Delaware Deposit Account Rates and Deals

Sovereign Bank is offering a checking and money market promotion in which you can earn a bonus of $150 and receive a 1.50% APY guarantee for 3 months in the money market account. The promo is scheduled to expire 3/13/2010. Here's the promo page link.

First, here are the requirements for the $150 checking account bonus:

• Open a new Sovereign Premier Checking, Business Owner Premier Checking, Interest Checking, or Partnership Checking account by March 13, 2010, with a minimum opening deposit of $100
• Open any Sovereign savings or money market savings account with a minimum opening deposit of $100 or already have a savings or money market savings account
• Enroll in Online Banking at account opening
• Set up and receive one direct deposit within 60 days of opening your account
• Request a Sovereign Debit Card and make 5 Debit Card purchases within 60 days after you open your account

When you qualify, you will receive a credit of $150 to your new checking account within 75 days after you open your checking account.

Some important small print:

• Offer available only to residents in the following states: ME, VT, NH, CT, RI, MA, NY, NJ, PA, MV, MD, DE, and District of Columbia.
• Direct deposits you initiate from an account at another bank do not qualify
• The amount of the bonus credited to your account will be reported to the IRS as interest
• Current personal checking customers or anyone who has had a personal checking account with Sovereign Bank in the last 6 months are not eligible for this offer.
• Current savings customers are eligible

An important note regarding the Interest Checking is that direct deposit is required to avoid a $10 monthly fee. On the plus side is that they provide free checks. The Premier Checking is even worse in terms of potential fees. A $15,000 combined balance is required to avoid a $30/month fee. For the savings accounts, the Money Market Savings appears to be a good choice since it has no monthly maintenance fee and no minimum balance requirement. Note, the monthly fees and minimum balance vary considerably based on your state.

Here are the requirements to qualify for 1.50% APY for 3 months:

• Open a new Premier Checking account and open a new Premier Money Market Savings account by March 13, 2010
• Bonus rate will apply for each day your balance is $10,000 to $499,999 and is guaranteed for 3 months from the date you open your account

Some important small print:

• Same geographic restriction as mentioned above
• Anyone who has had a Sovereign savings, money market savings, or personal checking account with Sovereign in the last 6 months are not eligible for the bonus rate

Unlike the checking account promotion, this requires a Premier Money Market Savings account. Details of this account are in the promo page (click more for this account in the promo page). The Premier Money Savings is free of minimum balance requirements and has no monthly fees as long as you have a Premier Checking account (which, as I mentioned, has its own fees)

When I called Sovereign Bank in April 2008 regarding a similar promotion, I was told that there's no account closure fee if an account is closed after 90 days. Otherwise, it's $25. The CSR also said they don't perform a hard credit inquiry. They just use ChexSystem in the application.

There's an online application link in the promo page. However, the small print states that residential addresses must be located in the northeast states (see above).

Branches are located in the Northeast in the states of Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. The bank is a FDIC member (FDIC Certificate # 29950).

Other Bank Bonuses

Refer to the Bank Bonus page for the other bonuses at banks and credit unions around the nation.

MidCoast Community Bank is offering a very competitive rate on its short-term CDs. For terms from 3 months to 11 months the CD yield is 2.25% APY. Minimum deposit is $500. CDs are available as both personal and business accounts. These CDs are listed at the bank's rates page as of 12/15/09.

It appears that a branch visit is required to open an account. Remember to call before driving a long distance to make sure they accept non-local deposits. Branches are located in Wilmington and Dover, Delaware.

The bank has a history of competitive deposit rates. My last post on this bank was in July when they were offering a 2.05% 7-month CD. One interesting thing to note is that MidCoast is located in the same city where ING Direct has its headquarters. One would think that the giant internet bank could offer more competitive CD rates than a small brick-and-mortar bank (ING Direct does have a decent 1-year CD rate).

The bank's ratings for safety and soundness are above average: 4 stars (excellent) at BauerFinancial (based on 9/30/09 data) and 3 stars (performing) at Bankrate.com (based on 6/30/09 data). The bank has been a FDIC member since 2007 (FDIC Certificate # 58498).

