Oklahoma Banking Rates and News

United Federal Credit Union is offering a few good CD and IRA CD deals. First, there's a share certificate special with a 43-month term. Rates are based on the deposit amount: 1.60% APY for $100K, 1.50% APY for $50K and 1.35% APY for $500. The credit union's long-term premier certificates are also good deals. The best one is a 2.00% APY 5-year CD with a $100K minimum deposit. The yield is 1.90% for a $50K minimum. The special CD rates are listed in the credit union's spring share certificate special page as of 4/17/2012. The other...

The seven banking divisions of BOK Financial Corporation are offering a cash bonus for opening a new checking account. Four of the divisions are offering a $100 bonus, and the other three are offering a $50 bonus. To qualify for the bonus, the customer must either activate direct deposit OR make 10 debit card purchases ($10 minimum per transaction). The promotion is scheduled to end on May 31, 2012. Below are the links to the promotion pages of the seven divisions:

• $100 bonus at Bank of Texas (free checking)
• $100 bonus at Colorado State Bank and...

Update 5/25/2012: The 5-year Premium Money Market CD rate has fallen. According to the CSR, it's now 1.65% APY (down from 1.80% APY on 5/11). This is for California. Rates may vary for other states.

It's not common to find competitive CD rates at large brick-and-mortar banks, but I found one at Bank of the West. It's offering a 2.00% APY 5-year CD. This is the bank's Premium Money Market CD which requires a $2,500 minimum deposit. The rate isn't listed online, and it may vary by state. I called the bank yesterday (3/27/2012) and verified it for the bank's...

Bank of the West has just started a new checking account promotion with a bonus of up to $100. In addition, the bank will donate $25 to local schools. You can also earn another $25 by opening a credit card with the checking account. I didn't include this in the total bonus since there are many credit card bonuses that are over $25.

Bonus Details are listed in this Bank of the West promotions page. The checking account must be opened by 4/27/2012.

If you decide to give this promotion a try, don't forget Bank of the West...

Air Force Federal Credit Union did something that's not common these days. It made some large rate increases on its share certificates. Its long-term CDs and IRA CDs are now competitive. The best ones include a 2.75% APY 7-year CD, 2.20% APY 5-year CD and a 1.60% APY 3-year CD. Minimum deposit is $100,000. For the 7-year and 5-year CDs, rates are 5 basis points lower for a $2,500 minimum deposit. These rates are listed in the credit union's rates page as of 1/19/2012.

The credit union's early withdrawal penalty is a little convoluted:

The early...

Weokie Credit Union is offering very competitive rates on its mid-term CDs and IRA CDs. The best ones are a 1.61% APY 2-year CD and a 2.02% APY 3-year CD. Minimum deposit is $100,000. Rates are 10 basis points lower for a $1,000 minimum deposit. These rates are listed in the credit union's savings rates page as of 1/6/2012.

The credit union also has a competitive reward checking account called the Ultimate Checking. It has a top rate of 2.75% APY for balances up to $25,000 as of 1/6/2012. Its monthly requirements...

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...

MidFirst Bank is offering a checking account promotion with a cash bonus of either $100 or $125. The bank's branches in Arizona have a $125 bonus, and those in Oklahoma have a $100 bonus. Details are listed in the bank's promotions page. To qualify for the bonus, you must open a new consumer checking by 12/31/2011. Also, 3 out of 5 of the following requirements must be met within 75 days of account opening:

• 250 minimum monthly recurring direct deposit
• 25 Visa Check Card transactions. Multiple swipes for the same transaction do not qualify.
• Elect eStatements and complete 5...

With all the news of Bank of America's new debit card fee, many people have decided to switch to credit unions and community banks. Those looking for a community bank or credit union should consider a reward checking account. The vast majority of reward checking accounts are free checking accounts that give customers an option to recieve a high interest rate and refunds of ATM fees. These extra perks typically have monthly requirements which always include debit card usage. You can see my overview of reward checking in my post 10 Common Traits of High-Yield Reward Checking Accounts,...

I first reported on Communications Federal Credit Union and its reward checking account, called Free Performance Checking Account, in May 2008. The rate has fallen, but not nearly as much as the rates of many other accounts. It's now one on the few reward checking accounts in the nation that still has a top yield of 4.00% APY that applies to a reasonably large balance (currently $30K). I'm hoping this doesn't fall with the start of October.

Thanks to reader 51hh, I learned that any resident in Oklahoma or Kansas can qualify to join...

Liberty Bank is offering a free reward checking account called High-Interest Checking. It has the following rates if certain monthly requirements are met (as of 8/22/2011):

• 2.50% APY for balances up to $30,000
• 0.15% APY for portion of balance over $30,000
• 0.15% base rate if requirements are not met

The monthly requirements include:

• 10 check card transactions
• One direct deposit of at least $250 or more
• Maintain online banking and e-statements

Minimum opening deposit is $25. There is no minimum balance requirement or monthly service charges.

I don't see any mention about ATM fee reimbursements. However, in the bank's checking...

Bank of the West has just started a new checking account promotion with a $100 bonus that's scheduled to last until 9/16/2011. Here's the link to the offer. Unlike previous Bank of the West promotions, this one requires direct deposit. There doesn't seem to be online bill pay option. Like previous promotions, only those who reside in their market area are eligible (see below for the eligible states). The bank is still advertising a free checking account with no monthly service charges or monthly fees. This is becoming rare for large banks.

Below is the...