Alliant High-Rate Checking

What it is

A dividend-earning online checking account from Alliant Credit Union, which anyone can join through a free foundation membership. It has no monthly fee or minimum balance, no overdraft or NSF fees, and free Courtesy Pay for established members. Alliant says it doesn't run credit checks on checking applications, but its account agreement lets it review your account and credit history and consumer reports to confirm eligibility.^3,4

Does Alliant use ChexSystems?

Alliant's account terms say it may pull consumer reports when you apply. Those can include banking-history reports like ChexSystems. Alliant's Account Agreement and Disclosures (Nov 2025) says you authorize it to check your account, credit and employment history and to get consumer and credit reports to verify eligibility. ChexSystems isn't named. Separately, Alliant's membership FAQ says it doesn't run credit checks on checking account applications.¹

Alliant says there's no credit check to apply.

Fees and overdraft

Monthly fee

$0. No monthly service fee and no minimum balance. The fee schedule (January 2026) lists Courtesy Pay, NSF items, returned deposits and Alliant ATM transactions as free. The first box of checks is free if ordered within 12 months of opening. The debit card foreign transaction fee is 1%.^3,4,5

Minimum to open

$25

Overdraft

No overdraft or NSF fees. Optional overdraft protection moves money from your savings at no charge once you opt in. Courtesy Pay is free but discretionary: you need good standing, an account open at least six months, and $600+ of qualifying deposits in the past 30 days. Coverage for everyday debit card purchases is optional, ATM transactions aren't covered, and overdrafts are due right away (within 30 days at most).

ATMs

80,000+ fee-free ATMs nationwide, plus up to $20 a month in rebates of other ATM owners' fees when you use your Alliant Visa debit card.

Who can open it

Alliant says anyone can apply, with membership set up during the application. Opening online requires a $25 deposit, while paper applications and accounts added in online banking have no minimum. Applicants need an SSN or ITIN and a driver's license.

Membership: You can qualify by working for or retiring from an Alliant partner business, being an immediate family member or domestic partner of a member, or living or working in an eligible community near Alliant's Chicago headquarters. Anyone else can choose 'Join Alliant Credit Union Foundation' on the application, and Alliant pays the one-time $5 fee for you. Membership requires holding at least one membership share in savings.

Deposit insurance: Alliant says checking is NCUA-insured up to $250,000.

If you've been denied before

• If a bank or credit union turns you down because of a checking account report, it must send you an "adverse action" notice with the name and contact information of the reporting company it used.^7,8
• By law, you can get a free copy of your checking account report once every 12 months, and you are also entitled to a free copy if a bank turns you down because of it.^9,10
• If your checking account report has an error, you have the right to dispute it with the reporting company and with the bank or credit union that supplied the information. Under the FCRA, companies must investigate disputes free of charge.^9,10,11
• The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) says negative information generally stays on ChexSystems and Early Warning Services reports for five years.¹²

ChexSystems, explained