Update 9/6/26: Deal is back through November 30, 2026. Bonus now $500 (was $350) requires $1,000 per month in direct deposits (was $500). Hat tip to reader Phil
Update 10/11/25: Deal is back through 11/30/25
Extended to 6/30/25
Update 3/5/25: Terms now state ‘Offer is restricted to Colorado residents’
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $350
- Availability: CO
- Direct deposit required: Yes, $1,000+ per month for two months
- Additional requirements: See below
- Hard/soft pull: Soft
- ChexSystems: Unknown
- Credit card funding: Up to $2,500 (previously $10,000)
- Monthly fees: No
- Early account termination fee: 12 months, bonus forfeit
- Household limit: One
- Expiration date: May 31, 2025
The Offer
- Elevations Credit Union is offering a $500 bonus when you open a new checking account and complete the following requirements:
- Use promo code ECU500
- Enroll in online banking.
- Set up direct deposit with at least $1,000 per month for two month
The Fine Print
- Checking cash bonus is not available to existing members, Elevations Credit Union employees, Elevations Board Members, or consumers who have been closed with a negative balance.
- Limit one offer per New Membership and checking account.
- Limit one bonus per household, per lifetime. To receive the cash bonus, open a new Elevations Free Checking, Buff One Checking or Dividend Checking account. Forever Buffs checking does not qualify for this offer. Member must have direct deposit(s) totaling $500 per month for two consecutive months following the open date of the account. Direct deposit must be new to Elevations Credit Union and must be payroll, pension, Social Security or other recurring government benefits. Member must log into online banking. All requirements must be met within 90 days of account opening. The cash bonus will be deposited into the new checking account within 30 days of the final qualifying requirement if the account opened is in good standing (i.e., is not overdrawn or at a zero balance). We reserve the right to substitute the bonus offered at any time with an item of similar value. Limited time bonus. The $350 cash bonus is considered interest and is subject to IRS and other tax reporting.
- The cash bonus can be revoked if the account is closed within twelve (12) months of opening date.
- Offer expires May 31, 2025.
- Qualifying direct deposits: Qualifying deposits are regular, periodic automated clearing house (ACH) credits, which may include payroll, salary, pension or government payments (such as Social Security). Deposits that DO NOT QUALIFY are those through the Real-Time Payments (RTP) network, payments through peer-to-peer networks such as PayPal, Zelle, Venmo or others, transfers from another Elevations deposit account, voided transactions, dividends, loan funding, adjustments, and micro-deposits (deposits typically less than $1 sent to your account to verify it is the correct account).
- 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
Early Account Termination Fee
Bonus forfeit if closed within 12 months
Our Verdict
Previously there was a $100 bonus, but that was for University of Colorado students only. This is a much bigger bonus and open to more as well. Will add this to our list of the best bank account bonuses.
Hat tip to Lobster
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
I’m going to be passing through CO in a couple weeks. Disappointed they restrict sign ups to residents only.
Rant — Promotions like this one, available only to a select group of members, are discriminatory and not in the spirit of at least two of the principles that credit unions are founded upon, viz., member economic participation and democratic member control. Sad reality is that boards let management do whatever they want.
Was looking into this for p2 seems like a no go according to terms one per household lifetime, who knows if its enforced? Monthly service fee of $8 monthly waived with $1,000 in monthly direct deposits or 20 debit/credit transactions…you are suppose to keep it open 12 months per terms. So this doesn’t quite seem like the Free checking from last promo.
Done, thanks
It’s now $500 with at least $1,000 per month for two months. Might be worth a repost?
This is back. Same link. Still CO only
I wonder if this account is worth keeping open. Terms say once per household, per lifetime so it doesn’t look churnable unless you move.
This seems to be open again. I had to open Experian for them to do a soft pull credit check.
