Billboards have been popping up all over the city where I live advertising a John Mellencamp concert sponsored by a local bank. You're probably thinking, "Big deal." But big-name entertainers rarely come to my city, which is relatively small.
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I do like a few of his songs, so I thought about going to the May 19 concert because I had heard that the bank was giving away free tickets. Turns out the tickets are only free to current account holders and those who open a new account.
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Now, I wouldn't switch banks just to get Mellencamp tickets. But as a financial journalist, I checked out the bank's Web site to see what sort of accounts it has. It does offer free checking on all but one of its accounts and only requires a minimum deposit of $50 to open an account. However, it only provides free online bill payment if you have direct deposit. And this regional bank with locations in only ten cities doesn't offer any reimbursement to account holders (other than students) for fees if they have to get cash from another bank's ATM.
I won't be opening an account there, but I wonder how many people did to get free concert tickets (my calls to the bank weren't returned). Would you open an account to get free concert tickets? What if the tickets were for your all-time favorite band? What if a bank was offering a chance to win, say, a free car or home -- would that tempt you to open an account? Share your comments below.
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