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ColJDerango
ColJDerango (@guest_1438097)
September 4, 2022 22:47

Dang even with the bump to 5%, the $1000 spend/mo requirement is way too high, when various credit cards can get you much more cashback. ETFCU’s 3.3% on balances up to $20k requiring only 15 debit card purchases/month ($0.15 per month with a PayPal subscription to yourself or with venmo/PayPal transactions) is still the better deal imo

chris paynter
chris paynter (@guest_1438266)
September 5, 2022 07:57

To me, the CCU checking account at 3% is still worth it on its own, forget the CC.

On the other hand the CCU CC is one of the very few CC’s I kinda regret getting; it was sort of a waste of a slot.

But as long as I have it, at 3% CB for grocery, including Walmart, it’s still my card-of-last-resort for those (though less so for grocery since I PC’d an old TY card to the Citi Custom Cash).

And they do run deals several times a year for an extra $25 statement credit for spending $500 on this or that (holiday spending, online purchases, etc.) or extra $ for setting up recurring payments (phone, cable, etc.). Those deals are good enough on their own to exploit, and In those cases, it’s kinda nice to be able to also goose the checking interest rate as a side effect, as long as I’m already doing the spending.

So I make the best of it, but I wouldn’t really recommend getting the CC.

The checking account, however, is a winner.

Chris.

barrytuneup
barrytuneup (@guest_1438414)
September 5, 2022 13:39

you can buy 2 VGC in grocery stores for the 1K spend and get 30.00 back (3%) But only for 6 months as the 3% is limited to 6k. I closed this acct a few years ago. then only 10.00 back for the next 6 months at 1%. This will cover the VGC fees but you need a way to liquidate these cards. Might still be worth the hassle for 10k  Arielle Bianchimano%

Eric
Eric (@guest_1437991)
September 4, 2022 18:29

 Chuck,

This account is 3%/4%/5% now.

Eric
Eric (@guest_1403843)
July 2, 2022 13:27

I haven’t used this account for several months. I just looked at the qualification email that I received for June. It shows that I qualified for the 2.09% rate even though I only met 1 of the requirements. Are any of you in the same boat as me? I’m just wondering if this is a glitch or if they are still waiving the requirements.

You qualified for the 2.09%APY* (Annual Percentage Yield) and ATM fee refunds on your free Rewards Checking Account last month.

We look forward to rewarding you again the next cycle you qualify. Remember, if you don’t qualify, you still earn the base dividend rate.

Below is a summary of the monthly qualifications and your actual results:

Monthly Qualifications

Actual Results

12 or more debit card transactions

Not Met

Direct Deposit/Mobile/ACH Credit of $500 or more

Not Met

Enrolled in eDocuments

Met

Required to receive 3.09% APY*: Complete at least $500 in CCU Visa credit card purchases.**

Not Met

Required to receive 4.09% APY*: Complete at least $1,000 in CCU Visa credit card purchases.**

Not Met

Robert
Robert (@guest_1321434)
January 26, 2022 06:13

Several posts refer to a $500 DD requirement. Maybe there used to be a DD requirement, but as of 1/26/2022, the requirements to earn 2.09% APY are

(1) Receive eDocuments (enroll and accept the disclosure)
(2) Make at least 12 debit card purchases each month.
(3) Direct deposits OR Mobile Check Deposits OR ACH Credits totaling $500 or more monthly.

As you can see, DDs are OPTIONAL !!!

Furthermore, the requirements to earn 3.09% APY and 4.09% APY do not include receiving DDs.

Here’s the link: https://www.myconsumers.org/bank/accounts/free-rewards-checking

Em
Em (@guest_1316019)
January 16, 2022 03:14

I’m considering this, but not sure if I’m going to go for it. In case this helps others out, here’s how I figured I could potentially qualify for the 4% interest:

Debit card

Eating out 4-8x/month
Gas 4x/month
Small shopping trips (or doing separate transactions as needed) 2-4/month

Credit card for regular household bills and groceries

$800+ for groceries (family of 4)
Cell ($52), internet ($50), electric ($60), gas ($30), insurance ($55)

Still not sure if it’s a wash with missing out on cashback from my other cards. If you’re single and on a tight budget, I can see how this wouldn’t work, but for families you might be able to swing it.

barrytuneup
barrytuneup (@guest_1438418)
September 5, 2022 13:44
  Em

Em….”$800+ for groceries (family of 4)
Cell ($52), internet ($50), electric ($60), gas ($30), insurance ($55)”cando much better with the usbank cash+

Bertrand
Bertrand (@guest_1315769)
January 15, 2022 17:20

Has anyone who is an existing member tried to open a checking account for the MP or SB bonus? If so, what reports got pulled? I am assuming they would do a Chex pull but no hard pull (this being required only for membership), but I am reluctant to give it a try without a DP.

Robert
Robert (@guest_1321435)
January 26, 2022 06:21

I misplaced my dictionary of abbreviations and acronyms. What are the “MP” and “SB” bonuses? Member of parliament? Santa Barbara?

