New Hampshire 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...

Service Credit Union is offering several promotions in celebration of it reaching $2 billion in asset size. The best offer is a $150 bonus for opening a checking account with direct deposit. There's also a 11-month CD with a 1.00% APY and a refer-a-friend bonus of a $100 gift card. These promotions don't appear to be listed at the credit union's website. They were advertised in Massachusetts newspapers on 5/17/2012. The ad is available online here. According to the small print, the offers are valid until May 31, 2012.

Here's the small print of...

In February Rockland Trust launched the internet division Rockland Direct with a competitive money market account. It has a yield of 1.00% APY for balances of $2,500 to $1 million as of 5/17/2012. A $2,500 minimum balance is required to earn interest and to avoid a $15 monthly fee. There's no guarantee about how long the rate will last, but I was told it's not an intro rate, and it will probably remain the same for some time to come.

Application Details

There's an online application via andera.com which allows funding via an ACH transfer from your existing checking account. The...

Merrimack Valley Federal Credit Union has several competitive rates on its certificates. The best ones include a 2.50% APY for 5 years, 2.00% APY for 3 years and 1.50% APY for 2 years. Minimum deposit is $500. These rates are listed in the deposit rates page as of 2/28/2012.

Credit union membership is open to all persons who live, work, worship or attend school in the Merrimack Valley of Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Please refer to the credit union's Who Can Join page for more details and for a list of cities in the...

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...