Evansville Teachers Federal Credit Union: Vertical Dividend 3% APY Account On Balances Up To $15,000
Offer at a glance
- Interest Rate: 3% APY
- Minimum Balance: None
- Maximum Balance: $15,000
- Availability: Nationwide with $5 donation
- Direct deposit required: Yes, no minimum specified
- Additional requirements: See below
- Hard/soft pull: Soft pull
- ChexSystems: Yes, inquiry sensitive
- Credit card funding: Up to $1,100. Visa or Mastercard only
- Monthly fees: None
- Insured: NCUA
The Offer
- Evansville Teachers Federal Credit Union (ETFCU) offer the Vertical Dividend Checking account, this account earns an APY of 3% on balances up to $15,000 when you complete the following requirements each month:
- 15 debit card purchases
- 1 direct deposit
- 1+ online or mobile banking login
- Receive eStatements
- You also get free ATM withdrawals worldwide (up to $15 per month)
Avoiding Fees
This account has no monthly fees
Eligibility
According to the sign up page, anybody can join by making a $5 donation to the Mater Dei Friends & Alumni Association
Our Verdict
One of the better nationwide high interest accounts, it’s nice that it’s a soft pull and you can fund a small amount with a credit card. The high maximum balance is also nice. As always, please share your experiences in the comments below.
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137 Responses to Evansville Teachers Federal Credit Union: Vertical Dividend 3% APY Account On Balances Up To $15,000
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15 debit card purchases
1 direct deposit
1+ online or mobile banking login
Receive eStatements
Perform a one-handed backflip
Swim across the Atlantic
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😉
+1
These are basically the same requirements as other 3%apy accounts. I’ll definitely be signing up for this one also. It only take me about 20m a month to meet all the reqs for all accounts.
Does the name Vertical Dividend mean something…or is it just the name? This is just a straight forward 3% APY right? Not some weird investment (…Vertical Dividend…) account right?
Just straight 3%
I got excited about the CC funding and it seemed like you could fund up to $15,000, but it’s really only $1,100. The error came after the CC line said limit of $15,000, but the total line only allows $1,100.
Do you know what options are available for credit cards? Amex too? Post as purchase or cash advance?
Was it a hard pull? If it’s chexsystems enquiry, are they sensitive? Would you mind sharing the update? Thanks.
Visa or Mastercard funding only. Appears to be processed as a purchase on my Citi DoubleCash
+1 for processing as purchase on Citi Double Cash
How much cash do you want to keep at 3% anyway? We already have LMCU and CCU and Insight…
CCU is a hard pull (EQ). ETFCU is unknown. If it’s a soft pull then it’s a no brainer over CCU. This is of course assuming you’re only interested in the 3.09% tier.
Throw in the potential for CC funding and this turns into a nice opportunity to meet minimum spend requirements.
Also, while I don’t have CCU, I’ve read several data points that suggest they’re watching over your activity.
I do have LMCU and they’ve been great. Can’t recall a single negative data point about them. Insight has been good as well.
Once you’ve plugged away $20k between the two and if you’re still looking to park liquid funds at a high APY now what? My rule of thumb is 6+ months of living expenses available. Having a house and two kids, well, you get the drift that LMCU and Insight won’t cut it.
ETFCU would be a good place to stash funds if your other options are already capitalized on (LMCU, Insight, possibly Mango).
I’ll be keeping an eye on this because I’m definitely interested.
What do you mean about CCU? I never had any issues with them… what do you mean “they are watching you”?
Same. My only transactions have ever been 50c reloads, and they had no problem upgrading my visa to a 3% one once sallie Mae card died
Hello.
I have Ccu and I have a 1% card with them. Can you tell me more about this upgrade to the 3% card. Where is it on the website and how to get it.
Thanks
Paul
What I mean is you may be under more scrutiny than that of lets say LMCU. There’s two data points of account closure in this DoC thread: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/consumers-credit-union-5-07-apy-on-up-to-20000-rewards-checking/
Granted, we won’t know why they closed accounts and it’s only two data points here. I’ve read about CCU elsewhere as well but don’t recall specifically. In short, I get the impression you may not want to pile all 12 debit transactions through in one day and maybe use it more for what it was intended for, i.e. no .50 Amazon reloads.
With that said, CCU is obviously working for people so I’m not trying to insinuate it’s a bad idea to use them for their 3.09% account.
Thanks for the info, I wasn’t aware of this. However, because these 3%apy accounts keep popping up I am going to continue shamelessly using them for the 3.09%. So far my only transactions have been 50c and $1 ach. I’ll report in that thread if I get shut down. Been using it for a year so far
Will, I think you created an extra CC Funding Entry for Evansville by mistake. I think its the same Evansville CU because the comment mentions the 3% account.
