3.00% Reward Checking Account at Harborstone Credit Union in WA

Comments (5)
Jan 6, 2010 - 7:24 AM by Ken Tumin

Harborstone Credit Union
Harborstone Credit Union has a high-yield reward checking account called BreakFree Checking. It offers the following rates and features if certain monthly requirements are met:
  • 3.00% APY on balances up to $50,000
  • 0.05% on portion of balance over $50,000
  • 0.05% base rate if requirements are not met
  • Reimbursement of all U.S ATM fees
Note, the rates are listed at the credit union's rates page. The monthly requirements include:
  • 12 Visa debit card purchases
  • 2 online Bill Pay transactions
Additional features of the account regardless of the monthly requirements include:
  • $25 minimum initial deposit
  • No Minimum Balance Requirement
  • No Monthly Maintenance Fee
  • Free checks
Membership is open to anyone who lives, works, or worships in the state of Washington. Also eligible are all retired U.S. Air Force, Army, Navy, Marine, or Coast Guard personnel living anywhere in the world and all retired civil service employees living anywhere in the world. Please refer to the credit union's membership qualifications page for more details. At the bottom of this page, there's a link to an online membership application. Membership requires a one-time fee of $5 and a minimum deposit of $25 into the regular savings account.

Branches are located in the Washington cities of Tacoma, Bonney Lake, Fife, Gig Harbor, Lacey, Lakewood, Spanaway, Puyallup and in McChord Air Force Base.

The credit union's ratings for safety and soundness are strong: 4 stars (excellent) at BauerFinancial (based on 9/30/09 data) and 4 stars (sound) at Bankrate.com (based on 6/30/09 data). The credit union is federally insured by the NCUA (Charter # 66399).

Other Reward Checking Accounts

The 3% APY is a little low, but the $50K cap helps make up for it. To find reward checking accounts in other areas of the nation, please refer to the reward checking section of DepositAccounts.com. To learn more about reward checking, please refer to this reward checking overview.

Banks Mentioned in this Post:

Harborstone Credit Union
Locations: 12   Health Rating: 		 
Recent Posts: Updated Review of Harborstone's Reward... | 5.53% 9-Month CD at a Washington State...
Latest Review: "This bank has some of the most unprofessional employees I have ever seen. ..."


Post a CommentComments
In order of date posted. - Sort by votes
Anonymous

Anonymous - #1, Wednesday, January 6, 2010 - 7:50 AM

Not clear if it is open to any that are non-DoD and non-local; but who cares at this low RCA rate.


1
Anonymous

Anonymous - #2, Friday, January 8, 2010 - 11:18 AM

It is not available to everyone living in WA state but only to the counties where the CU is located. The application form shows the list of counties. You can also be eligible through membership in some military-based and other organizations.


1
Banking Guy

Banking Guy (anonymous) - #3, Friday, January 8, 2010 - 12:14 PM

Thanks. It looks like they have a mistake on their membership page since it states "If you live, work, or worship in the state of Washington, you are eligible for membership." It wouldn't be the first time a credit union had the wrong eligibility info on their website.


1
Banking Guy

Banking Guy (anonymous) - #4, Friday, January 8, 2010 - 6:13 PM

Just received an email reply from Harborstone CU regarding eligibility:

Thank you for your email to Harborstone Credit Union. You do not need to live in an area close to our branches. If you live in the state of Washington, you are eligible to apply for membership here at Harborstone Credit Union.


1
Anonymous

Anonymous - #5, Saturday, May 1, 2010 - 1:55 PM

This was a pretty good deal for one that wanted to save some $ and get a decent interest rate.  But it is really hard to meet "their requirements"   When you think you paid your on line bills or used your debit card, it is determined when they are cashed not when you paid.  You find out two months later, sorry no interest.   So you are at the control of the bank when they debit your account.  Interesting how it always works in their favor to avoid paying YOU interest.

After two months of these shenagans, my money will go elsewhere.


4

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