Nebraska Deposit Account Rates and Deals

With the news that Alliant Credit Union will be lowering its savings account yield from 1.50% to 1.35% in September, more people may be interested in BankOn. I first reported on BankOn in October 2009. Since then it has maintained a very competitive rate on its Money Market Savings Account. It's currently 1.60% APY as of 8/25/2010, and this rate has been maintained since April.

Unfortunately, BankOn isn't available nationwide. It's one of the rare internet accounts that is limited to only certain states: Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Wyoming.

Another downside is the requirement of opening its internet checking account. The checking requires a $100 minimum opening deposit, and it pays no interest. However, there is no minimum balance requirement after opening.

One nice perk with BankOn 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 bonus. The rules say there's a limit of one per household, and the bonus will be paid within 10 business days of account opening.

There's also a nice refer-a-friend bonus. This is a limited time promotion that rewards both the referrer and the new customer with $25. You can make up to $250 for referring friends.

For more details about BankOn, please refer to my 2009 BankOn review. BankOn is part of Pinnacle Bank which has been a FDIC member since 1934 (FDIC Certificate # 10634). Pinnacle Bank has a link to BankOn at its website so you can confirm the relationship.

SAC Federal Credit Union is offering a high-yield reward checking account with the following rates and features if certain monthly requirements are met (as of 8/01/2010):

• 4.01% APY for balances up to $25,000
• 0.25% APY for balances over $25,000
• 0.10% APY if requirements are not met
• ATM fee refunds up to $10 per month

Monthly requirements include:

• 12 debit card purchases
• Receive e-statements

Other account features include:

• $100 minimum opening deposit
• No minimum balance
• No monthly service charge

According to the credit union's Open New Account page:

Membership in SAC FCU is available to anyone who lives, works, attends school, or worships in Douglas, Sarpy and Cass Counties, NE, and Pottawattamie County, IA. Businesses and other entities qualify if they are located within any of the four counties.

Branches are located in the Nebraska cities of Omaha and Bellevue and in the Iowa city of Council Bluffs.

The credit union's ratings for safety and soundness are strong: 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 financial overview of SAC FCU). The credit union is federally insured by the NCUA (Charter # 5400).

Thanks to the reader who emailed me news of this account.

Other High-Yield Reward Checking Accounts

It's nice to see another 4.00% reward checking account. These rates are getting harder to find for reward checking accounts with rate caps of at least $25K. The one downside is that it requires 12 debit card purchases per month. The old 10-per-month requirement continues to become less common.

Please refer to the reward checking section of DepositAccounts.com to find reward checking accounts in your state or that are available nationwide.

Bank of the West has another $100 checking account bonus. This new bonus is scheduled to last until 8/20/2010, and like the last one it allows either direct deposit of at least $250 or 10 online bill payments. The details are listed in the bank's promotion page. Below is the promotion's small print. I've highlighted the important details:

Open any new personal checking account, and either establish one monthly recurring direct deposit of at least $250 to your new account or make 10 bill payments at Bank of the West Online Banking and receive a $100 bonus. Direct deposit must be payroll, social security, pension or other government benefit. The first recurring direct deposit must be posted to your account within 60 calendar days of account open date. The 10 bill payments must occur within 60 calendar days of account open date. Bonus will be credited to your account within 60 days after satisfaction of conditions. Offer valid for new personal checking accounts opened from 7/6/10–8/20/10 with $100 or more from a financial institution other than Bank of the West. Offer subject to change without prior notice and may be terminated or extended based on response. Offer does not apply to second or multiple checking accounts. Limit of one $100 bonus per personal household per calendar year. Offer not valid in CA, CO, UT, NV or WY. To the extent required by law, Bank of the West will report the value of the offer to the IRS on Form 1099. Any applicable taxes are the responsibility of the account holder. All accounts are subject to the Bank’s standard terms and conditions and fee schedule.

When I checked with Bank of the West in March, I was told that the online account application is limited to states which have Bank of the West branches. Also, as you can see in the small print above, the offer is not valid in CA, CO, UT, NV or WY. That leaves the following states which should be eligible for this promotion: AZ, ID, IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, NM, ND, OK, OR, SD, WA and WI.

