Delaware Banking Rates and News

I don't usually come across competitive reward checking accounts that I haven't already reviewed, but I came across one at Del-One Federal Credit Union which is offering a reward checking account called Better Life Checking. The account has the following rates and features if certain monthly requirements are met (as of 5/9/2012):

• 3.00% APY on balances up to $25,000
• 0.35% APY on portion of balance over $25,000
• Refunds of ATM fees up to $25 per month

Monthly requirements include:

• 10 debit card purchases
• direct deposit
• e-statements

There is no monthly service fee and no minimum balance. Please refer to the Del-One's checking page for...

PNC Bank continues to offer a $100 bonus for opening its Virtual Wallet with Performance Spend and for performing certain activities. PNC has made it a little easier to qualify for the $100 bonus compared to last year. However, customers will have to be careful to avoid fees. The Performance Spend is an "upgraded" version of Virtual Wallet, and it has potential monthly fees.

Here's the link to PNC's promotion page. The offer is scheduled to end on 6/30/2012. You can open the account online or choose to have them email you a coupon to take to...

The Fulton Financial family of banks is again having a checking account promotion in which you can earn a nice gift. This time the gift is an Amazon Kindle Fire. To qualify for the Kindle Fire, the promotion requires that you open a checking account, sign up for direct deposit and pay three bills using online bill pay.

The Fulton Financial family has 6 banks that cover much of Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. You can select the bank that's near where you live from this Fulton Financial map. I checked a few of these, and...

We are still seeing checking account bonuses from the big banks. Those who are careful may be able to profit from these, but the banks know that they will most likely profit in the end. The latest big bank offering a checking account bonus is M&T Bank which is offering a $100 cash bonus for customers who add direct deposit to a MyChoice Checking account. M&T Bank has this promotion advertised on its home page and on its special website raisethegreenflag.com/mychoice.

Those who try to qualify for this bonus should be aware of...

MidCoast Community Bank is once again offering a top rate on its short-term CDs. The rate is 1.45% APY for terms from 6 to 12 months. Most of the longer-term CD rates are not quite as competitive. However, the CDs with terms over 3 years are pretty good. There's a 1.80% APY 42-month CD and a 2.25% APY 5-year CD. Minimum deposit is $500. These rates are listed in the bank's rates page as of 10/25/2011.

It appears that a branch visit is required to open an account. MidCoasat Community Bank branches are located...

PNC Bank's Virtual Wallet has changed quite a bit since I first reviewed it in 2009. The good news is that it's still easy to keep it free without monthly fees. Considering how many of the large banks have added monthly fees and debit card fees to their checking accounts, PNC's Virtual Wallet is noteworthy. The bad news is that you don't get rewarded like you used to. Another downside is that it has become more complicated. Virtual Wallet has never been simple. It's composed of three different accounts:

• Spend Account (checking)
• Reserve Account (for short-term savings & overdraft protection)
• Growth...

Update 2/17/2012: PNC has extended the promotion to 3/31/2012. Here's the new promotion page link. Also note, the full $100 bonus no longer requires the use of online bill pay.

PNC Bank has another $100 bonus for opening a new qualifying checking account and for performing certain activities. This is being advertised on their home page. Here's the direct link to their promo page. The offer is scheduled to end on 10/22/2011. Here's a summary of the requirements for the first $75:

• Open a new Virtual Wallet Performance or other select PNC Personal...

Update 5/22/2012: The promotional rate has fallen. Also, the number of monthly transactions required has gone down. Now only 10 transactions per month are required to qualify for the promotional rate. Please refer to the Capital One promotional webpage for the latest details.

Capital One Bank has responded quickly after new rules took effect last week which allows banks to pay interest on business checking accounts. Capital One has started to advertise a new promotion called the Clear Interest Business Checking. It guarantees 1.10% APY for 1 year on balances between $10K and...

Update 6/23/11: The CD rates have fallen.

MidCoast Community Bank has just made a nice bump-up in its short-term CD rates. The CDs with terms of 6 to 9 months now have a 1.35% APY. Minimum deposit is $500. These rates are listed in the bank's rates page as of 6/7/2011.

It appears that a branch visit is required to open an account. MidCoasat Community Bank branches are located in Dover and Wilmington, Delaware.

Midcoast Community Bank has an overall health score at DepositAccounts.com of 4 stars (out of 5) with a Texas Ratio of 5.96%...

Every now and then Doral Bank Direct offers competitive CD rates. Its latest deal is a 1-year CD with a 1.40% APY. Minimum deposit is $1,000. This is the only rate that's competitive. All the other CD rates are low. These rates are listed in the bank's CD page as of 3/29/2011.

My last report on this bank was about a year ago when they were offering a 1-year CD special. One odd thing is their requirement to close out a CD. You have to send them the original Certificate that was sent...

Update: PNC has extended the promotion to 6/18/2011. Here's the new PNC promotion page.

PNC Bank has another $100 bonus for opening a checking account with some additional requirements. This was being advertised on their home page. Here's the direct link to their promo page. The offer ends on 1/22/2011. Here's a summary of the requirements for the first $75:

• Open a new Virtual Wallet or other new select new PNC Personal Checking account
• Established a qualifying direct deposit within 60 days of account opening
• Make 10 purchases with your Check Card that post within 60 days...

MidCoast Community Bank is offering a very competitive rate on its short-term CDs. For terms from 6 months to 12 months the CD yield is 1.00% APY. Minimum deposit is $500. These CDs are listed at the bank's rates page as of 12/21/2010.

It appears that a branch visit is required to open an account. Branches are located in Wilmington and Dover, Delaware.

As a comparison to internet banks on 12/21/2010, the best 6-month CD rate is 1.11% APY at Aurora Bank FSB. ING Direct's 6-month CD rate is...