American Eagle Financial Credit Union Adds 6% APY 6-Month CD Special

For a limited time, Connecticut-based American Eagle Financial Credit Union (AEFCU) is offering a 6-month CD Special (6.00% APY) and a 13-month CD Special (5.75% APY). The minimum opening deposit for either CD Special is $500, with a $500k balance cap.

The CD Specials are also offered as IRA CD Specials (Traditional, Roth, CESA), earning the same APYs with the same deposit requirements.

Early Withdrawal Penalty

As stated in the Truth-in-Savings disclosure (page 26), the Early Withdrawal reads as follows:

If your account has an original maturity of six months or less:

The penalty we may impose will equal 30 days dividends on the amount withdrawn subject to penalty.

If your account has an original maturity of 18 months or less:

The penalty we may impose will equal 90 days dividends on the amount withdrawn subject to penalty.

According to CSR, partial withdrawals are allowed as long as a $500 minimum balance is maintained. A CD Special will be closed if the balance falls below $500.

Availability

Headquartered in East Hartford, American Eagle Financial Credit Union field of membership (FOM) is community-based, with U.S. citizens and resident aliens (18 years or older) who live, work, worship, or attend school in the Connecticut counties of Hartford, Middlesex, New Haven, or Tolland eligible to join. AEFCU has expanded its FOM since my last blog post and those who live, work, worship, or attend school in Hampden County, Massachusetts also qualify for membership.

Immediate family or household members of a current AEFCU member are welcome to apply.

N.B. – the landing page includes the following conflicting statements:

Available to anyone in CT or Hampden County, MA.

AEFCU offers banking services to everyone throughout Hartford, Middlesex, Tolland, and New Haven counties in Connecticut, and Hampden County in Massachusetts.

I was hoping “Available to anyone in CT” was correct, but according to CSR, “anyone” has to live, work, worship, or attend school in the four Connecticut counties named above.

Account Opening

Joining AEFCU and/or opening a 6-month or 13-month CD Special can be done online, or in person at any of 15 Connecticut branches located in Avon, Bloomfield, Cromwell, East Hartford (2), Enfield, Glastonbury, Manchester, Newington, North Haven, Plainville, South Windsor, Southington, Vernon, and West Hartford. Appointments are available and can be scheduled online.

A $5 minimum deposit in a Savings account establishes an AEFCU membership.

Funding and Other Details

The following information is from the “Truth-in-Savings” disclosure and a Live Chat with an excellent CSR.

• Funding – ACH ($10k max online), check, or internal transfer.
• CO-OP Shared Branch Participant – No.
• Ownership – Individual, joint, or trust.
• Dividends – Compounded/credited monthly; “CD can be set up for them [dividends] to be deposited into a [AEFCU] deposit account without penalty or fee.”
• Maturing Funds – Cashier’s check ($5 fee) to address on file or internal transfer to an AEFCU checking/savings account.
• Grace Period – 7 calendar days before automatic renewal.
• Beneficiaries – Unlimited with equal shares; Social Security numbers are required for all beneficiaries.
• Credit check – ChexSystems.

Credit Union Overview

American Eagle Financial Credit Union has an overall health grade of "A" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 3.16% (excellent) based on June 30, 2023 data. In the past year, AEFCU has increased its total deposits by $122.64 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 5.61%. Please refer to our financial overview of American Eagle Financial Credit Union (NCUA Charter # 68659) for more details.

American Eagle Financial Credit Union can trace its beginnings back to 1935, when Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Employment Manager, Harry C. Smith, and 14 fellow employees founded the East Hartford Aircraft Federal Credit Union. In the past 88 years, membership growth and expansion (including three name changes and three charter changes) has resulted in AEFCU becoming the largest credit union headquartered in Connecticut, with more than 181,000 members and assets in excess of $2.5 billion.

How the 6-Month CD Special Compares

When compared to similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are available within the market area and have minimum deposit requirements of $10k or less, no bank or credit union has a higher rate than currently offered on the American Eagle Financial Credit Union 6-Month CD Special. The following table compares the 6-Month CD Special to the two highest-rate CDs from other credit unions and the two highest-rate CDs from banks.

How the 13-Month CD Special Compares

When compared to similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are available within the FOM and have minimum deposit requirements of $10k or less, no bank or credit union has a higher rate than currently offered on the American Eagle Financial Credit Union 13-Month CD Special. The following table compares the 13-Month CD Special 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 9/9/2023.

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