AFFCU Nationally Available 24-Month Jumbo CD Has Rate-Leading APY

Texas-based AFFCU is currently offering 5.35% APY on its 24-month Jumbo Certificate. As DA reader, Eil, pointed out in a recent Forum post, the 5.35% APY is “competitive for what’s out there at the moment.” While a Jumbo Certificate requires a minimum $100k opening deposit, AFFCU offers non-jumbo Certificates (with APYs 20-25 bps lower) that can be opened with $1k.

IRA Certificates (Traditional, Roth) are available and offer the same rates as the non-jumbo Certificate, with the same $1k minimum deposit. The AFFCU product line does not include any IRA Jumbo Certificates.

The 18-month Jumbo Certificate (5.25% APY) and 18-month Certificate (5.00% APY) deserve a mention. While not as competitive as the 24-month Jumbo Certificate, the 18-month Jumbo Certificate will most likely be included in next week’s CD Deals Summary.

As stated in the Truth-in-Savings Account Disclosure (part of the online application), the Early Withdrawal Penalty reads as follows:

The penalty we may impose will equal one half of the dividends that would accrue from the date of the withdrawal to the maturity date applying the contracted rate on the certificate based to the amount withdrawn over and above any dividends credited or accrued to the certificate to date of withdrawal.

Availability

Headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, the original Air Force Federal Credit Union field of membership (FOM) was primarily comprised of military and civilian employees of the Department of Defense.

Since 2012, membership has been open to all U.S. citizens and resident aliens, 18 years or older, with a valid Social Security number or Tax Identification number, who join the Airman Heritage Foundation.

At some point after my AFFCU November 2022 blog post, joining the Dream Educational Foundation became a qualifier for AFFCU membership.

As stated at the bottom of the AFFCU Membership Eligibility page,

You qualify for membership at AFFCU if you make a small one-time donation to either the Dream Educational Foundation [$10 donation] or the Airman Heritage Foundation [$25 donation].

The Airman Heritage Foundation supports the USAF Airman Heritage Museum and other heritage-related activities in preserving and honoring the history and heritage of enlisted airmen. The Dream Educational Foundation “opens doors to higher education through scholarships and grant programs to students and credit union professionals.”

Other ways to qualify for membership included residency, military affiliation, and family relationships.

You qualify for membership at AFFCU if you live, work (or regularly conduct business in), worship, or attend school, or have a business or other legal entity located within.

• Qualified areas of San Antonio, Texas
• Del Rio, Texas, and surrounding counties
• Mississippi counties of Clay, Lowndes, and Oktibbeha

Eligibility Maps that detail the specific qualified areas are available on the AFFCU website.

Family members or persons who reside in the household of an existing AFFCU member or a person who qualifies for membership are also eligible to join.

Active-duty members, reservists, veterans, retirees, or dependents of a member of the U.S. Armed Forces or National Guard who live or work in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, or Mississippi are also eligible for membership.

Account Opening

Joining AFFCU and/or opening a 24-month Jumbo Certificate can be done online or at any of six full-service Texas branches located in Del Rio, San Antonio (4), and Schertz. AFFCU also has a branch in Columbus, Mississippi.

Current AFFCU members can open a 24-month Jumbo Certificate by logging into Digital Banking, at any of the above-mentioned branch locations, or by calling 800.227.5328.

A $5.00 opening deposit into your AFFCU Savings Account establishes your lifetime membership and gives you a share of ownership.

Funding and Other Particulars

The following information was obtained in a conversation with CSR.

• Funding – ACH, wire ($5 fee), internal transfer, check (if opening in-branch), or credit card ($1k max).
• Ownerships – Individual, joint, or trust.
• CO-OP Shared Branch Participant – Yes.
• Maturing Funds – ACH, wire ($15 fee), cashier’s check, or internal transfer into an existing AFFCU checking or savings account.
• Dividends – Compounded/credited quarterly but cannot be withdrawn.
• Grace Period – 10 calendar days before automatic renewal.*
• Beneficiaries – Unlimited, equal shares, Social Security numbers required.

*In the event that the maturity date passes without the Term Share Certificate Account being renewed and the Certificate is not presented for payment on the maturity date, we may, at our option, transfer the funds in the Certificate Account to any Share (Savings) Account you have with us or any other Account of yours or, alternatively, pay the funds in the Certificate Account directly to you.

Credit Union Overview

AFFCU has an overall health grade of "B+" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 8.35% (excellent) based on December 31, 2022 data. In the past year, AFFCU has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $21.44 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 4.2%. Please refer to our financial overview of AFFCU (NCUA Charter # 8169) for more details.

Established in 1952, the original Lackland Federal Credit Union was founded by ten Lackland Air Force Bank servicemen, each of whom contributed $5. By the end of the first year of operation, the membership had grown to 853 members, even though it operated on a part-time basis in a one-room “office” on the Lackland AFB.

Lackland FCU rebranded in 2002 as the Air Force Federal Credit Union. Following the 2018 merger with Local 142 Federal Credit Union, the credit union became known as AFFCU to reflect an expansion of the FOM beyond the military community. With nearly 52,000 members and assets in excess of $636 million, AFFCU is currently the 51^st largest credit union headquartered in Texas.

How the 24-Month Jumbo Certificate Compares

When compared to similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are available nationally, no banks or credit unions have higher rates than currently offered on the AFFCU 24-month Jumbo Certificate, regardless of minimum deposit requirements. The following table compares the 24-month Jumbo Certificate to the two highest-rate CDs from other credit unions and the two highest-rate CDs from banks.

The above information and rates are accurate as of 5/2/2023.

To look for the best CD rates, both nationwide and state specific, please refer to our CD Rates Table page.