Update 11/18/24: New $100 bonus available, doesn’t seem to be any requirements?
Update 1/16/23: There is a $200 bonus for those in AZ, ID, NM, or NV. Hat tip to reader Vista 9
Update 12/19/22: Bonus is back but has been reduced to $100.
Update 11/21/22: American First Credit Union is increasing the offer from $100 to $250 for Black Friday. Promotion runs 11/25 – 11/28. Hat tip to reader Bockrr. Eligiblity requirements are:
- Salt Lake, Utah, and Juab Counties, Utah
- Eligible areas of Cache, Davis, Iron, Rich, Washington, and Weber Counties, Utah
- Clark and Lincoln Counties, Nevada (except those living within a 25-mile radius of the Alamo, Nevada U.S. Post Office)
- Eligible areas of Churchill, Douglas, Esmeralda, Lyon, Mineral, Nye, Storey, Washoe, and Carson City Counties, Nevada
- Maricopa County, Arizona
- Eligible areas of Mohave and Pima Counties, Arizona
- Eligible areas in Page and St. Johns, Arizona
- Eligible areas of Ada, Bannock, Bear Lake, Bingham, Boise, Bonneville, Canyon, Caribou, Clark, Elmore, Franklin, Gem, Jefferson, Madison, Owyhee, and Power Counties, Idaho
- Eligible areas of Malheur County, Oregon
- Eligible areas of Bernalillo, Chaves, De Baca, Guadalupe, Harding, Mora, Quay, Sandoval, San Miguel, Santa Fe, Torrance, or Valencia Counties, New Mexico
Update 12/6/21: Can do the same deal, but only requires depositing $100 this time. Hat tip to reader DW
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $100
- Availability:
- Direct deposit required: Yes, no minimum specified
- Additional requirements: See below
- Hard/soft pull: Hard
- ChexSystems: Unknown
- Credit card funding: Unknown
- Monthly fees: None
- Early account termination fee: None
- Expiration date: None listed
The Offer
- Receive a sign up bonus of $100 when you become a new member of America’s First Credit Union and complete the following requirements:
- Open a savings account with a $1 deposit
- Add a free checking account and a free* Visa® debit card, on approved credit
- Sign up for free online statements
- Enroll in direct deposit
- Existing members can also get up to $100 for the following:
- America First Visa credit card – get one or increase your limit and we’ll pay $40 in transactions
- Direct deposit – enroll and you’ll get $30
- Online statements – sign up and we’ll give you $10
- America First mobile banking app – download, make a transfer and get $10
- Card Guard® – download the app and get $10
- Bill pay – enroll, make a payment, and we’ll give you $10
- Youth savings account – open them for your children and they’ll get a free Penny or Buck piggy bank
- Auto & RV loans – get a low-rate auto or RV loan and we’ll pay $50 toward your first tank of fuel
The Fine Print
- No monthly debit card fee.
- Offers valid for active and retired members of any branch of the U.S. military, as well as veterans.
- Eligibility & conditions apply.
- Current members benefits limited to $100, available in cases where the member does not utilize listed product or service.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
They offer a free checking account, so no fees to worry about there, I wasn’t able to find any early account termination fee in the fee schedule.
Our Verdict
Update: Not worth considering as it’s a hard pull to open account.
Too difficult to say whether this is a good or bad deal without knowing if it’s a soft pull and if you can fund with a credit card. If anybody knows the answers to these questions, please let us know in the comments below. You can view a list of the bonuses we do recommend here.
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
21/12/07: Opened
22/01/12: Bonus
22/06/17: Closed
23/04/10: Opened
23/05/30: Bonus
23/10/26: Closed
24/11/23: Opened in branch with $1 check, eligibility via Idaho Consumer Council since my house is a little bit outside their field of membership
24/11/23: $100 bonus
My birthday was recently and I got an email from America First offering me $25 for signing up for a 12-month minimum dedicated savings, regular, flexible, or bump-rate certificate. I opted for a 12-month regular certificate at 4.45% with a required minimum opening balance of $500. The $25 was automatically deposited into my savings account. The $25 is an extra 5% on top of the normal APY, so it was a good deal for me. Maybe the dedicated savings account would have had a higher APY but I didn’t want to deal with needing to deposit $10 a month.
Be prepared for a LONG 20 minute phone interview about your life after application (OOS). Has anyone been able to open this account without doing this?
obligatory america sucks last comment
I wonder what they have against people living within 25 miles of the Alamo post office?
Alamo has a CU that limits membership to 25 miles within the post office. And AF has a branch in Caliente, the next town over.
Man…I had been waiting for America First or Mountain America to have a checking bonus since I wanted to open an account with one of them, but I really don’t want the hard pull for a checking account.
IMO, a hard pull is not worth it for only a $100. It’s been awhile since I have seen a MACU promo, but they have had them in the past. IIRC, MACU was a Chex pull, no HP.
Instant approval from OOS (I worship in one of their counties). It doesn’t seem that there are requirements except for keeping the account open for 12 mos?
Did you get a HP?
Yes
That’s how I understand it. The bonus will be paid within 30 days of completing the offer and then they say Members will forfeit the cash bonus if the account is closed in 12 mos. Seems there are no minimum balances or monthly fees.
Back in Nov 2022, it was a hard pull by Experian. I never bothered to close my account, so I am not eligible for this offer.
Instant approval, but hard pull on Experian. No credit card funding
Their membership map https://www.americafirst.com/accounts/membership/become-member.html now include San Bernardino, CA
Weird they don’t list it in words though
They called me on Tuesday and questioned why I had so many inquiries and that I would need to head into a branch to verify. I ignored the inquiries questions and said I would go into a branch. Went into a branch today and they basically redid my application. No new hard pull so that’s good. Maybe in branch doesn’t do hard pulls? Hopefully not another chex inquiry. I plan on disputing the chex inquiries since they did a hard pull
I just did the 200 bonus for the premium checking. A small perk that I think is incredibly valuable is cell phone insurance with no spend requirement. 850 for damage/theft with 50 deductible. All included with premium
Checking.
I had to manually have the $50 direct deposit bonus applied more than 60 days after direct deposit.