American Heritage Credit Union Adds 11-Month Jumbo CD Special
Philadelphia-based American Heritage Federal Credit Union (American Heritage) started the month by adding an 11-month Jumbo Share Certificate Special, which earns 1.15% APY. The minimum opening deposit is $100k, with no stated balance cap.
While American Heritage is an easy membership requirement credit union, the fine print on the Certificate/IRA Accounts page details who can open this Certificate Special.
11-month Jumbo Special only available to residents of Pennsylvania, New Jersey
and Delaware, as well as existing members of American Heritage Credit Union.
The Jumbo Share Certificate Special is also available as a Jumbo IRA Certificate (Traditional, Roth), earning the same APY with the same deposit requirements.
As stated in the Truth In Savings document, the Early Withdrawal Penalty (EWP) reads as follows:
For accounts with terms of 11 months or less, the amount of the
early withdrawal penalty for your account is 90 days’ dividends.
15-Month Certificate
Less than two weeks ago, I wrote about American Heritage’s 15-month Share Certificate and IRA Certificate (Traditional, Roth, and CESA), which earns 1.25% APY. The minimum deposit is $1k with no stated balance cap.
For more details about the 15-month Certificate, please refer to my October 24, 2020 blog post.
Excess Share Insurance
In addition to NCUA insurance, American Heritage offers Excess Share Insurance.
Certificates insured up to $250,000 by the NCUA. An additional $250,000 worth of insurance is provided by the Excess Share Insurance Corporation, a private insurance company, for a total coverage, paid on $1,000 minimum balance.
Availability
Headquartered in Philadelphia, American Heritage Federal Credit Union's field of membership (FOM) is varied, with residency, employment, and organization membership serving as qualifying criteria.
Easy Membership: Individuals who join the Kids-N-Hope Foundation qualify for American Heritage membership.
If you are not currently a Kids-N-Hope Foundation member, we will
donate to the foundation on your behalf so you become a member!
Residency: Individuals who live, work, worship, or attend school in the following Southeastern Pennsylvania communities are eligible to join: Ambler, Bensalem, Bridgeport, Bristol, Bryn Athyn, Butler, Cheltenham, Conshohocken, Fort Washington, Norristown, Penndel, Philadelphia, Souderton, Southhampton, Tullytown, Villanova, and Warminster Heights.
Employment: Employees of nearly 800 Southeastern Pennsylvania SEGs are eligible for membership.
Relationship: Immediate family members (including step relations) of current American Heritage members are eligible to join.
Joining American Heritage can be done online, or in person at any of 31 Pennsylvania branches located in Bristol, Doylestown, East Norriton, Fairless Hills, Feasterville, Horsham, King of Prussia, Langhorne, Lansdale, Limerick, New Britain, Newtown Square, Perkasie, Philadelphia (16), Pottstown, and Quakertown, or the two New Jersey branches located in Bellmawr and in Cherry Hill.
Effective June 6, our branches are resuming normal hours and lobby accessibility. Facemasks are required, and social distancing guidelines will be in effect. We encourage appointments for lobby services such as account opening, IRA services or business services. Shared Branching (non-member) is temporarily suspended.
A Jumbo Share Certificate Special can be opened at any of the above-mentioned branch locations. Even though there is an “Apply Now” link on the Certificate/IRA Accounts page, Share Certificates are not listed on the online application. In a Live Chat, CSR stated “You are able open CDs ‘online’ via this live chat, in person, or by calling into our Contact Center at 215-969-0777.”
DA reader, hairy823, posted the following comment on the October 24, 2020 blog post.
I live in Oregon and got this secure message from them after doing the online app ...
“Thank you for your interest in joining the American Heritage family! At this time, your residence is outside of our field of membership area. In order to proceed with your application process, we will need you to sign the account opening documents in the presence of a notary and mail them to 2060 Red Lion Rd Philadelphia, PA 19115. We can email you blank documents that you can take to a notary to have completed or you can access them via our website through: ....”
Also this: “Please use the upload feature to attach a secondary form of ID, such as: Social Security Card, Medical Insurance Card, Auto Registration, or State Birth Certificate.”
A $15 minimum deposit in a Primary Savings account establishes an American Heritage membership.
American Heritage participates in both the CO-OP Shared Branch and ATM networks.
In addition to American Heritage online services, we are a part of the Shared Branching Network, which gives you access to bank at over 5,300 other credit unions across the country. Membership also grants you access to over 30,000 ATMs that are part of the CO-OP network.
Credit Union Overview
American Heritage Federal Credit Union has an overall health grade of "B+" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas ratio of 6.04% (excellent) based on June 30, 2020 data. In the past year, American Heritage has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $409.04 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 21.54%. Please refer to our financial overview of American Heritage Federal Credit Union (NCUA Charter # 5621) for more details.
American Heritage Federal Credit Union is currently Pennsylvania’s fifth largest credit union, with more 203,000 members and assets in excess of $3 billion. Founded in 1948, American Heritage’s original FOM was exclusive to the employees of the Budd Manufacturing Company, a major supplier of body components to the automobile industry and a manufacturer of stainless steel passenger railroad cars. The name was changed to American Heritage in 1985, coinciding with a change in the FOM, including the increase in and diversity of affiliated companies.
How the Jumbo Share Certificate Special Compares
When compared to the similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com, that are available within the tri-state area, American Heritage Federal Credit Union's 11-month Jumbo Share Certificate Special APY currently ranks first, regardless of minimum deposit requirements.
| Interest Rate | CD Length of Term | Credit Union/Bank |
|---|---|---|
| 1.15% APY | 11-Month Jumbo Share Certificate Special ($100k min) | American Heritage Federal Credit Union |
| 1.01% APY | 14-Month CD Special ($500 min) | Financial Resources Federal Credit Union |
| 0.95% APY | 12-Month Share Certificate | CommunityWide Federal Credit Union |
The above rates are accurate as of 11/5/2020.
To look for the best CD rates, both nationwide in state specific, please refer to our CD Rates Table page.
Only thing I have heard is the need for a notarized application for people who live out of their area.
Monday, filled out AHCU online application and added wife as a joint owner, their system verified 10 security questions before accepting the application.
All went through fine and an email verified that.
Tuesday, they asked to upload a copy of driver licenses, we provided pictures of the front and the back of the D.Ls.
Wednesday, email asked for another Government ID, uploaded pictures of S.S. cards. Another email asked to unlock our Experian account for Credit background check, which I did (our FICOs are over 800).
Thursday, email asked to download two other forms, “LoanLiner” and “Member Identity” which had to be notarized! I told the Rep. we are not asking for a loan, we are transferring money to your bank and I have already provided all the personal information online, why do I need to repeat that and Why do I need to get notarized? Rep. said, we have to know about your current address!!
Getting a document notarized to open an account is ridiculous. The 1st 2 steps are all that should be needed.