America First CU (UT) Raises 60-Month CD Rate

Utah-based American First Credit Union (America First CU) is currently offering a 2.55% APY on all of its various 60-month Certificates: Regular, Dedicated Savings, Bump, Ladder, and IRA. The 2.55% APY is the 60-month Certificate’s highest rate in nearly seven years.

The minimum deposit is $500 and there are no stated balance caps, with the exception of the Dedicated Savings Certificate that has a $100k balance cap, but no minimum deposit.

DA readers are probably familiar with most of the different types of American First CU Certificates, but the Dedicated Savings Certificate is just a proprietary name for an add-on CD. I first wrote about the Dedicated Savings Certificate in a May 2012 blog post, and the most pertinent features have not changed since then:

• Additional contributions up to $10k per month.
• Each member limited to deposits of $100k in any one or combination of Dedicated Savings accounts.
• Automatic share transfer or payroll deduction (must be at least $10 per month).

As stated in the Truth-In-Savings disclosure, Early Withdrawal Penalty reads as follows:

Certificate accounts that are new or renewed on or after June 1, 2011:
Terms of twelve (12) months or less–sixty (60) days of dividend;
terms over twelve (12) months–one hundred eighty (180) days of dividend.

Availability

Headquartered in Riverdale, Utah, America First Credit Union is the largest credit union in the state. The field of membership (FOM) is primarily residency based and has expanded, since I last wrote about the Credit Union in March 2015.

Residency: Individuals who live, work (or regularly conduct business), worship, attend school, or volunteer in the Utah counties of Davis, Juab, Salt Lake, Utah, or Weber; Mohave or Maricopa Counties, Arizona; Clark County and portions of Lincoln County, Nevada; or within a 12-mile radius of the Mesquite Nevada Post Office are eligible for membership. The Credit Union provides an interactive map to help determine eligibility.

Employment: Owners, employees, suppliers and their employees, or associated companies and their employees involved in the food industry in Utah qualify for membership.

Family Relationship: Members of the immediate family (Parent, Spouse, Sibling/Step, Child/Step, Grandparent, Grandchild) or household of current America First CU members or those eligible for membership also qualify.

The Become A Member page asks a series of questions to help determine eligibility.

Joining America First CU and/or opening a Certificate can be done online or in person at any of 108 Utah branches located in the greater Salt Lake City metropolitan area or 15 Nevada branches located in the southeastern portion of the state. America First CU has recently opened new branches in Tempe, Arizona, and Boise, Idaho.

America First CU’s Membership Application is available as a download, but has not yet been updated to reflect the changes in the FOM.

Credit Union Overview

America First Credit Union has an overall health grade of "A" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 8.27% (excellent) based on December 31, 2016 data. In the past year, America First CU has increased its total deposits by $923.78 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 14.86%. Please refer to our financial overview of America First Credit Union (NCUA Charter # 24694) for more details.

America First Credit Union was founded in 1939 as the Fort Douglas Civilian Employees Credit Union. (Closed in 1991, Fort Douglas was originally established in 1862, about three miles east of Salt Lake City, to protect the Central Overland Route telegraph lines and mail route.) The Credit Union’s first home was a small office in Fort Douglas that was only open for 30 minutes every Friday afternoon. In 1939, membership and total assets were 79 and $788, respectively; more than 75 years later, the membership has grown to nearly 819,000, with assets in excess of $8.2 billion

How the Certificate Compares

When compared to the 233 similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that require a similar minimum deposit and are available with the FOM, all of America First Credit Union’s 60-Month Certificates APY currently ranks second.

The above rates are accurate as of 5/1/2017.

To look for the best CD rates, both nationwide in state specific, please refer to our CD rates table or our Rates Map page.