Arizona Banking Rates and News

I first reported on Credit Union West in 2007 when it was offering a reward checking account called Star Checking. Back in the early days the Star Checking was a very competitive reward checking account, but that ended in 2011. It appears Credit Union West is again trying to offer a competitive reward checking account under the Kasasa brand. The checking account is called Kasasa Cash. Below is a list of the account rates and features that are listed in the credit union’s Kasasa Cash page as of 5/23/2013:

Rates if monthly requirements are met:

• 2.01% APY for...

I came across Western State Bank yesterday when I learned it’s taking over a bank that failed on Tuesday. I noticed the bank is listing a bonus of up to $100 for its checking account on its front page. The details are listed in its Benny! page. Here’s what is required to receive the full $100 (as of 5/16/2013):

• $25 Sign up for Direct Deposit
• $25 Pay five bills with Bill Pay
• $25 Make 10 Cash and Check Card Transactions
• $25 Open a Treasury Market Account

The offer is valid on new personal checking accounts only. Payment will be made...

After the uproar in 2011 about large banks ending free checking accounts and adding new fees, Bank Transfer Day and the Move Your Money movement became popular. Many credit unions advertised themselves as a better alternative to the megabanks. Articles were written here and in the media about how switching to credit unions can save you money. However, not all credit unions are created equal, and some credit unions may cost you more than the megabanks.

One example of a credit union that may be more costly than a megabank is Arizona Federal Credit Union. In January, the...

Washington Federal is offering a special short-term CD. It's a 7-month CD with a 1.00% APY. Minimum deposit is $1,000, and the maximum is $250,000. Thanks to DA reader Pearlbrown who first noted this special in the forum. I found this special mentioned at this Washington Federal deposit rates page on 3/5/2013.

In 2011 Washington Federal had offered top rates on its 5-year CDs. Most of its current standard CD rates are not too competitive.

A branch visit has been required to open accounts. For those who prefer opening a CD in a branch, this bank may...

After other credit unions have cut their CD rates, Mountain America Credit Union (MACU) now has the best 5-year CD and IRA CD rate as compared to other major credit unions. Mountain America calls these Term Deposits. The 5-year Term Deposit has a 2.00% APY. Minimum deposit is $500. This rate is listed at MACU's rates page as of 2/12/2013. Rates are subject to change at anytime.

Some of the term deposit details are listed in the credit union's membership agreement. However, it doesn't appear to list the early withdrawal penalty. When I last...

Bank of the West has recently brought back its $150 checking account promotion. It looks like the same promotion they were offering last summer. Just like the last one, there's also a $200 bonus, but that requires a checking account with high monthly service fees that can't be easily waived. These promotions are listed on Bank of the West's home page.

Details for the $150 bonus are listed in this Bank of the West promotions page. The checking account must be opened by 3/8/2013.

To qualify for the full $150 requires the following:

• Must open a new Easy...

BBVA Compass has changed its checking account promotion for the new year. Instead of a cash bonus, this new one offers a free Kindle Fire HD. Unlike the previous one, this new one requires direct deposit (and they specifically exclude bank-to-bank transfers). Here's the link to the new promotion. Below are the steps required for the bonus:

• Open a consumer checking account with a $25 minimum deposit by 3/31/2013
• Have a qualifying direct deposit of at least $300 from an unrelated third party post to the account within 90 days of account opening, AND
• Make 3 online bill payments...

Beal Bank is again offering some competitive 1-year CD rates. However, the best rates are only in a few cities where it has branches, and they are different cities than when I last reported on Beal Bank in August. You can check what rates are available in your area by entering your zip code in Beal Bank's rates page. I did this for zip codes of most of the cities where Beal Bank has branches.

The best 12-month CD deal has a 1.11% APY and is available in Southeast Florida in the Miami metro area. I wasn't...

BBVA Compass has been offering competitive rates on its Featured CDs for the last several months. I just learned this morning that customers can receive an extra 10 basis points on the 24-month and 60-month Featured CD rates if the customer also opens a checking account. Below is a summary of the rates as of 11/5/2012:

• 2.10% APY 5-year CD with checking (2.00% w/o checking)
• 1.35% APY 2-year CD with checking (1.25% w/o checking)

These rates without a checking account are listed at BBVA Compass CDs page, but the extra rate with a checking account doesn't appear to be...

Yesterday I learned about MidFirst Direct, the internet division of MidFirst Bank. It offers a money market account, checking account and CDs with maturities of 3 months to 60 months. Both the money market account and checking account have low rates, but I was pleasantly surprised to see some very competitive CD rates. Compared to other internet banks, the best two are a 1.35% APY 1-year CD and a 1.40% APY 18-month CD. Below is a list of all of the competitive CD rates as listed at the MidFirst Direct CD page as of 9/11/2012:

• 1.35%...

MidFirst Bank is offering a checking account promotion with a $100 cash bonus that's similar to its last year's promotion. Details are listed in the bank's promotions page. To qualify for the bonus, you must open a new consumer checking by 12/31/2012. Also, 3 out of 5 of the following requirements must be met within 75 days of account opening:

• $250 minimum monthly recurring direct deposit
• 25 Visa Check Card transactions. Multiple swipes for the same transaction do not qualify.
• Complete 5 valid bill payments. A valid bill payment is defined as a bill payment to a third party...

Arizona Federal Credit Union is one of the few remaining institutions still offering a 2.00% APY 5-year CD. Minimum deposit is $500 ($100 for IRA certificates). Its 4-year share certificate is also fairly competitive with a 1.50% APY. However, the shorter-term CDs have much lower rates. These rates are listed in the credit union's certificates rates page as of 8/30/2012.

One downside with Arizona Federal's 4-year and 5-year share certificates is a large early withdrawal penalty. It's equal to 720 days dividends. This is shown at the bottom of the rate table. That's almost 2 years of...