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Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $700 (extra $300 with credit card)
- Availability: Cedar Hills Branch Only [2929 SW Cedar Hills Blvd, Building 19 Beaverton, Oregon 97005]
- Direct deposit required: Yes, $250-$2,000+
- Additional requirements: See below
- Hard/soft pull: Hard (recent reports say soft pull)
- ChexSystems: Unknown
- Credit card funding: None
- Monthly fees: None
- Early account termination fee: Unknown
- Household limit: None listed
- Expiration date: February 28th, 2019
Contents
The Offer
- First Tech Federal Credit Union is offering bonuses of up to $1,000 at the Cedar Hills branch:
- New checking bonus:
- $500 if you deposit $15,000
- $250 if you deposit $5,000
- $100 if you deposit $1,500
- Direct deposit (must be started within 60 days of account opening and two direct deposits received within 90 days):
- $200 when you direct deposit $2,000 or more
- $150 when you direct deposit $1,000 or more
- $100 when you direct deposit $250 or more
- Credit card:
- $300 when you open a First Tech Odyssey Rewards card and meet minimum spend requirements
- $150 bonus when you open a First Tech Choice Rewards card and meet minimum spend requirements
- New checking bonus:
The Fine Print
- Offer expires 02.28.19.
- Offer may only be redeemed at the Cedar Hills Crossing Experience Center.
- New accounts must be opened in-branch.
- Individuals may participate in any of the bonus offers.
- Bonus offers are not valid for multiple accounts.
- This offer may be combined with any other offer at First Technology Federal Credit Union (“First Tech”).
- New accounts must be personal accounts only. Fiduciary, Trusts, Business, or Organizations are not eligible. Must not have had a checking account within the last six months to qualify.
- For new members, opening a Membership Savings Account and an initial deposit of $5.00 is required prior to opening any other type of account.
- Any qualifying bonus awarded will be deposited to your Membership Savings account at month-end after all criteria are met.
- Account must be in good standing (not in default, closed, or otherwise not in good standing). Dividends are considered interest and may be reported on IRS form 1099 INT.
- Opening bonus:
- To qualify, at least $1,500 must be deposited within 30 days of account opening to qualify for $100 bonus, at least $5,000 must be deposited within 30 days of account opening to qualify for $250 bonus, and at least $15,000 must be deposited within 30 days of account opening to receive $500 bonus. 2.00% APY on $15,000 is $300. New money must be deposited from a source outside First Tech. Transfers between First Tech accounts or its affiliates will not qualify. All funds must remain in the qualifying checking account for 90 consecutive days after the 30 day funding period.
- Direct deposit bonus:
- New direct deposit must occur at least once a month from an employer payroll, retirement/pension distribution, or Social Security Administration. Any ACH which is not a direct deposit does not qualify. Initial, new direct deposit must take place within 60 days of enrollment. New or existing recurring monthly minimum direct deposit amount must increase by a total of $250 for a $100 bonus, $1,000 for a $150 bonus, and $2,000 for a $200 bonus. At least two recurring direct deposits must be completed within 90 days of enrollment.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
None of the checking accounts come with any monthly fee
Early Account Termination Fee
I wasn’t able to find a fee schedule so I’m unsure if there is any EATF.
Our Verdict
Update: Looks like it’s actually a soft pull, because of this it’s definitely worth doing if you live anywhere near the branch.
Despite it being a hard pull, I do think this is worth doing due to the fact it’s a huge $700 bonus being offered and the bonus requirements are quite easy to meet. I’ll be adding this to our list of the best checking account bonuses. As always share your experiences with this bonus/account in the comments below.
Big thanks to an anonymous reader who let us know. Learn how to find bonuses and contribute to the site here.
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