Corporate America Family Credit Union Has Nationally Available CDs
Illinois-based Corporate America Family Credit Union (better known as CAFCU) is currently offering a 36-month CD Special with tiered APYs: 1.51% APY ($10k minimum) and 1.46% APY ($1k minimum). New money is required, and according to the fine print on the Current Promotions landing page,
funds from existing Corporate America Family Credit Union (CAFCU) Share
Certificates or IRAs accounts may not be used to get promotional rate.
There are two other CD Specials (12- and 24-month), but the rates aren’t as competitive.
The 36-month CD Special is also available as an IRA CD Special (Traditional, Roth, CESA), earning the same tiered APYs with the same deposit requirements.
As stated in the Truth-in-Savings disclosure, the Early Withdrawal Penalty reads as follows:
150 days of dividends at Share Certificate for 24- and 36-month certificates.
Penalties shall never exceed actual dividends earned. The amount of penalty assessed upon early withdrawal may be deducted from the principal amount only when the dividends earned on the Share Certificate have been previously withdrawn.
CSR stated that partial withdrawals are permitted and CAFCU requires a “signed written request stating aware of the penalty to do so prior to maturity.”
Unlimited beneficiaries can be named, with percentages assigned. Social security numbers are required for all named beneficiaries.
The following information about funding and maturing funds is from a Live Chat with a very knowledgeable CSR.
You would need to have the funds available already in your Corporate America account. You can make deposits at an affiliated credit union, transfer from an external account, make a mobile deposit, mail a check, or wire funds into your account.
There is a 10-day grace period before any CAFCU CD renews. If you choose not to renew the CD Special,
You can request for the funds to be deposited into your Corporate America account and then you can have it transferred out via external account, withdraw at a physical location, request a check to be sent or wire the funds out. This is all depending on how much you are withdrawing and if needing cash.
Availability
Headquartered in Elgin, Illinois, CAFCU’s field of membership (FOM) provides a way for virtually all U.S. citizens/residents to join.
Easy Membership: anyone who joins The Hope Group is eligible for CAFCU membership. Joining CAFCU and The Hope Group can be done simultaneously using the online application.
The purpose of The Hope Group is to offer educational grants to colleges
and/or universities to be placed in their “general scholarship” fund.
Residency: Individuals who live or work in a 25-mile radius of any CAFCU branch location are eligible to join.
Employment: Employees of many Sponsor Companies also qualify for membership. The Sponsor Companies are not listed on CAFCU’s website, but you can find out if your employer qualifies by contacting the Member Center (800.359.1939).
Family Relationship: Family members of current CAFCU members are welcome to apply. CAFCU defines family as “spouse, parent, child, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, aunt, uncle, cousin, niece, nephew, in-law, step-child or domestic partner.”
Joining CAFCU and/or opening a CD can be done online. CAFCU has re-opened all of its Illinois branch lobbies located in Burbank, Chicago, Crystal Lake, Elgin, Mount Carmel, Oak Brook, Rosemont, Streamwood, Tinley Park, and Warrenville. CAFCU has branches in Peoria, Arizona; Santa Clara, California; Bristol; Connecticut; Atlanta, Georgia; Overland Park, Kansas; High Point, North Carolina; Marion, Ohio; Towanda, Pennsylvania; Irving, Texas; and Herndon, Virginia, which are also opened to walk-in traffic. The COVID19 Response Page contains up-to-date information about CAFCU branch hours.
Opening a Regular Share Account with a minimum $5 deposit establishes a CAFCU membership.
CAFCU belongs to three surcharge-free ATM networks and the CO-OP Shared Branch program. That means members can use more than 60,000 surcharge-free ATMs across the U.S. and Canada. Plus, members can access their CAFCU accounts at over 5,600 participating credit union branches from coast to coast.
Credit Union Overview
CAFCU has an overall health grade of "A" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 3.22% (excellent) based on March 31, 2020 data. In the past year, CAFCU has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $4.64 million, an above average annual growth rate of 0.94%. Please refer to our financial overview of CAFCU (NCUA Charter # 68215) for more details.
Founded in 1939 by 15 employees of the Automatic Electric Company (AE), the credit union was originally known as the Automatic Credit Union. (AE manufactured telephone stepping switches, which allowed customers to connect their calls without operator assistance.) When GTE acquired AE in 1955, the credit union’s name was changed to GTE Employees Federal Credit Union. The CAFCU rebrand occurred in 1986, as the FOM continued to expand and diversify. As the 16th largest credit union headquartered in Illinois, Corporate America Family Credit Union has nearly 67,000 members and assets in excess of $617 million.
How the CD Special Compares
When compared to 205 similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com, which are nationally available and require a minimum deposit of $10k or less, CAFCU’s 36-month CD Special APY* currently ranks first.
The above rates are accurate as of 7/22/2020.
To search for the best CD rates, both nationwide and state specific, please refer to our CD Rates Table page.
*We continue to work to keep our rates up-to-date, but there have been just too many rate cuts for us to process quickly. For the time being, please be aware that the rates listed at DepositAccounts.com may not reflect the latest rates published by the banks and credit unions.
