Andrews Federal Credit Union Has 6-Month CD (3.25% APY) For One Week
February 25 through March 2 is “Military Saves Week,” a campaign coordinated by the Consumer Federation of America and is dedicated,
to helping service members and their families save money, reduce debt, and build wealth.
More than 80 banks and credit unions are participating in Military Saves Week 2019, including Andrews Federal Credit Union (Andrews Federal), which will be offering a Special 6-month Share Certificate (3.25% APY) between February 25 and March 2, 2019. The minimum opening deposit is $1k and is capped at $250k. New money is required, or “the member must have a checking account, debit card, and direct deposit of $750 or more per month.” There is also a limit of one 6-month Certificate per member.
Note: All Andrews Federal members are able to open a Special 6-month Share Certificate. Even though it's only available during Military Saves Week, no military relationship is necessary.
IRA or not?
There’s no mention of an IRA in the fine print, but in the past, Andrews Federal CD Specials have not offered an IRA option. I will update this blog post when I have a definitive answer from the Credit Union.
UPDATE 2/19/2019: Not available as an IRA.
As stated in Andrews Federal's Truth-in-Savings document, the Early Withdrawal Penalty (EWP) reads as follows:
If your account has an original maturity date of less than
24 months, we will charge a penalty equal to 90 days of dividends.
Thanks to DA reader, Eil, for the Forum post about Andrews Federal’s Special 6-month Share Certificate.
Other Short-Term Certificates
Andrews Federal has been offering very competitive short-term Certificates for the past eight months. DA members who regularly read the bi-weekly CD Rates Summary have seen Andrews Federal’s 8- and 9-month Certificates near or at the top of the “Under 1-Year CD Rates” category.
| APY | MIN | MAX | INSTITUTION | PRODUCT | DETAILS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.86% | $1k | - | Andrews Federal Credit Union | 8 Month Certificate Special | |
| 2.75% | $1k | $250k | Andrews Federal Credit Union | 9 Month Certificate Special |
84-month Certificate Special
At the other end of the term spectrum, Andrews Federal's 84-month Certificate Special currently earns 3.45% APY. This Special has become more attractive for two reasons: 1) interest rates may have peaked for this cycle, and 2) the Early Withdrawal Penalty is only 180 days of dividends. If rates should drop in the next few years, your investment will continue to earn 3.45% APY through 2026. If another rising rate cycle begins before the seven years is up, you would only lose six months of interest on any withdrawal.
UPDATE 2/18/2019: DA reader, Anon, posted the following in the comments section below:
I went to open the 84 month CD last week. At the last step of the opening process
a pop up window appears with terms and conditions. It states the ewp is 360 days.
Even though the Truth-in-Savings document states,
If your account has an original maturity date of 24 months or
greater, we will charge a penalty equal to 180 days of dividends,
it's quite possible that Andrews Federal has a newer version of the Truth-in-Savings document specific to Certificate Specials. I'll check with the Credit Union, and update this post when I receive the latest EWP information.
UPDATE 2/22/2019: Andrews Federal confirmed today that the EWP for the 84-month CD is definitely 180 days of dividends.
UPDATE 3/2/2019: The fine print (footnote 6) on the Special Certificates Rate page has been updated and reads:
The Special 84-Month Certificate has a penalty equal to 360 days of dividends.
Availability
Headquartered in Suitland, Maryland, Andrews Federal Credit Union’s field of membership includes virtually all U.S. citizens and resident aliens with 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 in the online application, “You can join ACC at no charge by using the promo code – Andrews."
Residency - Individuals who live, work, worship, or attend school in Washington, D.C. qualify for membership.
Military Relationship - 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 groups in Maryland, New Jersey, and Virginia offer Andrews Federal membership as a 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.
Joining Andrews Federal and/or opening a Special Certificate Special can be done online, or at any of ten 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.
Credit Union Overview
Andrews Federal Credit Union has an overall health grade of "A" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas ratio of 3.81% (excellent), based on September 30, 2018 data. In the past year, Andrews Federal has increased its non-brokered deposits by $103.95 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 7.77% 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-one years later, Andrews Federal is Maryland’s fourth largest credit union and the 150th largest credit union in the country, with more than 128,000 members and assets in excess of $1.7 billion.
