Langley Federal Credit Union Brings Back 14-Month Promo Certificate
In May 2021, Langley Federal Credit Union (Langley FCU) added a limited-time 14-month Promo Certificate (1.25% APY, $1k min/$25k max) available only to new members in Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Langley FCU started the new year by offering an improved version of the 14-month Promo Certificate. The initial 1.25% APY is still in effect, but the $25k balance cap has been removed. The availability has also been expanded: in addition to new members in MD, NC, VA, DC, all current members who fund completely with new money can open a 14-month Promo Certificate.
The limitations for the 14-month Promo Certificate are listed in the fine print of the landing page and read (in part),
- The minimum balance to open the certificate is $10,000.00. No maximum deposit.
- Limit one 14-Month Certificate account per member.
- To qualify for the offer, certificates must be funded completely with new deposits or new members in VA, NC, MD, and DC. New deposits are defined as funds not currently on deposit with Langley Federal Credit Union.
- Not eligible for Active Rewards rate enhancement and cannot be combined with any other promotional offer.
There are 11 different Disclosures on Langley FCU’s website, but a Truth-in-Savings disclosure for CDs is still not one of them. The following information was provided by CSR.
- Individuals joining Langley FCU must first establish a membership, fund the new Langley Savings Account with the monies to be used to open the Promo Certificate, and then call 757.827.5328 to open the Promo Certificate over the phone.
- The Early Withdrawal Penalty is 180 days interest on the amount being withdrawn, with partial withdrawals allowed as long as a $1k minimum balance is maintained.
- Maturing funds can be distributed by cashier’s check or wire transfer, or transferred to a Langley FCU liquid account (checking, savings, money market account). Once the funds are in another Langley FCU account, you can initiate an ACH transfer from an outside institution. Outgoing ACH transfers cannot be initiated from any Langley FCU account.
- There is a 21 (yes, twenty-one) calendar day grace period before the 14-month Promotional Certificate renews as fixed rate 12-month Certificate.
Availability
Headquartered in Newport News, Virginia, Langley Federal Credit Union offers membership to virtually any U.S. citizen or resident alien who has a valid Social Security number. There are no longer any requirements to meet to qualify for membership – anyone is welcome to apply.
The 14-month Promo Certificate is offered to all current members (if funded completely with new funds) or to new members in who live in Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, or the District of Columbia.
Joining Langley FCU and/or opening a 14-month Promo CD can be done online, over the phone (757.827.5328), or at any of 21 Virginia branches located in Carrollton, Chesapeake (2), Hampton (3), Hayes, Langley AFB, Newport News (4), Norfolk (3), Poquoson, Virginia Beach (3), Williamsburg, and Yorktown.
A savings account is the initial account to establish your membership with Langley. Once you make the initial $5 deposit, you become a member of the credit union, enabling you to take advantage of many other products and services that meet your needs.
Langley FCU participates in the CO-OP Shared Branch network, providing its members with access to more than 5,000 shared branches across the country.
Credit Union Overview
Langley Federal Credit Union has an overall health grade of "A" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 2.56% (excellent) based on September 30, 2021 data. In the past year, Langley FCU has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $445.07 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 15.13%. Please refer to our financial overview of Langley Federal Credit Union (NCUA Charter # 1261) for more details.
Langley Federal Credit Union was originally chartered in 1936 as the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) Laboratory Federal Credit Union. (NACA was founded in early 1915 and was the predecessor of NASA.) Twenty-five NACA employees each deposited $1 to pay the charter fee, and the following month, the Credit Union opened its doors with assets totaling $275. With more than 306,000 members and assets in excess of $4 billion, Langley FCU is currently the fifth largest credit union headquartered in Virginia and the 82nd largest credit union in the country.
According to a recent press release,
On October 19, 2021, Virginia Beach Schools Federal Credit Union Members overwhelmingly voted in favor of merging with Langley Federal Credit Union. We are excited to welcome the Virginia Beach Schools FCU Members and team members to the Langley family.
After the legal merger date of November 1, 2021, we will begin working on an integration process with a goal of having Virginia Beach Schools FCU systems fully joined with Langley on April 1, 2022. Once the two credit unions are completely integrated, all branches will operate as Langley branches, which means even more convenient branch options in Hampton Roads to help you save, borrow, and spend wisely.
