Happy Thanksgiving!

POSTED ON THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2013 BY Ken Tumin

I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Thanks for all of your support this year. DA member Pearlbrown said it well in the forum:

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family and to all in our deal-seeking community. May this holiday season bring all of us health and prosperity and the time to enjoy them with our loved ones.

I thought it would be useful and interesting to look back at some of the bank deals this year that we can be thankful for. The bank deals may not compare to the good old days when it was easy to get 5% on savings accounts, but we should remember that things this year could have been worse. Here are a few of this year's bank deals that we can be thankful for:

We have been seeing more and more 2% CDs. The first ones were 5-year CDs, but this month PenFed has offered 3-year 2% CDs and IRA CDs. We’ll have to wait until December to see if the 3% CDs will return.
A few small credit unions around the nation have offered 2% CDs on short-term CDs. Two good deals were the 2.02% 18-month CD at Horizon Credit Union in Washington State and the 1.90% 19-month CD at Money One FCU in Maryland. This Money One CD special is still available.

The best deposit deals are liquid accounts with a top rate that’s guaranteed to last for a certain period of time. That gives you the best of both worlds: the liquidity and a rate guarantee. There were a few of these kinds of deals this year:

At the start of the year Capital One Bank was still offering its checking account promotion which guaranteed 1% for 12 months on its High Yield Checking. That has changed to a savings account promo, but it still guarantees a 1% APY for the first 12 months of account opening. This is only available in its market area.
BBCN Bank just recently began offering a money market special with a 1% APY guaranteed to last through 2014. This requires a branch visit.
Union Bank with branches on the West Coast was offering a money market account with a 1% APY guarantee for all of 2013.
For those with large balances, PacTrust Bank in Southern California was offering a savings account with a 1.25% APY guaranteed for all of 2013.
For those in Texas, Libertad Bank had a great money market special which guaranteed a 1.50% APY until July 2014.

I know some of these deals had issues, but let's focus on the positives today.

What deposit account deals were you thankful for this year?

Comments

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17 Comments.

scottj | Nov 28, 2013 | Comment #1

Nothing to get excited about but the best ones I got in 2013 were the 24 month 2% USalliance and did three 30 month 2% Institutions for Savings. Not worth getting down about rates since it's not something I can control and I'm just very thankful for the great year I had and really enjoying my early retirement. As a long time follower of this site I'm thankful to Ken and the other great posters here and hope you all have a great Holiday season

Shorebreak | Nov 28, 2013 | Comment #2

Happy Thanksgiving to Ken and all the DA members.

The one deposit account deal I was thankful for this year, so far, has been the PenFed 3-year Money Market Certificate with an APY of 2.02%. Hopefully in December I can add a 3.05% APY 5-year certificate to that, since I have a 1-year certficate that matures then.

Cheers,
SB

paoli2 | Nov 28, 2013 | Comment #3

Needless to say, I finally got the 2 CDs from Penfed for that long awaited 5 year 3%!! A special thanks to Penfed for allowing us to purchase early too as long as we know the CDs won't be generated until 12/1/13 when the new rates go into effect. Fine with me!

RickNP | Nov 28, 2013 | Comment #4

I'm most thankful for a 60 mo. 2.26% local CD, found through this blog, as well as my 1st RC account: earning 3% on $25K. I never would have opened it without the support and encouragement of members of DepositAccounts. Happy Thanksgiving to all.

OldGuy | Nov 28, 2013 | Comment #5

Thanks to Ken and all the members who make this an interesting and informative site. My favorite deal discovered on DA.com was the 2% APY 3-year CD offered at three California branches of Luther Burbank Savings earlier this fall. Since the promotion was only advertised by a sign in the branch window, I'd never have found it without this site.

Anonymous | Nov 28, 2013 | Comment #6

Best deal for me, thru this site of course, was a local credit union offering a 5-year 2.27 APY with add-on features, which at that time was the highest in the nation. Recently added new money so it's like getting a 3-year CD at 2.27%. Thanks again Ken!

