Expired - Great River Federal Credit Union Adds Competitive 63-Mo CD Special

Minnesota-based Great River Federal Credit Union (Great River) recently added two 63-Month Bump-Up CD Specials, both earning exceedingly competitive rates. The Classic Advantage CD Special currently earns 2.18% APY, with the Premier Advantage CD Special earning 2.23% APY. This limited-time offer has no end-date specified and will “end at the Credit Union’s discretion.”

The Bump-Up CD Specials are also available as IRA CD Specials (Traditional and Roth), earning the same APYs with the same deposit requirements.

These CD Specials have a variety of features which need some explanation. Classic Advantage and Premier Advantage refer to the type of accounts offered by Great River, with Classic Advantage being the default:

Classic Advantage Accounts give you access to all of the products and solutions that the Credit Union has to offer, with no minimum balance requirement.

Premier Advantage Accounts reward our members for taking advantage of the various lending and savings products we have to offer. With a combined savings/checking account balance of $15,000, or an open loan above $15,000, Premier Members enjoy a $5 discount on safe deposit boxes, Share Certificate bonus of .05% APY, 1 Free box of checks per year, and free corporate checks.

The wording about the minimum deposit in the fine print on the landing page is confusing:

New Money to GRFCU or existing Share Deposits or Share Certificates with the addition of $5,000 or more to qualify for rate. Minimum opening balance of $500.

CSR explained that this promotional CD Special is available to new and existing members, with new members obviously using new money to fund the CD Special. Existing members may use funds already on deposit at Great River, if at least $5k of new money is used to fund the CD Special.

The bump-up feature may be used two times at any time throughout the term. In my opinion, the idea of the bump-up option is actually better than the reality of the bump-up. The bump-up rate would be a new 63-month CD Special rate and as the 63-month CD Special may “end at the Credit Union’s discretion,” there’s no guarantee there will even be any future 63-month CD Specials to have a higher rate.

According to CSR, a Bump-Up CD Special can only be closed early: no partial withdrawals are allowed. As stated in the Truth-in-Savings disclosure, the Early Withdrawal Penalty (EWP) reads as follows:

The penalty assessed on the amount withdrawn will equal: three months dividends on terms one year or less, six months dividends terms greater than one year.

The six-month EWP could be advantageous should rates begin to rise significantly in the next four or five years. Using DA’s Early Withdrawal Penalty Calculator, you can see what the effective yields would be on a month-by-month basis, demonstrating that closing a 63-month Bump-Up CD Special wouldn’t be that financially painful. For example,

• 1.93% APY – closed at 4 years
• 1.84% APY – closed at 3 years
• 1.65% APY – closed at 2 years
• 1.48% APY – closed at 18 months
• 1.10% APY – closed at 1 year

According to CSR, funds must on deposit at Great River before a Bump-Up CD Special can be opened. Great River participates in the CO-OP Shared Branch network, making the transfer of funds relatively easy. ACH and wire transfers are also available.

Maturing funds can be distributed by check to the address on file or transferred to a Great River savings account. There is a ten day grace period before a 63-month Bump-Up CD Special renews as a regular 60-month CD.

Update 11/2/21: I was informed by a Great River official that they are implementing a $250k cap on all CDs.

Availability

Headquartered in St. Cloud, Minnesota, Great River Federal Credit Union joined the American Consumer Council (ACC) in May 2021, which allowed an expansion of the “field of membership (FOM) to include anyone who joins the ACC.” Previous to the new easy membership requirement, the FOM was limited to three west central Minnesota counties.

Employees of nearly 40 Minnesota Select Employer Groups (listed on the online membership application) also qualify for membership, as do immediate family members of current Grand River FCU members.

Joining Grand River can be done online, through Great River’s Go Live-video chat, or at any of the seven Minnesota branches located in Big Branch, Foley, St. Cloud, Sartell, Sauk Centre, Sauk Rapids, and Waite Park.

While checking and savings accounts can be opened online, CDs have to be opened in-branch or over the phone (888.211.5393). CSR stated that opening a Bump-Up CD Special can be done over the phone AFTER the membership application is approved and funds have been deposited in a Great River savings account.

Your initial $5 deposit entitles you to ownership of the credit union.

Grand River has joined the CO-OP Shared Branch and ATM networks, giving its members,

nationwide access to over 5,600 shared branches to cash checks, make deposits, and withdraw money wherever you go! That’s not all, the CO-OP ATM Network has nearly 30,000 ATMs nationwide you can use for FREE!

Credit Union Overview

Great River Federal Credit Union has an overall health grade of "A" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 1.43% (excellent) based on June 30, 2021 data. In the past year, Great River FCU has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $29.92 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 15.68%. Please refer to our financial overview of Great River Federal Credit Union (NCUA Charter # 24632) for more details.

Great River Federal Credit Union was originally chartered in 1948 as Machinist Federal Credit Union, serving the employees of Franklin Manufacturing’s refrigerator factory. The first rebrand (St. Cloud T&L Credit Union) occurred in 1964 when the FOM expanded to include a variety of other trade groups. The Great River name was chosen in 1999 because the FOM had grown to include more than 80 employer groups in Minnesota, the source of the Great River (the Mississippi). In 2001, a community charter was adopted to include three Minnesota counties. Great River Federal Credit Union is currently the 24^th largest credit union in Minnesota, with nearly 16,000 members and assets in excess of $243 million.

How the Bump-Up CD Specials Compare

When compared to the similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are available nationwide and require a similar minimum deposit, Great River Federal Credit Union’s 63-Month Bump-Up CD Specials APYs currently rank first and second.

The above rates are accurate as of 10/29/2021.

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