Update 7/15/23: Deal is back and valid until September 7, 2023.
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $500
- Availability: Rutherford County Residents
- Direct deposit required: No
- Additional requirements: See below
- Hard/soft pull: Soft pull
- ChexSystems: Yes, not sensitive
- Credit card funding: Up to $530
- Monthly fees: $5, avoidable
- Early account termination fee: None
- Household limit: None mentioned
- Expiration date: 10/4/2022
Contents
The Offer
- Redstone Federal Credit Union is offering a $500 checking bonus when you complete the following requirements:
- Use code RC500 to open your first checking account
- Log in to online banking
- Use your debit card 5 times
The Fine Print
- Promotion available 7/6/2022 – 10/4/2022.
- RFCU® member must be in good standing as defined by RFCU Bylaws to qualify.
- The participant must not have had an RFCU checking account within the past 24 months, and notify RFCU of the promotion code at account opening.
- Membership and opening a share savings account with a $5 minimum balance are required.
- A $25 minimum deposit required to open checking account.
- Monthly maintenance fees may apply to checking accounts.
- Monthly maintenance fees waived for account holders 24 year and younger.
- Business accounts are not eligible.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
Easiest account to keep fee free seems to be the easy checking account, this has a $5 monthly fee that is waived with a direct deposit or with an average daily balance of $100+.
Early Account Termination Fee
I wasn’t able to find any mention of an early account termination fee in their fee schedule.
Our Verdict
The fine print terms don’t actually state you need to be a Rutherford resident, but the general offer instructions do. Will add this to our list of the best bank account bonuses.
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
Did anyone get this bonus OOS?
My bonus date is Dec 29
Hey Jeff, just checking in to see if you got the bonus? Thanks!
I had to escalate the issue (not good) and heard back today that it was denied. Here is the response:
Thank you for your membership with RFCU. After submitting your ‘Promotion Research Request’ I was provided you do not meet the requirements for the promotion payout. You must reside in participating county for promotion payout.
Darn. It was worth a shot. Thanks for the update.
There is a monthly fee. Just got hit with $3 fee. Chatted and rep said monthly DD or 4 debit swipes a month.
William Charles
We have a monthly fee listed
True, but it is incorrect
Fine print says its only for Rutherford county residents!
That’s definitely odd, the bonus terms I got didn’t mention this restriction, but the new bonus page does mention the Rutherford restriction now. Perhaps I overlooked that Fine Print, argh. Looks like they updated the promocode to be “RUT500” instead of “RC500” as well to correlate with this restriction… I’ll update on the off-chance they give me the bonus (being an resident OOS account holder with them).
which code did you apply?
For people applying OSS, isn’t this concerning?
“Participant must be a resident of the following states/counties to be eligible for the Promotion; address verification may be required.
• Tennessee: Rutherford”
Just took a look at the updated fine print and there’s now a 5 year waiting period, not 2 years.
I applied on 7/17 OOS. Joined the Financial Fitness Association ($8) and then applied. They asked for my DL the next day, uploaded it, and just signed the paperwork to open the account. All very easy, but…..I forgot (or didn’t notice) the line to enter the bonus code of RC500. I emailed them to ask to have it attached, have not heard back yet. UPDATE: Just chatted with them and they were able to add the promotional code.
And Citi Double Cash went thru as a purchase
Were you able to get the $500 being OOS?
Just finished the 10 debit card transactions. And holy crap, just looked back at the details and it says it will post within 150 days. 150 days! Damn.
did you receive bonus?
Bonus is posted in 150 days, so December for me.
were you approved oss??
YES
Please update us, Jeff, if you receive the $500 bonus from Redstone.
I will not know until at least Dec 29
“Any resident of Rutherford County, TN that hasn’t had a Redstone personal checking account in the past 5 years is eligible for this offer. See the terms and conditions for complete details.”
I live in Tn but not in Rutherford County. As BW mentioned on their post from 2022, I thought it would be worth checking to see if I would be eligible if I joined a partner group of theirs like the Financial Assocation in San Fran for 8 a year. I just chatted with a rep from Redstone and was told no, must live in Rutherford County.
“No, you must live in Rutherford Co. to qualify for that promotion.”
The requirements appear to be a little different than before. First, the code listed is RUT500. Second, you need to use your Redstone debit or credit card 10 times (within 60 days of account opening). The “access online banking” requirement remains the same.