Michigan Banking Rates and News

Citizens Bank has a new-account promotion in which you can earn up to $225. To get the full $225 requires opening a new personal checking account and a money market account or CD. It's important to note that both the checking and money market accounts have potential monthly fees. So keep that in mind when considering the bonus.

To qualify for the promotion, complete the form at this Citizens Bank promotions page to get a coupon that you can print and take to your local branch. Accounts must be opened by 6/2/2012 to qualify for the bonuses.

For...

Astera Credit Union has two very competitive 5-year CD rates. The highest is the Jumbo CD rate with a 2.25% APY. Minimum deposit is $50,000. The regular CD has a 2.15% APY and a minimum deposit of $500. These are also available in an IRA. These rates are listed at the credit union's rates page as of 5/10/2012.

According to the credit union's disclosure, the early withdrawal penalty for the 5-year CD is 360 days of interest on the amount withdrawn.

Credit Union Membership

Credit union's field of membership is primarily defined by various select employer...

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...

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...

When you see a new branch at a bank or credit union, you may want to check to see if they're offering any promotions. Sometimes you can get a good CD deal. That's the case for Michigan State University Federal Credit Union which is having a grand opening special that is scheduled to last until April 30, 2012. One part of the special is an additional 25 basis points when you open a new 3-, 4-, or 5-year certificate or IRA certificate. The credit union also rewards Jumbo CDs with an additional 25 basis points. This results in some...

Update 4/14/2012: The special early withdrawal feature now only applies to the 3-year CD.

Northpointe Bank is offering some unique CDs with competitive rates. They're unique because there's no early withdrawal penalty for the second half of the term. For example there is no early withdrawal penalty after 18 months for a 36 month CD. The bank calls these the Special Compass CDs, and they have the following rates and terms:

• 1.80% APY 5-year CD
• 1.60% APY 4-year CD
• 1.20% APY 3-year CD
• 1.00% APY 2-year CD

These rates are listed at the bank's CD page as of 3/7/2012. I was told...

It's hard to find short-term CD rates higher than internet savings account rates. The advantage with the CD is that you won't have to worry about the rate falling before maturity. I found one short-term CD with a rate that exceeds most savings account rates. It's a 1-year Jumbo CD at Post Community Credit Union that pays 1.20% APY. Minimum deposit is $100,000. The rate is 25 basis points lower for a $1,000 minimum. These rates are listed in the credit union savings rates page as of 2/28/2012.

Credit union membership is open to anyone who lives,...

I had missed this before the holidays, but it looks like a new reward checking account with a competitive rate and balance cap. It's being offered by Nicolet National Bank in Wisconsin. There are some signs that it's open to all. I've sent a message to the bank, and I'll update this post when I receive a reply. The bank calls the account the Real Rewards Checking, and it has the following rates and features if certain monthly requirements are met (as of 12/02/2011):

• 3.00% APY on balances up to $25,000
• 0.50% APY on portion of balance over...

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...

mBank in Michigan is offering three competitive CD and IRA CD rates: 1.60% APY for 2 years, 1.75% APY for 3 years and 2.25% APY for 4 years. The bank actually gives customers a range of terms for each of these rates. I just listed the shortest of the terms. These rates are listed in the bank's rates page as of 11/18/2011. The bank has separate rate tables for the three different parts of Michigan where it has branches. Currently, all three have these same rates.

The bank also offers two decent checking accounts: Green...

We list many credit unions in our rate tables with very competitive deposit rates, but unfortunately, most of these credit unions have very narrow fields of membership (FOM). These are typically small credit unions which serve a few select employee groups. Unless you work for one of the employers, you generally can't join even if you live near the branch. However, many of these credit unions have been expanding their fields of membership. An example is Tandem Federal Credit Union which is located in a Detroit suburb. It recently expanded its FOM to include many parts of the...

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...