Earn a $20 referral bonus when you open a DCU checking account and complete qualifying activities. Full details of this DCU sign-up bonus and the DCU referral program below.
For more current bank offers, see our bank bonuses page. The most popular offers are from Chase Bank, SoFi, KeyBank, BMO and Axos Bank.
About DCU
DCU, short for Digital Federal Credit Union, is a credit union based in Marlborough, Massachusetts. It’s one of the largest credit unions in the United States with over 1 million members across all 50 states.
They provide a range of banking products, including a free checking account with no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements. The free checking account also offers a $20 sign-up bonus when you use a referral link to open an account.
DCU Referral Bonus – $20 Offer
Get a $20 bonus when you open a DCU checking account using a referral link and complete one qualifying activity within 90 days of account opening.
- Open a DCU checking account using this link (this referral link is from a TMN reader).
- Donate $10 to Reach Out For Schools to qualify for a DCU membership.
- Complete one qualifying activity listed below.
- Receive a $20 bonus within 30 days of completing offer requirements.
Note that DCU is a credit union, which means membership is limited. However, anyone can qualify for membership with DCU if you’re a member of one of their partner organization.
The least inexpensive one to join is Reach Out For Schools, a non-profit that raises money for schools. It costs $10 and it’s a one-time fee. A perk of membership is now your family members can join DCU for free based on their relationship with you.
Qualifying Activities:
The following are all considered a qualifying activity. A person must complete at least one of them within 90 days of becoming a new member to receive a bonus:
- Option #1: Open a DCU checking account and make a qualifying direct deposit. A 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 per calendar month (Social Security is exempt from the $500 per calendar month minimum).
- Option #2: Open 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.
- Option #3: Purchase or refinance a vehicle, RV, boat, or mobility equipment.
The sign-up bonus is not available to existing or former DCU members.
DCU Referral Program
Earn a $10 referral bonus when you refer friends to open a DCU account and complete a qualifying activity. Your friend will get a $20 sign-up bonus for doing so too!
How To Earn Referral Bonus:
- Login to your DCU account and grab your unique referral link found at this link.
- Send your referral link to friends and have them apply to become a DCU member.
- Wait for them to open a DCU checking account and complete one qualifying activity.
- Receive a $10 referral bonus. Your friend will also receive a $20 sign-up bonus.
There’s no limit to the amount of referrals you can send or the amount of referral bonuses you can earn from successfully inviting others to join DCU. However, the referral bonus offer is not available to existing or former DCU members.
Referral Program Terms & Conditions
- DCU may offer the opportunity to earn a bonus by referring friends and family to apply to become a member and complete any ONE of the qualifying activities. DCU reserves the right to terminate this program at any time for any reason.
- DCU reserves the right to modify or amend, at any time, the terms and conditions of this program. We reserve the right to disqualify the referring member or any referred candidate at any time from participation in this program if they do not comply with any of the terms and conditions. Offer eligibility is at DCU’s sole discretion.
- Referring member has a unique referral URL with identifier code in their DCU Digital Banking account to refer friends and family to apply for DCU membership. Your unique referral link with identifier code is assigned to you and does not change.
- Referred candidate must be at least 18 years of age.
- Bonuses are considered income and may be reported to the IRS for income tax purposes.
For complete terms and conditions of the referral program, visit this page on the DCU website.
The Bottom Line
Compared to other bank bonuses, this one is on the lower end of the spectrum. The reason why DCU is so popular though is because their banking products are excellent.
For instance, the DCU savings account provides a superb rate of 6.17% APY on up to $1,000 in deposits. Ideally, you want to keep $1,000 in that account (everything over $1,000 will earn just 0.15%) and put the rest of your money into one of the top high-yield savings accounts.
A 6.17% APY is close to stock market returns without any of the investment risks, earning you $61.70 in interest per year.
DCU also frequently offers their members a 0% APR balance transfer with no balance transfer fee. A 0% balance transfer with no fees was somewhat common back in 2001-2005, but it’s rare these days.
Even if you don’t have debt for a balance transfer, you can take advantage of this promotion by writing a check in your own name and depositing the funds into a high-yield savings account (HYSA) to earn free money from the interest.
This is a great arbitrage opportunity I employ to generate thousands of dollars in passive income every year. It’s a no-brainer to borrow at 0% and earn 4.83% APY in interest with a savings account at banks like UFB Direct.
