Update 1/6/24: Bonus now $400.
This was formerly called University Federal Credit Union.
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount:Â $400
- Availability: Anyone who lives, works, worships, does business or attends school in Salt Lake, Utah, Davis, Tooele, Summit or Wasatch Counties, or anyone with an immediate family member who meets any of those criteria, is eligible join UFirst Credit Union.
- Direct deposit required:Â Yes, $1,000+ per month for three months
- Additional requirements:Â See below
- Hard/soft pull:Â Soft pull
- ChexSystems: Unknown
- Credit card funding: None
- Monthly fees:Â None
- Early account termination fee:Â Unknown
- Household limit:Â None listed
- Expiration date:Â Offer valid through December 30th, 2022
Contents
The Offer
- UFirst Credit Union is offering a bonus of up to $400:
- $50 will be deposited when new account is opened
- An additional $50 will be deposited 6 months after account is opened
- Up to $150 will be deposited in $50 increments over 3 consecutive months after setting up and maintaining a direct deposit of at least $1,000 per month
- Up to $150 will be deposited in $50 increments over 3 consecutive months when the minimum requirement of 25 transactions per month, with a UFirst Credit Union Visa debit card, credit card or both, are completed
The Fine Print
- e. $50 will be deposited when new account is opened. An additional $50 will be deposited 6 months after account is opened. Up to $150 will be deposited in $50 increments over 3 consecutive months after setting up and maintaining a direct deposit of at least $1,000 per month. Up to $150 will be deposited in $50 increments over 3 consecutive months when the minimum requirement of 25 transactions per month, with a UFirst Credit Union Visa debit card, credit card or both, are completed
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
The eChecking account has no monthly fees to worry about.
Early Account Termination Fee
I wasn’t able to find a fee schedule so unsure if there is any early account termination fee.
Our Verdict
Seems like a good bonus and worth doing due to the soft pull. We will add this 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
I called and the promotion at https://www.ufirstcu.com/get500/ is currently valid. I decided to pass on it since there are no data points for what counts as direct deposit. Without it, you would still get $100 for having the account open for 6 months but that is not worth a hard pull. The 25 debit card swipes per month promotion requires minimum $5 transactions so I suspect most won’t be interested in that part.
Depends on how much hard pulls affect you, for most people they don’t really matter anymore.
Can confirm they do a hard pull on Experian
+1, I had all my credit reports frozen and just received an email from a bank representative asking me to unfreeze my credit to proceed with finalizing the application I submitted over the weekend.
I can’t find a $400 promo anywhere. The only bonus showing on the site is a $150 bonus for three months of direct deposits. https://www.ufirstcu.com/get-150-direct-deposit
“Anyone who lives, works, worships, does business“
Through my employer, I have customers who are all over the country, but I don’t personally visit those areas. Has anyone ever used this as a way to get into a CU? If someone has used the live/work/worship reason, did they ask you about it?
The “direct link to offer” doesn’t seem to go to the right place, it takes me to a student checking giveaway. This seems like the correct link: https://www.ufirstcu.com/get500/ actually up to $500 but for $100 of that it requires financing an auto loan with them, so realistically $400 tops.
Any OOS data points?
Looks like you have to live in the right counties or have family that does.
Are you my long distance relative? 😃
Gut feeling that this one won’t pay out. There was a giveaway promotion that has since expired. They can deny by stating that the sign-up bonus was tied to this promo.
No credit card funding. Max funding is $1010 – either via ACH pull or mailing them a check. They might do a hard pull on a credit report. At the end of the application this text pops up:
“I authorize University First Federal Credit Union DBA UFirst Credit Union to obtain credit reports to determine my qualification for the Credit Union products and services for which I am applying, and to determine whether I qualify for other products and services, including extensions of credit, the Credit Union may offer to me.”
All 3 of my credit bureaus are frozen but it was still able to ask me the typical security questions (what city is X street in, what year is your car model xxx, etc). Application pending, said they’d get back to me in a day. They might need to review since I don’t live in the market area but have family that does, or they might ask me to unfreeze a credit bureau.
I’ll update when I find out.
Thanks for the heads up, I saw the same language when I was about to submit and ensured all my credit reports were frozen before finalizing the application. I too got several security questions after submitting and then got a message that they’d contact me within 1 business day about my application.
Update: Just received a follow up email from a bank representative that is requesting me to unfreeze my credit so they can pull a credit report, looks like this will incur a hard credit pull unfortunately.
Need to know what pushes work.
Try them.