Virginia Banking Rates and News

In today’s low-interest rate environment, deals sometimes arise when an institution holds steady with its rates while others lower their rates. That’s the case with Northwest Federal Credit Union. The credit union continues to offer competitive 2-year and 3-year CD and IRA CD rates, and they are very competitive for a $100K minimum deposit and for members who have a Premier Checking account or the Heritage Club status. If you meet these requirements, the 2-year CD has a 1.51% APY and the 3-year CD has a 1.65% APY. Rates are 25 bps lower if members don't have Heritage Club...

If you live in the market area of Capital One Bank, new customers can still get a good checking account deal. They have been offering this deal for awhile, and I’m still seeing it advertised. It has become a better deal as rates at other banks have fallen. Capital One is guaranteeing a promotional rate (1.00% APY for most areas) for balances up to $100,000 for the first 12 months. Details of this promotion are listed at the Capital One High Yield checking page. Note, it will only show if your zip code is in their...

If you had been planning to open a PenFed CD, you need to hurry before March. PenFed CD rates appear to be falling quite a bit for March. Thanks to the reader who forwarded me the new rates he received from his correspondence with PenFed. Below are the new rates that the reader received by email. I also included the current rates. All of the new rates are 25 bps lower.

• 1.75% APY 7-year CD (was 2.00% APY)
• 1.65% APY 5-year CD (was 1.90% APY)
• 1.60% APY 4-year CD (was 1.85% APY)
• 1.60% APY 3-year CD (was 1.85% APY)
• 1.35% APY 2-year CD (was...

Every now and then a financial institution will offer a CD special that's actually more like a checking account bonus. That's the case at Chartway Federal Credit Union. It's offering a special called the GO Direct Promotional Certificate. It has an 11-month term and a 3.00% APY. Minimum deposit is $1,000. Here's the catch (there are actually two). Maximum deposit is $20,000, and it requires direct deposit for the duration of the CD. The details of this special CD are listed in this Chartway promotions page as of 2/22/2013. It's a limited time offer.

Update 2/27/13: A...

I first reviewed the Belvoir Federal Credit Union and its reward checking account (called CUXcel Checking) in 2008. Rates have fallen, but it remains very competitive. At first I considered this account as nationally available since an association could be joined to qualify for credit union membership. However, there were reports that the credit union was requiring members to be residents of specific Virginia counties to be eligible for the CUXcel checking account. That appears to have changed. Before I review the membership eligibility, below is a summary of the rates and features as of 2/14/2013:

• 3.25% APY on...

If you weren't able to take advantage of the $200 and $300 checking account bonuses that Northwest Federal Credit Union (NWFCU) was offering last year, you might be interested in this new $100 bonus. This does require more work, and the payoff is less. To earn the first $50 requires three consecutive payroll direct deposits of at least $500 each to the new checking account that are received by 5/20/13. An additional $50 bonus will be mailed to you on 7/10/13 in the form of a check to be deposited through Mobile Deposit if the account remains...

Just two weeks ago I posted on a BB&T $100 checking account bonus. Now it's offering a $125 bonus with the same requirements. The nice aspect of this bonus is that you can qualify for it without direct deposit. The downside is that 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 set-up and receive 2 direct deposits of at least $100 OR make 3 online bill payments...

BB&T is again offering a $100 bonus for opening a checking account and performing some additional activities. Just like most large banks, 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 $100 bonus, customers must open a BB&T checking account and set-up and receive 2 direct deposits of at least $100 OR make 3 online bill payments of at least $25. The offer is scheduled to end on 3/1/2013. Here's the link to the BB&T...

After two months of special CD rates, I was worried Pentagon Federal Credit Union (PenFed) would not extend the specials into January. So I was pleasantly surprised to see the new January CD rates at PenFed this morning. The 1-year CD rate had the biggest increase. It went up from 1.00% to 1.25% APY. The CD rates from terms of 2 to 5 years went up 10 basis points. The 7-year CD rate remains the same. This now makes PenFed's 1-, 2- and 3-year CD rates the clear nationwide leaders. It's interesting to see PenFed putting more emphasis on...

Chartway Federal Credit Union has extended its CD specials that it was offering in November. In addition, it has increased the rates by 25 basis points. The top rates for these specials are now 1.51% APY for the 12-month CD and 1.26% APY for the 6-month CD. These rates require a premium level checking relationship. Without the checking relationship, the rates are 25 basis points lower (1.26% APY for 12 months and 1.00% APY for 6 months). Minimum deposit is $10,000 for the 12-month CD and $500 for the 6-month CD. All the rates and checking requirements are listed...

Pentagon Federal Credit Union (PenFed) changed its certificate rates for December. PenFed had been offering a very competitive 1-year CD rate in November. Unfortunately, that has ended. However, its 2-year and 3-year certificate rates went up and have become even more competitive. Below is the list of the new PenFed CD rates for terms of 1 to 7 years with the noteworthy rates highlighted. I've also listed the old rates in parentheses. These new rates are listed in PenFed's Money Market Certificates page as of 12/3/2012.

• 2.00% APY 7-year (was 2.02%)
• 1.80% APY 5-year (was 1.71%)
• 1.75% APY 4-year...

Chartway Federal Credit Union is offering four specials in November. One of these might interest savers. That's a special 1-year share certificate with a 1.25% APY. Minimum deposit is $10,000. Premium level checking is required. Rate is not available in Rhode Island. This special CD and rate is listed in the credit union's promo page as of 11/15/2012.

Lower rates are available for smaller balances. All the rates and checking requirements are listed in the Chartway's certificate rate sheets. Three checking accounts appear to qualify for this premium level checking rate: Preferred Plus Checking,...