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Retirement Savings: How Much Should I Save Each Month?5.25% 60-Month / 4.50% 18-Month CD at Advanta Bank Corp. - Nationally Available
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POSTED
ON BY Ken Tumin
Advanta Bank Crop. has recently increased its CD rates. The top yield is 5.25% APY for a 60-month term. Some of the other competitive yields range from 4.25% APY for a 12-month term to 4.50% APY for an 18-month term. The minimum deposit is $10,000, or $2,500 if you have other Advanta accounts.
According to the rate table, these rates are in effect through Saturday, October 4, 2008 and are subject to change weekly. When I called Advanta last January, I was told that to guarantee these rates, you either had to mail in a check or do a wire transfer. I was told they will guarantee the rate at the postmark date of the mailed check. You can also choose an electronic ACH transfer to fund the CD. However, the rate won't lock until they receive the funds. So if the funds don't get received by Advanta until Monday, you may not lock in the current rate.
If you want to close the CD at maturity, you can choose either to have them mail you the check or do a wire transfer out. The CSR said there's no fee for either a wire transfer in or out (which is not common, so please verify this). The grace period, when you can close the CD without penalty, is 7 business days.
Please check with Advanta for the latest official details.
More details of the CDs are available at their Deposit Products page. All the CD details are provided in the CD Rules and Regulations PDF document (link on the left side of the page). The early withdrawal penalty is a little convoluted. It's either the greater of 90 days of interest or the "Economic Replacement Value" which is basically the cost that Advanta would incur to replace the funds that are withdrawn early by the depositor.
Advanta's money market account has been lagging on rates. The current yield is only 3% APY for balances from $1K to $50K. This could be a useful account when your CD matures. You should be able to request that they transfer the CD funds into the money market. Then you can write checks to fund other CDs or accounts. I have more details about this money market account in my January post.
For those looking for a strong bank with high CD rates, Advanta may be the bank for you. Bankrate.com gives Advanta a 4 star rating (sound), and BauerFinancial also gives Advanta 4 stars (excellent). Both ratings are based on 6/30/08 data. The bank has been FDIC insured since 1991 (FDIC Certificate # 33535).
According to the rate table, these rates are in effect through Saturday, October 4, 2008 and are subject to change weekly. When I called Advanta last January, I was told that to guarantee these rates, you either had to mail in a check or do a wire transfer. I was told they will guarantee the rate at the postmark date of the mailed check. You can also choose an electronic ACH transfer to fund the CD. However, the rate won't lock until they receive the funds. So if the funds don't get received by Advanta until Monday, you may not lock in the current rate.
If you want to close the CD at maturity, you can choose either to have them mail you the check or do a wire transfer out. The CSR said there's no fee for either a wire transfer in or out (which is not common, so please verify this). The grace period, when you can close the CD without penalty, is 7 business days.
Please check with Advanta for the latest official details.
More details of the CDs are available at their Deposit Products page. All the CD details are provided in the CD Rules and Regulations PDF document (link on the left side of the page). The early withdrawal penalty is a little convoluted. It's either the greater of 90 days of interest or the "Economic Replacement Value" which is basically the cost that Advanta would incur to replace the funds that are withdrawn early by the depositor.
Advanta's money market account has been lagging on rates. The current yield is only 3% APY for balances from $1K to $50K. This could be a useful account when your CD matures. You should be able to request that they transfer the CD funds into the money market. Then you can write checks to fund other CDs or accounts. I have more details about this money market account in my January post.
For those looking for a strong bank with high CD rates, Advanta may be the bank for you. Bankrate.com gives Advanta a 4 star rating (sound), and BauerFinancial also gives Advanta 4 stars (excellent). Both ratings are based on 6/30/08 data. The bank has been FDIC insured since 1991 (FDIC Certificate # 33535).
