta SkyMiles account after the qualifying purchase is made. Enrollment bonus miles are only available to new Delta SkyMiles World and Business Check Card customers and cannot be combined with any other enrollment offer. For new Delta SkyMiles Check Cards opened between May 01, 2013 and June 30, 2013, an additional 5,000 bonus miles will be awarded 6 to 8 weeks after making a minimum of $1,000 in qualified PIN Point of Sale and/or signature-based purchases within the first 90 days of opening the new Delta SkyMiles World or Business Check Card and is only applicable once per SkyMiles number. Only one bonus will be awarded per SunTrust account. The SunTrust personal or business checking account must also be open and in good standing at the time the enrollment bonus miles are awarded. SunTrust and Delta reserve the right to revoke miles in the event it is determined that the terms of the program have been breached by the cardholder. Award Travel seats are limited and may not be available on all flights or in all markets. Taxes and fees for Award Travel are the responsibility of the passenger and must be paid at the time the ticket is booked. All SkyMiles program rules apply. To review the rules, please visit delta.com/memberguide. The Delta SkyMiles Check Cards are issued by SunTrust Banks, Inc. and are available in AL, AR, FL, GA, MD, MS, NC, SC, TN, WV, VA and Washington D.C. Certain restrictions apply. See the Guide to Benefits that will accompany your new card for details. ©2013 Delta Air Lines, Inc.

Conclusion

Provided you have extra cash laying dormant in a savings account not making you any money on interest, I still think the 11,000 miles from this offer is relavent provided you have a use for Delta SkyMiles. 11,000 miles is not going to get you a flight to anywhere, but if you are near a reward, this could be the cheap offer that gets you over the threshold.

Just like last time, there is an early account closure fee of $25 if closed within 6 months. Therefore, plan to house your money with SunTrust for at least 6 months to avoid additional fees and depletion of the value of the bonus miles.

In the past, SunTrust has only done a softpull on our credit, meaning it will have no impact on your credit.

Save Money, Travel More!

Source: Denolloyd on FT

We have no affiliation with SunTrust Bank at the time of publishing this offer.