Opening a GMAC Bank Money Market Savings Account read and submit comments for this post

With HSBC's savings account rate falling to 4.50%, you may want to consider GMAC Bank's 4.75% Money Market Savings Account as an alternative. I've finally opened a money market account with GMAC, and so far I've been impressed. Here's a summary of some pluses and minuses of GMAC Bank along with my experiences:

The Good:

• Limited check writing. First 50 checks are free (received mine 8 days after opening account)
• ATM card (received mine) First 4 fees per statement cycle assessed by the ATM owner, up to a total of $6, will be refunded by GMAC
• ACH transfer system that's easy to set up online (linked my local check and HSBC's online savings account online with trial deposits)
• ACH transfer system that's fast (transfer from HSBC to GMAC took one day, posted at GMAC before debit shown at HSBC)
• No hard credit pull in application. I did not receive a hard credit inquiry from any of the 3 credit reporting agencies. Several have also reported this in the last year.

The Bad:

• One downside with GMAC is the $500 minimum balance requirement. If your balance falls below $500, there is a $7.50 monthly fee ($5 if you have direct deposit).
• No sign-up bonuses

Rate History

GMAC Bank has done a decent job in remaining near the top of money market rates. There were a couple of months during the fall in which GMAC Bank's rates were well below HSBC's rates. GMAC was also well below HSBC during most of HSBC's 4.80% promo. Below is a comparison with HSBC Direct over the last year. The APY is compared to HSBC at the start of each month:

Month     GMAC     HSBC    GMAC Ahead
02/29/08: 3.00%    3.55%   -0.55
02/08/08: 3.50%    3.55%   -0.05
02/01/08: 4.00%    3.80%   +0.20
01/29/08: 4.25%    3.80%   +0.45
01/25/08: 4.25%    4.25%    0.00
12/21/07: 4.50%    4.25%   +0.25
11/02/07: 4.50%    4.50%    0.00
10/12/07: 4.75%    4.50%   +0.25
09/26/07: 4.90%    4.50%   +0.40
09/21/07: 4.90%    5.05%   -0.15
05/01/07: 5.30%    5.05%   +0.25
04/20/07: 5.30%    6.00%   -0.70 (HSBC New Money Promo)
03/16/07: 5.10%    6.00%   -0.90 (HSBC New Money Promo)
01/26/07  5.00%    6.00%   -1.00 (HSBC New Money Promo)
01/12/07: 5.10%    5.05%   +0.05
12/15/06: 5.20%    5.05%   +0.15
12/01/06: 5.25%    5.05%   +0.20
11/10/06: 5.30%    5.05%   +0.25
11/01/06: 5.25%    5.05%   +0.20
11/01/06: 5.25%    5.05%   +0.20
10/01/06: 5.00%    5.05%   -0.05
09/01/06: 5.00%    5.05%   -0.05
08/01/06: 5.10%    5.05%   +0.05
07/01/06: 4.80%    5.05%   -0.25
06/01/06: 4.75%    4.65%   +0.10
05/01/06: 4.75%    4.50%   +0.25
04/01/06: 4.65%    4.80%   -0.15
03/01/06: 4.60%    4.80%   -0.20
02/01/06: 4.30%    4.80%   -0.50
01/01/06: 4.30%    4.25%   +0.05
12/01/05: 4.05%    4.00%   +0.05
11/01/05: 3.75%    3.75%
10/01/05: 3.45%    3.75%   -0.30
09/01/05: 3.45%    3.75%   -0.30
08/01/05: 3.25%    3.25%
07/01/05: 3.10%    3.00%   +0.10
06/01/05: 3.10%    3.00%   +0.10
05/01/05: 3.05%    3.00%   +0.05
04/01/05: 2.50%    2.88%   -0.38

Date Line of My Money Market Savings Account Opening:

• Sunday, April 9th - I filled out the online application and specified my local checking account as the funding source.
• Tuesday, April 11th - Local checking account debited. There were no trial deposits.
• Thursday, April 13th - Received welcome kit in the mail. It included a welcome letter with account information. Also it included a signature card and a postage-paid envelope. The signature card had to be signed and mailed back.
• Monday, April 17th - Received box of 50 checks (free). Also received Visa debit card in a separate envelope. The PIN that I selected at account opening did not work to activate card.
• Sunday, April 23rd - Initiated the account linking process for local checking account and HSBC Online Savings (I could have initiated this earlier). Selected random deposit method of verification (trial deposits)
• Wednesday, April 26th - Finally received PIN in the mail. With this PIN I was able to activate check card.
• Wednesday, April 26th - Trial deposit made at local checking account. I verified the account at GMAC and initiated a transfer from local checking into GMAC account.
• Thursday, April 27th - Trial deposit made at HSBC. I verified the account at GMAC and initiated a transfer from HSBC savings account into GMAC account. The money transferred from local checking account posted at GMAC.
• Friday, April 28th - The money transferred from HSBC savings account posted at GMAC.
• Saturday, April 29th - Checked credit report at Equifax and no hard inquiries have yet to be recorded. Debit still not shown at HSBC for Thursday's transfer to GMAC.

For more discussion on GMAC Bank and issues like the hard credit pull, refer to this Fatwallet thread.

[Edited 02/29/08: Updated rate history comparison.]
[Edited 04/20/07: Updated rate history and hard credit pull info]
[Edited 11/10/06: Updated rate history comparison]
[Edited 10/06/06: Updated/fixed rate history and comparison]

$100 Bonus for Free Checking Account at a Pennsylvania Bank read and submit comments for this post

Fox Chase Bank is offering up to $100 for their Free Checking Account. Only $25 of the $100 requires direct deposit. You can receive $25 when you open the checking account, $25 for your old checks, and the remaining $25 is received at your 6 month anniversary.

The bank has branches in Pennsylvania cities of Philadelphia, Hatboro, Lahaska, Richboro and Willow Grove.

5.30% 13-Month CD at Fifth Third Bank Florida read and submit comments for this post

Fifth Third Bank is offering a 5.30% APY 13-month certificate of deposit at all of their Central Florida locations during the week of May 1st only. The minimum deposit is $5K and the maximum deposit limit is $1 million. The special CD requires funds new to Fifth Third. It also requires a Fifth Third checking account which has a $50 initial deposit requirement. There's a $25 closure fee if the checking account is closed within 180 days of opening.

This special doesn't seem to be listed at the bank's website, but was advertised in today's Daytona Beach Newspaper. The ad is available online here.

5.48% 18-Month CD at a Florida Bank read and submit comments for this post

First Commercial Bank of Florida is advertising a 5.48% APY 18-month certificate of deposit. The minimum deposit is $10K, and maximum deposit limit is $99K. It requires funds new to the bank, and may expire without notice. This CD special isn't listed at the bank's website, but was advertised in last week's Orlando Sentinel. The bank has branches in several Central Florida cities.

Amboy's New No-Min Online Savings Account at 4.75% read and submit comments for this post

Amboy Direct has just started a new Premium Online Savings Account that currently has an APY of 4.75%. This is different than their old eSavings Account or their Money Market Maximizer account. This new Premium Online Savings Account is now the top no-minimum savings account. It seems like a typical online savings account like that of ING Direct or EmigrantDirect. Here are some of the main features that are listed at their FAQ page:

• The minimum initial deposit is $1. There are no monthly balance requirements.
• Account must be opened with an initial deposit from your personal account with check writing privileges (seems like a money market account should be okay)
• The typical trial deposit method is used to verify ownership of linked account.
• Accounts with Internet or phone service are automatically linked to the checking account used to open the account (doesn't seem to require redoing the link as HSBC requires)
• Electronic deposits made to your account will begin to accrue interest 2 business days after the deposit is made and will be available for withdrawal after 5 business days.
• Electronic transfers to your non Amboy checking will generally be at your bank within 2-3 business days
• Wire transfers, mail in deposits and issues of bank checks are not available with this account.
• The account balance limit is $250,000 per client.

Credit for this find goes to this Fatwallet thread. Several on this thread have confirmed with Amboy's CSRs the following features:

• Amboy doesn't do a hard credit inquiry (use the typical Chex System)
• The account can only be linked to one outside account

Amboy Direct has long offered a $50 signup bonus for their eSavings Account (see post). There's no indication yet of a similar sign-up bonus for this new account.

ING Direct Raises Savings Account APY to 4.15% read and submit comments for this post

ING Direct raised their savings account yield late yesterday from 4.00% to 4.15% APY. You would think they would do a bump of at least 0.25%. They did bump up their short term CD rates early Saturday by 0.25%. Their 1-year CD is now competitive at 5.25% APY (see post).

I wonder how successful the Winter Save Up Sale was for ING. I'm sure they attracted many deposits during the Sale, but I bet many of those deposits have now left to EmigrantDirect, HSBC or other online banks. The Sale may have actually hurt deposits by alienating loyal customers whose ING savings weren't eligible for the 4.75% rate. The Sale made it clear the benefits of rate chasing. Those who had moved their money away from ING before the Sale, were ones who were able to benefit the most.

Thanks to the commenters who noted this ING rate change.

Bank Deal Summary for April 29, 2006 read and submit comments for this post

The big news for this week was the announcment by HSBC that the post-promo rate for their online savings account is going from 4.80% to 4.50% APY. I had hoped that HSBC would at least keep it at 4.80% since interest rates have continued to rise. 4.80% is a high rate, but now it's not unreasonably high.

There are several alternatives where you can get better than 4.50%. If you don't want a minimum balance requirement, VirtualBank is a good choice with a 4.60% APY savings account and a $20 referral bonus (see post).

For a relatively modest minimum of $500, GMAC Bank's money market account is a good choice at 4.75%. I just did a transfer from HSBC to GMAC this week. I initiated the ACH transfer at GMAC on Thursday. It was posted at GMAC on Friday. As of today, it's still not debited at HSBC. As many have reported, GMAC ACH transfers are fast. I'll have more about my experience with opening a GMAC Bank money market savings account in a future post.

Another good choice is to take advantage of EverBank's FreeNet Checking Account promotion. For the first 3 months, the APY is 5.51%. After that, it goes back to the standard checking account rates (currently 3.01% APY for balances under $10K).

There are other safe alternatives besides bank accounts. For those with state income taxes, Treasury Bills are a good option. The current 6-month T-Bill has an APY of 4.98%. For someone in the highest tax bracket in California, this is equivalent to a bank CD at 5.47% APY (see tax-equivalent converter at CNN). This Fatwallet thread discusses many of the details of T-Bills with several links to the Treasury's website.

Although they're not government insured, money market funds can also be a safe alternative. Some advantages of money market funds include availability of tax-free funds and limited check writing similar to bank money market accounts. Vanguard's Prime MMF has a current yield of 4.53%.

If you don't mind locking in your money for 6 months or a year, you might want to considering moving your HSBC money into a CD. This is apparently what ING Direct must be hoping for. Today ING did a large rate hike to their 6-month, 9-month and 12-month CDs which now have APYs of 4.75%, 5.00% and 5.25% (see post).

World Savings currently has the best short term CD deal with their 5-month internet CD with an APY of 5.16%. It does require at least $10K (see post).

For those who don't mind locking your money into a long term CD, Pentagon Federal Credit Union now has the best 3-year CD deal in the nation. Their 3-year CD now has an APY of 6% which is up from last month's 5.50% (see post).

Thanks to all who have helped by leaving comments or sending emails on rate updates. Sorry I can't include all of the best rates in this summary.

The rates listed below are based on Annual Percentage Yield (APY). No minimum balances are required unless noted. MMA next to the rates indicate a money market account. Most MMAs have check writing and ATM cards. Online savings accounts usually lack both of these. Previous weekly summaries are available for Apr 22nd, Apr 15th, Apr 8th, Apr 1st, Mar 25th and Mar 18th.

As of April 29, 2006

Savings/Money Market Accounts:

• GMAC Bank - 4.75% MMA (min $500), my post
• Presidential - 4.75% (min $5K, only first $35K receives this rate), offers checking, my post
• BankUnited - 4.75% (min $5K), my post
• Corus Bank - 4.74% MMA (min $10K to open)
• Heritage Bank Online - 4.72% (min $1K), my post
• American Partners Bank - 4.71% MMA (min $1K), my post
• UmbrellaBank.com - 4.70% MMA (min $1K), offers checking, my post
• Western Financial Bank - 4.60% MMA, offers checking, my post
• VirtualBank - 4.60% (min $100), offers checking, my post ($20 bonus)
• MyBankingDirect - 4.55% MMA (min $5K), my post
• CapitalOne/Costco - 4.51% MMA (min $5K, Costco members only, $50 deal for exec. members)
• HSBC - 4.50%, offers checking, (rate history)
• EmigrantDirect - 4.50%, my post, ($10 signup bonus), (rate history)
• Citibank - 4.50%, requires checking account, my post
• Transportation Alliance Bank - 4.50% MMA (min $25), my post
• UFB Direct - 4.40%, offers checking, my post
• FirstFedDirect - 4.25% (closed to CA residents), my post
• CapitalOne - 4.25% (MMA has same rate, but with checks and ATM. $100 min.)
• Self-Help Credit Union - 4.16% MMA (min $500), my post
• ING Direct - 4.00%, my post ($25 bonus), (rate history)
• MetLife Bank - 4.00% MMA (min $5K), my post ($50 bonus)
• NetBank - 3.52% MMA ($500 min), requires checking, my post ($175 deal)
• ebank - 3.50% MMA ($1K min, rate for $10K-25K balance), offers checking
• ETrade Bank - 2.80% (min $1K to avoid fees/$5K for APY), my post (4.75%/$50 bonus)

6-Month Certificates of Deposit:

• World Savings - 5.16% (5 months) (min $10K), new funds only, my post
• AmTrustDirect - 5.15% (min $1K) my post
• Corus Bank - 5.15% (min $10K)
• Meadows Credit Union - 5.12% ($1K min), new funds only, my post
• GMAC Bank - 5.10% (min $500)
• ETrade Bank - 5.10% (min $1K), my post
• UFB Direct - 5.10% (min $8K)
• UmbrellaBank.com - 5.05% (min $1K)
• FirstFedDirect - 5.02% (min $10K), my post
• VirtualBank - 5.00% (min $10K), my post ($20 bonus)
• ING Direct - 4.75%, my post
• NetBank - 4.75% (min $1K)
• Transportation Alliance Bank - 4.65% ($1K min)
• Self-Help Credit Union - 4.57% (min $500), my post
• Western Financial Bank - 4.50% ($100 min)
• ebank - 4.50% (min $1K), 4.75% for ePremium checking customers
• MetLife Bank - 4.50% ($1K min)

12-Month Certificates of Deposit:

• GTE FCU - 5.38% (min $500) my post
• Mutual Bank - 5.35% (min $2.5K) my post
• Melrose CU - 5.35% (min $5K) my post
• GMAC Bank - 5.30% (min $500)
• AmTrustDirect - 5.30% (min $1K) my post
• Corus Bank - 5.30% (min $10K)
• ING Direct - 5.25%, my post
• Western Financial Bank - 5.25% ($100 min) (13-month)
• UmbrellaBank.com - 5.25% (min $1K)
• BankUnited - 5.25% (min $5K), my post
• FirstFedDirect - 5.21%, (min $10K) my post
• UFB Direct - 5.20% (min $8K)
• VirtualBank - 5.20% (min $10K), my post ($20 bonus)
• Transportation Alliance Bank - 5.15% ($1K min)
• ETrade Bank - 5.15% (min $1K), my post
• NetBank - 5.15% (min $1K), my post ($25 bonus)
• American Partners Bank - 5.07% (min $1K), my post
• MetLife Bank - 5.05% ($1K min)
• Self-Help Credit Union - 4.95% (min $500), my post
• ebank - 4.75% (min $1K), 5.00% for ePremium checking customers

18-Month Certificates of Deposit:

• Mutual Bank - 5.40% (min $5K) my post
• GMAC Bank - 5.30% (min $500)
• CapitalOne/Costco - 5.22% (min $5K, Costco members only)
• American Partners Bank - 5.18% (min $1K), my post

36-Month Certificate of Deposit:

• Pentagon Federal CU - 6.00% (min $1K), my post
• Melrose CU - 5.56% (min $5K) my post
• Transportation Alliance Bank - 5.34% ($1K min)
• GMAC Bank - 5.30% (min $500)
• Self-Help Credit Union - 5.21% (min $500), my post

48-Month Certificate of Deposit:

• USA FCU - 6.01% (min $1K) my post
• Pentagon Federal CU - 6.00% (min $1K), my post
• Melrose CU - 5.67% (min $5K) my post
• Transportation Alliance Bank - 5.36% ($1K min)
• GMAC Bank - 5.30% (min $500)
• Self-Help Credit Union - 5.25% (min $500), my post

60-Month Certificate of Deposit:

• Pentagon Federal CU - 6.00% (min $1K), my post
• Melrose CU - 5.77% (min $5K) my post
• Transportation Alliance Bank - 5.39% ($1K min)
• GMAC Bank - 5.30% (min $500)
• Self-Help Credit Union - 5.30% (min $500), my post

84-Month Certificate of Deposit:

• Pentagon Federal CU - 5.95% (min $1K), my post

High Rates with Conditions - Open to All

• 10% Savings Account for kids ($500 max)
• 5.51% 3-month intro rate on checking account
• 5.38% 9-month CD (must sign a Christian statement of faith)
• 5.00% Money Market with $100K min
• 5.00% Money Market with $100K min

Checking and Saving Accounts at Local Credit Unions

• 5.00% no-minimum savings account (New York)
• 5.00% Money Market Account (New York)
• 4.50% checking account promo (Oklahoma)

CD Specials at Local Credit Unions/Banks Over the Last Two Months

Terms of 60 Months and Over

• 6.25% 60-Month CD at a Carolina CU (Variable)
• 6.14% 60-Month CD at a Virginia CU
• 6.00% 60-Month CD at a California CU
• 6.00% 61-Month CD at a Michigan CU (Open to All)
• 5.76% 60-Month CD at a South Carolina CU
• 5.64% 60-Month CD at a New York CU
• 5.64% 60-Month CD at a South Carolina/Georgia CU
• 5.61% 60-Month CD at a Minnesota Bank
• 5.50% 60-Month CD at a Illinois Bank (gradual withdrawal CD)

Terms of 24 Months to Under 60 Months

• 6.01% 48-Month CD at a California CU (Open to All)
• 6.00% 59-Month CD at a Missouri CU
• 6.00% 24-Month CD at a California CU (Variable)
• 5.81% 30-Month CD at a Wisconsin CU
• 5.75% 41-Month CD at a Missouri CU
• 5.75% 27-Month CD at a Florida CU
• 5.66% 48-Month CD at a South Carolina CU
• 5.64% 36-Month CD at a Michigan CU
• 5.61% 24-Month CD at a Chicago Bank (Open to All)
• 5.56% 24-Month CD at a Nashville CU
• 5.55% 24-Month CD at a Ohio CU
• 5.50% 30-Month CD at a Philadelphia Bank
• 5.50% 24-Month CD at a New York Bank
• 5.50% 35-Month CD at a Oklahoma Bank
• 5.50% 49-Month CD at a Georgia Bank
• 5.45% 36-Month CD at a Los Angeles CU
• 5.39% 24-Month CD at a California/Texas CU
• 5.35% 48-Month CD at a Texas CU
• 5.25% 24-Month CD at a Philadelphia Bank

Terms of 12 Months to Under 24 Months

• 10.00% 12-Month CD at a Multi-State CU ($2.5K max)
• 10.00% 12-Month CD at a Dallas Bank ($5K max)
• 8.00% 12-Month CD at a NJ/NY/PA CU ($2K max)
• 5.90% 18-Month CD at a Houston CU ($90K min)
• 5.54% 12-Month CD at a Ohio CU ($100K min)
• 5.50% 13-Month CD at a Massachusetts Bank
• 5.50% 13-Month CD at a Chicago Bank
• 5.50% 15-Month CD at a Florida CU
• 5.50% 12-Month CD at a Virginia CU
• 5.50% 20-Month CD at a Illinois CU (Open To All)
• 5.50% 12-Month CD at a New York/California Bank
• 5.48% 18-Month CD at a Florida Bank
• 5.40% 12-Month CD at a New York Bank
• 5.40% 12-Month CD at a Nebraska CU
• 5.38% 15-Month CD at a Maine CU
• 5.38% 12-Month CD at a CU Open to All
• 5.35% 12-Month CD at a New York CU (Open To All?)
• 5.35% 13-Month CD at a Ohio CU
• 5.35% 15-Month CD at a Florida Bank
• 5.30% 13-Month CD at a Georgia Credit Union
• 5.30% 20-Month CD at a Illinois Bank
• 5.30% 12-Month CD at a New York Bank
• 5.30% 13-Month CD at a Virginia Bank
• 5.30% 13-Month CD at a Georgia Bank
• 5.30% 13-Month CD at a Pennsylvania Bank
• 5.30% 19-Month CD at a Florida CU
• 5.30% 15-Month CD at a Florida Bank
• 5.27% 15-Month CD at a Kentucky Bank
• 5.26% 15-Month CD at a Florida Bank ($50K min)
• 5.25% 13-Month CD at a Illinois Bank
• 5.25% 16-Month CD at a Florida Bank
• 5.25% 13-Month CD at a California CU
• 5.25% 12-Month CD at a Vermont Bank
• 5.25% 12-Month CD at a Texas Bank
• 5.25% 18-Month CD at a Florida Bank
• 5.25% 20-Month CD at a Pennsylvania Bank
• 5.25% 13-Month CD at a Florida CU
• 5.20% 12-Month CD at a Georgia CU
• 5.18% 12-Month CD at a Georgia Bank
• 5.17% 12-Month CD at a Texas CU
• 5.16% 13-Month CD at a Pennsylvania Bank
• 5.15% 15-Month CD at a Florida Bank
• 5.15% 12-Month CD at a Pennsylvania Bank
• 5.13% 12-Month CD at a Washington State Bank
• 5.12% 12-Month CD at a California Bank
• 5.12% 12-Month CD at a Texas Bank
• 5.10% 12-Month CD at a Washington State Bank
• 5.00% 12-Month CD at a New Jersey Bank

Terms of Under 12 Months

• 7.00% 7-Month CD at a Indiana CU ($14K max)
• 6.00% 6-Month CD at a South Carolina Bank
• 5.55% 11-Month CD at a Georgia Bank
• 5.50% 11-Month CD at a California CU
• 5.50% 9-Month CD at a Georgia Bank
• 5.50% 10-Month CD at a California CU
• 5.45% 9-Month CD at a California Bank
• 5.38% 9-Month CD at a CU Open To All
• 5.38% 11-Month CD at a Arizona CU
• 5.35% 10-Month CD at a Tennessee CU
• 5.25% 9-Month CD at a Illinois Bank
• 5.25% 11-Month CD at a Michigan CU
• 5.25% 10-Month CD at a Massachusetts Bank
• 5.25% 7-Month CD at a Florida CU
• 5.25% 11-Month CD at a Wisconsin CU
• 5.25% 7-Month CD at a Georgia Bank
• 5.20% 9-Month CD at a California Bank
• 5.20% 7-Month CD at a Kentucky CU
• 5.20% 9-Month CD at a Nebraska CU
• 5.15% 10-Month CD at LaSalle Bank
• 5.15% 11-Month CD at a Georgia CU
• 5.15% 11-Month CD at a Minnesota Bank
• 5.15% 10-Month CD at a Florida Bank
• 5.15% 11-Month CD at a Multi-State CU
• 5.15% 7-Month CD at a Georgia Bank
• 5.12% 7-Month CD at a Wisconsin CU
• 5.10% 9-Month CD at a Ohio Bank
• 5.10% 7-Month CD at a Kentucky CU
• 5.10% 10-Month CD at a Virginia Bank
• 5.05% 7-Month CD at a Tennessee Bank
• 5.05% 5-Month CD at a Tennessee Bank
• 5.00% 7-Month CD at a Illinois Bank
• 5.00% 7-Month CD at a Pennsylvania Bank
• 5.00% 6-Month CD at a California Bank
• 5.00% 7-Month CD at a Florida Bank
• 5.00% 6-Month CD at a Virginia Bank
• 5.00% 3-Month CD at a Ohio CU (pick any term)
• 5.00% 9-Month CD at a Massachusetts Bank
• 5.00% 6-Month CD at a Washington State CU
• 5.00% 9-Month CD at a CA/MD/TX CU
• 5.00% 5-Month CD at a Tennessee Bank
• 5.00% 9-Month CD at a Wisconsin Bank
• 4.85% 4-Month CD at a California Bank

CD Alternatives

• Money Magazine article on risk-free investments
• FW Thread on Treasury Bills
• I Bond Inflation Rate for May 2006, I Bond Fixed Rate Predictions, I Bond Article, New I Bond Rate, I Bonds as CD Alternatives
• SmartMoney Brokerage Survey

ING Direct's 5.25% 12-Month / 5.00% 9-Month CD read and submit comments for this post

ING Direct increased the APY on their short term CDs by 0.25% today. The 12-month CD now pays a competitive 5.25% APY which is only 0.05% under the 1-year CD leaders like Corus Bank and GMAC Bank. However, ING decreased the rate on their long term CDs by 0.25%. All CDs with terms over 24 months now only pay 4.75% APY.

This is the first time I've seen CD yields this inverted where the a 1-year CD pays 0.50% more interest than a 5-year CD. My guess is that the lower long term CD rates are to compensate for the higher short term rates, and the higher short term rates are an attempt to keep deposits after the Winter Save Up Sale. The drop from 4.75% to 4.00% in the savings account was a big drop. I'm sure most people who moved their money back into ING during the Save Up Sale have now been moving it back out.

ING Direct's CDs now are better deals than what EmigrantDirect offers. EmigrantDirect CDs are only at 5% APY for terms of 9 months and longer. In addition, ING Direct has the added benefit of having no minimum deposit requirements.

Below are the new CD rates along with the previous rates. Refer to this post for the history on their last CD rate change.

Term      Old APY   New APY   Change
6 Month   4.50%     4.75%     +0.25% 
9 Month   4.75%     5.00%     +0.25%
12 Month  5.00%     5.25%     +0.25%
18 Month  5.00%     5.00%
24 Month  5.00%     5.00%
30 Month  5.00%     4.75%     -0.25%
36 Month  5.00%     4.75%     -0.25%
48 Month  5.00%     4.75%     -0.25%
60 Month  5.00%     4.75%     -0.25%

Orange Certificate of Deposit Details and Tips:

The penalty for early withdrawal is 3 months of interest for CD terms of 12 months and less. For CD terms over 12 months, the penalty is 6 months of interest. Note that if you redeem a CD a month after it's opened, you still have to pay the full 3 or 6 months of interest penalty.

