SkyOne Federal Credit Union Offers Top-Rate 22-Month CD Special

DA readers may have read about the SkyOne Federal Credit Union (SkyOne) 22-month High Yield CD (5.00% APY) that is offered on the SaveBetter platform. In somewhat of an unusual move, SkyOne is also offering a 22-month Share Certificate (5.00% APY, $1k minimum deposit) on its website, with no connection to SaveBetter. Here's the link to the promotion's landing page.

In addition to the very competitive rate, the 22-month Share Certificate also offers a partial penalty-free withdrawal, one limited add-on deposit, and a one-time 25 bps rate increase. As stated in the Truth-in-Savings disclosure,

The 22-month promotional certificate account allows for a penalty-free one-time withdrawal up to 50% of initial deposit at any time during the share term. Withdrawals exceeding 50% of the initial deposit are subject to early withdrawals penalties.

If your 22-month promotional certificate account has been opened for nine (9) full months, you have the option to make a one-time deposit up to 50% of the initial deposit amount to receive a one-time 0.25% rate bump-up for the remainder of the original term.

What’s not clear is if the 25bps rate bump-up applies to the entire balance or just to the one-time deposit. I called SkyOne for clarification, but was on hold for more than hour before my call was disconnected. I called SkyOne again, requested a call-back, but no one has contacted me yet.

Early Withdrawal Penalty and Other Particulars

• Early Withdrawal Penalty – after one penalty-free withdrawal, 180 days on the full deposit amount; early closure only, no partial withdrawals.
• Funding – ACH, wire transfer, check, or internal transfer.
• CO-OP Shared Branch Network – Yes.
• Maturing Funds – check to address on file or transferred to a SkyOne savings or checking account.
• Dividends – compounded/credited to the Certificate quarterly; can opt for monthly dividends, with automatic transfer to a SkyOne savings or checking account each month.
• Grace Period – 7 calendar days before renewal to a 24-month term and rate.
• Beneficiaries – unlimited, equal shares, Social Security numbers required.

Availability

Headquartered in Hawthorne, California, SkyOne Federal Credit Union’s field of membership (FOM) expanded more than three years ago, making virtually all U.S. citizens/resident aliens eligible for membership.

That being said, it’s not easy finding information about the membership requirements on the SkyOne website. The Our History page states the FOM was expanded in April 2019 to include “those who live, work, worship, go to school, or conduct business regularly near our Main Office in Hawthorne, CA,” but there’s no explanation of the easy membership requirement (EMR).

A previous search for “membership” on the SkyOne website, produced the following:

Why have membership eligibility requirements changed?

The NCUA has approved SkyOne to add Friends of Madrona Marsh (FOMM) and Surfrider Foundation to our Field of Membership! This means that anyone can now join SkyOne.

While that explanation is no longer on the website, a search for “join” brings up the following:

Choose any one of the organizations we’re partnered with when opening an account with us and we’ll pay your membership dues for that organization.

Next to that statement is a picture of the logos of six partner organizations, which includes the Surfrider Foundation, Friends of Madrona Marsh, Women in Aviation International, California State PTA, Federal Aviation Administration, and National Black Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees.

Note: organization membership dues are reimbursed only for the first year and it is the new SkyOne member’s responsibility to “contact our member service department with relevant information" to obtain reimbursement.

Other routes to membership include:

• being an employee/member of any of 12 Select Employer Groups (listed on the online application)
• being a family member of or live with a current SkyOne member.

Joining SkyOne and/or opening a 22-month Share Certificate can be done online (there’s a “Become A Member” button on the top of every SkyOne website page) or at either of two full-service California branches, located in El Segundo and Hawthorne.

The Membership Application is also available as a download, which can be returned by snail-mail or in-person.

Opening a Regular Savings Account with a minimum $5 deposit establishes a SkyOne Membership.

Join today using promo code JOIN and we’ll put $25 in your pocket!

To receive $25 account opening bonus, you must open account online using promo code JOIN, deposit your par share value of $5 into a Primary Savings Account, and deposit the minimum opening balance amount of $5. The $25 cash bonus will be deposited into SkyOne Primary Savings account within 10 business days of the referral criteria being met. Offer subject to change without notice and may end at any time.

In addition to participating in the CO-OP Shared Branch and ATM networks, SkyOne is a member of the Allpoint and STARsf ATM networks.

SkyOne is part of a nationwide network of credit unions that share their services, so you can manage your account wherever you go. You also have access to over 66,000 surcharge-free ATMs with the CO-OP, Allpoint, and STARsf Networks.

Credit Union Overview

SkyOne Federal Credit Union has an overall health grade of "C+" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 28.30% (average) based on June 30, 2022 data. In the past year, SkyOne has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $61.85 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 11.48%. Please refer to our financial overview of SkyOne Federal Credit Union (NCUA Charter # 6248) for more details.

Established in 1949 as the CAA Region 6 Federal Credit Union, the original FOM included Civil Aeronautics Administration employees living in the Western states. At the end of the first year, there were 200 members and assets of $19,887. There have been three name changes, with the SkyOne rebrand occurring in 2010, to “better reflect our field of membership at the time — the nationwide air transportation industry.” SkyOne is currently 77^th largest credit union headquartered in California, with more than 52,000 members and assets in excess of $715 million.

How the 22-Month Share Certificate Compares

When compared to the similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are available nationwide and have minimum deposit requirements of $10k or less, no banks or credit unions have higher rates than currently offered on the SkyOne Federal Credit Union 22-Month Share Certificate. The following table compares the 22-Month Certificate 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 11/15/2022.

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