Chartway Federal Credit Union is offering some competitive CD rates. The most competitive is the 5-year CD which has a top rate of 3.11% APY for a minimum deposit of $10,000. The 3-year CD is also competitive with a 2.30% APY for a $10,000 minimum. These yields require a Preferred Plus, Elite 50 Plus or Premier Checking. Without these checking accounts, the rates are 25 basis points lower. These rates are listed in the credit union's rates sheet as of 9/03/2010.
The checking account requirement does hurt this deal. All three of the qualifying checking accounts have a minimum balance requirement to avoid a monthly fee. The Preferred Plus checking and the Elite 50 Plus checking have a $10 monthly fee unless a minimum balance of $2,500 is maintained. These two would be preferable to the Premier Checking which has a $20 monthly fee unless a minimum balance of $5,000 and direct deposit are maintained.
Unfortunately, their eChecking account does not qualify for this CD. This is a reward checking account that pays up to 3.84% APY on a $20K balance (see review).
Membership is open to those who live, work, worship or go to school in a defined geographic area served by the credit union's Virginia, Florida, Rhode Island and Texas branches. A reader noted in a previous post that the geographic areas are narrow, so please call to see if you can be eligible. You can also be eligible via schools and select employer groups. The online application has a list of eligible schools and employers. Please refer to their Membership Page for more details. Membership requires a $5 minimum deposit into the Prime Share savings account.
Branches are located in Virginia, Georgia, Rhode Island, North Carolina, Texas, Florida, Ohio and New Jersey.
The credit union has a Texas Ratio of 9.94% (excellent) and an overall health score of 4 out of 5 based on June 2010 data at DepositAccounts.com (see our financial overview of Chartway FCU). Chartway is federally insured by the NCUA (Charter # 13242).
Florida Deposit Account Rates and Deals
Browse through the stories below to view current deals for Florida banks or select an item from the menu bar above to view current rates in Florida.
HomeBanc is advertising a savings account promotion with a 2.00% APY guaranteed for 90 days. Minimum deposit is $5,000, and the maximum is $50,000. This special doesn't seem to be listed in the bank's website. It was advertised in the 8/29/10 edition of The Tampa Tribune. The ad is available online here. According to the ad's small print:
The offer is valid for a limited time only at our Tampa locations. This ad is required at account opening to receive this special rate, so visit one of our Tampa offices today. Annual Percentage Yield on savings account effective for 90 days. No institutional deposits. All deposits must be new money to HomeBanc. Florida deposits only. Subject to change without notice.
The savings accounts rates that the bank lists in its rates page are low, so I would be surprised if the savings account rate remained competitive after the first 90 days.
The bank's overall health score is 4 out of 5 with a Texas Ratio of 33.88% at DepositAccounts.com (see our financial overview of HomeBanc). These stats are based on 3/31/10 financial data. The bank has been a FDIC member since 2007 (FDIC Certificate # 58194).
First Bank is offering competitive rates on both its high-yield reward checking account and some of its CD rates. The best CD is currently its 30-month term which has a 2.53% APY as of 8/26/10. Minimum deposit is $10,000. The reward checking account called Kasasa Cash has a 3.51% APY on balances up to $25K. There's also a companion savings account called Kasasa Saver with a 1.61% APY on balances up to $25K. These rates are listed in the bank's rates page as of 8/26/2010.
I first reviewed this checking account a year ago in my First Bank reward checking review post. One thing that has changed is that you can now apply online. This is also true for the certificates of deposit. From the application, it appears to be available to all Florida residents. Here's what the page states:
First Bank is a community bank serving the residents of the state of Florida. By proceeding you confirm your residency in Florida. Thank you for considering us for your banking needs.
Branches are located in Southwest Florida in the cities of Clewiston, LaBelle, Fort Myers and Moore Haven.
The bank has an overall health score of 3 out of 5 at DepositAccounts.com with a Texas Ratio of 33.85%. This is based on 3/31/10 financial data. Please refer to our financial overview of First Bank for more details. The bank has been a FDIC member since 1934 (FDIC Certificate # 9620).
Other High-Yield CDs and Reward Checking Accounts
Broward Bank of Commerce continues to offer competitive CD and IRA CD rates. The rates have held since my last post on this bank was in May. The mid-term CD rates are the best deals: 2.40% APY 3-year CD, a 2.10% APY 2-year CD, a 1.75% APY 18-month CD and a 1.50% APY 1-year CD. The short-term CD rates are also competitive: 1.25% APY for 6 months and 1.00% APY for 3 months. These rates are low, but unfortunately, it's hard to find better short-term CD rates. Minimum deposit is $1,000. These rates are listed in the bank's rate sheet as of 8/18/2010.
