Alliant Credit Union Ups 12-17 Month CD Rate to 2.65% APY
I was surprised to discover that I hadn’t written a blog post about an Alliant Credit Union (Alliant CU) Share Certificate (CD) in more than three years. I’ve posted a few times in the Forum about CD rate changes, but I always seem to include the phrase, “these rate increases nothing to get excited about.” That changed over the weekend, with the 12-17 month CD reaching 2.65% APY. The minimum opening deposit is $1k, with no balance cap. While there is a 12-17 month Jumbo CD that requires a $25k minimum deposit, the APY is the same 2.65%.
| APY | MIN | MAX | INSTITUTION | PRODUCT | DETAILS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.65% | $1k | $25k | Alliant Credit Union | 12 - 17 Month Share CD | |
| 2.65% | $25k | - | Alliant Credit Union | 12 - 17 Month Jumbo Share CD |
The CDs are available as IRAs (Traditional, Roth, and SEP) earning the same APY, with the same funding requirements.
The 12-17 month CD has had eight rate increases since the beginning of year, adding a total of 120 bps. This most recent 20 bps increase finally pushed the 12-17 month CD into the competitive ranks.
As DA reader, Sylvia, pointed out in her Forum post, Alliant CDs have a
flexible maturity date – you pick within the allowable range (12 to 17 months).
This is a really nice feature, because you can choose which day (within the term range) the CD matures.
As stated on Alliant CU’s Certificate Features page, the Early Withdrawal Penalty reads as follows:
If you need to withdraw funds before the maturity date, you may incur an early withdrawal penalty. You will never lose principal after your certificate has been opened for more than 7 days.
For 12-17 month term Certificates: dividends earned for the number of days the certificate is open (up to max of 90 days of dividends.
Thanks to DA member, Sylvia, for her Forum post about the CD rate increase.
Beneficiaries
Alliant’s website has a Beneficiary Add/Delete Form, which
will supersede any previous beneficiary designation you may have on record with Alliant and any accommodations you have made in your Will for the disposition of your Alliant accounts.
Beneficiaries may be an individual or a Trust.
Up to five beneficiaries can be added/deleted per each individual form. The completed form can be returned in-person, by mail, or by fax.
Trusts
Alliant also provides detailed information on its website concerning just about everything you need to know about Trusts, including exactly what documentation is required to open a living trust with Alliant.
Savings Account
At the start of the month, Alliant raised the rate on its Savings account to 1.80% APY. I last wrote about the Savings account in February, when the rate was increased to 1.45% APY. When I first reported on Alliant before 2009, its Savings account used to be a rate leader. We haven’t seen a return of that rate-leading status, but its Savings account rate has been consistently rising and remaining close to the internet savings account rates of the big internet banks.
Alliant’s Savings account can be opened with a minimum $5 deposit, but a daily average minimum $100 balance must be maintained to earned the stated APY. There is no monthly service fee for the Savings account, but there is a $1 fee for each paper statement requested. While there is no debit card associated with the Savings account, Alliant does provide a convenience card only for transactions at an Alliant network ATM.
ACH Tranfers
About three years ago, Alliant began offering same-day funds availability for incoming ACH transfer that have been initiated from other financial institutions. According to Alliant’s Money Transfer FAQs,
If you initiate a Same-Day ACH transfer to Alliant before 1:45pm CT on Monday from an account at another financial institution, funds will post to your Alliant account by 5:00 pm CT on Monday afternoon.
Same-day outbound ACH transactions are still not available.
If you initiate an ACH transfer through Alliant online banking before 12:00 pm (noon) CT on Monday from your Alliant account, the funds will be drawn on or around 12:00 om (Noon) CT on Monday and will post to your other financial institution’s account on Tuesday morning.
Availability
Headquartered in Chicago, Alliant Credit Union’s field of membership (FOM) provides a way for almost anyone to join.
Easy Membership: Any member of Foster Care to Success (FCS), regardless of residency or employment status, is eligible for membership. According to an Alliant representative, “Alliant will make a $5 support payment to FCS on the applicant’s behalf,” with Alliant's online application providing a link to FCS to facilitate joining.
