Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $3,000
- Availability: Nationwide (with an $8 membership to the Financial Fitness Association); [ChurningExperiences notes that First Tech may automatically reimburse you for the $8 membership]
- Deposit required: $150,000+
- APY: 4.3%
- Additional requirements: See below
- Hard/soft pull: Soft in my experience and recent DPs (an older Hard DP exists)
- ChexSystems: Positive DPs, Some Sensitivity (but maybe not)
- Credit card funding: None
- Monthly fees: None
- Early account termination fee: No
- Household limit: None
- Expiration date:December 31, 2024
Contents
The Offer
- First Tech is offering a bonus of up to $3,000 when you open a new savings account
- Earn $1,000 bonus When you deposit $150,000 – $349,999
- Earn $2,000 bonus When you deposit $350,000 – $749,999
- Earn $3,000 bonus When you deposit $750,000+
The Fine Print
- Offer is valid from October 11, 2024 to January 31, 2025 for First Tech members who participate in the First Tech Premier Rewards Banking program.
- Participant must be 18 years of age or older and the primary account owner on both a Membership Savings account and a First Tech Premier Rewards Savings (FTPRS) account.
- FTPRS accounts must be personal or owned by a Trust. New First Tech Premier Rewards Banking program members will be enrolled upon the opening of a First Tech Premier Rewards Savings account (“Enrollment”).
- To receive any bonus payout, in addition to satisfying the payout conditions set forth in this disclosure, the Membership Savings account must be in good standing (not in default, closed, inactive, or otherwise not in good standing) during the period commencing with Enrollment and ending with the applicable date of payout.
- First Tech reserves the right to modify or terminate this campaign at any time.
- Any inquiries or disputes will be resolved at the sole discretion of First Tech and must be received by February 28, 2026.
- New Money Offer: New money of at least $150,000 must be deposited to qualify for a $1,000 bonus; at least $350,000 must be deposited to qualify for a $2,000 bonus; and at least $750,000 must be deposited to qualify for a $3,000 bonus. “New Money” is money not currently held in a First Tech Federal Credit Union account. New money must be deposited from a source outside First Tech; transfers between First Tech accounts or its affiliates will not qualify for this promotion. Fiduciary, business, and Health Savings accounts are not eligible. New money must be deposited into a FTPRS account on which the Participant is the primary owner within 45 calendar days of enrollment to be considered for the corresponding tier bonus. Balance growth will be determined between the date of enrollment and the following 45 days.
- Starting 46 calendar days after Enrollment, the average daily balance of the Participant’s FTPRS account(s) must meet or exceed the tier minimum for the corresponding tier bonus through the end of the following 120 calendar days. The Participant’s FTPRS account must be maintained for the duration of the promotion to qualify for a bonus. Any qualifying bonus will be deposited to the Participant’s Membership Savings account the second Friday following 165 calendar days from Enrollment.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
This account has no monthly fees
Early Account Termination Fee
Our Verdict
Sounds like the balance from day 1 – day 45 is used to determine what tier you’re in and then you need to maintain it through day 120. I’m going to assume a holding period of 120 days, but it’s possible you might be able to deposit at day 45 and then just hold through day 45-120.
- $1k bonus: additional 2% APY (this tier is actually worse as you need $250,000 in the account to keep it open).
- $2k bonus: additional 1.71% APY
- $3k bonus: additional 1.2% APY
Given the account itself earns 4.3% this is an attractive bonus if you need to tie up a huge amount of money for a short period of time. Think that’s a fairly limited use case though and won’t be any good for most readers.
Hat tip to Rob M
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
Is that is that all. 😏
You drunk?
Sarcastic about the ridiculously high deposit requirements.
Seems like the WF premier would be better, plus you can keep the funds invested
this is wrong. One needs to have at least $250k to keep their account open. so this should be: Earn $1,000 bonus When you deposit $250,000 – $349,999
Eligibility
To be eligible for First Tech Premier Rewards Banking4, a member must maintain a combined daily average balance of $250,000 across any checking, savings, or certificate account(s) or an aggregate balance of $500,000 with Addison Avenue Investment Services*.
Upvote if you think DCU getting ur money to buy First tech in name of first tech.
My thinking is that DCU hired its CEO with the sole focus of merging with another CU.
if you have 2 players and 750k laying around, would be better to open two individual accounts and fund each with 350k and then earn 4k instead of 3k. that said i wouldnt tie up more than the 250k fdic protected per account
Probably best to stick to tier 1 due to the $250k insurance limit.
For the 1000 bonus, leaving 150k in your account @ 4.3% APY yields 1325 dollars for 75 days total. Add the bonus after 75 days should yield 2325$ after 75 days hold (bonus + interest).
This effectively makes the APY = 7.5%
This isn’t quite right. The bonus takes 120 days *after* the 45 days, not 120 days total, so the effective APY is lower.
Well you still earn 4.3% and pull funds out only to keep it fee free. So while your bonus is delayed, you can still withdraw and park it somewhere else after.
Hard to see what to do with this. Note the fine print: “To be eligible for First Tech Premier Rewards Banking, a member must maintain a combined daily average balance of $250,000 across any checking, savings, or certificate account(s) or an aggregate balance of $500,000 with Addison Avenue Investment Services.” Translated: to invest $150k for the first tier bonus, you need to deposit at least another $100k with First Tech, which isn’t nearly as convenient.
The $350k and $700k tiers are the more attractive (assuming one wants to invest that much in a savings account!), but isn’t the portion above $250k NOT covered by NCUA insurance?? Again, a no-go for me, regardless.
Good points, didn’t see the 250k requirement…
this is a good deal right? cause ur also getting 4.30 apy…unless they gut it soonish after u sign up lol
Well in the breakdown states 2% on top of 4.3 for 150k plus with a 4 mo hold so yes good, BUT see above comment WRT 250k min balance