Top Long-Term CD Rates at Freedom Credit Union in PA - Local Only

POSTED ON THURSDAY, JANUARY 5, 2012 BY Ken Tumin

APY	MIN	MAX	INSTITUTION	PRODUCT
2.25%	$500	-	Freedom Credit Union (PA)	60 Month CD
1.85%	$500	-	Freedom Credit Union (PA)	48 Month CD
1.55%	$500	-	Freedom Credit Union (PA)	36 Month CD

Accounts mentioned in this post. Rates as of September 29, 2016.

Sometimes banks and credit unions become rate leaders because their rates fall less than others. That's the case with Freedome Credit Union in Southeast Pennsylvania. It has three CD rates that are especially competitive. These include a 2.50% APY 5-year CD, a 2.20% APY 4-year CD and a 1.75% APY 3-year CD. Minimum deposit is $500. CDs can be opened in IRAs, ESAs and even HSAs. These rates are listed in the credit union's rates page as of 1/5/2012. CD details are available in the CD rate and fee schedule. Unfortunately, the early withdrawal penalty is a little high: 360 days of dividends for the 4- and 5-year CDs, and 180 days of dividends for the 3-year CD.

The credit union has a refer-a-friend promotion that's scheduled to last through February. When a member refers a friend, both the member and the new member get $25. Please refer to the Refer a Member page for more details.

If your friend doesn't care about CDs, he or she may be interested in the credit union's checking account. The Free Interest Checking account has no monthly service fees and no minimum balance requirement. The credit union is part of CU the Service Center Shared Branch network which gives members access to more than 4,100 credit union branches around the nation. Also, the credit union offers Surcharge-Free ATMs through the CO-OP Network and other ATM networks.

Membership is open to anyone who lives, works, worships, or attends school in any one of the following Southeast Pennsylvania counties: Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia. Please refer to their About page for more details. Membership requires a minimum $5 deposit into the Primary Savings Account.

Branches are located in Philadelphia, Abington, Lansdale and Warminster. Here's what the credit union states regarding its shared branch affiliation:

Through CU Service Center, Freedom Members can make deposits, pay loans and withdraw cash at over 4,100 U.S. branches. Only Freedom branches also offer our account opening and loan application services.

Freedom Credit Union has an overall health score at DepositAccounts.com of 5 stars (out of 5) with a Texas Ratio of 3.02% (excellent) based on September 2011 data. Please refer to our financial overview of Freedom Credit Union for more details. The credit union is federally insured by the NCUA (Charter # 60275).

How These CD Rates Compare

These CD rates are close to the highest CD rates that are nationally available. The best ones for these terms are at Melrose Credit Union which has a 2.68% APY 5-year CD, a 2.17% APY 4-year CD and a 1.91% APY 3-year CD. These rates are accurate as of 1/5/2012.

Searching for the Best CD Rates

To search for the best nationwide rates and the best rates in your state, please refer to the following tables at DepositAccounts.com:

Comments

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3 Comments.

LisaPA | Jan 5, 2012 | Comment #1

Thanks for the heads up! They seem like a pretty good credit union. They also allow additional deposit/s and dividend withdrawals: "After your CD is opened, you may add funds to your CD or make withdrawals of dividends from your CD in any amount." Also, "The penalty will not exceed the amount of dividends earned" seems to indicate they wouldn't touch your principal.

Apache | Jan 5, 2012 | Comment #2

Does anyone know of a way that people who don't live in their area can join Freedom by joining some organization like other credit unions allow? I called them and it seems the only way for out of towners to join is to be referred by someone who already has an account with them. That is not possible for us since we barely know people in our own state much less than in Pa. Oh well, it did sound like a good deal!

KenBDG | Jan 5, 2012 | Comment #3

When I first noticed the "additional deposit" line under the rate table, it sounded like it might be additional deposits allowed during the grace period. But what you quoted from the rate and fee schedule does clearly indicate a true add-on CD. That's is a very nice feature that is not common these days.