Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $500
- Availability: Nationwide via Life. Money. You.® subscription
- Direct deposit required: Yes, $3,000+
- Additional requirements: See below
- Hard/soft pull: Soft pull, requires TransUnion unfrozen
- ChexSystems: Unknown
- Credit card funding: None
- Monthly fees: None
- Early account termination fee: None
- Household limit: None
- Expiration date: 5/15/26
The Offer
Direct link to offer
- BCU Credit Union is offering a $500 checking bonus when you open a new PowerPlus checking account and complete the following requirements:
- Use promo code BOOST
- Set up $3,000 in direct deposits within 60 days
- Make 30 transactions within 60 days
- BCU Debit and Credit card transactions (purchases and payments), Online Bill Pay or ACH payments, BCU Zelle transactions, paper and electronic check payments, and BCU loan payments (credit card, loan, and mortgage)
The Fine Print
- Offer available to eligible non-members who are legal U.S. residents 18 years of age or older unless prohibited by law.
- Offer valid 4/1/2026 – 5/15/2026 (Offer Period). Non-members joining with promo code BOOST, receive a $500 deposit for opening a new Credit Union membership with PowerPlus™ Checking, minimum qualifying direct deposit totaling at least $3,000 and at least 30 qualifying transactions into the PowerPlus Checking account within the first 60 days of membership opening.
- A qualifying direct deposit is a recurring monthly deposit like regular monthly income, such as your salary, pension or Social Security benefit or other eligible regular monthly income, electronically deposited by an employer or other third-party payer into your checking account and BCU Zelle deposits.
- A transfer completed by ATM, online or teller, paper check deposits, and wire deposits are not a qualifying direct deposit. Qualifying transactions include any combination of the following: BCU Debit and Credit card transactions (purchases and payments), Online Bill Pay or ACH payments, BCU Zelle transactions, paper and electronic check payments, and BCU loan payments (credit card, loan, and mortgage) which will apply toward the monthly requirements in the month they post to your account. Credit card transactions that are posted on the last day of the month will be applied toward the following month’s transaction total.
- A person seeking Credit Union membership must meet at least one of the criteria found at BCU.org/Membership-Eligibility.
- New Credit Union membership and PowerPlus Checking must be opened by 5/15/2026 to be eligible for offer.
- New members will receive the $500 as a deposit into their PowerPlus Checking account by 7/31/2026 with transaction comment ”CHECKPROMOREBATE“.
- The incentive deposit to the new member is considered a bonus and may be reportable to the IRS on Form 1099-MISC (or Form 1042-S, if applicable).
- The new membership must be in good standing to receive the cash deposit.
- To be in good standing requires at a minimum: You are not in default of any loan or other obligation to BCU, you are not subject to any legal or administrative order or levy, and you have not caused a loss to BCU as stated in our Expulsion Policy found at BCU.org/Legal-Terms-of-Use.
- Existing members are not eligible for the offer.
- No substitutions for deposit allowed.
- Offer limited to one (1) deposit per membership.
- Void where prohibited. BCU’s decisions are final and binding on all matters relating to this offer. BCU, at its sole discretion, may terminate, in whole or part, and or modify, amend, or suspend this promotion in any way, at any time, for any reason without prior notice.
- BCU employees and immediate family members are not eligible to participate in this offer. Sponsored by BCU, 340 N Milwaukee Ave, Vernon Hills, IL 60061.
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
This account has no monthly fees to worry about.
Early Account Termination Fee
No EATF according to the fee schedule.
Our Verdict
Power Plus has 8% APY for the first 3 months on balances up to $15,000 as well (requires being level 2 and that is direct deposits totaling at least $3,000 in your account, eStatements and 30 qualifying transactions).
It seems that a lot of people get their accounts opened, restricted and then unrestricted so I wouldn’t worry too much if that happens to you (previous $150 bonus has many mentions of this). We will add this to our list of the best bank bonuses. I’d be very surprised if this lasts long so act ASAP.
Applying requires a selfie upload for those who care about those sort of things. Requires TransUnion to be unfrozen.
Hat tip to reader wilsonhammer
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
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