New York Banking Rates and News

Michigan State University Federal Credit Union has promotional rates on its 5-year and 4-year CDs and IRA CDs. The Jumbo 5-year CD is an especially good deal with a 2.11% APY. The Jumbo 4-year CD has a 1.76% APY. Minimum deposit is $100,000. The non-Jumbo yields for these two CDs are 26 basis points lower. These require a $500 minimum deposit. For this promotion, the credit union is adding an additional 25 basis points to these CD rates. That is scheduled to end on November 30, 2013. Please refer to...

We’re now seeing some large banks raising their long-term CD rates. The latest is Fifth Third Bank which is offering a special 4-year CD with a 1.50% APY. You can get a higher 4-year CD rate at a few internet banks and credit unions, but this 1.50% APY is competitive especially for large banks. There are also shorter-term CD specials: a 1.25% APY 38-month CD and a 1.00% APY 28-month CD. Minimum deposit is $5,000, and a new or existing checking account is required. These rates are listed in Fifth...

We have finally been seeing some rising 5-year CD rates, but there’s little incentive to lock into a 5-year term if rates continue to rise. The CD special at Consumers Credit Union helps to ease that concern. It’s called the Homerun CD, and it has a 2.00% APY for a 5-year term. There’s also a 17-month Homerun CD with a 1.00% APY. Both allow for one penalty-free withdrawal during the term. The downside is that they require an active checking account. Minimum deposit is $1,000, and the maximum is $250,000...

I know some people have avoided reward checking accounts because they don’t like debit cards. Most all reward checking accounts require monthly debit card purchases to qualify for the high yield. There are a few which don’t have this requirement. One is Mercantile Bank of Michigan. It has a reward checking account called WOW Checking. This still has monthly activity requirements, but customers can meet these requirements without debit card purchases. Below is a summary of the rates and requirements of this account as listed in the bank’s WOW Checking...

KeyBank has another checking promotion that it has been advertising. Thanks to the readers who emailed me news on this. The promotion offers a $200 bonus which is larger than many of the past bonuses. Like before it's an online-only offer, and it’s only available in certain areas of the country that are in KeyBank’s market area (see below). But unlike past promotions, the only requirement is direct deposit. There’s no debit card usage requirement.

KeyBank doesn’t have the best reputation among many DA readers. You can read the problems customers...

Flagstar Bank is offering a nice savings account promotion for Michigan residents. Flagstar is guaranteeing a 1.00% rate for the first six months on its SuperSmart Savings Account. The rate is good for balances of up to $10 million. New money is required. This rate is listed at Flagstar’s SuperSmart promo page as of 5/21/2013. Note, this page shows a 1.00% 6-mo interest rate and a 0.70% APY. That’s due to the APY being based on the average rate during the first year. After the first six months, a standard...

KeyBank has another checking promotion in which you can earn $150. It's very similar to the $150 bonus that it was offering last year. Like before it's an online-only offer, but the online application only accepts certain areas which appear to be in their market area (see below).

KeyBank doesn’t have the best reputation among many DA readers. You can read the problems customers have experienced in the comments of my 2012 KeyBank post and in my 2011 KeyBank post. If you have experience with KeyBank promotions and checking accounts, please...

Citizens Bank and Charter One regularly have checking account promotions with nice bonuses. Both are brand names of RBS Citizens, N.A. Citizens Bank branches are primarily located on the east coast and Charter One branches are located in the Midwestern states of Illinois, Michigan and Ohio. Charter One is currently listing a bonus of up to $175. I can’t find a similar one at Citizens Bank, but when I called Citizens Bank at 888-411-7442, the CSR told me that this same $175 bonus is available. (see update below) However, he...

As I was looking over our 1-year CD rate table for Michigan I noticed Health One Credit Union was on top with a rate much higher than the other Michigan banks and credit unions. Its 1-year CD rate is 2.00% for a $100,000 minimum deposit. We have been listing this rate since March. I checked the credit union’s rates page, and sure enough, it’s listed there. I also called the credit union, and I was told that it’s correct. In today’s environment, I’m suspicious of any 2% CD, and especially...

Southwest Michigan Federal Credit Union has been offering some top CD rates for quite a while. I was wondering why I haven’t reviewed this credit union before. I found out the reason from the credit union’s 2012 summer newsletter. The credit union had a major expansion of its field of membership. According to the CEO, it was the “largest community charter expansion this year by the National Credit Union Administration.” Before this charter expansion, the credit union probably had a narrow field of membership. I usually don’t focus on credit...

Checking account promotions are still common at large banks, but one thing that’s not common are free checking accounts. Huntington Bank is one large bank that’s still has a free checking account. It’s called Asterisk-Free Checking. It has no monthly checking maintenance fee, no minimum balance, and no required number of debit transactions.

Huntington Bank’s promotion for its Asterisk-Free Checking offers a $150 bonus. This promo does have direct deposit and debit transaction requirements which are common for checking account bonuses. At least you don’t have to worry about these requirements...