Deal has expired, view more bank account bonuses by clicking here.
Update 7/7/19: Deal has been extended until july 31st, 2019
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount:Â $200
- Availability:Â MD only
- Direct deposit required: Yes, $500+ must be re-occurring
- Additional requirements:Â None
- Hard/soft pull: Soft pull
- ChexSystems: Unknown
- Credit card funding: Up to $200
- Monthly fees:Â Varies
- Early account termination fee:Â Unknown
- Household limit:Â None listed
- Expiration date:Â
January 31st, 2019 April 30th, 2019July 31st, 2019
Contents
The Offer
- SECU is offering existing checking customers $200 when they complete the following requirements:
- Set up a re-occurring monthly direct deposit of $500 before 10/31/19
- SECU is offering new checking customers $200 when they open a new account by April 30th and complete the following requirements
- Set up a re-occurring monthly direct deposit of $500 within 90 days of account opening
The Fine Print
- We will credit one cash bonus of $200 per member to one SECU checking account, if the account receives qualifying full check direct deposits (minimum $500 per month) within 90 days of account opening.
- In addition, account must have 15 or more debit card transactions per month.
- For existing members, new qualifying full check direct deposits must be received by 10/31/19. Qualifying direct deposits must be into a personal checking account and include recurring electronic deposits of payroll, pension or Social Security.
- Person to person, bank transfers or other electronic money transfers, such as those made through internet payment services, do not qualify.
- The bonus will be credited to the account within 90 days of the account receiving the required qualifying direct deposits, as long as the account is still open at the time we seek to credit the bonus, and all of the eligibility requirements are satisfied.
- Account must also be in good standing.
- Current employees of SECU and Shared Service Solutions are eligible for this bonus offer.
- The bonus is reportable for tax purposes. Members with existing direct deposit do not qualify.
- New Checking Accounts opened or full check direct deposit established for existing checking accounts after 7/31/19 do not qualify.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
This will vary based on what account you have
Early Account Termination Fee
I wasn’t able to find a fee schedule so I’m unsure if there is any early account termination fee or not.
Our Verdict
We’ve talked about the SECU Visa Signature card before, don’t think we’ve ever mentioned the checking account. Always nice to see promotions targeted towards existing users, it’s also nice that it’s available to new users this time around as well. Because of that and how relatively easy the bonus is we will add this to our list of the best bank bonuses.
Big thanks to reader, furiouschads who let us know. Learn how to find bonuses and contribute to the site here.
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
Important Note:
This is a shady bank … They keep changing the terms and conditions on this offer. I signed up for my account on 3/26/2019. Since then, the requirements have changed. Even though I have satisfied all the requirements that were initially posted on their website on 3/26/2019, they wouldn’t give me the bonus because those requirements aren’t the same as those currently posted (as of 5/17/2019).
Here are the terms and conditions on 3/26/2019 (I have a screenshot to prove it):
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Promotion will run from 3/4/19 to 4/30/19. SECU will credit one cash bonus of $200 to the new SECU checking account, if the account receives qualifying full check direct deposits within 90 days of account opening. For existing members, new qualifying full check direct deposits received by 7/31/19. Qualifying direct deposits include recurring electronic deposits of payroll, pension or Social Security. Person to person, bank transfers or other electronic money transfers, such as those made through internet payment services, do not qualify. The bonus will be credited to the account within 90 days of the account receiving the required qualifying direct deposits, as long as the account is still open at the time we seek to credit the bonus, and all of the eligibility requirements are satisfied. Account must also be in good standing. Current employees of SECU and Shared Service Solutions are eligible for this bonus offer. The bonus is reportable for tax purposes. Members with existing direct deposit do not qualify. Member must be in good standing at the time bonus is paid. Account must be open at time bonus is paid. Federally insured by NCUA.
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And here are the terms and conditions on 5/17/2019:
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*We will credit one cash bonus of $200 per member to one SECU checking account, if the account receives qualifying full check direct deposits (minimum $500 per month) within 90 days of account opening. In addition, account must have 15 or more debit card transactions per month. For existing members, new qualifying full check direct deposits must be received by 8/31/19. Qualifying direct deposits include recurring electronic deposits of payroll, pension or Social Security. Person to person, bank transfers or other electronic money transfers, such as those made through internet payment services, do not qualify. The bonus will be credited to the account within 90 days of the account receiving the required qualifying direct deposits, as long as the account is still open at the time we seek to credit the bonus, and all of the eligibility requirements are satisfied. Account must also be in good standing. Current employees of SECU and Shared Service Solutions are eligible for this bonus offer. The bonus is reportable for tax purposes. Members with existing direct deposit do not qualify. New Checking Accounts opened or full check direct deposit established for existing checking accounts after 5/31/19 do not qualify. Federally insured by NCUA.
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My bonus hasn’t posted per the original November offer and I contacted SECU via secure message – they claimed I had to be targeted. I pushed back and said it was both publicly posted on the website and nothing in the terms stated about being targeted. If they continue to deny I will file a complaint with CFPB.
They asked for a copy of the e-mail I got about the promotion. Even right now it is the first thing you see from their home page! Clearly they got more interest in the promotion than they bargained for, but trying to retroactively change their terms and claim it is unacceptable.
Closing the loop on this – they eventually posted my bonus close to two months late after the “product manager” approved it for my account and after multiple follow ups from me.
This is a warning for existing members. I secured message to get clarification on the terms and conditions. Although I do not have employer DD to my accounts, the rep told me I am not eligible since I have already received a DD in the past. It is not clear what exactly counts as a DD as well. Therefore, I’d be weary of trying to get the bonus if you’re a current member.
They tried this with me. When I pointed out that the terms and conditions say “existing”, not “no DDs in your history”, they folded. It took a while. The first level people on phones and SM are not familiar with this program. I completed my DDs in January and got my bonus during the week of March 10.
Thanks for the DP. So did you only do 2 DDs to meet he requirements?
Any previous data points for this? curious to know how many months of recurring DDs were needed.
Anyone know if they accept out of state residents (VA) in branch?
Curious about this myself. Allow some alumni group, so wonder if that is a route to qualifying
Deal is back and now open to new members. Same link with updated terms copied below. Yet the bonus from the original deal hasn’t posted so I contacted them via secure message. It made legitimate deposits from payroll.
*Promotion will run from 3/4/19 to 4/30/19. SECU will credit one cash bonus of $200 to the new SECU checking account, if the account receives qualifying full check direct deposits within 90 days of account opening. For existing members, new qualifying full check direct deposits received by 7/31/19. Qualifying direct deposits include recurring electronic deposits of payroll, pension or Social Security. Person to person, bank transfers or other electronic money transfers, such as those made through internet payment services, do not qualify. The bonus will be credited to the account within 90 days of the account receiving the required qualifying direct deposits, as long as the account is still open at the time we seek to credit the bonus, and all of the eligibility requirements are satisfied. Account must also be in good standing. Current employees of SECU and Shared Service Solutions are eligible for this bonus offer. The bonus is reportable for tax purposes. Members with existing direct deposit do not qualify. Member must be in good standing at the time bonus is paid. Account must be open at time bonus is paid. Federally insured by NCUA.
This “full check” qualification has me wondering… Is there any way SECU can tell that I’m only sending part of my paycheck to them? I’ve never suspected this was possible. Can’t send whole thing because I’m also working on US Bank and WF deals that require DD.
The term is just odd…
What counts as a direct deposit?
#NotMySECU