NFCU is now offering a add on 18 Month Easy Start 4.70 APR with one penalty free withdrawal during the term. If you bank and maintain a Money Market Account, you could transfer some of the money with into this product and then transfer the money back into your money market when you need it which will increase the yield substantially. I suspect that this new certificate will be very popular with NFCU members. NFCU reserves the right to cancel this offer at any time. If to much money is moved from members lower interest money market or savings accounts into this product it may not be around for a long time.
I'm not as excited as others at a 4.7 rate, but with only a $50 buy-in I will take advantage of it, as it's cheap insurance, so thank you for the heads up.
On the landing page it mentions: "To Renew an Existing Certificate Into an 18-Month EasyStart Share Certificate" and gives directlons on how to do that -- but under the fine print for the offer it says the offer can be withdrawn at any time. So not a good idea to do it that way (see below) as Navy will NOT honor it if the offer is withdrawn before the maturity date of the CD you want to change to the special. Since you can add funds at any time I'd recommend opening with the $50 NOW instead of taking your chances with later maturity-date CDs instructions. After all, once your other CD matures you can always move the money then.
Just called and spoke to 2 different CSRs. Both confirmed that setting it as maturity instructions will NOT guarantee the availablity of the special. Once it expires, it expires. So they recommend just opening it up now while it's available. Also: $50 to open. NO MAX. And any amount can be added at any time (no minimum when adding, like there is with IRA CDs). Also, you can open up more than one of these, as long as the offer is still available (meaning if you really wanted to -- I won't bother -- you could open one up weekly until the offer expires to make sure you have the latest possible date before it's withdrawn, then fold all the other ones into the later one penalty free).
Navy Fed is so backwards it's the only FI with a call-back option when agents are busy, that does NOT let you select a different number to be called back at. Typical Navy.
Anyway, I'd play it safe with them, I'd just get it now for $50 instead of trying to do anything like only add it to maturity instructions on another maturing CD, because that's not guaranteed.
To help you plan, 18 months from today would be October 2025.
Navy apparently doesn't limit you to one "special certificate" overall, since I have at least one of their previous "specials" and it still let me open this one today.
I'd still like to see better rates from Navy, as they've had in previous rate cycles.
I got it when the APY was 5.7%. But today, the APY is 4.75, edging out NFCU's offer, and two withdrawals, not merely one. All the additional deposits you might like. The withdrawals can never leave the amount in the CD below $5,000, until maturity.
https://www.credithuman.com/investments-planning/certificates-iras/liquid-share-certificate
This is especially great for me, because I have reason to want to leave a substantial amount in a liquid account so I can get at it quickly, yet lock in a decent APY rather than leaving it at the shockingly, unconscionably, thievingly low rates nearly all CUs and banks are giving on savings accounts. I just wish the term could be well longer, the only way for we savers can get a fair and reasonable rate. As for the CU,in the end, they are almsot certin to have allthemoney I put init until maturity, the withdrawals are simply a safety measure for me. And, with the deposits, they are getting well more from me than bargained for up front.
Doing this didn't cost me much except a little time and a small bit of opportunity cost (in particular, Rising Bank is an entity I would avoid going forward, due to their non-negligible minimums for add-on CDs). And yes, the long-lasting inverted yield curve is probably the main cause.
https://www.navyfederal.org/checking-savings/savings/savings-resources/certificate-rates.html
When I went to open a new certificate online, it listed only one 18 month EasyStart Certificate, so it was unclear which that was.
Terms:
- min $50 to open
- One time EWP waiver
- Add on with no upper limit
BUT BUT, when finalizing the online input screen for this CD, the disclosure shows a "COMBINED DISCLOSURE" that applies to all EasyStart CD's and DOES NOT identify the EWP waiver nor says that any amount can be added for the 18mo/4.7% promotional CD. Even more troubling it does say that a direct deposit is required. So, the disclosure that requires Acceptance for this CD on the screen doesn't match the advertised terms of this 18Mo/4.7% CD.
I called the CSR - no help - so I talked to a supervisor. She agreed the online disclosure does NOT represent the actual 18 month 4.7% terms. She asked if I would trust her description given over the phone A: NO! Then she asked if it was OK to rely on their recording of our conversation A: NO!
So, she agreed to send me a letter that ostensibly describes the advertised terms of the 18mo / 4.7% EasyStart CD
Buyer Beware.- it's a bit of a dubious deal, but for a $50 option, I'll take the chance.
Also worth noting - in the Combined Disclosure there is a statement that "Other terms may apply". When I asked what those terms are, they didn't know!
I agree, NFCU has historically been an excellent CU, though not always a rate leader. Hard knocks has taught me to have contracts in writing since, when conflicts arise, "Words in the Wind" (or an elusive/expired web page) are meaningless. From a practical view, I don't consider the issues I raised to be all that risky, just a cautionary note.
1This offer, including the stated Annual Percentage Yield (APY), is effective April 8, 2024. Navy Federal reserves the right to end or modify this offer at any time. The rate is applicable to the 18-Month EasyStart Share Certificate only. Minimum purchase amount of $50. No maximum purchase amount. Offer not available for IRA or ESA certificates. Additional deposits are allowed. Penalties may apply for early withdrawals from certificate accounts. Other restrictions may apply.
2 This 18-Month EasyStart Share Certificate “one no-penalty withdrawal” offer is effective April 8, 2024. Navy Federal reserves the right to end or modify this offer at any time. The offer is applicable to any 18-Month EasyStart Share Certificate opened or renewed starting April 8. Waived penalty will only apply to the first withdrawal from an eligible 18-Month EasyStart Share Certificate. Withdrawals are permitted starting 7 days after new certificate account opening date. The 18-Month EasyStart Share Certificate has a minimum purchase amount of $50. Other restrictions may apply. APY may change before an 18-Month EasyStart Share Certificate is opened and funded. Offer not available for IRA or ESA certificates.
This Annual Percentage Yield (APY) is accurate as of 4/8/2024. This APY is an annualized rate that reflects estimated earnings based on the dividend rate and frequency of compounding. Dividends compounded daily, credited monthly. Penalties may apply for early withdrawals from certificate accounts. Offering rates may change. Other restrictions may apply.
NFCU gives you 21 days after the CD matures so you can always change the instructions with no penalty. I suspect the unusually long period to make changes after maturity is due to a lot of members might be assigned to a ship and had to provide written instructions. This is a nice feature so if NFCU opens a new CD at a higher rate you can move the funds as long as it is within 21 days. I have used this feature one or two times in the past and I am not aware of any other Credit Union giving three weeks following maturity to make changes. There are many things that I would like NFCU to change but the 3 week period is not one of them