High-Yield Reward Checking and Savings Account at East Carolina Bank - North Carolina Only

The East Carolina Bank is offering competitive rates on its reward checking and savings account package. First, the reward checking account has the following rates and features if certain monthly requirements are met:

• 4.01% APY on balances up to $25,000
• 1.01% APY on portion of balance over $25,000
• 0.05% base rate if requirements are not met
• Nationwide ATM refunds up to $5 per transaction and up to $20 per statement cycle

These rates are listed at the bank's reward checking page as of 5/17/2010. Monthly requirements include:

• 10 debit card purchases
• 1 direct deposit, automatic debit, or bill pay online
• Receive e-statements

Additional features of the account include:

• $100 minimum initial deposit
• No minimum balance requirement
• No monthly service fee
• Free online bill pay

For those who have over $25,000 in savings, the bank's Real Saver account would make a nice companion account with the reward checking. If the customer meets the monthly reward checking requirements, the Real Saver account has the following rates:

• 1.50% APY on balances up to $50,000
• 1.01 APY on portion of the balance over $50,000
• 0.25% base rate if requirements are not met

These rates are listed at the bank's Real Saver page as of 5/17/2010. One important note about the Real Saver account is that it has the potential of monthly fees. A minimum Real Saver balance of $200 is required to avoid a $2 monthly fee.

There's an online application, and it appears to be available to all North Carolina residents.

Branches are located throughout East North Carolina including the cities of Washington, Leland, Morehead City, New Bern, Currituck, Hatteras, Engelhard, Williamston, Wilmington, Hertford, Greenville and Columbia.

The bank's ratings for safety and soundness are a little mixed: 4 stars (excellent) at BauerFinancial, 2 stars (below peer group) at Bankrate.com and an overall health score of 3 out of 5 at DepositAccounts.com (see our East Carolina Bank rates and reviews page). All ratings are based on 12/31/09 financial data. The bank has been a FDIC member since 1934 (FDIC Certificate # 2017).

Other High-Yield Reward Checking Accounts

Please refer to the reward checking section of DepositAccounts.com to find reward checking accounts in your state or that are available nationwide.