Star One Credit Union (CA) Raises Rates On Three Liquid Accounts
In the beginning of April, Star One Credit Union (Star One) raised the rates on three of its liquid accounts (Special Savings, Money Market Savings, Rewards Checking) to 1.10% APY.
Special Savings
In the past four months, the Special Savings account has had three rate increases, adding 25 bps to its APY. The minimum opening deposit and minimum balance to earn the stated APY is $5. The ACH fees (applies to all accounts) are detailed in the Rate and Fee Schedule. There are 20 fee-free third-party ATM transactions per month, with
Unlimited and no charge for membership accounts with deposit or loan balances
that total $5,000 or more during the last five days of the previous calendar month.
Money Market Savings
Like the Special Savings, the Money Market Savings account has experienced three rate increases in the last four months, but the total rate increase was 20 bps. The new 1.10% APY is the highest rate since 2011, when the APY was 1.00% for five months. The minimum opening deposit and minimum balance to earn the stated APY is $50. Details about ACH fees are available in the Rate and Fee Schedule.
Rewards Checking
The Rewards Checking account currently earns 1.10% APY on qualify balances of $100 and above, with no balance cap; non-qualifying balances earn 0.25% APY. The qualifying requirements are,
- Ten debit or credit card purchases per month
- $300 minimum monthly ACH credit transaction or $5k in deposit or loan balances
- Enroll in and maintain eStatements, eNotices, eTax & eCoupons for all accounts and loans
There is no monthly service fee and the minimum opening deposit is $25. ATM fees will be reimbursed up to $20 per month per member, if qualifications are met. One box of 50 checks is provided at no change, when ordered in a qualifying month.
Availability
Headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, Star One Credit Union’s field of membership (FOM) is primarily residency based, with individuals who live, attend school, or work in Santa Clara County (aka Silicon Valley) eligible to join.
Employees, contractors, and retirees of more than 90 SEGs, including Lockheed-Martin, Yahoo!, and Cirrus Logic, also qualify for membership.
Immediate family and household members of current Star One members are also membership eligible.
Immediate family members include a spouse, child, sibling, parent, grandparent or grandchild, stepchildren, step siblings, stepparents, step grandparents and step grandchildren, and adopted children. Immediate family members are not required to live, work or go to school in Santa Clara County.
Other individuals living in the same household as a member are also eligible for membership. "Household" is defined as persons living in the same residence and who maintain a single economic unit (e.g. roommates).
Joining Star One and/or opening an account can be done online, or at any of seven California branches located in Cupertino, Palo Alto, San Jose (2), Saratoga, and Sunnyvale (2).
Credit Union Overview
Star One Credit Union has an overall health grade of "A+" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 0.19% (excellent) based on December 31, 2016 data. In the past year, Star One has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $574.82 million, an excellent growth rate of 10.87%. Please refer to our financial overview of Star One Credit Union (NCUA Charter # 68465) for more details.
Star One Credit Union is currently California’s fourth largest credit union, with more than 98,200 members and assets in excess of $8.8 billion. Originally chartered in 1956 as the Lockheed Missile Employees Federal Credit Union, the Credit Union’s FOM was limited to SEGs until 2001, when a state charter was adopted and the Star One rebrand occurred. Star One celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2016 as Santa Clara County’s largest credit union and the 10th largest credit union in the country.
How the 1.10% Liquid Accounts Compare
When compared to the 270 Savings Accounts tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are within the FOM, Star One Credit Union's Special Savings Account APY currently ranks fourth.
When compared to the 225 Money Market Accounts tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are available within the FOM, Star One Credit Union's Money Market Savings APY currently ranks fifth.
When compared to the Reward Checking Accounts (RCA) tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are available within the FOM, Star One Credit Union's Rewards Checking APY isn’t that impressive, ranking near the bottom when compared to RCAs with a qualifying balance of at least $20k. The real strength of the Rewards Checking account lies in the lack of a qualifying balance cap, and without the six monthly withdrawal proscription of an MMA, it’s a good alternative to the Money Market Savings account.
The above rates are accurate as of 4/28/2017.
To look for the best Savings account rates, both nationwide and state specific, please refer to our Savings account rates table or our Rates Map page.
To look for the best Money Market account rates, both nationwide and state specific, please refer to our Money Market rates table or our Rates Map page.
To look for the best Rewards Checking account rates, both nationwide and state specific, please refer to our Rewards Checking rates table or our Rates Map page.