Examined Oct 3, 2026 Paid after 12 months No referral needed Alliant Credit Union pays new members $100 for depositing $100 or more every month for 12 consecutive months, and one missed month ends it.
Alliant runs this with Suze Orman as The Ultimate Opportunity Savings Account. The account itself is Alliant's High-Rate Savings. No invitation or referral is needed: you apply online from Alliant's promotion page. Twelve deposits of $100 come to $1,200 (12 times $100), and $100 divided by $1,200 is about 8.3 percent on top of the account's own dividends. Alliant gives the rate as 3.01% APY as of its 07/30/2026 dividend declaration date, and says it may change at any time.
What pays what
| New member: $100 or more deposited each month for 12 consecutive months, $1,200 or more at the close | $100 |
|---|---|
| A month with no deposit, or a deposit that posts after the last day of its month | $0 |
| Balance under $1,200 when the 12-calendar-month period closes | $0 |
| Existing members, joint owners, and former members who closed a savings account within 180 days | $0 |
| UTMAs, IRAs and other tax-exempt accounts | Not valid |
Account must remain open and in good standing, maintain an average daily minimum balance of $100, and the balance at the end of the 12-calendar-month period must be $1,200 or more to receive the $100 bonus deposit. Accounts will be reviewed 12 months from the date of the first transfer/deposit to determine eligibility.
Twelve deposits of exactly $100 come to exactly $1,200. Dividends add a little, but at the minimum there is almost no room for a withdrawal unless you put the money back before the review. You must be 18 or older when the account opens and a legal U.S. Resident or U.S. Person, which the terms say includes a U.S. Resident Alien. Alliant's directors, employees and their household family members cannot take part. Any tax on the bonus is yours.
Do this, in this order
- Make sure you count as new. “Existing Alliant members, customers who are a joint owner on an existing Alliant savings account, and former Alliant members who closed an Alliant savings account within 180 days of applying for the new account are not eligible.” Being a joint owner on a partner's or parent's Alliant savings account rules you out. The limit is one offer per new member.
- Apply from the promotion page, not from the main site. The terms cover one new savings account opened by applying online from the Ultimate Opportunity Savings page. The deadline is plain: “You must apply for the account by 11:59 p.m. CT on December 31, 2026, to be eligible.” Applications are subject to approval.
- Get the first $100 in within 30 days of opening. Transfers, mobile check deposits and payroll direct deposit all count, but a new account clears checks slowly. Alliant's new member page says: “During the first 30 days your account is open, special rules about funds availability will apply. Checks deposited into new accounts will be available on the 7th business day.” A transfer is the safer first deposit.
- Automate the other eleven, early in each month. The rule is about when funds post, not when you send them. A recurring transfer dated in the first week of the month leaves room for a failed pull. More than $100 is fine; less in any month is not.
- Leave the balance alone, then wait. The average daily balance must stay at $100 or more, and the account must be open and in good standing. After the year: “If all requirements have been met after 12 months, please allow 4 weeks for the $100 bonus deposit to post to your account.” The year runs from your first deposit.
Where Alliant's own pages disagree, and what it does not publish
Trusts. The terms PDF says: “Offer is not transferable and not valid for trusts, UTMAs, IRAs or other tax-exempt accounts.” The copy of the same terms printed at the foot of the promotion page says: “Offer is not transferable and not valid for UTMAs, IRAs or other tax-exempt accounts.” The second omits trusts. For a trust account, assume the stricter PDF applies.
30 days, or 30 calendar days. The PDF says: “The first $100 must be transferred and/or deposited within 30 calendar days of account opening”. The promotion page says: “The first $100 must be transferred and/or deposited within 30 days of account opening”. Make the first deposit in the first week and the difference cannot matter.
No document date, and no restart rule. Neither the terms PDF nor the promotion page carries a last updated or effective date. The terms do not say what happens to a member who misses a month and keeps saving, and they do not define good standing.
Two older promotions are still on the site. The terms PDF for a 20% One-Year Anniversary Promotion, which offered new members a bonus equal to 20% of a year's dividends, is still online. Its own text closes it: “You must apply for the account by 11:59 p.m. CT on July 31, 2026, to be eligible.” A help article for a Visa Platinum card offer also still loads: “This offer starts on Tuesday, October 1, 2024, and ends on Friday, November 15, 2024.” Neither can be claimed today. A third, a 20% savings bonus for existing members, is limited to members Alliant invited by email.
No refer a friend reward. We found no Alliant program that pays a member for bringing in a new saver. The one refer a friend page on Alliant's domains belongs to its investment services arm. It is a contact form for investment advice and names no reward for either person. Its disclosure says LPL Financial may pay the credit union, not the member, for these referrals.
Joining is wider than the bonus. Alliant's membership page says people living outside the U.S. with a Social Security Number or a valid ITIN can apply to join. The bonus terms are narrower: a legal U.S. Resident or U.S. Person. Being able to join does not by itself qualify you for the $100. Membership is free.
Is it worth your time?
If you were going to save $100 a month anyway, yes. The work is one application and one recurring transfer. A hundred dollars on $1,200 of your own savings is a good return. The price is time and discipline: 12 months plus 4 weeks before the $100 shows up, and a single late month forfeits it.
If your income is uneven, or you may need the money inside the year, this is the wrong bonus. Capital One 360, Ally and Wells Fargo, below, pay sooner.