Other Competitive Certificate of Deposit Rates

• CD rates at DepositAccounts.com (overview of DepositAccounts.com)
• My weekly list of hot nationwide and local CD deals

TD Bank is offering a promotion on its Elite Savings Account with a 1.50% APY guaranteed for 3 months. Minimum daily balance of $10,000 must be maintained to qualify for the 3-month guarantee, and new money is required. Also, a TD Bank checking account is required. The offer is scheduled to end on November 30, 2009. Refer to the bottom of the bank's savings account page for the full details. The account has a $12 monthly maintenance fee if you don't meet the $10K balance requirement or if you are under 62.

Why Report on 1.50%?

An APY of 1.50% is nothing to get excited about, but unfortunately, in today's environment, it's fairly competitive. It's higher than the savings account rates offered by ING Direct, HSBC Direct and iGObanking. Also, for those who prefer to bank at a brick-and-mortar branch, this may a decent option for your short-term money. I doubt the rate will remain competitive after the 3 months.

Branches

There's an online application, but you are still required to select a local bank office to service your account. Branches are located in Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Virginia.

TD Bank is part of the bank holding company Toronto-Dominion Bank which is Canada's second largest lender. It was recently reported by Bloomberg that they are actively looking at FDIC-assisted deals to acquire more banks specifically in Florida, Boston and Washington.

TD Bank's ratings for safety and soundness are fair: 3 stars (performing) at Bankrate.com and 4 stars (excellent) at BauerFinancial. Both ratings are based on 6/30/09 financial data. TD Bank has been a FDIC member since 1961 (FDIC Certificate # 18409).

Thanks to the reader who emailed me info on this promotion.

Other Competitive Money Market Accounts

• Savings Account Weekly Rate Summary
• bank deals by state

Sovereign Bank has a new promotion in which you can earn $100 for a new checking and a savings account. The promotion page is located at sovereignbank.com/100. Here are the details:

• Open a Premier or Interest Checking Account along with a minimum $100 deposit by 10/31/2009
• Open any Sovereign savings or money market savings account with a minimum $100 deposit (or already have a savings account)
• Request a Sovereign CheckCard and make 2 check card purchases within 60 days of opening your account
• Enroll in Online Banking at account opening
• Whey you qualify, you will receive a $100 credit to your new checking account within 75 days after you open your checking account

Some important small print:

• Residential address must be located in the following states: ME, VT, NH, CT, RI, MA, NY, NJ, PA, WV, MD, DE, District of Columbia.
• Bonus will be reported to the IRS as interest
• Current personal checking customers or anyone who has had a personal checking account with Sovereign Bank or any of its divisions in the last 6 months are not eligible for this offer

An important note regarding the Interest Checking is that direct deposit is required to avoid a $10 monthly fee (fee used to be $5). On the plus side is that they provide free checks. The Premier Checking is even worse in terms of potential fees. A $15,000 combined balance is required to avoid a $30/month fee (used to be $25). For the savings accounts, the Statement Savings appears to be the best choice with only a $100 minimum balance to avoid a monthly fee. Note, the monthly fees and minimum balance vary considerably based on your state.

This promotion is similar to Sovereign's April promotion. This new one requires a savings account, but on the plus side it only requires 2 check card purchases with no minimum purchase requirement. A reader in that April post commented about his positive experience with Sovereign and a previous promotion:

I signed up for the very similar January promo. I live out-of-state (Southwest); online application worked flawlessly, no hard pull. I made six online purchases with the debit card and got my $100 bonus about a week before the due date. ACH push (e*trade) counts as direct deposit for me -- no monthly fee.

When I called Sovereign Bank in April 2008 regarding a similar promotion, I was told that there's no account closure fee if an account is closed after 90 days. Otherwise, it's $25. The CSR also said they don't perform a hard credit inquiry. They just use ChexSystem in the application.

There's an online application link in the promo page. However, the small print states that residential addresses must be located in the northeast states (see above).

Branches are located in the Northeast in the states of Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. The bank is a FDIC member (Certificate # 29950).

Credit for this find goes to markber who posted it at iBankDesign.

Other Bank and Credit Union Bonuses

To find other bonus deals, please refer to my bank bonus page which has all of my recent bank bonus posts.

MidCoast Community Bank is offering some competitive short-term CDs. These include a 1.90% APY 3-month CD, a 2.00% APY 6-month CD, a 2.05 APY for terms of 7 to 10 months, and a 2.10% APY for terms of 11 to 18 months. Minimum deposit is $500. The rates are available for both business accounts and IRAs. The above rates are listed at the bank's rates page as of 7/30/09.

