UPDATE: The DCU referral bonus is no longer offering a $100 sign up bonus. It’s currently at $20. Feel free to check the DCU page for the latest offer. There’s also other high paying bank bonus promotions available such as Upgrade and Sofi.
The DCU referral bonus link is extending a $100 sign up bonus to new member referrals. I joined DCU with this special promotion and received my DCU account opening bonus three days after meeting the qualification criteria.
There’re a few ways to qualify for this banking bonus offer. The easiest method, and the one in which I completed it, is outlined below.
Quickstart DCU $100 Referral Bonus Steps
- Use a DCU referral link to apply (you can use my link here!)
- Complete the online application to open your DCU membership
- Open a Free DCU checking account
- Complete 5 qualifying transactions within the same calendar month
- Get paid $100 to your DCU savings account within 30 days
You’ll have 90 days from account opening to complete the required actions to qualify for the $100 referral bonus.
Qualifying transactions include: Debit/Credit card transactions, ACH transfers, Point of Sale (POS) transactions, Bill pay payments, Balance transfers to your DCU Visa Credit Card, and Pay a Person transactions.
That’s the quick guide, but for more detailed information make sure to continue reading to the end!
What is DCU?
Digital Federal Credit Union, or DCU, is a credit union based in Marlborough, MA that currently serves over 1 million members in all 50 states. One of the many reasons it’s an attractive banking option is due to their 6.17% annual percentage yield savings accounts on balances of up to $1,000.
On any remaining balance after that, the yield drops to an unimpressive 0.16% APY. At that point it would be more beneficial to put any leftover money into a Netspend 5% high yield savings account or Sofi savings account.
Another big plus to having a DCU membership is for their no minimum balance and no monthly fee checking account.
The DCU referral bonus is just an added incentive on top of the already great benefits you get as a DCU member!
DCU Referral Bonus (Step-by-Step)
The $100 DCU referral bonus doesn’t require you to initiate a payroll direct deposit like most other banking promotions do (unless you want to of course!). This makes it a much more attainable bank bonus offer for most people.
As mentioned earlier, there are a few ways to qualify for the bonus. I’ll go through each one of them here as well as the criteria necessary to qualify. For quick reference, these are the steps I’ll take you through today.
- Step 1: Apply with a DCU referral Link
- Step 2: Fill out Member Application and Submit
- Step 3: Complete any ONE of the Qualifying Activities
- Step 4: Get Paid $100
I followed these exact same steps to earn my DCU $100 referral bonus. As you can see in the image below, DCU instantly deposited my bonus into my account!
Apply with a DCU Referral Link
The first step is to make sure you apply with a DCU referral link like this one.
It will take you to the online member application page, but it won’t show details about the DCU referral bonus. It was one of the things that irked me when I first signed up.
You will know that you’re applying with a promo link because you’ll see the DCU referral code embedded into the link. To check whether the referral bonus promotion is still ongoing, then check the DCU member referral page. If the page is still showing promotion details, then you’re good!
Fill out Member Application and Submit
The new member application process will take about 5 minutes to complete, and you will need to be 18 years or older to apply online. The required information you’ll be asked to provide include the following.
- Photo of Government Issued ID
- Proof of Address
- Social Security Number
- Funding Information
After you enter the required information, you’ll be asked to select your accounts.
Select DCU Accounts
DCU will present you with three bank account options to select from as a new member. The one mandatory account will be the DCU Primary savings account, which has a $5 minimum balance requirement. Though there are no monthly fees and the account will earn you 6.17% APY on up to $1,000.
Next, for purposes of earning the DCU referral bonus and paying no account fees, select the Free Checking account option. Once this option is selected, you’ll be able to customize your new checking account.
You can add ClickSWITCH to easily move direct deposits and automatic payments. You’ll also have the ability to select overdraft payment services. Add any of these options at your discretion.
I selected the DCU VISA debit card option and declined overdraft payment services. There is no fee to pay for a physical debit card to be mailed to you. In my case, the card reached me fairly quickly within 7 days.
Eligibility to Join DCU
In order to become a DCU member and open an account, you will need to meet the member eligibility requirements first. To become eligible, you must be a part of any of these groups.
- Related to a DCU member
- An employee, retiree, or family member of an employee of a company DCU serves
- A member of a membership organization DCU serves
- A member of a condo association DCU serves
- You live, work, worship, or attend school in one of the eligible communities
As stated on DCU’s member eligibility page, the credit union makes it simple for almost anyone to join.
If you do not currently fit into any of these groups, then the easiest way to qualify is to join one of DCU’s participating organizations. These organizations have their own membership fees and most of them are non-profits helping their communities in various ways.
The most economical organization to join is Reach Out for Schools. They have a membership fee of only $10, plus you’ll be contributing to the funding of necessary learning resources and programs that benefit students!