The bank's money market account rates are also competitive especially for very large balances. The current rate for a $100K balance is 1.40% APY. It goes up to 1.70% APY for a $1M balance. These rates are also listed in the bank's rate sheet as of 8/18/2010.
Broward Bank of Commerce is a small bank with one office located in Fort Lauderdale.
It's a new bank that was established in January 2009. It has an overall health score of 5 out of 5 at DepositAccounts.com (see our financial overview of Broward Bank of Commerce). It has been a FDIC member since it was established (FDIC Certificate # 58813).
Searching for the Best CD Rates
To search for the best nationwide CD rates and the best CD rates in your state, please refer to the CD rates section of DepositAccounts.com.
Bay Cities Bank is offering a 3.00% APY 5-year CD. It's also available in an IRA. Minimum deposit is $1,000. This rate is listed in the bank's rates sheet as of 8/16/2010.
The bank's shorter-term CDs are not quite as competitive. The only one that's noteworthy is the bank's 36-month Triple Feature CD. At 1.75% APY, the rate is low for a 3-year CD, but it allows one rate bump-up during the term, allows additional deposits (up to 50% of the initial deposit) and it allows a one-time penalty free early withdrawal (up to 50% of the initial deposit). The 50% limit on both the add-on deposits and the early withdrawal is a major downside. The low rate may be worthwhile if it had more generous add-on and/or early withdrawal conditions.
It appears that a branch visit is required to open an account. Branches are located in the Florida cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg and Lutz.
The bank's ratings for safety and soundness have improved considerably since my last post on this bank in August 2009. At that time it had low ratings at both BauerFinancial and Bankrate. Those ratings have improved to fair (3 stars at BauerFinancial and 3 stars at Bankrate.com). The overall health score is 5 out of 5 at DepositAccounts.com (see our financial overview of Bay cities Bank). These ratings are based on 3/31/10 data. The bank has been a FDIC member since 1999 (FDIC Certificate # 35066).
Searching for the Best CD Rates
To search for the best nationwide CD rates and the best CD rates in your state, please refer to the CD rates section of DepositAccounts.com.
People's Alliance Federal Credit Union is offering a fairly competitive 5-year CD with a 2.97% APY. Minimum deposit is $500. This rate is listed in the bank's rates page as of 8/13/2010.
Membership is open to those who live, work, worship or attend school in several areas of New York including parts of Brooklyn, New York, and in Miami and Hialeah, Florida. You can also be eligible via Select Employer groups and via family. Please refer to the credit union's Membership page for more details. Membership requires a minimum deposit of $50 into the prime share savings account.
Branches are located in the New York cities of Jamaica, Brooklyn, Bronxville, Ronkonkoma, Westbury, Yonkers and Hauppauge, and in Miami, Florida.
The credit union's ratings for safety and soundness are a little above average: 4 stars (excellent) at BauerFinancial, 3 stars (performing) at BauerFinancial and an overall health score of 3 out of 5 at DepositAccounts.com (see our financial overview of People's Alliance Credit Union). The credit union is federally insured by the NCUA (Charter # 3633).
Searching for the Best CD Rates
To search for the best nationwide CD rates and the best CD rates in your state, please refer to the CD rates section of DepositAccounts.com.
