Fairwinds Credit Union $175 Referral Bonus For New User ($75 For Referrer)

Update 5/19/25: Deal is valid until 12/31/25.

Offer at a glance

• Maximum bonus amount: $175
• Availability: Nationwide
• Direct deposit required: Yes, $1,000+
• Additional requirements: Be referred
• Hard/soft pull: Soft pull
• ChexSystems: Yes
• Credit card funding: Up to $500 via credit card
• Monthly fees: None
• Early account termination fee: None
• Household limit: None listed
• Expiration date:06/01/2024

The Offer

Direct link to offer (be sure to sign up with a referral link, you can find and leave links on this dedicated page)

• Fairwinds Credit Union is offering a $175 referral bonus to the person being referred when they open a Preferred or Signature checking account with $25+ & do a qualifying Direct Deposit of $1,000+ within 60 calendar days of opening. Person referring gets a $75 bonus.

The Fine Print

• Offer available from January 29, 2024, through June 1, 2024. In order for both the referred individual and the referring FAIRWINDS member to each qualify for and receive the referral reward, the following conditions must be met: The referred individual may not have previously been an owner on or a party to a FAIRWINDS account; the referred individual must open a new FAIRWINDS consumer Preferred or Signature Checking Account with a minimum deposit of $25.00 at new account opening; during the eligible program period, the referred individual must open the new account using the referring FAIRWINDS member’s unique referral link; and the referred individual must receive in the new Preferred or Signature Checking Account a cumulative qualifying direct deposit(s) of $1,000.00 or more (excluding the new account deposit used to fund/open the account) within 60 calendar days of opening. A “qualifying direct deposit” is an Automated Clearing House (ACH) deposit of a paycheck, pension, or government benefit (including Social Security) from the government or your employer. Person-to-person transfers (such as Zelle, PayPal or Venmo) and bank transfers between a FAIRWINDS account or an account at other financial institutions or brokerages do not qualify. The referring FAIRWINDS member must be in good standing with the credit union and must be an owner of a FAIRWINDS consumer Spending or Checking account in order to be eligible for a referral reward. FAIRWINDS Credit Union employees are not eligible to receive any referral program rewards.

Avoiding Fees

Monthly Fees

Easiest account to keep fee free is preferred checking account. This has a $10 monthly fee:

• Waived with either $1,000 in total monthly direct deposits, or
• with $10,000 or greater average monthly deposit balance*,
• or by maintaining an investment** account balance of $10,000 or greater.

Early Account Termination Fee

I wasn’t able to find any mention of an early account termination fee in the fee schedule.

Our Verdict

Not as good as the previous $200 deal, but not sure that will ever return. Obviously an even better if you can refer a few friends/family members as well. Do not share your referrals in the comments, you can share them in this linked post instead. We will add this to our list of the best checking bonuses.

Hat tip to reader Gadget

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