Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount:
- Availability:Â CA. Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, or San Bernardino Counties
- Direct deposit required:Â Yes, $750+
- Additional requirements:Â None
- Hard/soft pull:Â Unknown
- ChexSystems: Yes, sensitive
- Credit card funding:Â Unknown
- Monthly fees:Â $5
- Early account termination fee:Â Unknown
- Household limit:Â None
- Expiration date:Â August 16, 2025
Contents
The Offer
- Credit Union of Southern California is offering a $500 checking bonus
- Open your account with just $100
- Receive a monthly $750 direct deposit within the first 90 days
The Fine Print
- Offer valid June 16-August 16, 2025, and are available to new and existing Members. All accounts will be verified by ChexSystems® and are subject to approval and Membership eligibility.
- Offers and rates are subject to change without notice.
- Cash bonus is not available to Members who currently have a checking account and who closed a checking account within the last 365 days.
- Must be 18 years or older.
- All new accounts are subject to verification by ChexSystems® and are subject to approval and eligibility requirements.
- To qualify for the $500 cash bonus, the Member must: open a Rewards Checking account with a least $100 and establish a monthly direct deposit of $750 or more within 90 days of opening the account.
- The $500 cash bonus will be deposited into the Member’s account within 60 days after all promotional requirements are met.
- Bonus is subject to reporting.
- Offer subject to change without notice and cannot be combined with other offers.
- 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
Previously this was only $150, but now $500. This is now $500 and worth doing, will be adding to our list of the best bank account bonuses.
Hat tip to reader Lynn
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
Denied for too many Chex inquiries.
What were your stats?
In-branch opening DP: P2 successfully opened in branch, but got the stink eye from the banker about her (pretty modest) Chex numbers: 0/1, 1/2, 1/3, 2/6, 5/12, 6/15, 9/24. Banker went over every single Chex hit for the last 15 months, and wanted to know why P2 had opened each account and whether it was still open. Then the banker went into the back, presumably for permission from the manager to open the account. Not sure whether this was a bank policy issue or whether it was just this specific banker, but they do seem quite sensitive even in branch.
They told me I need to unfreeze Experian for them to process my application. Not sure why they need to look at my Experian.
Good news it is only a soft pull on Experian. As to why this and any other credit union that does it (which is usually a hard pull in most instances), might be to see if you’re a candidate for one of their loans or credit cards in the future.
Ever since I opened the account, I was getting emails from them daily (sometimes two or three) telling me of their special deals on credit cards and loan products. I finally unsubscribed from them and they’ve stopped for the most part so that might be why the soft pull.
I think sometimes they use Experian for identity verification.
Also true.
How long does it take for the opening deposit to show up?
For the savings account the $10 showed up two days later but the $100 for the checking account never showed up (both were from the same bank). I inquired by chat after 5 days of it not showing up and after some back and forth she said it was never processed. I ended up transferring the $100 from my other bank myself though they offered to do it for me (didn’t quite trust them at that point).
If your deposits don’t show after a couple days, I’d contact them
Jen
Here’s more info for those wanting to know what works for direct deposits. I tested using Chase Biz (the one with the $2.50 fee), Treasury Direct and from my Service credit union account. As you can see, both the Chase and TD deposits posted as ACH ECC PPD and as a Category: Paycheck/Salary while the Service deposit shows as ACH ECC WEB and as a Category: Transfer
Don’t know if all three would still count as a direct deposit with this credit union but I’ll be playing it safe and use either Chase Biz or Treasury Direct, especially since the bonus might not post for 60 days, if only one deposit is required, or over 90 days if the deposit must be done multiple times over the 90 days.
TYPE: Payroll ID: 32 CO: “MY NAME” ACH ECC PPD
Category: Paycheck/Salary
APA TREAS 310 TYPE: MISC PAY ID: 51 CO: APA TREAS 310 ACH ECC PPD
Category: Paychecks/Salary
TYPE: TRANSFER ID: 52 CO: SERVICECU NAME: “My Name” ACH ECC WEB
Category: Transfer
Thanks
Shirley , good information to know.
I used my US Bank Biz and just confirmed via online chat that I had completed the required tasks to earn the bonus, which is: $100 opening fund + $750+ DD. Since the bonus will arrive in 60 days, I am going to keep doing the $750 DD to avoid the monthly fee.
Good to hear though you do know that to avoid the $5 fee, you have to meet three of the five choices that they list, not just the direct deposit. Maybe you do already?
You are right. Thanks. Guess I just have to pay it – No way to meet 3/5 requirements.
My plan is to hopefully get the bonus within 60 days and then close the account before too many $5 fees are taken out.
I chatted also and was told I met the requirements with the Treasury Direct deposit.
Thanks for the tip
maomaoUS on checking with chat to confirm meeting the requirements.
I chatted and she confirmed that my Chase Biz direct deposit worked though she did question if the deposit was made as a transfer from my another checking account. I said no, it was a payroll payment and she then said it works for the bonus. She also said that I’d have to meet three of the five items to avoid the monthly fee, not just a direct deposit.
Seems to be another indication that they won’t accept just a transfer from another checking account as Shirley was told but guess that is still to be determined by others.
Also seems to confirm that only one $750 direct deposit is needed, not multiples
RM and 
Shirley
From my understanding, these things are usually programmed to be handled automatically. Unless their system shows the rep if the conditions have been satisfied, I would take what they say with a grain of salt. It seems they were relying on what you told them about the deposit.
True, but the point was that she asked so that would seem to indicate that they are aware of the difference in the types of deposits and what works or not. Had I said it was a transfer, she might have said it wouldn’t work, that’s for someone else to find out.
Might not mean anything and the system might see transfers the same as it sees legitimate deposits, but along with how Shirley shows the three types of deposits, just another reason to not take a chance with a transfer.
YMMV
Guess there would be time for someone to try different banks to see if something else works, especially if they pay out the bonus in under 60 days.
I applied, got a message today saying that my Experian is blocked and they need to review the credit history…
When did you apply? I still haven’t heard anything.
Do they report to EWS?
I threw an application in. $1010 max on credit card. We shall see if they approve of my Chex.
Hi TJ,
Can you confirm your $1010 credit card funding was accepted for your new acct opening and that it has posted? TIA
Did your credit card code as a purchase or cash advance, do you know?
For what it’s worth, a phone CSR I spoke to today said that only one $750 DD was required, directly contradicting the CSR
Shirley spoke to. https://www.doctorofcredit.com/ca-only-credit-union-of-southern-california-500-checking-bonus/#comment-2092821
Update on my referral terms post: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/ca-only-credit-union-of-southern-california-500-checking-bonus/#comment-2092815
Phone CSR claimed that referral offer is $50 for the referrer and $500 for the referee. https://www.cusocal.org/about-us/membership/care-to-share/ I also think that this is the most plausible reading of the terms, although the language is self-contradictory — so take it for what it’s worth.