Update 6/29/23: There is a $200 checking bonus.
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $100 for both parties
- Availability: AZ only
- Direct deposit required: Yes, no minimum specified
- Additional requirements: 30 transactions
- Hard/soft pull: Soft pull
- ChexSystems: Unknown
- Credit card funding: Unknown
- Monthly fees: None
- Early account termination fee: $25, 90 days
- Household limit: None listed
- Expiration date: None listed
Contents
The Offer
- Desert Financial Credit Union is offering a $100 referral bonus to both parties. The person signing up for a new checking account has to be referred by an existing member and complete the following requirements:
- Receive at least one direct deposit within the first 90 days
- Have at least 30 posted transactions during the first 90 days
The Fine Print
- Refer-A-Friend cash bonus offer valid for a limited time only. New member must present completed Referral Form at time of account opening and establish a Membership Savings and Checking account. New members cannot have any existing accounts (primary or joint owner) within the last 12 months. Member and
referee cannot begin credit union membership on the same business day. - To receive the cash bonus, the new checking account must meet the following criteria within the first 90 days:
- 1. Minimum of 30 posted transactions and
- 2. Establish direct deposit.
- 3. Must be open and cannot be delinquent (more than 30 days) at time of bonus payment. Bonus will be deposited into the qualifying Checking and referring member’s account within 10 business days in the month following the end of the first 90-day period if qualifications are met.
- Referring member must have an open and active share account at time of bonus payment and be at least 18 years of age. Employees of Desert Financial Federal Credit Union, its subsidiaries, affiliates, or agencies and their immediate family (including spouse, parents, siblings, children, grandparents or grandchildren) are not eligible for bonus offer.
- Bonus amounts are subject to all applicable taxes and the responsibility of the member.
- Bonus cannot be combined with any other account opening offer.
- Referrals limited to five per member.
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
The free checking account has no monthly fees to worry about
Early Account Termination Fee
There is a $25 fee if closed within 90 days.
Our Verdict
Feel free to share your referral information in the comments below. Now that we know this is a soft pull we will add it to our best bank bonus page.
Hat tip to reader EW
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
12 month language. Applied OOS using Tom Macdonalds link below for the $200 bonus. Under review. Allows $600 CC funding. I previously churned this bank few years ago.
There is a better link out there… killdozer
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/best-bank-account-bonuses/#comment-1803680
Good luck. My recent P2 denial DP is there at that link.
MrKrabsPanic.jpg Darn! I missed that. Already applied with the $200 link. Oh well.
I suspect you’re going to get the same denial message that a lot of people get…. But $200 is better than $0.
DECLINED due to chex.
As much as that bites, it’s better than the Identity Verification failure my P2 had…
And that was her first (visible) Chex pull of the year.
Tried to apply online for the recent $200 offer from OOS (using ‘family member’ as per prior comments).
Was declined via email for “unable to verify identity”.
$200 offer
https://www.desertfinancial.com/asu-partnership/debit-card
One of the quicker bank bonuses to post. I opened the checking account on June 30. I then had a $500 real DD on July 13 and then did the 10 transactions on July 17 (done with reloads). After that, the bonus then posted the next day on July 18. Either their bank bonus posting is automatic or someone is reviewing everyday, but either way it was a nice $200.
Hi Sammy, did you do Amazon reloads to satisfy the 10 transactions? Any minimum amounts required on the 10 transactions? Thanks for any info.
I am not in AZ. Am I eligible if I use someone’s refferal ?
You can try, but I don’t believe so per their website, keep in mind they also ask to verify the referrer and referee full name for the bonus per the previous comments below:
“It’s Easy to Become a Member
Anyone can be a member of Desert Financial! You just have to meet one of these three eligibility requirements:
Live, work, attend school, volunteer or worship in our membership coverage area, which includes all of Arizona
(with the exception of Apache, Graham, Greenlee and Santa Cruz counties)
OR
Be an immediate family member of a current Desert Financial member
OR
Be an employee of Desert Financial
There is a datapoint from Bhavin Patel applying out of state and being denied for Chex though that is typically a generic reason for bank denials with a detailed letter typically arriving by mail soon after with the actual reason for denial.
I’m getting an error on the very first page before inputting any information saying online account opening is unavailable.
It’s definitely an error on their end with “Error 500” on the screen when submitting. You’ll have to call their number 602-335-5004 to open through phone and mention the ASU $200 promotion or go in-branch alternatively. It took me 45-minutes to open through phone today. They needed a $25 opening deposit as well. I was surprised to hear that they allowed credit card funding, but I didn’t bother asking for their limit given it seems they are strict on who they accept. They do check Chex and ask to verify your relationship to the two most recent openings e.g. do you have an active account(s) with them and what type. The $200 promotion also needs a minimum of $500 direct deposit, 10-transactions within 60 days, and opt into e-statements.
Applied OOS
Denied Chex.
Referral code here for anyone who wants $100: https://share.desertfinancial.com/fastar
The offer when I opened my account last fall was one $1000+ direct deposit, and the $100 bonus posted the day after my real paycheck posted.
did anyone get bonus??
For the two referrals I received, they had to call and provide details of who referred them to get paid. I had to do the same to get my SUB.
Those who got bonus how did they do the 30 transactions(amzn reloads?) ?Trying to see if its worth it at all?
Crab49 Originally I did Cash App, but I got worried that they would say it didn’t count. So, then I did 30x $1.00 – $1.xx Verizon (Fios) payments. Some show as “Payment to Verizon” and others as “VERIZON*ONETIMEPAY 4814 VERIZON.COM FL 00000000” in online banking. Because their terms generically say “30 transactions” pretty much ANYTHING should count.
Because it’s a debit card, it does not break the Verizon auto-pay discount by making small additional payments.
OOS approved 4-6
They closed the checking 7-12. Locked the account restricting Online access. Called since chat couldn’t help. Asked to be switched to paper statements. The balance that I had was moved to the savings. Of course no bonus.
Received nothing in the mail that they closed the checking account and I had a few referrals. Was advised I could go to a branch to possibly understand why it was closed. No Need to.
Will probably call back and just close the membership.