I last posted on this bank in September 2008. Since then the bank has maintained competitive rates on its Gold Interest Checking and its Gold Money Market account. As of 7/30/09, the checking account rate is 1% for balances of $2,500 and above and the money market rate is 1.45% APY for balances $7,500 and above.

It appears a branch visit is required to open an account. The bank is located in Wilmington, Delaware. This is the same city where ING Direct has its headquarters. One would think that the giant internet bank could offer more competitive CD rates than a small brick-and-mortar bank, but ING Direct's 6-month CD rate is only 1.15% APY.

MidCoast Community Bank has solid ratings for safety and soundness: 4 stars (excellent) at BauerFinancial and 4 stars (sound) at Bankrate.com. Both ratings are based on 3/31/09 financial data. It's a fairly new bank that was established in March 2007. It's a member FDIC (FDIC Certificate # 58498).

Other High Certificate of Deposit Rates

• My weekly list of hot nationwide and local CD deals
• My weekly list of all nationwide CD deals
• Index of state CD and bank deals

SECU Credit Union is offering a checking account promotion in which you can earn up to $150. Offer is scheduled to last through 5/15/09. The offer doesn't seem to be listed at the credit union's website. It was mentioned on this FW thread with a link to this online ad (pdf). The ad's small print has the details. Here's a summary:

• Depositors must claim residency in MD, VA, PA, DE, WV or DC and not be a current or past SECU checking account customer
• $50 cash bonus for opening a new SECU checking account with Direct Deposit of at least $300 initiated by 6/15/09 (Payroll deduction, PayPal deposits and direct deposit of tax refunds do not qualify)
• $50 cash bonus for making 3 signature based purchases with your check card by 6/15/09
• $50 cash bonus for activating Online Banking Bill Pay and making 3 electronic Bill Pay transactions by 6/15/09
• $25 minimum opening deposit
• Cash bonus will be deposited in the checking account on 6/18/09
• Bonuses will be reported to the IRS on form 1099

Some readers may remember SECU for their 9-percent-plus 7-month CD special they offered in September 2007. It appeared SECU was overwhelmed with the demand for that special. This may have led them to have this state-residency restriction on their new promotions. Previous CD promotions also had this same restriction.

Credit union membership is open to alumni, full and part-time students, faculty and staff of several Maryland schools and universities. It's also open to Maryland state employees. You can also be eligible if your family member (not just immediate) is eligible to join. Please see the credit union's field of membership page for the full details. Membership requires a minimum $10 balance in the share savings account.

Branches are located in the Maryland cities of Baltimore, Annapolis, Berwyn Heights, Columbia, Glen Burnie, Hagerstown, LaVale, Rockville, Salisbury, Silver Spring and Towson.

The credit union is federally insured by the NCUA (Charter # 66330).

Credit for this find goes to FW member rawman1 who posted it at this FW thread.

Other Bank and Credit Union Bonuses

To find other bonus deals, please refer to my bank bonus page which has all of my recent bank bonus posts.

Artisans' Bank is offering a reward checking account that pays 4.01% APY on balances up to $25,000 (1.01% for above) if the following monthly requirements are met:

• 12 signature based VISA check card purchases
• one direct deposit, ACH debit or ACH credit
• enrollment in Online Banking and e-Statements

If these are not met, the rate falls to 0.20%. Minimum initial deposit is $50. There is no minimum balance requirement or monthly service charge.

Update 3/18/09: The bank is listing on its front page that these rates are guaranteed through 12/31/2009.

Two other nice perks that not all reward checking accounts offer include free first order of 50 checks and bank-to-bank transfers. One downside is that I don't see any mention of refunds of ATM fees.

It appears a branch visit is required to open an account. Branches are located in the Delaware cities of Bear, Dover, Newark, Rehoboth Beach, Wilmington, Milford and Millville.

The bank has been FDIC insured since 1952 (FDIC Certificate # 17123).

Other Reward Checking Accounts

To find reward checking accounts in other areas of the nation or to learn more about these accounts, please refer to my High Yield Checking website.

