Pennsylvania Banking Rates and News

Widget Financial Credit Union (formerly Erie General Electric Credit Union) is offering a $77 bonus for opening a new free checking account. Unfortunately, the credit union’s reward checking account (HD Checking) doesn’t qualify for the bonus. The bonus requires that the you open a new Free Checking account with direct deposit of net pay. Offer is valid through 5/31/2013. After 5/31/2013, the offer amount will be reduced to $25. The promo code is WIDGE-TEDDM-7774. Thanks to the DA member 51hh who mentioned this promo and credit union name change in the forum.

The details are listed in the

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 said a new customer will need to visit a...

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 to keep the account free.

Here’s the

East River Bank continues to offer some good deals on its CD specials. The best one now is the 12-month CD which has a 1.15% APY. Minimum deposit is $500. It's listed in the bank's rates page as of 3/25/2013.

The bank continues to offer a competitive rate on its checking account. This used to be called Go Green Checking, but it’s now called Go Anywhere Checking. It currently has a 1.01% APY for balances of $100 and above. Back in 2011, the Go Green Checking had a 1.40% APY, and as a reader described, it’s...

Tobyhanna Federal Credit Union is offering several promotions. Two of them are especially good deals for savers. One is a money market promotion which guarantees a 3.00% APY for balances up to $50,000 for the first six months. The second one is a checking account promotion with a $105 bonus. These promotions are listed in the credit union’s promotions page as of 3/21/2013. Thanks to the reader who emailed me news of these promos.

Money Market Promotion

To qualify for the money market promo with a 3% APY for the first six months, a member must first open...

Dollar Bank is offering a checking account promotion in which you can earn up to $150. To get the full $150 required debit card purchases, direct deposit and waiting for one year. The full details are listed in the bank's promotions page. The offer is scheduled to end on 2/28/2013.

The first $50 is paid as a rebate on your signature-based debit card purchases. The second $50 is a credit for receiving cumulative direct deposits of $250 or more. The third $50 credit will be paid within 2 months of the 1-year anniversary of account opening. Below...

Citizens Bank is offering a checking account bonus of up to $150. The bonus doesn't require too much work. One downside is that the checking accounts do have monthly service fees, but there are easy ways to avoid them. This promotion is scheduled to last until 2/28/2013. The details are listed at www.citizensbank.com/150. Here's summary of what's required to earn the full $150:

1. Open your first new personal checking account by 2/28/13
2. Get $50 when you setup direct deposit and have a single deposit of $500 or more clear your new checking account by 4/30/13
3. Get $50 when you...

Visions Federal Credit Union recently increased its share and IRA certificate rates. The 5-year and 30-month CD rates had the largest increase, and they are now very competitive. The standard 5-year CD yield is 2.02% APY with a minimum balance of $500. A member can qualify for a relationship rate of 2.28% APY by having a checking account with a credit card or loan. The standard 30-month CD yield is 1.41% APY (1.66% APY relationship rate). These rates are listed in the credit union's share certificates page as of 1/17/2013. Note, the credit union requires you...

East River Bank used to offer some very competitive CD specials. The only one that's notable now is its 14-month CD special which has a 1.25% APY. Minimum deposit is $2,000. It's listed in the bank's rates page as of 12/18/2012.

The bank continues to offer a competitive rate on its Go Green Checking. It's currently 1.01% APY for balances of $100 and above. When I last reported on this account in January 2011, it had a 1.40% APY. So it has a long history of top rates. According to the bank's comparison...

Beal Bank is again offering some competitive 1-year CD rates. However, the best rates are only in a few cities where it has branches, and they are different cities than when I last reported on Beal Bank in August. You can check what rates are available in your area by entering your zip code in Beal Bank's rates page. I did this for zip codes of most of the cities where Beal Bank has branches.

The best 12-month CD deal has a 1.11% APY and is available in Southeast Florida in the Miami metro area. I wasn't...

Valley Green Bank continues to offer 3 competitive rates on its mid-term CDs. These are 1.20% APY for 18 months, 1.25% APY for 2 years and 1.50% APY for 3 years. Minimum deposit is $500. These rates are listed in the bank's rates page as of 10/12/2012.

When I last reviewed this bank last December, the 2-year and 3-year CD rates were 25 basis points higher. We have seen this trend in the last year in which larger rate cuts have hit longer-term CDs

The bank also offers a free checking account with no maintenance...

Citizens Bank is offering a promotion that includes a short-term CD special and a special credit card cash-back deal. It's called the "Get the Value of Five." The promotion is scheduled to end on 9/28/2012. Here's the link to the Citizens Bank promo page. Citizen's Bank branches which are branded as Charter One have this same promo. Here's the link to the Charter One promo page. Hat tip to DA reader Kaight who posted on this deal in this forum thread. More details about this promo is available in this