How the Special Share Certificate Compares
When compared to current nationally available similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that require a similar minimum deposit, Andrews Federal Credit Union's Special 6-month Share Certificate APY currently ranks first.
| Interest Rate | CD Length of Term | Credit Union/Bank |
|---|---|---|
| 3.25% APY | Special 6-Month Share Certificate | Andrews Federal Credit Union |
| 2.86% APY | 8-Month Certificate Special | Andrews Federal Credit Union |
| 2.78% APY | 6-Month Share Certificate Special | Interior Federal Credit Union |
| 2.75% APY | 9-Month Certificate Special | Andrews Federal Credit Union |
The above rates are accurate as of 2/18/2019.
To look for the best CD rates, both nationwide and state specific, please refer to our CD Rates Table page.
Doubtful. I think this is that annoying person who insists on using the username field as a subject line. Yet another great example of why they should finally stop doing that.
6 Special 84-Month Certificate offer and stated APY may change at any time. APY effective November 23, 2018, is 3.45 %; interest rate is 3.392%. Certificate has a $1,000 minimum and a $250,000 maximum balance. Must maintain a minimum $1,000 balance to earn the advertised APY. At maturity, all 84-Month Certificates will automatically renew at the 84 -Month share certificate rate and term. Each individual member limited to one Special 84-Month Certificate. The Special 84-Month Certificate has a penalty equal to 360 days of dividends.?
Of course, I have never frozen my credit either. I think it's overkill for 90% of the posters here.
That CD definitely has a 180-day EWP - it's listed unequivocally in their "Truth in Savings" document. Of course, that's been a while, so they may have changed their EWP policies since then.
But that was over 2 years ago. I wonder if they've decided to add the 360-day requirement and were just too lazy to change their Truth in Savings documents?
Is there some statement during the application process that says your'e authorizing a hard credit pull?
I am not going to pass on a good deal over a possible hard pull. Maybe a marginal one.
I am more worried about getting rejected because of my Chexsystems showing too many new accounts in the last year.
Again, I don't think they did a hard pull on me back whenever.
It shouldn't have to be a best guess when you're opening a account if a soft or hard pull is gonna be done.
Obviously seems like CSR have no clue or can just lie to get you to open the account.
Also, it might only be a hard pull for some but not others based on who knows what.
I've seen a number of people saying accounts had hard pulls where I know they did not for me.
Of course, Im a lifelong american with a background that may preclude the need for a hard pull?
But, if the 10-20 points of a hard pull is going to ruin your life, I don't know what to say. I wont let a possible hard pull stand in the way of an above market deal.
Andrews just confirmed to me that there is no compounding for the first 6 months, if you renew it you make your own compounding by keeping the interest earn after the 6 months and buy another 6 months CD (provided that the new 6 months CD will have same APR).
The APR is 3.21% and you get at 6 months only 1.60% interest deposited in your account. APY is not correct because there is no compounding for the first 6 months and the APR=APY. Something to learn from experience posters.
P.S. I think you should consult the "deplorable 1" too, he is the expert for CDs.
At 6 months or at maturity you only get 1.6% (3.21% / 2) simple interest, I guess you never understand the APY for CDs under one year. In this case APY is not compounded unless you do a roll over.
$100,000 x .0325 = $3,250/2 = $1,625 at the end of the term.
just 'cause you cant or dont want to
if its such a big deal how 'bout all you REGISTER!
Interest Compounds Monthly At 3.21% APR
Matured Value In 6 Months = $1016.16
Interest Earned In 6 months = $16.16
If this CD were to continue on earning 3.21% for 6 more months it would result
in a 3.25% Annual Pecentage Yield as shown below and that is why it
is specified as a 6 month 3.25% APY. You get the same 3.21% APR monthly compounding
with either the 6 month or the 12 month.
