Available to residents of select Arizona counties (or nationwide via a donation to Local First Arizona), Arizona Federal Credit Union is offering a $200 welcome bonus when you open a new Free Checking Account and set up direct deposits.
Previous iterations of this bonus only required a few debit card purchases, so this is definitely a scale up in terms of difficulty. That said, if you can meet the requirements, it's a pretty fair offer for a free account.
How To Earn The Bonus
The Arizona Federal Free Checking Account (formerly Checking Plus) promotion requires you to set up eligible direct deposits and deposit and maintain a minimum balance in order to earn the $200 bonus (step-by-step breakdown is listed above!).
As with any offer, don't forget to read the fine print before opening your new account. It's where the credit union will clearly state who is eligible for the deal along with any nuances you'll want to be aware of.
The fine print
- Must be 18 years of age or older and a brand new member with no existing account relationships with Arizona Financial. Current joint account owners may qualify by opening a new account as the primary member/owner.
- Former members may qualify as a new member if previous accounts were closed 12 or more months prior to new open date.
- Limit one new member bonus per person.
- Business, indirect borrower, fiduciary, voting accounts do not qualify.
- Direct deposit must be an electronic deposit of your paycheck, investment account, pension, or government benefits (such as Social Security) from your employer or government agency. Person to Person payments (such as Zelle, Venmo or PayPal) are not considered direct deposit.
- If the checking account is closed by the member or Arizona Financial Credit Union within 6 months after opening, the bonus amount will be deducted from the account at closing.
Open a Free Checking Account (formerly Checking Plus) before the bonus expires
How does this personal checking offer from Arizona Federal compare?
To help you determine how this bonus stacks against the rest, here are some of the most popular offers available right now:
BMO
Smart Advantage Checking Account
- Bonus
- $300
- Account Type
- Personal Checking
- Expires In
- 45 days
- Requires
- Direct Deposit
TD Bank
Beyond Checking
- Bonus
- $300
- Account Type
- Personal Checking
- Expires In
- 131 days
- Requires
- Direct Deposit
Discover
Discover® Cashback Checking
- Bonus
- up to $360
- Account Type
- Personal Checking
- Expires In
- Limited Time
- Requires
- Card Spend
Why Arizona Federal Credit Union?
Free Checking Account (formerly Checking Plus)
A free checking account that earns a small amount of interest. The rate is tiered based on your account balance, but even the highest tier (with a minimum of $25k in the account) earns pennies compared to a HYSA.
While we can't recommend parking cash here, as a checking account, the Free Checking is a straightforward option with no minimum balance requirements.
Fees
Free Checking Account (formerly Checking Plus) does not charge a monthly maintenance fee.
Apply now for a Free Checking Account (formerly Checking Plus) to earn the $200 bonus offer
How to Join Arizona Federal Credit Union
Credit unions differ from banks in that they restrict membership based on a shared common bond, or the credit union’s “field of membership”.
That means in order to qualify for this bonus (or any offer from a credit union), you'll first need to meet one of Arizona Federal's membership requirements:
- Live, work, worship or attend school in Coconino, Gila, La Paz, Maricopa, Mohave, Navajo, Pima, Pinal, Yavapai or Yuma County.
- Have an immediate family/household member that is a current primary member
- Make a donation of at least $15 to Local First Arizona
Keep in mind that nearly all credit unions have a "once a member, always a member" policy, so once you're in, the above restrictions no longer apply.
Share Your Thoughts or Questions
There have been 10 comments about the Arizona Federal Free Checking Account (formerly Checking Plus) $200 Bonus.
WJK
May 30**Please Note: As of 1/1/2024 the Arizona Federal Credit Union $200 Checking Account Bonus, now requires DIRECT DEPOSIT + these additional steps…
(1) Establish recurring direct deposit(s) with a combined total of $1,000/month + maintain a balance of $500 or more on the 60th day after the account is
opened :’(
Reply to WJK
Eva
January 17Looks like there have been changes to receive the bonus. Fine print says:
To qualify for $200 bonus, you must: (1) open a Checking Plus Account, (2) within 60 days of account opening, establish recurring direct deposit(s) with a combined total of $1,000 or more per month, and (3) have an account balance of $500 or more on the 60th day after the account is opened.
Reply to Eva
WJK
May 30 Replying to EvaThinking about signing to for this (5/25/24) do you by chance have a link that mentions these new/extra requirements that are needed to get the new customer $200 checking account bonus(?) BankBonus.com that lead me here, but doesn’t mention the new/extra steps, unfortunately :’(
ReplyReply to WJK
Jamon
November 13, 2023Normally I don't like debit card usage requirements (I typically decline a debit card) but the requirement of 10 debit card purchases was required - and the bonus was generous! One does have to keep track so as not to miss the requirement. I received the bonus quickly after the 1st month. I haven't closed the account yet, so I still need 10 debit card charges per month or I will get a $3 monthly fee.
ReplyReply to Jamon
Daniel Tacker
November 3, 2023I had to jump through a few hoops to get an account but after that earning the bonus was easy and it paid out fast.
ReplyReply to Daniel Tacker
Nicholas
November 15, 2023 Replying to Daniel TackerDid you just have to make a donation to be eligible? That seems to be the easiest way to do this, but I wasn't sure if there was another way.
ReplyReply to Nicholas
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