[EXPIRED] $500 bonus to new member opening chequing (conditions apply) | Coast Capital Savings | Discussion forum

I don't know if this is worth adding at this point since, functionally, only B.C. residents are eligible to join Coast Capital Savings. I checked the fine print and it says if you have been a Coast Capital Savings member at any time since January 1, 2014, you are not eligible, regardless of whether you received a previous promotion at the time. I tried to see if this offer was being furnished by Canadian Credit Union Association, successor managers of the Get Your Share program, but it seems like this is a separate offer (otherwise, per terms of Get Your Share, you'd be ineligible if you have been a member of any credit union since April 1, 2013).

When Coast finally opens it up nationally, and it's by no means clear that'll happen this year, then we could add it to the "Promotions" page.

Cheers,
Doug

Doug said
When Coast finally opens it up nationally, and it's by no means clear that'll happen this year, then we could add it to the "Promotions" page.
 

What's better than free chequing?
Free chequing plus $500.

New Members get a $500 bonus, plus no monthly fees with our Free Chequing, Free Debit and More Account.

You must be the age of majority within the province you reside in. At this time we are not accepting applications from residents of Quebec.

As far as I understand, only Quebec is excluded at this time.

Loonie said

Does anyone know if the bonus will be taxable income? I know bonus interest is taxable, but maybe not this kind of bonus? I think other similar promos have not been taxed in the past but can't remember for sure.

I had many similar bonuses before and none of them were included in my T5 slips.
I assume, that you can add bonus as your income, if you want them to be included in your taxes, but I never reported my bonuses, because I personally treated them as a gifts to me from banks or CU's.

I opened it and I'm in Manitoba. I called them and they said while they don't actively market outside of BC... Anyone outside of Quebec can apply for membership.

hwyc said
As for myself, I make no plan to pursue this further.
For those who are interested, I strongly recommend you follow the above RFD thread. There seems to be plenty of challenges along the way ... door crashers   

I completely agree with you.
I have no interest in this offer too, I don't like this promo T&C and challenges.

Shawguy said
I opened it and I'm in Manitoba. I called them and they said while they don't actively market outside of BC... Anyone outside of Quebec can apply for membership.  

Interesting, @Shawguy, thanks for testing that. I assume you used the "B.C" version of the website? Assuming that's the case, this, tangentially, supports my suspicion that a non-Ontario resident could, in theory, open one or more products (non-lending, at least) with an Ontario credit union if they have an all-digital membership opening process.

Was your account opened straight away? That is, once you passed online verification and other KYC verifications, were you able to login to online banking? That seems to be key into whether, unofficially, one can become a member of CU with rules that normally have geographic residency restrictions.

So, while, officially, Coast still is limited to B.C. residents, it seems that, unofficially, one can join. And, I suspect one could use a similar process to join an Ontario credit union with residency restrictions. Want to be a guinea pig again, @Shawguy? Pick an Ontario credit union outside of Meridian or Libro, which permit current Canadian or declared future Ontario residents, respectively, that have an all-digital membership opening process (C1's OpenAnywhere™, Cumulus, or Coast's third-party technology platform developer (begins with the word Third) that you'd be interested in joining.

Cheers,
Doug

I told ya! They are not worth dealing with.

We seem to be going through a spate of ethically questionable offers right now. I hope it's not a trend!

Doug was able to successfully argue his case in person at a branch - and I imagine he was quite persistent and articulate and wouldn't leave until he got what he was owed.
This may be more difficult for people whose only access is telephone or email.

Here's another thought. This is still a credit union, now federally incorporated. Can they really get away with giving some members a better deal than others based solely on residence? Perhaps it conflicts with a by-law?
Doug (or any BC member), would you be willing to raise this question at next AGM, if you were able to attend?

Good said
Only for residents of B.C. Not available outside of B.C. says right on their website.

Good offer.  

Yes, it's always said that membership is open to B.C. residents via the "region" selection; however, as pointed out by @Shawguy, of Winnipeg, Manitoba, he was able to register by using the B.C. province "region" selection. Similarly, others were able to access the main website via "Ontario" as the "region" selection, which suggests Coast as unofficially launched in Ontario as its first province (I had thought they'd go for Alberta first, but it makes sense - larger market!).

At the same time, as @hwyc pointed out, that verbiage was added retroactively only recently. Prior to this week, it did not exist as he/she and others have observed.

As @Loonie mentions, this is indeed a disturbing pattern of offers being retroactively edited, with, of late, Meridian Credit Union, Motus Bank, Manulife Bank, and Tangerine all retroactively editing offers (which the T&C allow, but is somewhat bad form). Scotia's offer wasn't so much as retroactively edited, but it is confusing and its graph could be better illustrated.

Cheers,
Doug