PNC Bank has another $100 bonus for opening a checking account. It's not as good as the $125 July bonus, but this $100 bonus appears to be the best PNC bonus currently available. Here's the direct link to the promotion. It requires direct deposit of at least $400 per month along with 10 check card purchases. According to the small print, the checking account must be opened via the online application by 9/30/2010. Here's some of the small print as listed in the promo page with my highlights of the important things to note:
Offer available only to new PNC customers. New personal checking account must be opened via online application between 8/01/2010 and 9/30/2010. To qualify for the $100 reward a Qualifying Direct Deposit must be received and at least 10 check card purchases made with your PNC Visa Check Card must be posted to the eligible account within 60 days of account opening. Your checking account must remain open in order for you to receive the $100 reward, which will be credited to the eligible account within 60 days after all conditions have been met and will be identified as "Promo Reward Cash Trans" on your monthly statement. A "Qualifying Direct Deposit" is defined as a recurring direct deposit of a paycheck, pension, social security or other regular monthly payment electronically deposited into a Free, Performance, Performance Select Checking account, or the Spend account for Virtual Wallet (each an "Eligible Account") on a recurring month-to-month basis. The amount of each recurring Direct Deposit must be at least $400. The recurring Direct Deposits must be made by an employer or an outside agency. Credit card cash advance transfers, transfers from one account to another or deposits made at a branch or ATM do not qualify as Qualifying Direct Deposits. Offer only available to new PNC Bank checking account customers who open the Eligible Account using the on-line application. Offer only available to residents of DC, DE, FL, IL, IN, KY, MD, MI, MO, NJ, OH, PA, VA and WI. Offer may be extended, modified or discontinued at any time and may vary by market. This is an online offer that is not available through the branch.
PNC Bank's Virtual Wallet
One of the checking accounts that can qualify for the bonus is the Spend Account which is part of PNC's Virtual Wallet. Another part of Virtual Wallet is the Grow Account which is a savings account that pays 1.10% APY on balances up to $25K as of 8/8/2010. Please see my PNC Virtual Wallet review for more details.
PNC Q2 Results and Its Deposit Strategy
PNC released its second quarter results in late July. It reported a better-than-expected second-quarter profit. One thing I found interesting in PNC's press release was the description of its plans to grow checking account deposits while shrinking CD deposits. Here's an excerpt:
Average deposits of $182 billion declined $.8 billion compared with the first quarter of 2010 and $10.4 billion, or 5 percent, compared with the second quarter of 2009. In both comparisons, average deposits decreased due to the continued reduction of high-cost and primarily nonrelationship certificates of deposit and other time deposits, partially offset by growth in average transaction deposits. This was consistent with PNC’s overall deposit strategy focused on growing demand and other transaction deposits as a lower-cost funding source and the cornerstone product of customer relationships.
You can see PNC executing this strategy with these checking account bonuses and its very-low CD rates (one example: 1.50% 5-year CD in Florida).
The conversion of National City branches was also mentioned in the press release:
PNC successfully completed the National City conversion of 16 million accounts, 6 million customers and 1,300 branches in nine states.
I know many readers will miss those National City CD specials that were so popular a couple of years ago.
PNC Bank has been a FDIC member since 1934 (FDIC Certificate # 6384).
Other Bank Bonuses
To find other bonus deals at other banks, please refer to my bank bonus page which has all of my recent bank bonus blog posts. Some additional bonuses are also listed in the checking account deals section of the discussion forum.
FSU Credit Union is offering a 2.00% APY 12-month CD. Minimum deposit is $1,000. This rate is listed in the credit union's share certificates page as of 8/06/2010. The credit union also has two competitive CD specials: a 2.20% APY 30-month CD and a 1.25% APY 5-month CD. These specials are listed on the credit union's front page as of 8/06/2010.
A higher rate of 0.25% is available on these CDs (except for the 5-month CD) for members who have a checking account with Champion's Choice Platinum Level, Alumni Advantage or Booster Benefits. Please refer to the credit union's checking account page for details about qualifying for these services.
As you might expect, membership is primarily limited to those connected with Florida State University. This includes students, employees and graduates who live and/or work in Franklin, Gadsden, Jefferson, Liberty, Leon, Wakulla and Bay Counties. Please refer to the credit union's membership eligibility page for the full details.
Branches are located in Tallahassee and Crawfordville, Florida.
The credit union's ratings for safety and soundness are a little above average: 4 stars (excellent) at BauerFinancial, 3 stars (performing) at Bankrate.com and an overall health score of 4 out of 5 at DepositAccounts.com (see our FSU Credit Union reviews). These ratings are based on March 2010 data. The credit union is federally insured by the NCUA (Charter # 67874).
I see BBVA Compass is making the most out of its new alliance with SmartyPig. I just noticed Compass is advertising this $150 checking account bonus on SmartyPig's home page. Here's the direct link to the promo, and here are the requirements for the $150:
- Open a new Build to Order Checking account online
- Set up payroll Direct Deposit and earn $75
- Sign up for Online Bill Pay and earn $25 per month by paying at least 5 bills per month for 3 months
Unlike SmartyPig which is available nationwide, Compass bank products are only available where they have branches which includes AL, AZ, CA, CO, FL, NM & TX. The offer is scheduled to last until 8/31/2010, and is only available to new consumer checking households.
