NASA Federal Credit Union Ups Rates on 9-, 15- & 49-Month CD Specials
Falling rates is the news for most deposit accounts today, but I did find a little bit of good news for savers. NASA Federal Credit Union (NASA FCU) increased the rates of three of its Share Certificate Specials (SCS) by 10 to 20 basis points. All three are now very competitive. The three SCSs have terms of 49 months (2.60% APY), 15 months (2.50% APY), and 9 months (2.35% APY).
The minimum opening deposit is $10k, and the fine print for each SCS on the Certificate Rates page states,
Minimum $10,000 new funds required. Early withdrawal penalties apply and may reduce earnings. A minimum of $10,000 in new funds must be brought from an external source and must be deposited between November 1, 2019 and November 30, 2019. Credit Union reserves the right to limit deposits into this special certificate. This limited-time offer is subject to change at any time without notice.
The SCSs are also offered as IRAs (Traditional and Roth), earning the same APY with the same new money funding requirements.
As stated in the Certificate Terms and Conditions document, the Early Withdrawal Penalty reads as follows:
182 days for certificate accounts with terms up to 24 months and 365 days for certificate accounts with terms greater than 24 months.
There is a 10-day grace period before the SCS automatically renews to a standard term (49-month renews into 48-month term, 15-month renews into 12-month term, and 9-month renews into 6-month term.) If you withdraw the funds, no interest will be paid for the grace period.
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 14 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 Share Certificate Special 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).
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 access status (employees only). 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.
A free Primary Savings is required with every membership – minimum deposit $5.00
NASA FCU offers its members access to more than 5,000 credit union branches through the CO-OP Shared Branch network.
Shared Branches allow members of participating credit unions across the country to conduct most of their financial transactions as if they were at their own credit union branch.
Credit Union Overview
NASA Federal Credit Union has an overall health grade of "A" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 6.07% (excellent) based on June 30, 2019 data. In the past year, NASA FCU has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $330.64 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 17.04%. 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 third largest credit union headquartered in Maryland and the 94th largest credit union in the nation, with assets in excess of $2.7 billion and nearly 163,000 members.
How the Share Certificate Specials Compare
When compared to 175 similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com, which are nationally available and require a minimum deposit of $10k or less, NASA Federal Credit Union's 49-month Share Certificate Special APY currently ranks third.
| Interest Rate | CD Length of Term | Credit Union/Bank |
|---|---|---|
| 2.75% APY | 48-Month Certificate ($500 min) | PSECU |
| 2.70% APY | 48-Month Certificate ($500 min) | Pen Air Federal Credit Union |
| 2.60% APY | 49-Month Share Certificate Special ($10k min) | NASA Federal Credit Union |
When compared to 166 similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com, which are nationally available and require a minimum deposit of $10k or less, NASA Federal Credit Union's 15-month Share Certificate Special APY currently ranks first.
| Interest Rate | CD Length of Term | Credit Union/Bank |
|---|---|---|
| 2.50% APY | 15-Month Share Certificate Special ($10k min) | NASA Federal Credit Union |
| 2.50% APY | 20-Month CD Special ($2.5k min) | TruStone Financial Credit Union |
| 2.30% APY | 18-Month CD ($2.5k min) | Live Oak Bank |
When compared to 202 similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com, which are nationally available and require a minimum deposit of $10k or less, NASA Federal Credit Union's 9-month Share Certificate Special APY currently ranks first.
| Interest Rate | CD Length of Term | Credit Union/Bank |
|---|---|---|
| 2.35% APY | 9-Month Share Certificate Special ($10k min) | NASA Federal Credit Union |
| 2.25% APY | 6-Month Term Share Certificate ($1k min) | CommunityWide Federal Credit Union |
| 2.20% APY | High-Rate 9-Month CD ($500 min) | BrioDirect |
The above rates are accurate as of 11/1/2019.
To find the best CD rates, both nationwide and state specific, please refer to our CD Rates Table page.
BTW, why hasn't the off-topic stuff been deleted when my ON-TOPIC stuff so often is?
You did a heck of a lot better than someone who left the money sitting in a large commercial bank account at 0.01%. And millions of people do.
I'll also consider allocating more to other investments as rates continue to decline which I think they will for a time. Those that have been predicting the crash of the stock market since President Trump took office have caused others to miss out on three years of some of the greatest opportunity for financial gain that the average American has had in history. It's unfortunate.
That's not to say that the stock market won't pull back at some point, of course it will have its ups and downs. But it is a reminder that there's a lot of investment advice out there that's more political than financial. Don't let anyone scare you into putting all your eggs in one basket. That's probably the worst financial mistake you can make.