Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $300
- Availability: Must live, work or worship in one of the following counties: Alameda, Monterey, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Mateo all in CA or Brunswick, New Hanover & Pender county in NC
- Direct deposit required: Yes, $500+ within 90 days
- Additional requirements: None
- Hard/soft pull: Soft pull
- ChexSystems: Yes, not sensitive
- Credit card funding: Can fund up to $2,500 with a Visa or Mastercard
- Monthly fees: None
- Early account termination fee: None
- Household limit: None listed
- Expiration date: None listed
Contents
The Offer
- Excite Credit Union is offering a $300 checking bonus when you open a new checking account and complete the following requirements:
- Requires eStatements
- Perform a minimum of six debit card transactions
- Direct deposit of $500 or more within the first 90 days.
The Fine Print
- (1) To qualify for the $300 bonus program, the following criteria must be met: a) Applies to new Members (18+) or to existing Members provided that there was no open checking account in the past 180 days. (b) Requires eStatements, perform a minimum of six debit card transactions, and direct deposit of $500 or more within the first 90 days.
- (c) The $300 bonus is automatically deposited to the Member’s primary savings account on first day of the month after meeting criteria
- . (2) Requires a minimum deposit of $25.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
Go checking has no monthly fees to worry about.
Early Account Termination Fee
No early termination fee listed in the fee schedule.
Our Verdict
Much better than the previous $100 bonus, but it does require a direct deposit now so we don’t know what will work as a direct deposit yet. We will add this to our list of the best checking bonuses.
Hat tip to reader payyoutuesday
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
Opened account 8/7/22, got approval, and pending $2,500 on United Business card ($250 cash advance so likely coded as a purchase).
Talked with a rep, and she said account opening deposit will be on hold for 30 days. That’s okay, still would have been better if told upfront. Placed a request online to open an account on Sunday, the account was opened on Monday, as the current address is in Santa Clara county. The process is seamless rn, let’s see.
Hmm, anyone try applying recently? It seems the application page/site is down — after I enter my name and contact information, it tries to load the application, but just keeps spinning/loading…
Tried earlier this afternoon with Edge and Chrome, same issue. Also tried Incognito with no adblockers…
Gave them a ring, they said perhaps just high web traffic and try again in an hour. Rep did ask with New Accounts and said they do a identity pull with Experian, in case folks keep theirs locked/frozen
Applied later in the day and it went through. Got an email asking for a utility bill, which I uploaded a few hours later.
Approved this morning. Funded $2500 with a Chase card
$2,500 Citi Double Cash posted as a purchase.
Also, as a Bay Area resident, I had to provide utility bill for my home and paycheck from work to show I lived and worked in their service area.
Was the 90 days lock up period documented in T&C?
Maybe, I didn’t read all the T&C to find out. That is what the rep said to me and I can see the funds locked when I sign into the account.
This might be a miscommunication, mine was NINE business days.
Mine as well
Opened an account on 7/26 9:30pm, approved on 7/27 12:20pm, $2.5k credit card (Chase Marriot Bonvoy, cash advance limit of $1k) pending with extended hold in the account.
Opened an account over the weekend, got a call today to verify the application. I didn’t put a promo code, and in the call they verified the details needed to achieve the bonus, so the offer was on the account without a promo code usage.
Used Citi AA card for the $2500 funding, will report back on the purchase status.
Hi Bro, did it count as a purchase? I want to meet the SUB by this as well!
Sorry late reply, yes it posted as a purchase. And to clarify I used Citi AA business platinum select.
applied yesterday. got an email today asking for proof of residence (utility bill etc)
do they accept bank account / credit card statement?

colin broccoli
I offered a pay stub and they accepted. But I actually live in SF.
I used to live in San Francisco in the past.. and could still I guess send a bit of mail to my old roommate as a “work” address (self-employed).. would that work or cause me headaches later on? Just use SF address to open the account.. get the bonus.. and then change address?
They asked for utility bill in your name to verify that you live in the residence.
Signed up! I live on the boarder with North Carolina and so I put that I worked there…Technically, since I do the gig economy I have made money originating from NC, so it will be interesting if I’m approved or what info they may require.
what promo code you put in?
Any DP on CC fund counts as purchase?