Update 1/12/23: Extended until March 31, 2023.
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $100
- Availability: MD, D.C., VA
- Direct deposit required: Yes, $500+
- Additional requirements: See below
- Hard/soft pull: Soft pull
- ChexSystems: Unknown, sensitive
- Credit card funding: Unknown
- Monthly fees: None
- Early account termination fee: Bonus forfeit, six months
- Household limit: None listed
- Expiration date: December 31, 2022
Contents
The Offer
- Lafayette Federal Credit Union is offering a bonus of $750. Bonus is broken down as follows
- $100 when you open a Lafayette Federal Checking Account and establish Qualified Direct Deposit of $500+1
- $50 when you open a Lafayette Federal Credit Card2
- $50 when you open a Lafayette Federal Share Certificate with $10,000+3
- $50 when you open a Lafayette Federal Preferred or Premier Savings with $10,000+4
- $500 closing cost credit towards a Lafayette Federal Mortgage Loan5
The Fine Print
- Offer valid until December 31, 2022 and subject to change without notice.
- Cannot be combined with any other new member offers.
- Members who have received previous new member/direct deposit promotions in the past 12 months do not qualify.
- Business accounts are excluded from offer.
- Membership eligibility required.
- Must first set up Checking/Qualified Direct Deposit to be eligible for the remaining incentive money.
- 1Members who open a Checking Account and Qualified Direct Deposit will receive a $100 deposit to their Checking Account.
- If account is closed within first 6 months, promotional deposit will be deducted from account. Qualified Direct Deposit is a recurring direct deposit of a paycheck, pension, Social Security or other periodic income payment of at least $500 into a Savings or Checking Account on a month-to-month basis made by an outside organization or agency.
- 2Members who open a Credit Card no later than 60 days after account opening will receive a $50 deposit to their Checking Account.
- 3Members who open a Share Certificate no later than 60 days after account opening will receive a $50 deposit to their Checking Account.
- 4Members who open a Preferred or Premier Savings Account no later than 60 days after account opening will receive a $50 deposit to their Checking Account.
- 5Members who fund a Mortgage Loan no later than 6 months after account opening will receive a $500 closing credit towards their Mortgage Loan.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
There is no monthly fee to worry about
Early Account Termination Fee
Account must be kept open for six months otherwise bonus is forfeit.
Our Verdict
Advertised as a $750 bonus but most of it is from closing costs on a mortgage and from opening a credit card. We’ve talked about Lafayette FCU because of the $600 credit card bonus they offer. Worth doing if you’ve done the bigger bonuses in the past.
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
Opened account in Dec 2022 ($750 funding with Chase Ink Unlimited coded as purchase).
Real DDs totaling $500+ per month Jan-May 2023.
I sent a secure message in mid-May asking about the bonus. They said it would be sent for review by their back office, and that it can take 7-14 days to receive the bonus. After three weeks of waiting for a bonus or another reply, I followed up with another SM yesterday. This morning I received a reply saying they would send it to their marketing department for review. I received the bonus today.
I have no idea how long the qualification period is supposed to be, but it took me five months of real DDs and two SMs to get the $100 bonus.
I received the bonus this month after suffering through a similar experience.
Has anybody received a bonus yet? If so, what was your timeline?
Not yet. Opened in December, real DDs in Jan, Feb, and Mar so far.
Applied OOS, Denied
Offer now valid until March 31, 2023
For checking and savings, they allow credit card funding up to $750. Chase Ink Unlimited coded as a purchase.
Signed up a few weeks ago and it was a hard pull, no way to opt out of overdraft protection.
it was not a HP for me. Definitely not
chex sensitive lol/24
You were denied?
sorry for not being clear.
Yes, i was denied. Received a letter stating that they used Chex to make a decision
Credit card funding ?
Nationwide:
Live outside of the Washington, D.C. metro area? No problem! Get a lifetime Home Ownership Financial Literacy Council (HOFLC)Opens in New Window membership for only $10, and you’re automatically eligible for membership at Lafayette Federal.
But Chex sensitive, according to the DPs.
DoC has a post on it: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/banks-credit-unions-chexsystems-inquiry-sensitive/
No all financial institutions, but many pull your Chex report and use it to make decisions on your application. Some banks and credit unions will reject your application if they see too many inquires or recent inquiries on your Chex report, or if your Chex score does not meet their threshold. I would avoid wasting a Chex hit to just get rejected, because that extra Chex inquiry would also negatively affect my chance of approval by other banks that also utilize Chex in making decisions.
TDD
Honestly I do not know…If you are in their footprint, it is probably best to visit a branch to apply.
Nathan