Oregon Banking Rates and News

Union Bank, N.A. is offering two competitive CD rates for residents in Oregon and Washington State. These are a 2.00% APY 5-year CD and a 1.50% APY 3-year CD. Minimum deposit is $350. These rates are listed in the Union Bank CD rate chart as of 5/24/2012. These are only shown when you select the states of OR or WA. The rates are much lower for California and other states.

I wasn't able to find a CD disclosure online which lists the early withdrawal penalty. I called Union Bank yesterday (1-800-796-5656), and asked about the EWP. The...

In the last few weeks I've been taking new looks at some of the old reward checking accounts that continue to be good deals. Today's updated review is on the reward checking account at TwinStar Credit Union which it calls Accelerator Checking. I first reviewed this account in March 2007 when it had a 6% APY for all balances. The rate has fallen, and there's now a balance cap. Nevertheless, it remains competitive for reward checking accounts.

Accelerator Checking has the following rates and features if certain monthly requirements (as of 5/22/2012):

• 2.50% APY on balances up to...

It has been a while since I reported on First Republic Bank. Its CD rates have finally changed for the better to make it noteworthy. The bank now has a few competitive CD rates. The two best ones are a 1.30% APY 2-year CD and a 1.20% APY 18-month CD. Minimum deposit is $5,000. Below is the list of all of the competitive CD rates as listed at the bank's rates page as of 5/2/2012:

• 1.75% APY 6-year CD
• 1.60% APY 5-year CD
• 1.50% APY 4-year CD
• 1.40% APY 3-year CD
• 1.30% APY 2-year CD
• 1.20% APY 18-month CD
• 1.00% APY 1-year CD

Rates...

Northwest Resource Credit Union recently launched a reward checking and savings account. New reward checking accounts haven't been as common in the last year so it's nice to see a new one. These accounts are branded with the Kasasa name which ensures that they are free accounts with no monthly service fees. The reward checking is called Kasasa Cash, and the savings account is called Kasasa Saver. These accounts have the following rates and balance caps as of 4/26/2012 if monthly requirements are met:

Kasasa Cash

• 3.00% APY for up to $15,000
• 0.50% APY over $15,000
• 0.05% APY for entire balance if requirements...

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...

Washington Federal is offering a new checking account promotion in which customers can receive either an Amazon Kindle or Kindle Fire. The details are listed at Washington Federal's promotion page. The promotion is scheduled to end on May 31, 2012.

To qualify for the Amazon Kindle ($79 value), a Simple or Performance Checking Account must be opened. To qualify for the Kindle Fire ($199), a Stellar Checking account must be opened. As you might expect, you'll have to worry about monthly fees, especially for the Stellar Checking account. However, if you're careful, these could be good deals....

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...

Union Bank has a checking account promotion in which you can earn 5% cash back from your debit card purchases for up to $250. To earn the full $250, it will require $5,000 in debit card purchases through April 30, 2012. Also, customers should be aware that Union Bank ended its free checking accounts in January. So they'll have to be careful to avoid monthly fees.

The details of this offer are listed at this Union Bank promotions page. Here's the summary that's listed on this promotions page:

• open a new personal or business checking account...

Washington Federal continues to offer a competitive 5-year CD rate. For a minimum deposit of $90K, it's 2.30% APY. The 3-year and 4-year CD rates are also competitive: 1.55% APY for 3 years and 1.80% APY for 4 years. The rates are 5 basis points lower for a $1K deposit. These rates are listed in the bank's rates page as of 12/07/2011.

I first reported on this deal in September. When I called the bank in September, I was told that the rates are typically not changed until Fridays. One downside to this 5-year...

Washington Federal is offering a competitive 5-year CD rate. For a minimum deposit of $90K, it's 2.30% APY. The rate is 5 basis points lower for a $1K deposit. These rates are listed in the bank's rates page as of 9/19/2011.

When I called the bank last Thursday, I was told that the rates are typically not changed until Fridays. One downside to this 5-year CD is its early withdrawal penalty of 1 year of interest which is larger than the typical 6 months of interest.

A branch visit is required to open an...

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...

KeyBank is again offering an iPod touch as part of a checking account promotion. One thing that has changed since the last one is that you have to make twice the number of payments and/or purchases. So if you want the free iPod touch, it will require some work. 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).

Here's the new KeyBank promotions page. The offer is scheduled to last until July 22, 2011. The following are the requirements...