Update 6/29/23: $350 bonus no longer offered
Update 3/21/23: You can now get a $350 bonus as well. Bonus broken down as follows:
- Get $200 when you:
- Open your new checking account
- Sign up for Online Banking and eStatements
- Complete 10 debit card purchases (excluding ATM transactions)
- $150 when the account has been open for one year
Update 1/7/23: Increased from 5% to 7%. There’s also a referral program whereby each party gets $100.
Offer at a glance
- Interest Rate:
5%7% APY - Minimum Balance: None
- Maximum Balance: $5,000
- Availability: ID, WA & OR. More details here
- Direct deposit required: Yes, $200+
- Additional requirements: See below
- Hard/soft pull: Soft
- ChexSystems: Unknown
- Credit card funding: Can fund with a credit card, up to $5,000
- Monthly fees: None
- Insured: NCUA
The Offer
- Gesa Credit Union is offering balances 5% APY on balances up to $5,000 when they following requirements are met:
- Enroll in eStatements
- Make a monthly direct deposit of over $200
- Complete 15 debit card transactions
- Provide and maintain a valid email address
- Limit one account per member
The Fine Print
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
This account has no monthly fees.
Our Verdict
I’m guessing we will start seeing a lot more of these high yield savings accounts.
Gesa tried to play one on me by refusing bonus.
6/2: Signed up from offer page showing $350 bonus. Not instantly approved and got a message stating someone will contact me
6/3: Offer dead
6/5: Received call+email from banker asking me to upload verification docs
6/9: Account opened finally with CC funding
7/15: Had met all requirements so reached out via message asking about sign up bonus and the associate told me offer ended 6/3 and I signed up on 6/9 so no bonus for me. Replied back with the 6/2 email snapshot showing I signed up while the offer was active
7/18: Agent filed for exception and the $200 were deposited soon after.
Opened the account online. Funded a total of $8K with Chase Ink. $5k checking, $3k savings
delete
Any DPs on what counts as DD? Fidelity did not on my May statement.
Looks like the 7% is still in play but the $350 bonus is not.
Is this dead? Could not see the $200/$350 on website.
its still there, https://www.gesa.com/promotions/limited-smartplus-checking-offer/
When I signed up the annual bonus was $100, and I can confirm that I received it recently after a year
Anyone know how to get past “Joint Application Details” if I’m not adding a joint owner? Every time I click continue, it gives me a pop-up that says I must choose the county that the member lives in, but I don’t have anyone to add to this account.
1. If you currently have any kind of checking account with GESA, or have had one in 90 days, you do not qualify for the $350 offer. This includes if you were the minor on a student account and are now not a minor: can’t open a new account and get the $350.
2. GESA only allows 1 interest bearing checking and savings account per person, so you have to pick which kind of interest bearing account you want. Can have more accounts, just regular non-interest bearing ones.
3. Second DP that US bank funding codes as a cash advance. Funding did not go through, confirmed by GESA, and I called US bank, who said the particular transaction was a cash advance and I was currently not setup for those, though, I could arrange to be, for a 5% fee and 29.99% APR on top of that. What a deal (not).
4. Referral program is over.