2.75% Reward Checking Account at Lee County Bank & Trust

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Update 8/23/09: The top yield has fallen to 2.75% APY. Refer to the bottom of post for the rate history.

Lee County Bank & Trust, N.A. is offering a reward checking account that pays 2.75% APY on balances up to $25,000 (0.75% for above) and refunds ATM fees (up to $25 per cycle) if the following monthly requirements are met:
  • 10 point-of-sale debit card purchases
  • one direct deposit of ACH debit
  • access online banking
  • accept electronic statements
If these requirements are not met, the rate falls to 0.05%. The minimum initial deposit is $100, There are no minimum balance requirements or monthly fees.

For those who don't mind doing more than 10 debit card purchases a month, the bank allows you to open multiple accounts. You would have to satisfy the requirements for each account.

It appears that they allow people from any state to apply online. I've sent a message to the bank to confirm this. It's a small Iowa bank with 3 offices, 45 employees and $137 million in assets. Small banks will often change their policies on account availability. But perhaps they're following the lead of another small Iowa Bank, State Bank of Toledo which has been offering a nationwide reward checking account for a year.

Update 7/18/08: A reader has been told by the bank that this account is now limited to residents of Illinois, Iowa and Missouri.

Branches are located in Fort Madison and West Point, Iowa. The bank has been FDIC insured since 1934 (FDIC Certificate # 5819).

Other High Yield Reward Checking Accounts

To find reward checking accounts in other areas of the nation or to learn more about these accounts, please refer to my High Yield Checking website.

Rate History:
08/13/09: Yield under $25K; 2.75% APY, Yield above $25K: 0.75% APY, Base Yield: 0.05%
05/12/09: Yield under $25K; 3.01% APY, Yield above $25K: 1.00% APY, Base Yield: 0.05%
01/09/09: Yield under $25K; 3.01% APY, Yield above $25K: 1.00% APY
12/12/08: Yield under $25K: 4.01% APY
10/10/08: Yield under $25K: 5.01% APY, Yield above $25K: 1.50% APY
06/02/08: Yield under $25K: 6.01% APY, Yield above $25K: 2.50% APY, Base Yield: 0.15%
Related Pages: checking account, reward checking account

Previous Comments
Anonymous
  |     |   Comment #1
SBoT in Iowa reduced the rate to 4.01% even before I got my cards. I am afraid that this bank will follow suit and only hurt my FICO.
Anonymous
  |     |   Comment #2
To the poster above: How does the bank's lowering its interest rate hurt your FICO score?
glxpass
  |     |   Comment #3
It hurt his/her FICO because SBoT does a hard credit inquiry. The poster is saying that it's not worth incurring a hard credit inquiry for an interest rate that isn't all that great -- at least at the moment.
Anonymous
  |     |   Comment #4
How much can a hard pull really hurt ?

I mean, is my insurance going to go up 10% because I had a hard pull ?

LOL
TacoShredder
  |     |   Comment #5
I applied through the CheckingFinder site because I noticed the application went through Andera, which usually does a soft pull on Equifax. Well, it was a soft pull on EQ from Andera, but the following day Lee County Bank pulled a hard inquiry on EQ. The documents are sent by mail and must be notarized and returned.
cjdtech
  |     |   Comment #6
I just entered my zip code into Checking Finder and this account no longer shows up as available. I then entered the zip code for Toledo IA, and this then comes up as the first result. So this may now be local only.
Banking Guy
  |     |   Comment #7
cjdtech, Thanks for the heads up regarding the local-market change. I noticed the bank's website links to the Checkingfinder's online application. At least from the bank's website, it still appears open to people in any state. I've sent another email asking about this. I'll post when I hear from them.
Mike
  |     |   Comment #8
Just got off the phone with the bank...Limited to IA, MO and IL.
Banking Guy
  |     |   Comment #9
Thanks for the note. Sorry to see this restriction. I've updated the post with this change, and I've removed my rcnationwide label so my High Yield Checking website will reflect this change on the next update.
Anonymous
  |     |   Comment #10
Lee Couny Bank & Trust lowered their rate from 6.01% to 5.01% on 10/09/08.
Anonymous
  |     |   Comment #11
Lee County Bank remains in favor with me primarily because they have superfast transfers with external accounts (1 business day) and they offer 50 checks free.
bksavings
  |     |   Comment #12
Now down to 4.01%
TacoShredder
  |     |   Comment #13
The plummeting continues: Down to 3.01% APY starting January 9. Rate for above 25k will be 1.00% APY.

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