Navy Federal Adds 10-month Special CD, 2.75% APY w/Add-Ons
It’s a good news/bad news Monday at Navy Federal Credit Union (Navy Fed). Might as well do the bad news first: Navy Fed’s 6-, 17-, and 40-month Special Certificates are no longer available.
The good news is there’s a new 10-month Special Certificate that can be opened with a minimum $50 deposit, but its 2.75% APY isn’t as competitive as the APYs offered on the newly-departed Special Certificates. The 10-month Special Certificate also offers additional deposits throughout the term, but the total balance is capped at $100k.
The Special Certificate is also available as an IRA (Traditional, Roth, SEP, ESA), earning the same APY with the same funding requirements.
As stated in Navy Fed’s Certificates brochure, the Early Withdrawal Penalty reads as follows:
Certificates with a one-year term or less: Forfeiture of all dividends on the amount withdrawn for 90 days or since the date of purchase or renewal (whichever is less).
Thanks to DA reader, Sylvia, for posting this new product in the Forum.
Availability
Unlike PenFed's nearly universal membership eligibility, Navy Fed’s field of membership is restricted to individuals who have a military connection, regardless of where they reside.
Navy Fed’s "Become a Member" page lists the various ways to qualify for membership.
Active Duty, Retired and Veterans – Service members in all branches of the armed forces are membership-eligible, including:
- Active Duty members of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Ait National Guard.
- Delayed Entry Program (DEP)
- DoD Officer Candidate/ROTC
- DoD Reservists
- Veterans, retirees, and annuitants
Family Members – Individuals with parents, grandparents, spouses, siblings, children (adopted and step), grandchildren, or household members who at any time were affiliated with the military or are already Navy Fed members are also eligible to join.
Department of Defense (DoD) Civilians – Any DoD civilian employee, U.S. government employees/contractors assigned to DoD installations, and DoD retiree/annuitants are welcome to apply.
Joining Navy Fed and/or opening a 10-month Special Certificate can be done online or at any of 329 branches located in 30 different states and the District of Columbia.
Credit Union Overview
Navy Federal Credit Union has an overall health grade of "A" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 6.54% (excellent) based on December 31, 2018 data. In the past year, Navy Fed has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $7.48 billion, an excellent annual growth rate of 11.91%. Please refer to our financial overview of Navy Federal Credit Union (NCUA Charter # 5536) for more details.
Headquartered in Vienna, Virginia, Navy Federal Credit Union is considered the largest credit union in the world. Founded in 1933 as the Navy Department Employees’ Credit Union of the District of Columbia, Navy Federal has grown from its initial seven members to more than 8,200,000 members and assets in excess of $96 billion.
How the Special Certificate Compares
When compared to 214 similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that require a similar minimum deposit and are available nationwide, Navy Federal Credit Union’s 10-month Special Certificate APY only ranks seventh. While the additional deposit feature adds to the Certificate’s competitiveness, the $100k balance cap may dampen any enthusiasm for this new product.
| Interest Rate | CD Length of Term | Credit Union/Bank |
|---|---|---|
| 3.00% APY | 12-Month CD ($10k min/no max) | CD Bank |
| 2.89% APY | 1-Year Senior Citizen CD ($2.5k min/no max) | State Bank of India (IL) |
| 2.85% APY | 1-Year Term CD ($1k min/$500k max) | Rising Bank |
| 2.75% APY | 10-month Special Certificate ($50 min/$100k max) | Navy Federal Credit Union |
Another way to compare the Certificate Special would be to think of it as a savings account with a 10-month rate guarantee and a relatively low balance cap. When compared to the nationally available Savings Accounts tracked by DepositAccounts.com having a minimum balance requirement of $1k or lower, Navy Federal Credit Union’s 10-month Special Certificate APY currently ranks first.
| Interest Rate | Account Name | Credit Union/Bank |
|---|---|---|
| 2.75% APY | 10-month Special Certificate ($50 min/$100k max) | Navy Federal Credit Union |
| 2.48% APY | High-Yield Savings Account ($100 min/$10m max) | Comenity Direct |
| 2.47% APY | High Dividend Savings ($500 min/no max) | USALLIANCE Financial |
The above rates are accurate as of 4/29/2019.
To search for the best CD rates, both nationwide and in state specific, please refer to our CD Rates Table page.
To compare the top savings account rates, both nationwide and state specific, please refer to our Savings Account Rates Table page.
got your CD's locked yet? :)
Gee I hope its not going to end up another 10 years of 2%'s this time, while we're told there's no inflation, smirk......
However, in this small a rate for this short a time, for this small an amount does !! :-)
"China is adding great stimulus to its economy while at the same time keeping interest rates low. Our Federal Reserve has incessantly lifted interest rates, even though inflation is very low, and instituted a very big dose of quantitative tightening. We have the potential to go up like a rocket if we did some lowering of rates, like one point, and some quantitative easing. Yes, we are doing very well at 3.2% GDP, but with our wonderfully low inflation, we could be setting major records &, at the same time, make our National Debt start to look small!"
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"With S&P At All Time Highs, Trump Demands Fed Slash Rates By 1% As FOMC Meeting Begins"
"Just in case he hadn't already made his position re: interest rates clear to the FOMC, President Trump apparently wanted to make sure policy makers know their place shortly after their two-day meeting began on Tuesday.
After calling for QE4 and rate cuts earlier this month, Trump is now calling on the central bank to slash interest rates by a full percentage point, which would bring the Fed funds target rate back to 1.25%-1.5%, a level it hasn't seen in more than a year."