Good catch, Don! Fixed this.
Sweet, another $37/month in free money. Wonder if they’re Chex sensitive and if we can fund via CC.
Up to $1,100 with CC
Sweet. Now just need confirmation of soft pull and if anyone with lots of new accounts.
They are Chex-sensitive. They denied me back in November for having too many Chex inquiries. I subsequently ordered a Chex report and found I had 12 Chex inquiries in the past 12 months (not including the CU’s inquiry) and 30+ over 3 years.
No hard pull on EQ/EX/TU, but that could have been because I was denied for Chex. (That is, it’s possible Chex is just the first step in their screening process and no hard pull was made because I failed that step; I don’t know and don’t have any data points in that regard.)
They don’t seems Chex sensitive to me. I was just approved and I already opened seven bank accounts in the past three months.
Funded $1,100 on a Citi AA Plat after lowering cash advance limit to $750. I’ll update when it posts as purchase.
Was it a soft pull?
I don’t know how to tell, sorry. I don’t use any of those credit monitoring services.
That’s good to know. My denial was unambiguously for too many Chex inquiries, so either they’ve relaxed their approval criteria recently or perhaps my application triggered some other red flag and “too many inquiries” was just a convenient reason to deny it.
Or you simply may be just over the threshold and I right below it. Anybody interested should give it a try I think
One of the perks seems to be free ATMs worldwide. This could be huge if they’d refund any fees charged by the ATM and don’t charge a conversion fee like Schwab has.
Free ATMs worldwide up to $15 reimbursement/month, just in case you didn’t see the limit.
Thanks. Last time we flew ATW we didn’t even incur $15 in fees and we were pulling money out every few days. Nice backup in case my Schwab ATM card gets eaten by an ATM machine which has happened to us.
That would be good, however, careful with that – do you really want to chance using a card linked to 15k at a random ATM abroad? I use my Fido account for ATM withdrawals and don’t keep more than 500-1000 in there. Same for my backup ATM card – no more than 1k in the account.
Good point. I’d have to move funds out before our trip.
I didn’t think Schwab charged a conversion fee on purchases or ATM withdrawals internationally.
Sorry, it’s a bit confusing what I wrote. Schwab does not charge any fees at all. No conversion fees, no ATM fees. And they will refund any ATM fees levied by ATM’s bank.
what do you mean schwab charges a conversion fee?
They don’t charge any fees, and they will reimburse if another bank charges a fee.
cc funding coded as ca?
Arrival Plus was coded as purchase
Can anybody confirm soft pull? Thanks 🙂
+1 on this request!
Any household limit?
Don’t see any
One account per SS number.
is there a list anywhere of bank accounts that can be funded with american express credit cards?
IME, there are basically none. I’ve opened tons of these and have never seen CC funding allowed with AMEX. But I’d love to know if there were any out there, as well.
There are very few. Memorybank and BMO Harris come to mind.
The reason being, Amex makes much of their money on merchant fees, meaning they have higher fees than Mastercard and Visa. Same reason why a lot of stores don’t take Amex.
This lets you sort by that: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/bank-account-quick-reference-table/
Does ach qualify as DD
Any DP whether it’s hard pull or just Chex?
Did anyone get their account opened without having to send in tons of documentation?
did u open already? do u have to?
I have not applied yet, that’s why I was asking. Wondering if they require this for everyone.
Does anyone know what could be qualified for a direct deposit? Can a bank deposit from other bank be categorized as direct deposit?
I’m also curious whether small Venmo payments will be sufficient for meeting the purchase transaction requirement. Did anyone try?
Doubt anybody knows yet, people will comment as they try new things.
I tried Venmo, my Vertical Checking Debit Card was declined. Don’t know why.
The amazon reload works.
Yes it is a SP to open a checking account… I have had one opened for about the last year when I found out they were a TU puller for credit products.. For those that were asking.
Thanks, CC.
Am I reading the chart correctly? No info on what counts as a direct deposit?
Correct, we just posted about this offer and haven’t posted about it before. It takes time for datapoints to come in, be the datapoint you want to see.
Is this definitive that it’s a soft pull? Couldn’t really decipher CC’s comment above which seems to be the only DP. I wish I could apply and provide a DP myself but I recently opened the Sapphire Reserve and can’t afford another hard pull.
Soft pull join and open a savings or checking account.. Any other product being credit related is based off TU 04 scores. I have no clue about direct deposit. Hopefully this clears up my above comment. Back when I joined it was kinda a PITA though as I only the application was electronic I had to send in DL and I believe a copy of SS card if I recall correctly by fax although this might of changed since the year I have joined and this was just for membership.
