[Expired] [CA only] Credit Union of Southern California $150 Checking Bonus

Update 4/7/25: Bonus now $250. Got the credit unions mixed up, this is still $150.

Update 2/11/25: Valid until 04/30/25

Update 9/7/24: Deal is back and is now $150. Requires 24 debit card transactions. Hat tip to reader Davis

Offer at a glance

  • Maximum bonus amount: $150
  • Availability: CA. Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, or San Bernardino Counties
  • Direct deposit required: Yes, $750+
  • Additional requirements: None
  • Hard/soft pull: Unknown
  • ChexSystems: Yes, sensitive
  • Credit card funding: Unknown
  • Monthly fees: $5
  • Early account termination fee: Unknown
  • Household limit: None
  • Expiration date: June 30, 2024

The Offer

Direct link to offer

  • Credit Union of Southern California is offering a checking bonus of $150 when you complete the following requirements:
    • Requires enrollment in Digital Banking within 120 days of account opening.
    • Must establish a recurring Direct Deposit with a minimum of $400 per month for three months

The Fine Print

  • Offer valid May 1 through June 30, 2024, and is subject to change without notice. Valid only with new Members.
  • New Members are defined as a person 18 and older who has never been an owner of an account at CU SoCal.
  • All new accounts will be verified by ChexSystems® and are subject to approval and Membership eligibility.
  • To qualify for the $100 cash bonus, the new Member must open a Rewards Checking Account and receive a minimum monthly direct deposit of $750 within 60 days from establishing Membership.
  • Cash bonus will be credited to Members’ CU SoCal deposit account within 90 days from the date the new Member established their Membership. Cash bonus may be subject to tax reporting.
  • All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them

Avoiding Fees

Monthly Fees

Rewards checking account has a $5 monthly fee, doesn’t seem to be avoidable.

Early Account Termination Fee

I wasn’t able to find a fee schedule so unsure if there is any EATF or not.

Our Verdict

Not really worth it as it’s a small bonus and there is also a monthly fee to consider.

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    William Charles
  • On April 7, 2025, 22:40
Tags: ca bank bonusesdirect deposit required

View Comments (37)

  • Man I am totally souring on credit unions. Chex sensitivity AND hard credit pulls?!?!? GTFOH.

  • For those in two-player mode, the (theoretical) optimal sequence would be to have P1 do the $500 offer, https://www.cusocal.org/500Rewards/, and then refer P2. The referral offer described on the referral page is $25 for the referrer (P1), and $25 +$475 for the referee (P2). https://www.cusocal.org/about-us/membership/care-to-share/

    However, when one actually generates a referral email, that email states that the referee only gets $50 ( "$25 Open a Rewards or Classic Checking Account ($100 min. deposit).$25 Set up and receive at least $750 in direct deposits within 90 days."). So double check with the CU.

    Note that the $500 offer and the $25 +$475 (if it actually exists) are separate offers, so you have to explain clearly what you want if applying in branch.

    Cross-referral is not possible (or at least highly risky) because the terms require the referrer to be a current member.

  • New bonus @2

    https://www.cusocal.org/500Rewards/

    1) Open a Rewards checking account with a minimum deposit of $100 between June 16 and August 16.
    2) Receive a monthly direct deposit of at least $750
    3) Complete these steps within 90 days of opening your account to qualify for the $500 bonus.
    Once all the requirements are met, your bonus will be deposited within 60 days!

    When I called, they said they do pull chex and a hard pull from Experian.

    • Opened account without any problems though involved a couple of steps to complete.

      Started by applying online on 6/24, then they requested that my ID be uploaded and then a photo to compare with the ID (Driver's license in my case) from cellphone. Later in the day, received a secure message from them that I needed to unfreeze Experian and did so last night.

      Today received confirmation that my application was approved after sending back the Docusign they sent me.

      Received notice from OnAlert of the Chex pull but never received any notice from Experian of a hard pull (and no inquiry shows in Experian) so believe it is actually a soft pull on Experian.

      No mention of the $500 bonus in any of the paperwork they send upon approval but there was a place to enter a promo code during the application, but none that is required that I could find (I just put in $500 Bonus in the promo code field).

  • The link to the offer is for California Credit Union, not Credit Union of Southern California.

  • 11/16: Applied online in San Diego county (OOS) intending to use religious worship as reason (we do visit LA fam often which sometimes includes church)
    11/18: Received this message on app: "In reviewing your application, it appears you do not live, work, or attend school within our field of Membership (Orange, Riverside, Los Angeles, San Bernardino counties). For this reason, we are unable to establish your Membership. If this is incorrect, please let us know how you qualify for Membership in a reply to this email."
    11/18 (40 mins later): Replied explaining worship in LA.
    Never received a response (despite auto-reply they will reply soon).

    Not sure they actually abide by their policy (listed on website) that attending religious services in area is a method for membership. Religious services wasn't listed in their denial message and they never replied to me. Not sure how someone who did legit attend religious services in service area (but not live, work, or attend school) would be accepted.

    No Chex pull at least.

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