[CA] California Coast Credit Union $150 Checking Bonus, Direct Deposit Required

Offer at a glance

Maximum bonus amount: $150
Availability: Must live or work in San Diego or Riverside County. Might be available in more areas.
Direct deposit required: No
Additional requirements: See below
Hard/soft pull: Mixed DP
ChexSystems: Unknown
Credit card funding: Can fund using a credit card (Can fund a total of $5,100. $3,000 for this account and $2,100 into the savings account that is also required).
Monthly fees: $3.75, not avoidable
Early account termination fee: Unknown
Household limit: None listed
Expiration date: None listed

Contents

1 The Offer
2 The Fine Print
3 Avoiding Fees
- 3.1 Monthly Fees
- 3.2 Early Account Termination Fee
4 Our Verdict

The Offer

Direct link to offer

California Coast Credit Union is offering a $150 bonus when you open a new Extra Value checking account. Bonus is broken down as follows:
- Use promo code RESET and earn $100 when you open account and do the following within 60 days
  - with Identity Theft Protection
  - Enroll in eStatements
  - maintain at least $50 in checking account
  - set up at least one of the following: a) direct deposit; b) Online or Mobile Banking; c) Online Bill Pay
- Use your debit card 10 times each month for the first three months and earn $50
- Refer a friend or family member and earn $50 for each new member

The Fine Print

This promotion is available for a limited time and may be changed or discontinued at any time without notice.
Use promo code: “Reset” at account opening.
Offers cannot be combined. Cal Coast Credit Union employees are not eligible.
New members must be at least 13 years old to qualify.
Members ages 13-15 must have a parent or legal guardian as a joint owner on the account. Must meet membership and account eligibility requirements.
A one-time $5 membership fee may apply
All incentive bonus payments will be paid to the savings account within 120 days after qualifications are met.
All incentive bonuses are considered interest, subject to tax, and will be reported on IRS Form 1099-INT.
To receive the $100 new member incentive bonus: you must within 60 days of opening your membership complete the following: 1) open an Extra Value Checking account; 2) enroll in eStatements; 3) maintain at least $50 in checking account; 4) set up at least one of the following: a) direct deposit; b) Online or Mobile Banking; c) Online Bill Pay.
To receive the $50 debit card bonus: Use your Cal Coast Debit Mastercard 10 times per month for the first 3 months (or 30 times within 90 days of account opening).
To receive the $50 referral bonus: Eligible members can earn a $50 bonus through the Cal Coast Member Referral program. To qualify for the $50 referral bonus, the referring member must be an existing, active Cal Coast Credit Union member in good standing. The referred member must be a new member to Cal Coast Credit Union, open a separate membership account which includes payment of a one-time $5 membership fee, and meet the membership and account eligibility requirements. Bonus limits: a) $50 max referral bonus per referred member, b) $500 max total referral
Additional Member Referral Program Terms: Referring members must be 18 years old to participate in the Coast into Cash referral program.
Referred members who are 13 to 15 years old require a parent or guardian to be a joint owner on the account. Referrals are subject to verification.
All related individuals may no longer qualify for this promotion and may not receive all or a portion of the bonus if, in Cal Coast Credit Union’s sole discretion, they are linked to an unqualified referral or misuse of the program. Learn more at calcoastcu.org/refer.
All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them

Avoiding Fees

Monthly Fees

Identity theft protection costs $3.75 per month but is waived for the first two months. I don’t think Extra Value checking has any monthly fees apart from the identity theft protection?

Early Account Termination Fee

I wasn’t able to find a fee schedule so I’m unsure if there is any early account termination fee or not.

Our Verdict

Cal Coast has frequent high yield CDs that you can open. You can find and share referrals links in this linked post, please do not share them in the comments below. Strange to advertise this as a $200 bonus when $50 is from referring somebody and you can refer up to 10 people. We will add this to our list of the best bank account bonuses.

Hat tip to reader Woody

Useful posts regarding bank bonuses: