Alaska USA FCU Boosts 60-Month CD APY

POSTED ON WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2018 BY Ken Tumin

Deal Summary: 60-month CD, 3.00% APY ($500), 3.10% APY ($100k), 3.20% APY ($250k).

Availability: Residents of Alaska, Washington, San Bernardino County (California), and Maricopa County (Arizona).

It’s been about six years since I had occasion to write about Alaska USA Federal Credit Union (Alaska USA). That changed last week, when Alaska USA added 55 bps to its tiered-rate 60-month CD: 3.00% APY ($500), 3.10% APY ($100k), and 3.20% APY ($250k).

APY	MIN	MAX	INSTITUTION	PRODUCT
3.35^*%	$250k	-	Alaska USA Federal Credit Union	60 Months CD
OTHER TIERS: 3.05% → $500 - $25k \| 3.10% → $25k - $50k \| 3.15% → $50k - $100k \| 3.20% → $100k - $250k
3.35^*%	$250k	-	Alaska USA Federal Credit Union	60 Months Tax-Deferred IRA (Traditional, Roth, SEP)
OTHER TIERS: 3.05% → $500 - $25k \| 3.10% → $25k - $50k \| 3.15% → $50k - $100k \| 3.20% → $100k - $250k

Rates as of July 15, 2018.

The 60-month CD is also available as an IRA (Traditional, Roth, and SEP) earning the same APYs, with the same funding requirements.

In the past nine months, the 60-month CD has gained 105 bps. The current 3.20% APY is just short of the CD’s 8-year high of 3.35% APY (April 2010).

As stated in the Share Account Statement Disclosure, the Early Withdrawal Penalty reads as follows:

If the maturity period (term) of the Certificate is 730 days or more, the Certificate owner shall forfeit an amount equal to the lesser of:

365 days of dividends on the amount withdrawn, or

all dividends on the amount withdrawn since the date of issuance or renewal.

Availability

Headquartered in Anchorage, Alaska USA Federal Credit Union’s field of membership (FOM) is residency-based, with individuals who live, work, worship, or attend school in Alaska, Washington, San Bernardino County (California), and Maricopa County (Arizona) eligible to join.

Joining Alaska USA and/or opening a CD can be done at any of 87 branches located in Alaska (36), Arizona (8), southern California (8), and Washington (35).

For such a large credit union, I’m surprised Alaska USA doesn’t have an online membership application, or even a PDF of the membership application available for download. Existing Alaska USA members who are enrolled in the Credit Union’s online banking system, UltraBranch, are able to open a CD online.

Credit Union Overview

Alaska USA Federal Credit Union has an overall health grade of "B+" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 12.36% (above average) based on December 31, 2017 data. In the past year, Alaska USA has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $335.45 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 5.55%. Please refer to our financial overview of Alaska USA Federal Credit Union (NCUA Charter # 5913) for more details.

Alaska USA was originally charted in 1948 as the Alaskan Air Depot Federal Credit Union, serving military personnel and federal employees stationed in pre-statehood Alaska. The Credit Union’s name was changed 1975 as its FOM diversified, including the addition of ten Alaska Regional Native Corporations. Between 1983 and 2010, Alaska USA merged or acquired six credit unions in Washington and California, and in 2014, opened its first Arizona branch. Alaska USA is currently the largest credit union headquartered in Alaska, with more than 642,700 members and assets in excess of $7.2 billion.

How the CD Compares

When compared to the similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that require a similar minimum deposit and are available within the FOM, Alaska USA Federal Credit Union’s 60-month CD APY currently shares the top spot with several nationally available 5-year CDs.

The above rates are accurate as of 4/4/2018.

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