Teachers Federal Credit Union Has New Member Bonuses Up To $400

Now through July 31, 2022, Teachers Federal Credit Union (TFCU) is offering cash bonuses up to $400 for new members who open a new TFCU checking account. According to the promotion page, the offers consists of two bonuses:

$300 Direct Deposit Offer

1. Open a new Teachers checking account.

2. Have direct deposits totaling at least $2,500 within 60 days.

AND/OR

$100 Direct Deposit Offer

1. Open a new Teachers checking account with a debit card.

2. Spend $500 in debit card purchases within 60 days.

As stated in the fine print of the promotion page,

A new Smart Checking or Share Draft Checking account must be opened to be eligible.

Eligibility for these offers will also require enrollment in Online Banking and eStatements.

All cash bonuses will be deposited to the primary member’s Regular Savings account within 30 days after all conditions are met but no sooner than the start of the third monthly statement cycle.

Direct deposits and debit card transactions must post and clear in the new checking account during the monthly statement cycles defined in this promotion.

The checking account must be open and in good standing with a balance greater than $0.00 in order to be eligible for the cash bonus.

These offers are limited to one per primary member.

For accounts opened online, you must use offer code OFFER400 to be eligible.

There are two checking accounts in TFCU’s product line and both qualify for the new member bonuses.

Smart Checking

TFCU’s Smart Checking account is a rewards checking account (RCA) that currently earns 1.00% APY on qualifying balances up to $15k. Qualifying balances above $15k and non-qualifying balances both earn 0.01% APY.

What distinguishes the Smart Checking account from most RCAs is you only need to fulfill one requirement to qualify for the 1.00% APY.

Choose one of three easy ways to qualify:

1. Average monthly balance of $5,000 in your Smart Checking account

2. $20,000 in combined end-of-month deposit balances

3. Establish direct deposit(s) of $500 or more and complete 10 debit card purchases each month

The Smart Checking account has no minimum balance requirement, no monthly service fee, and no minimum opening deposit. Nationwide ATM fees will be reimbursed up to $15 per month, if qualification requirements are met. There is a limit of one Smart Checking account per member.

Share Draft Checking

The Share Draft Checking account earns 0.05% APY if a minimum daily balance of $2.5k is maintained. There is no monthly service fee associated with the Share Draft Checking account, but paper statements cost $3 each. Unlimited check writing is available with no per check fee.

Availability

Headquartered in Hauppauge, New York, Teachers Federal Credit Union’s field of membership (FOM) was originally exclusive to Long Island teachers. The FOM was expanded to include Long Island’s Nassau County and portions of Suffolk County several years ago. When Melrose Credit Union and LOMTO Credit Union were acquired in 2018, an “open” charter was acquired, making virtually all U.S. citizens/resident aliens eligible for membership.

Joining TFCU and/or applying for a new member bonus can be done online (using promo code OFFER400), or in person at any of 32 New York branches located in Amityville, Bay Shore, Briarwood, Center Moriches, Central Islip, Commack, East Meadow, East Northport, Farmingville, Hauppauge, Holbrook, Huntington, Kings Park, Manorville, Massapequa, Merrick, New York, Nesconset, North Babylon, Oakdale, Patchogue, Port Jefferson Station, Riverhead, Rocky Point, Selden, Shirley, Smithtown, South Setauket, Stony Brook, Upton, Wading River, and Woodside. Appointments at any of TFCU’s branch locations can be scheduled online.

The number of branch locations that have limited services due to COVID has been reduced to one – the Smithtown branch – but according to TFCU’s COVID Updates & Resources page,

The health and safety of our people and our community has always been, and will continue to be, our first priority. In accordance with New York State mandates, facemasks are required regardless of vaccination status.

Although a TFCU membership can be established with $1 minimum deposit in a Share Savings account, there is a monthly $10 inactive account fee if the Share Savings account balance falls below $100 and there has been no account activity during the previous two years.

TFCU participates in the CO-OP Shared Branch network and the Allpoint ATM network.

Credit Union Overview

Teachers Federal Credit Union has an overall health grade of "A" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 2.29% (excellent) based on December 31, 2021 data. In the past year, TFCU has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $394.29 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 5.32%. Please refer to our financial overview of Teachers Federal Credit Union (NCUA Charter # 8116) for more details.

Founded in 1952, Teachers Federal Credit Union is currently the 28^th largest credit union in the country, with nearly 380,000 members and assets in excess of $8.8 billion. According to an October 2021 CU Times article, TFCU appointed Suresh Renganathan as Chief Technology Officer to lead a digital transformation just before the COVID-19 pandemic began.

CU Times: What steps have you taken so far to transform Teachers’ digital strategy? Of those steps that have been taken, which has brought the biggest challenge? What was the challenge and how did you overcome it?

Renganathan: At Teachers, we believe in transforming while performing so that we can continue to focus on delivering on our commitments to employees, members and the community at large. I began the digital transformation by forming a solid cross-functional digital governance team, and establishing both enterprise digital priorities and key success metrics. Transformation led us toward more agile processes and created internal changes that differed from the traditional waterfall method. To achieve success during the transition, we used a combination of training and effective communication, relied on our strong leadership, implemented technologies based on analytics and formed external partnerships. We invested in solutions including Member 360, Marketing Cloud and low-code digital onboarding platforms to enable us to be the best place to bank for our members.

Bottom Line

Earning the $100 bonus requires very little effort: simply spend $500 in debit card purchases. There are no CDs or liquid accounts currently available that can return $100 in approximately three months. An online savings account earning the current top rate of 1.25% APY would require about $8k on deposit for a year to earn $100.

While the $300 + $100 bonus does required a direct deposit, it’s still a competitive offer. An online savings account earning the current top rate of 1.25% APY would require about $32k on deposit for a year to earn $400.

If you don’t qualify for the TFCU new member checking bonuses, check our list of the best savings and checking account bonus offers for a bonus that’s the right one for you.

The above information and rates are accurate as of 5/27/2022.