Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount:
- Availability:Â TX, MN, KS
- Direct deposit required:Â Yes, $2,500+ for the full bonus
- Additional requirements: None
- Hard/soft pull:Â Unknown
- ChexSystems: Unknown
- Credit card funding:Â Unknown
- Monthly fees:Â None
- Early account termination fee:Â None
- Household limit:Â None
- Expiration date:Â None listed
Contents
The Offer
- Unity One Credit Union is offering a $200 checking bonus, bonus is broken down as follows:
- $100 if you have a recurring direct deposit of $1,000 or more per month
- $200 if you have a recurring direct deposit of $2,500 or more per month
The Fine Print
- Bonus offer valid for new Best Free Checking accounts only.
- No other checking accounts qualify for bonus.
- Member must not have a current or prior checking account with Unity One Credit Union.
- One bonus offer per social security number or ITIN number.
- Allow up to 90 days from account opening to receive cash back deposit.
- Earn cash back for the following actions within 45 days of account opening: Receive $100 when you open a new Best Free Checking account, subject to approval, and have a recurring direct deposit of $1,000 or more per month.
- Cash back increases to $200 if direct deposit reaches $2,500 or more per month.
- Your direct deposits need to be an electronic deposit of your paycheck, pension or government benefits (such as Social Security) from your employer or the government.
- Micro-deposits, Person-to-Person (such as Zelle®) and bank transfers between your Unity One accounts or accounts you have at other financial institutions or brokerages are not considered a direct deposit.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
This account has no monthly fees to worry about.
Early Account Termination Fee
I wasn’t able to find an EATF in the fee schedule
Our Verdict
If anybody decides to do this bonus, please share if it’s a hard or soft pull to open in the comments below. It should be worth doing if it’s a soft pull.
Hat tip to Bockrr
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
Opened 8/5/23; hoped for bonus 11/5/23; Asked via internal msg on 12/19 about credit, posted same day.
No hard pull for opening this account.
I reached out to live chat and I was told it is a hard pull when opening up a checking account. Pass!
I live, work, worship, or attend school in one of the following Minnesota (MN) communites
ARDEN_HILLS
CENTERVILLE
HEIGHTS
HUGO
INVER_GROVE
LAKE_ELMO
LITTLE_CANADA
MALTOMEDI
MAPLEWOOD
MENDOTA_HEIGHTS
NEW_BRIGHTON
NORTH_ST_PAUL
OKADAYLE
ROSEVILLE
SOUTH_ST_PAUL
ST_PAUL
VADNAIS_HEIGHTS
WEST_ST_PAUL
WHITE_BEAR_LAKE
WOODBURY
As a lifelong MN resident, don’t think you’ll ever find HEIGHTS, MALTOMEDI OR OKADAYLE. Ufda.
Denied a week later. Chexsystems sensitive. I’m 3/1, 6/6, and 8/12. They did give other reasons like short time at address which unless they looking for people with 10 plus year at their home, doubtful. Also, it is not all regions of TX.
Your Unity One Credit Union Application Has Been Declined
Dear Lefty,
We regret we cannot open your acount and/or add your name as an owner/signer on an account. We also obtained your Chexsystems score and used it in making our credit decision. Your Chexsystems score is a number that reflects the information available in your Chexsystems report related to past debit performance. Your score may change depending on how the information in your Chexsystems report changes.
Your Chexsystems score: 0745. Scores range from a low of 100 to a high of 899.
We were unable to verify your identity or other personal information at this time. Please visit a Branch to complete your application.
Regards.
I’m 1/1, 4/2, LOL/3,6,9,12,24,36,48,60
At least you passed the identity tests. Just got nabbed the the old Chex
ThirdMan Actually, I just read the email again and it did say it was because of identity but I know I answered the test questions correctly on the application because the application was submitted and it wasn’t an instant denial. I’m guessing they’re just Chex sensitive. I’m going to try P2 and will advise what happens. Similar stats but 0/1.
Lefty Word. Seems hard to identify who we really are.
If you near a branch you should go in and try your luck there.
Lefty How did it go for P2?
payyoutuesday Just applied today for P2 so will let you know when I have an update.
payyoutuesday P2 got declined. I guess a couple less inquiries in the past month doesn’t matter with this institution. Time for a cool down period for both of us.
Lefty Thanks for the report. Looks like I would meet the same fate then.
My Chex score is 682. I’m tempted to apply online, but there’s also a branch in the metro area. I just hate the hassle of opening an account in-branch.
I did the live chat – you have to live within 10 miles of a branch.
I applied online last night (I live within 10 miles of a branch). Received a decline email this morning due to having too many chex inquiries (lol/12—I don’t keep up with it). They do allow $500 cc funding if the account gets approved.
I attempted to sign up online yesterday with all credit bureaus frozen. I live in their county footprint in Texas so I was hoping it would be smooth. I got all the way through the process and even got a pending charge to the credit card I attempted to use for funding, but shortly after that I was asked to answer identity verification questions and none of them were relevant to me resulting in a denial. Thankfully, there is a branch nearby me so I will go in branch to try and open.
Update: Went in to a branch today. They attempted to verify my identity again using questions. This time they were actually questions related to me, but I still got denied for failed ID. The banker left for a little bit, came back, and told me I was rejected due to Chex. Moral of the story is don’t waste your time.
Matt How many Chex inquiries do you have over 1, 3, 6, and 12 months?
DP:
Attempted to sign up this morning. Unfroze all three, went through process, when it asked what state I lived/worked/worshiped in, I entered KS, but only 3 counties were listed on the next drop down. I ignored it, went through the rest of the process. It did allow up to $500 of CC (Visa, Discover, Amex) funding, added my CIC, declined overdraft protection. Everything looked great till screen after the funding, stated I was declined. Follow up email stated unable to verify identity.
No hard inquiry, but that might be more for the identity issue. Will call later this morning.
Have to go in branch to verify identity. Going to have to let this one go, no plans to drive 350 miles for maybe $200 return.
ThirdMan I’ve seen a lot of cases where “unable to verify identity” is really about Chex inquiries, including one DP in this thread. How many Chex inquiries do you have over 1, 3, 6, and 12 months?
Plan to set it up in the morning. Will let you know about the pull
I’m also very curious with this one!
Froze all credit bureaus and they declined for “not being able to verify identity”. Still not sure if it would be a hard pull or just a soft one.
Did you live/work in one of the counties in the second drop down on the ap?