Chartway Federal Credit Union Hikes 12-Month No Penalty CD Rate

It’s been nearly three years since Chartway Federal Credit Union (Chartway) offered any kind of competitive CD. That changed last week with the addition of 60 bps to its 12-month No Penalty Share Certificate (0.70% APY). The minimum opening deposit is $500, with no stated balance cap. While the rest of Chartway’s Share Certificates have tiered APYs, the No Penalty Share Certificate earns 0.70% APY on all balances of $500 and above.

The no-penalty feature allows for an early closure only; no partial withdrawals are allowed, which is a new limitation since I last wrote about the No Penalty Share Certificate in 2018.

There’s a sentence in the fine print on the Share Certificates page that doesn’t make much sense.

Rates shown not available in VA, NC, UT, NV, or TX.

According to two CSRs, that statement is in error: the stated rates are available nationwide.

Thanks to DA reader, thowellIII, for a Forum post where he noted,

Chartway has a Single Account Fee, so if you close the CD and only have the Prime Share Account, you could be hit with a fee. You can avoid the fee by having a second custom share account (even with just a token amount in it).

Availability

Headquartered in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Chartway Federal Credit Union’s field of membership (FOM) offers a way for almost any U.S. citizen and resident alien to join.

Easy Membership: You can qualify for membership by joining Chartway’s We Promise Foundation with a $10 donation. (Joining the We Promise Foundation is the fourth option listed on the online application.)

Residency: Individuals who live, work, worship, or attend school in parts of Arizona, Florida, Nevada, North Carolina, New Jersey, Ohio, Texas, Utah, or Virginia are eligible for membership.

Employment: Employees of more than 750 qualifying organizations/businesses qualify for membership. as do their immediate family members.

Relationship: Relatives and housemates of a current Chartway member or someone who is membership-eligible are also welcome to apply.

Joining Chartway and/or opening a No Penalty Share Certificate can be done online, by phone (800.678.8765), or at any of 38 branches located in Texas (3), Utah (13), and Virginia (22).

Opening a Prime Share Savings account with a $5 minimum deposit establishes a new Chartway membership.

Chartway participates in the CO-OP Shared Branch network and ATM network, with more than 5,600 branch locations (at least one location in all 50 states) and more than 30,000 surcharge-free ATMs.

As a result, you can conduct most business on your Chartway accounts at other credit
unions throughout the country as though you were at your Chartway local branch!

Credit Union Overview

Chartway Federal Credit Union has an overall health grade of "A" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 4.96% (excellent) based on December 31, 2021 data. In the past year, Chartway has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $139.17 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 6.5%. Please refer to our financial overview of Chartway Federal Credit Union (NCUA Charter # 13242) for more details.

In September 1959, seven Norfolk Naval Air Station civilian employees each contributed $5 and the NorVA N.A.S. Federal Credit Union was founded. The original FOM included both civilian and military personnel, and their family members. With an expanding FOM and fewer ties to the military, the name was changed to Chartway Federal Credit Union in 1996. Chartway FCU is currently the eighth largest credit union headquartered in Virginia, with assets in excess of $2.5 billion and more than 190,000 members.

How the No Penalty Share Certificate Compares

As I mention in every no-penalty CD blog post, no-penalty CDs are a somewhat of a rare occurrence, with the longer the term, the more competitive the CD. When compared to the nationally available no-penalty CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com, Chartway Federal Credit Union’s 12-month No Penalty Share Certificate APY currently ranks third.

The above rates are accurate as of 4/5/2022.

To search for nationwide CD rates and CD rates in your state, please refer to the CD rates section of DepositAccounts.com.