Horizon CU (WA/ID/MT) Ups 15-Month Special CD Rate

Washington-based Horizon Credit Union (Horizon CU) ended last week by raising the rate on its 15-month Special Certificate up to 2.02% APY. The minimum opening deposit is $10k of new money, with no stated balance cap. (Horizon CU offers Excess Share Insurance, which provides an additional $250k of coverage beyond the NCUA’s standard $250k coverage.)

“Up to” is a phrase I don’t like to see, because I know those two little words usually mean there’s some type of limitation or extra requirement. In this instance,

Certificates without direct deposit to a checking account will earn 1.76% APY.

Horizon CU offers two checking accounts, Replenish Checking and Bridge Checking, both of which require a minimum $100 opening deposit. The Replenish account has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirement, and is a non-interest bearing account. The Bridge account has a $6 monthly service fee if the average daily balance falls below $500. It also earns 0.05% APY if an average daily balance of $1k is maintained.

Earlier this year, DA guest contributor, Charles Rechlin, wrote an article, ”Notes on Personal CD Investing: Relationship Rate CDs” that discusses the pros and cons of relationship CDs. It’s well worth the read.

As stated in the Truth In Savings disclosure, the Early Withdrawal Penalty (unique to Horizon CU’s Special Certificates) reads as follows:

The penalty is forfeiture of all dividends earned
and paid to the account at time of early withdrawal.

Availability

Headquartered in Spokane Valley, Horizon Credit Union’s field of membership (FOM) is primarily residency based, with individuals who live, work, or worship in the following locations eligible for membership:

Washington State - all school districts

Idaho Counties - Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Kootenai, Latah, Lewis, Nez Perce, and Shoshone

Montana Counties - Beaverhead, Broadwater, Deer Lodge, Gallatin, Granite, Jefferson, Lake, Lewis and Clark, Mineral, Missoula, Powell, Ravalli, Sanders, and Silver Bow.

In addition, federal employees living or working in Region One of the United States Forest Service are also eligible for membership.

Joining Horizon Credit Union and/or opening an Special Certificate can be done at any of 22 branches located in Washington (Colville, Davenport, Deer Park, Ephrata, Liberty Lake, Moses Lake [2], Spokane [3] and Spokane Valley [4]); Idaho (Coeur de Alene, Ponderay, Post Falls, and Sandpoint); and Montana (Butte, Missoula [2], and Warm Springs).

Credit Union Overview

Horizon Credit Union has an overall health grade of "A" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas ratio of 2.85% (excellent) based on March 31, 2017 data. In the past year, Horizon CU has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $79.28 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 10.96%. Please refer to our financial overview of Horizon Credit Union (NCUA Charter # 67264) for more details.

Horizon Credit Union was originally founded in 1947 as the Kaiser Employees Federal Credit, serving the employees of Kaiser Aluminum. In 1966, Horizon’s assets had reached $2 million, and soon after, a series of charter expansions began. A final name change to Horizon Credit Union took place in 1991, after a change from a federal to a state charter. Following mergers with eight other credit unions (located in Washington, Idaho, and Montana), Horizon Credit Union currently has over 69,00 members and assets in excess of $940 million.

How the Special Certificate Compares

When compared to the 223 similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com, which require a similar minimum deposit and are available to Washington State residents, Horizon Credit Union's 15-month Special Certificate APYs ranks first and second.

The above rates are accurate as of 7/31/2017.

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