Ferris
Ferris (@guest_1312380)
January 9, 2022 22:57

I miss the good ‘ol days. You could get 5.09% with 3% cashback on groceries and making an extra 1% from paying your bill with PPDG.

John M
John M (@guest_1312474)
January 10, 2022 10:28

Without discussing age I remember back in 1978 you could get 5.5% on just your checking account and 11% on a CD-without doing anything but watching the money roll in.

Hellen
Hellen (@guest_1312273)
January 9, 2022 17:52

To get 4.09% APY, you need to have their credit card and spend $1000 ore more each month. Too much.

John M
John M (@guest_1312248)
January 9, 2022 16:47

Why can’t they make it simple. I’m getting 2% from 1st community credit union. Only have to do 25 debits/mo(25 swipes at a gas station at 3-4 cents each) and 1 automatic ACH($1). Maximum for the 2% is 25,000. Not sure if they’ll take out of footprint.

HarryTheFirstHarry
HarryTheFirstHarry (@guest_1312226)
January 9, 2022 15:58

Trying to do some math here:
Max Annual Earn: 409+30 (3% earn on buying 2x$500VGC at S&S for 6 month) +10 (1% earn for the next 6 months)
Losses
1) $6VGC fee for 12 months x2 = -72
2) Loss of 3% in grocery points for the 2nd 6 months of the year = -30
3) 1% interest earned at other CU = -100
4) Time to deposit a check every month and do the 12 Amazon reloads.
Total loss: $202
Net Gain: 449 – 202 = $247 annual profit as compared to putting the money elsewhere.
Excludes time spent described in 4 above and the signup SB.

Penny
Penny (@guest_1312234)
January 9, 2022 16:17

Funny thing, I just sat down on calculated to see if it is worth the extra $500 MS spend a month to get the 3.09% interest from 2.09% interest for each month (I opted for this, as the 3% cash back at supermarket is limited to 6K a year, so that’s $500 a month, alternatively you can do $1k/month for 6 months). I can qualify the 2.09% interest easily (which require DD and the debit spends only), so I don’t factor that in.

1) the 1% increase , would gain $100 in interest a year on the 10K if I charge $500/month. So divide that by 12 to keep things simple, that is roughly $8.33 additional interest a month

2) Buying a $494 VGC+$6 Fee would yield (3% of 500 spend is $15 cash back minus the $6 fee) , yields $9 profit

3) I have a 2.5% Cash back card that is my daily driver unless there are categories that is higher that I would set aside and spend the VGC card, so that is a loss of $12.38 ($494*2.5%) in cash back.

So the work on qualifying for the 2nd tier rewards would yield $4.95 profit each month (+8.39 in bank interest, +$15 Cash back on $500 spend, -$6 in VGC fee, -$12.38 in cash back opportunity on my regular card).

it’s an extra 5-10 mins to do a separate transaction as I’m already at the supermarket already, so that would be worth the $4.95 monthly profit ($59.40 a year). I wouldn’t go out of my way to do it. However, Q1 5% category on Chase Freedom cards is supermarket and I have 5 Freedoms, so I will prob focus on that first.

HarryTheFirstHarry
HarryTheFirstHarry (@guest_1312285)
January 9, 2022 18:10

what card gives 2.5% on everyday spend? Thanks in advance.
I also left out the loss point of a hard pull which may be the main reason I would skip getting this CC.

Penny
Penny (@guest_1312315)
January 9, 2022 20:03

USAA Limitless, no longer available

Robert
Robert (@guest_1321452)
January 26, 2022 08:03

Qualifying for the 2.09% APY does not require a DD. According to CCU’s advertised requirements, the $500 monthly deposit requirement can be satisfied by direct deposits OR mobile check deposits OR ACH credits.

Here’s the link to CCU’s advertised requirements to earn top rates for Rewards Checking: https://www.myconsumers.org/bank/accounts/free-rewards-checking

Robert
Robert (@guest_1321446)
January 26, 2022 07:51

CCU’s Visa Signature Rewards credit card and Visa Signature Cash Rebate credit card have no annual fee and pay 3% rewards on grocery purchases up to $6000/yr.

You don’t have to deposit any checks or make any direct deposits. According to the ADVERTISED requirements to earn 2.09& APY, you can satisfy the $500 monthly deposit requirement with ACH credits. Here’s the CCU link to CCU’s ADVERTISED requirements to earn the top yields with Rewards Checking:

https://www.myconsumers.org/bank/accounts/free-rewards-checking

You don’t have to do do any Amazon gift card reloads. Instead, link your CCU debit card and any one of your bank accounts to a CashApp account. Using CashApp, you can easily do 12 point-of-sale purchases (of any amount) with your CCU debit card; the purchases are debited from your CCU checking account as point-of-sale purchases. The debited amounts go into your CashApp balance, which you can easily transfer to your linked bank account. You don’t actually spend any money. You merely move money from your CCU checking account to your CashApp balance to your linked bank account.