Andrews Federal Credit Union Debuts Rate-Leading 9-Month CD Special

DA reader, marcal, broke the news yesterday morning:

Signed in [to Andrews FCU] today to move money out of last 5% special and found a new offer. 9 Months 5.75% apy. Minimum deposit of $1000.00.

Maryland-based Andrews Federal Credit Union (Andrews Federal) has added a 9-month Summer Celebration CD Special, with a 5.75% APY “that will make you look up and take notice.”

There is a limit of one 9-Month CD Special per member. This limited-time offer can be opened with $1k minimum deposit, with a maximum deposit of $250k allowed, but the fine print on the Share-Certificate-Rates page includes this cautionary note:

Credit Union reserves the right to limit deposits into this special certificate.

I am not sure if that statement means that an opening deposit may not exceed $250k, or if Andrews Federal could arbitrarily impose a maximum deposit of their choosing. CSR wasn't sure either.

I’m fairly certain that DA’s regular readership is familiar with Andrews Federal’s misstep with its 7.5-month CD Special offering in June. The original documentation stated,

Offered APY effective as of June 1, 2023 through September 30, 2023,

then by June 5, it read,

Offered APY effective as of June 1, 2023.

and by June 7, the 7.5-month CD Special had disappeared from the Andrews Federal website.

DA readers, 111 and Rickny, voiced what most of us were thinking after reading marcal’s Forum post yesterday.

111: A few weeks ago Andrews offered a 5.75% CD and said the offer would be good through 9/30/23. Then after only a few days they yanked it. Maybe they're less of a jerk now, but I wouldn't bet the farm on it.

Rickny: If you plan on doing this I would do it fast.

Early Withdrawal Penalty

As stated in the fine print on the Special Certificates Rate page, the Early Withdrawal Penalty reads as follows:

If your account has an original maturity of less than 24 months,
we will charge a penalty equal to 90 days of dividends.

Many thanks to all the DA readers for their Forum posts and comments about the 9-Month CD Special.

Availability

Headquartered in Suitland, Maryland, Andrews Federal Credit Union’s field of membership (FOM) includes virtually all U.S. citizens/resident aliens (18 years or older) who have a valid Social Security number.

Easy Membership Requirement – Members of the American Consumer Council (ACC) are eligible to join Andrews Federal.

Note: Andrews Federal's online application asks for your ACC membership number; in other words, you must join ACC prior to joining Andrews Federal. As stated on Andrews Federal’s Membership page,

You can join the American Consumer Council at no charge. Just use promo code "Andrews."

Residency – Individuals who live, work, worship, or attend school in Washington, D.C. qualify for membership.

Military Relationship – U.S. active duty or retired military personal, military spouse, dependent or dependent survivor, or civilian and military personnel of Joint Base Andrews, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, and military installations in central Germany, Belgium, and The Netherlands are also eligible to join.

Employment/Association – More than 200 businesses/groups in Maryland, New Jersey, and Virginia offer Andrews Federal membership as an employee benefit.

Family Membership – Immediate family members (spouse, child, sibling, parent, grandparent, or grandchild) of an existing member, or household members of an existing member are eligible to join.

Account Opening

Joining Andrews Federal and/or opening the 9-month CD Special can be done online, or at any of ten full-service U.S. branches located in Maryland (3), New Jersey (3), Virginia (2), and the District of Columbia (2). Andrews Federal also has branches associated with military bases in Germany, The Netherlands, and Belgium.

Your Andrews Federal Credit Union membership begins with a $5.00 deposit to your Base Share Savings Account.

Andrews Federal participates in the CO-OP Share Branch Network, providing its members with access to more than 5,600 branch locations and over 30,000 ATMs.

Through the CO-OP Shared Branch Network, you will be able to complete some of the same transactions as if you were at an Andrews Federal branch.

Funding and Other Details

The following information is from the Andrews Federal website and a conversation with CSR.

• Funding* – ACH, wire, check, or CO-OP shared branch transaction.
• CO-OP Shared Branch Participate – Yes.
• Ownership – Individual, joint, or trust.
• Dividends – Compounded/credited quarterly and can be transferred to another Andrews Federal account.
• Maturing Funds –Cashier’s check to address on file or transferred to a Base Share Savings Account.
• Beneficiaries – Up to four beneficiaries (equal shares, with Social Security numbers required) can be added using the Payable-On-Death Beneficiary Designation Form. The form can be returned by secured message, by email, or at any branch location.
• Grace Period – 10 calendar days before automatic renewal as a standard CD.
• Credit Check – Soft pull.

*The following appears on the Share Certificate Rates page and even has its own landing page:

If you would like to open a new Share Certificate with money not already at Andrews Federal, you must transfer your money to your checking or savings account before opening a share certificate. Be sure to transfer in all new money, and then open your certificate.

Credit Union Overview

Andrews Federal Credit Union has an overall health grade of "A" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 8.00% (excellent), based on March 31, 2023 data. In the past year, Andrews Federal has increased its non-brokered deposits by $118.23 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 6.45% APY. Please refer to our financial overview of Andrews Federal Credit Union (NCUA Charter # 5754) for more details.

Andrews Federal Credit Union was established in 1948, when eight individuals each deposited $5 to form a credit union that would address the personal financial needs of military and civilian personnel at Andrews Air Force Base. Seventy-five years later, Andrews Federal is currently Maryland’s fourth largest credit union (and the 182^nd largest credit union in the country), with more than 133,600 members and assets in excess of $2.4 billion.

How the 9-Month CD Special Compares

When compared to similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that available nationally and have minimum deposit requirements of $10k or less, no bank or credit union has a higher rate than currently offered on the Andrews Federal Credit Union 9-month CD Special. The following table compares the 9-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 7/25/2023.

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