Indiana Deposit Account Rates and Deals

Flagstar Bank continues to offer some competitive promotions on its S.M.A.R.T. products. I last reported on these deals in May, and the rates have stayed the same. In addition, another CD special has been added. The following deals are listed at Flagstar's front page as of 8/08/2010:

• $100 bonus to open the Express Checking Account. According to the small print, "Customer must open and maintain a new primary checking relationship at Flagstar Bank with a $50 minimum balance to receive the $100 bonus. $100 bonus will be deposited into the account within 30 days of meeting primary checking relationship requirements." I was told in May by a Flagstar CSR that a primary checking relationship requires a monthly direct deposit of at least $250. A reader who reported to have signed up in Texas commented that an ACH push can qualify, and the bonus will be deposited 30 days after first direct deposit hits the account. The account must remain open for six months to keep the bonus.
• 1.50% APY savings account with the rate guaranteed for 4 months. After promo period, the rate reverts back to the standard Express Savings Account. No minimum balance requirement.
• 1.50% APY 12-month CD with a partial no-penalty feature. In this SMART Choice CD you're allowed one penalty-free withdrawal during the term, however, it's limited to half the initial balance. Minimum deposit is $500.
• 1.76% APY 24-month Rising Rate CD with no-penalty feature In this SMART Choice CD you're allowed penalty-free withdrawals at the end of each 6-month period. The gotcha is that the interest rate starts off as 1% for the first six months and goes up 50 basis points after each 6-month period. So your money won't earn much until the last year. It's a stealth type of early withdrawal penalty.

To see the promo pages, you have to enter your zip code. In the past, Flagstar promos were limited to their market area (MI, GA & IN). However, this does not seem to be the case for these current promos. Any zip code appears to show the same promos. In May I was told by the CSR that any zip code can qualify. I also asked the CSR if they do a hard credit inquiry in the application process. According to the CSR, it's a "soft pull to just view banking history."

Flagstar Direct

Flagstar also offers CDs, money market accounts and checking accounts at Flagstar Direct which continues to offer two competitive short-term CD deals: 1.25% APY 6-month CD and 1.55% APY 12-month CD (as of 8/08/2010). The advantage of the SMART Choice 12-month CD is the partial early withdrawal penalty. Even though it's only a partial early withdrawal penalty, it seems to be worth 5 basis points. Please refer to my Flagstar Direct review for more details.

Flagstar Overview

Flagstar Bank currently operates around 165 branches in Michigan, Indiana and Georgia. The bank has been hit hard by mortgage problems that started during the financial crisis. It has made some improvements this year with an increase in its Tier 1 Capital Ratio. More details about Flagstar's financial health are available at our financial overview of Flagstar Bank. The bank has been a FDIC member since 1987 (FDIC Certificate # 32541).

Best CD Rates and Bank Bonuses

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. 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.

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.

PNC Bank has another checking account bonus. They are offering a little more than last month. From the home page of their website, they're listing a bonus of up to $125. Here's the direct link to the promo page. To receive the first $100 requires direct deposit of at least $400 per month along with 10 check card purchases. To receive an extra $25 requires signing up for online banking and making 5 payments through Online Bill Pay. Offer is scheduled to end on July 24, 2010. The promotion applies to both the Virtual Wallet and the Free Checking Account.

There's also a $150 bonus being advertised in the St. Louis area. This was advertised in yesterday's (7/11/10) St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The ad is available online here. The requirements for this $150 appear to be the same as for qualifying for the $100 that's mentioned at PNC's website: 1) direct deposit of at least $400, and 2) at least 10 debit card purchases.

Here's some of the small print as listed at PNC's promo page with my highlights of the important things to note:

New personal checking account must be opened between 7/11/2010 and 7/24/2010. To qualify for a $100 reward, a PNC Bank Visa Check Card must be issued to you, a qualifying direct deposit must be received, and at least 10 purchases made with your Check Card must post to your checking account within 60 days of account opening. To qualify for an additional $25 reward, the first conditions must be met and a minimum of 5 payments must be completed via PNC Online Bill Pay, also within 60 days of account opening. Your checking account must remain open in order for you to receive the $100 or $125 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 income electronically deposited into a Free, Performance or Performance Select Checking Account, or the Spend Account for Virtual Wallet. The minimum amount of any single Direct Deposit must be at least $400. The Direct Deposit must be made by an employer or an outside agency. Transfers from one account to another, or deposits made at a branch or ATM, do not qualify as Direct Deposits. Limit of one premium payment per new account legal equity ownership. For this offer, legal equity ownership will be defined by the customer name(s) and social security number(s) on the account. PNC Bank customers with an existing checking account are not eligible for this offer. 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.

