Sandia Area Fed Credit Union Adds Rate-Leading 13-Month CD Special

Early Withdrawal Penalty

Certificates opened on or after October 23 now feature BetterAccess — once per
term, you may withdraw up to 50% of your balance with no penalty!

According to CSR, any withdrawal made subsequent to the one penalty-free withdrawal is subject to a penalty of 90 days of interest on the amount being withdrawn.

Availability

Headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Sandia Area Federal Credit Union’s field of membership (FOM) now includes an easy membership requirement option for all U.S. citizens and resident aliens with a valid Social Security number or ITIN.

While the overwhelming majority of eligibility requirements for any credit union offering an easy membership requirement are objective (i.e., joining a credit union affiliated charitable foundation or membership in the American Consumer Council), Sandia Area has a rather subjective requirement:

Persons who subscribe to the permaculture ethics, consisting of the following principles: care of the earth, care of people, and reinvesting surplus for the benefit of earth and people.

Permaculture is defined as “an approach to land management and settlement design that adopts arrangements observed in flourishing natural ecosystems.” The credit union takes its name from the Sandia Mountain Wilderness (a part of the Cibola National Forest east of Albuquerque), so the interest in preserving the local ecology is a natural sequitur.

Also eligible to join are those who live, work, worship, or attend school in the New Mexico counties of Bernalillo (including Kirkland AFB), Cibola, Torrance, or Valencia, or the city of Rio Rancho.

Immediate family members of a current Sandia Area members also qualify for membership.

Complete membership details can be found on the Sandia Area Membership page.

Account Opening

Joining Sandia Area FCU and/or opening a 13-Month Share Certificate Special can be done online or at any of seven New Mexico branches located in Albuquerque (5), Rio Rancho, and Santa Fe. Appointments are available and can be scheduled online.

There are no membership enrollment fees, just the
$5 share deposit to get your membership established!

Funding and Other Details

The following information is from a Live Chat with CSR.

Funding – ACH or internal transfer (when applying online, a link will be sent to facilitate funding).
CO-OP Shared Branch Participant – No.
Ownership – Individual, joint, or trust.
Dividends – Compounded/credited monthly and paid out by check or transferred into a Sandia Area savings account.
Maturing Funds – Transferred into a Sandia Area savings account.
Grace Period – 7 calendar days before automatic renewal.
Beneficiaries – Unlimited and percentages can be assigned; Social Security numbers are required.
Credit check – Hard inquiry through Experian.

Credit Union Overview

Sandia Area Federal Credit Union has an overall health grade of "A" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 0.84% (excellent) based on June 30, 2023 data. In the past year, Sandia Area has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $86.88 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 9.78%. Please refer to our financial overview of Sandia Area Federal Credit Union (NCUA Charter # 11316) for more details.

Founded in 1956, Sandia Area Federal Credit Union is currently the fourth largest credit union headquartered in New Mexico, with more than 82,000 members and assets in excess of $1.1 billion. Sandia Area’s original FOM was exclusive to military personnel (and their families) at Kirtland Air Force Base, the largest installation in the Air Force Global Strike Command and sixth largest in the United States Air Force.

According to the Sandia Area “About Us” page,

Sandia Area Federal Credit Union was recently named the top credit union in New Mexico in 2023 by Forbes Magazine. This is not Sandia Area’s first appearance on the prestigious list but it is the first time the $1.1 billion credit union has taken the top spot with a #1 ranking in New Mexico.

How the 13-Month Share Certificate Special Compares

When compared to similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are available nationwide, have fixed rates, and have minimum deposit requirements of $10k or less, no banks or credit unions have higher rates than currently offered on the Sandia Area Federal Credit Union 13-Month Share Certificate Special. The following table compares the 13-Month Share Certificate Special to the two highest-rate CDs from other credit unions and the two highest-rate CDs from banks.

The above information and rates are accurate as of 10/26/2023.

To search for the best CD rates, both nationwide and state specific, please refer to our CD rates table page.