Top Reward Checking Account with a Long History in Washington State
While reviewing some of the old reward checking accounts, I came across a few interesting ones that still offer competitive rates. One is the Loyalty Checking that's offered by People's Community Federal Credit Union in Washington State. I first reviewed this account in December 2007 when the rate was 6.25% APY for balances up to $50K. As you might expect, the rate has fallen, but the rate tiers have not changed. As of 4/8/2011, the top rate is 2.75% APY for balances up to to $50K. The rate falls to 0.25% for the portion of the balance over $50K or if requirements are not met. The yield isn't that great, but a $50K balance cap is nice. It's rare to find $50K balance caps these days for reward checking accounts.
Another interesting account that's related to the checking is the Loyalty Savings account. At first this might not appear to be a useful account since it pays the top rate only for the first $750 balance. However, the top rate is high: 7.50% APY as of 4/8/2011. That results in over $56 of interest per year which is almost $49 more than you would receive if it were in a typical internet savings account.
To receive this top rate on the Loyalty Savings just requires that you have the Loyalty Checking account with a $100 minimum balance. This requirement is waived for those under 18 and over 64.
The $50K balance cap of the Loyalty Checking makes it nice for those with large balances. The Loyalty Savings makes it nice for kids and for those with small balances.
In addition to the top rate, the Loyalty Checking offers refunds of ATM surcharges (up to $100 per month). The monthly requirements include:
- 10 debit card purchases
- 3 CU@Home and/or Bill Pay transactions
- Deposits of $350 or more
- eStatements
Credit union membership is open to anyone who lives, works or worships in Clark, Cowlitz or Skamania county. Please refer to the credit union's membership page for more details. Membership requires a one-time fee of $5 and a minimum deposit of $5 into the Carefree savings account. An online application is available that allows you to open the Loyalty accounts and fund the accounts with ACH transfers.
People's Community Federal Credit Union branches are located in Vancouver and Battle Ground, Washington.
The credit union has an overall health score at DepositAccounts.com of 5 stars (out of 5) with a Texas Ratio of 5.84% (excellent) based on December 2010 data. Please refer to our financial overview of People's Community Federal Credit Union for more details. The credit union is federally insured by the NCUA (Charter # 24713).
Other High-Yield Reward Checking Accounts
To find reward checking accounts in your state or to find those available nationwide, please refer to the reward checking section of DepositAccounts.com.
