Ohio Banking Rates and News

Yesterday I reviewed the 7 reward checking accounts that remain in the 4% club. These are reward checking accounts with yields of at least 4.00% on balances of at least $25,000. Unfortunately, readers have reported that 2 of these 7 will be cutting rates or balance caps in January. So it's becoming increasingly difficult to find a 4% club member. You may have better luck finding ones in the 3% club. These are reward checking accounts with yields of at least 3.00% on balances of at least $25,000. We still list over a hundred reward checking accounts in the...

In today's awful interest rate environment, the only deposit account where you can find yields of 4.00% is the reward checking account. Even long-term CDs don't have yields this high. However, there are not many 4.00% reward checking accounts. Rates and balance caps have been falling. As I described in my reward checking overview, reward checking accounts only offer high yields for balances up to a certain cap. For those with large savings, this cap is as important as the rate. Many consider a balance cap of $25,000 to be the minimum cap that makes the reward checking account...

Beal Bank has some good deals on short-term CDs. However, the best rates are only in a few cities where it has branches. You can check what rates are available in your area by entering your zip code in Beal Bank's CD page. I did this for zip codes of most of the cities where Beal Bank has branches. The city with the best 1-year CD rate is San Diego with a 1.15% APY. Three other cities have 1-year CD rates of 1.10% APY. These include Winter Park, Florida (Orlando metro), Frontenac, Missouri (St Louis metro)...

Chaco Credit Union is one of the few institutions which increased some of its CD rates in November. The most noteworthy rate increase was on the 37-month CD. Its rate went up to 2.02% APY which is very competitive for terms around 3 years. Other competitive ones include a 1.75% APY 30-month CD and a 2.15% APY 5-year CD. Minimum deposit is $500. These rates are listed in the credit union's rates page as of 11/02/2011.

Membership is open to anyone who lives, works, worships or attends school in Butler, Hamilton or Preble County, Ohio....

On Friday US Bank did something that's rare these days. It raised the rate of its competitive long-term CD. The rate of the 59-month CD special increased from 2.00% to 2.25% APY. The two other special CDs with shorter terms are not nearly as competitive. One is a 1.25% APY 37-month CD and the other is a 1.01% APY 19-month CD. Minimum deposit is $1,000, and the maximum is $249,999. These rates are listed in US Bank's CD page as of 10/31/2011. Rates could change at any time, but they typically change on Friday mornings.

As I mentioned on Monday, you might be able to qualify for membership in a credit union even if the credit union's name suggests a limited membership. That's the case with Health One Credit Union which offers a very competitive 1-year CD. It has a 1.20% APY for a minimum deposit of $10,000. This rate is listed at the credit union's rates page as of 10/26/2011.

Health One also offers a free checking account with no monthly service fees or minimum balance requirements.

It may sound like Health One Credit Union would be...

Columbus Metro Credit Union is offering competitive long-term CD and IRA CD rates. The two best are the 2.75% APY 5-year CD and the 2.50% APY 4-year CD. Minimum deposit is $500. These rates are listed in the credit union's rates page as of 10/17/2011.

Membership is open to anyone who lives, works, worships or attends school in Franklin County, Ohio. Please refer to the credit union's membership page for the full details.

The credit union has an overall health score at DepositAccounts.com of 5 stars (out of 5) with a...

WesBanco has a new checking account promotion that's scheduled to last until November 21, 2011. Unlike most checking promos, this one doesn't require direct deposit. However, you'll have to make a lot of debit card purchases to qualify for the full bonus. The bonus is listed at this WesBanco promotions page. There are three levels of bonus amounts with different number of debit card purchases that are required. These requirements must be met within 90 days of account opening:

• $50 for 10 purchases
• $75 for 30 purchases
• $100 for 50 purchases

The bank still offers a free...

PNC Bank's Virtual Wallet has changed quite a bit since I first reviewed it in 2009. The good news is that it's still easy to keep it free without monthly fees. Considering how many of the large banks have added monthly fees and debit card fees to their checking accounts, PNC's Virtual Wallet is noteworthy. The bad news is that you don't get rewarded like you used to. Another downside is that it has become more complicated. Virtual Wallet has never been simple. It's composed of three different accounts:

• Spend Account (checking)
• Reserve Account (for short-term savings & overdraft protection)
• Growth...

Update 1/20/2012: PNC has extended the promotion to 1/31/2012. Here's the new promotion page link. Also note, the full $100 bonus no longer requires the use of online bill pay.

PNC Bank has another $100 bonus for opening a new qualifying checking account and for performing certain activities. This is being advertised on their home page. Here's the direct link to their promo page. The offer is scheduled to end on 10/22/2011. Here's a summary of the requirements for the first $75:

• Open a new Virtual Wallet Performance or other select PNC Personal...

Huntington Bank has been offering a very competitive rate on its Premier Plus Money Market Account. It has a 1.25% APY for balances from $20K to $2M. No interest is paid on balances under $20K. This is listed in the bank's rate finder page as of 9/29/2011.

One worrisome issue for money market accounts is the question about how long the competitive rates will last. I contacted the CSR via the online chat, and I was told the typical reply that the rate could change at any time. We do have the rate history of this account. You...

General Electric Credit Union continues to have some good deals on CDs and a money market account. The best CD deal is a 1-year Jumbo CD with a 1.42% APY. Minimum deposit is $100K. The 5-year CD also has a competitive rate with a 2.64% APY. Minimum deposit is $500. The Jumbo 5-year IRA CD has a 2.71% APY. These rates are listed in the credit union's rates page as of 9/9/2011.

For those with large savings, the Money Market Plus Account is a good deal. It's a tiered-rate account with the...