[Expired] Tech CU Visa Signature Credit Card $500 Bonus

This bonus has expired, click here to view the best current credit card bonuses.

The Offer

Direct link to offer

  • Tech CU is offering a bonus of 50,000 points (worth $500) on their Visa signature card. Minimum spend requirement is $5,000 within the first 4 months

Card Details

  • Offer valid until December 15th, 2017
  • Card earns 1.25x points per $1 spent
  •  To qualify as new, account holder must not have had a Tech CU credit card in the previous 12 months
  • . Bonus Points will post approximately 60 days after qualifying merchant purchase amount has been reached.
  • Merchant credits that post prior to Bonus Point posting date may affect Bonus Point eligibility. Rewards Points at 1.25 per $1 of net merchant purchase will accrue during and after the four-month bonus accrual period.
  • Must be an existing Tech CU member or be eligible for Tech CU membership

Eligiblity

You must be an existing member or eligible for membership. Requirements for membership are as follows:

  • Anyone who lives, works, worships, or attends school in Santa Clara, San Mateo, Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Cruz or San Francisco Counties
  • Employees of TechCU@Work companies – search for your employer
  • Family members of current Tech CU members
  • Members of our many affiliated organizations including: the Financial Fitness Association, the Northern California Human Resource Association (NCHRA), or the San Jose State University Alumni Association (SJSUAA)
  • Employees and employers of public or private technology-based entities with a location in California

The easiest way to become a member is to join Financial Fitness Association first ($8 fee). Doing so will make you eligible for membership with Tech CU, but you still need to actually become a member (this also requires opening a savings account). A lot of readers will also already be members from their previous checking bonuses.

Our Verdict

Obviously a pretty good deal, $500 is basically as good as it gets when it comes to cash sign up bonuses. I’m seeing a lot more activity from smaller card issuers like this and it’s great to see. Unfortunately we don’t know much about things such as what credit bureau they pull and what their other approval criteria is. If you apply, please share your experiences in the comments below (please don’t just ask lots of questions in the comments if you’re unwilling or unable to apply, it just clogs up the comments section. People will share information when they have it).

One thing a lot of people are reporting is being denied for too much credit extended. If you’re approved, please share your total credit limits across all issuers in the comments.

Hat tip to readers Rahul A, Jason L & Kapni

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153 Comments
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Charles
Charles (@guest_532850)
December 8, 2017 22:04

Screw these guys. I applied when this came out. I was Auto approved. Then they denied me. I asked for a reconsideration 3 weeks ago. I have called in numerous times and they still haven’t given me a reconsideration answer. I already filed a cfpb complaint. I would never uses bank for any of my personal reasons. The customer service is horrid and quite frankly rude at times.

jf
jf (@guest_532914)
December 9, 2017 01:38

that stinks!!!!!!! i really was hoping to see a better turn out here…but proceed w caution! heck, 50% of your annual income in CLs seems to be to much for this bank… I am at 2-3x…..

JASON
JASON (@guest_532547)
December 8, 2017 11:03

1. They pull Experian only.
2. They allow you to provide a PIN to access frozen credit report.
3. They would ask for membership number when calling. It seems to me that being a member of this CU is required to apply for their CC. If you don’t remember your membership number, they would ask for your login ID to verify your info.

I don’t know whether it’s approved, pending or declined at this moment.

Len
Len (@guest_530481)
December 5, 2017 01:50

Turned down by phone. They said I had too much credit already (it’s about 50% of my annual salary). I joined Tech CU to get the bonus about a year ago, and left the account open with only around $300 in it.

Andrew
Andrew (@guest_530044)
December 4, 2017 14:11

One more DP: Insta-approved on 11/20, non-CA, 772 score, never received any follow up from the CU. I called today, they said there was a system ‘glitch’ – subsequently declined. Sounds like the same cause / reason as others.

Bill
Bill (@guest_526625)
November 29, 2017 11:07

Data point:

Was instantly approved for 5k on the first day and have been anxiously awaiting my phone call with a denial (I think Credit Karma shows about 150k in credit). This morning I got an email from TechCU saying the card is on the way! Hopefully means I’ve somehow squeeked by.

adam d
adam d (@guest_525951)
November 28, 2017 15:06

Using the CFPB on this isnt exactly going to have this CU shaking in their boots, given its going to be gutted in about 3 months time. Whoever voted for the orange guy and is a churner is their own worst enemy.

