Melrose Credit Union Raises CD Yields - Available Nationwide

Melrose Credit Union increased the rates on all CD terms today by 25 basis points. This rate increase puts Melrose back near the top of the rate tables for several CD terms. On April 9th Melrose slashed all of its CD rates by 50 basis points. After those rate cuts, I was worried it would be a long time before we would see Melrose back on top. I'm glad to see it was only a short time.

Below is the old rates and the new CD rates as shown in the credit union's rate table as of 11:45am CDT 5/26/2010:

Term     Old APY   New APY   APY Change
1 year   1.51%     1.76%     +0.25
2 year   1.76%     2.02%     +0.26
3 year   2.27%     2.52%     +0.25
4 year   2.52%     2.78%     +0.26
5 year   3.03%     3.29%     +0.26

After the incident in March when Melrose mistakenly increased the 60-month CD rate on the rate table, I'm now a little suspicious about rate hikes. I called Melrose this morning, and I heard these same rates quoted. So these rate hikes appear to be real.

Minimum deposit is $5,000 ($4,000 for an IRA). Dividends accrue daily and are compounded quarterly. Members have the option to have their quarterly dividend transferred to another share account.

There are some issues to note regarding the CDs' early withdrawal penalty and the account application process. The early withdrawal penalty is more harsh than the usual CD which is an especially important issue to consider with long-term CDs. Refer to my September 2009 Melrose CU review for more details.

Joining Melrose Credit Union

Anyone can join the credit union. According to Melrose's membership page:

Since Melrose Credit Union has an open New York State charter there are no geographic or group affiliation field of membership restrictions. So, regardless of where you live or how you earn a living, you may qualify for membership.

Even though Melrose makes it easy to qualify, they don't make it easy to apply. Several readers have commented about problems they had in the application. Here's what one reader experienced:

Membership is open - but the application process is very onerous. I rent an apartment that includes utilities so I don't have a utility bill with a street address. I provided copies of my voter registration, my DL, my passport, and a letter from my landlord. And they still rejected me.

Another reader reported problems due to having a different last name than her husband:

I also ran into an interesting roadblock when I tried to join with my husband over a year ago. They wanted me to send a copy of our MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE (we have different names)!!

Melrose is located in Briarwood, New York which is in Queens.

Melrose Credit Union's ratings for safety and soundness continue to be very strong: 4 stars (sound) Bankrate.com, 5 stars (superior) at BauerFinancial and an overall health score of 5 out of 5 at DepositAccounts.com (see our Melrose Credit Union rates and reviews page). All ratings are based on 12/31/09 financial data. Melrose is federally insured by the NCUA (Charter # 62005

Finding the Best CD Rates

To find the best CD rates in your state or the best CD rates that are available nationwide, please refer to the CD rates section of DepositAccounts.com.