[CA only]Provident Credit Union $200 Checking Bonus + 2.01% APY

Update: Bonus is now $200. In my opinion still not worth it due to the hard pull.

Warning: This credit union is sensitive to ChexSystems inquiries, you’ll likely be denied if you have too many.

Offer at a glance

Maximum bonus amount: $150
Availability: CA only
Direct deposit required: Yes, $500
Additional requirements: See below
Hard/soft pull: ~~Soft [Possibly hard now according to this comment]~~ Hard pull for membership
Credit card funding: Up to $1,000
Monthly fees: None, but there is a $10 joining fee (waived online)
Early account termination fee: None
Expiration date: None listed

Contents

1 The Offer
2 The Fine Print
3 Avoiding Fees
- 3.1 Membership Enrollment $10
- 3.2 Early Account Termination Fee $0
4 Our Verdict

The Offer

Direct link to offer

Receive a sign up bonus of $200 when you open a new provident credit union checking account the following three things for two consecutive months, starting the month following your account opening:
- Deposit $10,000 and maintain that for 90 days
- Make purchases of $300 or more using a Provident debit and/or credit card
- Have direct deposits or automatic credits of at least $500
- Enroll in online banking and e-Documents with valid email address
Account also offers a 2.01% APY for balances $0.01-$25,000 when you meet the requirements above each month

The Fine Print

You must be a new member, 18 or older and reside in California.
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 New Account Bonus per household/business.
To be eligible, you must open one of the following checking accounts: Super Reward Checking, Provident Checking, or Simply Free Checking; all other checking accounts are not eligible for the bonus. New Account Bonus offer may expire anytime.
The minimum balance for the Membership Savings account is $5.00. 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 New Account Bonus and your account(s) will be closed.
In order to qualify for your New Account 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: (1) making purchases of $300 or more using a debit and/or credit card** per month, AND (2) performing monthly direct deposits or automatic credits of at least $500 into your checking account, AND (3) enrolling in Provident’s online banking service and e-Documents with valid email address.
If your account remains inactive after 90 days from account opening you are no longer eligible for the New Account Bonus.
Your account is in good standing if you: (1) demonstrate responsible account management—such as making regular deposits to bring your account to a positive end of day balance at least once every 30 days (including the payment of all credit union fees and charges); (2) avoid excessive overdrafts suggesting the use of Courtesy Pay as a continuing line of credit; (3) there are no legal orders, levies or liens against your account.
New Account Bonus: We generally pay the New Account Bonus by crediting your Provident Credit Union Checking account. If Provident funded your 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 New Account Bonus to the IRS and any applicable taxes are the responsibility of the member.
Only one Provident credit card can have its purchases count towards your qualifications each month (whichever one that is selected on the account on the last business day of the month). Automatic or electronic payments using your checking account and routing number are not considered purchases.
By providing your payee with your debit or credit card number, your posted automatic payments will be counted as eligible purchases.
Some bill payments will meet the monthly requirement for an ACH debit or credit transaction. Debit card cash-back amounts, cash advances on credit cards, and checks do not count towards qualifications.

Avoiding 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.

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 $0

None of the provident checking accounts come with an early account termination fee

Our Verdict

This bonus used to only require one month of meeting the requirements and only 10 debit card transactions, rather than the $300 minimum spending. Kind of sucks how you have to complete all three requirements as well. Because they are ChexSystems inquiry sensitive as well we haven’t added this to our list of the best bank account bonuses.

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