Regarding a hard credit pull, I was told earlier this year that they don't do a hard credit inquiry in the application (only a soft pull). So you shouldn't have to worry about a ding to your credit score.

Several reader commented in my previous post that Bank of the West closed their accounts for no apparent reason. It appears that when Bank of the West started to restrict availability to their market areas, out-of-area customers who had opened the account before the change were being targeted for account closure. Some readers also reported not receiving the bonus. Most readers who were in the market area have reported success with the promotion. One reader commented:

Just got bonus posted and ACH from online bank to yourself for over the necessary amount DOES count as a DD and only needed to be done 1 time.

Bank of the West is one of the large regional banks. It has $61.18 billion in assets and $41.38 billion in deposits. The bank has been a FDIC member since 1934 (FDIC Certificate # 3514).

Other Bank Bonuses

To find other bonus deals, please refer to my bank bonus page which has all of my recent bank bonus posts.

ACCESSbank is offering a special 19-month CD with a 2.10% APY. Minimum deposit is $1,000, and new money is required. This special is listed at the bottom of the bank's rates page as of 4/20/2010.

The bank also offers a very competitive high-yield reward checking account that currently pays 4.14% APY on balances up to $25K. This rate has held since last June when I did my first review of this account.

There's also a good deal for businesses. It's offering a money market business account with a 2.50% APY for balances up to $100K as of 4/20/2010.

It appears that a branch visit is required to open an account. ACCESSbank is a small bank with one office in Omaha, Nebraska.

The bank's ratings for safety and soundness are above average: 4 stars (excellent) at BauerFinancial (based on 12/31/09 data) and 3 stars (performing) at Bankrate.com (based on 9/30/09 data). DepositAccounts.com's ACCESSbank's health score is 5 out of 5. The bank has been a FDIC member since 2007 (FDIC Certificate # 58727).

Bank of the West has extended its $100 checking account bonus. According to the bank's promotions page, the new checking account must be opened by 4/16/2010. You can receive a $100 when you open a checking account with funds new to Bank of the West and set up direct deposit of at least $250 OR pay 10 bills online. I reviewed the small print in this January post.

Update: It appears Bank of the West has changed the availability of the promotion since January. According to the CSR, online account opening is limited to states which have Bank of the West branches. These states include AZ, CA, CO, ID, IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, NV, NM, ND, OK, OR, SD, UT, WA, WI and WY.

When I contacted the bank in January, I was told this bonus was available to people in any state, and you didn't need to come into a branch. Readers seemed to confirm this in the comments in January. Here's one of the comments:

We did this offer in late 2009 as well. We did NOT visit a local branch. We filled out the application online. We used direct deposit to fulfill the requirement. $100 bonus was paid eventually.

If you have participated in similar promotions in the past, please leave a comment about your experience.

Also from my January call, I was told they don't do a hard credit inquiry in the application (only a soft pull). So you shouldn't have to worry about a ding to your credit score. It should be noted that I've often received wrong info on this issue from CSRs so please leave a comment if you have personal experience on this issue.

Checking Account with no ATM Fees for One Year

Bank of the West's free checking account qualifies for the bonus. In addition, they have a new checking account called Choice ATM checking which offers one year of free ATM use within the USA. This allows you to withdraw cash from any financial institution's ATM free of charge for one year. Surcharges assessed by other banks will be automatically refunded. One thing to note about this Choice ATM Checking is that you have to worry about a $10 monthly fee unless you meet certain balance or activity requirements. Also, Choice ATM checking is only offered in the following states: CA, CO, MN, NV, OK and OR.

Online Savings Account

Bank of the West continues to offer an online savings account with a competitive yield. It has gone down from 1.50% APY in January to 1.25% APY as of today (3/10/10). Unfortunately, 1.25% APY is a decent savings account rate these days. This rate requires a $10,000 minimum balance. The low tier rate has also gone down by 0.25%. It's now 0.25% APY for balances under $10,000. In August I was told by the CSR that there's a $2/month fee if the balance falls below $300. Another downside is that their ACH bank-to-bank transfer service has a transfer limit of $2,000 per day.

