Deal has ended, view more bank account bonuses by clicking here.
Update 6/7/22: Back to only legal residents of Connecticut, New Jersey, or New York
Update 6/7/22: Deal is back until 6/30/22.
Update 4/2/22: Extended until 6/30/22
Update 1/1/22: Extended until 3/31/22.
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount:Â $150
- Availability:Â Nationwide. (If you are not eligible through one (the 2,000) of these paths, you have the option to join by making a one-time $5 donation to the New Jersey Coalition for Financial Education or the Connecticut Jump$tart Coalition)
- Direct deposit required:Â Yes, $500+ for three months
- Additional requirements:Â See below
- Hard/soft pull: Soft pull
- ChexSystems: Unknown, sensitive (not sensitive in branch)
- Credit card funding: Up to $1,000 with Visa, Mastercard or Discover. Cannot go over otherwise it won’t work.
- Monthly fees:Â None
- Early account termination fee:Â None
- Household limit:Â None
- Expiration date:Â December 31, 2021
Contents
The Offer
- Affinity Federal Credit Union is offering a bonus of $150 when you open a new checking account and complete the following requirements:
- Make 10 or more purchases with the debit card within 90 days of account opening
- Within 30 days of account opening make a minimum $500 monthly deposit for three consecutive months
The Fine Print
- To receive the $150 bonus, you must:
- 1) Open an Affinity Cash Back Debit account online using the Apply Now button on this webpage on or before December 31, 2021.
- 2) Make recurring, qualifying direct deposits of $500 or more per month for three consecutive months. The first direct deposit must be made within 30 days, the second deposit within 31-60 days and the third deposit 61-90 days of the account opening date.
- 3) Make 10 or more purchases with the debit card associated with your Affinity Cash Back Debit account within 90 days of the account opening date. Qualified debit card transactions include signature and PIN based debit transactions in person directly at a merchant location or in app or online merchant sites. Qualified debit card transactions from all debit cards on the account count toward the bonus. Online Bill Payments, Zelle® transactions and ATM transactions do not qualify. Offer valid only for new members who join Affinity.
- Bonus will be deposited into your checking account 30 days after all qualifying criteria has been met. Bonus offer excludes MoreChecking, Business checking, Teen Checking and Revolution Spend accounts.
- Bonus may be reported as taxable income and may be reported on an IRS 1099 Form, if applicable. Limit of one checking bonus per person.
- Additional exclusions may apply. Offer subject to change without notice.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
Affinity checking has no monthly fees to worry about
Early Account Termination Fee
This account has no EATF.
Our Verdict
Previously this offer was only available in NY, CT. Looks to be available nationwide this time. That bonus was better as it didn’t require a direct deposit. The main issue is the fact that this bank is ChexSystems sensitive so for regular bank bonus churners it’s probably not worth applying unless you can go into a physical branch. We will still be adding this to our list of the best bank account bonuses.
Hat tip to reader Jun
Useful posts regarding bank bonuses:
- A Beginners Guide To Bank Account Bonuses
- Bank Account Quick Reference Table (Spreadsheet) (very useful for sorting bonuses by different parameters)
- PSA: Don’t Call The Bank
- Introduction To ChexSystems
- Banks & Credit Unions That Are ChexSystems Inquiry Sensitive
- What Banks & Credit Unions Do/Don’t Pull ChexSystems?
- How To Use Our Direct Deposit Page For Bank Bonuses Page
- Common Bank Bonus Misconceptions + Why You Should Give Them A Go
- How Many Bank Accounts Can I Safely Open Within A Year For Bank Bonus Purposes?
- Affiliate Links & Bank Bonuses – We Won’t Be Using Them
- Complete List Of Ways To Close Bank Accounts At Each Bank
- Banks That Allow/Don’t Allow Out Of State Checking Applications
- Bank Bonus Posting Times
DP: Opened SmartStart Savings account with $1k funded using CIU ($5 membership fee + $995 deposit. You have to make sure your total is at or under $1000 otherwise you will not be allowed to use a credit card.
don’t see any option to fund by cc. Were you a new member?
Opened Affinity CU account using $1000 CC funding via Citi DoubleCash & everything went smooth.
Original offer is expired. Referral offer:
“Get $100 when you open a Cash Back Debit account and establish direct deposit of $100 or more within 60 days”
Easy online opening, no minimum balances or monthly fees, and $1,000 in CC funding …
https://share.affinityfcu.org/Joseph46!34230dcf44!a
For those who received the bonus in the tax year 2022, have you received your 1099-INT forms? I closed my account in 2022 and have not received it yet in the mail nor can I access my account online.
Dev Type in “Affinity” in the search bar in the comments. You may have to call them and have them email it to you since you can’t get it with your old login.
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/which-banks-send-out-tax-form-1099-discussion-post-for-2022-tax-forms/
They are increasing the APY to 4% and cap to $10,000. https://www.affinityfcu.com/personal-banking/banking/savings/smartstart-savings Chuck William Charles
P2 got a targeted email for new round of DD offers, $150 for 3 months with a $1500 DD (single shot)
First one must hit by 3/31, payout by 6/30
nothing for P1, neither got the offer last year….seems like only real DDs worked for this?
I see this 150 (3x DDs of 1500 or more) offer when I log into my account. P2 does not. P2 never got the SUB last time. We used Capital one, wells fargo, chase, amex business checking, sofi. None of them triggered a bonus for P2. P1 used real DD. Bonus was received for P1. There are DPs of some institutions triggering the bonus, but it did not work for P2.
I did not get an email. Do not see anything when I sign in. Seems to be targeted I guess?
Was about to close this account out and noticed Chase DD did not work for me.
I don’t see the option to fund with CC anymore
Chase didn’t work for the extra $50
Schwab Brokerage is what got me the initial $150. Probably could have used that one again, but thought the system might not have picked it up the second time around.
FWIW, P2 had to contact them to get the $50 Direct Deposit bonus, using real (P1’s) DD’s. P2 sent an SM Monday night (8/1), and the bonus posted Tuesday night (8/2) after they responded.
P1 never received the targeted $50 emails, so I am not going to bother contacting them. I did put a couple of random fake DD’s on the account to see if what would happen. I got my answer: NOTHING.
thank you for this, going to send them a message for P1 and P2
Closed account with SM. They made ACH deposit to an external bank instead of mailing the small remaining balances.