Update 7/13/19: Bonus has been increased from $125 to $150.
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $150
- Availability: Must live, work, worship or attend school in one of the following counties: CA: Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, San Francisco AZ: Pima
- Direct deposit required: Yes, recurring direct deposits of $500 for the first three months
- Additional requirements: None
- Hard/soft pull: Mixed DP, make sure to opt out of overdraft
- ChexSystems: Unknown
- Credit card funding: Unknown
- Monthly fees: None
- Early account termination fee: Six months bonus forfeit
- Household limit: None listed
- Expiration date: None listed
Contents
The Offer
- Meriwest Credit Union is offering a bonus of $150 when you open a new checking account and complete the following requirements:
- Receive a minimum of two recurring direct deposits via ACH of at least $500 within the first 60 days of checking account opening
The Fine Print
- Promotional offer starts on June 4, 2018 and is subject to expire at any time.
- Must be over the age of 18, open a checking account and have a minimum of three (3) recurring direct deposits via ACH within the first 3-months of checking account opening ($500 minimum per deposit) to qualify.
- Account to account transfers do not qualify as direct deposit.
- Limit one (1) bonus deposit per membership. Consumer accounts only
- . One (1) $125 deposit will be made to the checking account when the qualifying criteria are met and will remain on hold for 6-months.
- Account must stay open for 6-months after the bonus is deposited; otherwise the $125 will be forfeited.
- Bonus is subject to tax reporting.
- The minimum deposit required to open a checking account is $20.
- All Meriwest consumer checking accounts qualify for this offer.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
The Your Choice checking account has no monthly fees to worry about.
Early Account Termination Fee
If you close your account within 6 months of account opening the $125 bonus will be forfeited.
Our Verdict
Need to know if it’s a hard or soft pull and if you can fund with a credit card. If anybody knows then please share it in the comments below, along with your experiences in opening the account. They also have a reversed savings account that might be worth considering.
Big thanks to reader, Hash K who let us know. Learn how to find bonuses and contribute to the site here.
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
I don’t see a reference to the offer on the meriwest page. Could this have been pulled and no longer available?
I believe this offer went dormant in January.
DP for CC funding:
Opened account successfully using AMEX. Error processing with the card so I called in, CSR said he can do CC funding on the phone, maximum $5000. One interesting thing he said, “We can only do this once a month”. Confirmed with him that I can call back next month and fund the account with a CC again, he said yes. Will try to fund again next month and update how it works out. Used Citi Prestige with cash advance at $0. Ill update when it posts.
Also on hard pull. Called CSR before applying and was told only soft pull is conducted. Opened the account online and no pulls from any bureaus.
Update on the refunding with another $5000?
Hey sorry for the really late update. Tried the refunding $5000 the next month, and wasn’t able to do it. Was told by CSR that you can only use credit cards to pay to a “loan”. Only Visa debit/credit card and Mastercard debit. Was too lazy to HUCA. There is also a convenience fee to do this.
Just joined Meriwest online (employed with technology company in CA), opened an account (with 3% APY savings + Your choice checking).
Did funding with BoA MLB MC for $455.
No option provided on overdraft protection at all. Hopefully, it isn’t a hardpull when they batch process this on Monday. Keeping my fingers crossed. Will update on outcome come Monday/Tuesday.
Any word on the hard pull / approval?
Got rejected. Posted an update above.
Wanted to update:
Got rejected, as apparently my company was not ‘technology’ enough for them :(.
They sent my full CC deposit back to CC and sent a paltry sub $1 check by mail (possibly for interest?).
Good thing was no HP on my report. Will be moving on to other things.
DP: Opened two weeks ago. No hard pull. Got the first 2 DDs ($500 each) to my Meriwest account from my employer today. They then issued the $150 bonus right away… I doubt they counted the initial deposit from credit card funding as one DD if that’s $500 or more.
The footnote on the website says “minimum of two (2) recurring direct deposits via ACH within the first 60 day of checking account opening ($500 minimum per deposit) to qualify.” “One (1) $150 deposit will be made to the checking account within 3 business days once the qualifying criteria are met.” so it appears to be different than this article states.
Updated, thanks
Received an email today about their high interest savings account. APY for the first $5000 is 3.5%. Looks decent. Email is like:
A flexible way to earn a solid return
Hi XXX,
Thanks again for joining Meriwest. We would like to make sure that you are aware that as a new member, you are eligible for the great rates of our new member-only Premier Savings Account.
Earn as high as 3.50% APY*
A flexible account – with mobile banking and direct deposit, you can add and withdraw funds with ease
Premier Savings is only available to new members like you during the first 30 days of membership. Act now to open your Premier Savings account before time runs out!
Available only to new members during the first thirty (30) days from the date of opening a membership account.
*APY is Annual Percentage Yield. APYs are accurate as of June 2019. Fees may reduce earnings, APY is calculated on the minimum average daily balance in the account each month. The minimum deposit required to open a Premier Savings Account is $20. A minimum average daily balance of $100 is required to earn dividends. The Premier Savings account is a variable rate account and rates may change at any time. Limit one Premier Savings account per membership. Please refer to our current Rate Schedule for applicable dividend rates, APYs and tiers.
Minimum Average
Daily Balance APY*
$100 – $5,000 3.50%
$5,001 – $10,000 2.00%
$10,001 – $50,000 1.00%
$50,001 + 0.50%
For example, an account with an average daily balance of $100,000 will earn 3.50% APY on balances up to $5,000, 2.00% APY on balances over $5,000 up to $10,000, 1.00% APY on balances over $10,000 up to $50,000, and 0.50% APY on the remaining balance in excess of $50,000. Please refer to Terms and Conditions applicable to Premier Savings in the Account Disclosure and Deposit Agreement for additional information regarding this account.
Thanks, will write this up ASAP
Did anyone try ACH transfer from a bank and which for DD?
schwab brokerage worked for me
What kind of timeline did you experience for bonus posting/availability?
I had a lot of trouble getting the online application to work. It kept failing at the last step, about 15 pages in, with an “unexpected error” that deleted the app.
Turns out you MUST allow pop-ups. There is an identity verification pop-up at the end of the application.
You must have a minimum of two (2) recurring direct deposits via ACH within the first 60 day of checking account opening ($500 minimum per deposit) to qualify. (This is a change from three (3) DD within 90 days).
This seems to have expired?