Affinity Federal Credit Union $150 Checking Bonus Extended

The $150 bonus for new members who open an Affinity Cash Back Debit account offered by New Jersey-based Affinity Federal Credit Union (Affinity FCU) is now available through March 31, 2022. “New members” are defined as those who have never had an Affinity FCU membership. As stated in the fine print on the bonus promotion page, qualifying for the $150 bonus includes the following:

• 1) Open an Affinity Cash Back Debit account online using the Apply Now button on this webpage on or before March 31, 2022.
• 2) Make recurring, qualifying direct deposits of $500 or more per month for three consecutive months. The first direct deposit must be made within 30 days, the second deposit within 31-60 days and the third deposit 61-90 days of the account opening date.
• 3) Make 10 or more purchases with the debit card associated with your Affinity Cash Back Debit account within 90 days of the account opening date. Qualified debit card transactions include signature and PIN based debit transactions in person directly at a merchant location or in app or online merchant sites.
• Offer valid only for new members who join Affinity.
• Bonus will be deposited into your checking account 30 days after all qualifying criteria has been met.
• Limit of one checking bonus per person.

Affinity Cash Back Debit Account

The Affinity Cash Back Debit account currently earns 1% cash back on up to $1k in monthly debit card purchases (PIN or signature), with maximum annual earnings for $120 ($10 per month).

There is no minimum opening deposit or minimum balance requirements. There is a $2 monthly paper statement fee, which can be avoided by enrolling in eStatements. The $2 fee is waived for new members for the first 45 days of membership. The paper statement fee is also waived for members ago 70 and older.

Non-Affinity FCU ATM fees are not reimbursed, but Affinity FCU participates in the CO-OP Shared Branch and ATM networks, giving members access to more than 5,600 branches and more than 30,000 fee-free ATMs nationwide.

Affinity will charge a $2.25 fee for each out–of–network ATM withdrawal. If you are a member of the More Program, you receive 8 free out–of–network transactions per month. If you are a member of the Even More Program or under the age of 25, there is no charge for out–of–network ATM withdrawals.

SmartStart Savings Account

If you join Affinity FCU for the bonus, you may want to consider opening the SmartStart Savings account. With no minimum balance requirements, monthly fees, or activity requirements, it's easy to earn 2.00% APY on balances up to $2.5k. It appears to be an uncomplicated way to earn $50 in a year by just maintaining a $2.5k balance. There is a limit of one SmartStart Savings account per member.

Availability

Headquartered in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, Affinity Federal Credit Union’s field of membership (FOM) provides a way for virtually all U.S. citizens/resident alien to qualify for membership.

Those who do not qualify for membership through a relationship with any of the more than 2,000 businesses, association, and clubs, can qualify by “making a one-time $5 donation to the New Jersey Coalition for Financial Education or the Connecticut Jump$tart Coalition.”

Applying for the $150 bonus can only be done online.

Membership in Affinity FCU is established with a,

$5 membership account which gives you one par value share in Affinity. This is not a transactional account and these funds will not earn dividends. The account must remain open and funded with the $5 during your membership with Affinity.

Credit Union Overview

Affinity Federal Credit Union has an overall health grade of "A" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 6.66% (excellent) based on September 30, 2021 data. In the past year, Affinity FCU has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $341.69 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 12.3%. Please refer to our financial overview of Affinity Federal Credit Union (NCUA Charter # 847) for more details.

Affinity Federal Credit Union was established in 1935 as the W. E. Headquarters Federal Credit Union, serving the employees of Western Electric Company. In 1974, membership was expanded to include AT&T employees and the name was changed to GHQ Federal Credit Union. The 1990s saw a change in focus for Affinity FCU, including legislation allowing single sponsor credit unions to expand their service to companies or organizations with a common bond. Affinity FCU is currently the largest credit union headquartered in New Jersey and the 102^nd largest credit union in the nation, with nearly 196,000 members and assets in excess of $3.6 billion.

Bottom Line

Checking bonuses have more appeal when interest rates are low, because they offer a significant return in short amount of time not available in either a liquid account or short-term CD. There are no liquid accounts or CDs that currently return $150 on a small deposit in approximately three months. Earning $150 in an online savings account, with the current top rate of 0.65% APY, would require about $23k on deposit for a year.

If you don’t qualify for the Affinity FCU bonus, check our list of the best savings and checking account bonus offers for a bonus that’s right for you.

The above information and rates are accurate as of 1/3/2022.