Fund Your New Account
Towards the end of the member application process, you will be asked to accept the DCU account agreements and disclosures. Once you’ve completed that, it will be time to fund your new account.
The funding options available are as follows:
- By electronic check (also known as ACH) funds transfer to DCU from your account at another financial institution (up to $1,500 on this application)
- By credit or debit card using Visa®, MasterCard®, or Discover® (up to $250 on this application)
Since you will need to open a DCU Primary Savings account along with your free checking out, you will have to fund a minimum of $5 into your savings account.
It is at your discretion how much you decide to fund in your new checking account. In my case, I transferred the minimum $5 into my DCU savings account and $60 into my DCU checking account.
My thought process was that I needed to have enough funds in my account to complete 5 transactions for the DCU referral bonus. So I wanted to make sure I had enough in there to accomplish this.
Instant Approval
I was surprised to see an instant approval notice after I completed all the necessary steps.
I thought for sure DCU would take time to review my member application and check my eligibility prior to accepting me, but that was not the case.
So just like that, my DCU membership and accounts were established!
Apply for a DCU member account with this $100 member referral link.
Complete any ONE of the Qualifying Activities
Once your membership is opened, you will need to complete at least ONE of the qualifying activities below, within 90 days, to receive the bonus.
- A DCU checking account and add qualifying direct deposit. Qualifying direct deposit is a recurring electronic credit of your payroll, retirement, social security, or other recurring monthly income in the amount of at least $500.00 per calendar month. (Social Security is exempt from the $500 per calendar month minimum).
- A DCU checking account and complete at least 5 qualifying transactions. Qualifying transactions include debit/credit card transactions, ACH transfers, Point of Sale (POS) transactions, bill pay payments, balance transfers to your DCU Visa Credit Card, and Pay a Person transactions. The 5 qualifying transactions must post and clear your DCU account within the same calendar month.
- A vehicle, RV, boat, or mobility loan (purchase or refinance)
Any of these methods will work to trigger the DCU account bonus offer. I found the easiest one to go for was the 5 debit card transactions.
So a few days after receiving my card, I made 5 combined debit card purchases at Dunkin Donuts, Stop & Shop, as well as made an online purchase. Two of these purchases posted on the same day, while the other three posted on the following day.
Get Paid $100 DCU Referral Bonus
DCU will pay your account bonus within 30 days of completing a qualifying activity. It will be posted to your DCU Primary savings account under the transaction name ‘Deposit Thanks for Joining DCU.’
However, I received my DCU bonus much faster than that.
On Thursday, I completed my 5 qualifying transactions. By Friday, all transactions had cleared the ‘pending’ period and were posted to my account. That following Monday, I received my $100 DCU referral bonus into my savings account.
DCU Referral Program
When you become a DCU member, you also get the added bonus of participating in the DCU referral program. This program will enable you to invite family members and friends to the Digital Credit Union family and earn a referral bonus.
$50 DCU Friend and Family Referral Bonus
For each person you invite to DCU with your referral link that completes the bonus requirements, you’ll earn a $50 referral bonus. This means you can invite your mother, siblings, grandparents, friends and others to join DCU and earn money in the process!
For example, if you have a spouse or partner, you could potentially earn a combined $250 bonus. By using this referral link to sign up, you would earn a $100 bonus.
Then sign up your spouse with your DCU referral link to earn an extra $50 bonus. When they complete the bonus requirements, they’ll also earn a $100 account opening bonus. That’s $250 in free money!
There’s no limit to the amount of DCU referrals you can send. The more people you invite, the more opportunities you’ll have to earn bonus money.
DCU Referral Bonus Conclusion
I’m glad I recently had the opportunity to nab this $100 referral bonus offer and earn the extra cash. Bank bonus offers change frequently, so it’s best to nab them when you come across a good one. There’ve been instances when I’ve waited too long and missed out on high paying bonuses!
If you like this bank bonus offer then you may also like the SoFi referral bonus and Varo referral bonus offer. The Upgrade Rewards Checking $50 referral bonus is another great one to check out since it doesn’t require a direct deposit to qualify.
DCU Referral Bonus FAQs
These next questions are some of the most common asked regarding the DCU referral bonus program.
How Much Do I Need to Open a DCU account?
All DCU members are required to open a Primary savings account, which has a $5 minimum balance requirement. This along with applicable organization fees or donation may be required if you joined via a DCU member organization.
Does DCU have a Referral Bonus?
Yes, DCU offers a referral bonus program. DCU members will earn a $50 referral bonus for each new referral invited to DCU that completes a qualifying activity. There is no limit to how many DCU referrals you can send.
Where can I find my DCU referral code?
Your DCU referral code is embedded into your DCU referral link. Your DCU referral link can be found by going to the DCU website, logging in, and going to the ‘Membership’ tab.
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