GTE Federal Credit Union, which operates as GTE Financial, is a credit union founded in 1935 and currently headquartered in Tampa, Florida. They primarily have branches in the Tampa- St. Petersburg area and insured by NCUA under charter number 196.
As is required by all credit unions, membership is “limited” but there are ways to become a member even if you don't live near one of their locations in Florida.
The easiest way to become eligible to join GTE Financial is by joining the CU Savers Club. CU Savers Club is a non-profit financial education club that costs just $10 to join. When you join CU Savers Club, you are entitled to become a member of GTE Financial.
GTE Financial – $200
GTE Financial has $200 cash bonus offer when you open a new checking account with promo code JOIN200 and must have direct deposit set-up totaling $500 or more per month within the first 60 days of account opening.
As is the case with these types of offers, the direct deposit must be from an employer or government agency. You can't transfer funds from another account.
There is an early account closure fee if $25 if your balance drops below $25 or you close the account within 180 days.
WARNING: This credit union is known to use a hard inquiry on your credit report when you open an account. This can have an adverse affect on your credit score.
Get $200 from GTE Financial
(Offer expiration not listed)
GTE Financial – $100 No Direct Deposit Offer
Previously, GTE Financial had a $100 checking bonus offer that had no direct deposit requirement. For that offer, you just needed to open a new checking account using the promotion code GTE100 and then enroll and login to online banking by the end of the month of your new account.
This offer expired on 9/30/2021 and we're not sure when it will return. You can still see the promotional page here. We will update this if they bring this no direct deposit offer back.
How Does This Compare?
The offer is good – $200 with a relatively easy direct deposit requirement is solid.
The only downside is that they're known to use a hard inquiry when opening an account. If you are planning on getting a loan anytime soon, you'll want to avoid this as getting a few bucks now and then paying more in interest (from a lower credit score) makes no sense.
As for other banks, here are a few of the offers we like:
⭐Citi Priority Account – up to $2000
Citi Priority is offering up to $2000 bonus when you open an account by 1/9/2023. Then, within 20 days of opening your account, deposit at least $10,000 in New-to-Citi® funds and keep it there for 60 days after the 21st day. The bonus amount is based on how much you can transfer but the lowest tier starts at $10,000.
Discover Online Savings Account – $150 or $200
Discover Bank is offering a $150 or $200 bonus when you open your first Discover Online Savings Account with the promotion code WH922 and deposit at least $15,000 into the account within 30 days. You get $150 if you deposit $15,000 or more and $200 if you deposit $25,000.
Bank of America – $100 Bonus Offer
Bank of America offers a $100 Bonus Offer cash bonus if you open a new account and set up and receive qualifying direct deposits totaling $1,000 or more into that account within 90 days of account opening. It has a monthly fee that is easy to have waived.
Chase Total Checking® – $200
Chase Bank will give you $200 when you open a Total Checking account and set up direct deposit within 90 days. There is a $12 monthly fee that is waivable with a monthly direct deposit of just $500, so no gotchas on this deal!
Huntington Bank – up to $300
If you are a resident of Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, West Virginia, or Wisconsin then you could get up to $300 from Huntington Bank for opening a new checking account. There are several checking accounts that qualify but they're great offers if you live in their geographic region.
