EXPIRED: Top 30-Month and 60-Month CD Rates at SchoolsFirst FCU in CA - Local Only

SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union continues to offer very competitive long-term CDs and IRA CDs. The promotional CD continues to be a 2.50% APY 30-month add-on CD. As I reported before, this allows unlimited additional deposits during the term. For the standard CDs, the 5-year CD yields ranges from 3.20% APY for a $500 minimum to 3.35% APY for a $100,000 minimum. The non-promo IRA CD rates are 5 basis points higher. These rates are listed at the credit union's share certificate rates page as of 6/29/2010.

According to the account disclosure, the early withdrawal penalty for terms of 18 months or more is 180 days of dividends on the amount withdrawn. This is more favorable than some other CD rate leaders such as EverBank.

I just noticed another product from this credit union that's a good deal. It's their credit cards. There are essentially no fees including no cash advance fees and no balance transfer fees.

Membership eligibility is primarily employer based. Eligible employers include most schools in Southern California. Refer to the credit union's membership page for further details. There is a $15 one-time membership fee which seems expensive since it can be done online. A minimum $5 deposit in your share savings account is required for membership.

Branches are located throughout Southern California including the cities of Anaheim, Cerritos, Cypress, Fullerton, Irvine, San Bernardino and Santa Ana.

SchoolsFirst FCU's ratings for safety and soundness are above average: 4 stars (excellent) at BauerFinancial, 3 stars (performing) at Bankrate and an overall health score of 4 out of 5 at DepositAccounts.com (see our SchoolsFirst FCU financial overview). These ratings are based on March data except for Bankrate which is still based on 12/31/09 data. The credit union is federally insured by the NCUA (Charter # 24212).