Arizona Deposit Account Rates and Deals

Mountain America Credit Union still has a competitive 5-year CD and IRA CD rate of 3.00% APY. Minimum deposit is $500. This yield is listed in the credit union's current rates page as of 8/17/2010.

The credit union used to offer some competitive shorter-term CD rates, but these are no longer noteworthy. It also used to have a very mild early withdrawal penalty. They made changes to their website, and I could no longer find any mention of the early withdrawal penalty. So I emailed the credit union. It appears they have increased the penalty. According to the credit union rep, the "penalty for early withdrawal on a 5 year term deposit is 180 days worth of interest."

Credit union membership is open to members of the American Consumer Council. Council membership costs $12, and is open to anyone. This council is listed in the credit union's SEG Affiliated Associations page. For more ways to qualify for membership, please refer to the credit union's Become a Member page. In my recent email to this credit union, I mentioned that I was interested in becoming a member via this council. Here's the reply I received:

We would be happy to take a membership application for you. If you have a branch near you please visit them with your picture ID. They will need $25.00 to get the account open and going. If you plan on opening a checking account that will require a minimum of $100.00.

If you are not near a branch location you can apply online or call us at 1-800-748-4302.

Branches are located throughout Utah. Also, branches are located in Mesa, Arizona; Las Vegas and Sparks, Nevada; and in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The credit union's ratings for soundness are a little weak: 3 stars (adequate) at BauerFinancial, 2 stars (below peer group) at Bankrate and an overall health score of 3 out of 5 at DepositAccounts.com (see our financial overview for Mountain America CU). These ratings are based on March 2010 data. The credit union is federally insured by the NCUA (Charter # 24692). It's a large credit union with $2.8 billion in assets.

Searching for the Best CD Rates

To search for the best nationwide CD rates and the best CD rates in your state, please refer to the CD rates section of DepositAccounts.com.

RCB Bank has two good deposit deals. The first is a high-yield checking account called Go Green Rewards Checking. I first reported on this account in 2008. The rate has fallen, but it's still very competitive for reward checking accounts. As of 8/9/2010, it pays 4.10% APY on balances up to $25K. The main requirement is 12 debit card purchases a month. It does not require direct deposit, but it does require that you log into your account at least once a month. As is typical, e-statements is also required.

The other deposit deal is a competitive 5-year CD rate of 3.00% APY as of 8/9/2010. Minimum deposit is $1,000 for the regular CD and $250 for the IRA Roth CD. This rate is listed in the bank's CD rate sheet as of 8/09/2010.

One thing that has changed since my 2008 reward checking review is that they have added branches outside of their home state of Oklahoma. They now have branches in Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona and in the Kansas cities of Wichita, Winfield and Arkansas City. In Oklahoma, they have branches in several cities including Oklahoma City, Edmond, Broken Arrow, Owasso and Stillwater. Please refer to the bank's location page for all of the addresses.

The bank's ratings for safety and soundness are above average: 4 stars (excellent) at BauerFinancial, 4 stars (sound) at Bankrate.com and an overall health score of 3 out of 5 at DepositAccounts.com (see our financial overview of RCB Bank). These ratings are based on 3/31/10 financial data. The bank has been a FDIC member since 1936 (FDIC Certificate # 15399).

Searching for the Best Reward Checking Account

If you're in Arizona, there's another reward checking account that's a good deal. Sonoran Bank, N.A. continues to offer 4.26% APY on balances up to $30K (as of 8/09/2010). I have more details about this account in my 2009 reward checking review.

To find reward checking accounts in your state or to find those available nationwide, please refer to the reward checking section of DepositAccounts.com.

I see BBVA Compass is making the most out of its new alliance with SmartyPig. I just noticed Compass is advertising this $150 checking account bonus on SmartyPig's home page. Here's the direct link to the promo, and here are the requirements for the $150:

• Open a new Build to Order Checking account online
• Set up payroll Direct Deposit and earn $75
• Sign up for Online Bill Pay and earn $25 per month by paying at least 5 bills per month for 3 months

Unlike SmartyPig which is available nationwide, Compass bank products are only available where they have branches which includes AL, AZ, CA, CO, FL, NM & TX. The offer is scheduled to last until 8/31/2010, and is only available to new consumer checking households.

