[WA, ID & OR only] BECU $100 Referral Checking Bonus For Both Parties – No Direct Deposit Required

Update 1/14/24: Extended until 12/31/2024

Update 1/15/23: Extended through December 31, 2023.

Update 1/19/22: Deal is back and valid until 12/31/2022. New promo code is REFER

Update 4/22/21: Looks like deal is nationwide if you join KEXP/Northwest Credit Union Foundation. More discussion here.

Update 4/19/21: Deal is abck and valid until December 31, 2021. Hat tip to reader Loren.

Update 10/5/19: Deal has been extended until December 31st, 2019.

Bonus is back for 2019. Please make sure you’ve only shared your code once. Codes shared more than once will be removed. NO EXCUSES NO BULLSHIT

Reposting because it’s available to some in Oregon. Oregon: I live or work in the following counties: Benton, Clackamas, Columbia, Lane, Linn, Marion, Multnomah, Polk, Washington, and Yamhill. Hat tip to reader Revil.

Bonus is back for 2017. Thanks to reader William E for letting us know.

Offer at a glance

• Maximum bonus amount: $100 for both parties
• Availability: Must be eligible to join CU (live, work or worshipping in Washington State qualifies you – more options here). Looks like it’s also available to some in Oregon as well. Idaho: Live, work, worship, or attend school in Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Clearwater, Idaho, Kootenai, Latah, Lewis, Nez Perce or Shoshone county
• Direct deposit required: No
• Additional requirements: See below
• Hard/soft pull: Soft
• ChexSystems: Unknown 
• Credit card funding: Unknown 
• Monthly fees: None listed
• Early account termination fee: None listed
• Expiration date: October 14th, 2016 December 31st, 2016 October 1st, 2017 – December 31st, 2017 June 12 until July 31, 2018 December 31st, 2018 June 30th, 2019 December 31st, 2019

The Offer

Direct link to offer

• Receive a sign up bonus of $100 when you open a new checking account using a friends referral code online or in branch (friend will also receive $100 bonus, they can refer a maximum of five people). You must also complete the following requirements:
  • Use promotional code REFER
  • Call 206-439-5700 within seven days and provide them with your friends unique referral code
  • Have an active account within 60 days of account opening, an active account is defined as:
    • Have five or more qualifying transactions (buy something with debit card or withdraw cash from ATM, write a check or electronic check, make payments using bill pay and more that aren’t specified) OR
    • Deposit $500+ in a rolling month
• Their  member advantage checking & savings accounts also earn 4.07% APY on balances up to $500.

The Fine Print

• $100 Referred Member Incentive.
• Visit any BECU location and bring promo code 100REF18 and the unique referral code of referrer with you.
• Referring members must be 18 years and older and a primary on a Member Share/Member Advantage savings account.
• Referred member may not be an existing member and must be age 18 and older. Must be eligible to establish membership with a Member Share Savings or Member Advantage Savings Account.
• New member must maintain a Member Share Savings/Member Advantage Savings Account and open a checking account using the unique referral and promo codes and meet the utilization requirements.
• Accounts must remain open for 60 days or more.
• BECU reserves the right to terminate this offer at any time.
• Other terms, limitations and conditions may apply.
• Check with BECU for current Annual Percentage Yield (APY) of accounts.
• New member and referring member will  receive the $100 bonus deposit to the Member Share/Member Advantage savings account within 60 days of opening qualifying accounts and meeting the utilization requirements and will be reported for the new member as interest income to the IRS on IRS Form 1099-INT at year-end and may be reported to the IRS on form 1099-MISC for the referring member.
• Limited to the first five qualifying members referred.
• This offer cannot be combined with other offers.
• BECU is not required to pay the promotional incentive for accounts opened without the appropriate Promo Code and Referral Code.
• BECU reserves the right to terminate this offer at any time. Employees are not eligible to refer and/or receive and incentive. Joint Account holders are not eligible to refer.
• Business, Fiduciary, Zero-Dividend, HSA, and Early Savers Accounts are not eligible to refer and/or receive an incentive.
• Offer limit of 5 qualified referrals per member or bonus deposits totaling no more than $500.
• All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them

Avoiding Fees

Their member advantage and regular checking accounts both come with no monthly fee, you’re probably better off with the member advantage checking account as this earns 4.07% APY on balances up to $500. As far as I could see there was no early account termination fee in their fee schedule.

Referral Codes

Feel free to share your referral codes in the comments, make sure you also share any other information you have (e.g soft/hard pull and credit card funding) so that this post is of more use to readers. You can also refer a maximum of 5 people, so if you use somebodies referral code then let them know in the comments.

Our Verdict

This is a pretty good bonus, it’s pretty easy to meet the bonus requirements and it’s also easy to keep the account fee free. Only downside is that you can’t fund with  a credit card. Deal is even better if you can get a friend to refer you and split the referral money. We’ve added this to our list of the best checking promos.  Please share any experiences you have and your referral code if you have one in the comments below.

Useful posts regarding bank bonuses:

• A Beginners Guide To Bank Account Bonuses
• 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