Update 7/19/24: Only $1,000 direct deposit required
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount:Â $250
- Availability:  You live, work, worship, or attend school in, and businesses and other legal entities located in Amherst County, Appomattox County, Bedford County, Campbell County, Rockbridge County, Pittsylvania County, Caswell County NC, Rockingham County NC, Roanoke County, Botetourt County, City of Lynchburg, City of Lexington, City of Buena Vista, City of Danville, City of Roanoke, City of Salem, City of Reidsville NC, City of Eden NC, Town of Altavista, Town of Appomattox, Town of Bedford. (Region 2000), and the township of Vinton. Other ways to be eligible found here.Â
- Direct deposit required:Â Yes, $1,000+ for three consecutive for months
- Additional requirements:Â See below
- Hard/soft pull:Â Hard pull
- ChexSystems: Unknown
- Credit card funding: Up to $500
- Monthly fees:Â None
- Early account termination fee:Â Unknown
- Household limit:Â One
- Expiration date:Â None listed
Contents
The Offer
- Beacon Credit Union is offering a bonus of $250 when you open a new Choice Plus Checking account and complete the following requirements:
- Receive a direct deposit of $2,500+ per month for three consecutive months
- Maintain an average daily balance of $300 in order to earn bonus
- Sign up for billpay
- Sign up for eStatements
- Conduct a minimum of 15 debit card transactions for 3 consecutive months to earn bonus
- This account also earns 5.05% APY on balances up to $2,500 when you meet the following requirements:
- Make at least 15 debit card transactions each month
- Receive a direct deposit of at least $100
- Have an average daily balance of at least $300
The Fine Print
- To be eligible for the bonus, you must open a primary Choice Plus Checking account.
- Minimum balance to open a Choice Plus Checking account is $100.
- You must have a direct deposit of $2,500 per month for three (3) consecutive months and maintain an average daily balance of $300.00 in order to earn the bonus
- You must sign up for Beacon Billpay, E-statements and conduct a minimum of 15 debit card transactions for 3 consecutive months to earn the bonus.
- Limit one bonus per household.
- Accountholders must not have opened a checking account with Beacon Credit Union within the past 12 months.
- Promotional reward will be paid to eligible accountholders at the end of the month in which all qualifications are met.
- Offer available for a limited time. Beacon Checking Accounts are subject to credit qualification.
- Beacon has the right to end or modify any promotion at any time.
- Bonuses are considered interest and will be reported on IRS Form 1099-INT (or Form 1042-S, if applicable).
- 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 a fee schedule so I’m not sure if there is an early account termination fee.
Our Verdict
Don’t think the 5.05% APY aspect of the account is that interesting, but might be worth opening for the $250 bonus assuming it’s a soft pull to open. If you go for this account/bonus please share your experiences in the comments below
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
Looks like this is still good but only a $1000 DD required now https://www.mybcu.org/special-checking-account-offer Chuck
A lot of requirements for this one. I’m in VA but not in one of the counties they serve. Wouldn’t have done it anyway I don’t think.
500 for the credit card funding. Visa and MasterCard. I forgot to check to see if it accepted others.
Pulled Equifax.
Hard pull?
Yes, showed on credit karma.
Went through chase reserve card as cash advance on the 29th. Person was out of office that was supposed to be handling the account. $30 of fees since they processed it as two cash advances -One for saving and one for checking.
They signed it up for overdraft protection. Maybe because of the hard pull? They use the Cold Fusion interface. I donated some money to a local Baptist church to meet legibility, but they didn’t check.
Received $250 on 4/1/20. Electronic bill pay limits are $1k per transaction and $2k per day. Seems to take about 1 business day for transactions to clear. Transactions charged on a Friday didn’t clear until the following Monday.
I could do 6 transactions a day via cash.me
Too much work for too little money. FOH…