[CA only] Stanford Federal Credit Union $250/$500 Checking Bonus

Update 11/11/23: new $250/$500 bonus. Requires a $2,500/$5,000 monthly direct deposit.

Update 5/24/23: Looks like there is another $250 bonus for adding a direct deposit for existing users.

Update 6/26/22: Deal is back, there has been a $200/$200 bonus in the past. Hat tip to alopez14

Offer at a glance

• Maximum bonus amount: $100
• Availability: Must open account in branch, all branches are located in Palo Alto or Stanford. Branch locator here
• Direct deposit required: $500+
• Additional requirements: None
• Hard/soft pull: Soft pull
• Credit card funding: Unknown, but unlikely given it requires in branch opening 
• Monthly fees: None
• Early account termination fee: Account must be kept open for three months
• Expiration date: December 31st, 2015 December 31st, 2017 December 31st, 2019

The Offer

Direct link to offer

• Receive a sign up bonus of $100 when you open a personal checking account with Stanford Federal Credit Union and do the following:
  • NEW100
  • Establish a monthly recurring direct deposit of at least $500 to your new checking account

Coupon code is generic: segck100su. You can generate your own official coupon by going to the Special Offers tab and entering your name/email.

The Fine Print

• Valid through 12/31/18.
• First direct deposit must be received within 60 days of account opening
• $5 minimum required to open account
• Offer does not apply to second or multiple checking accounts and/or existing checking members and is limited to one bonus per household
• Bonus $100 will be credited to your account within 30 days after satisfaction of conditions
• All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them

Avoiding Fees

There is no early account termination fee, but you must keep the account open for a minimum of three months according to the fine print. Their basic checking account has no monthly fees or monthly minimums.

Joining

While the Stanford Federal Credit Union is usually for employer groups in the Stanford area, anybody can actually join. If you join the Friends of the Palo Alto Library (FOPAL) or Museum of American Heritage (MOAH), then you’re eligible. When you set up your account in branch, they will even pay the membership fees for you.

Our Verdict

This is a decent promotion (given how easy it is to keep fees down), but unfortunately we don’t know if it’s a hard or soft pull and what counts as a direct deposit. The upside is that an in branch application is required, so you should be able to easily ask whether it’s a hard or soft pull. Because of these unknowns we haven’t added it to our best bank bonus page.

We have added it to our massive listing of all bank bonuses, which is easily sortable and searchable.