Premier Credit Union (IA) Ups 20-Month Special CD, 2.75% APY

More than two years ago, I wrote about the new 20-month Certificate Special offered by Premier Credit Union (Premier CU), which had an initial APY of 2.00%. While other CD rates have been tumbling, Premier CU started the week by raising the rate on the 20-month Special to 2.75% APY. The minimum opening deposit is still $10k, with no stated balance cap.

Premier CU’s 12-month Jumbo Certificate is also earning 2.75% APY, but requires a heftier minimum deposit of $100k. The 12-month was added to the product line in April 2018, earning 2.00% APY. There have been two rate increases (June 2018 and July 2019), which added a total of 75 bps.

As stated in Premier CU’s Truth-in-Savings disclosure, the Early Withdrawal Penalty reads as follows:

For Investor, Special and Jumbo accounts, the amount of
early withdrawal penalty for your account is 90 days' interest.

High Yield Checking

Premier CU’s High Yield Checking has been earning 3.00% APY on qualifying balances up to $10k for nearly five years. Qualifying balances above $10k and non-qualifying balances both earn 0.10% APY.

Qualifying Requirements

• At least 25 signature-based debit card purchases.
• Have at least one Direct Deposit.
• Be enrolled in eStatement.
• Sign into Online Banking at least once

While there is no monthly service fee, there is a 50¢ fee for each PIN-based purchase or ATM withdrawal beyond the 15 transactions allowed within a calendar month.

Availability

Headquartered in Des Moines, Premier Credit Union’s field of membership (FOM) has substantially expanded since my 2016 Premier CU blog post. What was an eight-county FOM has nearly tripled, with individuals who live or work in the following 22 Iowa counties eligible for membership.

Iowa Counties: Adair, Boone, Clarke, Dallas, Greene, Guthrie, Hamilton, Harden, Jasper, Lucas, Madison, Mahaska, Marshall, Marion, Monroe, Polk, Poweshiek, Story, Tama, Union, Warren, and Webster.

Immediate family members of current Premier CU members also qualify for membership. Immediate family is defined as spouse, sibling, parent/step-parent, child/step-child, and grandparent.

Joining Premier CU and/or opening a Certificate can be done online or at any of four full-service Iowa branches, located in Ames, Des Moines (2), and West Des Moines.

A membership account represents your ownership of the credit union and makes you eligible for all products and services. Minimum $5 deposit to open and maintain your membership benefits.

Premier CU’s members can access more than 13,000 surcharge-free Shazam Network ATMs in 30 states and more than 900 ATMs belonging to Publix’s Presto! Network in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina and Tennessee.

Credit Union Overview

Premier Credit Union has an overall health grade of "B+" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 6.61% (excellent) based on March 31, 2019 data. In the past year, Premier CU has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $1.16 million, an above average annual growth rate of 0.67%. Please refer to our financial overview of Premier Credit Union (NCUA Charter # 64271) for more details.

Premier Credit Union was originally chartered in 1933 as the Bankers Life Employees Credit Union, with membership restricted to employees and retirees of Bankers Life Company. In 1986, Bankers Life Company changed its name to Principal Financial, with the Credit Union subsequently becoming Principal Financial Group Employees Credit Union. The name changed again in 2001 to the current Premier Credit Union, to better describe its membership base and its core mission of providing "Premier Service and Premier Choices at Premier Credit Union." Premier CU is currently Iowa’s 13^th largest credit union, with nearly 18,000 members and assets in excess of $207 million.

How the Certificates Compare

When compared to 211 similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com, which require a minimum deposit of $10k or less and are available within the FOM, Premier Credit Union's 20-month Special Certificate APY ranks first.

When compared to 277 similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com, which are available within the FOM, Premier Credit Union's 12-month Jumbo Certificate APY shares the top spot with Greater Iowa Credit Union’s 13-month CD Special APY, regardless of minimum deposit requirements.

The above rates are accurate as of 8/21/2019.

To search for the best CD rates, either nationwide or state-specific, please refer to our CD Rates Table page.