Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $350
- Availability:
- Have an immediate family member who is a Kinecta member, or
- Share a household with someone who is a Kinecta member, or
- Work at, attend school at, or are a retiree of any of our Select Employer Group organizations, or
- Are a member of one of our Associational Group organizations, or
- Live, work or attend school in select zip codes in California, Texas, Illinois, and New York (Not all zip codes apply.)
- If you don’t qualify in these ways, you can qualify by joining Innovision Society for a one-time $10 fee, which Kinecta will cover.
- Direct deposit required: Yes, $500+
- Additional requirements: See below
- Hard/soft pull: Soft pull
- ChexSystems: Unknown
- Credit card funding: None
- Monthly fees: Avoidable
- Early account termination fee: None
- Household limit: None listed
- Expiration date: None listed
Contents
The Offer
- Kinecta Credit Union is offering a $350 bonus when you open a new checking account and complete the following requirements:
- Receive direct deposit(s) totaling $500 or more within 60 days of account opening.
- Maintain an average daily balance for the first 90 days after account opening:
- $5,000 to qualify for a $350 bonus
- $1,000 to qualify for a $100 bonus
- Complete 15 debit card transactions per 30 days for the first 90 days of account opening
The Fine Print
- Earn a bonus by (1) opening a new personal checking account; (2) receiving direct deposit(s) totaling $500 or more in the new checking account within 60 days of account opening. Direct deposit(s) are ACH deposits; (3) maintaining either a $5,000 average daily balance in checking for the first 90 days of account opening to earn $350 or a $1,000 average daily balance in checking for the first 90 days of account opening to earn $100; (4) completing 15 debit card transactions per 30 days for the first 90 days of account opening.
- Qualified transactions do not include adjustments, unauthorized or fraudulent charges, and fees of any kind.
- Offer not valid for members with an existing checking account or a Kinecta checking account closed within 90 days of new checking account opening.
- Your bonus will be paid within 30 days of meeting all qualifications described above.
- Account must be in good standing to receive bonus.
- One bonus per member.
- Cannot be combined with other offers.
- Limited time offer subject to change without notice.
- Bonus may be subject to IRS reporting.
- Member may receive a 1099 Form from Kinecta for the bonus.
- Member is solely responsible for the payment of any applicable taxes. Please consult your tax professional.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
No monthly service fee in any month if either of the following conditions are met: 1) $2,500 average monthly balance; or 2) direct deposits totaling $500.00 or more.
Early Account Termination Fee
Unsure if there is any early account termination fee or not.
Our Verdict
I’ve marked this as specific states as last time it didn’t seem like working out of state actually worked, but as always you’re welcome to give it a go and see how it goes. The bonus itself is better than last time and worth doing if you’re eligible.
Hat tip to ShawntheShawn
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
Approved in CA branch with my ID address. Banker asked about why so many accounts and I say I’m just trying to find high rates because they’re dropping. The $10 Innovision deposit was covered by Kinecta. No mention of my previous account. Funded $1
Had you tried online and been declined for Chex before this?
yes
Some DPs:
Approval: Applied online, approved after manual review with the following Chex: 1/1, 1/3, 3/6, 6/12. Eligibility based on working in a listed zip code.
Funding: offered a chance to fund with a credit or debit card online after approval. Tried funding $5,005 with CIP, but transaction would not go through, presumably because it was coding as a cash advance and my CIP has a $100 cash advance limit. Did not try any other credit cards because did not want to accidentally end up with a cash advance. Attempted funding with debit card for $5,005; also did not go through with error message that attempted transaction was over my debit card’s limit. Finally ended up doing $10 by debit card and then the rest by paper check through shared branching at a CU down the street.
Second DP:
P2 approved instantly with the following Chex numbers: 1/1, 1/3, 2/6, 5/12. Eligibility based on P1 being a member.
Still could not get credit card funding to work, although now it appears that this is not because it is coding as a cash advance, but because the CC funding limit is low. Tried in steps from $5200 to $900. After each step, message popped up that attempt was over the limit. After six attempts, process errored out and I had to fund by paper check at shared branching CU. So CC funding may be possible, but the limit is N<$900.
A number of zip codes have been eliminated, including all but one of the ones that would have qualified me for membership.
However, a rep on the phone assured me that, for opening in branch, it is not necessary to live, work etc. in one of these zip codes. I will find out tomorrow whether this is actually the case. Possibly makes sense, as the list does not include either the zip code of the branch I am going to, or the next zip code over (where I work).
One interesting thing to note is that the definition of “direct deposit” simply states that “Direct deposit(s) are ACH deposits” and does not have the usual boilerplate about salary, Social Security etc.
So, arguably, an ACH push should meet the definition …
I’ve been a Kinecta member for many years, mainly for the great HELOCs they’ve given me. But I hardly ever used the checking account. I finally decided to close the checking account today so that I can open a new checking account in 91 days to participate in this $350 bonus offer.
The chat rep who closed my account wanted to know why I was closing it. I told her, so I can get a $350 bonus for opening a new checking account. Just kidding. I just told her I don’t use it. She tried to persuade me to keep it open by pointing out that the account has Early Pay.
I hope Kinecta will still want my checking account business when I apply for a new checking account in 91 days.
There is hope in the branch. But – it depends on the manager, who it seems always has to overwrite the Chex. For Kinecta I was in luck (with much worse Chex than most of you),
but I was rejected by the managers in other places, even so the employees genuinely tried to open…. so.
They are garbage, just like TFCU at some point. When people started complaining about TFCU, they started being more open and not that sensitive to Chex. I would advise, give it a rest and not apply, just to give them a lesson and, file any complaints if you think have a case to complain about (say closed after opening, didn’t pay, etc.)
Teachers’ issue was not that they were Chex-sensitive. It’s that they opened a bunch of our accounts and then closed our accounts several days later with no good explanation.
Where do you see Kinecta doing that?
TFCU was chex sensitive as well. More importantly, they delayed approving you for weeks, until you call and them and then they deny you but still have kept your initial money. I do not mind being chex-sensitive, I mind them them opening and then closing account, I mind delay making a decision for weeks robbing me of time to apply strategically to other banks, withdrawing your initial deposit and then deciding to deny you only after you calling them while you waste other opportunities. I have applied for Kinecta a year ago and that is what they did. Majority of CU, for the online applications, and at different point of of time, have their own version of shenanigans to increase membership and to account for their lack of legal support, lack of vision, or lack of staff, so they pump and dump applicants.
I applied last night with IL address and Chex frozen. Today I received a voicemail from Apollo Insurance Services (310-643-5400) but it was actually a rep from Kinecta telling me that I would need to lift my Chex freeze for them to process my application.
Based on previous comments regarding Chex denials I will not be unfreezing and will let my application expire.
310-643-5400 is actually a phone number for Kinecta’s member contact center. I’ve called that number more than a few times in the many years that I’ve been a Kinecta member.
That’s odd about the voicemail. Must be some issue with Caller ID or the Caller ID directory.
If I apply with chex frozen and decided to let the application expires, but later thaw chex for other banks, would the previous application automatically pull my chex?
denied for chex although i was able to open an account previously. might try in branch next month
You are the man!
Denied due to Chex. These guys are indeed extremely Chex sensitive.