Bank Overview

Branches are located throughout the Western and Midwestern states including Oklahoma, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, Wyoming, Washington, Oregon and California.

Bank of the West is one of the large regional banks with $60 billion in assets and $40.2 billion in deposits. Its ratings for safety and soundness are a little weak: 3 stars (adequate) at BauerFinancial (based on 12/31/09 data) and 1 star (lowest) at Bankrate.com (based on 9/30/09 data). The bank has been a FDIC member since 1934 (FDIC Certificate # 3514).

Other Bank Bonuses

To find other bonus deals, please refer to my bank bonus page which has all of my recent bank bonus posts.

Greater Western Bank is offering three CD specials. The most competitive one is a 2.18% APY 18-month CD. The other two are a 2.68% APY 38-month CD and a 3.08% APY 58-month CD. These rates include a 0.15% bonus for new or existing checking or savings account customers. Minimum deposit is $5,000, and new money is required. These special CD rates are listed in the bank's CD page as of 2/01/2010.

It appears that a branch visit is required. Branches are located in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Iowa and Missouri.

The bank's ratings for safety and soundness are strong: 4 stars (excellent) at BauerFinancial and 4 stars (sound) at Bankrate.com. Both ratings are based on 9/30/09 financial data. The bank has been a FDIC member since 1935 (FDIC Certificate # 15289).

• Open any new personal checking account
• First recurring direct deposit must be posted to your account within 60 calendar days of your account opening date
• The 10 bill payments must occur within 60 calendar days of your account opening date
• Bonus will be credited to your account within 60 days after satisfaction of conditions
• Offer valid for a new personal checking account opened from with $100 or more from a financial institution other than Bank of the West
• Offer does not apply to second or multiple checking accounts and/or existing checking customers
• Limit of one $100 bonus per household per calendar year
• Value of the offer reported to the IRS on Form 1099

Update 4/27/2010: The bank extended the rate guarantee to 8/31/2010.

Adams Bank & Trust is offering a high-yield reward checking account called SuperSmart e-Checking. It has the following rates and features if you meet certain monthly requirements:

• 4.00% APY on balances up to $35,000 (guaranteed until 5/31/2010)
• 2.00% on portion of balance over $35,000
• 0.20% base rate if requirements are not met
• ATM fee refunds up to $10 per month

The monthly requirements include:

• 25 debit card purchases (PIN or signature based)
• 1 direct deposit or direct payment (ACH)
• Receive e-statements

Additional account features include:

• $100 minimum initial deposit
• $7 monthly membership fee if requirements are not met

For those who don't want to do 25 monthly debit card purchases, the bank offers the Smart e-Checking which has easier requirements but the rates are lower:

• 2.00% APY on balances up to $25,000
• 1.00% on portion of balance over $25,000
• 0.15% base rate if requirements are not met
• ATM fee refunds up to $10 per month

The monthly requirements include:

• 15 debit card purchases (PIN or signature based)
• 1 direct deposit or direct payment (ACH)
• Receive e-statements

Another reason to choose this account over the SuperSmart e-Checking is that it lacks the monthly fee if you fail to meet the monthly requirements.

It appears that a branch visit is required to open an account. Branches are located in Nebraska and Colorado.

The bank's ratings for safety and soundness are strong: 4 stars (excellent) at BauerFinancial (based on 9/30/09 data) and 4 stars (sound) at Bankrate.com (based on 6/30/09 data). The bank has been a FDIC member since 1962 (FDIC Certificate # 18489).

Other Reward Checking Accounts

The high debit card usage requirement and the monthly fee when requirements are not met are rare for reward checking accounts. Most only require 10 purchases a month and have no monthly fees regardless of meeting the requirements. The only good thing about these requirements is that it should encourage people to use the account as their primary checking account which should make it easier for the bank to maintain the high rates.

To find reward checking accounts in other areas of the nation, please refer to the reward checking section of DepositAccounts.com. To learn more about reward checking, please refer to this reward checking overview.

