Rhode Island Banking Rates and News

Yesterday I reviewed the reward checking account at First American Bank. The bank has another checking account deal. This one is a checking account bonus that pays up to $160. The reward checking account doesn’t qualify. You have to open either its Optimal Checking or its Free Checking account. The promotion is scheduled to end on March 3, 2014. It does require quite a bit of work and time. The details are listed at this bank’s promotion page. Below is a summary of what’s required:

To earn the full $160, you’ll...

BB&T has brought back its $125 checking account promotion. Like the one last year, you can qualify for the bonus without direct deposit. That’s rare these days. The one downside remains the same. All of BB&T's checking accounts have potential monthly service fees. So if you open the checking account for the bonus, you have to make sure to avoid the fees.

To qualify for the $125 bonus, customers must open a BB&T checking account and either 1) use online bill pay for 3 bill payments with a minimum payment of...

KeyBank has another checking account promotion. Unlike its past ones, this one offers a free 16GB Kindle Fire HD instead of cash.That Kindle model is currently selling on Amazon for $169. 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). Here’s the link to KeyBank’s promo page. The offer is scheduled to last until February 28, 2014.

The bonus requires that you open a qualifying KeyBank checking account online and enter offer code ONFT0114 by February...

Fifth Third Bank has a new checking account promotion. They’ll give $150 to Stand Up To Cancer and $150 to you when you open a new checking account with direct deposit and make three online bill payments. The account must be opened by March 31, 2014. The direct deposit and the three online bill payments must be completed within 90 days of account opening to qualify for the bonus. Bonus will be deposited into the new checking account within 6 weeks of completing requirements. The full details of this offer...

Huntington Bank has again come out with a sign-up bonus for its Asterisk-Free Checking. This is one of the rare free checking accounts that still exists at big banks. It has no monthly service fee or minimum balance requirement.

It’s a $150 bonus. Here’s the link to the bank’s promotion page. It’s scheduled to end on 3/14/2014. The bonus is now easier to qualify for. Unlike last year, there’s no debit card usage requirement. This one only requires the following two steps:

• Open a new personal checking account using the apply...

Fifth Third Bank has come out with some new CD specials. There are two changes from Fifth Third’s CD promotions from last fall. For most of Fifth Third’s market area, the bank is offering a 1.75% APY 5-year CD. For the Florida market, this long-term CD promotion is a 2.00% APY 6-year CD. The other CD promotions are the same as last fall with a 1.50% APY 4-year CD, 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...

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...

In today’s rate environment, a 1-year CD may seem appealing for those who don’t want to be locked into a low-rate long-term CD. However, the vast majority of 1-year CDs have rates that are lower than the best money market account rates. Today I found one of the rare exceptions. Communitywide Federal Credit Union just came out with a special 1-year CD with a 2.00% APY. Maximum deposit is $100,000, and the CD requires a checking account with a debit card and a recurring deposit (like direct deposit). There are...

As I mentioned yesterday, there has been a small wave of institutions raising their long-term CD rates over the last month after the large rise in Treasury yields. One of those is Owen County State Bank in Indiana. Its 5-year CD rate went way up in August. The 5-year CD now has a 2.02% APY (up from 1.20% in July). Minimum deposit is $500, and the bank offers this in both a regular CD and an IRA CD. The early withdrawal penalty is 6 months of interest on the amount...

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...