How the Promo Certificate Compares
When compared to the similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that require a minimum deposit of $10k or less and are available nationwide, Langley Federal Credit Union’s 14-Month Promo Certificate APY currently ranks first.
| Interest Rate | CD Length of Term | Credit Union/Bank |
|---|---|---|
| 1.25% APY | 14-Month Promo Certificate ($10k min) | Langley Federal Credit Union |
| 1.00% APY | 12-Month CD ($1k min) | Poppy Bank |
| 0.85% APY | 12-Month Money Market Certificate ($1k min) | PenFed Credit Union |
The above information and rates are accurate as of 1/5/2022.
To look for the best CD rates, both nationwide and in your state, please refer to our CD Rates Table page.
After which I will need to phone Langley again, to fund the CD from the cash transferred (the prior week) into my Savings account, and now available. To avoid long hold times, I was advised to call at 8 am, when Langley opens.
Alternatively, I could have initiated a single wire transfer for $100k. But wire transfers cost money . . . and isn't the whole point here to earn money?! In this low interest environment, every penny counts, although I haven't calculated that against the week's worth of interest I'm losing from my funding accounts -- at rates of .75% APY (Merchants) and .35% APY (Customers).
[My lost interest estimate is under $15; a wire transfer could cost double.]
But Langley's guaranteed 1.25% is definitely an upgrade!
I'm just wondering if my Langley Variable Rate Certificate will ever increase . . . It's still at 1%
Had an extended early morning conversation with a Langley CSR, who confirmed that a check could indeed be sent via a Co-op Shared Branch. As an additional measure, I'd need to have the shared branch fax both sides (front and back) of the check to Langley -- where it would be on hold (due to security / fraud prevention) . . . although she confirmed that, upon request (another phone call) it could be "held" within the new CD. Also had her order me a set of free Langley checks, so I'd have this alternative, for when my CDs there mature. (Langley's links led me to a vendor where I'd need to pay $40).
It was quite a lengthy process, including the Langley CSR not being able to send me a verification code via text, since my Google Voice number was not considered valid. (Even though it worked perfectly fine, online, when confirming each of my three ACH transfers yesterday afternoon. And deleting them last night. And rescheduling those three transfers again this morning, before Langley's noontime cutoff). This morning's entire phone conversation took over 45 minutes.
So why did I go back to Plan A, and reschedule those three ACH transfers, rather than depositing a single $100k check at a Co-op shared branch?
More investigative research phone calls (Thanks again for the idea, Silvia!). Here's what I found: (1) My closest shared branch (TFCU) is closed, due to a covid outbreak. (2) And the second closest (Team) does not take shared branch transactions on Thursdays. (What?!) (3) And might not be open tomorrow, due to snow. (4) AND, anyway, their upper daily limit on transactions (withdrawals, or deposits) is a whopping $750!
Moral of the story: stay indoors, let your fingers do the walking, and enjoy the snow from your home window!
Upon CD maturity, I always use my hub account (Alliant) to pull out funds, unless FI offers to return them for free to originating account (usually Alliant, too) by ACH. A few online banks do that.
In healthier times, the shared branching (computer) system can also be down. It's happened to me a few times. I'm glad you were spared the wasted trips. As for the $750 limit at 2nd closest shared branch, it's so laughingly low as to be impractical. You need to scout out another #2.
I'm just hoping that the financial equivalent of Murphy's Law does not come into play,
where, for all the work I've put in, I end up trapped in a lemon, whose APY is far surpassed by other opportunities in the coming months.
At least this one matures in only 14 months (should I ever get it open) . . . and beats all my other, more liquid, bank accounts. Didn't even bother checking the EWP.
Unfortunately, Merchants -- where I have a significant balance earning .75% APY -- took away its customers' ability to initiate external transfers.
And ever since Customers dropped it's rate from a guaranteed 2.25% through June 2020 to its current, comparatively pitiful .35% APY, I have drained my savings with them down to near their minimum $25k.
So the shell game -- moving targets, with shifting rules regarding minimums & maximums, for both both balances and transfers -- goes ever on. I suppose the way to play it is to find a solid "hub" bank with fast (overnight) transfers, such as Customers, and, even if it has low interest rates, use it as a clearinghouse, to quickly pivot money in and out. Although we then run up against more limits: Regulation D (six withdrawals per month) as well as a maximum on the number of linked external accounts.
Transferring money around these days to optimize interest requires so much strategizing; there are too many moving parts, so many factors to consider. It ain't easy!
I actually have two linked non-retirement accounts at TD/Schwab. And you make me realize that, instead of duplicating my maximum six allotted external FIs per account, I could maximize to 12. (One of them being Langley)
I'll wait until close to the date of my earliest CD maturing with Langley (next year) to see what interest rate weather conditions prevail. And definitely add brokerage accounts to my list of expedient "hub" options. How clever ~ Thanks again!