Florida Credit Union 18-Month CD Special Has New Rate-Leading APY

Florida Credit Union (FCU) is currently offering a rate-leading 5.60% APY on its 18-month CD Special. This limited-time CD Special requires a $1k minimum opening deposit, with no stated balance cap.

The 18-month CD Special is also available as an IRA CD Special (Traditional and Roth), earning the same APY with the same deposit requirements.

FCU is also offering 7-, 9- and 13-month CD and IRA CD Specials. These FCU CD rates are respectable, but they're far behind the rate leaders.

This latest iteration of the FCU 18-month CD Special is definitely an improvement over the one I wrote about in March 2021. At that time, the 18-month CD Special earned 0.85% APY and required a minimum $100k deposit of new money. While 0.85% APY seems a ridiculous rate today, it was the second-highest APY (for an 18-month CD) in effect at the time; the highest rate (0.90% APY) belonged to a 20-month Jumbo CD offered by Consumers Credit Union.

As stated on the FCU Deposit Rates page, the Early Withdrawal Penalty (EWP) for the 18-month CD Special is 270 days on the amount being withdrawn.

The Membership and Account Agreement includes more details about the EWP.

The penalty is calculated as a forfeiture of part of the dividends that have been or would have been earned on the account, and applies whether or not the dividends have been earned. The penalty may be deducted from the principal amount of the deposit.

According to CSR, partial withdrawals are allowed, but FCU “reserves the right to deny a withdrawal.”

Availability

Headquartered in Gainesville, Florida Credit Union field of membership (FOM) is community-based, with U.S. citizens or resident aliens who live or work in any of the following 48 North, Central and South Florida counties eligible to join:

Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Brevard, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Columbia, De Soto, Dixie, Duval, Flagler, Gilchrist, Glades, Hamilton, Hardee, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Indian River, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Lee, Leon, Levy, Madison, Manatee, Marion, Martin, Nassau, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, St. Lucie, Sumter, Suwannee, Taylor, Union, or Volusia.

Anyone currently attending school in the Florida counties of Alachua, Bradford, Brevard, Charlotte, Columbia, DeSoto, Gilchrist, Glades, Hardee, Highlands, Hillsborough, Indian River, Manatee, Marion, Martin, Okeechobee, Osceola, Pinellas, Sarasota, St Lucie, or Union also qualify for membership.

Anyone who has a child currently attending school in Florida counties of Alachua, Bradford, Columbia, Gilchrist, Marion, or Union is eligible to join.

Current students or alumni of Santa Fe College or Florida Gateway College are welcome to apply, as are immediate family members of an existing FCU member.

Account Opening

Joining FCU can be done online, by contacting the Contact Center (800.284.1144), or by visiting any of 13 Florida branches located in Belleville, DeLand, Gainesville (5), Lake City, Ocala (4), and Starke.

Opening a Regular Savings account ($5 minimum/$2.5k maximum if funding online) is required to establish an FCU membership.

The online application does not include the 18-month CD Special, although the landing page has a “Start Saving Today” button that goes to the FCU online application. (FYI – CDs opened online are limited to a maximum $10k opening deposit.) According to CSR, after submitting a membership application, you can then instruct the Credit Union, either by phone (800.284.1144) or online, to open a CD. Funds for the CD must be on deposit in an FCU savings or checking account when opening a CD.

Funding and Other Details

The following information is from the Membership and Account Agreement document and a conversation with CSR.

• Funding – ACH ($10k max online), wire ($15 fee), check, or internal transfer.
• CO-OP Shared Branch Participant – No.
• Ownership – Individual, joint, or trust.
• Dividends – Compounded/credited quarterly and can be transferred to an FCU savings account.
• Maturing Funds – Cashier’s check to address on file or internal transfer to an FCU savings account.
• Grace Period – 7 calendar days before renewal as a “normal product.”
• Beneficiaries – Unlimited, but are named to the entire membership account not to an individual CD; Social Security numbers are not required for beneficiaries.
• Credit check – Hard pull (Equifax) when joining.

Credit Union Overview

Florida Credit Union has an overall health grade of "A+" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 3.10% (excellent), based on June 30, 2023 data. In the past year, Florida CU has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $147.72 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 9.72%. Please refer to our financial overview of Florida Credit Union (NCUA Charter # 60497) for more details.

Originally chartered in 1954 as the Alachua County Teachers’ Credit Union, Florida Credit Union was owned and operated by teachers in the Alachua County School System. The Credit Union began adding more school systems and community colleges to its FOM within two years of opening its doors. Sixty-nine years later, after two name changes, a charter change, and expansion throughout North and Central Florida, Florida Credit Union is currently the 15^th largest credit union in Florida, with more than 146,000 members and assets in excess of $2 billion.

How the 18-Month CD Special Compares

When compared to similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are available within the FOM and have minimum deposit requirements of $10k or less, no banks or credit unions have higher rates than currently offered on the Florida Credit Union 18-Month CD Special. The following table compares the 18-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 9/11/2023.

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