Deal has expired, view more bank account bonuses by clicking here.
Update 8/18/19: Deal is back and valid until August 31st, 2019. Hat tip to reader Lina Max
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $175
- Availability: Must reside, work, attend school, or worship in Michigan’s lower peninsula
- Direct deposit required: Yes, $100+ within 60 days
- Additional requirements: See below
- Hard/soft pull: Unknown (possibly hard, see comments). Report of soft pull
- ChexSystems: Unknown
- Credit card funding: Up to $500
- Monthly fees: None
- Early account termination fee: Six months or bonus forfeit
- Household limit: None listed
- Expiration date:
October 31st, 2018August 31st, 2019
The Offer
- Michigan Schools & Government Credit Union (MSGCU) is offering a bonus of $175. Bonus is broken down as follows:
- $25 bonus for opening a Regular Checking or Fresh Start account with an initial deposit of $25 or more between June 3 and August 31
- $75 bonus for a direct deposit of $100 or more within 60 days of opening your account
- Up to $75 bonus for each MSGCU debit card transaction of $5 or more ($1 per transaction, up to 75) within 60 days of account opening
The Fine Print
- Bonus paid for completing the qualifying criteria. Bonus to be paid in one sum at the end of 60 days from the date of the new account opening. Limited to one per member.
- Not available to existing checking account holders or those that have closed an MSGCU checking account 4/1/2019 or later.
- Accounts must remain open for at least 6 months.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
This account has no monthly fees to worry about. You do need to keep the account open for six months otherwise you will forfeit the bonus.
Our Verdict
They have offered a bonus of $100 in the past, so this is better than that. It’s nice there are no monthly fees to worry about, but there are a lot of bonus requirements. Might be worth doing if it’s a soft pull, especially if you can fund a decent amount with a credit card. If anybody decides to go for this bonus then please share your experiences in the comments.
Big thanks to reader, SirEel who let us know. Learn how to find bonuses and contribute to the site here.
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
Don L Superchurn Kaden hey i know it was a while ago, but do you remember what you used for your DD?
Sorry, I can’t recall, I might have used an actual payroll for the DD
Don’t know why some people said it’s not a hard pull. It IS a hard pull. I went to a branch and confirmed. Not much worth it in my opinion.
I went into a branch, and it is a hard pull.
Does anyone know if Citi Diamond Preferred will post as a cash advance?
Any difference between Regular checking vs Fresh start?
Any monthly fee/membership fee for the union?
Can credit card deposit/ACH transfer be used Direct Deposit?
FYI, Here is the link to the actual offer: https://www.msgcu.org/checking-offer
You have the link going to https://www.msgcu.org/checking-account
Fixed, ty
Did anyone get the bonus without doing employer DD and if so what did you use, please? Many thanks.
Also confirm $500 on Citi DC did not code as CA (but my CA limit is set to 0); employer was used to meet DD, and 20 .50 Amazon reloads triggered the $175
Also confirm no Hard Pull; Citi DC posted as purchase for $500
Just applied and tried to fund for $500 with Citi TY Premier
“Thank you for your application. Your application has been referred to our Online Account Services Team. You will be contacted shortly.”
🙁
I dunno if that means its running up against chex or what, but i dont think its a good thing