Rate History:
4.00% APY up to $35K; 2.00% over (guaranteed to 8/31/10)
4.00% APY up to $35K; 2.00% over (guaranteed to 5/31/10)
4.00% APY up to $35K; 2.00% over (guaranteed to 2/27/10)

• 3 stars (adequate) at BauerFinancial
• 3 stars (performing) at Bankrate.com

• My weekly list of hot nationwide and local CD deals
• My weekly list of all nationwide CD deals
• Index of state CD and bank deals

Update 4/26/10: The rate has fallen to 1.60% APY. The bonus is now $25.

Pinnacle Bank of Nebraska has launched an internet bank called BankOn. The internet bank has a no-minimum online savings account with a 2.05% APY as of 10/12/09. Unfortunately, it's not a nationwide deal. When you select the Apply Now button, the first page of the application states that they are only accepting online applications from Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Wyoming residents. It looks like a good deal for residents of those states.

You are required to open BOTH the checking account and money market account. The only small print related to the bonus that I can see is that the bonus will be paid within 10 business days of account opening. Also, there's a limit of one per household. So it looks like an easy $50.

There's no mention about a hard credit inquiry in the application process (which can temporarily ding your credit score). I'll check with the bank tomorrow. Update 10/13/09: According to the CSR, they do check your credit report. She wasn't sure if this would be a hard pull.

There's also no mention about an ACH transfer service which allows you to transfer funds to and from your bank accounts at other institutions. I'll also check on this tomorrow. Internet banks often neglect this critical internet banking feature. Some may have a basic service, but it often lacks important features such as the capability to link to multiple external accounts, fast transfers in which little or no interest is lost and the allowance of large transfers. Update 10/13/09: The CSR wasn't too familiar with the ACH features. She suggested that transfer features were part of the bill pay service. I'll have to email for clarifications.

Below is a list of the important features described on the bank's website. I was able to get a few additional details from the disclosure documents which are available in the middle of the online application.

BankOn Checking and Money Market Savings Shared Features:

• No required minimum balance after opening
• No monthly fees
• No checks
• E-statements only
• Online only accounts
• Online application via andera.com
• Options to fund account: Credit or debit card or U.S. checking account
• Online application allows for joint accounts, but doesn't allow for beneficiaries
• Dormant Account Fee: $50.00 annually (per fee schedule)
• Incoming Wires: $12.00 per wire (per fee schedule)
• Must be a U.S. citizen or a U.S. resident alien
• Only available to residents of NE, CO, KS, MO & WY

BankOn Money Market Savings Features:

• 2.05% APY as of 10/12/2009
• No minimum initial deposit

BankOn Checking Features:

• No interest
• $100 minimum initial deposit
• Free Bill Pay
• Visa Check Card with Cash Back Rewards (0.50% on signature-based purchases paid monthly to account)
• Free foreign ATM transactions (but no mention of reimbursements of other banks' fees)

The state restriction may be good if you live in one of the eligible states. It should reduce the chance that they'll be overwhelmed with deposits. As we've seen many times this year, new online banks offering good deals are often overwhelmed with new customers, and they end up suspending new applications or restricting availability.

There's always the question about if it's worthwhile to chase rates at a new bank. I discussed this issue at length in this post.

FDIC/Financial Info:

BankOn is provided by Pinnacle Bank. One thing Pinnacle Bank did right is to include a link to the BankOn website at their main website at www.pinnbank.com. Pinnacle Bank is a FDIC member, and you can verify this and their website address at this FDIC page. According to the 6/30/09 FDIC data, the bank has $2.4 billion in assets, $2.1 billion in deposits and 57 branches.

Pinnacle Bank's ratings for safety and soundness are strong: 4 stars (excellent) at BauerFinancial and 4 stars (sound) at Bankrate.com. Both ratings are based on 6/30/09 financial data.

Rate History:
04/26/10: 1.60% APY
02/21/10: 1.85% APY
01/20/10: $25 new account bonus
10/12/09: 2.05% APY; $50 new account bonus