Bellco Credit Union 2.25% Rewards Checking Account

Update 3/18/21: Deal now available nationwide with a $10 donation to Bellco foundation. Hat tip to reader Jeff.

Offer at a glance

  • Interest Rate: 2.25% APY
  • Minimum Balance: None
  • Maximum Balance: $25,000
  • Availability: Nationwide.
  • Direct deposit required: Yes
  • Additional requirements: Yes, see below
  • Hard/soft pull: Hard
  • Credit card funding: None
  • Monthly fees: None
  • Early Account Termination Fee: Unknown
  • Insured: NCUA

The Offer

Direct link to offer

  • Receive an interest rate of 2.25% APY on Bellco boost checking account on balances up to $25,000 when you met the following requirements:
    • Make at least 15 debit card transactions
    • Have at least one direct deposit per month
    • Log in to online or mobile banking at least once per month

Avoiding Fees

They say there is no monthly fees, but if you read the fine print it says there is no fee to use bill pay as long as each enrolled Bill Pay user completes at least one Bill Pay transaction per month.

Membership Requirements

Update: Seems like they will deny you if you apply from out of state.

Bellco is available to everybody by joining consumers united association ($5 annually or $25 for life). Otherwise you need to live or work in the following Colorado counties: Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, Garfield, Jefferson, Mesa, Moffat, or Rio Blanco.

Our Verdict

Requirements for the bonus rate are way to high considering it’s a rate of only 2.25%. In my opinion there are better options out there in terms of high interesting savings accounts. The other option is to just focus on accounts with a high sign up bonus instead.
    William Charles
  • On March 18, 2021, 00:33

View Comments (32)

  • If you invest right, you can earn an annual return of much more than 2.25%. You could literally put half your cash in ETF's and make more money than that

    • How much (% -wise) can you make under a very low risk environment? Do you know any forum/website (like this DoC -site) for investment tips/ideas/ guides etc? Thanks.

  • [Westminster, Colorado] I just got an offer in the mail for a $200 bonus to open this account, valid till 6/28.

    Requirements are:
    - $250 opening deposit
    - must order debit card
    - within 90 days of opening, receive EITHER a $250 DD OR make 10 debit card purchases

    There doesn't appear to be any targeted language, so I'm not sure if they'll ask for the mailer. Seems similar to this: https://www.bellco.org/checkingoffer.aspx
    Except that while the link mentions redeeming 2x$100 giift cards, the mailer describes a single $200 cash bonus to be deposited into the new account within 60 days of hitting the DD or debit requirement.

    I'm going to be pretty busy for the next two weeks or so, but when I get the chance to stop in to a branch and apply, I'll report back whether they ask for the mailer.

      • Nope, I'm talking about a new $200 bonus offer on the same rewards checking account. I got around to opening it today. I guess it is targeted. They did request my mailer, but less so out of disbelief than due to the fact that supposedly I was the first person to come in regarding that offer. Everything went fine opening, except they wanted to do a hard-pull on my Experian. I went ahead with it. In addition to the details I mentioned above, there is a $25 membership deposit and a $5 account opening fee. I'll report back here when & if I get the bonus, unless you create a new thread for this new offer.

  • Sent them a FB message about the inquiry being hard or soft. 2.25% is an extra $26/month better than my 1% account will pay out. 15 debits is easy with Amazon, and logging in is done with Mint and the monthly DD is easy to automate. Good deal if it's a soft pull. I'll update when I hear from them.

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