Here is the small print which includes some details of the requirements:

To get $75 for a recurring payroll direct deposit, you must establish the recurring payroll direct deposit of at least $300 within 30 days following the date you open a new BBVA Compass consumer checking account. $75 bonus will be deposited, within 120 days of first recurring payroll direct deposit, into the new checking account that receives the direct deposit. Account must be open at time this bonus is paid in order for you to qualify for bonus. Bonuses are paid on the last business day of the month.

To get up to $75 for using Online Bill Pay, you must pay at least 5 eligible bills via Online Bill Pay every 30 days for the first 90 days after you open a new BBVA Compass checking account. To be eligible, each online payment must be for at least $25 and must be made to an unrelated third party. You'll receive $25 for each 30-day period in which you make the required online payments, up to $75. Each $25 bonus will be deposited into the new checking account from which online payments were made, within 60 days of the fifth eligible online payment for each 30-day period.

BBVA Compass Build-to-Order Free Checking

I completed a Compass checking promotion in 2006 and received the promised $50 gift card without any problems. One downside is that I did received two hard credit inquiries by Transunion.

The Build-to-Order Free Checking comes with some basic features. Two additional premium features are allowed without cost. The notable basic feature is no minimum balance or direct deposit requirement. Also, bill pay is free. The notable premium feature for those who want to make extra money is a $25 anniversary cash bonus. One feature that is lacking is free checks. A reader in a previous Compass post mentioned that the first order of checks is free.

The disclosure has some of the details of $25 anniversary cash bonus feature. I switched my Compass checking account to this Build-to-Order Free Checking in December 2007 and chose the $25 anniversary cash bonus as one of my premium features. Then I set up small monthly ACH debits from my online bank account to keep the checking active. I received the $25 bonus for both 2008 and 2009.

BBVA Compass Bank is a member FDIC (FDIC Certificate # 19048).

Other Bank Bonuses

To find other bonus deals at other banks, please refer to the bank bonus page which has all of my recent bank bonus blog posts. There are also additional bonuses listed in the checking account deals forum.

TrustBank is offering two competitive regular CDs and a competitive 4-year add-on CD. The two regular CD rates are 2.40% APY for a 3-year term and a 3.00% APY for a 5-year term. Minimum deposit is $500. An even better deal is the bank's add-on CD called the DreamBuilder CD. The 4-year DreamBuilder CD has a 2.65% APY. Minimum deposit is $50. These rates are listed in the bank's CD rate table as of 7/26/2010.

The DreamBuilder CD requires that you have monthly deposits into this account. The bank's DreamBuilder CD page didn't have many details, so I emailed the bank last week. Here is the reply I received:

There is no maximum initial deposit limit for the DreamBuilder CD, however when opening online there are different funding limits depending on what method you use to fund the account. For example, funding is limited to $1000 if using a credit card. You can change the amount of the monthly deposit once the CD is open.

Since the monthly deposit amounts can be changed after it's opened, this CD has the benefits of an add-on CD in that the initial deposit and monthly deposits can be set to a small amount at the beginning, but later the monthly deposits can be increased if the interest rate environment doesn't improve. This can be used like an insurance policy against a low interest rate environment that lasts for a long time.

Application

The bank has an online application via andera.com that allows ACH funding. Last week I asked the bank if they allow out-of-state applications. Here was their reply:

We accept customers from anywhere in the U.S. providing they pass our identity verification procedures.

If you prefer a branch visit, the bank has branches in Illinois and in Tempe, Arizona.

Financial Overview

TrustBank's ratings for safety and soundness are fair: 3 stars (adequate) at BauerFinancial, 3 stars (performing) at Bankrate.com and an overall health score of 4 out of 5 at DepositAccounts.com (see our financial overview for TrustBank). These ratings are based on 3/31/10 financial data. The bank has been a FDIC member since 1934 (FDIC Certificate # 14662).

