[Expired] Signal Financial Federal Credit Union $150 Bonus – Nationwide

This deal has expired, you can view more checking bonuses here.

Offer at a glance

• Maximum bonus amount: $400
• Availability: Nationwide
• Direct deposit required: Optional, $750+ for 4 consecutive months
• Additional requirements: Many, see below
• Hard/soft pull: Unknown
• Credit card funding: Unknown
• Monthly fees: $10 – $25, waiveable
• Early account termination fee: $25 if closed within 6 months of account opening (Savings, Checking, and Money Market)
• Expiration date: December 31, 2016

The Offer

Direct link to offer

• Earn up to $400 when you open a Signal Premium Product Bundle or up to $350 when you open a Signal Connect Product Bundle for the following activities:
  • $50 for Checking
  • $50 for Direct Deposit
  • $50 for Visa Balance Transfer ($2,500 min.)
  • $50 for Auto Refinance ($10,000 min. with Direct Debit)
  • $50 for Debit Card (usage of 12x/month)
  • $50 for GAP Insurance
  • $50 for MMP Extended Warranty
  • $50 for High-Rate Money Market (Signal Premium Product Bundle only)

The Fine Print

• Cash bonus shall not to exceed $350 for Signal Connect members and $400 for Signal Premium members.
• Current Signal members may participate by selecting an applicable bundle package.
• In order to be eligible for the $50 bonus credit within each applicable bundle category, the account must be enrolled in a bundle account program for 6 consecutive months, to be shown on the statement during the 7th month.
• In order to remain eligible, the account must be in good standing at the time of the bonus credit.
• The GAP and MMP products must be purchased directly through Signal Financial FCU. Members who purchased ancillary services (Gap and MMP) from the dealer are excluded from direct purchases of GAP and MMP from Signal Financial FCU. However, members can purchase other products to satisfy the bundle requirements.
• To qualify for the Direct Deposit bonus, Direct Deposit amount must be deposited at least once a month for the amount of $750.00 or greater for a period of at least 4 consecutive months during the 6 month qualification time frame.
• To receive the bonus for the debit card, the member must swipe the card at a merchant at least 12 times a month during the 6 month promotional period.
• To be eligible for the Vehicle Loan bonus, the loan payments must be made using automatic transfer from the member’s Signal Financial FCU account to pay the vehicle loan.
• To receive the Visa balance transfer bonus, the member must complete a Visa balance transfer, including any applicable balance transfer fee.
• Only one $50 bonus can be earned for each product, and multiples of any products will not result in additional bonuses.
• An aggregate bonus will be paid as a deposit into the member’s share savings account, within 45 days of the bonus requirements being met.
• Bonus credits are reportable for tax purposes (i.e. you’ll receive a 1099-T).

Joining Signal Financial FCU

You can join Signal Financial FCU if you satisfy any of the following requirements:

• You live, work, attend school, or worship in Washington, DC, or in Prince George’s County, MD inside the Beltway.
• You are a close relative (living in the same household or not) of a current Signal member.
• You are a current employee, retiree, or surviving spouse within one of our Select Employee Groups (including Verizon, Verizon Wireless, AT&T and over 200 others). View a complete list of Select Employee Groups here.
• You are a member of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA). (Signal will pay the first year’s membership fee for new members!).
• You are an employee of a business member of the Wheaton-Kensington Chamber of Commerce.

On the application page, it is possible to select “I would like to become a member through WABA” and proceed with the application. The normal yearly fee for WABA is $35, but it sounds like you can join WABA and Signal Financial FCU at the same time and they will pay for your membership for the first year.

Avoiding Fees

A full schedule of fees is located on this page and in this PDF.

Signal Connect Bundle

Maintain a $250 average monthly balance in your checking account or conduct 5 signature-based debit card transactions per month to avoid the $10 monthly maintenance fee.

Signal Premium Bundle

Maintain a combined $25,000 average monthly balance in share accounts (excluding share certificates) and conduct 5 signature-based debit card transactions per month OR have a mortgage with a starting balance of $250,000 or greater to avoid the $25 monthly maintenance fee.

Money Market Account

There is a separate $10 monthly maintenance fee for money market accounts unless a $2,500 minimum average daily balance is maintained. The way this is stated, it should apply equally to the Standard Money Market account in the Signal Connect Bundle (which you do not get a bonus for) and the Premium eMoney Market Account in the Signal Premium Bundle (which you do get a bonus for).

Early Account Termination Fee

There is an early account termination fee of $25 if a Savings, Checking, or Money Market account is closed within 6 months of account opening.

Our Verdict

Realistically, this is a $100 bonus that can be up to $150 if you satisfy the direct deposit requirement. You probably are not going to buy gap insurance or a major mechanical protection extended warranty from Signal Financial FCU, nor complete a $10,000 auto loan re-fi or a $2,500+ balance transfer (especially since the 2.5% fee on the balance transfer is a minimum of $62.50—making it only worthwhile if you would’ve done a balance transfer at 3% anyway and just need another 6 months of 0% APR). On top of that, the fee-free requirements for the Signal Premium Bundle are very intensive and it doesn’t make much sense to satisfy them for an extra $50.

Less pessimistically, opening the Signal Connect bundle with checkings & savings, and completing 12 debit transactions per month for 6 months will net you $100 by my reading of the terms. That’s actually quite good—arguably just as good as the Wells Fargo $100 checking bonus if you’re keeping that fee-free with 15 debit transactions per month. Another $50 for a direct deposit of $750+ per month for 4 consecutive months is icing on the cake (though it is much more stringent than many similar bonuses that net you far more than an extra $50).

As long as Signal Financial FCU is paying the $35 to join WABA, thus making this offer nationwide and free, this bonus could be worth your time if you’ve tapped out many of the best bank account bonuses.

If you have any experiences with this offer or any other of the checking promos we’ve posted recently, please contact us!