Kansas Banking Rates and News

The seven banking divisions of BOK Financial Corporation are offering a cash bonus for opening a new checking account. Four of the divisions are offering a $100 bonus, and the other three are offering a $50 bonus. To qualify for the bonus, the customer must either activate direct deposit OR make 10 debit card purchases ($10 minimum per transaction). The promotion is scheduled to end on May 31, 2012. Below are the links to the promotion pages of the seven divisions:

• $100 bonus at Bank of Texas (free checking)
• $100 bonus at Colorado State Bank and...

Update 5/25/2012: The 5-year Premium Money Market CD rate has fallen. According to the CSR, it's now 1.65% APY (down from 1.80% APY on 5/11). This is for California. Rates may vary for other states.

It's not common to find competitive CD rates at large brick-and-mortar banks, but I found one at Bank of the West. It's offering a 2.00% APY 5-year CD. This is the bank's Premium Money Market CD which requires a $2,500 minimum deposit. The rate isn't listed online, and it may vary by state. I called the bank yesterday (3/27/2012) and verified it for the bank's...

Bank of the West has just started a new checking account promotion with a bonus of up to $100. In addition, the bank will donate $25 to local schools. You can also earn another $25 by opening a credit card with the checking account. I didn't include this in the total bonus since there are many credit card bonuses that are over $25.

Bonus Details are listed in this Bank of the West promotions page. The checking account must be opened by 4/27/2012.

If you decide to give this promotion a try, don't forget Bank of the West...

When I first reported on Morrill and Janes Bank in 2010, many readers jumped on its great nationwide checking account deal. The bank was offering very competitive rates on its Elite Checking and the Treasury Index Account. The deal lasted for over six months, but in 2011 the bank started to limit new accounts to Kansas and Missouri residents. The rates also fell. However, the rates continue to be competitive, and these accounts continue to be a good deal for KS and MO residents.

The bank's Elite Checking has a 1.06% APY on daily balance of $1,500.00 and above....

It's common for stores to offer Presidents' Day specials, but it's rare to see them at banks. Capitol Federal Savings Bank in Kansas is advertising its Presidents' Day CD Special in the newspaper and on its website. Unfortunately, it's keeping the CD details under wrap. The special is only available on Presidents' Day (February 20, 2012), and it's "only available for personal accounts opened in person at any Capitol Federal office." Details are listed in the bank's promo page as of 2/13/2012.

Update 2/17/2012: The bank has made public its CD specials for...

Meritrust Credit Union did something rare in today's environment. It increased the yield on its 5-year share certificate from 2.00% to 2.50% APY. That's now a very competitive rate. The rates on the shorter terms are much less competitive. The only noteworthy one is a 1.50% APY 3-year CD. Minimum deposit is $500, and I was told last year that the 3- and 5-year CDs have an early withdrawal penalty of 90 days of interest. These rates are listed in the credit union's rates page as of 1/18/2012.

Credit union membership is open to those...

It has been almost five years ago since I first reported on Bank of Blue Valley and its reward checking account. I'm happy to see the bank is still offering a competitive reward checking account, but there have been several changes. The new reward checking account is called Ultimate Checking. It has a top rate of 3.00% APY on balances up to $25,000. There's also an online application, and according to the bank CSR, people in any state can apply. This might sound like a hot deal, but there's one big downside. I've listed the details of this account...

In today's awful interest rate environment, the only deposit account where you can find yields of 4.00% is the reward checking account. Even long-term CDs don't have yields this high. However, there are not many 4.00% reward checking accounts. Rates and balance caps have been falling. As I described in my reward checking overview, reward checking accounts only offer high yields for balances up to a certain cap. For those with large savings, this cap is as important as the rate. Many consider a balance cap of $25,000 to be the minimum cap that makes the reward checking account...

Kansas residents have quite a few choices for reward checking accounts. Quest Credit Union's iDeal Checking is one of the better ones. It has a very competitive rate when the monthly requirements are met. The rates as of 10/26/2011 are:

• 3.51% APY up to $25,000
• 1.01% APY over $25,000
• 0.15% if requirements are not met

In addition to the high rates, ATM fee refunds nationwide are provided if the following monthly requirements are met:

• 10 or more Visa Check Card purchases per month (signature based or credit transactions)
• one Direct Deposit or one automatic payment
• Enroll and receive your statements electronically

There are no monthly service charge...

With all the news of Bank of America's new debit card fee, many people have decided to switch to credit unions and community banks. Those looking for a community bank or credit union should consider a reward checking account. The vast majority of reward checking accounts are free checking accounts that give customers an option to recieve a high interest rate and refunds of ATM fees. These extra perks typically have monthly requirements which always include debit card usage. You can see my overview of reward checking in my post 10 Common Traits of High-Yield Reward Checking Accounts,...

I first reported on Communications Federal Credit Union and its reward checking account, called Free Performance Checking Account, in May 2008. The rate has fallen, but not nearly as much as the rates of many other accounts. It's now one on the few reward checking accounts in the nation that still has a top yield of 4.00% APY that applies to a reasonably large balance (currently $30K). I'm hoping this doesn't fall with the start of October.

Thanks to reader 51hh, I learned that any resident in Oklahoma or Kansas can qualify to join...

CoreFirst Bank & Trust is advertising a nice checking and money market account promotion called Checking Incentives. You can earn a bonus of up to $150 for opening its reward checking and money market account. The promotion doesn't seem to be listed on the bank's website. It was advertised in the 9/25/2011 Kansas City newspaper. The ad is available online here.

All of the bonuses require a direct deposit of payroll or monthly credit. They have three account bonuses to choose:

• $150 for opening a Rewards Checking with a money market or CD
• $100 for opening a...