Competitive CD Specials at Fort Knox FCU - Limited to KY, TN & IN

If you haven't been turned off by what Fort Knox Federal Credit Union did in 2011, you may want to consider its current CD specials. These include a 1.50% APY 23-month CD, a 1.20% APY 14-month CD and a 1.00% APY 6-month CD. Minimum deposit is $500. These rates are listed in the credit union's Term Share Certificate Rates page as of 12/28/2012.

Even though Fort Knox FCU makes it easy for anyone in the nation to join, not everyone can qualify for these special CDs. Only long-time members or residents of Kentucky, Tennessee or Indiana can qualify.

Fort Knox FCU is well known here as the credit union which raised the early withdrawal penalty on members' existing certificates. A member filed a complaint with the NCUA over this issue, but the NCUA ruled in favor of Fort Knox FCU's right to increase the EWP based on generic clauses in the membership agreement. I have the details in this post.

If this EWP incident isn't a deal killer for you, there are several nice perks with Fort Knox FCU membership. First, the credit union is part of the CU Service Center which allows you to take care of many banking transactions at a shared branch. In 2010 a reader described how he easily opened a Fort Knox FCU CD by deposited a large check at a local credit union that belonged to this network. The deposit was made to his Fort Knox savings account. He called Fort Knox FCU that same day, and he was able to open the CD with the funds from the deposited check.

The credit union offers a free checking account with free ATMs worldwide.

Fort Knox FCU also offers a nice cash-back credit card with 5% cash back for gas purchases.

Membership Eligibility

According to the credit union's membership eligibility page:

If you do not meet any of these eligibility criteria, you may qualify for membership by joining the American Consumer Council --it's free!

There's a "Become a member" link on this page which takes you to an online application. In the online application where you select how you're eligible to join, it states:

If you can't find an eligibility requirement to match your situation, you can still join the credit union. Just select the "I'm eligible for membership through" drop down to the left and choose the "other" option.

Membership requires a one-time $10 fee and a minimum $5 balance in your share account.

Credit Union Overview

Fort Knox Federal Credit Union branches are located in several cities in Kentucky including Fort Knox, Radcliff, Elizabethtown and Campbellsville. Also, as I mentioned above, the credit union belongs to the shared credit union network that allows you to perform several banking transactions at shared branches across the nation.

The credit union has an overall health score at DepositAccounts.com of 5 stars (out of 5) with a Texas Ratio of 2.36% (excellent) based on September 2012 data. Please refer to our financial overview of Fort Knox FCU for more details. The credit union is federally insured by the NCUA (Charter # 7000).

How These CD Rates Compare

If you can't qualify for these Fort Knox FCU specials or if you just don't want to do business with them, there are other options. The highest 24-month CD rate that's nationally available is 1.50% APY at Pentagon Federal Credit Union.

The highest 12-month CD rate that's nationally available is 1.16% APY at State Bank of India - Chicago. The highest at an internet bank is 1.05% APY.

The best short-term CD deal used to be at Digital Federal Credit Union which had a great 8-month CD special, but that appears to have ended. Now the best short-term CD deal is at Ally Bank with a 0.95% APY 11-month No Penalty CD. With this no-penalty feature, the customer can make this CD have any term from 7 days to 11 months.

The above rates are accurate as of 12/28/2012.

Searching for the Best CD Rates

To search for nationwide CD rates and CD rates in your state, please refer to the best CD rates section of DepositAccounts.com.