[Expired] [OR, WA only] Columbia Credit Union $250 Checking Bonus

Deal has expired, view more checking bonuses by clicking here

Offer at a glance

  • Maximum bonus amount: $250
  • Availability: Must Live or work in Washington State or the Oregon community of Clackamas, Marion, Multnomah or Washington Counties [Branch locator]
  • Direct deposit required: Yes, $500+
  • Additional requirements: eStatements and 15 debit card purchases
  • Hard/soft pull: Soft. Now a report of a hard pull. Seems to be soft in branch and hard online.
  • ChexSystems: Unknown
  • Credit card funding: Fund up to $2,500 with a credit card
  • Monthly fees: None
  • Early account termination fee: None listed
  • Household limit: None listed
  • Expiration date: October 31st, 2019

The Offer

Direct link to offer

  • Columbia Credit Union is offering a bonus of $250 when you open a new income checking account when you meet the following requirements by November 30th, 2019:
    • Enroll in e-statements
    • Have a direct deposit of at least $500
    • Make at least 15 purchases between your Income Checking debit card and Columbia CU credit card
  • If you meet these requirements you’ll also earn 2.5% APY on the account on balances up to $25,000

The Fine Print

  • $250 account opening bonus.
  • Open a Columbia Credit Union Income Checking account from October 1 – 31, 2019.
  • To be eligible for cash bonus, this must be your first Columbia CU consumer checking account and you must meet all Income Checking monthly requirements listed above by November 30, 2019. 1099-INT will be issued to the IRS as interest paid.
  • If requirements are met, $250 bonus will be deposited into your Income Checking account prior to December 31, 2019.
  • 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

I wasn’t able to find an early account termination fee in the fee schedule.

Our Verdict

Probably only worth doing in branch, due to the online hard pull. But if you open in branch you won’t be able to do the credit card funding I don’t think, so that’s worth keeping in mind. I’ll be adding this to our list of the best checking bonuses though as it’s a relatively big bonus and not that difficult to meet the requirements.

Useful posts regarding bank bonuses:
    William Charles
  • On October 5, 2019, 21:50

View Comments (32)

    • Came here to say this as well. Pretty complex requirements though. @guest_1262063 @will. Haven’t applied yet.

      Was it a hard pull?

    • I was denied due to Chex a few hours after applying. They still offer / have $500 in credit card funding.

  • DP
    One of the following triggered the DD: Chase biz, Inspirus, Paypal, Schwab Brokerage, or one labelled P2P.

    • Do you happen to have any of the fine print for this offer? They denied me the bonus because they said I needed to meet those requirements for **every month** that the account was opened. According to your notes you did just that and got the bonus. And even completed your debit purchases on a different month. (The rep I spoke with was talking about calendar months and not statement months which seemed extra odd to me)...

      I remember reading the fine print and adding notes to my spreadsheet and it seemed like a one time 500+ direct deposit, e statements, and 15 debit card transactions, all of which I met by the deadline. Unfortunately, I recycled the documents I had that detailed everything out. Thanks for your help.

  • Well this is a first. Got a notification alert that a deposit for $250 was posted to my account with the description "Interest Adjustment-Deposit". Figured it was the bonus so I logged into my account to check and found out that instead of adding to my balance it took $250 off and now I have a negative balance since I had less than $100 in that account. I'm sure it was some technical error but I can not reach anybody till Monday morning.

  • I noticed I did qualify for the 2.5% APY for my balance from my November statement which was the requirement. No bonus yet though.

  • Not sure if this is new but there is a $5 lifetime membership fee taken once you fund the account. @will

  • I went in person to a branch in Portland and they required a hard pull. They said they were mostly interested in making sure I didn’t have any delinquencies. Was approved w three other hard inquiries on my report.

    I could see myself keeping this account. ATM reimbursements up to 25$/month, no minimum balance, no maintenance fees.

    • You mind noting which branch? I don't want to apply at that one in case the HP is branch specific!

      • It was the branch at 950 SE 10th Ave Portland, OR 97214. And my name is "Dan" but I'm actually a younger-ish brown lady, so Gadgets comment below might hold some merit. Might be banker specific or just how they're feeling that day? *shrug* Good luck!!

  • Just received their official email. They are definitely pull ChexSystem and are sensitive. Got declined for this reason.

    "There is a security freeze showing on your Check Systems Report and we are unable to proceed until it is removed.

    If you wish to move forward with your account application, please remove the security freeze and reply to this email within five business days.

    Thank you for choosing Columbia Credit Union. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

    Columbia Credit Union"

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