Here is the small print which includes some details of the requirements:
To get $75 for a recurring payroll direct deposit, you must establish the recurring payroll direct deposit of at least $300 within 30 days following the date you open a new BBVA Compass consumer checking account. $75 bonus will be deposited, within 120 days of first recurring payroll direct deposit, into the new checking account that receives the direct deposit. Account must be open at time this bonus is paid in order for you to qualify for bonus. Bonuses are paid on the last business day of the month.
To get up to $75 for using Online Bill Pay, you must pay at least 5 eligible bills via Online Bill Pay every 30 days for the first 90 days after you open a new BBVA Compass checking account. To be eligible, each online payment must be for at least $25 and must be made to an unrelated third party. You'll receive $25 for each 30-day period in which you make the required online payments, up to $75. Each $25 bonus will be deposited into the new checking account from which online payments were made, within 60 days of the fifth eligible online payment for each 30-day period.
BBVA Compass Build-to-Order Free Checking
I completed a Compass checking promotion in 2006 and received the promised $50 gift card without any problems. One downside is that I did received two hard credit inquiries by Transunion.
The Build-to-Order Free Checking comes with some basic features. Two additional premium features are allowed without cost. The notable basic feature is no minimum balance or direct deposit requirement. Also, bill pay is free. The notable premium feature for those who want to make extra money is a $25 anniversary cash bonus. One feature that is lacking is free checks. A reader in a previous Compass post mentioned that the first order of checks is free.
The disclosure has some of the details of $25 anniversary cash bonus feature. I switched my Compass checking account to this Build-to-Order Free Checking in December 2007 and chose the $25 anniversary cash bonus as one of my premium features. Then I set up small monthly ACH debits from my online bank account to keep the checking active. I received the $25 bonus for both 2008 and 2009.
BBVA Compass Bank is a member FDIC (FDIC Certificate # 19048).
Other Bank Bonuses
To find other bonus deals at other banks, please refer to the bank bonus page which has all of my recent bank bonus blog posts. There are also additional bonuses listed in the checking account deals forum.
Northwest Savings Bank is offering a $100 bonus for opening a new Switch Checking Account. Details of this promotion are listed in the bank's promotions page as of 7/29/2010. Some important details include:
- $100 minimum opening deposit
- To qualify, customers must initiate a monthly direct deposit of $100 or more
- Switch Rewards, Switch Free, or Switch Interest Checking Account qualify
- $100 credit will be posted to the account within 7 days of the first verified Direct Deposit
- $100 credit is subject to a 1099 reporting
A reader in a previous Northwest Savings post mentioned that his $100 opening deposit triggered the bonus. So a real direct deposit may not be required. As usual your miles may vary.
Here's a summary of the checking accounts. The GO! Rewards Checking is a free checking account. It's not a high-yield reward checking account. The rewards are based on the amount you spend with the debit card. Another perk with this account is that you earn 10,000 points when you open the account. Note, online bill pay is free only if you pay at least one bill per month.
Refer-a-Friend Deal
The bank also has a good refer-a-friend deal in which you can earn $50 for each friend who opens a qualifying account. Plus, you can get a $10 Apple iTunes gift card just for inviting 5 or more friends, and there's the chance to win an iPod nano.
Only for Those in Certain Areas of FL, MD, NY, OH & PA
There's an online application link at the promotion page. However, on the first page of the application it states:
All residents of the United States that are within the Northwest market area are welcome to apply for an account.
Branches are located in parts of Florida, Maryland, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Decent CD Rates
The bank also has some decent CD rates. They're not good enough for a separate post, but I wanted to mention them for those who may live near one of their branches. You have to enter your zip code to see the rate table so rates may vary by location. For South Florida, the best rates include a 3.00% APY 6-year CD, a 2.80% APY 5-year CD, a 2.10% APY 3-year CD and a 1.50% APY 18-month CD. These were listed at the bank's South Florida rate sheet as of 7/29/2010.
The bank's ratings for safety and soundness are strong. At DepositAccounts.com we give the bank an overall health score of 5 out of 5 (see our financial overview for Northwest Savings Bank). The bank has been a FDIC member since 1939 (FDIC Certificate # 28178).
Other Bank Bonuses
To find other bonus deals, please refer to my bank bonus page which has all of my recent bank bonus posts.