If you’ve had the account open for a year how can you have no clue about DD? Do you mean that you just use a “real” DD like from an employer?
@ERIC
Just a portion of my paycheck was going in Evansville for awhile as a DD. I only joined for their credit products at that time. I was simply trying to answer whether it was a SP to open a checking/savings account with them which I stated it was and not a HP to do so.
DP: the initial credit card funding with arrival+ counted as direct deposit. ETFCU also has a great tracker on the login to track your progress in meeting the 3% requirement.
That’s odd, looks like any deposit will count then.
Well, my application is Under Review. We’ll see what happens in a few days. I did have many accounts opened in the last 12 months, so we’ll see what they say.
any instant approvals?
Mine was instantly approved.
how many inquiries on your chex? thanks
Watching this one. I’m going to guess that they limit this to their field of membership and place geographic restrictions on membership even if you’ve made a $5 donation to something.
Any update? I applied on Sunday, still under review
Called before applying and confirmed it’s a soft pull. So, that’s a definite YES on the soft pull. Applied online, funded with my Chase Sapphire Preferred (Cash Advance Limit is 100$). Application is still pending. Will update the thread as I get updates.
Update and DP: Application was approved a day after my application. I funded the account with my CSP for 1100$, which was pending for a while and posted today as purchase/sale
Applied last Saturday – still under review. Have uploaded DL for verification purposes. Will update here once I get a decision. This is my 3rd bank in the last one year ( the other two banks were opened in Nov,16 and Feb,17 ) – so ChexSystems wise pretty good.
Soo… I applied with $1,100 in CC funding. That went pending, then was changed to $1,095 + $5 pending. Now I see the $5 posted, the $1,095 posted, but immediately after there was a $1,095 credit. Right now it looks like my account is going to be rejected but they were kind enough to still charge me $5 for the right to join the credit union :-/
Their application status still says under review despite me receiving an email saying it was approved days ago.
My account application was declined because of the number of accounts I had opened in the last 12 months. They look at your Chex Systems Report very closely and if they see multiple inquiries, they will be fast to decline your application.
Please report how many accounts you’ve opened in the past 12 months.
I opened a total of 16 checking accounts in the last 12 months. So to this credit union, I am a shark chasing after bonuses. They don’t want to deal with people like me, because they want customers to hold their checking accounts with them for 10 years.
Thanks. My wife was at 8 or so and Keybank declined her. I’m way over that so I won’t even bother here.
Exactly, Ken. Don’t even bother with this smaller Credit Union.
Looks like my application got denied as well, the temporary charge on my credit card is gone today. Received no email etc yet.
confirmed declined by checking application status.
How many new bank accounts in the past 12 months?
10+ I guess, can’t recall.
Thanks. Probably a good idea to start tracking those. I use a spreadsheet with all info like I do for credit cards.
My account is actually still open it appears, but the CC funding was refunded and hasn’t re-appeared. It initially coded as a purchase but then they gave it back. I can’t tell if a human or automated system did this.
I haven’t received a debit card so I can’t actually create an online account yet.
Was anybody able to successfully do a CC fund?
I still haven’t received any mail from them, but I’m getting emails as if I were a customer. Still no change in the CC funding rejection. I do want the 3% so I hope it does complete soon
I just got an account statement saying my account statement with the start and end period the same day. So, it seems my account was closed, CC funding reversed, but they charged me $5 to join 🙁
I checked the application status and they opened my account. I have a charge of $1000 on my credit card as an opening deposit.
The probably accepted my application because I’ve only opened up 2 checking accounts in the past year.
How long did the process take and did you contact then in the meantime or your approval was without any further contact?
I applied Saturday and talked to a rep on tuesday. They told me they would get back to me if i was approved. Now, they actually didnt get back to me but i checked the application status today and it said opened.
Still waiting for a response – I have opened 2 new bank accounts in the last one year – so am a bit hopeful of approval but the status still states Under Review.
any update on ur status Sam?
I tried opening up an account and got declined.
• I went all the way up to the credit card funding page and then after i pressed submit..I got declined. I did see some verbiage for a moment that said something like “couldn’t verify my identity”.
• I used my Ritz for $1k in funding that was reversed immediately & fully.
• The status page shows “declined”.
• The only checking/saving account, I’ve opened in the last year was TD Bank.
• I ordered a Chex System Free Facta report to see if something is wrong there.
I’ll report back if they contact me regarding this. I doubt it.
Any updates on the reason of your denial ?