MidCoast Community Bank is offering some competitive long-term CD rates. Below is a list of the most competitive rates:

• 4.35% APY 18-month
• 4.45% APY 24-month
• 4.75% APY 30-month
• 5.15% APY 48-month
• 5.25% APY 60-month

The minimum deposit is $500. These are available as an IRA CD and a business CD.

Money Market and Checking Deals

In addition to the CDs, the bank has some good deals on checking and money market accounts. The rates are competitive for a brick-and-mortar bank. The money market account has a yield of 3.35% APY for a minimum balance of $7,500, and the Gold Interest Checking has a yield of 3.25% APY for a minimum balance of $2,500. Note, checking accounts that have no activity for a period of 90 days will be assessed an inactivity fee of $10 monthly.

The bank is located in Wilmington, Delaware. It's a fairly new bank that was established in March 2007. It's FDIC insured (FDIC Certificate # 58498).

Addison Avenue FCU has a certificate promotion with a yield of up to 4.45% APY for a 12-month term. This applies to an IRA certificate with a $500 minimum or a Jumbo certificate with a $100,000 minimum deposit. The 12-month yield for a regular certificate with a $500 minimum is 4.25% APY. There's also a special 34-month certificate with a yield of 4.50% APY. This 34-month certificate requires a checking account. Certificates can be opened online for both new and existing members. They can also be opened at a branch.

Addison Avenue FCU also has a good deal on a reward checking account that pays 5.25% APY on balances up to $25,000. Please refer to my July 2008 post for more details.

Membership

Credit union membership is open to members of the Financial Fitness Association (FFA). Anyone is eligible to join FFA. The membership cost is $5, and the application can be done online and paid with PayPal.

Credit union membership is also open to many select employee groups including employees of Hewlett Packard. For more details please refer to the credit union's Membership Eligibility Page. Membership requires a minimum balance of $5 in the Share Savings Account. An online membership application is available.

Application Note

A few readers reported being denied membership when they applied at Addison Avenue FCU. It appears the application will reject you if you had too many recent ChexSystem inquiries. When you open an account at a bank or credit union, a ChexSystem inquiry is often done. So if you have opened several accounts in the last 3 months, this could cause your credit union application to be denied.

Branches

Since the credit union started as the credit union for HP employees, it has branches located in several parts of the country including Puerto Rico, Georgia, Massachusetts, Idaho, Colorado, Oregon, California, Texas, Washington State and Delaware.

Addison Avenue FCU is federally insured by the NCUA (Charter # 19976).

Update 1/07/10: The yield has fallen to 3.01% APY. Refer to the bottom of the post for the rate history.

Addison Avenue FCU is offering a reward checking account that pays 3.01% APY on balances up to $25,000 (1.01% for above) and provides unlimited nationwide ATM refunds if the following monthly requirements are met:

• 12 debit card purchases
• one direct deposit or recurring monthly debit
• receive electronic statements

If these are not met, the rate falls to 0.05%. The initial minimum deposit is $25. There are no minimum balance requirements or monthly service charges.

Credit union membership is open to members of the Financial Fitness Association (FFA). Anyone is eligible to join FFA. The membership cost is $5, and the application can be done online and paid with PayPal.

Credit union membership is also open to many select employee groups including employees of Hewlett Packard. For more details please refer to the credit union's Membership Eligibility Page. Membership requires a minimum balance of $5 in the Share Savings Account. An online membership application is available.

Since the credit union started as the credit union for HP employees, it has branches located in several parts of the country including Puerto Rico, Georgia, Massachusetts, Idaho, Colorado, Oregon, California, Texas, Washington State and Delaware.

With $2.1 billion in assets and 142,958 members, Addison Avenue FCU might be the largest credit union to offer a reward checking account. The next largest that I'm aware of is Provident Credit Union which has about $1.5 billion in assets (see post). Addison Avenue FCU is federally insured by the NCUA (Charter # 19976).

Thanks to the reader who mentioned this reward checking in the Finding the Best Deals post.

Other Reward Checking Accounts

To find reward checking accounts in other areas of the nation or to learn more about these accounts, please refer to my High Yield Checking website.

Rate History:
01/01/10: 3.01% APY
08/01/09: 3.51% APY up to $25K; 1.01% over; 0.05% base
05/03/09: 3.51% APY
01/01/09: 4.04% APY
11/01/08: 4.50% APY
07/10/08: 5.25% APY up to $25K; 1.01% over; 0.10% base