For those considering an ING Direct CD, I would recommend first opening an ING Direct savings account. This makes funding CDs very quick and easy. No additional personal info needs to be entered. You just enter the term, the amount and the funding source. Another perk with the savings account is the $25 signup bonus (see post).

After opening a CD, ING Direct will send you a letter confirming the CD in the mail. Also, they will send you a letter informing you when a CD is about to mature. When you want to close the CD, you can just have it deposited into your savings account.

Since the CD opening process is so easy and there are no minimum requirements, it makes sense to open multiple CDs rather than just one. This way if you need some money before maturity, you can just break one of the CDs for the money you need. You would only be charged for interest penalty on that one CD.

When funding CDs with your savings account, remember not to go above your 6 withdrawal per month limit on your savings account. Although ING Direct doesn't charge a fee when this occurs, they may close your account if it happens too often. In addition to funding CDs from your ING savings account, you can also fund CDs from your linked checking accounts.

For the official details on the ING Direct CDs, refer to this ING Direct FAQ page.

An Old Low Interest Rate Certificate of Deposit:

If you invested in a long term CD from ING Direct or elsewhere a couple of years ago, you may find that the interest rate from that CD is much lower than what's available now. For example, two years ago an ING Direct 5-year CD may have only had an APY of 3.5%. With the current 1-year 5.25% APY CD, it will be worthwhile to close the old CD early and take the interest penalty. Assuming that you'll be able to make at least 5.25% after the one year, you'll come out with at least $360 ahead by breaking a $10K 5-year CD that was opened 2 years ago (assuming a 6 month penalty). Refer to my Bank CD Tool to calculate your own specific case.

HSBC's Online Savings Account Rate to 4.50% read and submit comments for this post

HSBC Direct just sent customers an email notifying them that the new Online Savings Account rate will be changing to 4.50% APY starting on May 1st.

Before this promotion started in late January, HSBC's standard rate had been near the top for savings and money market accounts (see chart). For much of last year, they were closely following the Federal funds rate. They were often the first ones to bump up their rate following the Fed meetings.

With most of their competition still at 4.60% or 4.50%, I suppose they didn't see the need to keep the rate at 4.80%. There are others at 4.75% and above, but these have minimum balance requirements. Also, HSBC probably succeeded in attracting new deposits. In the last couple of months they did more advertising on TV than any other online bank that I've seen. As we've seen with ING Direct and Emigrant, once a bank is able to make big gains in deposits, there's no reason for it to remain on top in the rate war. It just has to remain competitive to keep the majority of the people who are not rate chasers.

Alternatives for Your HSBC Money

For a no-minimum savings account, the two banks with the highest rates are VirtualBank and Western Financial Bank at 4.60% APY. VirtualBank has the advantage of a $20 signup bonus (see post).

Another option to consider is Everbank's FreeNet Checking account which is offering 5.51% APY for 3 months for new customers. After the first 3 months, it goes back to the standard checking account rates (currently 3.01% APY for balances under $10K). If you don't use bill pay, there is no minimum and no monthly fees. So after the 3-month promo you could transfer the money out to the next good deal. Three months from now, interest rates may be 0.25% to 0.50% higher.

For those who want something more permanent and don't mind a minimum balance requirement, GMAC Bank is a good choice. The rate on their money market account is currently at 4.75% APY. GMAC has a $500 minimum. But there are benefits over the no-minimum savings accounts like limited check writing. GMAC has done a good job this year and in the second half of last year of keeping near the top of both money market rates and CD rates.

Another thing to consider is that the Fed will be meeting again on May 10th. So HSBC Direct could be raising their Online Savings rate back close to 4.80% next month. If HSBC doesn't, maybe EmigrantDirect will finally get back into the game.

Thanks to those who notified me of this HSBC email.

Presidential Bank's Savings Account Now 4.75% read and submit comments for this post

Presidential Bank increased the rate on their Premier Savings Account today. The new APY is 4.75%, up from 4.62%. There was no change in the rate of their Internet Checking Plus account. It remains at 4.37% APY.

Their last rate change was on April 3rd when the savings account APY went from 4.37% to 4.62% and the checking went from 4.25% to 4.37%.

It should be noted that the Premier Savings Account earns 4.75% on balances up to $35K. Balances over $35K only earn 3.00% APY. Two other major issues with this savings account is a $5K minimum to avoid monthly fees and no ACH transfer system.

5.25% 7-Month / 5.50% 49-Month CD at a Georgia Bank read and submit comments for this post

American United Bank of Georgia continues to keep their mid and long term CD rates very competitive. The APY for terms of 7 to 12 months is 5.25%. This is an increase of 0.10% since my last post on this bank on April 13. The largest rate increase was on their 49-to-60 month CD. The APY is now 5.50% which is up from 5.25% on April 13th. Below is a list of all the rates and how they've changed since April 13th:

CD Terms  Old APY   New APY   Change
1 month   4.30%     4.30%
4 month   4.70%     4.75%     +0.05%
7 month   5.15%     5.25%     +0.10%
13 month  5.20%     5.30%     +0.10%
25 month  5.25%     5.35%     +0.10%
37 month  5.25%     5.40%     +0.15%
49 month  5.25%     5.50%     +0.25%

The bank is located in Lawrenceville, Georgia which is in the northeast suburbs of Atlanta. American United Bank is a new bank that has only been FDIC insured since December 2004. So there is currently no Bankrate safe and sound rating.

5.30% 12-Month CD at GMAC Bank and AmTrustDirect read and submit comments for this post

Seems like one year CD rates have been rising the most this week. GMAC Bank and AmTrustDirect just came out with new CD rates, and both now have 5.30% APY 12-month CDs. These banks join with Corus Bank for the nation's top 1-year CD APY of 5.30%. AmTrustDirect also increased the 6-month CD APY to 5.15% which also matches Corus Bank.

AmTrustDirect CD Rates:
Term        Old APY    New APY  Change
6 months    5.10%      5.15%    +0.05
9 months    5.15%      5.20%    +0.05
12 months   5.25%      5.30%    +0.05
18 months   5.25%      5.30%    +0.05
24 months   5.25%      5.30%    +0.05
30 months   5.25%      5.30%    +0.05
36 months   5.25%      5.30%    +0.05
60 months   5.25%      5.30%    +0.05

GMAC Bank CD Rates:
Term        Old APY    New APY  Change
3 months    4.80%      4.85%    +0.05
6 months    5.10%      5.10%
9 months    5.13%      5.15%    +0.02
12 months   5.25%      5.30%    +0.05
18 months   5.25%      5.30%    +0.05
2 years     5.25%      5.30%    +0.05
3 years     5.25%      5.30%    +0.05
4 years     5.30%      5.30%
5 years     5.30%      5.30%

Please refer to my AmTrustDirect post and GMAC post last Friday for more info and rate history of these banks.

5.50% 30-Month CD at Florida Bank read and submit comments for this post

Peoples First Community Bank is advertising a 5.50% APY 30-month certificate of deposit. The CD has a minimum deposit of $2.5K and requires a Peoples First checking account. Many of the checking accounts at this bank have no minimum balance requirements to avoid fees. The other advertised CD special is a 4.75% 9-month CD. These certificate specials are not listed at the bank's website, but were advertised in the Orlando Sentinel and the Daytona Beach News (see online ad).

This bank has been coming out with some competitive CD specials over the last several months. My last report on this bank was in early February in which the bank was advertising a 5.25% 2-year CD.

The bank has branches throughout Central and North Florida including the cities of Jacksonville, Panama City, Tallahassee, Pensacola, Altamonte Springs, Apoka and Kissimmee.

The Best 2.5 Year CD

The highest 30-month CD currently listed at Bankrate.com is 5.35% APY at American United Bank of Georgia. For an extra 6 months in the term, you can now get 6% APY at Pentagon FCU (see post).

5.35% 15-Month CD at a Florida Bank read and submit comments for this post

Public Bank Florida was advertising a 5.35% APY 15-month CD earlier this week. The minimum deposit is $5K and the offer is only available for a limited time. The special doesn't seem to be listed at the bank's website, but was advertied in the Orlando Sentinel. The ad listed the branch in Altamonte Springs. It's not know if this certificate is available at all branches.

Public Bank Florida has branches through out Central Florida.

Best Rate CDs with Terms Around One year

CD rates with terms around 1 year have been rising fast. This week Mutal Bank just started offering a 12-month CD with an APY of 5.35%. GTE Federal Credit Union is still offering a 5.38% 12-month CD. You can get 5.30% APY 1-year CDs now at GMAC Bank, Corus Bank and AmTrust Direct.

Pause in Rate Hikes? Effects on Savings Accounts/CDs? read and submit comments for this post

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke gave some signs while speaking to Congress today that the Fed may pause in its 22-month rate hike campaign.

As this Reuters article describes, there is more doubt about another rate rise by the Fed in June. The Fed is still widely anticipated to lift rates for the next Fed meeting on May 10th from 4.75% to 5.00%.

Future Rates on Savings Accounts? CDs?