Rosedala | Nov 28, 2013 | Comment #7

Oh yes, HAPPY THANKSGIVING Ken and members! Got so busy working I forgot! Considering how the present economy is, you've certainly brought to us the maximum possible interests, for which thank you so much!! ! While I don't have now the available funds to take advantage of many of them, I'll have some end of November and hope to grab that Penfed's 3%! :o)

paoli2 | Nov 28, 2013 | Comment #8

Rosedala: So glad your great Avatar is back! Remember you don't have to wait until 12/1/13 to get those great 3% 5 or 7 year CDs. It can be done at end of November soon as you can fund them. Happy Thanksgiving!

Rosedala | Nov 28, 2013 | Comment #9

Thank you Paoli, I too am glad I got my Avatar back! lol! And thanks for letting me know that I can deposit with Penfed at the end of November! I thought I had to wait until December 2 (Monday). I'll try them tomorrow, Friday. At this time, 3% looks awfully good to me as I don't expect much improvement in the next coming years. I get 3% at TIAA but only for IRA and just received a notice that the new accounts will receive slightly lower interest. This economy is affecting just about everybody and everywhere...

Thanks again! :o)

Anonymous | Nov 28, 2013 | Comment #10

I'm most thankful for Ken's site which has enabled me to get several worthwhile rates (worthwhile rates relative to the times) than I wouldn't have otherwise. Key are MidFirst 5 yr @2.25%, Penfed 3 yr @ 2%, Mint National 5 yr @2.10% earlier this year, Libertad 1 yr guaranteed @ 1.5%. And now looks pretty clear that PenFed'll be offering the 5 yr @3% next week. There are many others to be mentioned, but this is enough. So, were it not for Ken's site none of this would have been possible. The other sites don't even hold a match to his. Thank you Ken.

Just me (anonymous) | Nov 29, 2013 | Comment #11

Been reading this for many years now (over five I believe) ...always appreciated it, even in these lean times. I haven't been CD'ing much the past few years, but have been getting great credit cards with promo offers. Second time around doing this, this time with my wife's good credit. This month, two chase cards, a barclay card, a capital one and a marriott card have rewarded us 1200 dollars and a 4 night hotel stay. We prepaid our utility bills for a few months to pay the amounts necessary to get the rewards(PGE, cell phone,cable, internet and daughters braces). I find that this is a very good way to make a few hundred dollars without any risk, as long as you have good credit and stay on top of your bills. Happy holidays

Ally | Nov 29, 2013 | Comment #12

Ken, thanks for everything you have done for us for many years. Haven't purchased any CD's this past year but intend to get the 3% rate when my IRA's mature the end of Dec. Still hard to go from 6 1/4 to 3% but so thankful we are able to get the rates when we did expecially for the IRA's. Wonder if they will have an even better rate in Jan like they used to? Thanks to all for everything. I also take advantage of the credit card offers. Like that the rebates are not taxable yet. It is on the table with the "big deal."

moneysaver | Nov 29, 2013 | Comment #13

Best Thanksgiving Wishes here to Ken, as the one responsible for this terrific site, and to all the regular contributors who add even more value by scouring the nation for great banking deals. Virtually all the bank accounts and CDs I now have in my portfolio have originated here in one way or another. Here's also hoping for a better year ahead, at least in terms of deposit interest rates!

QED | Nov 29, 2013 | Comment #14

Well, I'm gonna risk being "odd man out" here. Not comfortable with it. Might have a few ****s loose. But here goes:

My favorate deal was the CommunityWide CD at 2%. I liked the deal not so much because of the rate, as because of the one year term. That was a high rate for such a short term. Also, it seems to be quite a good CU.

Anonymous | Nov 29, 2013 | Comment #15

Ken, Thanks for everything! I am very thankful for your information and the education I've received! The best "deal" for me this year was finally closing my BOFA account (after 21 years with BOFA) and switching to Wells Fargo. And I'm still benefiting from the 2.85% rate on my 5-year Ally CDs that I opened in 2011 based on reading this website! Thank you!

Anonymous | Nov 29, 2013 | Comment #16

Thanks Ken for the yrs I have been reading your blog. I have been lucky enough to pick up a lot of advice on your site. Reading all the comments also. Thank you and happy holidays

Just me again (anonymous) | Nov 30, 2013 | Comment #17

Forgot to mention a thank you for introducing me to giftsforbanking.com years ago. For a few years, it was a great deal, sadly, no longer; however, we are still enjoying our kayaks, patio furniture, ipods and foosball table!

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