[Expired] [MN] Hiway Credit Union $400 Checking Bonus

Deal has ended, view more bank account bonuses by clicking here.

Offer at a glance

  • Maximum bonus amount: $400
  • Availability: MN only, might be nationwide with joining an association. More details here
  • Direct deposit required: Yes, $500+
  • Additional requirements: Six debit card transactions
  • Hard/soft pull: Hard pull
  • ChexSystems: Unknown, sensitive
  • Credit card funding: Yes, can fund up to $500
  • Monthly fees: None
  • Early account termination fee: Six months, bonus forfeit
  • Household limit: None
  • Expiration date: 7/31/23

The Offer

Direct link to offer

  • Hiway Credit Union is offering a $400 checking bonus, bonus is broken down as follows:
    • $200
      • Set up a direct deposit ($500 minimum) to your checking account
      • Make a total of 6 debit card purchases
      • Register for Online/Mobile Banking with eDocuments
    • Up to $100. $25 per month for active direct deposit
    • Up to $100 $25 per month for 15 debit card purchases

The Fine Print

  • Checking Offer valid 4/17/23 – 7/31/23 to persons with no prior checking relationship with Hiway in the last six months. Offer valid on Free Checking, Hi Yield Checking, Minnesota Wild Checking and Benefits Plus Checking. To qualify for $200 Checking Offer, account holder must (1) set up a Direct Deposit ($500 minimum) to your checking account and (2) make a total of 6 debit card purchases and (3) register for online/mobile banking with eDocuments within 30 calendar days from the date the account was opened. After the account has been open for 45 days, allow up to an additional 7 business days for $200 to be deposited to your Checking Account. Account must remain open for six months. If all requirements of the offer are not met, Hiway reserves the right to reclaim the $200.
  • Once your checking is opened earn more with these BONUS OFFERS:
    • 1. Direct Deposit: earn an extra $25 per month for active direct deposit ($500 minimum), up to $100.
      2.
    • Debit Card Usage: earn an extra $25 per month for 15 debit card purchases, up to $100.
    • 3. Certificate of Deposit: earn an additional $100 when you open a new Hiway Certificate, between 4/17/23 and 7/31/23 with a minimum deposit of $7,500 for terms of 12 months or longer. After the account has been open for 45 days, allow up to an additional 7 business days for the $100 to be deposited to your checking account.
  • Direct Deposit and Debit Card usage will be tracked for the 4 months following your account opening. Ex: if opened on April 18, the tracking period will be May – August. At the end of the tracking period, allow 14 days for the funds to be deposited to your checking account.
  • 1099 MISC may apply if rewards/income paid in one calendar year exceed $600.
  • 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 to worry about

Early Account Termination Fee

Account must be kept open for six months otherwise the bonus may be forfeit.

Our Verdict

There is also a $100 bonus for setting up a certificate of deposit for 12+ months with $7,500+, this isn’t worth doing as the APY is only 2.2% APY. Much better than the $250 bonus previously offered. It’s ChexSystems sensitive unfortunately.

Useful posts regarding bank bonuses:
    William Charles
  • On April 23, 2023, 18:55
Tags: credit card fundingdirect deposit requiredhard pullmn bank bonuses

View Comments (13)

  • OOS, applied online late May earning me a TU HP and presumably a Chex pull (haven't checked my report in a while). The system they use doesn't send an email confirming your application, but there's an app status checker available. Mine immediately said "Automatic Approve", but it still needed manual review before moving along. I was contacted about 3 business days later for video ID verification. Chex report was 6/6, 8/12, 13/24 - this didn't come up in conversation. The reps I spoke with were very friendly and approved my application. They did both ask why I wanted to join Hiway - I have some loose connections to the Twin Cities which may have helped, but not enough to get me out of paying $10 to the MN Parks and Rec foundation. Total time from application to approval was about a week.

    Funded the account with $500 on a Chase United Biz CC, which was processed as a purchase. My CC and checking account were both charged the $10 donation to qualify for membership. The checking account deduction was credited back on its own a few days later.

    I completed the requirements using a real DD and real debit purchases within 30 days of account opening; enrolling in online banking automatically enrolls the account in eStatements - I don't think there's an option for paper statements. The $200 Bloom bonus posted late in the day, 3 days into the 7 business day posting period after having the account open for 45 days. I don’t expect the 4 months of debit+DD bonuses to land until mid-October and probably won’t report back on those.

  • These guys denied me both online and in branch last time this promotion was run. It was a hard no in branch because of chex.

  • I applied, got a message someone will call. I called and they told me right away I wont get approved because of Chex showing many accounts open and that is a security risk for them, she said. I asked if this is only for OOS, but she said no. It is my experience that, unless a bank or Credit Union is local to the applicant, it is highly unlikely to be approved anymore as OOS if you have the number of accounts open as most people here in this forum have, even if that Credit Union, in theory, allows you to open one. Unless it's an online start up bank with no branches, which in that case you could get approved, it is my experience that it is a waste of time and hits in the hard pull credit report agencies or in ChexSystem or EWS to apply as OOS, unless again you are sparingly applying. But if yo are sparingly applying, you still might be better off applying for your local banks bonuses, unless you live in an area that bans offer very few bonuses. My advice is skip applying to this bank and time everything for local banks and credit unions bonuses.

    • @guest_1608044 How many Chex inquiries do you have over the last 1, 3, 6, and 12 months? I'm trying to get a numerical idea of how sensitive they are. Thanks!

      • LOL/1, LOL/3, LOL/6, LOL/12. Please note that Chex has a scoring system, just like the FICO score, so, one is not being denied necessarily because of the high number of inquiries but because of the low score one might have in Chex/EWS. In my case I have a score of around 660, I learnt recently, out of 1000 max, though I know it singularly must come from the high number of accounts open. However, I have noticed that some banks report dormant accounts, or an accidental negative balance (say an overdraft fee that made the balance negative for a day and that was later reversed) or if you have closed the account and someone, who you might have written a check to 5 months ago, never cashed it and after 5 months and once you have closed the account is attempting to cash it and, in that case, it is still recorded as a bounced check, though you would have no idea about it since you closed the account and the bank never notifies you since you have no relations with the bank anymore. I was surprised that all of these cases (and more), and not just the number of inquires, affect your Chex/EWS score and more accounts one opens, more chances that it will accidentally have these negative items that will affect the score. However, I concede, the lion's share for the reasons of a low Chex/EWS score for many of us is the number of inquires. I still say focus time and energy for your local banks and credit unions bonuses first, where you can go in person, and leave the online financial institutions after you have filled that metaphorical bucket of local bonuses.

    • Thanks for your post - I was waiting to hear of others' experiences before trying to apply myself.

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