I think it's safe to say that we won't be seeing interest rates rise like they did last year. Last year, the yields on internet savings accounts increased by around 0.75% to 1.5% (see chart). Last August, Corus Bank's 6-month and 12-month CD were at 4.04% and 4.37% APY. Now they're at 5.15% and 5.30% APY. So with a slow down of interest rate hikes, we probably shouldn't expect this same change over the next year. Let's say we only see half the rate change. So next year, we would see savings account rates about 0.5% to 0.75% higher than today. So EmigrantDirect may only be around 5% to 5.25%. GMAC Bank may be around 5.50%. Corus Bank's 1-year CD rate may be around 5.80% or about 0.50% higher than today.

Long Term CD Rates?

Lately there have been signs of increasing long term rates. So we may see more deals in longer term CDs like the new 6% 3-year CD at Penfed (see post).

With increases in long term rates, CD ladders may make more sense. I describe in this post a special type of CD ladder that can be done at Self-Help Credit Union (SHCU). SHCU's certificates of deposit have the nice feature of allowing additional deposits. With only a $500 minimum deposit requirement, you can buy long term CDs with only $500. If rates go down, you just add to the long term CD. SHCU has some decent CD rates although they change daily. They usually change by only a few basis points, but there have been a couple of occasions in the last 6 months when they've changed by up to 0.50%. SHCU's CD rates have been improving lately. The 5-year, 2-year and 1-year CD APYs are currently at 5.38%, 5.30% and 5.04%.

6.00% 36-Month CD at Penfed CU read and submit comments for this post

Pentagon Federal Credit Union just came out with some very high rates on their mid to long term CDs. Both the 3-year to 5-year CDs now have APYs of 6.00%. The previous APY of their 3 and 4 year CDs were 5.50% which was already near the top in the nation. The minimum deposit is $1K. The rates are effective through May 31, 2006. Below is the full list of CD rates and how they have changed:

CD Term   Old APY  New APY
6-month    4.00%    4.33%
1-year     4.30%    4.92%
2-year     4.75%    5.01%
3-year     5.50%    6.00%
4-year     5.50%    6.00%
5-year     5.67%    6.00%
7-year     5.88%    5.95%

Their short term certificate of deposit rates continue to lag, however, they are getting more competitive. The 12-month APY increased from 4.30% to 4.92% which is a decent yield for a one year CD. But clearly, it's the mid and long term CD rates that sets Penfed apart from the others.

Penfed has a record of starting each year with some high rate CDs. This year, they started with a 6% 7-year CD, 5.75% 5-year CD and a 5.50% 3 and 4 year CD. The 5 and 7-year rates went down in March to 5.67% and 5.88%. So it seemed like the rates would go down again at the end of April. Perhaps, with the long-term Treasury and bond yields finally going up, Penfed had decided to remain aggressive with their rates.

Penfed is one of the few credit unions that anyone in the nation can join. All that is required to be eligible is joining the National Military Family Association which has a membership fee of $20.

Another nice thing about Penfed is that you know it's a credit union that you can trust. Not only is it NCUA insured, but it's also the third largest credit union in the nation. It currently has over $8 billion in assets and over 665,000 members. Bankrate.com gives Penfed 4 out of 5 stars (sound) for financial strength.

Is Three Years Too Long?

I brought this issue up in a April 12th post on a 6.01% 48-month CD that's being offered at USA Federal Credit Union. Indications are that long term rates may finally start moving up. By the end of this year, it may be easy to find 6% 1-year CDs. Eight months ago, Corus Bank's 1-year CD was at 4.42% APY. Now it's at 5.30% APY.

One important factor before investing in a long-term CD is the early withdrawal penalty. Penfed certificates with terms over 6 months and up to 5 years have a 180 day interest penalty for early withdrawals (if redeemed after 180 days). If interest rates rise very fast, sometimes it's better to break the CD, take the penalty and invest in the new higher rate CD. Refer to this tool to help you in this decision.

One approach to help you decide on a long-term CD is to use a method I described in this post. In this method, you take the current rate on a savings account or short-term CD and try to estimate the rate that you might get when the long term CD would mature. Take the average of these two rates and compare it to the rate of the long term CD.

An example of the above method is to assume you're going to stick with 1-year CDs at Corus Bank rather than the 3-year 6% CD at Penfed. Now try to assume what a 1-year CD will be at Corus Bank next year and the following year. Let's assume 6% and 6.70%. The 3-year average at Corus Bank would be 6%. So there's no gain in going with a 3-year 6% CD. However, if interest rates start to fall next year, locking in with Penfed may be better.

Thanks to commenter who mentioned these new Penfed rates in the finding deals post!

5.50% 12-Month CD at a New York/California Bank read and submit comments for this post

Shinhan Bank America is offering a promotional 5.50% APY 12-month certificate of deposit. The minimum deposit is $1K. The special will end on May 31, 2006 and is available at all of the bank's branches. This promotion doesn't seem to be listed at the bank's website. A commenter mentioned it in the finding deals post, and I received some additional info by email from the bank.

The bank has branches in New York City and Flushing, New York. The bank also has branches in Los Angeles and Buena Park, California.

Shinhan Bank America is the US operation of the Korean bank Chohung Bank. Shinhan Bank America has been FDIC insured since 1990. So it's no different than HSBC or ING Direct which both have foreign parent companies.

5.25% 11-Month / 5.12% 7-Month CD at a Wisconsin CU read and submit comments for this post

La-Tec Credit Union is offering a few attractive certificate of deposit specials. These include a 5.25% APY 11-month CD and a 5.12% 7-month CD. Both have a minimum deposit of $25K. A 5.15% APY 11-month CD and a 5.08% 7-month CD are available for a $5K minimum deposit.

The credit union's field of membership includes residents of Calumet and Sheboygan County plus several other Wisconsin townships and cities. There are 3 branches in New Holstein, Chilton and Kiel, Wisconsin.

The credit union is NCUA insured. It has $48 million in assets and almost 11,000 members.

5.01% Passbook Savings Account at Centennial Bank ($50K+) read and submit comments for this post

We are starting to see savings account rates break 5%. Centennial Bank recently increased rates on their Variable Rate Passbook Account. The highest APY for deposits over $50K is now 5.01% which is up from 4.87%. Lower rates apply to smaller balances. The minimum for this account is $500. There is a limit of 4 withdrawals per month. Below is the full list of rates for the range of balances:

Balance                 Rate     APY
$500.00 - 9,999.99      4.14%    4.23%
$10,000 - 24,999.99     4.39%    4.49%
$25,000 - 49,999.99     4.64%    4.75%
$50,000 - and over      4.89%    5.01%

One negative regarding Centennial Bank is the lack of online banking. The bank does have a strong financial rating at Bankrate.com with 4 out of 5 stars (sound).

Credit for this rate update goes to the Fatwallet Savings Account Rate thread.

World Savings 4-Month Branch CD Special at 5.01% read and submit comments for this post

For those who prefer to open a CD at a World Savings branch rather than online, a few World Savings branches are starting to advertise a 5.01% APY 4-month CD. This is up from 4.76%. This new 5.01% doesn't seem to be available everywhere. I've seen the 5.01% advertised in the Denver and San Francisco newspapers. These special CDs have a minimum of $25K, and as usual with World, the money must come from another financial institution.

The current best deal at World Savings is their internet 5.16% APY 5-month CD with a $10K minimum (see post).

There's still no word on the next unadvertised CD special at World to replace the 5.26% 6-month CD. They always seem to have some extra special secret CD in addition to the advertised specials.

Corus Bank's Money Market/CD Rates Continue To Rise read and submit comments for this post

Every Tuesday, Corus Bank updates their rates. Their money market and CD rates increased again today, although the increase was smaller than in the past few weeks. The money market APY increased by 0.04% to 4.74%. The 6-month and 12-month CD APYs both increased by 0.03%. The new yields are 5.15% and 5.30% APY.

New CD Specials at Mutual Bank: 5.35% 12-Month read and submit comments for this post

Mutual Bank has once again started offering some nice CD rates. There are two terms with very high yields: 5.35% APY 12-month CD and a 5.40% APY 18-month CD. Both have a minimum deposit requirement of $5K.

Every so often, Mutual Bank comes out with a few CD terms with competitive rates. In February, their 1-year certificate of deposit had a then-competive APY of 5.05%. Late last year, they had two competitive long term CDs: 5.50% 5-year and 5.00% 30-month.

In addition to CDs, Mutual Bank has a very high yield money market account for very large balances. The current APY of their Premium Unique Money Market Account is 5.38% for balances of over $1 million. The yield goes way down to 4.65% APY for balances between $500K and $1 million.

The bank is located in the Chicago area, however, you can open these CDs by mail from any state. Refer to their account opening page.

5.55% 11-Month CD at a Georgia Bank read and submit comments for this post

Atlantic Southern Bank is offering a 5.55% APY 11-month CD. The minimum deposit is $500 and the maximum deposit limit is $99K. This special does not seem to be listed at the bank's website. It was advertised in the April 25th edition of the Savannah Morning News, and the ad is available online here.

The bank has branches in the Georgia cities of Macon, Warner Robins and Rincon.

