Update 2/16/25: Deal is now $200
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $150
- Availability: MN
- Direct deposit required: No
- Additional requirements: See below
- Hard/soft pull: Mixed datapoints
- ChexSystems: Unknown
- Credit card funding: Up to $250
- Monthly fees: None
- Early account termination fee: Bonus forfeit, six months
- Household limit: Unknown
- Expiration date: 3.31.24
Contents
The Offer
- Blaze Credit Union is offering a $150 checking bonus when you open a free checking account and complete the following requirements:
- set up an Automatic Payment or Direct Deposit
- Make a total of six Blaze debit card transactions (not including ATM transactions) within 60 calendar days from the date the account was opened
The Fine Print
- Offer valid to persons with no prior checking relationship with SPIRE, Hiway or Blaze Credit Union in the last 12 months. $100 minimum deposit required to open Blaze Free, Rox, Saints, Wild or Pathfinder Checking account.
- To qualify for $150 offer, account holder must set up an Automatic Payment or Direct Deposit and make a total of 6 Blaze debit card transactions (not including ATM transactions) within 60 calendar days from the date the account was opened.
- Account must remain open for six months.
- $150 will be deposited to the checking account upon account opening.
- If all requirements of offer are not met, Blaze reserves the right to reclaim the $150.
- Account holder responsible for any applicable taxes. L
- imited time offer valid 1.01.24 – 3.31.24. Subject to termination at any time. Other conditions and restrictions may apply.
- 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
Account needs to be kept open for six months or bonus will be forfeit.
Our Verdict
Blaze is a combination of HiWay & SPIRE credit union, we have covered them in the past. You won’t be eligible if you’ve had an account with either in the past 12 months. Bonus seems pretty good as a direct deposit isn’t required. It is a hard pull but we will add it to the best bank account bonuses.
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
Soft pull credit. However they pulled my chex twice as soon as I submitted the application. And I received a denial email saying “unable to finish identification and verification” immediately. I do not understand why they pull chex twice.
It happens. If the inquiries were both on the same day, they will merge after about two days, IME.
favo🔗
If they were done by different entities (mailing address of bank/CU is different), or done on different days, you will need to dispute the 2nd inquiry. Be clear that you only applied for one account, and had already received an inquiry from that particular bank/CU on xx day. It SHOULD get removed.
I had three inquiries on 3/18/25 at BMO Bank, and they merged sometime today (3/20).
Thanks Gadget. Good to know the two inquiries would be merged. I received two OnAlerts emails at the same time, I logged into Chexsystems and saw two inquiries. I submitted a dispute for one of it before seeing your comment after the merge, hopefully the dispute wouldn’t mess up how things naturally go…
Maybe you will luck out and get BOTH removed. 🙂
I got rid of one like that on the basis of no permissible purpose because the bank was “unable to verify [my] identity”- i.e., I cannot possibly have authorized the inquiry if it wasn’t me who submitted the application.
It was Midland, and the rep actually suggested I do that when I called for recon.
That is a good argument! I’ll try that next time.
If you write “I cannot possibly have authorized the inquiry if it wasn’t me who submitted the application.” like
Karl suggested, that is a blatant lie!
I do not think Karl suggested writing “I cannot possibly have authorized the inquiry if it wasn’t me who submitted the application”, he was pointing out a logical flaw in the “unable verify identity” situation
I am only going by what
Karl literally wrote. Karl writing “i.e.” implies that he was giving an example of what to say to Chex in the dispute.
Even if you are right that he didn’t mean it that way, some people might have interpreted his comment like I did and decided to write that in their future disputes.
I have seen other people on here suggest lying to Chex even more blatantly than that. I am just not a fan of liars!
I.e. means “that is,” i.e. further explanation. “For example” would be “e.g.”
E.g., what I wrote was an explanation, not an example.
You wrote “Karl implies” when you meant “I, Eric, infer.” Your inference was based on conflating “i.e.” with “e.g.”
At least that’s what I infer.
I always thought that “i.e.” stood for “indicated example” until I looked it up after making my comment. I was hoping that you wouldn’t catch that. You somewhat got me there. 😉
I really was suggesting you dispute those 2 inquiries with Chex, if they are still there, by using that logical flaw and including a direct quote from Blaze’s denial. It worked for me!
My recon with Midland failed but I got the inquiry deleted. Removal took 30 days. I disputed directly with Chex, not Midland.
“The FI claimed authorization by me from person whose ID was unknown to them” or some such. The email they sent is your proof.
“I cannot possibly have authorized the inquiry if it wasn’t me who submitted the application” is indisputably true. Either:
It’s blatantly obvious those statements are mutually contradictory.
Also the pun was intentional.
#1. I appreciate you confirming that I was correct and
favo🔗 was incorrect on what you meant initially. 😀
#2. I am glad that it apparently bothers you to be called a “liar” enough that you would come up with that kind of “out there” explanation to “prove” that you didn’t lie.
#3. Are you a lawyer?
I did this last year and had a hard pull.
Thank you for submitting your application. A Blaze Representative will contact you once your application has been reviewed
anyone got the above message been contacted?
Still waiting personally. No confirmation email or anything
They asked me to unfreeze Transunion for a soft pull a couple of days after I applied, but it eventually took a couple of weeks for my application to get approved.
were you in-footprint or oos, and what were your chex counts at the time you applied?
I don’t keep track of my chex counts since it’s pretty high, not in footprint.
I was in MN a long time ago though, not sure if that helped
Does this work for OOS and is it hard pull? DPs are for 2024 and wanted to check for 2025.
Approved and the $200 bonus was instantly added to my account. No debit card transactions and no auto payments/dd set up. The only thing I did was fund it with a credit card. Might be the easiest bonus ever achieved.
Remember to meet the bonus terms though, otherwise they can claw back the bonus
What were your Chex stats before applying?
Also,
S is correct. See my comment for more info: #1818985 .
Chex stats are high but don’t know exact numbers. P2 is equally high but was rejected.
Thank you for submitting your application Michael. A Blaze Representative will contact you once your application has been reviewed.
Had a checking with them that was closed December 2023, have done a bonus with them multiple times in the past.
Says I need a “Share Savings” account with a $10 fee as a required product – did others sign up for this too or find a way around it?
A “Share Savings” is a requirement for most, if not all, CUs. If it makes you feel any better, that $10 makes you a part owner of the CU!
If you’re in Minnesota, you can stack this with their St Paul Saints checking product and get the cash bonus plus two free tickets to the St Paul Saints (triple A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins). You may need to do this in branch.
Weird question on the app, have you had a checking account at this or any other financial institution in the last 12 months, if you put yes they ask you where.
Thank you for submitting your application. A Blaze Representative will contact you once your application has been reviewed. For reference, your application number is
[oos]
Thank you for applying for membership with Blaze Credit Union.
Unfortunately, your request has been declined due to excessive credit inquiries recently.