SunTrust Bank & Delta Check Card – 30,000 Bonus Miles Promotion

SunTrust Bank is offering 30,000 Delta Skymiles for opening a new checking account by 6/30 with qualifying direct deposit and choosing the Delta SkyMiles World Check Card. Available in AL, AR, FL, GA, MD, MS, NC, SC, TN, WV, VA and Washington, D.C. The debit card does have a $75 annual fee but do you get 1 mile per $1 spent (for those that avoid credit cards). However, you don’t get the free checked bags or Priority Boarding of the Delta American Express credit card.

Still it’s not a bad deal, $75 for 30k miles if you live near a SunTrust branch. Some of the text suggests that you can get 15k of those miles with just the new checking account and no debit card, but it’s not entirely clear. Direct deposit must be $100 or more. The “Balanced Banking” checking account option has a $12 monthly fee, waived with a $3,000 minimum balance across Suntrust accounts. Selected fine print below:

Checking Account Offer: Open a new qualifying SunTrust checking account with qualifying Direct Deposit and select the Delta SkyMiles World Check Card to receive 15,000 bonus miles. The checking account must be opened between 5/1/2012 and 6/30/2012. The offer is only available on new SunTrust checking accounts and cannot be combined with any other offer. To qualify for the 30,000 bonus miles offer, a Delta SkyMiles World Check Card must be opened with the checking account. Please allow 6-8 weeks for miles to be credited to your Delta SkyMiles account after the first qualifying Direct Deposit is made, which must be made by 9/30/2012. A qualifying Direct Deposit is a direct deposit of your salary, pension, Social Security or other regular monthly income of $100 or more per deposit electronically deposited to your account during statement cycle by your employer or an outside agency. Transfers from one account to another or deposits made at a banking location or ATM do not qualify as a Direct Deposit.