5.50% 35-Month CD at an Oklahoma Bank read and submit comments for this post

Union Bank is offering four CD specials. The highest yield is a 5.50% APY 35-month CD. The others include a 5.25% APY 24-month CD, 5.00% APY 13-month CD and a 4.75% APY 7-month CD. All of these certificates require a $10K minimum opening deposit.

Last month Union Bank was offering a checking account with an APY of 4.5% guaranteed through June 6th. I'm not sure if this special is open.

The bank has 5 branches in Oklahoma City and Edmond.

5.30% 15-Month CD at a Florida Bank read and submit comments for this post

Harbor Federal Bank is offering a 5.30% APY 15-month CD and a 5.20% APY 10-month CD. There's a $5K minimum deposit requirement for both, and these certificate of deposit specials also require a $500 minimum balance in a new or existing checking account. Without the checking account, the APY is 5.15% for the 15-month term and 5.03% for the 10-month term. The bank does offer a free checking account without monthly service charges.

This bank often has CD specials. The last one I had posted on was in February.

Harbor Federal has 40 branches on the east side of Central Florida.

5.20% 7-Month CD at IndyMac Bank read and submit comments for this post

IndyMac Bank has several very competitive CD rates. The best is a 5.20% APY 7-month CD. All have a minimum deposit requirement of $5K. Accounts can be opened online or my mail. Below is the full list of terms and rates:

 Term         Rate        APY
 3 Month      4.74%       4.85%
 6 Month      4.97%       5.10%
 7 Month      5.07%       5.20%
 9 Month      5.02%       5.15%
 1 Year       5.12%       5.25%
 18 Month     5.12%       5.25%
 2 Year       5.12%       5.25%
 3 Year       5.12%       5.25%
 4 Year       5.12%       5.25%
 5 Year       5.12%       5.25%

The early withdrawal penalties for these certificates of deposit for terms under one year is 1 month of interest. For terms of one and less than two years, the penalty is 3 months of interest. For terms of two years and over, the penalty is 6 months of interest.

4.80% Money Market Account for $75K+

IndyMac Bank also has some competitive money market rates for large balances. Their Internet Top Tier Money Market currently pays 4.80% APY for balances over $75K. Balances under $75K earn 3.35% APY. Their Internet Money Market Savings earns 4.20% APY for balances over $1K and up to 4.50% APY for balances over $25K..

Thanks to the commenter who left the note about the 5.20% 7-month CD. If you find a similar good deal, please leave a comment in my finding deals post.

5.75% 27-Month CD at a Florida CU read and submit comments for this post

MacDill Federal Credit Union is offering a 5.75% 27-month CD. The minimum deposit is $500. The special CD must be opened by April 29th, 2006.

The field of membership includes members of Prime Savers Club. To be eligible to join this club, you must work or reside in one of the following Florida counties: Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Hernando, and Manatee.

The credit union has branches in several Florida cities including Tampa, Brandon, St. Petersburg, Largo, Pinellas Park and Clearwater.

MacDill is NCUA insured. It's a large credit union with $1.6 billion in assets and over 172,000 members.

Thanks to the commenter who mentiond this deal in the finding deals post!

5.50% 20-Month CD at an Illinois CU (Open To All) read and submit comments for this post

Consumers Credit Union is offering four CD specials. The best rate is a 5.50% APY 20-month Jumbo CD. The 10-month Jumbo CD has an APY of 5.25%. The minimum deposit for the Jumbo CD is $100K. The APYs for a minimum deposit of $250 is 5.25% for a 20-month CD and a 5.00% for a 10-month CD.

You can become eligible for membership by joining the Consumers Cooperative Association which requires a one-time, non-refundable $5.00 fee.

The credit union has 5 branches located in the North Chicago area.

The credit union is not NCUA insured. Like Patelco it is insured privately by American Share Insurance. In the small print I noticed it was mentioned that this was by member's choice. I wonder why members would be willing to give up NCUA insurance. Perhaps the credit union would save money this way. I've seen many credit unions which have both NCUA and ASI. The ASI enhances the insured deposits to $250K. This seems like the best choice unless it requires much more cost by the credit union.

5.48% 18-Month CD at a Florida Bank read and submit comments for this post

First Commercial Bank of Florida is offering a 5.48% APY 18-month CD. The minimum deposit is $10K, and the money must be new to the bank. This is a limited time offer. This special CD doesn't seem to be listed at the bank's website, but was advertised in today's Orlando Sentinel. The bank has 7 branches throughout Central Florida.

Best Nationally Available 18-Month CD

The highest rate 18-month certificate of deposit currently listed at Bankrate.com is 5.28% APY at UmbrellaBank.

6% 24-Month CD at a California CU (Variable) read and submit comments for this post

Telesis Credit Union is offering a special variable type of 24-month certificate of deposit. The APY is 6% for the first 6 months. Then the rate reprices to the current Federal Funds rate. The minimum to open is $2.5K and the maximum is $500K. It requires new funds.

This Southern California credit union has offices in Ventura County, Santa Clarita, and the San Fernando Valley. Field of membership applies to above residency, plus various employers across the country. The credit union is NCUA insured with $576 million in assets and 37,000 members.

Credit for this find goes to Carol who mentioned it in the finding deals post. Thanks!

Future Federal Funds Rates and the Average Return on This CD?

Since the rate on this Telesis CD after the first 6 months depends on the Federal Funds rate, you'll have to factor the future funds rate into the decision about if this CD is a good deal. The future FOMC meetings in the next 6 months will be on May 10th, June 28th, August 8th, September 20th and October 24th. It's widely expected that the Fed will raise the intended federal funds rate to 5% in May. After that, there's less certainty. I think there's a chance for at least 1 or 2 additional rate hikes. So based on this, you can estimate the average 24-month rate of this CD for 3 scenarios (funds rate at 5%, 5.25% and 5.50%):

fed funds rate   APY first   APY last   Average APY
in 6 months      6 months    18 months  over 24 months
5.00%            6.00%       5.00%      5.25%
5.25%            6.00%       5.25%      5.44%
5.50%            6.00%       5.50%      5.63%

I assume the CD rate only changes once at the end of the first 6 months. Also, I assume that the funds rate is used as the APY and not the APR. Nevertheless, this provides an estimation for the overall return. Even a 5.25% APY 2-year CD is a decent deal compared to other 2-year CDs currently available.

World Savings' New Promo: 5.16% 5-Month CD read and submit comments for this post

World Savings just came out with a new internet CD promotion. The offer is a 5.16% APY 5-month certificate of deposit. The minimum deposit is $10K and the maximum limit is $100K. New funds only and it's not available at the bank branches.

As typical with World Savings promotions, it requires funds new to World Savings. If you let the CD renew, you'll likely get stuck with a low-rate 5 or 6-month CD. Currently, their internet 6-month CD pays only 3.51%.

This comes a day after the special 5.26% 6-month CD ended. The 5.26% CD was only available at the branches and wasn't advertised. The APY of the previous internet special was 5.01%.

Thanks to the reader who emailed me info on this new promotion!

Bank Deal Summary for April 22, 2006 read and submit comments for this post

For those who had their money in ING Direct savings account during their Winter Save Up Sale, you may be trying to decide where to move your money. Those with HSBC Online Savings accounts will soon be facing this same question as HSBC's 4.80% Fat Savings promo will be ending on April 30th. However, I don't think HSBC customers will be too disappointed on May 1st. HSBC has had a good track record in the last year of offering very competitive yields on the savings account (see chart). However, since HSBC had been offering such a high rate over the last 3 months, they may not want to or need to be so competitive. In HSBC's strategy, a 4.50% APY which would match the yield of EmigrantDirect's savings account may be good enough.

One good choice for your ING Direct or HSBC money is GMAC Bank. On Friday, GMAC Bank raised the yield on their money market account from 4.70% to 4.75% APY. Unlike ING and HSBC, GMAC has a $500 minimum. But there are benefits over the no-minimum savings accounts like limited check writing. GMAC has done a good job this year and in the second half of last year of keeping near the top of both money market rates and CD rates.

Another good choice is to take advantage of EverBank's FreeNet Checking Account promotion. For the first 3 months, the APY is 5.51%. After that, it goes back to the standard checking account rates (currently 3.01% APY for balances under $10K). If you don't use bill pay, there is no minimum and no monthly fees. So after the 3-month promo you could transfer the money out to the next good deal. Three months from now, interest rates may be 0.25% to 0.50% higher. Three months ago UmbrellaBank's money market account APY was at 4.40%, World Savings had a special 4.86% APY 6-month CD and Patelco Credit Union had the highest 1-year CD at 5% APY.

Another potential choice after May 1st may be Series I Savings Bonds. But the Treasury is going to need to do a major bump of the fixed rate component of the I Bond for this to be attractive. Last Wednesday, the CPI-U numbers for March were released. With this info, the inflation component of the I Bonds for the next 6 months is known. It's a low 1.01%. Currently, the fixed rate is 1% so if there is no change in the fixed rate, the new composite rate starting in May will only be about 2%. Even with a 2% increase in the fixed rate, the new composite I Bond rate won't look good for short term investors.