$1000 12 Month CD 3.25% APY
Interest Compounds Monthly At 3.21% (Same as the above 6 month)
Interest Earned In 6 Months = $16.16 (Same as the above 6 month)
Continues to earn 3.21% for 6 more months
Matured Value = $1032.58
Apy = (1032.58-1000)/1000 x 100 = 3.25%
Call Andrews, I did, there is no monthly compounding confirmed by a CSR.
You will get 1.6% simple interest and that is all.
Given an APY of 3.25% and an APR of 3.21% the implied compounding period is quarterly, not monthly or semi-annually.
If the compounding period were monthly, the APR would be 3.20%. And if the compounding period was semi-annually, the APR would be 3.22%.
The applicable formula is APY=(1+r/n)^n – 1, where r is the APR and n is the number of periodic compounding periods per year.
Thanks.
I stand by what I said in #76. If the stated APY is 3.25% and the stated APR is 3.21%, then the implied compounding period is quarterly.
You are correct that in order to achieve the stated APY, you would have to reinvest the proceeds of the account for another six months after it matures at the same rate and compounding period of the original CD. That is the way banks state APY and somewhere in their disclosures there should be a disclaimer about needing to have assets on deposit for at least a full year to realize the stated APY. This is how the government mandates banks and credit unions report APY to consumers. I never said otherwise and I agree with you on that point.
However, your comment implies that interest is compounded semi-annually. If interest is compounded semi-annually, then the assumed stated APY and APR above could not be correct.
There are three possibilities.
1. The bank’s stated APY and APR are incorrect. OR;
2.The bank compounds interest quarterly but *credits* interest either semi-annually or at maturity (which in this case are the same time period). Note that compounding and crediting are two different things. OR;
3. Your analysis is wrong.
I’ve got my money on either #2 (maybe you don’t understand this concept and maybe also were given wrong information by someone and don't know how to detect it as inconsistent with the numbers) or #3.
Since the terms will change in six months, you will never get to the advertised APY of 3.25%, but will have to go elsewhere and forget the APY, count on APR only.
And rather than do a 6 month at 3.21%, sign up for a one year at 2.50%.
Real smart.
Why not start a class action lawsuit against every FI in the country? Because the attorney would LAUGH at you and your tin foil hat.
I fail to see what everyone is up in arms about. Of course you don't earn a years worth of interest in 6 months.
We had people posting on the 5% andrews deal saying it was a bad deal and a 3% one year CD was better. It's just over the top absurdity.
$1,000 x .0321 = 32.10/2 = $16.05 and that would be with no compounding.
Using the stated APY of 3.25% we would get:
$1,000 x .0325 = $32.5/2 = $16.25
I don't understand how people can argue against math or assume a 0% rate of return for the following 6 months after this CD matures.
There is lots of manipulations on less than a year term CDs, because they use annual percentage that is divided in two parts, but you only get the first 6 months and there is no certainty that the renewal will be in your advantage.
I FAIL to see any better way to compare rates. And not a single of the whiners above has put forth any reasonable argument to the contrary.
On 2/26 or 2/26 I am going to buy this CD for 6 months.
If you have a better option, by all means DO tell. Otherwise, it's a bunch of nonsense.
Cant believe Ken allows it to continue. I see it as a massive troll fest.
What , exactly is your alternative?
Hiding your money under your mattress at 0% with a risk of loss?
Did it make a difference versus the competition at the time?!? H*ll no!!!
Does it ever? HIGHLY unlikely!
Let's get real people, there've got to be better hairs to split on THIS forum...
On few million dollars CDs every 5th digit in the APY counts as good money and I'm talking about 7 or 8 digits investments. Imagine the disappointment for not getting the advertised APY.
NOBODY gets the APR if they reinvest the interest, they get the APY. So if there's only one interest payment, then they are the same... get it?
Ahhhh you say ..but that means I'm getting half the year's interest , not the full year!!
As deplorable mentioned: its to COMPARE, that's why its called a metric. Technically, APY (ANNUALIZED Percentage Yield), really isn't meant for returns that are measured over less than 1 year. That infers extra calculation, as opposed to the straight-forward calc used for the APR (just the rate). So banks & CUs use a formula to demonstrate an ANNUAL yield, and that's how they go about it. You don't have to like it.
