Competitive Long-Term CD Rates in St. Louis at Gateway Metro FCU

Gateway Metro Federal Credit Union is offering three competitive long-term CD and IRA CD rates. These are 2.00% APY for 4 years, 2.25% APY for 5 years and 2.50% APY for 6 years. These rates are listed in the credit union's savings rates page as of 1/11/2012.

These share certificates have a minimum deposit of $1,000. Details are listed in the credit union's Truth in Savings disclosure. I appreciate how the credit union words the early withdrawal allowance:

You may make withdrawals of principal from your account before maturity. Principal withdrawn before maturity is included in the amount subject to early withdrawal penalty.

This clearly states that members are allowed to make early withdrawals. The early withdrawal penalty is 270 days of interest for the 6-year CD and 180 days of interest for 4- and 5-year CDs.

Reward Checking Account

They have a unique reward checking account called E*Hanced Checking that currently pays 6.02% APY. It's unique because this rate applies only to balances up to $1,500. Perhaps if this were 3x the amount, it might be worthwhile. Please refer to the E*Hanced Checking page for the full details.

Membership

Membership is open to anyone who lives, works, worships or attends school in the City of St. Louis, St. Louis County and St. Charles County. Please refer to the credit union's membership page for more details. Membership requires maintaining a minimum $5 balance in your share savings account.

Credit Union Overview & Locations

Gateway Metro Federal Credit Union branches are located in St. Louis and in the St. Louis metro area cities of St. Peters, Florissant and Swansea.

The credit union has an overall health score at DepositAccounts.com of 4 stars (out of 5) with a Texas Ratio of 11.54% (above average) based on September 2011 data. Please refer to our financial overview of Gateway Metro FCU for more details. The credit union is federally insured by the NCUA (Charter # 24797).

How These CD Rates Compare

There aren't many institutions that offer 6-year CDs. Most limit maturities to 5 years. Longer term CDs typically have maturities of 7 or 10 years. The best nationally available 5-year CD rate is 2.68% APY at Melrose Credit Union. For a 7-year term, the highest rate is 2.75% APY at Pentagon Federal Credit Union. For a bank, the best 5-year rate is 2.25% APY (59 month) at US Bank. These rates are accurate as of 1/11/2012.

It should be noted that all three of these institutions have harsh early withdrawal penalties. PenFed's 5- and 7-year CDs have EWPs up to 1-year of dividends (see review). I have more details on the EWP at Melrose in this post and at US Bank in this post.

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