Florida Credit Union Offers $300 Checking Bonus
Florida Credit Union (FCU) is currently offering a $300 bonus (Promo Code 21CHK300) when opening a “free personal full-service checking account.” The fine print on the offer page lists the following requirements and conditions:
Anyone who has held a checking account with FCU in the past year will not qualify for the incentive.
Must be 18 years of age or older to qualify for this offer.
Credit approval and initial $5 open deposit required.
$500 cumulative direct deposit amount must be made to this account within the first 60 days of account opening.
If the requirements are met and the account remains open and in good standing for 90 days, the $300 reward will be made available to the member.
FCU’s Interest-Bearing Checking and Value Checking (non-interest bearing) both are eligible for the $300 bonus. The Value Checking has no monthly service fee, no minimum balance requirement, a $5 minimum opening deposit requirement, eight free ATM transactions per month, and a free first box of checks.
The Interest-Bearing Checking also has no monthly service fee, but does require a $2.5k minimum opening deposit* and a $10k minimum balance to earn interest. Unlimited fee-free ATM transactions are offered and free checks are available throughout the lifetime of the account. The Interest-Bearing Checking has five tiered APYs ranging from 0.02% ($10k min) to 0.50% ($1m min).
| APY | MIN | MAX | INSTITUTION | PRODUCT | DETAILS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.00*% | $1m | - | Florida Credit Union | Interest-Bearing Checking | |
| OTHER TIERS: 1.00% → $10k - $25k | 1.10% → $25k - $50k | 1.25% → $50k - $100k | 1.50% → $100k - $1m | |||||
*Although the Deposit Rates page states the minimum opening deposit is $10k, the online application states it is $2.5k. In a Live Chat, CSR stated,
I verified with the manager, you can open it with just $2,500 but will only start earning interest on $10,000 or greater. You can open the account with a minimum of $2,500, however, it is supposed to be $10,000. We do it as a courtesy for the member if they are moving funds from another institution.
CD Specials
In March, I wrote about FCU’s CD Specials, which required new money. (Even though the CD Specials are advertised as “limited-time” offers, the 25-month CD Special has been part of the product line for more than nine years.) While the rates have fallen from their very competitive March levels, they’re still respectable. For more details, please refer to my March 15 blog post.
Availability
Headquartered in Gainesville, Florida Credit Union field of membership (FOM) is residency based. Since my last FCU blog post in March, an additional three counties have been added to the FOM, with individuals who live or work in any of the following 48 North, Central, and South Florida counties now eligible to join:
Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Brevard, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Columbia, De Soto, Dixie, Duval, Flagler, Gilchrist, Glades, Hamilton, Hardee, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Indian River, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Lee, Leon, Levy, Madison, Manatee, Marion, Martin, Nassau, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, St. Lucie, Sumter, Suwannee, Taylor, Union, or Volusia.
Joining FCU and applying for the $300 checking bonus (using promo cod 21CHK300) can be done online, by phoning the Contact Center (800.284.1144), or by visiting any of eleven Florida branches located in DeLand, Gainesville (4), Lake City, Ocala (4), and Starke. According to FCU’s COVID-19 Update page, all locations are open for business with normal business hours.
Opening a Regular Savings account ($5 minimum/$2.5k maximum) is required to establish an FCU membership.
Credit Union Overview
Florida Credit Union has an overall health grade of "A+" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 1.20% (excellent), based on March 31, 2021 data. In the past year, Florida CU has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $227.21 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 20.93%. Please refer to our financial overview of Florida Credit Union (NCUA Charter # 60497) for more details.
Originally chartered in 1954 as the Alachua County Teachers’ Credit Union, Florida Credit Union was owned and operated by teachers in the Alachua County School System. The Credit Union began adding more school systems and community colleges to its FOM within two years of opening its doors. 67 years later, after two name changes, a charter change, and expansion throughout North and Central Florida, FCU is currently the 16th largest credit union in Florida, with more than 123,000 members and assets in excess of $1.6 billion.
Bottom Line
With only a $500 direct deposit required and no other transactional hoops to jump through, this is a relatively easy $300 bonus, particularly if you open a Value Checking account ($5 minimum opening deposit). I don’t think there is any current offering that would return $300 on $505 ($5 opening deposit and $500 in direct deposits) in three months.
When interest rates are low, savings and checking bonuses have more of an impact. To earn $300 in a typical online savings account (with a 0.50% APY) would require a $60k balance for a year.
If you don’t qualify for the Florida Credit Union $300 bonus, check out our full list of the best savings and checking account bonus offers.
The above information and rates are accurate as of 6/11/2021.
-They do a hard pull when you open account
-There is a $20 fee if account is closed within 6 months of opening
-$300 is considered interest and will be reported on IRS form 1099-INT
-Your direct deposit needs to be an electronic deposit of your paycheck, pension or, government benefit (such as SSI) from your employer or the government. Person-to-person payments (such as Cash App, Venmo or PayPal) are not considered a direct deposit.
I opened a bonus checking account at Keybank for $400. Had to open with at least $10 and within 2 weeks make a $500. No direct deposit which the rep says that rarely offer and you are required to do a 1 hour financial health check and only offered to people with 800 plus scores. .Reward credited at 30 days and $25 penalty if closed in. 6 months. They only did a Checksytems check at Key
The key rep said most people forget to fund the $500 in 2 weeks and many others closed the account before the 6 months and had to pay the $25 penalty.
I don't have any direct deposits and no desire to try to game them. So the options are limited and in this deposit environment, pretty much dead.
I had only one credit card for probably the last 15 years. A few months ago I gave in and got a second card from Chase for the $200 bonus. But it is also a useful card to compliment my first card. The Citi card adds nothing to the mix. I would never use it.
So is it worth it? IDK.
This new card would not add any features and would only be a bonus. Since we may need a mortgage for our move to North Carolina in the next year or so It's not the hit on the score but if the underwriter sees to many requests for credit. Just paid off my car loan and got a note from Experian confirming the loan closure.