Besides, if someone with MIILIONS at their disposal doesn't know the difference (or hasn't at least hired someone that does), they're already mismanaging their own funds, and should really be sticking to Treasuries and other types of fixed income, not running around the Internet looking for fund-starved credit unions.
How do you get quarterly compounding when there are no payments until maturity and that APY is valid if you hold the CD for one year, misleading posts are always your specialty. Calculations are invalid on all of your samples, the money are credited at the end of six months only and there is no compounding, ask a CSR to verify before making fool of yourself.
1) Are they a member of the CU Shared Branching network? I don't mean just the CU Shared ATM network, but actual Shared Branching, where you could perform many Andrews functions at your local Shared Branch CU?
2) If so - I've read in depositaccounts.com that at least 1 other CU which offers Shared Branching, NASA, seems to have put some limitations on it, at least for some members. Has anyone here heard of that happening with Andrews?
https://andrewsfcu.locatorsearch.com/index.aspx?s=FCS
Mine take no more than 60 seconds when i get to the teller. Sign my name twice and give them my drivers license and last 4 of SSS#.
I have done these at 3 different CUs, 2 I am a member of and 1 I am not, but use the most. That branch is never anything but professional to me despite not being a member.
I've also heard that the per-transaction fees are part of the reason that some of the larger CUs (I can specifically mention Alliant, and Navy) have chosen to NOT utilize "shared branching", because they feel they've already spent sufficient funds on their web-based resources to enable most of their customers to satisfy their needs that way.
In any case, I'll continue to use my local "hosting" CU for as long as they provide shared-branch services - which I hope is a long time.
Regarding your urge to bring donuts, please don't. You'll make the rest of us look bad with your thoughtfulness. If you need to find a home for those treats, bring them here to DA. We'll finish them off in no time.
https://www.omnicalculator.com/finance/apy
Please see comment #82.
I have not verified that the CU is stating 3.25% APY and 3.21% APR, but I will assume that it is based on information in these comments. If so than the explanation in #86 should reconcile your understanding with what #53 says.
Please see comment #92, not comment #82
We are feeding a troll or two using multiple monikers. We need to stop replying to them.
All of us know they are full of it.
https://www.omnicalculator.com/finance/apy
When I joined, I made a large deposit for the CD amount plus the $5 share account amount, then I called in and had them open the CD the same day.
When we were just kids, my parents taught us kids to save for what we wanted even when our savings didn't go into a bank and earned "0" interest.
Ben Franklin quote: "A penny saved is a penny earned". Still holds true even if not practiced in today's world of the "must have" commercialism mentality.
As RJM would say... "Boo Hoo." LOL!!!!
If I send an ACH from another bank to my Andrews savings account and then phone Andrews to open this CD will it be ok? Or will they say "since it is in your savings, it isn't new money"?
Do i have to somehow get them to pull the money over directly from another bank directly into the new CD?
I think this is why I had to write a check and use the shared branch to open the 9 month special. I just linked another account for ACH transfers and those limits popped up. I'm going to call them and see if I can get that limit increased to open this CD.
The heck with it. It's time to start enjoying my hard-earned money, and have some fun with it! Dammit, I'm getting too old. All I did was WORK... and save. It's time to start SPENDING it! Life is too short. I never even took a real vacation. I'm 65.
Die broke. :-)
Trust me, i have done much larger ACH's when originating at another credit union with higher limits.
I pushed high 5 digits funds into my Andrews share account from my hub bank several months ago to fund their 9 month CD. Had NO problems.
My 2 data points:
$65K in July 2018 for 9-month CD
$13K in Dec. 2018 for 8-month CD
In both cases initiated as an ACH push from an external bank
Here's what I mean. When a paper check (written on my account at financial institution A) is either mailed to my liquid account at financial institution B, or that same check is deposited via shared branching to B, typically B puts a hold on the check for "x" number of days. We all know that, of course. But my understanding is that FIs can vary on whether the hold on this "new money" must first wait out the "x" days in the liquid account and only then be placed into a CD, or whether the hold can follow the funds into the CD, and will then wait out the rest of the "x" days while in the CD.
