Other Credit Card Programs - Sign up for Citibank Checking get free economy class ticket

When i signed into my credit card account this offer came up. If you open up a Checking account with Citibank(1500 bucks) , and then agree to either add direct deposit or 2 bill pays a month for 6 months, you can get an economy class airline ticket to certain destinations(Orlando, Chicago, LA, Las Vegas, NYC, Boston, Washington DC, Dallas, Phoenix, Miami). Is this a good deal or not??

Would the airline ticket be considered interest thus taxable by the IRS??

Would the airline ticket be considered interest thus taxable by the IRS??

Yes. Its taxable.