Nothing yet. They didn’t call me. Haven’t received my chexx report yet.
just a quick question… any response is appreciated
i plan to open the wellsfargo and chase bonus within the next week. since they aren’t chex sensitive, i decided to do this ETFCU first. i have just applied and application is pending.
now my question: during their review, is it like cc applications where they already retrieved the report and will be reviewing based on the chex report obtained today?
or will they run a check on chex during review? how does banking work as opposed to cc credit report?
i want to know whether to wait for their review before i trigger the wellsfargo and chase opening…
please help! thanks 🙂
I don’t have DP on when exactly they pull the chex systems report but best would be to wait for your account to be approved before you jump into WF/Chase. You can check your application status online.
thanx Sam. checked this morning and shows “account opened”
SIgh. My app says still processing. No contact from these morons. Applied on 3/18
I’m in the same boat as you are. Not sure why some folks got approved so quickly ( do they have a local branch ? ) and some of us are still pending and some others got rejected ( too many recent ChexSystem entries ).
Update – Finally got call back – they claimed they called and left message on 3/18 (but never did – liars). Got final approval email 4/5 after several calls to them.
Did $1100 in CC funding with Arrival Plus.
Post as a purchase?
Yes. CC funding as purchase with Arrival+
How long did it take for the initial deposit to process after approval ?
I’ve been told I will get a decision by this Sat – still waiting. The initial deposit was pending with Chase and now has dropped out – your DP would be helpful once I get approved.
Finally after almost a month, got my account opened. Funded $1000 via CSR and it coded as Purchase ( had CA set as $20 ) – now waiting for the debit card so that I can start the 15 transactions every month.
here’s a DP
open account but Discover ACH did not count as DD….
now what? what do I do now? 🙁
help! what counts as DD?
Any dp we have can be found here: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/knowledge-base/list-methods-banks-count-direct-deposits/#Evansville_Teachers_Federal_Credit_Union
thanks Chuck
“No data points” lol
:), my name is Will (Chuck is another author on the site). If it says no datapoints there that just means we don’t have any datapoints currently. You can always be the datapoint you’d like to see 😉
lol, like your post as always Will.
Please see my comment below. My Capital One 360 trial deposits to limk this account as external account were considered DD
I applied couple of weeks ago and application was auto declined. Called them today and again submitted the application online.
Was able to successfully submit and wasn’t auto-declined. Its now in manual review. Fingers crossed.
Forgot to mention, initial funding of $1000 through CSP with cash advance set as 20.
Keep us updated if it goes through with purchase
My CSP coded as purchase for 1100$ with cash advance limit set to 100$. I believe I have mentioned this earliwr as well
Also, I had linked this Vertical Checking account as external account to my Capital One 360 MM, and the small deposits auto initiated to verify the account counted as Direct Deposit for my Vertical checking. I’ve issued another transfer to see if that is considered DD as well
Thanks, added
Approved instantly but haven’t opened any checking accounts in the past couple years of not more. Didn’t have hard pull. Used Barclay A+ to fund $1K (purchase code; 2K points earned). If self-employed or employer doesn’t offer DD feature, DD is waived. For transactions will try to use Amazon Gift card load (never used before).
My app a month ago was declined but up to date I still haven’t received a letter or email. That’s just wrong.
Any DP on what counts DD? I saw initial CC funding counts but others?
According to “CitizenAudit.org” Mater Dei Friends & Alumni Association is a 501(c)(03) Educational Organization so donations to this organization upon account opening are tax deductible
I was irritated that they shut my account down and refunded my CC funding but still charged me $5 to join the credit union. So I opened a new account using the same membership. We’ll see if it sticks this time. I am hoping they noticed a huge influx of new accounts when this was posted and cancelled them, and now that the rush is over it may go through okay…
Initially funded $1100 with Chase IHG card, coded as purchase.
Is it no longer able to see how many transactions counted as purchase?
The home page is changed. Nowhere to show whether the account is qualified for 3%.
Not showing for me either. A few days ago there was some error message on the main page where that tracker used to show up. Now, not even a blank space where it was. I’m hoping there’s an issue with it working and they’ll get it fixed. It was a sweet way to see what counted as DD. I’m a little leery of asking them about it and having eyes on my 10+ soda fountain debit charges.
Showing again!
*AND* showing that my minor push from Ally met the DD requirement. 🙂
+1 DP.
ACH Push from Discover Savings counted as DD even though it coded as P2P at ETFCU. Hah!
Thx Doc!
What is everyone doing to meet the 15 debit card purchases? Does Amazon $0.5 loads work? Or only actual debit card purchases at a store/retailer are considered as debit card purchases?
amazon reload did not work for me.
I applied 6-16-17. Status is still Under Review as of 7-17-17.
Opened 8 check accounts in past 12 months.
amazon reload and regular gift card both show as point of sale withdrawal, not debit card purchase. any tips on meeting the 15/mo req?