Ferris
Ferris (@guest_526332)
November 29, 2017 00:52

While you are correct, I think many on the left fall into the “it’s okay to be racist if it’s against the bad guys” mentality. If I re-write your last sentence into, “Whoever voted for the black guy…” it’s pretty obvious this is racist. We shouldn’t be described by things such as our skin (among others) that are not our choice. #minirantfortheday

Have a nice day!

Z
Z (@guest_531238)
December 6, 2017 05:00

I get your point, but the color of his skin IS his choice – it’s a spray tan to make him look healthy instead of the unhealthy-pallor out-of-shape old man that he is.

Superchurn
Superchurn (@guest_525435)
November 27, 2017 20:29

Called in finally. Transferred to the infamous Zack.

Zack told me that my amount of unsecured credit was too high, and they denied me.

I asked him why it was showing up as an installment loan, and he stonewalled and gave a canned response.

I informed him that submitting fraudulent credit inquiries is likely illegal under he FCRA, he insisted that “it falls under the umbrella of an unsecured installment loan”, and refused to remove the pull.

He refused to transfer me to his supervisor, refused to transfer me to anyone else, and refused to do anything to address the situation.

I informed him i’d be filing a CFPB complaint, a dispute with EX, and examining my legal options under the FCRA

Called back and spoke to a manager named Doreen, who agreed to close my account, listen to the recording of my call with Zack, and not fight my dispute of their inquiry on my Ex.

I almost never Call The Bank, but this was such an awful experience I made an exception…seriously, fuck this CU

Lisa
Lisa (@guest_525576)
November 28, 2017 00:11

Do i send a letter to techcu to demand they remove the inquiry? Then contact Experian? Not sure how the dispute inquiry process works.

Superchurn
Superchurn (@guest_526799)
November 29, 2017 15:03

I’m not sure. Never disputed a pull yet. i’ll update when I figure out how its done

Erik
Erik (@guest_526817)
November 29, 2017 15:23

You cannot dispute a pull with any credit bureau. Only directly with the bank. Write a letter to Tech CU.

If they refuse, you can always threaten with [small claims] court (It is against the FCRA, § 604. Permissible purposes of consumer reports [15 U.S.C. § 1681b] for an entity to view a consumer’s credit report without a “permissible purpose.” )

Superchurny
Superchurny (@guest_526962)
November 29, 2017 18:38

Confirmed with EX today. Cannot dispute the pull. They were going to complain to TechCU about telling me to call EX, but that’s all they would do.

Seems like I’m left with an uncooperative bank and an unable credit bureau.

I agree, it seems the only option is to threaten to sue them in small claims court to get it off. Thanks for the information!

papercauldron
papercauldron (@guest_532451)
December 8, 2017 04:49

I had a accidental pull from US Bank last year with TU. The process was to get a letter from the bank authorizing the pull to be removed and that it was in error. It was signed by the branch manager and supervisor. Then had to write my own letter and fax both into TU. Pull was removed a few weeks later.

Maybe EX has a similar process, but TU was fairly helpful in telling me the procedure.

COBOLCODERUSEALLCAPS
COBOLCODERUSEALLCAPS (@guest_981320)
May 16, 2020 17:49

I’m curious – did you bring them to small claims and win?

Dan
Dan (@guest_525400)
November 27, 2017 19:38

This bank is the worst of the worst.

Erik
Erik (@guest_525172)
November 27, 2017 14:01

Reading some posts here and wonder:
1. What is MLB cards?
2. What do you guys mean by “57/24” (for example)

Ferris
Ferris (@guest_525181)
November 27, 2017 14:12

Bank of America issues MLB sponsored Credit Cards. People used to apply for 4 or more at once and get auto approvals.This is no longer possible.

57 refers to the amount of credit cards opened in the last 24 months. Example: I have opened 13 CCs in the past 24 months, I am 13/24. Or if I have opened 4 in the last 12 months, I am 4/12

Shanno
Shanno (@guest_524256)
November 26, 2017 03:11

I have a few thousand under 100k in unsecured credit…any DP on 100k or less?

Ferris
Ferris (@guest_524695)
November 26, 2017 22:37

It’s likely a percentage calculation. I would guess somewhere around 50% of your income. As someone who works in the industry, this sort of calculation is always used with installment loans, but not necessarily Credit Cards. For example, if you Annual income is 60K and you have 30K lines of credit, you’d be at 50%. My best guess would be if you are over that area, it’s an instant denial.