Some additional details about this Free checking account and the other checking accounts are in PNC Bank's Schedule of Service Charges and Fees. There was some concern in my last PNC post that the debit card would have a fee. This does not appear to be the case for the Free Checking account. The only potential recurring fee I see in the above document is $10 per year for having the Banking Card linked to a checking account. The CSR did not think this applied for the Free Checking. However, terms can vary based on your state so you may want to confirm this.

PNC's Virtual Wallet is composed of a checking account and two savings accounts. One of the savings account is the Growth Account which has a fairly competitive yield of 1.10% for up to $25K (as of 7/12/10). Please refer to my PNC Virtual Wallet review for more details.

In June, PNC Bank announced the completion of the National City conversion which added 1,300 branches to PNC. 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 posts. You can also find additional checking account bonuses, in the Checking Account Deals Forum.

BB&T continues to offer a $100 cash bonus for opening its free checking account. However, they have made it a little harder to get the full $100. Here are the steps required:

• Open a Free BB&T checking account online by 8/31/2010
• Register online at bbt.com/welcome100
• Get $50 for making 10 online bill payments ($25 minimum payment) within 90 days of account opening
• Get $50 for receiving two direct deposits of at least $50 from the same source within 90 days of account opening

Here's the direct link to the promotions page. It's also mentioned at BB&T's home page.

The old promo in March made it easier to qualify for the $100 bonus. It could be done with only 3 online bill payments. No direct deposit was required.

In my March post, several readers have reported that BB&T makes it difficult to close accounts. If you can't make it into a branch, you may be required to mail in a notarized letter requesting that the account to be closed. One reader commented that he wasn't required to mail a notarized letter, but instead he was required to mail a copy of his ID with the letter.

The free checking account has a minimum opening deposit of $50. There are no minimum balance requirements or monthly fees. Online Bill Payment is free.

I asked the CSR in March about a hard credit inquiry. According to the CSR, "it would be a hard hit if you are primary on the application." The credit check is done through Equifax. They also use ChexSystem in the application process.

I was also told that BB&T accounts can only be opened in states with BB&T branches. That now includes Texas (BB&T took over Colonial Bank and its Texas branches when it failed in August 2009).

It's an online promotion only. However, in the small print it states that it's available at the branches in AL, FL and TX. BB&T branches are located in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC.

BB&T is a member FDIC (FDIC Certificate # 9846).

Other Bank Bonuses

To find other bonus deals, please refer to my bank bonus page which has all of my recent bank bonus posts. Some additional bonus deals are also in the checking account discussion forum.

Standard Bank and Trust Co. is offering up to a $200 bonus for opening a checking account which can include its high-yield reward checking account. The promo is shown on their home page, and in the bank's promotions page as of 6/23/2010. According to the small print, the offer is good through 7/31/2010. Here are the requirements:

• Receive $100 when 2 direct deposits (ACH credits) are received within 90 days of account opening and verification of a minimum of $300 per two consecutive statements cycle is met
• Receive $100 within 90 days of account opening and verification of ten signature based (non-PIN) transactions have been made using your Standard Bank Debit MasterCard

Here are a few important things to note in the small print:

• Offer applies only to new customers residing in Illinois and Indiana
• Offer is only available online
• One offer per household
• Cash bonuses may be considered interest and may be subject to 1099 reporting

The bank's reward checking account, My Green Checking, is one of the qualifying checking accounts. I did a My Green Checking review last August. The rate has stayed the same, but it was never high at 2.25% APY. On the plus side this applies to balances up to $50K rather than the more typical $25K.

Credit for this bonus find goes to markber at this iBankDesign thread.

The bank's ratings for safety and soundness are fair: 3 stars (adequate) at BauerFinancial, 3 stars (performing) at Bankrate.com and an overall health score of 4 out of 5 at DepositAccounts.com (see our Standard Bank and Trust Co. rates and reviews page). These ratings are based on 3/31/10 data except for Bankrate which is based on 12/31/09 data. Standard Bank and Trust Co. has been a FDIC member since 1947 (FDIC Certificate # 16606).

Update 7/6/10: There's a new promotions page for the $100 bonus. This one is scheduled to end on 7/31/10.

PNC Bank has another bonus for opening a checking account. It's listed on top of their checking account page. Here's the direct link to the promotion. The Free checking qualifies. 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 6/19/2010. However, the CSR said this should last until 7/10/2010. So if this page doesn't change after 6/19, you may want to check with PNC (800-762-5684). 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 6/07/2010 and 6/19/2010. 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, IN, KY, MD, NJ, OH, PA and VA. 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.

