American Heritage Federal Credit Union Ups 15- And 18-Month CD Rates

In the past four months, Philadelphia-based American Heritage Federal Credit Union (American Heritage) has added a total of 60 bps to its 15-month and 18-month Shares Certificates. Currently earning 1.35% APY, either Share Certificates can be opened with a minimum $1k deposit, with no stated balance cap.

The 15-month and 18-month Share Certificates are also available as IRA Share Certificates (Traditional, Roth, CESA) earning the same APYs, with the same deposit requirements.

Legacy Club Share Certificate

American Heritage also offers an 18-month Legacy Club Share Certificate currently earning 1.45% APY. To be eligible for Legacy Club status, you must be an American Heritage member, age 60 or over, with an active checking account that has a direct deposit of Social Security, payroll check, or any other recurring check.

As stated in the Truth In Savings document, the Early Withdrawal Penalty (EWP) reads as follows:

For accounts with terms of 12 months to 35 months, the amount of
the early withdrawal penalty for your account is 180 days’ dividends.

CSR stated that the easiest way to fund a Certificate is through a transfer from an existing American Heritage savings account. American Heritage participates in the CO-OP Shared Branch network, making the transfers of funds relatively easy. Maturing funds will be distributed by check to the address on file or transferred to an American Heritage savings account. There is a 7-day grace period before a Certificate automatically renews.

Excess Share Insurance

In addition to NCUA insurance, American Heritage offers Excess Share Insurance.

The National Credit Union Administration, a U.S. Government agency, insures your shares at American Heritage up to $250,000. IRA and IRA Certificates are insured an additional $250,000 by the Excess Share Insurance Corporation, a private insurance company. You have the security and peace of mind of knowing that your retirement savings are insured up to $500,000.

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. According to CSR, this easy membership option is available to all U.S. citizens/resident aliens with a valid Social Security number.

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 more than 1,100 Southeastern Pennsylvania SEGs are eligible for membership.

Relationship: Immediate family members (including step-relations) of current American Heritage members and individuals who are membership eligible also qualify for membership.

Joining American Heritage can be done online, or in person at any of 28 Pennsylvania branches located in Bristol, East Norriton, Fairless Hills, Horsham, King of Prussia, Langhorne, Lansdale, New Britain, Perkasie, Philadelphia (14), Pottstown, Quakertown, Warminster (2), and Wayne, or the two New Jersey branches located in Bellmawr and in Cherry Hill.

The Share Certificate 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.” Current members can open a Share Certificate by using American Heritage’s “Online Teller” banking platform.

DA reader, hairy823, posted the following comment in response to my October 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.”

CSR confirmed that individuals applying for membership who live outside the tri-state area (DE, NJ, PA) may be required to submit notarized documents “in an effort to prevent fraud.”

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 5.21% (excellent) based on December 31, 2021 data. In the past year, American Heritage has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $457.42 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 17.51%. 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 than 247,000 members and assets of nearly $4 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 that included an increase in and diversity of affiliated companies.

How the 15-Month and 18-month Share Certificates Compare

When compared to similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com which are available nationally and have minimum deposit requirements of $10k or less, only three banks have a higher rate than currently offered on the American Heritage Federal Credit Union 15-month or 18-month Share Certificates. The following table compares the 15-month and 18-month Share Certificates 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 4/19/2022.

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