[Must Be A Member of A Christian Ministry] Christian Credit Union $100 Checking Account Bonus + 4% CD

Offer at a glance

• Maximum bonus amount: $100
• Availability: Must be a member of a Christian Ministry
• Direct deposit required: No
• Additional requirements: None
• Hard/soft pull: Was originally a soft pull, but a recent report of being hard.
• Credit card funding: $100
• Monthly fees: None
• Early account termination fee: None, account must be kept open for 90 days to avoid the bonus being taken back
• Expiration date: None listed

The Offer

Direct link to offer

• Open a checking account with the Christian Community Credit Union & receive a $100 bonus
• You’ll also receive a $5 bonus if you opt for eStatements  No longer available

The Fine Print

• Minimum opening deposit is $100
• Only available on your first checking account, if you currently hold or have held an account in the last 90 days you’re not eligible
• Bonus will be eligible for withdrawal after 90 days, if the account is closed within 90 days the bonus will be taken back
• You must qualify for the membership requirements: through your church or ministry or if a family member is already a member
• All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them

Avoiding Fees

The free checking account is always fee free, the checking plus account is fee free for the first year and then requires a direct deposit or average monthly balance of $1,500 or greater. There is no mention of any early account termination fee but it’s worth noting that the bonus will be taken back if you cancel your account within 90 days The full schedule of fees can be accessed here.

Our Verdict

They also offer a 5% APR CD ($5,000 maximum) 4% APY CD ($2,500 maximum) that can be opened within 30 days of account opening. Also keep in mind that this CU is insured by ASI, rather than FDIC/NCUA (e.g it’s private insurance rather than government).

Personally I won’t be signing up for either offer as I am not eligible to sign up. If I was, here is what I’d do:

• Open the free checking account, using a rewards earning credit card to do the initial $100 in funding (this triggers the $100 checking bonus and also lets me hit minimum spend requirements on credit cards) +$100
• At the same time open a 5% APR with $5,000 (maximum allowed) after one year I’d receive $250 in interest. If I held this in a 1% APR account I’d only receive $50, this is another $200 in profit (assuming you’re not using rewards checking accounts or high interest prepaids)
• Close my checking account after 90+ days to avoid the bonus being taken back
• Wait for my CD to mature and then withdraw the funds to my regular checking account

In total you’d make ~$300 in profit (in comparison to a 1% APR savings account) which isn’t a bad return considering this is a soft credit pull to open. We haven’t added this to our section on the best offers because most people won’t be able to qualify, but you can find it in our regular section for bank sign up offers.

Direct link to offer | Screenshot of offer