Happy Thanksgiving!

POSTED ON THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016 BY Ken Tumin

I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. May you enjoy today with your family and friends full of joy and peace. Thanks for all of your support this year.

It’s sort of my blog tradition for Thanksgiving to look back at some of the bank deals this year that we can be thankful for.

A good deal that’s still available is the one at Andrews Federal Credit Union. They’re offering 3.01% APY on two CDs: a 7-year term and a 3-month term. Details of the specials are listed in the post and in the comments of this blog post and this forum post.

Another 3% CD deal is the 3% APY 24-month CD special at Public Service Credit Union. The big downside with this one is the $10k maximum deposit. Also, this credit union is primarily limited to Colorado. Details of this special are listed in this blog post.

Hopefully, we’ll soon see more 3%+ CD specials without any limitations.

Most of the other good deals this year didn’t have rates quite as high as 3%. One deal early in the year was at Patelco Credit Union in California. In January it was offering a 5-year CD with a 2.50% APY. We’ll soon see if Patelco will have a similar offer this upcoming January.

Another credit union with a reputation of occasional good deals is Navy Federal. In August it came out with a special add-on 20-month certificate with a 2.00% APY. The downside was a $20k maximum balance. There’s also the downside of limited membership. You have to have a military connection to qualify for Navy Fed membership.

One credit union that joined the list of easy-to-join credit unions this year was Veridian Credit Union. This Iowa credit union has a history of offering top CD rates, and this year was no different. The best deals came in May with CD rates as high as 2.40% APY for terms of 39 months.

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

What deposit account deals were you thankful for this year?

Comments

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21 Comments.

thowellIII | Nov 24, 2016 | Comment #1

I appreciated the number of shorter-term CDs with rates that were substantially above savings/money market rates. If rates increase in 2017, these CDs may end up having been among the best options in 2016. There was the NRL FCU CD, which is maturing for many of is in the next week or so, that was above 6% for 7 months (only $7,000 maximum, but still a pretty good return on the time that I had to take to open the CD). I also appreciated a 1.99% 15 month offer at Citizens State Bank (Hudson WI).

Anonymous | Nov 24, 2016 | Comment #2

Thank you, Ken. Happy Thanksgiving back atcha.

Anonymous | Nov 24, 2016 | Comment #3

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, Ken, and to everyone else that visits and contributes to this site.. And thanks for all you do for the rest of us.

ChasR | Nov 24, 2016 | Comment #4

Happy Thanksgiving, Ken.
I'm most thankful for the 2.10% APY 33-month jumbo CD served up by CFCU Community Credit Union in July. After being kind enough to let me join and open one based on my one-week stint at Cornell's summer Adult University, CFCU has continued to extend the promotion into the fall, giving me the opportunity to open more. And it's still going on as of Thanksgiving Day . . . .

Anonymous | Nov 24, 2016 | Comment #5

Ken -- Thank you for the good work you've done and enjoy this Thanksgiving day.

Anonymous | Nov 24, 2016 | Comment #6

I was thankful for your website Ken! Great job btw. Also the 2.5% Vibe credit union CD that was available for Michigan residents earlier this year. All America/Redneck bank 1.25% account and Polpular direct 1,26% account. At least interest rates have started to move north after 8 long years of he who's name must not be spoken's administration.

Anonymous | Nov 24, 2016 | Comment #7

What seemed like a good deal to me only several months ago, - NWFCU's 5 year 2.47% CD - I now (post-election) have considerable regret for having invested in. Soon enough that rate will not so much as even cover inflation, I expect, and I could at least have wished for the opportunity of deploying my already committed funds to the Andrews FCU CD everyone seems now so enthused about here, - though I suspect in not very long that won't be looking so good either to those who've been lured by it. In fact, a year from now it won't surprise me for Ken to have a very active thread topic here titled "Good deals that Weren't" (or some such) in which many of us look back and lament not waiting for the Trump effect on interest rates to take hold as it did, but rather jumped too quickly on offers by Andrews (and likely others) that looked so attractive at the time.

Anonymous | Nov 25, 2016 | Comment #16

Wait and see. Except for Andrews that cd deal is still a decent deal today.

SaveAndRetire | Nov 30, 2016 | Comment #21

I locked in the CD for 84 months. Even if the rates rise to 4.00 APY in the next two years the withdrawal penalty will be worth it.

Bozo | Nov 28, 2016 | Comment #20

To: Anonymous (comment #7)

It's all about laddering. Have no regrets. Grab the best CD you can, when you can, then be glad you are not in bond funds. When the next rung on your ladder matures, grab the best CD you can. And so on.

pinkterror | Nov 24, 2016 | Comment #8

Happy Thanksgiving! Thank you for this site!

jimbeau | Nov 24, 2016 | Comment #9

Here's a couple of CD's that I never would have found without your site, Ken.

A 36 month 2.5% CD at Transportation FCU.
A 49 month 2.3% CD at NASA FCU (kudos to Shorebreak).

Thanks to all that post on this site (even those who I don't agree with).

Anonymous | Nov 24, 2016 | Comment #10

I still have 4 years to go on some PenFed 3% CD's so thanks once again. It's funny how quickly a seven-year term became a four-year! How time flies.

Anonymous | Nov 24, 2016 | Comment #13

2 years for me, that I wish was 4. 7 seemed too long at the time and might again in 1 or 2 more but right now would have been preferable.

tck | Nov 24, 2016 | Comment #11

Happy Thanksgiving Ken!

I was fortunate to see your posts on Patelco and Community Choice this year. Please keep up the great work! All the best!

Anonymous | Nov 24, 2016 | Comment #12

Thanks, Ken. You do a wonderful job with your website.

Anonymous | Nov 24, 2016 | Comment #14

Thanks, Ken. Your hard work has made all of us happier, healthier, and wealthier. Keep up the good work.
-KM

dave9354 | Nov 25, 2016 | Comment #15

Happy Thanksgivings! Thank you Ken and your staff for this great website! You have all helped us save some money for the "golden years".

John Hickey | Nov 25, 2016 | Comment #17

integrus cu, dubuque iowa. today and tomorrow only. 3 yr., 25k minimum, 2.53%. other rates & terms available.

kcfield | Nov 26, 2016 | Comment #18

Ken. I hope that you and your family had a peaceful Thanksgiving. I am thankful for all of the effort and expertise that you put into your helpful and informative site. I appreciate as well those who post on the site, as the postings are nearly always constructive. One small addition I'd like to see for 2017 is for you to highlight which banks and credit unions have had the most stable high interest rates over time, as such institutions are far preferable to those which have momentarily high rates. For example, my savings account at AMEX has been at .85 APR for a few years now. While there are banks and credit unions that have at times had higher rates; none has been more consistent, meaning they will remain my primary savings. In sum, please continue to let us know which banks and credit unions have the *highest* rates which is essential information, and then let us know which of these top 10 or 25 institutions have the most consistent rates over time. This will be value added to an already excellent site.

Anonymous | Nov 27, 2016 | Comment #19

Perhaps a useful metric might be length of time the institution had the rate of at least 90% of the current rate. E.g. in case of AMEX that kcfield mentioned, length of time that their savings acct had rate of at least 0.77%.

I am thankful for your site, Ken! This is my only go-to site for CD rates and 80% of my investments is in CDs! I'd be lost without your great site, Ken!

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