This has been on my radar for a bit, and after putting it off for a bit, my wife and I both opened accounts, getting $60 free from from the credit union for opening accounts, and in the process churning $4000 through a credit card that we are working on a separate larger bonus ($500 for $5000 spend). If anyone is interested, I thought I'd share the
link (disclaimer, referral) and some info.
Essentially if you are referred and open an account, you are given a $30 bonus. They also have a "Thrive" starter account, which pays 3%, but you can only transfer in $500 a month, so the upside is a little limited. The interesting part is that if you are opening a checking account, they let you do the initial deposit by credit card, up to $2000. So if you are looking to do some manufactured spending, this is pretty helpful. The ability to fund by credit card seems to depend which account you open. If you open a checking and thrive it works, when I tried opening a savings account, I wasn't given that option, so double check if you have trouble. Also, I funded with a Chase card, and was not charged any fees, it went through as a purchase, not cash advance. If you try with a different card, you'll have to verify how it goes through.
It is a credit union, so you have to meet membership requirements, but one of them is belonging to (or planning to join) a specific charity, Nashua Watershed, so anyone can join through that channel.
They say you have to be an active member for 90 days to get the bonus, though I remember getting it right away. YMMV
Here is the link again if you are interested:
http://bit.ly/1wbqAbgLet me know if you have any questions.
More information here, where I found it originally months ago (when they were paying 6%):
http://www.mymoneyblog.com/hansom-federal-cu-thrive-review.html
