Deal has expired, view the best current checking bonuses by clicking here.
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $400
- Availability: CA only
- Direct deposit required: Yes, $500+
- Additional requirements: See below
- Hard/soft pull: Hard pull for membership
- ChexSystems: Unknown. ChexSystems sensitive
- Credit card funding: Up to $1,000
- Monthly fees: None, but there is a $10 joining fee (waived online)
- Early account termination fee: None
- Household limit: One
- Expiration date: March 12th, 2019
Contents
The Offer
- Provident Credit Union is offering a bonus of up to $400, when you open new accounts using promo code 300. Bonus is broken down as follows:
- $200 when you open a checking account and complete the following requirements for two consecutive months following account opening:
- Make purchases of $300 or more using a Provident debit or credit card per month
- Have monthly direct deposits of at least $500
- Enroll in online banking and eStatements
- $200 when you open a money market account
- Deposit $15,000 within 10 days of account opening
- Maintain balance for two consecutive months
- $200 when you open a checking account and complete the following requirements for two consecutive months following account opening:
The Fine Print
- These are the requirements to qualify for the $200 Checking Bonus: (i) Make purchases of $300 or more using a Provident debit and/or credit card** per month; AND (ii) Have monthly direct deposits or automatic credits of at least $500; AND (iii) Enroll in online banking and e-Documents with valid email address.
- pen one of the following checking accounts: Super Reward Checking, Provident Checking, or Simply Free Checking. You must fund your checking account within the first 60 days of account opening with a minimum deposit of $25. If you fail to fund your checking account within the first 60 days you are no longer eligible for the $200 Checking Bonus and your account(s) will be closed. You are not eligible if you are a current owner or signer on a Provident Credit Union personal or business account or if you have been an owner or signer on a Provident Credit Union personal or business account within the last six months. One $200 Checking Bonus per household/business. $200 Checking Bonus offer may expire anytime.
- In order to qualify for your $200 Checking Bonus, your account must be active and in good standing for two consecutive months following the month that your account is opened. All qualifying purchases and transactions referred to as “per month” or “monthly” only count towards the requirement of the month in which they POST, which will be on a business day (Monday – Friday) and may take one or more business days from the purchase/transaction date.
- Your account is deemed active by meeting the monthly requirements described above. If your account remains inactive after 90 days from account opening you are no longer eligible for the $200 Checking Bonus.
- We generally pay the $200 Checking Bonus by crediting your Provident Credit Union checking account. If Provident funded your Membership Savings account at account opening, you will receive the difference between your initial $5.00 Savings Account Bonus and the stated bonus within 120 days of account opening. We may report the value of the $200 Checking Bonus to the IRS and any applicable taxes are the responsibility of the member.
- Open a money market account and deposit at least $15,000 in new money within 10 business days, and maintain an average daily balance of $15,000 for two consecutive months following the month that your account is opened. After meeting these requirements, we generally pay the $200 Money Market Bonus by crediting your Provident Credit Union money market account. You will receive the stated bonus within 120 days of account opening. We may report the value of the $200 Money Market Bonus to the IRS and any applicable taxes are the responsibility of the member.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
Your best option is to open the Super Reward Checking account which has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and also earns the 2.01% APY when requirements are met. Money market has no monthly fees
Membership Enrollment $10
If you enroll with provident then you must pay a $10 membership enrollment fee. Although apparently it’s possible to get this waived if you apply online.
Early Account Termination Fee
None of the provident checking accounts come with an early account termination fee
Our Verdict
The $200 checking bonus is usually offer, the extra $200 money market bonus is new as far as I know. For most people this won’t be worth it due to the hard pull for account opening and the fact they are ChexSystems sensitive. Because of that I won’t be adding it to our list of the best checking bonuses.
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
