Alliant CU Raises Rates on Short-Term CDs To Competitive Levels

In February 2015, I wrote about Alliant Credit Union’s (Alliant CU) rate hikes on both Share Certificates (CDs) and savings accounts. Yesterday, Alliant CU increased the rates on its short-term CDs: 12-17 month CD (1.20% APY), 18-23 month CD (1.25% APY), and 24-35 month CD (1.35% APY).

The minimum opening deposit to earn the above stated APYs is $25K, with no balance cap. Opening deposits of $1K-$24,999 earn an APY of 5 basis points lower.

All three CDs are available as IRAs (Traditional, Roth, SEP, and CESA) earning the same APYs, with the same funding requirements.

These rate increases are typical of the recent trend of rising short-term CD rates, while long-term CD rates remain fairly static. Alliant CU’s 48-60 month CD is a good example, having been below 2.00% APY for most of the past 3.5 years. While the APY did creep up to 2.10% – 2.15% APY for a time, the rate dropped to 1.90% APY in April 2015.

As stated on Alliant CU’s Certificates Overview page, the Early Withdrawal Penalty reads as follows:

No partial withdrawals are allowed. The amount of the early withdrawal penalty is based on the term of the account and assessed according to the following schedule. You will never lose principal after your Certificate has been opened for more than 7 days.

1 to 7 days: 7-days of dividends.

For 12 - 17 month term Certificates: dividends earned for the number of days the Certificate is open up to a maximum of 90 days of dividends.

For 18 - 23 month term Certificates: dividends earned for the number of days the Certificate is open up to a maximum of 120 days of dividends.

For 24 - 60 month term Certificates: dividends earned for the number of days the Certificate is open up to a maximum of 180 days of dividends.

Availability

Headquartered in Chicago, Alliant Credit Union offers a variety of ways to join.

Residency: Individuals who live, work or worship in 20 Chicagoland communities.

Employment: Employees and retirees of hundreds of Qualifying Companies.

Membership: Members of 38 different organizations.

Other: Any member of Foster Care to Success (FCS), regardless of residency or employment status. Individuals can join FCS with a one-time $10 donation and Alliant CU's website provides a link to FCS to facilitate joining.

Complete details about joining Alliant CU can be found on the Membership Eligibility page.

Joining Alliant CU can be done online, via mail (application available for download, by phone, or in person at any of 14 branches located in Arizona, California (5), Colorado, Illinois (3), New Jersey, Texas (2), and Virginia.

N.B. As Alliant CU was originally the United Airlines Employees Credit Union, several of the branches are located in airport terminals and are not accessible by the general public.

Credit Union Overview

Alliant Credit Union has an overall health grade of "B+" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas ratio of 3.32% (excellent), based on December 31, 2014 data. Alliant CU has an excellent capitalization level of 11.70%, a result of holding $8.13 Billion in assets, with $951.07 Million in equity. Please refer to our financial overview of Alliant Credit Union for more details.

How the CDs Compare

When compared to other similar length of term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com, requiring a similar minimum deposit and available nationally, these Alliant Credit Union Share CDs are competitive, particularly the 18-23 month Share CD.

The above rates are accurate as of 5/14/2015.

To search for nationwide CD rates and CD rates in your state, please refer to the CD rates section of DepositAccounts.com.