This was previously called SLFCU
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $225
- Availability: NM, CA, AZ, TX, CO. Must be American Consumer Council member, free to join.
- Direct deposit required: Yes, any ACH credit will work
- Additional requirements: See below
- Hard/soft pull: Soft pull
- ChexSystems: Yes
- Credit card funding: None
- Monthly fees: None
- Early account termination fee: Unknown
- Household limit: None
- Expiration date: None listed
Contents
The Offer
- Sunward is offering a $225 bonus when you open a new checking account and complete the following requirements:
- Open a Quick Cash or Money Manager Checking account and complete at least one qualifying debit transaction (point of sale, check, bill pay, ACH debit, ATM transaction) on the checking account within 90 days of account opening.
- Must make an aggregate of $500 or more in qualifying deposits for two consecutive months into a checking or savings account within the first 90 days of account opening.
The Fine Print
- Qualifying Deposits: cash, checks, ACH direct deposits (payroll, pension or government benefits), and P2P transfers.
- Non-Qualifying Deposits: dividends, merchant POS returns, ledger corrections, and internal transfers.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
Money manager has no monthly fees to worry about.
Early Account Termination Fee
I wasn’t able to find any mention of any EATF in the fee schedule.
Our Verdict
Feel free to share your referrals in the comments below.
Hat tip to reader Karl
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
Thanks!
The terms and conditions for the referral program say:
The Sunward Refer a Friend Program (“Program”) is valid from January 14, 2025 to June 30, 2025. To participate in the Program, both existing and new members agree to the following terms and conditions:
Eligibility
Additionally, new members must meet Sunward’s membership eligibility requirements, must not have opened a primary membership account at Sunward within the last 180 days, and can only be referred by one existing member. Existing members are eligible to earn unlimited referral rewards.
I’m interested to see what the OOS results are
I applied OOS choosing the option to join the ACC. Money Manager account with $25 opening deposit (ACH from existing bank) and $1 in the mandatory savings.
My chex is frozen.
I got this message:
Thank You
You’ve just made a smart financial decision! Thank you for your application. Your application ID number is XXXXXX. A Sunward account representative will contact you within two business days to follow up. In the meantime, you can:
You outlined the program/referral eligibility, NOT membership eligibility.
This used to be SLCU. All OOS applicants were denied. Eligibility requirements for *membership* are still pretty much the same as when they were SLCU (it was just a branding/name change).
Here are some DPs from SLCU OOS denials (there are 2 links, but 3 denials in those highlighted comments),
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/nm-ca-az-tx-co-slfcu-150-checking-bonus-50-referral/#comment-1835350
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/nm-ca-az-tx-co-slfcu-150-checking-bonus-50-referral/#comment-1828479
But, as always: be the DP you want to see. They do pull chex.
Should be available nationwide right? Their “Become a Member” page mentions ACC as a way to join for just about everybody.
This CU used to be SLCU, and denied all out of state applicants. It’s not unheard of for credit unions to use ACC as eligibility for only those in state, but out of footprint applicants.
Got it thanks!
wow did not know they are same as Sandia Laboratory FCU. I was denied due to chex before with them so now hesistant to apply.
Here is my referral code TIA:
71rr4
thanks, applied using your code.
Thanks Travis!
Applied using your code. Application in review and it says rep will contact within 2 biz days. Lets see what happens as my chex count is high.
I used your code to apply and hopefully it will be approved.
Used, app pending
thanks used your code
any of you guys applied with Chex frozen?
Used. Enjoy your free moneee
Applied using your referral code. Thanks.
Dang man you’re gonna clean up on this one lol.
Note this is a referral bonus. $75 for new member, $225 for referred. Does anyone have a referral link?
According to text in link toward the bottom under Referral Rewards, first line says “All new members that meet eligibility and new member account requirements will receive one $225 reward, referred or not”
I am also looking for referral
I don’t think referral is a requirement. In the page, there is a link “apply online”.
———
Referral Rewards
All new members that meet eligibility and new member account requirements will receive one $225 reward, referred or not.
All current members will receive a $75 reward for each new member who uses their referral code on a new member application, provided the new member meets all eligibility and new member account requirements.