Arizona Banking Rates and News

Washington Federal continues to offer a competitive 5-year CD rate. For a minimum deposit of $90K, it's 2.30% APY. The 3-year and 4-year CD rates are also competitive: 1.55% APY for 3 years and 1.80% APY for 4 years. The rates are 5 basis points lower for a $1K deposit. These rates are listed in the bank's rates page as of 12/07/2011.

I first reported on this deal in September. When I called the bank in September, I was told that the rates are typically not changed until Fridays. One downside to this 5-year...

MidFirst Bank is offering a checking account promotion with a cash bonus of either $100 or $125. The bank's branches in Arizona have a $125 bonus, and those in Oklahoma have a $100 bonus. Details are listed in the bank's promotions page. To qualify for the bonus, you must open a new consumer checking by 12/31/2011. 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.
• Elect eStatements and complete 5...

First American Credit Union continues to offer very competitive CD rates especially for minimum deposits of $50,000. Some of these include a 2.52% APY 5-year CD, 1.76% APY 3-year CD and a 1.26% APY 1-year CD. These rates are listed in the credit union's rates page as of 11/29/2011. This page has some old dates, but according to the credit union rep, these rates are still valid.

The credit union doesn't provide many details about its field of membership. In its How To Join page, it just says "All it takes to...

Mountain America Credit Union has increased the bonus amount of its Facebook checking account promotion. In mid October a reader mentioned a $100 checking incentive. It's now $125. They want you to "like" their Facebook page before they will show you the flyer. If you don't have a Facebook account, here's the direct link to the checking promo flyer (PDF). The flyer provides the following instructions:

Bring this coupon to any branch. Open your new checking account, set up free direct deposit and free eStatements to get your $125 bonus.

There is no expiration date...

On Friday US Bank did something that's rare these days. It raised the rate of its competitive long-term CD. The rate of the 59-month CD special increased from 2.00% to 2.25% APY. The two other special CDs with shorter terms are not nearly as competitive. One is a 1.25% APY 37-month CD and the other is a 1.01% APY 19-month CD. Minimum deposit is $1,000, and the maximum is $249,999. These rates are listed in US Bank's CD page as of 10/31/2011. Rates could change at any time, but they typically change on Friday mornings.

Washington Federal is offering a competitive 5-year CD rate. For a minimum deposit of $90K, it's 2.30% APY. The rate is 5 basis points lower for a $1K deposit. These rates are listed in the bank's rates page as of 9/19/2011.

When I called the bank last Thursday, I was told that the rates are typically not changed until Fridays. One downside to this 5-year CD is its early withdrawal penalty of 1 year of interest which is larger than the typical 6 months of interest.

A branch visit is required to open an...

New York Community Bank acquired AmTrust Bank in December 2009 when AmTrust Bank failed. New York Community Bank has continued to operate AmTrust as one of its divisions. You can open accounts online at AmTrust.com or at AmTrustDirect.com, or at one of its branches in Arizona, South Florida and Ohio. The best online deal is AmTrustDirect's Premium e-Money Market Account which has a promotional 1.25% APY for balances of $10K to $150K (as of 9/5/2011). AmTrustDirect has been offering this promo rate since April. I'm a little concerned that it may not last too much...

You can use our reward checking table to find reward checking accounts that are available in your state. However, it still can be useful to review reward checking accounts that are available in a city. I've done this in the past for Houston and Austin. Today, I'll focus on the Phoenix metro area.

I'm afraid the best reward checking account deals aren't in Phoenix. Higher rates can be found in other parts of the country, but most of these are local deals which are only available to residents of that market area. The reward checking accounts...

It's hard to find decent CD rates anywhere in the country, but it's especially hard in Arizona. I found one credit union in Arizona with a branch in the Phoenix metro area that continues to offer some competitive rates. First American Credit Union's most competitive rate is its 5-year CD with a 2.52% APY for a minimum deposit of $50K (2.37% APY for $1K minimum). The 1-year CD is also fairly competitive with a 1.26% APY for a $50K minimum. These rates are listed in the credit union's rates page as of 8/15/2011. This page has...

Bank of the West has just started a new checking account promotion with a $100 bonus that's scheduled to last until 9/16/2011. Here's the link to the offer. Unlike previous Bank of the West promotions, this one requires direct deposit. There doesn't seem to be online bill pay option. Like previous promotions, only those who reside in their market area are eligible (see below for the eligible states). The bank is still advertising a free checking account with no monthly service charges or monthly fees. This is becoming rare for large banks.

Below is the...

Bank 1440 is offering two add-on CDs with competitive rates. The rates are not great, but the add-on feature can make them a good deal. The two rates are 1.50% APY for a 2-year term and a 1.75% APY for a 3-year term. Minimum deposit is $1,000, and according to the rate table, "additional deposits can be made monthly, with a minimum deposit amount of $1,000." These rates are listed in the bank's rate table as of 7/13/2011.

Add-on CDs can be very useful when interest rates continue to fall. I'm sure many readers are...

I know many don't think callable CDs are good deals, but in today's environment, can they be a reasonable choice? You may ask that question for the long-term callable CDs that MidFirst Bank is offering. The most competitive rates have 7-year terms. The rate is 3.20% APY for a 1-year lock and 3.10% APY for a 2-year lock. That means the bank guarantees that it won't call the CD early before the lock period ends. The fixed rate 7-year CD that is not callable has a 2.70% APY. The callable CDs have a $5,000 minimum deposit and the fixed...