Searching for the Best CD Rates

Unfortunately, high rates on add-on CDs are very hard to find these days. Some banks and credit unions used to offer very competitive rates on their add-on CDs, but rates have gone down considerably, even more than regular CDs. I still list a few of these add-on CDs in my weekly summary. Most have 1-year terms which isn't really long enough to be useful as an insurance policy.

To search for the best nationwide CD rates and the best CD rates in your state, please refer to the CD rates section of DepositAccounts.com.

TrustBank is offering a high-yield reward checking account that is a bit unusual. It offers a very high yield, but it applies only to a very small balance. So it's definitely not for those with large savings. For those who maintain an average balance of under $2,000, it may be something to consider.

TrustBank's reward checking account is called iChecking and it pays 7.00% APY on balances up to $1,000 as of 7/26/2010. Over $1,000, the rate goes way down to 0.20%. To qualify for this rate requires the following monthly activities:

• 10 debit card purchases
• One direct deposit
• Two Online Bill Pays or automatic payments
• Receive E-Statements
• Access Online Banking at least one time per month

There are no ATM fee refunds, but you have free access to the Allpoint ATM network. There are no monthly service charge and no minimum balance requirement.

When would this account be worthwhile?

This account would only be useful for those who don't have much savings. If you think you can keep an average balance of at least $1,842, you would do better in a 4% reward checking account with the typical $25K balance cap. An average balance of over $2,500 in a 3% reward checking account would do better than this iChecking account.

Another option for those who don't have much savings would be a regular free checking account combined with a cash-back credit card. If you spend $500 per month with a 2% cash-back credit card, your yearly return will be $120. With this iChecking account, you'll only make around $70 per year if you maintain an average balance of at least $1,000. If you prefer debit cards, PerkStreet Financial's checking account would be something to consider (see my Perkstreet Financial review).

Small Promotion

TrustBank is offering a little bonus for opening the iChecking. Here is how they describe the bonus:

Open iChecking online and receive a TrustBank T-shirt and a coupon for an additional $25 deposit into a DreamBuilder Certificate of Deposit opened online.

Application

The bank has an online application via andera.com that allows ACH funding. Last week I asked the bank if they allow out-of-state applications. Here was their reply:

We accept customers from anywhere in the U.S. providing they pass our identity verification procedures.

If you prefer a branch visit, the bank has branches in Illinois and in Tempe, Arizona.

Financial Overview

TrustBank's ratings for safety and soundness are fair: 3 stars (adequate) at BauerFinancial, 3 stars (performing) at Bankrate.com and an overall health score of 4 out of 5 at DepositAccounts.com (see our financial overview for TrustBank). These ratings are based on 3/31/10 financial data. The bank has been a FDIC member since 1934 (FDIC Certificate # 14662).

Other High-Yield Reward Checking Accounts

Fortunately, the vast majority of reward checking accounts have balance caps of at least $25K. However, lower caps of $20K to $10K are becoming more popular.

Please refer to the reward checking section of DepositAccounts.com to find reward checking accounts in your state or that are available nationwide.

Meridian Bank is offering some competitive rates on its 60-month CD. The bank is offering a much better rate on its Jumbo CD with a $100K minimum deposit. Below are the 3 rate tiers for this 5-year CD as listed at the bank's rates page as of 7/25/2010:

• 3.25% APY 5-year CD, minimum $100,000
• 3.00% APY 5-year CD, minimum $50,000
• 2.75% APY 5-year CD, minimum $1,000

The shorter terms are not quite as competitive. The next best one is the 3-year CD with rates that range from 2.15% APY for a $1K minimum to 2.25% APY for a $100K minimum.

It appears a branch visit is required to open accounts. Branches are located in Phoenix and its suburbs.

