[FL only] BrightStar Credit Union (BSCU) $100 Checking Promotion, No Direct Deposit Requirement

Update: Now available in more counties: Broward, Collier, Lee, Martin, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach OR St. Lucie Counties, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Polk, Osceola, Brevard, Manatee, Hardee, Highlands, Okeechobee, Indian River, Sarasota, DeSoto, Charlotte, Glades, Hendry and Monroe Counties, Florida. Hat tip to reader Brian C

Reposting because it’s been more than 3 years since we last posted this offer.

Offer at a glance

• Maximum bonus amount: $100
• Availability: Must live, work or go to school in Broward OR Palm Beach Counties, Florida
• Direct deposit required: No
• Additional requirements: 4 transactions per 30 day period for 7 months. 
• Hard/soft pull: Soft
• ChexSystems: Unknown
• Credit card funding: Unknown 
• Monthly fees: None
• Early account termination fee: Account must be kept open for at least 7 months to release the bonus
• Household limit: None
• Expiration date: None listed

The Offer

Direct link to offer

• Join BrightStar credit union and open a new checking account and receive a $100 bonus. You must complete a minimum of four transactions per 30 day period for seven months to unlock the bonus.

The Fine Print

• Offer applies only to new members joining BrightStar Credit Union and opening a new checking account.
• New membership and new checking account must be established at the same time. Qualifications may apply to opening new checking accounts. $100 will be deposited into member’s primary Savings account and will earn dividends but will not be available for withdrawal or access for any reason until 7 months after account opening.
• Please allow 4-6 weeks after the end of the 7th month for the account review to be finalized.
• $100 will be forfeited if the Checking account is not active for any 30 day period during the first 7 months the account is open—with the exception of a 30 day grace period from the account opening date.
• An active checking account is defined as a minimum of four (4) transactions per 30 day period.
• Eligible transactions include: Visa Check Card purchases, checks clearing, direct deposit of payroll or other funds, bills paid via Online BillPay, in-branch withdrawals or deposits, ATM deposits. Non-eligible transactions include: dividend posting, fee assessment, manual adjustments, transfers, ATM withdrawals, automatic debits or other transactions.
• Accounts will be reviewed during the 8th month after the open date. At that time, the hold on the $100 will either be released, or the $100 will be debited from the account.
• Offer is not valid with other offers, and may change or end without notice.
• To be eligible, you must be a U.S. resident aged 18 or older.
• Limit of one $100 cash award per person.
• Any taxes related to the offer are the member’s responsibility.
• All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them

Avoiding Fees

Bright star offers a free checking account, which you can open as part of this promotion to avoid any monthly fees. You need to make sure you enroll in eStatements as part of this. If you close your account within 180 days you’ll be charged a $20 early account termination fee, although this doesn’t really matter as you need to keep the account open for at least seven months to get the bonus.

Our Verdict

This is not a bad bonus, especially considering it does not require a direct deposit. It should be pretty easy to rack up 4 check card transactions each month (you can view some easy suggestions here). The downside is that you obviously need to remember to do this for seven months and it’ll take awhile for the bonus to post. Final issue is that it looks like they do a manual review on the account. Do you think this should be added to our best bonus list? If so, let me know in the comments.