Special IRA CDs at Affinity Federal Credit Union in New Jersey

This is another example of an institution offering special IRA CD rates before 2010 IRA contributions are no longer allowed. This year you have until April 18th to make an IRA contribution for 2010.

Affinity Federal Credit Union is offering two IRA CD specials: 2.00% APY for 2 years and 2.75% APY for 5 years. Minimum deposit is $500. The rates for the regular CDs are lower: 1.50% APY for 2 years and 2.50% APY for 5 years. These rates are listed in the credit union's rates page as of 4/3/2011.

I haven't noticed it before, but Affinity FCU appears to be another credit union with easy membership in that you can qualify by joining an association. In the credit union's Join Affinity page, it states the following:

And, membership is also available to most everyone by joining a participating association or club.

In the credit union's list of participating organizations, the following is described:

Friends of Whittemore is a non-profit organization that supports the environmental education and habitat improvement programs of the Whittemore Wildlife Sanctuary in Oldwick, NJ. To join, select "Friends of Whittemore" in the eligibility section of your Affinity membership application. After you become an Affinity member, please deposit an additional $5 into your Affinity Savings Account to fund your Friends of Whittemore membership. We will then transfer $5 to Friends of Whittemore.

Update 11/17/2011: The credit union has added the following limitation to membership: "Affinity membership through the Friends of Whittemore is only available to residents of New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania."

Affinity Federal Credit Union branches are located in several North New Jersey cities. Note, several of them are located in facilities that have restricted access.

It's a large credit union with $2.03 billion in assets. The credit union has an overall health score at DepositAccounts.com of 3 stars (out of 5) with a Texas Ratio of 20.49% (average) based on December 2010 data. Please refer to our financial overview of Affinity Federal Credit Union for more details. The credit union is federally insured by the NCUA (Charter # 857).

How It Compares

A 2.00% APY for a 2-year CD is very competitive. The best nationally available 2-year CD rate is 1.77% APY at Self-Help Credit Union as of 4/3/2011. ING Direct is still offering an IRA CD special. It's also a 2.00% APY, but it's a 3-year term (see my ING Direct IRA review).

The 2.75% APY for 5 years is not quite as competitive. The best nationally available 5-year CD rate is 2.93% APY at Melrose Credit Union as of 4/3/2011.

Searching for the Best CD and IRA CD Rates

To search for the best nationwide rates and the best rates in your state, please refer to the following sections of DepositAccounts.com:

• CD rates
• IRA CD rates