Meridian Bank's ratings for soundness and safety are weak: 1 star (troubled) at BauerFinancial, 1 star (lowest) at Bankrate.com and an overall health score of 2 out of 5 at DepositAccounts.com (see our financial overview of Meridian Bank, N.A.). These ratings are based on 3/31/10 financial data. The bank has been FDIC insured since 1978 (FDIC Certificate # 22644).

Searching for the Best CD Rates

To search for the best nationwide CD rates and the best CD rates in your state, please refer to the CD rates section of DepositAccounts.com.

Bank of the West has another $100 checking account bonus. This new bonus is scheduled to last until 8/20/2010, and like the last one it allows either direct deposit of at least $250 or 10 online bill payments. The details are listed in the bank's promotion page. Below is the promotion's small print. I've highlighted the important details:

Open any new personal checking account, and either establish one monthly recurring direct deposit of at least $250 to your new account or make 10 bill payments at Bank of the West Online Banking and receive a $100 bonus. Direct deposit must be payroll, social security, pension or other government benefit. The first recurring direct deposit must be posted to your account within 60 calendar days of account open date. The 10 bill payments must occur within 60 calendar days of account open date. Bonus will be credited to your account within 60 days after satisfaction of conditions. Offer valid for new personal checking accounts opened from 7/6/10–8/20/10 with $100 or more from a financial institution other than Bank of the West. Offer subject to change without prior notice and may be terminated or extended based on response. Offer does not apply to second or multiple checking accounts. Limit of one $100 bonus per personal household per calendar year. Offer not valid in CA, CO, UT, NV or WY. To the extent required by law, Bank of the West will report the value of the offer to the IRS on Form 1099. Any applicable taxes are the responsibility of the account holder. All accounts are subject to the Bank’s standard terms and conditions and fee schedule.

When I checked with Bank of the West in March, I was told that the online account application is limited to states which have Bank of the West branches. Also, as you can see in the small print above, the offer is not valid in CA, CO, UT, NV or WY. That leaves the following states which should be eligible for this promotion: AZ, ID, IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, NM, ND, OK, OR, SD, WA and WI.

Regarding a hard credit pull, I was told earlier this year that they don't do a hard credit inquiry in the application (only a soft pull). So you shouldn't have to worry about a ding to your credit score.

Several reader commented in my previous post that Bank of the West closed their accounts for no apparent reason. It appears that when Bank of the West started to restrict availability to their market areas, out-of-area customers who had opened the account before the change were being targeted for account closure. Some readers also reported not receiving the bonus. Most readers who were in the market area have reported success with the promotion. One reader commented:

Just got bonus posted and ACH from online bank to yourself for over the necessary amount DOES count as a DD and only needed to be done 1 time.

Bank of the West is one of the large regional banks. It has $61.18 billion in assets and $41.38 billion in deposits. The bank has been a FDIC member since 1934 (FDIC Certificate # 3514).

Other Bank Bonuses

To find other bonus deals, please refer to my bank bonus page which has all of my recent bank bonus posts.

Southwest Airlines Federal Credit Union is offering a good deal on a high-yield reward checking account. It's called LUV Reward Checking and it offers the following rates and features if certain monthly requirements are met (as of 6/11/2010):

• 4.00% APY on balances up to $25,000
• 1.00% APY on portion of balance over $25,000
• 0.10% base rate if requirements are not met
• Unlimited ATM fee refunds nationwide

Monthly requirements include:

• 15 debit card purchases
• 1 direct deposit or 1 automatic payment
• Receive eStatements

Other account features include:

• $30 minimum initial deposit
• No monthly service charge
• No minimum balance required
• Free online bill pay

The main issue with this credit union is its limited membership. It's primarily based on select employer groups, but it's more than just Southwest Airlines. According to the credit union's membership page, they have over 150 select employer groups that are eligible. You can also be eligible via immediate family. Membership requires a minimum balance of $50 in the share savings account.

Branches are located in Dallas, Houston and Phoenix.

The credit union's ratings for safety and soundness are above average: 5 stars (superior) at BauerFinancial, 3 stars (performing) at Bankrate.com and an overall health score of 4 out of 5 at DepositAccounts.com (see our Southwest Airlines FCU rates and reviews page). The credit union is federally insured by the NCUA (Charter # 22157).