Some additional details about this Free checking account and the other checking accounts are in PNC Bank's Schedule of Service Charges and Fees. There was some concern in my last PNC post that the debit card would have a fee. This does not appear to be the case for the Free Checking account. The only potential recurring fee I see in the above document is $10 per year for having the Banking Card linked to a checking account. The CSR did not think this applied for the Free Checking. However, terms can vary based on your state so you may want to confirm this.

National City Conversions

According to PNC, today was suppose to be the completion day for the final phase of the conversion of National City branches into PNC branches. According to this Springfield news article, the conversion was done over the weekend:

All told over the weekend, account information for 1.6 million customers and signs at 390 branches in Illinois, as well as the states of Indiana, Missouri and Wisconsin switched to PNC

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 posts.

Flagstar Bank is offering some competitive promotions on its S.M.A.R.T. products. The following deals are listed at Flagstar's front page as of 5/25/2010:

• 1.50% APY savings account with the rate guaranteed for 4 months. After promo period, the rate reverts back to the standard Express Savings Account. No minimum balance requirement.
• $100 bonus to open the Express Checking Account. According to the small print, "Customer must open and maintain a new primary checking relationship at Flagstar Bank with a $50 minimum balance." The CSR told me this morning that a primary checking relationship requires a monthly direct deposit of at least $250.
• 1.50% APY 12-month CD with a partial no-penalty feature. In this SMART Choice CD you're allowed one penalty-free withdrawal during the term, however, it's limited to half the initial balance. Minimum deposit is $500.

According to the CSR, you can participate in all of the above promos. You are not limited to just one. The online application allows you to use ACH transfers to fund the accounts.

To see the promo pages, you have to enter your zip code. In the past, Flagstar promos were limited to their market area (MI, GA & IN). However, this does not seem to be the case for these current promos. Any zip code appears to show the same promos. In addition, I was told by the CSR that any zip code can qualify.

I also asked the CSR if they do a hard credit inquiry in the application process. According to the CSR, it's a "soft pull to just view banking history."

Finally, I asked about how long these promotions would last. He wasn't able to say, but he thought they would at least last through today. As is common, they're subject to change at anytime.

Flagstar's Express Money Market Account

Flagstar still has its internet bank at FlagstarDirect.com. Flagstar has been offering an internet money market account since July 2007. The rates had remained competitive until last December when the rate plummeted. Just recently the rates have become a little more competitive for an internet money market account although they're nothing to get excited about. As of 5/25/2010, the top rate is 1.20% APY, but this requires a $100K minimum balance. Under $100K, the rate drops to 1.06% APY. This low tier rate had been 0.60% in April. The Express Internet Checking has a 0.85% APY on all balances. These accounts do offer some perks like free checks and free identity theft protection.

Financial/FDIC Info

Flagstar has been hit hard by the mortgage crisis, and it has been losing money since 2007. Flagstar reported its 1st quarter earnings in April. Losses widened, but loan-losses went down and it succeeded in issuing additional shares to help shore up its capital reserves.

Bankrate.com continues to give Flagstar a 1-star rating (lowest) for safety and soundness. BauerFinancial gives Flagstar Bank 2 stars (problematic). Our DepositAccounts.com health score for Flagstar is 3 out of 5 (see our Flagstar rates and reviews page). All ratings are based on 12/31/09 financial data. Flagstar Bank is a member FDIC (FDIC Certificate # 32541).

PNC Bank has another checking account promotion. The bonus appear to vary from $75 to $150. The bonus that's listed online is only $75. However, if you contact PNC, you may find your area has a larger bonus. I used the online chat service, and the CSR said that a Florida zip code qualified for a $100 bonus. This SD member reported a $150 bonus for Michigan. This also appears to be available outside of PNC's market area. For a Texas zip code, the CSR mentioned a $75 reward and a $100 coupon good towards select Verizon wireless products. According to the CSR, the promo began on May 10, 2010 and runs for a full 2 weeks in all markets.

To receive the bonus that's larger than what's listed online, you will need to visit a branch or apply by phone or by the secure online chat. Below are the promo details that the CSR listed. It appears to be the same as what is listed online:

New-to-PNC checking customers must open a new Virtual Wallet, Free, Performance, or Performance Select Checking account during the offer period. A qualifying Direct Deposit of $400 or more must be received within 60 days of account opening. 10 check card POS purchases (PIN or signature) must be posted to the eligible account within 60 days of account opening Note: A qualifying Direct Deposit is a recurring Direct Deposit of a paycheck, pension, Social Security or other regular monthly income electronically deposited into a Free, Performance, or Performance Select Checking account or Spend account of Virtual Wallet each statement cycle. The minimum amount of any single Direct Deposit must be at least $400. The Direct Deposits must be made by an employer or an outside agency. Transfers from one account to another or deposits made at a branch or ATM do not qualify.