If you're ACHing or wiring funds, the issue doesn't come up. I initially thought I'd have this hold issue with Keesler last fall, but partly due to others' advice here I was able to avoid it.
But again, to my knowledge there is no law or NCUA rule that says that all FIs have to offer a "moveable" hold. Clearly a non-moveable hold could cause problems in hitting the 6-day window for this offer, and secondarily in having funds stuck in a low-interest Andrews liquid account for days (and they are quite low).
Does anyone have experience, with Andrews specifically, on this issue? I'll be calling a CSR to ask, but as we all know they sometimes give wrong answers.
Last time I sent money to Andrews I wired it (which I'd rather not do this time), so that doesn't answer the question. Also, that was in November 2016, so things may have changed.
Thanks for any responses.
I have never had to wait however many days at the low savings rate waiting for the check to come off hold. Although Andrews wanted me to.
My last shared branch with Andrews was a month ago.
So, to clarify: Make shared branch deposit, call Andrews & open the CD from that deposit. (They can put a hold on the CD)
Andrews did not give me any trouble.
Do you mean you were able to open the CD same day that you deposited the check at the shared branch? What if it is a Friday? Andrews probably will not get the money until next Monday. In this case, what will be the start date of the CD?
If you mean the suffix S0000, I don't think that is needed or required. I think I liked both Ally and my broker and did not use it.
In the meantime, Schwab offered immediate external account verification, but it failed using Andrews member number as account--perhaps because of the block/lock issue. Proceeded with trial deposit method, which hopefully will work.
im sure you can find info if you use
Ctrl+F and search with keywords
Another one is Freedom CU, but their membership eligibility has been tightened since I joined.
And one more ... NASA FCU. Seems most of my money has moved from places like Penfed to these credit unions over the past 6-12 months. I hate opening new accounts as much as anyone.
I don't think is a conspiracy or anything. Besides, I know when my CDs mature, I set email reminders and the FIs almost always do too. And I have never had one auto renew. Don't we get 10 days to change our mind if that were to happen or no?
All that said, I secure message certainly cannot hurt.
Depending on humans to do right thing, it is a wrong thing to do. Write a certified letter to them, with return signature required, then you are all set.
So, for 1.6% after six months, it in not worth the hassle with this outdated CU operations.
$806
Even though their website lacks a way to change my renewal option, both my Truth in Savings and my Share Certificate Disclosure documents (that last one is specific for my 2 CDs), confirm the "10-calendar day window" for making changes. I'll make a note to call them a week before maturity, have them set it the way I want it, and call and/or secure-email them 5 days later to make sure it's done right.
I have a large and a small CD maturing next month so I'm trying to save space in my few add-on CDs (they have caps) for some of that, which means some current "spare cash" can't go there, which means some of it needs to go to this Andrews deal.
Life would be simpler if rates were still rising at the same speed they were last Fall!
Regardless of the compounding, you should earn exactly the same amount as long as the APY is what the interest calculation is based on, and they calculate the interest in a standard manner. The formula for the earned interest is: P*( (1+r/n)^(n/2)-1 ), where P is the principal (initial investment), r is the rate, and n is the number of compounding periods. For larger compounding periods (e.g., 4 instead of 2), the rate is smaller, but is compounded over more periods.
If you plug this formula into a spreadsheet, using NOMINAL to calculate the rate based on number of periods, you'll see that you earn $1,612.01 on $100K regardless of the number of compounding periods.
Andrews might do the calculations slightly differently, but it's not going to make much difference. Maybe the rate is actually 3.21% but there is no compounding during the 6-month holding period, but in that case, the APY is not 3.25% but 3.24% =EFFECT(3.21%,2). In this case you'd earn about $1,607 instead of $1,612, so about $5 less. Big deal.
I have a feeling Andrews is going to be hard to get ahold of next week. I wonder if waiting a day or two might be best?
er
Or maybe I should send a secure message now for them to open it money afternoon? Wonder if that would work?
