Indiana Banking Rates and News

Via Credit Union is offering some competitive rates on its mid-term and long-term CDs. First, there's a special 33-month CD and IRA CD with a 1.75% APY. Minimum deposit is $10,000. The credit union also has some competitive standard CD and IRA CD rates including a 2.27% APY 5-year CD and a 2.12% APY 4-year CD. The standard CDs have a minimum deposit of $500. The early withdrawal penalty is 180 days of interest. These rates are listed in the credit union's rates page. At the bottom of the rate table it states that rates effective...

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...

Many banks may have ended their free checking accounts, but at least a few are still offering new account bonuses. Customers will have to be more careful if they plan to take advantage of these promotions. That's the case with BB&T which is offering a $100 bonus for opening a checking account and performing some additional activities. Last year BB&T ended its free checking account, so those interested in this promotion will have to make sure they can avoid the fees.

To qualify for the $100 bonus, new customers must open a BB&T checking account and set-up direct deposit OR...

United Federal Credit Union is offering a few good CD and IRA CD deals. First, there's a share certificate special with a 43-month term. Rates are based on the deposit amount: 1.60% APY for $100K, 1.50% APY for $50K and 1.35% APY for $500. The credit union's long-term premier certificates are also good deals. The best one is a 2.00% APY 5-year CD with a $100K minimum deposit. The yield is 1.90% for a $50K minimum. The special CD rates are listed in the credit union's spring share certificate special page as of 4/17/2012. The other...

It's rare to find 3.00% CDs these days. There are still a few around the country, but most are only offered by small banks and credit unions. Afena Federal Credit Union is one of these. It has a 3.03% APY 5-year CD. It also has very competitive CD rates for terms of 2 to 4 years. These include a 1.51% APY 2-year CD, a 2.27% APY 3-year CD and a 2.52% APY 4-year CD. Minimum deposit is $500. These rates are listed in the credit union's savings rates page as of the morning of 2/14/2012. It's...

Most of the CD rates at INOVA Federal Credit Union are low, but there's one rate that's very competitive. It's the 6-year share certificate which has a 2.50% APY. Minimum deposit is $200. There's also a step-up option, but the rate is 0.10% lower. This allows the member to step-up the rate one time during the term. The IRA share certificates have rates 0.10% higher. These rates are listed in the CD rates page as of 1/11/2012.

According to the member service rep, the 6-year CD has an early withdrawal penalty of 180 days of...

Yesterday I reviewed the 7 reward checking accounts that remain in the 4% club. These are reward checking accounts with yields of at least 4.00% on balances of at least $25,000. Unfortunately, readers have reported that 2 of these 7 will be cutting rates or balance caps in January. So it's becoming increasingly difficult to find a 4% club member. You may have better luck finding ones in the 3% club. These are reward checking accounts with yields of at least 3.00% on balances of at least $25,000. We still list over a hundred reward checking accounts in the...

Flagstar Bank is offering a savings account promotion with a 1.25% APY guaranteed for 4 months. The details are listed in this Flagstar promotions page. However, it requires that you enter your zip code. It appears all zip codes are eligible, but the offer differs slightly depending on your location. If you live in their market area of Michigan or Indiana, the 1.25% APY applies to balances up to $2 million. If you're outside this area, the 1.25% APY applies to balances up to $250,000. For both cases, the 1.25% APY will last for 4 months...

MB Financial Bank is offering a checking account bonus in which you can earn up to $200. You do have to be careful to avoid monthly fees on the checking accounts. Three checking accounts qualify for the bonus, and they all have monthly service fees. However, there are several ways to avoid the fees. In addition, one of the checking accounts is a reward checking account (MB Red Checking).

Details of the checking promotion is listed at MBchecking.com. It's scheduled to expire on January 31, 2012. Here are the details from the site:

Qualifying for your...

Update 5/6/2012: The promotion has been extended. It's now scheduled to end on 6/30/2012.

Some community banks have extended their promotions to attract customers participating in the Bank Transfer Day movement. That appears to be the case at Horizon Bank which is still offering a $150 checking account promotion. The bonus requires that you open a new checking account, establish direct deposit and make 10 debit card purchases. The bank's free checking qualifies. Details are provided in the bank's checking account page. The account must be opened by 10/31/2011 6/30/2012. Here's the offer's small print:

$150 will be...

For those participating in Bank Transfer Day, here's a good credit union with a nice checking account promotion. It's Advance Financial Credit Union, and you can earn up to $200 in its checking account promotion. Full details are available in the credit union's promotions page. It's scheduled to last until 12/31/2011. To earn the full $200 requires the following be done during the promotional period:

• $50 for opening a new checking account and signing up for the debit card
• $100 for setting up direct deposit (direct deposit must be your entire check)
• $50 for signing up and utilizing AFFCU's...

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...