NASA FCU Offers 49-Month CD Special (2.25% APY)
Deal Summary: Share Certificate Specials – 49-month (2.25% APY) and 15-month (1.60% APY); $5k minimum deposit, new money.
NASA Federal Credit Union (NASA FCU) began the month by raising the rates on its popular 49-month Share Certificate Special (2.25% APY) and 15-month Share Certificate Special (1.60% APY).
Both Share Certificate Specials are offered as IRAs (Traditional and Roth) earning the same APY, with the same funding requirements and same time limitations.
Both Specials require new money, but the wording in the fine print as to the amount of new funding is a bit vague:
A minimum of $5,000 in new funds must be brought from an external
source and must be deposited between April 1, 2017 and April 30, 2017.
CSR confirmed that whatever the amount of the opening deposit, $5k must be new funds, while the balance of the opening deposit could be made from funds on deposit at NASA FCU.
While there is no stated maximum deposit balance, the fine print for both reads:
Credit Union reserves the right to limit deposits into this special certificate.
In the past three years, the 49-month Special has had three other limited-time rate hikes, with APYs ranging from 2.20%-2.35%. The 15-month Special has been available for just over a year, having been introduced earning 1.05% APY. There have been five rate changes since it was added, with this weekend’s 25 basis point increase resulting in its highest rate to date.
Since I last wrote about the 49-month Share Certificate Special, the Early Withdrawal Penalty (EWP) for terms of 24 month or greater has increased from 180 days to 365 days. As stated in the Members Service Agreement document, the EWP reads as follows:
If the funds withdrawn bring the balance below the required minimum, the certificate must be redeemed and 365 days of dividends will be forfeited.
If the amount withdrawn has been in the account less than 365 days, all dividends on the amount withdrawn will be forfeited, and if the term of the certificate is under 365 days, the penalty is no dividends.
The EWP for the 15-month Share Certificate Special remains at 180 days.
Many thanks to DA readers, Carpline and ChasR, for their Forum posts about NASA FCU’s latest offerings.
Availability
Headquartered in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, NASA Federal Credit Union offers membership to virtually anyone, with several ways to qualify:
Easy Membership: Membership in one of 13 affiliated Associations, including a complimentary membership to the National Space Society (NSS) qualifies for Credit Union membership.
Employment: Employee or retiree of NASA Headquarters, any NASA Center or Facility, or NAS are eligible for membership. In addition, any employee or member of one of 900+ NASA Federal Credit Union partner companies also qualify for membership.
Relationship: Relatives or household members of current NASA FCU members are eligible for membership.
Joining NASA FCU and/or opening a CD can be done online, or by visiting any of twelve branches located in Maryland (Annapolis, Bowie, Columbia, Greenbelt, Greenbelt-Lanham, Rockville, Upper Marlboro), Virginia (Falls Church, Oak Hall, Wallops Island), and the District of Columbia (2). (NASA FCU’s online application is time-sensitive, so I have not included a direct link.)
Three of the branch locations (the Goddard Space Flight Center Branch, the National Academy of Science Branch, and the GSFU-Wallops Flight Facility) have restricted assess status (employees only), but NASA FCU is a member of the CO-OP Shared Branch network, giving NASA FCU members an additional 120+ locations in the Washington metro area to conduct many business transactions.
Credit Union Overview
NASA Federal Credit Union has an overall health grade of "A" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 8.17% (excellent) based on December 31, 2016 data. In the past year, NASA FCU has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $266.07 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 19.23%. Please refer to our financial overview of NASA Federal Credit Union (NCUA Certificate # 6328) for more details.
NASA Federal Credit Union was established in 1949 when seven employees received approval for a credit union charter to begin serving employees of NASA. Today, NASA Federal Credit Union is the 3rd largest credit union headquartered in Maryland and the 104th largest credit union in the nation, with assets in excess of $2.1 billion and over 138,200 members.
How the Share Certificate Specials Compare
When compared to the 160 similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com, that require a similar minimum deposit and are available nationally, NASA Federal Credit Union's 49-month Share Certificate Special APY currently tops the list.
*Note: Melrose Credit Union is currently operating under an NCUA conservatorship.
When compared to the 134 similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com, that require a similar minimum deposit and are available nationally, NASA Federal Credit Union's 15-month Share Certificate Special APY currently ranks second.
The above rates are accurate as of 4/3/2017.
To look for the best CD rates, both nationwide and state specific, please refer to our CD rates table, or our Rates Map page.