I'm curious what that amount is. I was able to do a $21k shared branch deposit a couple months ago, but the CU I was visiting required manager approval, a copy of my ID, and a phone call to the receiving CU.
I did not realize that some hosting shared branch CUs had daily limits that were different than those of the CU being accessed. But since it's been about 6 months since the last time I did this, I'll probably call that hosting branch and make sure their rules on this haven't changed.
Thanks.
I think a signature card is only required for a checking account, but you can also use it to establish Payable on Death (POD) beneficiaries.
I think they are behind on opening new accounts. I'm already a member, but applied for a checking account on Wednesday while I was sorting out what account number to use for setting up my share/savings account as an external account at another bank; I also used this as an opportunity to update my beneficiaries on the signature card. I also uploaded my DL, as the one on file had expired. Anyway, the account still is in "approved pending" status, and I have received no updates or requests for additional docs.
I saw something on their website about some branches being closed due to weather, so between that and the upcoming special, they probably are more swamped than usual.
I remember that it was a bit of a pain to get everything set up for the first CD. I just looked at the email timeline from then. I started the process on 7/13. The approval was on 7/20. At that point I started the ACH handshake from my external bank. That was completed on 7/23. I did an ACH push from the external bank on 7/23. It arrived on 7/24 and I opened the CD on that date.
When you uploaded the driver license and clicked 'Upload Document', what's the title in the dropdown did you choose? I don't see there is an entry called 'Driver License'.
Thanks.
Otherwise, I think it would mature on Aug. 25 2019, Sunday.
I have the same thing happening with my Keesler CD. Matures on a sunday so I get very little interest in the share account.
Of course, you want to be aware of any fees for closing an IRA after transferring funds out to another one. Typically there are no fees for transferring, but there can be for closing. I think Navy has none (don't depend completely on that without checking), but some others do. You wouldn't want to get a cash bonus when moving to X, then find that when you closed it go to Y, X clawed back half that bonus with a closing fee.
For example, Fidelity did until somewhat recently. A while back I wanted to close 2 Fidelity IRAs that had been created from rollovers from old jobs. Fidelity wanted a closing fee of $50 for each account - I could transfer funds out, but they insisted that $50 remain in each account to cover those fees. So I transferred the funds, leaving $50 in each. More recently Fidelity stopped charging closing fees, I think because of the competition. But some FIs still do.
The CSR said that if we had funding in a liquid Andrews account, we could open the CD online, BUT we could not fund it ourselves - for that, we needed to call them. Alternatively, if funding was in place we could call them, and they would both open the CD and fund it.
Of course, as we've seen throughout this thread, some of the information from the CSRs has been somewhat variable, so take that with a grain of salt.
How many comments for a 2 week CD? How about a speical 3-day CD?
Andrews is a very backwards credit union. Their systems don't let them make changes in the middle, if you ask for information, they often can't tell you, their telephone line doesn't offer an option to speak to a live person I could find, except to press "7" (business). That said, they did once make an exception for me, which was nice. But know what you're getting into. IMHO the hassle vs reward doesn't make sense for a 6 month CD -- especially at Andrews -- if you don't already have an account, or plan to make use of other services/CDs. I do have CDs at Andrews from before, but trying to do anything here can be like pulling teeth.
Personally, I'm waiting for a 1-day CD...
Andrews' opening process was a bit of a hassle for me also, but that part is now a "sunk cost".
Why not maintain a checking account with likes of PenFed, Navy, Andrwes et al with tiny balance - making sure that it's not accessed fees. I do this sort of thing with a few CUs. It help to be a "current" member to take advantage of a deal I want.
Yes ... something like that ... I do ACH back-n-forth once a quarter to prevent account from getting flagged as dormant.
I find it hard to predict, especially the future - Yogi Berra
How about divvy up between two of these.
If not, you do not need a joint owner for amounts
Watch this video from ncua and especially pay attention to the 2:00 mark.
I see you are not a 'believer'. That's fine.
A a point to note: Nobody is avoiding what you are calling as "advance" fees.
The other day bank charged me the advance fees, and I paid up rather promptly.
It is just that they charged me $0, so I quickly paid-up $0.
