Special 10-Month CD at Dime Savings Bank in New York - Available Nationwide

Dime Savings Bank is offering a special 1.65% APY 10-month CD. A checking account is required. Minimum deposit is $500, and the maximum is $100,000. The CD is listed on the bank's front page and in this promotions page as of 12/30/2010.

Here's some of the important small print:

To be eligible for this promotional CD rate offer, customer must also open a new Prime Dime Rewards Checking or Dime Rewards Checking account and conduct specific types of transactions. PLEASE CALL US FOR DETAILS at 1-800-321-3463. Dime reserves the right to modify or terminate this offer at any time. This offer is limited to one account per household. New customers only.

I called to ask about the specific transactions. According to the CSR, it requires that you have either one direct deposit or one online bill payment each month.

I asked about a hard credit pull, and the CSR thought the credit check they do is only a soft pull. A reader who commented about his experience, said he did not receive a hard pull when he applied for a similar deal. I also asked about ChexSystem. According to the CSR, they only use ChexSystem to ensure you have not abused past accounts.

According to the CSR, these accounts are available nationwide. Accounts can be opened online or by phone. If you don't open in a branch, they do require you to mail or fax copies of your driver's license and utility bill.

Since you have to open a checking account and conduct specific types of transactions, this special is similar to a checking account bonus. If you can invest $100K, you'll make about $1375 in 10 months. That's about $200 more than what you would make in 10 months in Bank of Internet USA's 1-year CD which is currently paying 1.41% APY.

These checking accounts are not high yield reward checking accounts. There is no high yield, but on the plus side, there are no debit card usage requirements. However, both accounts require that direct deposit or use of Dime's online bill payment services be maintained each month.

The Prime Dime Rewards Checking disclosure and the Dime Rewards Checking disclosure have the details of these accounts. Two features shared by both accounts include:

• Direct deposit of payroll, pension, or government benefits or use of Dime’s online bill payment services must be maintained each month to remain eligible for this account type. If this requirement is not maintained, you may be required to close the account upon 30 days written notice.
• Up to $10 in refunds for transaction charges at non-Dime ATMs each month (if balance requirements are met)

Specific features of the Prime Dime Rewards Checking include:

• Top interest rate of only 0.35%
• $15 monthly maintenance fee if average daily balance is under $5,000

Specific details of the Dime Rewards Checking include:

• Non-interest bearing checking account
• $12 monthly maintenance fee if average daily balance is under $2,500

The bank also some fairly competitive long-term CD rates. The best is a 3.00% APY 7-year CD as of 12/30/2010. Minimum deposit is $500. According to the CD disclosure, the early withdrawal penalty is harsh (2 years of interest).

Dime Savings' branches are located throughout the Greater New York metro area.

Dime Savings Bank has an overall health score at DepositAccounts.com of 4 out of 5 with a Texas Ratio of 5.24% (excellent) based on September 2010 data. Please refer to our financial overview of Dime Savings Bank for more details. The bank has been a FDIC member since 1943 (FDIC Certificate # 16012).

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