Pretty good deal considering the current landscape.
18 Month 5% CD available as both a Regular and Growth Add-On CD. Maximum cap on the Add-On is 100k. Limited time offer:
https://www.macu.com/cp/savings-certificates/18-month-certificate
Note that their 12-month add-on is at 4.25% and their 24-month add-on is at 3.95%, so the 18-month at 5.00% is kind of an odd peak for them. Wonder why …
Belko I was wondering the same thing. Just speculation but perhaps they decided to build up deposits in light of the recent fires in CA anticipating a pickup in loan demand. Not sure.
Thanks Robb, good catch.
Rickny, The growth add-on is 100k max for all your growth add-on's combined.
There is no max limit if opening a regular cd.
Unfortunately if you're already maxed out (100k) with another growth cd the system will NOT let the csrs open another, tried a couple times. Have to decide if it's worth a $30 penalty to take out the amount over $100k to open one of these up...
But returning to a Q above…are the monthly direct deposits required? With the add on called a Growth Rate cd it looks like the $10 monthly deposit is required…anyone know for sure?
I have several MACU add on CDs , to open the 18 month you need to speak with a rep. To open immediately, I was able to use a debit card ( fee of $3.75 in addition to a min $5.00 debit to open the CD) . Could have used a transfer to fund , but didn't want to wait even a day or two in the event the offer would end.
Now, it may be that someone wanting to open that 18-month CD via some other method than by a transfer from a MACU savings or checking account (for example, a debit or credit card, an external ACH push or pull, etc.), would have to speak to a representative. But that's clearly a separate issue.
"Ineligible Account Type
This account type is not eligible to be opened through online banking. If you have any questions please contact us at 1-800-748-4302."
I called the support number Friday and the rep confirmed the same and that funds had to be transferred from my share account. I have .86 cents in my share account.
I keep forgetting you can open CDs online with them, thanks for the reminder.
Money Market: How many of you have a MM account with MACU too? The rate isn't great...... the only use I can see is when a CD matures, it will at least give you some interest while you figure out what to do with the funds, or ACH it a bit at a time, or if it matures on a weekend etc. But would it also mean another account to have to worry about inactivity fees? Worth it?
Possibly -
1) The “Ineligible Account Type” message is generated only if a customer does not have sufficient funds in their MACU liquid account(s), as in your case, or,
2) Less likely but somewhat more ominous - since I bought my first CD on 2/14/25, due to the demand MACU has instituted a policy to require those wanting this CD to deal with a CSR, and I “slipped through” this blockage only because I'd already bought one online.
I think Possibility 1 is more likely.
. Annual percentage yield is accurate as of February 16, 2025. $500 minimum balance required to open and maintain standard, IRA and Roth IRA certificates. $5 minimum balance required to open and maintain growth certificates. Growth certificates are limited to $100,000 on deposit in any one, or combination of, growth certificate accounts per primary accountholder. Growth certificates require an automated monthly deposit of at least $10. Upon meeting the $100,000 aggregate deposit limit, automated monthly deposits may be canceled by the credit union and no additional deposits will be allowed in any growth certificate for that member. Penalty for early withdrawal. Fees may reduce earnings. Offer not available for financial institutions or other institutional investors. Rate cannot be applied to previously opened certificates unless utilizing an existing one-time bump option. Limited-time offer. Any offer provided by Mountain America can be withdrawn at any time and is subject to change.
choice1...once you open the CD it will ask you if you want to set up a transfer where you can set up a recurring transfer for the $10 once a month and you can put an end date too.... you have it pulled from your primary savings account.
My experience has been MACU has very good customer service, their online account interface is excellent.
Have some large CDs coming due in March so great place to park funds. Going from 5.4% to 5% though
@HappyHarold, you have a choice of how to do the $10/mo thing. You can "do it yourself" (not recommended, as if you forget, it'll stop being an add-on and turn into just a normal CD), or they can set it up for you automatically, no charge. You can have them either pull the $10/mo from another bank (give them the routing # and account number) or you can just put the required amount (in this case $180, $10 x 18mos) in your MACU primary savings (or money market if you have one). Either way, they can set it up to be taken automatically. You'll tell them how much you want taken out each month (min $10) and what day each month you want it taken out (ie, "the 10th of each month"). Takes only a minute or two to set up initially, then you don't have to worry about it again for the life of the CD. Remember, on top of that you can also add funds (up to $100k) anytime you want on your own.
MACU also allows you to give maturity instructions when you create the CD, which is nice.
I joined the ACC (American Consumer Council) ages ago and still occasionally use my old ACC # to be eligible for various CUs (like MACU). Not sure what the ACC actually does... but it's come in handy over the years.
That is a must, but can you also add on as much as you want at any time, up to the CD max of $100,000? Or are you limited to only that automatic monthly route? And how flexible is that monthly requirement, can you change the amount at will at any time?
I wish these places would b ebetter at pointing out all these little rules, and have them all in one place where they list the CD, not broken up in piaces all over.
Yes, you can add on any amount (up to 100k combined total for all Growths) at any time on your own whenever you want. The monthly add-on is mandatory but you can have it as low as $10/mo. You can make it more, but most people prefer the minimum since there may be times where you don't want a large amount every month, and besides, whenever you have funds available you can simply add them on your own. I don't know if you can change the amount of the automated monthly add-ons later, you might, but I don't know. But separately from the monthly add-on, you can add funds yourself anytime. Once the funds are in the primary savings account just go into their online banking and transfer them from your primary savings to the Growth CD. Super easy. You could always have a CSR do it, but you can also do it yourself anytime.
@JPQ: It's been too long for me to remember if it was hard or soft, but just like with any other credit union, you'll most likely need to unfreeze your credit score for a week or so for them to access it. Once they have you can freeze them again. Mine are frozen by default as well and anytime I join a CU I have to do this. You can call them and ask which of the 3 credit bureaus they use, then you only need to temporariliy unfreeze that one. It's a pain but it's standard practice pretty much anytime you want to join a credit union.
Today to open two 5% Growth CDs. Easy peasy online once enough funds were in the funding account to meet the minimum deposit.
Not sure about your 2nd question.
then NO, they don't participate. Unfortunately, Mountain left the Co-Op Network a few years back.
To make matters even more difficult:
1) If you use mobile deposit, it's limited to a few thousand per day...and
2) According to the rep I spoke to, if you mail a check in they put it on hold before investing it into the CD. Meaning they don't transfer the hold to the certificate and you lose interest.
That's a deal-breaker right there for me.
I'm still checking to see if I can ask that last part to management; just to be 100%.
I had a question about the endorsement rules on an I-bond in my trust account, pretty sure the rep gave me the wrong answer when I called.
It took about 10 minutes for them to complete a new application, perform a soft credit pull, and successfully set up both Savings and CD accounts. To lock in the current APY, I opted to pay a $3.95 fee on a $10 transfer from my debit card. The representative also mentioned that the APY for the 18-month CD likely wouldn’t change until the end of the month. Overall, it was a positive and efficient experience.