Washington 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...

Wings Financial Credit Union continues to offer competitive CD and IRA CD rates. Rates have slowly fallen, but they have fallen less than many other credit unions. Below is a list of the most competitive rates as shown on the credit union's rates page as of 5/2/2012:

• 2.22% APY 5-year CD
• 1.86% APY 4-year CD
• 1.71% APY 3-year CD
• 1.31% APY 2-year CD

Minimum deposit is $500. According to the account disclosure, the early withdrawal penalty is 180 days of interest for terms over 1 year and 30 days of interest for terms of 1 year and less.

Membership

Wings...

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...

Kitsap Credit Union just lowered its CD rates, but its 5-year CD remains competitive. It has a 2.05% APY for a $500 minimum deposit. It's available as both regular and IRA CDs. The early withdrawal penalty is 180 days dividends. There's also a 5-year bump CD, but the rate is much lower at 1.75% APY. These rates are listed in the credit union's share certificates page as of 4/03/2012. The details of the early withdrawal penalty are in the credit union's fees page.

Reward Checking Account

Kitsap Credit Union also offers a reward checking account...

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...

Our Community Credit Union is offering very competitive CD and IRA CD rates for terms from 6 months to 4 years. The following rates are listed in the credit union's rates page as of 1/25/2012:

• 1.04% APY 6 months CD
• 1.20% APY 1 year CD
• 1.50% APY 2 year CD
• 2.00% APY 3 year CD
• 2.15% APY 4 year CD

Minimum deposit is $1,000. Additional CD details are listed below the CD table in the credit union's rates page. Some of the notable details include:

Certificate terms of 2 years or less are eligible for a one time rate bump.

Penalty...

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...

Alaska USA Credit Union held on to some very competitive rates for most of last year. Unfortunately, those rates didn't make it into 2012. However, the new CD and IRA CD rates are still fairly competitive. Below are some of the most competitive CD rates as listed in the credit union's rates page as of 1/5/2012:

• 2.35% APY 5-year CD $100K min (2.25% for $10K)
• 2.01% APY 4-year CD $100K min (1.91% for $10K)
• 1.65% APY 3-year CD $100K min (1.55% for $10K)
• 1.30% APY 2-year CD $100K min (1.20% for $10K)

According to the credit union's disclosure,...

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...