New Hampshire Banking Rates and News

It's rare when a bank offers a new-account bonus on a reward checking account. So I'm happy to see this promotion at Washington Savings Bank. When a customer opens a rewards checking account and implements the following new services, he or she will be eligible for an Amazon Kindle Fire with an estimated value of $199. The requirements for the new services include:

• Monthly direct deposit of at least $1,000 from an unaffiliated third party
• At least three monthly automatic withdrawals of at least $75 each from unaffiliated third parties
• An active debit card with 10 or more completed purchases

The...

Banks are still coming out with new reward checking accounts. However, the rates and balance caps may disappoint especially those who remember reward checking in the good old days in 2007. However, it's important to compare these rates to what internet banks offer. If you can get rates at least one percentage point higher than an online savings account, you should consider that a good deal. That's currently the case at Washington Savings Bank which is offering a Free Interest Rewards Checking Account and a linked Saver Rewards account. The two accounts have the following rates and...

ING Direct isn't the only financial institution offering Black Friday specials. There's also Service Credit Union which is having a Black Friday special with some deposit deals. On the first look at its promotions webpage, some may think the CD with a 10% APY is the best deal. However, the maximum deposit is only $1,000, and the term is only 3 months. So the most you can make from this CD is only $25.

A better deal is the credit union's checking account promotion in which you can earn $150. Here's the small print...

EBSB Direct is offering a competitive 3-year CD yield of 1.80% APY. Minimum deposit is $1,000. This used to a better deal back in June when the yield was 2.25%, but it's still quite competitive compared to what's available today. There's also a 10-month CD, but the rate is much less competitive at 0.55% APY. Minimum deposit is $1,000. These rates are listed at EBSBdirect.com as of 10/04/2011.

According to the bank's disclosure, "terms over 12 months the penalty will equal 6 months interest on the amount withdrawn."

EBSBdirect.com also offers an online savings...

People's United Bank is offering a $100 gas card when you open any personal checking account and perform certain activities. The account must be opened with a minimum of $25 by 10/31/2011. They give you three choices of activities which must be completed within 60 days of account opening. You can choose any one of the following to qualify for the bonus:

• Receive a recurring direct deposit of at least $100
• Use the debit card to make at least 10 purchases of at least $25 each
• Make at least 5 payments of at least $25 each using Online Banking

The promotion is listed...

Lockheed Federal Credit Union has a nice checking account promotion in which you can earn up to $150. The promotion is scheduled to last until 9/30/2011. Details are listed at the credit union's promotions page. Here are the steps to receive the full $150 bonus:

• $50 for opening a checking account with $250
• $50 when you sign up for monthly direct deposits of at least $100 (within 60 days of opening account)
• $50 when you use Web BillPay to make 3 electronic payments (within 60 days of opening account)

Here's the offer's small print:

Offer expires September 30, 2011. Here’s how...

NMTW Community Credit Union continues to offer two good deposit deals. The first is a 33-month add-on CD with a 1.50% APY (1.60% APY for the IRA). Minimum deposit is $500, and it allows two additional deposits to be made during the term of the CD. There's also a 13-month add-on CD but the rate is not really competitive at 0.75% APY. These rates are listed in the credit union's rates and fees page as of 6/22/2011.

Good Add-On CD Rates Hard to Find

Those who opened this 33-month CD last year when the APY was...

Citizens Bank has another checking account promotion, and unlike the last one, it's a little easier to qualify for the bonus. In this new one, a new personal checking account must be opened by June 30, 2011. Once you open the account, make 5 qualifying online bill payments of at least $50 each before July 29, 2011. The bonus amount is $100. The promotion is listed at www.citizensbank.com/100cash1. It's also available at Citizen's subsidiary, Charter One (www.charterone.com/100cash1). Here's the small print of the offer:

To qualify for this offer you must open your...

Update: Promotion is back. New expiration date is 10/28/2011. Small print now says "offer available in branch and by phone and excludes select Philadelphia area branches."

Citizens Bank has a checking account promotion in which you can earn $240. It does require some work and it'll take at least 6 months. The offer is listed on the bank's front page, and they have a special page at www.citizensbank.com/240. The new personal checking account must be opened by May 6, 2011. Once you open the account, you'll be paid $40 a month for up to 6...

EBSB Direct continues to offer a good deal on its high yield savings account for those with large balances. The savings account has a 1.30% APY on balances of $50K to $1M as of 4/10/2011. For balances of $5K to $50K, the rate goes down to 0.75% APY, and for balances under $5K, no interest is paid.

This rate has held since I reviewed EBSB Direct in December. Back at that time, a 1.30% APY was good but there were several banks offering higher rates. That's not the case any more as you can see in my

People's United Bank is offering a free Amazon Kindle for opening its Advantage Checking Account with direct deposit by 3/18/2011. The important downside to this promo is that Advantage Checking has a $20 monthly fee unless you maintain a combined average balance of $5,000. The promo is listed on the bank's front page. Here's the offer's small print (with my highlights):

This offer applies when you open a new People's United Advantage Checking Account (the "Account") between 2/8/11 and 3/18/11 with a $25 minimum opening deposit and a recurring direct deposit. To qualify for the Kindle, you...

Sovereign Bank is offering two special CDs. The one with the most competitive rate is the 5-year CD which has a 3.00% APY. The other one is a 1.25% APY 18-month CD. Both have a minimum deposit of $500. The 5-year CD special is listed on the bank's front page and in this bank's promotion page as of 2/10/2011. The 18-month CD special is listed on the bank's CD page.

Sovereign Bank CD Details

Update 2/12/11: Readers have informed me that they've been told that the CD is available nationwide. I called Sovereign again using...