For this week there wasn't a lot of rate activity, GMAC Bank and Corus Bank made slight increases to their money market accounts and CDs. World Savings' special 5.26% 6-month CD will be ending today. They still are offering a 5.01% 5-month CD online. Within a month or two, I'm sure they'll be coming out with another CD special. Meadows Credit Union is still offering their 5.12% APY 6-month CD.

For 1-year CDs, two credit unions that are open to all still have the best deals. GTE FCU is still offering a 5.38% APY 12-month CD with a $500 minimum and the feature that allows additional deposits during the term. Melrose CU continues to offer very high rate 1-year and longer CDs.

The best local deal this week was at GrandSouth Bank in South Carolina which is having a grand opening special with a 6% 6-month CD and a 5.35% money market account (see post). I found several 5.50% short term CDs around the country this week. One was a 9-month CD from a Georgia bank. A California credit union in LA is offering a 10-month 5.50% CD. The State Bank of Long Island New York is close to 5.50% with a 5.40% 1-year CD (see post). The bank also offers a 5.50% 24-month CD and a 5.60% 60-month CD. I've been reporting on State Bank since February and they've continued to raise the rates on these CDs.

Thanks to all who have helped by leaving comments or sending emails on rate updates. Sorry I can't include all of the best rates in this summary.

The rates listed below are based on Annual Percentage Yield (APY). No minimum balances are required unless noted. MMA next to the rates indicate a money market account. Most MMAs have check writing and ATM cards. Online savings accounts usually lack both of these. Previous weekly summaries are available for Apr 15th, Apr 8th, Apr 1st, Mar 25th, Mar 18th and Mar 11th.

As of April 22, 2006

Savings/Money Market Accounts:

• HSBC - 4.80%, offers checking, (rate history), my post (bonus info)
• GMAC Bank - 4.75% MMA (min $500), my post
• BankUnited - 4.75% (min $5K), my post
• Heritage Bank Online - 4.72% (min $1K), my post
• American Partners Bank - 4.71% MMA (min $1K), my post
• UmbrellaBank.com - 4.70% MMA (min $1K), offers checking, my post
• Corus Bank - 4.70% MMA (min $10K to open)
• Presidential - 4.62% (min $5K, only first $35K receives this rate), offers checking, my post
• Western Financial Bank - 4.60% MMA, offers checking, my post
• VirtualBank - 4.60% (min $100), offers checking, my post ($20 bonus)
• MyBankingDirect - 4.55% MMA (min $5K), my post
• CapitalOne/Costco - 4.51% MMA (min $5K, Costco members only, $50 deal for exec. members)
• EmigrantDirect - 4.50%, my post, ($10 signup bonus), (rate history)
• Citibank - 4.50%, requires checking account, my post
• Transportation Alliance Bank - 4.50% MMA (min $25), my post
• UFB Direct - 4.40% MMA, offers checking, my post
• FirstFedDirect - 4.25% (closed to CA residents), my post
• CapitalOne - 4.25% (MMA has same rate, but with checks and ATM. $100 min.)
• Self-Help Credit Union - 4.16% MMA (min $500), my post
• ING Direct - 4.00%, my post ($25 bonus), (rate history)
• MetLife Bank - 4.00% MMA (min $5K), my post ($50 bonus)
• NetBank - 3.52% MMA ($500 min), requires checking, my post ($175 deal)
• ebank - 3.50% MMA ($1K min, rate for $10K-25K balance), offers checking
• ETrade Bank - 2.80% (min $1K to avoid fees/$5K for APY), my post (4.75%/$50 bonus)

6-Month Certificates of Deposit:

• Meadows Credit Union - 5.12% ($1K min), new funds only, my post
• Corus Bank - 5.12% (min $10K)
• GMAC Bank - 5.10% (min $500)
• ETrade Bank - 5.10% (min $1K), my post
• UFB Direct - 5.10% (min $8K)
• UmbrellaBank.com - 5.05% (min $1K)
• FirstFedDirect - 5.02% (min $10K), my post
• World Savings - 5.01% (5 months) (min $10K), new funds only, my post
• VirtualBank - 5.00% (min $10K), my post ($20 bonus)
• NetBank - 4.75% (min $1K)
• Transportation Alliance Bank - 4.65% ($1K min)
• Self-Help Credit Union - 4.57% (min $500), my post
• Western Financial Bank - 4.50% ($100 min)
• ebank - 4.50% (min $1K), 4.75% for ePremium checking customers
• MetLife Bank - 4.50% ($1K min)
• ING Direct - 4.50%

12-Month Certificates of Deposit:

• GTE FCU - 5.38% (min $500) my post
• Melrose CU - 5.35% (min $5K) my post
• Corus Bank - 5.27% (min $10K)
• GMAC Bank - 5.25% (min $500)
• UmbrellaBank.com - 5.25% (min $1K)
• BankUnited - 5.25% (min $5K), my post
• FirstFedDirect - 5.21%, (min $10K) my post
• UFB Direct - 5.20% (min $8K)
• VirtualBank - 5.20% (min $10K), my post ($20 bonus)
• Western Financial Bank - 5.15% ($100 min) (13-month)
• Transportation Alliance Bank - 5.15% ($1K min)
• ETrade Bank - 5.15% (min $1K), my post
• NetBank - 5.15% (min $1K), my post ($25 bonus)
• American Partners Bank - 5.07% (min $1K), my post
• MetLife Bank - 5.05% ($1K min)
• ING Direct - 5.00%
• Self-Help Credit Union - 4.95% (min $500), my post
• ebank - 4.75% (min $1K), 5.00% for ePremium checking customers

18-Month Certificates of Deposit:

• GMAC Bank - 5.25% (min $500)
• CapitalOne/Costco - 5.20% (min $5K, Costco members only)
• American Partners Bank - 5.18% (min $1K), my post

36-Month Certificate of Deposit:

• Melrose CU - 5.56% (min $5K) my post
• Pentagon Federal CU - 5.50% (min $1K), my post
• GMAC Bank - 5.25% (min $500)
• Self-Help Credit Union - 5.16% (min $500), my post

48-Month Certificate of Deposit:

• USA FCU - 6.01% (min $1K) my post
• Melrose CU - 5.67% (min $5K) my post
• Pentagon Federal CU - 5.50% (min $1K), my post

60-Month Certificate of Deposit:

• Melrose CU - 5.77% (min $5K) my post
• Pentagon Federal CU - 5.67% (min $1K), my post
• Transportation Alliance Bank - 5.34% ($1K min)
• GMAC Bank - 5.30% (min $500)
• Self-Help Credit Union - 5.26% (min $500), my post

84-Month Certificate of Deposit:

• Pentagon Federal CU - 5.88% (min $1K), my post

High Rates with Conditions - Open to All

• 10% Savings Account for kids ($500 max)
• 5.51% 3-month intro rate on checking account
• 5.38% 9-month CD (must sign a Christian statement of faith)
• 5.00% Money Market with $100K min
• 5.00% Money Market with $100K min

Checking and Saving Accounts at Local Credit Unions

• 5.00% no-minimum savings account (New York)
• 5.00% Money Market Account (New York)
• 4.50% checking account promo (Oklahoma)

CD Specials at Local Credit Unions/Banks Over the Last Two Months

Terms of 60 Months and Over

• 6.25% 60-Month Variable CD at a Carolina CU
• 6.14% 60-Month CD at a Virginia CU
• 6.00% 60-Month CD at a California CU
• 6.00% 61-Month CD at a Michigan CU (Open to All)
• 5.76% 60-Month CD at a South Carolina CU
• 5.64% 60-Month CD at a New York CU
• 5.64% 60-Month CD at a South Carolina/Georgia CU
• 5.61% 60-Month CD at a Minnesota Bank
• 5.50% 60-Month CD at a Illinois Bank (gradual withdrawal CD)

Terms of 24 Months to Under 60 Months

• 6.01% 48-Month CD at a CU Open to All
• 6.00% 59-Month CD at a Missouri CU
• 5.81% 30-Month CD at a Wisconsin CU
• 5.75% 41-Month CD at a Missouri CU
• 5.66% 48-Month CD at a South Carolina CU
• 5.64% 36-Month CD at a Michigan CU
• 5.61% 24-Month CD at a Chicago Bank
• 5.56% 24-Month CD at a Nashville CU
• 5.55% 24-Month CD at a Ohio CU
• 5.50% 30-Month CD at a Philadelphia Bank
• 5.50% 24-Month CD at a New York Bank
• 5.45% 36-Month CD at a Los Angeles CU
• 5.39% 24-Month CD at a California/Texas CU
• 5.35% 48-Month CD at a Texas CU
• 5.25% 24-Month CD at a Philadelphia Bank