Other High-Yield Reward Checking Accounts

It's harder these days to find reward checking accounts that pay at least 4% APY on balances up to $25K. There are only a few that are still available nationwide. Please refer to the reward checking section of DepositAccounts.com to see these and all nationwide and local reward checking accounts.

BBVA Compass Bank is offering another checking account bonus for its Build-to-Order Free Checking Account. The bonus amount is $100, and direct deposit is required. It's down from the $150 they were offering earlier this year. Here's the promotion page link. It's scheduled to expire on May 31, 2010. Below is the important small print:

$100 minimum opening deposit required to qualify for offer. Offer available for consumers only. Accounts opened online between 04/30/2010 and 05/31/2010 that establish a recurring payroll direct deposit by 06/30/2010 will receive $100 bonus. Bonus deposit will occur within 120 days of account opening in the checking account that receives the recurring payroll direct deposit. Account must be open at time of reward. May be subject to income tax reporting.

Requirements for Opening Compass Bank Accounts:

• Must be a U.S. Citizen
• Have a permanent residence within a state where BBVA Compass has a banking center (Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, New Mexico, or Texas) and your permanent residence must be located in close proximity to a BBVA Compass banking center.

BBVA Compass now has branches in California after its acquisition of the failed Guaranty Bank last August.

BBVA Compass Checking Accounts

I completed a Compass checking promotion in 2006 and received the promised $50 gift card without any problems. One downside is that I did received two hard credit inquiries by Transunion.

The Build-to-Order Free Checking comes with some basic features. Two additional premium features are allowed without cost. The notable basic feature is no minimum balance or direct deposit requirement. Also, bill pay is free. The notable premium feature for those who want to make extra money is a $25 anniversary cash bonus. One feature that is lacking is free checks. A reader in a previous Compass post mentioned that the first order of checks is free.

New Build My Savings Program

BBVA Compass has a new savings program that's similar to Wachovia's Way2Save. I did a detailed review of Build My Savings on Saturday.

BBVA Compass Bank is a member FDIC (FDIC Certificate # 19048).

Other Bank Bonuses

To find other bonus deals, please refer to my best bank bonuses page which has all of my recent bank bonus posts.

M&I Bank has a money market promotion with a competitive rate of 1.50% APY. It's not a great deal compared to savings accounts available on the internet, but if you want a brick-and-mortar bank, this is an option. Note, there's no rate guarantee so this could be a teaser rate that may not stay competitive.

The offer is for the Premier Money Market Account which is a tiered rate account which requires a $25,000 balance to earn this top yield and to avoid a monthly fee.

The offer was advertised in today's papers (5/09/2010) in Wisconsin and Kansas City. The ads listed the following M&I Bank promo web pages:

• Wisconsin: mibank.com/premierwi
• Kansas City: mibank.com/premierkc

The offer also seems to be available for other states where M&I has branches:

• Florida (offering a higher rate of 1.75% APY) mibank.com/premierfl
• Arizona: mibank.com/premieraz
• Indiana: mibank.com/premierin
• Minnesota: mibank.com/premiermn

Checking Account Promotion

M&I Bank continues to offer a promotion on its Cash Back Checking. I first posted on that promotion in this January post.

Bank Overview

Most of the branches are located in Wisconsin which is where their headquarters is located. M&I is a large regional bank with $50.2 billion in assets. Last month the bank had its annual shareholders meeting. As reported by The Business Journal of Milwaukee:

Marshall & Ilsley Corp. executives plan to start repaying the company's TARP debt in late 2011 and will not begin rebuilding M&I's common stock dividend, now at a penny a share, until 2013.

As you might expect, the bank doesn't have the best ratings for safety and soundness: 3 stars (adequate) at BauerFinancial and 2 stars (below peer group) at Bankrate.com. Both ratings are based on 12/31/09 financial data. It has been a FDIC member since 1934 (FDIC Certificate # 1020).