High-Yield Reward Checking Account at First Community Credit Union of Houston - Local Only

First Community Credit Union of Houston is offering a high-yield reward checking account called First Rewards Checking. The account has the following rates and features if certain monthly requirements are met:

• 3.01% APY on balances up to $10,000
• 0.65% APY on portion of balances over $10,000
• 0.01% base rate if requirements are not met
• Nationwide ATM fee refunds

Monthly requirements include:

• 12 debit card purchases
• 1 direct deposit
• Receive e-statements

Other features of the account include:

• $25 minimum opening deposit
• No minimum balance required
• Free bill pay requires using bill pay at least once a month

Credit union membership is open to those who live or work in Harris or Fort Bend County, Texas. Please refer to the credit union's eligibility page for the full details. Membership requires a $5 minimum balance in the primary savings account.

Most of the credit union's branches are located on the west side of Houston.

The credit union's ratings for safety and soundness are average: 3 stars (adequate) at BauerFinancial (based on 12/31/09 data) and 3 stars (performing) at Bankrate.com (based on 9/30/09 data). The credit union is federally insured by the NCUA (Charter # 66818).

Other Reward Checking Accounts

This rate and balance cap at this Houston credit union are a little below average for reward checking. It seems like institutions in large cities tend to have reward checking rates lower than average.

To find nationally available reward checking accounts and reward checking accounts in your local area, please refer to the reward checking section of DepositAccounts.com.

Rate History:

• 02/23/11: 3.01% APY up to $10K; 0.65% over (not sure about date)
• 03/17/10: 3.01% APY up to $20K; 1.01% over; 0.01% base