... See nobody is avoiding nothing. ;-)
did you even read the setup of the way he started the deal???
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/master-list-no-fee-no-apr-balance-transfers/
1. First and foremost your credit lines. You credit lines are based on your FICO score and income level vs. bills and debt.
2. If you make it through the first hurdle then you have to find enough low 0% no/capped fee balance transfer offers. These used to be plentiful but now are harder to find. Here is a great list:
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/master-list-no-fee-no-apr-balance-transfers/
3. Banks have been putting caps on the amount you can do on balance transfers. Chase while still good now limits bt's to $15,000 every 30 days. So only $30,000 is possible withing their 60 day window. It used to be your credit line. This makes borrowing more money more challenging requiring more cards.
4. The FICO score itself will drop if you apply for too much credit too quickly or use up too much of your available credit. Managing your credit score while doing these offers requires a great amount of skill, restraint and a deep understanding of how the credit score is calculated. You must space out activity since hard credit pulls take 2 years to go away. One strategy is to apply for several cards all at once and only get hit with one hard pull. This still works as I just did this recently.
The bottom line is that with a bit of patience and time you can actually make as much income as a part time job.
It is not that easy to do what you did without ramification, I think, the banks will find out your mischievous behavior one day and ban you for life for opening new accounts. You are lucky you have not got in real trouble yet, but I will restrain myself from such money manipulations.
Game out the " I think, the banks will find out your mischievous behavior one day" part.
How will the banks do that without hacking into some other bank? If I am doing balance transfer into Bank "A" from Bank "B", then is it not that the Bank A will need to hack into Bank B and find out if the amount they have transferred is an "over-payment". Subsequently they will need to hack yet again to find out that the "over-payment" was transferred to a checking account. No?
So game it out for us, how do you think the banks will find out?
And BTW, I assume that the Bank "B" is merely reporting the outstanding amounts to a few credit bureaus on a monthly basis, rather than transaction-by-transaction. Just don't see how can Bank "A" actually "find out" about what happens during the month on a transaction-by-transaction basis.
Personally I've engaged in what you term as "mischievous behavior". No ramifications so far. In fact quite the opposite ... I keep getting credit card balance transfer offers more and more in the mail. ... So not quite sure what's your though process.
How many shoe boxes of credit cards do you have?
You have been very patient. I would have posted the Doctor of Credit website link right off the bat.
1. Current cards for spending/wallet
2. Current cards for balance transfers/locked drawer
3. Obsolete old/expired/closed cards/shred box
I'm starting to do it again but hard to find fee free 0% credit cards that let you do that.
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/master-list-no-fee-no-apr-balance-transfers/
and here:
https://www.magnifymoney.com/blog/balance-transfer/no-fee-balance-transfer-credit-card1322859387/
There are just barely enough offers to keep the cash rolling. At times you may have to pay it all off, close the cards, wait and start again. It does seem to be getting better though and sometimes paying a small fee is also worth it.
Was anyone able to get Andrews on the phone yesterday? Were the waits bad?
I'm going to do a shared branch tuesday some time and when I first opened my account with them, I never was able to get them on the phone.
That's NOT what an Andrews CSR told me - she said you could open the CD yourself online but had to call them to fund it even if the funds were already in your liquid account and "available". But, the data from their CSRs has been a bit spotty at times.
the 75% is Site WIDE for dragging
comments off topic...
waiting for [email protected])
I found out about this last Thursday and immediately called the credit union. The call wait time is getting significantly worse last couple days. Give them call back number and expect 30-45 min wait. Here is brief timeline.
2/21: created ACC account and then as soon as i get the membership number, I opened 5 dollar saving account with Andrews Federal credit union.
2/22: still approve pending
2/25: All my fund was ready for deposit (moved all my fund from money market to my primary bank checking account). But it was still pending
2/26: Got approval in the morning around 9am. Got the membership number by message. Enroll in the online banking. Then desposit my fund by check using sister branch. They just needed my membership number. Then called Andrews Federal Credit Union again to open a CD from my deposit. Everything was done.