DPs for me and P2. Both of us received the bonus. 11/29- opened with $2500 using Citi DC 12/19 – $500 real dd 1/06 – $500 real dd 1/07 – bonus posted
yes that was it; bonus posted today
pretty sure it requires a $500 dd in two consecutive months. i’d re-read the fine print, you should be fine once your december payroll deposit hits.
Oct 20- 5$ account funding via cc Nov 14th-515 payroll Nov 28th- 515 payroll still no bonus, I see all other data points showing it being a quicker payout than this?
Couple of data points to add. I got my bonus after just the first DD. I’ll still do another just in case. 11/18/25 – Opened, funded 1500 on Citi Double Cash. Coded as purchase. 12/4/25 – $505 ACH push from Fidelity Cash Management 12/5/25 – Bonus posted to savings account
10/23/25 – Application went pending. Wanted docs 11/10/25 – Amex Biz Checking DD 12/02/25 – Amex Biz Checking DD 12/03/25 – Bonus Posted btw fraud team is very kind and personable. nice bank as can be expected with wealthy area credit unions.
Please!
Chatted online because credit card funding in the amount of $2400 didn’t process, only $5. I can bet my entire next paycheck that I did not overlook and manually entered $2.4k instead of $2.5k. Cautionary note that Elevations may advertise but not actually accept higher credit funding or your CC may decline like other readers.
Easy to setup when in footprint. Unfreeze your Experian before applying. I received a message to unfreeze which delayed my online application about 30 minutes. Still an easy afternoon task. Funded $2400 on my Barclay’s AA card but waiting to see when it posts and how it’s charged. Also have to add a savings account but <= $5 seems to be OK.
Chase Biz Payroll – saw some DPs of fast payout so wanted to make quick work of it
was this with the chase biz payroll or just normal transfer ACH?
Has anyone who is OOS successfully opened this in-branch? Will be in the Denver area next week
9/25/2025 – Application went pending. Requested to thaw EX, soft pull only 9/29/2025 – Account Opened with $5 CC Funding from CSR, coded as purchase. 9/30/2025 – $501 push from Fidel MM 10/1/2025 – $501 push from Fidel MM 10/2/2025 – Bonus Posted Now letting account age due to 12 mo clawback period.
I didn’t see any option to enter the promo code in the application.
Deal appears to be back with expiration 11/30/25 https://members.elevationscu.com/350Checking
Were you able to link Fidelity to checking immediately? Fincity is only recognizing the Savings account and of course Fidelity doesn’t really do trial deposits anymore. Wondering if I need to wait for debit card to arrive or something like that. Thanks!
4/24/25 Account Opened 5/2/25 $500+ Amex business checking DD 6/4/25 $500+ Amex business checking DD 6/5/25 Bonus Received Notes: Happy to see the bonus was triggered by the employer DD via American Express Business checking direct deposits.
3/15/25 Opened 4/1/25 $505 real DD 5/1/25 $505 real DD 5/10/25 Bonus Received Now I just need to let it sit around for the full 12 months and make sure it doesn’t go dormant….
4/14 Initial deposit of $20 4/16 Chase Biz $501 4/18 Chase Biz $502 (tried to get bonus early based on previous DP) 5/14 Chase Biz $501 5/15 PROMO ECU350 Checking Promo Bonus deposited to savings Great bonus if eligible, good amount, fast posting, little work!!!
Chances of that being enforced would be slim. But, do you want to risk it? You could zero the account and ask if there is any fee to close. If they say “no”, close it. It’s highly unlikely they would bill you. Since there is no activity required, I’d just leave it with zero balance.
04/09/25: Account opened online w/ document verification 04/10/25: Chase Biz Payroll $501 05/06/25: Chase Biz Payroll $501 05//10/25: $350 Bonus posted Do I really have to keep this account for 12 months? Gadget 🕵️♂️ Bank Bonus Geek 🔗
3/8: Opened account, had to jump thru some hoops with additional verification and providing additional documents 3/15, 3/31, 4/15: $600 real DD posted, each time moving money out the next day 4/16: $350 posted to Savings account