Regarding a hard credit inquiry, the CSR said they do not do a hard pull when you apply for a checking account.

Update: A reader emailed me the following potential gotchas with this promo and PNC checking accounts:

--The direct deposit must be $400.
--If your account is closed in fewer than 6 months, a $25 fee is debited.
--There is a $3.50 monthly debit card fee unless $2,000 average monthly balance is maintained.
--There is, I think, a $10 (yearly) card fee because the card is "linked" the checking account (I'm not sure what this means).

National City Conversions

I reviewed the status of National City conversions in March. It appears the last conversions should be completed by June 14, 2010.

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 posts.

Crane Federal Credit Union is offering several competitive CD rates for both their special and regular CDs. The two best specials include a 2.73% APY 33-month CD and a 1.61% APY 13-month CD. The competitive regular CDs include a 1.71% APY 18-month CD, a 2.05% APY 24-month CD and a 3.00% APY 48-month CD. Minimum deposit is $500, and the early withdrawal penalty is 180 days of dividends. These are available as both regular and IRA certificates. The rates are listed at the credit union's rate table as of 5/13/2010.

The credit union has continued to offer competitive CD rates since I first reported on them in January 2009.

Membership is open to members of an association in which anyone can join. Here's what the credit union states in their Membership Page:

You are also eligible for membership if you belong to an associational group that has sponsored membership for their group. ProVision is an example of an associational group. ProVision provides funds to organizations in the communities we serve, with the purpose of helping to feed and clothe those in need. Anyone can join ProVision with a $5 membership fee. All members of ProVision are eligible for membership with Crane Federal Credit Union.

Membership requires $5 for the savings account deposit and $5 for the ProVision donation. This credit union page has more details about ProVision. You can also be eligible to join the credit union via select employer groups. Refer to the credit union's SEG list for more details.

Even though they have an easy field of membership, I was informed last year that they require potential members to visit a branch to open an account. Accounts can no longer be opened by mail.

Branches are located in the Indiana cities of Odon, Crane, Washington, Linton, Bedford, Bloomington, Loogootee, Terre Haute and Plainfield.

Crane FCU continues to have strong ratings for safety and soundness: 5 stars (superior) at BauerFinancial, 4 stars (sound) at Bankrate.com and an overall health score of 4 out of 5 at DepositAccounts.com (see our Crane FCU rates and reviews page). Ratings are based on 12/31/09 financial data. The credit union is federally insured by the NCUA (Charter # 10544).

Searching for the Best CD Rates

You can find higher rates in the CD rates section of DepositAccounts.com. The tables now have a new & improved format!

M&I Bank has a money market promotion with a competitive rate of 1.50% APY. It's not a great deal compared to savings accounts available on the internet, but if you want a brick-and-mortar bank, this is an option. Note, there's no rate guarantee so this could be a teaser rate that may not stay competitive.

The offer is for the Premier Money Market Account which is a tiered rate account which requires a $25,000 balance to earn this top yield and to avoid a monthly fee.

The offer was advertised in today's papers (5/09/2010) in Wisconsin and Kansas City. The ads listed the following M&I Bank promo web pages:

• Wisconsin: mibank.com/premierwi
• Kansas City: mibank.com/premierkc

The offer also seems to be available for other states where M&I has branches:

• Florida (offering a higher rate of 1.75% APY) mibank.com/premierfl
• Arizona: mibank.com/premieraz
• Indiana: mibank.com/premierin
• Minnesota: mibank.com/premiermn

Checking Account Promotion

M&I Bank continues to offer a promotion on its Cash Back Checking. I first posted on that promotion in this January post.

Bank Overview

Most of the branches are located in Wisconsin which is where their headquarters is located. M&I is a large regional bank with $50.2 billion in assets. Last month the bank had its annual shareholders meeting. As reported by The Business Journal of Milwaukee:

Marshall & Ilsley Corp. executives plan to start repaying the company's TARP debt in late 2011 and will not begin rebuilding M&I's common stock dividend, now at a penny a share, until 2013.

As you might expect, the bank doesn't have the best ratings for safety and soundness: 3 stars (adequate) at BauerFinancial and 2 stars (below peer group) at Bankrate.com. Both ratings are based on 12/31/09 financial data. It has been a FDIC member since 1934 (FDIC Certificate # 1020).