In Search of The Least Evil Bank

I haven’t always been a big fan of banking. It’s one of those things that the more you dig into it, the creepier it gets. What exactly are these tokens we spend all our time chasing? Where do they come from? Who decides how it’s going to work? I’m no conspiracy theorist but the whole thing sort of does make me want to wear a tinfoil hat.

I didn’t have a bank account for 20 years. Not that I had much worth putting in a bank. Nonetheless, when I finally had to break down and embrace the plastic in early 2017 I decided to do the legwork and figure out which bank was “least evil”.

The answer turned out not exactly to be a bank. It’s a credit union, originally founded in 1935 to serve the employees of The Boeing Company. It’s an incredibly progressive, socially conscious credit union without fees. 

So what?

Well, I’m on the quest for free money. Who doesn’t like free money? Until December 31st, BECU is offering us both free money. It’s not a completely commitment-free offer. You’re going to have to open a BECU account to make this work.

Here’s how it works:

• Establish BECU membership by opening a Member Share or Member Advantage savings account and checking account.
• Use promo code 100REF18 and referral code 2250727
• You must keep your account open for 90 days

 

• You must also perform 5 or more qualifying actions from this list:
• » Make a purchase using their BECU Debit Mastercard®
• » Write a check or electronic check
• » Make a payment using bill pay

OR

• Deposit $500 or more into your new checking account

 

It seems like a simple enough way to make $100.