Update 2/24/25: Bonus now $620.
Extended till 1/31/25. Doesn’t require opening in branch this time.
Extended till 12/31/24
Update 11/3/24: New $500 bonus, valid until 11/30/24. Hat tip to HW
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 openingÂ
- Monthly fees: None
- Early account termination fee: Account must be kept open for three months
- Expiration date:
December 31st, 2015December 31st, 2017Â December 31st, 2019
The Offer
- Receive a sign up bonus of $100 when you open a personal checking account with Stanford Federal Credit Union and do the following:
- NEW500
- Establish a monthly recurring direct deposit of at least $2,500 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.
Here is the breakdown of $620 –
500 for direct deposit, 5 for check deposit, 10 for sending zelle, 40 for 5 debit/credit purchases, 30 for 1000 in saving/new certificate, 10 for setting digital alert, and 25 for enrolling.
Referral code – F5O3F2I. Thanks for helping 🙂
My referral code is F7J9E9G. You don’t need to enter a promo code since the $620 is earned by activating rewards after account opening. Thanks!
Referral code F1J9T7O
No promo code needed to get the $620
Thanks for helping!
I completed my 3 months direct deposit requirement through employer paycheck near the end of June. After June 30th the tracker is gone. Anyone else in the same situation waiting for the bonus payout?
Yes, once it “expires” it goes away. Did you notice how even though you activated it, the tracker really didn’t do anything anyway? I thought that was weird, didn’t really see the utility of it. The bonus will still work.
Bonus posted today nicely done
I can’t believe how many commenters are allowed to just post up their personal referral code in here. That’s really spammy/schemy. Doesn’t the new applicant need to know the full first and last name of the member anyway?
My referral code is F6N4G7L. You don’t need to enter a promo code since the $620 is earned by activating rewards after account opening. Let me know if you need help with signing up!
My referral code is F6F7H7A. Put it in the referral code in the application and leave the promo code blank. Thanks if you end up using it!
How to Apply:
Easy online application process!! Sign up for offer after 2-3 days.
My referral code is F6N4G7L. You don’t need to enter a promo code since the $620 is earned by activating rewards after account opening.
Here’s my referral code: F8W2Q4P. Thanks in advance if you end up using it 🙂 !!
I applied and was denied on June 7th, the cc I used for funding the $500 is still pending on my cc and hasn’t fallen off. Anybody else have this happen?