Nebraska Banking Rates and News

Pinnacle Bank is again offering a $100 bonus for opening its PinnCheck Free checking account online. If you missed the one last year, this is another chance. Like last year, the bonus doesn’t require much work. The only requirements listed in the bank's promotions page are:

• Web-exclusive offer for new Pinnacle Bank customers only
• Minimum amount to open an account is $100
• Account must be maintained in good standing for the first 90 days
• Offer valid for PinnCheck Free applicants only

Offer expires April 30, 2013. According to the terms, it's only available to residents of Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Wyoming and...

Bank of the West has recently brought back its $150 checking account promotion. It looks like the same promotion they were offering last summer. Just like the last one, there's also a $200 bonus, but that requires a checking account with high monthly service fees that can't be easily waived. These promotions are listed on Bank of the West's home page.

Details for the $150 bonus are listed in this Bank of the West promotions page. The checking account must be opened by 3/8/2013.

To qualify for the full $150 requires the following:

• Must open a new Easy...

Bank of the West has just started a new checking account promotion with a bonus of up to $150. There's also a $200 bonus, but to qualify you must open a checking account that requires a large balance to avoid a high monthly service charge. These promotions are listed on Bank of the West's home page.

Details for the $150 bonus are listed in this Bank of the West promotions page. The checking account must be opened by 8/31/2012.

To qualify for the full $150 requires the following:

• Must open a new Easy Checking, Choice Interest Checking, or 55...

Pinnacle Bank is again offering a $100 bonus for opening its PinnCheck Free checking account online. If you missed the one last year, this is another chance. Like last year, the bonus doesn’t require much work. The only requirements listed in the bank's promotions page are:

• Web-exclusive offer for new Pinnacle Bank customers only
• Minimum amount to open an account is $100
• Account must be maintained in good standing for the first 90 days
• Offer valid for PinnCheck Free applicants only

Offer expires April 30, 2013. According to the terms, it's only available to residents of Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Wyoming 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...

Tecumseh Federal Bank has a very competitive rate for its two long-term CDs. Its 6-year and 8-year CDs have a 3.03% APY. It's one of the few banks that lists a 6-year CD but no 5-year CD. The shorter terms are not quite as competitive. The 4-year CD has a 1.76% APY and the 30-month CD has a 1.26% APY. Minimum deposit is $500. These rates are listed at the bank's rates sheet as of 1/16/2012. There's an October date at the top of the sheet, so I emailed the bank last week. According to the...

Bank of the West has just started a new checking account promotion with a $100 bonus that's scheduled to last until 9/16/2011. Here's the link to the offer. Unlike previous Bank of the West promotions, this one requires direct deposit. There doesn't seem to be online bill pay option. Like previous promotions, only those who reside in their market area are eligible (see below for the eligible states). The bank is still advertising a free checking account with no monthly service charges or monthly fees. This is becoming rare for large banks.

Below is the important part...

United Republic Bank is offering two attractive CD specials. The most competitive of the two CDs is the 1.65% APY 21-month CD. The other one is a 1.30% APY 14-month CD. Minimum deposit is $1,000. These rates are listed at the bank's rates page as of 7/7/2011.

It appears a branch visit is required to open an account. United Republic Bank is a small one-office bank located in Omaha, Nebraska.

The bank has an overall health score at DepositAccounts.com of 4 stars (out of 5) with a Texas Ratio of 26.10% (average) based on March 2011 data....

BankOn is one of the rare internet banks that's limited to only certain states. My first review of BankOn was in October 2009 when the savings account was paying 2.05%. The yield held up well until last September when it fell to 1.15% APY where it remains as of 2/25/2011. This yield still is disappointing, but it's getting more competitive as others cut rates.

One nice small perk with BankOn that's still around is a sign-up bonus of $25 when you open the savings account. There doesn't seem to be any additional requirements to receive this...

Update 6/15/2011: The rate tier has fallen from $25K to $15K

It's rare for me these days to find a new bank that's offering a top rate on a reward checking account. I just came across one that's based in Nebraska. It's American National Bank, and it's offering a reward checking account called Smart Checking. It has the following rates and features if certain monthly requirements are met (as of 2/18/2011):

• 4.05% APY on balances up to $15,000
• 0.50% APY on portion of balances over $15,000
• 0.10% base rate if requirements are not met
• ATM fee refunds up to $5 per transaction (includes the...

Update 4/3/2011: The bonus has been extended to 4/22/2011.

Bank of the West has another $100 checking account bonus. This new bonus is scheduled to last until 3/25/2011, and like the promotion from last July it allows either direct deposit of at least $250 or 10 online bill payments. One difference is that this new one requires that each bill payment be at least $25. The direct deposit or bill payment most be completed within 60 days of account opening.

Update 2/14/11: The promotion is now listed on Bank of the West's website. Here's the promotion link.

As...