Believe me. I have never seen the approval takes more than 24 hours. It was driving me crazy because they had this one week window lol.
Good luck!
800-487-5500 Andrews press "1-3-1-2" to talk to someone.
What makes me mad is that Andrews makes this a one week deal, so you have to get the money to them fast, right? Then they charge you a $15 incoming wire fee!
Will this work?:
1. Log in to my account and open a CD by 3/2 without any initial deposit (hard pull for this, or just upon joining?)
2. Transfer money into the Andrews Savings account.
3. Call at anytime (even after the 3/2 end of the deal) to move the money from Savings into the CD (or do I need them to move it in to the CD on or before 3/2?).
If the CD can be opened any time before 3/2, even with $0 ready in any location (external or Andrews Savings), then I think I'll do this deal. But if they require an initial opening deposit on the CD as soon as you open it, it's gonna be a tighter squeeze. I'll have to move funds in and through Ally since that would allow for the funds to get there by Friday.
I funded this with outside money deposited at a shared branch. Then I wasted 45 minutes waiting for a rep to answer/return my call.
In April, if they have a special, we will probably need to add so much in new funds to take advantage of the new deal.
Through online banking, you specify amount of CD (min. of $1K, max of $250K), and account from which to access funds. You will also be presented with choices on dividends (keep in CD or transfer to share) and disposition of CD at maturity (renew or transfer). After agreeing to disclosure, your CD appears as open, and you get confirming details.
I pushed in money by ACH from outside. This should definitely work if you use a wire. In both instances, funds are immediately available upon receipt. I’m unsure about checks which can be subject to holds, so may require rep to manually transfer hold. Nonetheless, I encourage you to try. Could save you lots of time.
Not much of a hold when I opened my 8 month 2.86% last month. LOL
That one does not look too good in hindsight. But, at the time, it was the best available for a short term.
I think my upcoming maturing on 4/17 was my initial CD and that time I could not get a rep on the phone. I was supposed to be in line but the callback never came.
I sent a secure message and they opened it the next day. I later asked them to backdate it and they sent me PDF showing a copy of the CD that they did but online it still shows the 4/18 date. I asked the rep to look into that too. But I would be surprised if I don't have to argue with them on 4/17 about it.
I went over 6 at Ally once a few years ago from the same thing and they reversed it.
configuring my account, the $5 share funding task was left for me to complete.
Perhaps they assumed I'd only make that initial deposit at a branch or mail a
check? Of course, opting for ACH resulted in the 'chicken before the egg'
dilemma you describe. After explaining this 'Catch 22' situation, a sympathetic
rep cheerfully refunded fees. Hopefully Andrews rep will do the same for you!
I think Sylvia called it - the only folks who can fund their CDs online are those who did ACH pushes or pulls. Perhaps I should have done this instead, but since my funds are coming from 3 different FIs, that method had its own set of warts in this case.
But on the bright side - I purposely didn't read my online WSJ or local paper yet because I suspected I'd have a long hold when that could be done. Plus, I'm well stocked with liquor. In my experience, liquor greatly ameliorates long hold times, and in fact considerably improves any type of financial decision! (LOL)
Anyway, finally a live CSR came on. Very nice, very competent. CD was started, interest starts today, the normal stuff.
One thing that might be of use to others - I asked her, if I have a situation like this with a future Andrews "CD special" - where it might make sense for me to use Shared Branching, EXCEPT for the downside about the long hold times to have the funds moved - could I simply use their secure email to request them to start the CD and move funds? She said I could do that, but what probably what would happen is 24-48 hours later they would need to call me to confirm. So in a scenario like the current "6-day offer" that might be a problem, but maybe not in a scenario where more time was available.
Anyway, it's done.
Liquor would probably be worse.
One of these days, I am going to put one of those business reply envelopes on a box and have them pay for postage for a box full of junk paper. If enough of us did that, they might take the hint.
I also get plenty of junk email touting $20 off turbo tax. Yeah, its free virtually EVERYwhere and $7.95 at other places, so not pay $40-50 for turbotax?
SMH.
Can anyone tell me hos the CD disclosure docs are provided? Over email?