Residency: Individuals who live or work in 20 Chicagoland communities are eligible to join.
Employment: Employees and retirees of hundreds of Qualifying Companies also qualify.
Affiliation: Members of 37 different organizations are also eligible for membership.
Relationship: Anyone related by blood or law, or a domestic partner of a current Alliant member are welcome to apply.
Complete details about joining Alliant can be found on the Join Us page.
Joining Alliant and/or opening a CD can be done online, via mail (application available for download,), or by phone (800.328.1935).
As part the “evolution to digital banking,” Alliant is closing its limited-access branches, which were located in airports in California, Illinois, Texas, and Virginia. This process began in July and should be finished in a couple of weeks. Alliant continues to have two branches in Chicago, located on Touhey Avenue and in Willis Tower.
Credit Union Overview
Alliant Credit Union has an overall health grade of "A" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 2.41% (excellent), based on June 30, 2018 data. In the past year, Alliant has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $480.53 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 5.63%. Please refer to our financial overview of Alliant Credit Union (NCUA Charter # 67955) for more details.
Ten years after United Airlines was founded, a small group of the company’s employees came together to organize a credit union in October 1935. At the end of the first year, the newly established United Airlines Employees’ Credit Union had 146 members and $5,088 in assets. The FOM was opened to organizations outside the airline industry in 2003, and since that time, Alliant has grown to become the eighth largest credit union in the country, with more than 411,300 members and assets in excess of $10.6 billion.
How the Share CDs Compare
When compared to the similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are available nationwide, Alliant Cred Union’s 12-17 month Share CD and Jumbo CD APYs currently rank second, regardless of minimum deposit requirement.
| Interest Rate | CD Length of Term | Credit Union/Bank |
|---|---|---|
| 2.75% APY | 12-Month CD Special ($500 min) | USALLIANCE Financial |
| 2.65% APY | 12-17 Month Share CD ($1k min) | Alliant Credit Union |
| 2.65% APY | 12-17 Month Jumbo Share CD ($25k min) | Alliant Credit Union |
| 2.63% APY | 12-Month Online Promo CD ($5k min) | M.Y. Safra Bank |
The above rates are accurate as of 9/17/2018.
Looking for the best CD rates, either nationwide or state specific? Please refer to our CD Rates Table page.
Edit 9/17/18: Updated branch information and details when joining via FCS.
“Starting in July and ending in September, Alliant is closing all but two branches (the Willis Tower and Touhy Avenue branches in Chicago will remain open).”
If so it will bad for me. I use it as my "HUB".
Unless I am missing something.
If they do not raise the ACH limits, digital or not platform, will not succeed to move up the scale with the competition.
Could you please clarify a couple things regarding what you have stated in "Beneficiaries" above?
(1) Back in July 2017, I was told by two different Alliant reps over the phone and through their message system (when I logged in) that "charitable organizations" were also allowed as POD beneficiaries. This is in conflict with their paper form which states "individuals and trusts" What is correct?
(2) Also, I designated a POD beneficiary using their online system only (no paper form) according to this Alliant Online Banking FAQ item I have copied below (have to log in to see this FAQ). Is the online method good enough without using the paper form?
How do I add or update beneficiaries to an account?
Note: A joint owner may not be a beneficiary on the account.
To add or update beneficiaries to your deposit accounts, use the following steps within Online Banking:
•From the Account Summary Screen, select the "Options" link associated with the Savings Account
•Click the "Account Details" link. You'll see the Account Details screen for that selected account
•Click the "Manage Beneficiaries" link, displayed under the Primary Account Holder name
•Select the "Add a beneficiary to this account" link or the "Update Beneficiary" link, complete the pop-up form, and click the "Continue" button. A confirmation window will appear
•Confirm your changes by clicking the "Save" button. You'll be returned to the "Manage Beneficiaries" screen and will see the message "Your beneficiary was updated successfully."
IMPORTANT NOTE: Beneficiaries are specific to the individual account or certificate, not to the entire membership. You must add beneficiaries separately to each deposit account.