Northwest FCU, $300 bonus to Open Checking and Savings, 3 X $500 DD Required, Easy to Qualify for Membership.

clutchcargo777 said:   Routine questions.

1. Hard pull to join? (I know you don't know yet)
2. Does an ACH push count as a DD?Yes, they pull Equifax. I don't know about the ACH part.

Note that Northwest FCU was originally just the CIA employees' credit union. They refer to CIA as simply "The Agency" (not by its name) on their employer field of membership web page*, which is amusing since the NWFCU's history isn't exactly a secret. (CIA traitor Aldrich Ames was actually depositing some of his KGB payments at NWFCU, according to the FBI investigation). There are also a number of large corporate organizations that if your employer is a member of, you can qualify to be a member of NWFCU. (E.g. Employees of Verizon, Ernst & Young, Microsoft, NACHA, Qualcomm, and hundreds more).

ucfzf10: Is it confirmed that the Equifax pull is a hard pull and not soft, and is it the same result for opening an account at a branch vs online or phone? Thanks.

* www.nwfcu.org/membership/description.html#agency

Their site is a little confusing - if you choose "open your checking account online now" through that link then click "start now," you get sent to online banking. You have to have a username or an account number to do anything here though, which most of us won't have. It looks like you have to apply for membership first through http://www.nwfcu.org/membership/default.html (no clicky link, copy/paste please) before you can actually apply for the account.

jcd123 said:   Also applied and application under review now. Not sure whether have something to do with the identity questions. Will call next Monday to check.

Anyone can fully complete the account opening process?

I actually open a checking account directly during the CU membership opening process, so need to check to see if it is valid.

NEDeals said:   There are also a number of large corporate organizations that if your employer is a member of, you can qualify to be a member of NWFCU. (E.g. Employees of Verizon, Ernst & Young, Microsoft, NACHA, Qualcomm, and hundreds more).I see their member companies but MSFT and Verizon aren't on there. It sounds like you are referring to something else (details?).

Applied and was approved as a new member. However, I still have to print, sign, and mail in a physical copy of the application. I live in CA.

Also, I got a hard pull to Experian.

Are you sure this is not targeted?

for those that don't know, NWFCU is in northern VA and I work right next to one of their branch's. I will go to the branch office to get more details and update this thread

"Thank you for your interest in joining Northwest Federal Credit Union. We are currently reviewing your application. A Member Service Representative will be in contact with you shortly to complete your request."

Seems just like the Hanscom deal.

Edit to say happened when I attempted to a open savings account. I did get online username and password this way, which I will use to open a checking account after approval.

Not sure if my $5,000 opening deposit from credit card could have triggered this as well...

Signed up and approved... Sent a secure message asking if I qualify for the bonus. Will keep you posted on the response. fyi, I live in OR.

BingBlangBlaow said:   Shufflindoh said:   Signed up and approved... Sent a secure message asking if I qualify for the bonus. Will keep you posted on the response. fyi, I live in OR.

Did you fund with credit card? If so, how much?

Did the minimums.. $10 to pay for membership. $5 min for savings, $0 to basic checking. I used ACH to fund...
You can save yourself gambling the intial $10 by waiting for the reponse from my SM to the bank.

emgeecee said:   Thanks for that, especially if you could find out about ACH deposits counting as DD that would be extremely helpful for many people here.

There was a thread last year on NWFCU 100 dollar bonus with the same question however, no one answered it

http://www.depositaccounts.com/blog/2011/05/100-checking-account...

The promotion specifically states you must make 3 "payroll" deposits of at least $500 by July to get the bonus.

repost

emgeecee said:   I've done more than a couple bank bonuses that said the same thing, but ACH worked. Capital One immediately comes to mind, they specify payroll deposits from gov't, employer, social security, pension, and yet for the past 3 years I've gotten the bonus.

It's possible, but remember Northwest is not a bank.

Ask if ACH counts as DD? Are you F'ing crazy? Whatever you do, don't ask them that

yea no hurt in asking. I will go to the branch tomorrow and ask if ach counts as DD. I'll let you guys knows what the deal is

CSRs are generally clueless as to the difference between actual ACH vs. real DD. Even the informed ones you might run into in the branch is unlikely going to say an ACH will suffice (assuming the systems allows it). It is simply not worth asking and rely on actual experience.

I'm clearly going to get outvoted by the senior members, so I'll defer to them on this request, and withdraw my request.

user0001 said:   NEDeals said:   There are also a number of large corporate organizations that if your employer is a member of, you can qualify to be a member of NWFCU. (E.g. Employees of Verizon, Ernst & Young, Microsoft, NACHA, Qualcomm, and hundreds more).I see their member companies but MSFT and Verizon aren't on there. It sounds like you are referring to something else (details?).

user0001, Did you look at the membership information? If you look a little more, you'll note that it says

Organizations

If you or your company is a member of these organizations, you may join Northwest Federal Credit Union immediately.

There are multiple organizations listed. For example, Verizon, Ernst & Young, Microsoft, NACHA, Qualcomm, etc are members of Northern Virginia Technology Council, a listed qualifying organization. Since MWFCU allows membership if "your company" is a member of Northern Virginia Technology Council, or several other fine organizations, you can join if you work for any of the above companies, or hundreds more.

Reference: www.nwfcu.org/membership/organizations.html