Teachers Federal Credit Union Promotions: $300 for New Checking Account

Teachers Federal Credit Union was my first bank account (OK, technically it’s a credit union).

I grew up in Stony Brook on Long Island and my mom worked for the school district, so as wise financially savvy individuals we opted for our local credit union. Teachers Federal Credit Union had a branch near our home and I remember going in to open the account.

It took maybe half an hour and I left with a little green piece of paper that had my name, account number, and the bank’s routing number. I remember thinking that it was odd that I had a “share draft account” and not a “checking account,” but that’s just credit union nomenclature.

Fast forward several decades (👀!) and I get to write about how they have a new checking account promotion – and a pretty sizable one at that.

Teachers Federal Credit Union is NCUA insured (NCUA# 8116) so your money is protected there, as it is in every insured credit union or bank (via FDIC). With that out of the way, here are the details of their promotion:

Editor’s Note: As of October 1st, 2022, Teachers Federal Credit Union is no longer offering this new account bonus. For other bank bonuses, check out our post on the best bank bonuses and promotions or click here to sign up for our email newsletter and get notified of new bank promotions.

Table of Contents
  1. How to get $300 from Teachers Federal Credit Union
    1. Smart Checking
    2. Share Draft Checking
  2. What are the Credit Union Qualifications?
  3. How Does This Bank Offer Compare?

How to get $300 from Teachers Federal Credit Union

The terms of the offer are pretty easy:

  1. Open a new Teachers Federal Credit Union checking account and have direct deposits totaling at least $1,000 within 60 days – get $50 per month for up to 4 months
  2. Open a new account with a debit card – get $25 per month for up to 4 months

What’s nice about this offer is that you can do one or the other or both – sometimes banks will require you to get the direct deposit offer before you can get the debit spending one. In this case, you can pick if you so choose.

Lastly, you have to enroll in online banking and eStatements.

Promotion code is JOIN2023.

Learn more about this offer

(Offer expiration is not shown but it’s no longer available)

They have two checking accounts that qualify – Smart Checking and Share Draft Checking.

Smart Checking

The Smart Checking offers a higher APY but you have to meet one of the three following qualifications to get the higher APY:

  • Average monthly balance of $5,000 in the Smart Checking account
  • $20,000 in combined end of month deposit balances
  • Establish direct deposits of $500+ and complete 10 debit card purchases

There is no penalty or fee if you don’t meet these requirements, you just don’t get the higher APY.

Share Draft Checking

Share Draft Checking is their free checking – no fees, no minimum balance, no opening deposit, etc.

What are the Credit Union Qualifications?

If you open this account online, it’s available nationwide. If you want to do it locally, they only have 32 locations on Long Island in New York. I was surprised to see them offer a bonus in part because in my mind, it’s a small credit union!

But, if you open it online, anyone can qualify.

How Does This Bank Offer Compare?

This offer stacks of pretty favorably and considering it’s a nationwide offer, pretty nice. The $300 for opening an account with a direct deposit of $2,500 in 60 days is competitive. The accounts also has no fees and no minimum, a nice bonus, and if you meet the qualifications for Smart Checking, you even get a competitive APY.

The direct spend offer of $500 in purchases to get an extra $100 is a nice bonus, ups everything to $400 for your hard work.

Barclays – $200

Barclays Bank will give you a $200 if you open a new savings account and deposit $25,000 or more within 30 days and maintain at least $25,000 for the next 120 days. The savings account also pays a competitive interest rate of 4.35% APY while you wait.

👉 Click here to learn more


BMO Relationship Checking – $400

BMO Bank is offering a $400 bonus* when you open a BMO Relationship Checking and when you have at least $7,500 in qualifying direct deposits within the first 90 days. It is a very straightforward offer that is available nationwide.

*Conditions apply

👉 Click here to learn more


Bank of America – $200 Bonus Offer

Bank of America offers a $200 Bonus Offer cash bonus if you open a new account and Set up and receive qualifying direct deposits totaling $2,000 or more into that account within 90 days of account opening. It has a monthly fee that is easy to have waived.

👉 Click here to learn more


Chase Total Checking® – $300

Chase Bank will give you $300 when you open a Total Checking account and set up and receive direct deposits totaling $500 or more 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!

👉 Click here to learn more


HSBC Premier Checking – up to $4,000

HSBC has an offer where you can get up to $4,000 for eligible new customers who open an HSBC Premier checking account, make a sizable deposit, and make recurring monthly qualifying direct deposits of at least $5,000 for 3 consecutive months.

👉 Click here to learn more

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First Horizon Bank Bonus: $450 Checking

First Horizon Bank has a $450 bonus on their checking account with very reasonable qualification requirements. If you've been thinking about getting this account, see how you can get a $450 bonus.

About Jim Wang

Jim Wang is a forty-something father of four who is a frequent contributor to Forbes and Vanguard's Blog. He has also been fortunate to have appeared in the New York Times, Baltimore Sun, Entrepreneur, and Marketplace Money.

Jim has a B.S. in Computer Science and Economics from Carnegie Mellon University, an M.S. in Information Technology - Software Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, as well as a Masters in Business Administration from Johns Hopkins University. His approach to personal finance is that of an engineer, breaking down complex subjects into bite-sized easily understood concepts that you can use in your daily life.

One of his favorite tools (here's my treasure chest of tools,, everything I use) is Personal Capital, which enables him to manage his finances in just 15-minutes each month. They also offer financial planning, such as a Retirement Planning Tool that can tell you if you're on track to retire when you want. It's free.

He is also diversifying his investment portfolio by adding a little bit of real estate. But not rental homes, because he doesn't want a second job, it's diversified small investments in a few commercial properties and farms in Illinois, Louisiana, and California through AcreTrader.

Recently, he's invested in a few pieces of art on Masterworks too.

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