Update 11/6/23: New link looks nationwide?
Update 6/22/22: New link for those in Los Angeles County, CA, Orange County, CA, or Ventura County, CA.
Update 4/16/21: There is now a link for LA County, Ventura County and Orange County. Hat tip to reader TJ
Update 4/9/19: Bonus is no longer nationwide, you now must reside in Collin County, TX
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $150
- Availability:
Previous deal has been nationwideyou now must reside in Collin County, TX - Direct deposit required: Yes, $500+
- Additional requirements: 50 debit card transactions of $5 or more for full bonus
- Hard/soft pull: Soft pull
- ChexSystems: Yes, mixed data points on being sensitive
- Credit card funding: Can fund up to $100 with a Visa, Mastercard or Discover card
- Monthly fees: None
- Early account termination fee: Unknown
- Household limit: None listed
- Expiration date:
March 31st, 2019December 31st, 2020December 31st, 2021
Contents
The Offer
- Unify Financial Credit Union is offering a bonus of up to $150 when you open a new checking account, bonus broken down as follows:
- $50 deposited after first statement cycle
- $50 after establishing a recurring ACH direct deposit of at least $500 aggregate each month (must be done within 60 days of account opening)
- $1 per debit card transaction of $5 or more within the first 60 days ($50 maximum)
The Fine Print
- Members cannot have had a UNIFY Free Checking or eChecking Account within the last three (3) years.
- Offer expires March 31, 2019, and is subject to change without notice.
- Eligible new account holders who qualify for and open a new checking account (excluding Right Start Checking and Right Start Debit) will receive a $50 deposit into their checking account following the first statement cycle. Limit one $50 new checking bonus per member.
- Receive an additional bonus of $50 by establishing a recurring ACH Direct Deposit of at least $500 aggregate each month. New Direct Deposit must be established and posted within 60 days of account opening, and bonus will be paid after the second statement cycle following account opening.Limit one Direct Deposit bonus per member.
- Receive an additional bonus up to $50 by earning $1 bonus for each debit card transaction that exceeds $5 made with your new UNIFY Visa Debit Card within the first 60 days of account opening (maximum bonus of $50). Bonus will be credited to the checking account linked to the UNIFY Visa Debit Card after the second statement cycle following account opening. Limit one Debit Card usage bonus per member.
- Account must be in good standing to receive any bonus.
- Account holder responsible for all applicable taxes. Membership eligibility, and account qualification requirements apply. Membership requirements include establishing a membership share savings of at least $5.
- Minimum deposit of $25 required to open Free Checking, and eChecking. UNIFY employees, volunteers and family members not eligible. Not valid with any other offers and subject to change at any time.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
The free checking account has no monthly fees to worry about
$1 Paper Statements
After your second month you’ll be charged $1 for paper statements, so opt in for paperless statements when signing up.
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
Previous deal was for $100, but you also got two LA Rams tickets that could easily be resold for more than $50. That deal also didn’t require any debit card transactions. This bonus isn’t that bad, but the debit card transactions will be difficult for most people to meet – especially as it requires the transaction to be more than $5. Really up to you if you want to go for this deal or wait for a better deal to return. I’ll likely add this to our list of best bank bonuses, just with a disclaimer that they have recently offered a bigger bonus.
Hat tip to reader Jonathan F
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
5/12/25 Opened Free Checking with CC funding (Chase United Explorer $100 processed as a purchase) Also mandatory E-Savings open and $5 deposit.
5/14/25 $600+ ACH from Fid CMA
6/1/25 $50 Deposit DirectDep_50
6/1/25 $50 Deposit NewCheck_50
6/1/25 $100 Deposit New Member $100
Will open cash app acct and do 50 $6+ reloads
to get the last $50 for a $250 total. They didn’t enforce the two county AR residency requirement specific to this promo
Applied from FL. Declined because they couldn’t verify my identity (according to the email). Chex is 9/LOL so it might be that. When I called they looked into it and said I would need to go to a branch to try again. Got a Chex inquiry.
Current link to offer for $150 looks non geo fenced. I applied last week using a similar link but with a $250 offer but now looking at it closer it says only in Benton and some other county in AR to get bonus but they let anyone open. I called and low level rep couldn’t see if promo was applied or not but assured me if I used a link or entered promo code I should be good if I complete the requirements . I didn’t point out I wasn’t in county. I’m thinking it might be better to call sales/new accts dept and get correct promo attached early rather than roll the dice for an extra hundred after I finish 50 $6 cash app reloads just to be told SOL cuz I don’t live in BFE Arkansas
Any thought? Thanks
Debits coded as “WITHDRAWAL POS” will not count toward the debit card portion of the bonus. I my case, pay-at-the-pump gas purchases were coded that way.
For the referral program ($50 bonus) email me your first, last name and email to [email protected].
Thanks!
For an additional $50 bonus from the referral program, email me first, last name and email address for an invitation to be sent to you.
cheers,
[email protected]
Approved in branch with Chex at 3/1, 5/2, 5/3, 8/6, 12/12, 12/24, 13/36.
What do all of those numbers mean? Approved with Chex?
Chex refers to ChexSystems, a credit reporting agency. Those numbers are (number of inquiries)/(number of months). So in the past 30 days, I have 3 Chex inquiries from other bank account applications.
When we say a bank is Chex sensitive, which Unify Financial Credit Union is, that means the bank typically denies people with a high number of Chex inquiries. But even with my high number of Chex inquiries, they still approved me no problem when I went to a branch to apply. (:
Thanks both for your reply!
P2 DP from OOS (IL):
Used link even though it’s OOF
https://www.unifyfcu.com/get3053
10/25/24 – applied, funded $100 via CFU
10/28/24 – checking and savings opened
11/1/24 – $150 bonus posted for new member and deposit
11/4/24 – $50x Ally ACH push
Nov to Dec – 50x $5.0x cash app reloads
12/1/24 – $50 bonus posted for DD
12/28/24 – $50 bonus posted for debit transactions
What is OOS? It’s ok to apply from IL, not just from Collin County, TX? Thanks for clarifying!
OOS: out of state
Yes, had no issues getting the bonus or getting approved. Just needed to upload utility bill and ID when they asked
So are you suggesting to use that link even if you are not in SoCal?
I took the risk for P2 based on earlier DPs and it worked out for P2. It’s up to you if you wanna risk it
Second DP, got approved from Chicago IL on 1/21/25
Did you get your bonus?
Were you LOL Chex by any chance?
DP from TX
Applied with Chex 0/1, 1/2, 2/3, 4/6, 10/12 and denied immediately on submitting application. Got Chex pulled too 🙁