2.20% 18-Month CD at NASA Federal Credit Union - Easy Membership

NASA Federal Credit Union came out with another certificate promotion for the new month. Unfortunately, the rates are lower than September's promotion. However, there's still one competitive CD rate. It's the 18-month CD which has a rate of 2.20% APY. The other ones include a 3.25% APY 55-month CD and a 1.50% APY 9-month CD. Minimum deposit is $5,000. According to the certificate rate table, these specials are also available in an IRA and ESA.

During a previous promotion, readers noted the following on page 23 of the member services agreement (pdf):

This rate will not change during the term of your certificate unless the Credit Union notifies you at least 30 calendar days prior to any rate decrease.

So technically these are callable CDs. However, it appears very unlikely that the credit union would call the CD. Here's an excerpt of an email I received from NASA FCU:

This notification does permit NASA Federal to adjust the rate on a fixed term provided notification is provided to the account holder with 30 days notice. To my knowledge, in the 60 year history of NASA Federal we have not applied this policy.

A couple of other important certificate details mentiond in the member services agreement include:

• Early withdrawal penalty is 180 days of dividends on the amount withdrawn
• Grace period at maturity when the CD can be redeemed without penalty is 10 calendar days

In addition to many select employee groups, the credit union's field of membership includes several associations in which anyone can join. A reader in my previous post noted that they've added a new association (American Consumer Council). This is free to join, and you can join at this credit union page. A $5 minimum balance to your savings account is required for credit union membership. Readers have mentioned in this July 2007 post that the online application requires a minimum $25 deposit to fund electronically.

Commenters in past NASA Federal posts have mentioned that NASA Federal has done hard credit pulls via Equifax (which will slightly ding your credit score) during account opening.

Branches are located in Maryland, Washington, DC and Virginia.

NASA Federal continues to have a solid ratings for safety and soundness: 5 stars (superior) at BauerFinancial (based on 6/30/09 data) and 3 stars (performing) at Bankrate.com (based on 3/31/09 data. The credit union is federally insured by the NCUA (Charter # 6328).

Other High Certificate of Deposit Rates

• My weekly list of hot nationwide and local CD deals
• My weekly list of all nationwide CD deals
• Index of state CD and bank deals

Tags: NASA Federal Credit Union, Virginia, Maryland, CD rates