Terms of 12 Months to Under 24 Months

• 10.00% 12-Month CD at a Multi-State CU ($2.5K max)
• 10.00% 12-Month CD at a Dallas Bank ($5K max)
• 8.00% 12-Month CD at a NJ/NY/PA CU ($2K max)
• 5.90% 18-Month CD at a Houston CU ($90K min)
• 5.54% 12-Month CD at a Ohio CU ($100K min)
• 5.50% 13-Month CD at a Massachusetts Bank
• 5.50% 13-Month CD at a Chicago Bank
• 5.50% 15-Month CD at a Florida CU
• 5.50% 12-Month CD at a Virginia CU
• 5.40% 12-Month CD at a New York Bank
• 5.40% 12-Month CD at a Nebraska CU
• 5.38% 15-Month CD at a Maine CU
• 5.38% 12-Month CD at a CU Open to All
• 5.35% 12-Month CD at a New York CU (Open To All?)
• 5.35% 13-Month CD at a Ohio CU
• 5.30% 13-Month CD at a Georgia Credit Union
• 5.30% 20-Month CD at a Illinois Bank
• 5.30% 12-Month CD at a New York Bank
• 5.30% 13-Month CD at a Virginia Bank
• 5.30% 13-Month CD at a Georgia Bank
• 5.30% 13-Month CD at a Pennsylvania Bank
• 5.30% 19-Month CD at a Florida CU
• 5.27% 15-Month CD at a Kentucky Bank
• 5.26% 15-Month CD at a Florida Bank ($50K min)
• 5.25% 13-Month CD at a Illinois Bank
• 5.25% 16-Month CD at a Florida Bank
• 5.25% 13-Month CD at a California CU
• 5.25% 12-Month CD at a Vermont Bank
• 5.25% 12-Month CD at a Texas Bank
• 5.25% 18-Month CD at a Florida Bank
• 5.25% 20-Month CD at a Pennsylvania Bank
• 5.25% 13-Month CD at a Florida CU
• 5.20% 12-Month CD at a Georgia CU
• 5.18% 12-Month CD at a Georgia Bank
• 5.17% 12-Month CD at a Texas CU
• 5.16% 13-Month CD at a Pennsylvania Bank
• 5.15% 15-Month CD at a Florida Bank
• 5.15% 12-Month CD at a Pennsylvania Bank
• 5.13% 12-Month CD at a Washington State Bank
• 5.12% 12-Month CD at a California Bank
• 5.12% 12-Month CD at a Texas Bank
• 5.10% 12-Month CD at a Washington State Bank
• 5.00% 12-Month CD at a New Jersey Bank

Terms of Under 12 Months

• 7.00% 7-Month CD at a Indiana CU ($14K max)
• 6.00% 6-Month CD at a South Carolina Bank
• 5.50% 11-Month CD at a California CU
• 5.50% 9-Month CD at a Georgia Bank
• 5.50% 10-Month CD at a California CU
• 5.45% 9-Month CD at a California Bank
• 5.38% 9-Month CD at a CU Open To All
• 5.38% 11-Month CD at a Arizona CU
• 5.35% 10-Month CD at a Tennessee CU
• 5.25% 9-Month CD at a Illinois Bank
• 5.25% 11-Month CD at a Michigan CU
• 5.25% 10-Month CD at a Massachusetts Bank
• 5.25% 7-Month CD at a Florida CU
• 5.20% 9-Month CD at a California Bank
• 5.20% 7-Month CD at a Kentucky CU
• 5.20% 9-Month CD at a Nebraska CU
• 5.15% 10-Month CD at LaSalle Bank
• 5.15% 11-Month CD at a Georgia CU
• 5.15% 11-Month CD at a Minnesota Bank
• 5.15% 10-Month CD at a Florida Bank
• 5.15% 11-Month CD at a Multi-State CU
• 5.15% 7-Month CD at a Georgia Bank
• 5.10% 9-Month CD at a Ohio Bank
• 5.10% 7-Month CD at a Kentucky CU
• 5.10% 10-Month CD at a Virginia Bank
• 5.05% 7-Month CD at a Tennessee Bank
• 5.05% 5-Month CD at a Tennessee Bank
• 5.00% 7-Month CD at a Illinois Bank
• 5.00% 7-Month CD at a Pennsylvania Bank
• 5.00% 6-Month CD at a California Bank
• 5.00% 7-Month CD at a Florida Bank
• 5.00% 6-Month CD at a Virginia Bank
• 5.00% 3-Month CD at a Ohio CU (pick any term)
• 5.00% 9-Month CD at a Massachusetts Bank
• 5.00% 6-Month CD at a Washington State CU
• 5.00% 9-Month CD at a CA/MD/TX CU
• 5.00% 5-Month CD at a Tennessee Bank
• 5.00% 9-Month CD at a Wisconsin Bank
• 4.85% 4-Month CD at a California Bank

CD Alternatives

• Money Magazine article on risk-free investments
• I Bond Fixed Rate Predictions, I Bond Article, New I Bond Rate, I Bonds as CD Alternatives

Another Internet Savings Account: OneUnited - 4.5% read and submit comments for this post

OneUnited Bank has just started an internet savings account that is currently paying 4.50% APY. It looks very similar to the typical online savings accounts. The minimum deposit and balance to receive the APY is $10. There are no monthly maintenance fees. One benefit over ING Direct or EmigrantDirect is that OneUnited Savings Account comes with an ATM card.

Here's an excerpt from OneUnited Bank's company profile page:

OneUnited Bank is the first Black-owned internet bank, the first Black-owned interstate bank and the largest Black-owned and managed bank in the country with offices in urban communities of California, Florida and Massachusetts. Its mission is to provide affordable financial services to support economic development in urban communities and maintain superior financial performance to maximize shareholder value.

There's a long article from Block Enterprise with the history behind OneUnited which describes how the current chairman and CEO, Kevin Cohee, built the bank.

Although 4.50% APY isn't a great savings account rate, it's competitive. The rate equals the current rate offered by EmigrantDirect. Hopefully, with more online competitors, banks like ING, HSBC and EmigrantDirect will be forced to improve their rates. ING Direct seems to need as much competition as possible.

Credit for learning about OneUnited goes to this FW thread.

New Online CD Rates at AmTrustDirect, M&T Bank read and submit comments for this post

After 11 days since my first post on the new internet version of AmTrust, AmTrustDirect, the bank has already made increases to their CD rates. Their rates are near the top for internet banks. Like GMAC Bank, the 6-month CD increased from 5.00% to 5.10% APY. All the other CD yields increased by 0.05%. The 12-month CD and all longer terms are at 5.25% APY. The 9-month CD is now at 5.15% APY. All CDs have a minimum deposit of $1K.

AmTrustDirect is currently just offering certificates of deposit online without any savings or money market accounts. Another bank selling only CDs online is M&T Bank, N.A. which is a subsidiary to M&T Bank Corporation (see post). M&T Bank, N.A. has APYs close to AmTrustBank with a 5.06% 6-month CD, 5.11% 9-month CD and a 5.17% 12-month CD. The minimum deposit is $5K.

EmigrantDirect just started offering CDs in March. ING Direct has long offered CDs, but just recently did some extra advertising of them as their Winter Save Up Sale ended. Since it's so easy to transfer out money from an online low-minimum savings account, banks may be looking to CDs as better way to maintain deposits.

Perhaps we'll see more banks competing in online CDs. If the long-term CD rates can make some gains, CDs may become more attractive especially when interest rates start to go back down. With more competition, there should be more CD deals.

5.40% 12-Month / 5.20% 9-Month CD at a Nebraska CU read and submit comments for this post

Metro Credit Union has a special with several high yield certificates of deposit. The good deals are in the terms between 9 months and 24 months. The rates vary based on the deposit amount. The 5.40% APY 12-month CD and the 5.20% 9-month CD require a $50K deposit. The same terms earn 5.30% APY and 5.10% for a $500 deposit. Below are the full list of rates and terms for different balance tiers:

$50,000 Minimum Deposit
Term       Rate     APY
9  Month   5.06%    5.20%
12 Month   5.27%    5.40%
15 Month   5.27%    5.40%
24 Month   5.32%    5.45%

$25,000 Minimum Deposit
Term       Rate     APY
9  Month   5.03%    5.15%
12 Month   5.23%    5.35%
15 Month   5.23%    5.35%
24 Month   5.27%    5.40%

$500 Minimum Deposit
Term       Rate     APY
9  Month   4.90%    5.10%
12 Month   5.18%    5.30%
15 Month   5.18%    5.30%
24 Month   5.23%    5.35%

Metro Credit Union's field of membership is primarily employer based. The credit union has 6 branches in Omaha, Nebraska.

The credit union is NCUA insured with $117 million in assets and 22,000 members.

5.15% 10-Month CD at LaSalle Bank read and submit comments for this post

LaSalle Bank's Manager's Special CD just got a little better. The yield on the 10-month CD increased from 5.10% to 5.15% since I last posted on this on April 12th. The conditions remain the same with a $10K minimum. The certificate of deposit can be opened online, by phone, by mail or by visiting a LaSalle branch.

LaSalle branches are located in California, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and Missouri.

New Rates at GMAC Bank: 4.75% Money Market / 5.10% 6-Month CD read and submit comments for this post

GMAC Bank raised the yield on their Money Market Savings Account from 4.70% to 4.75% APY today. The CD yields on several terms also increased. The largest increase was in the 6-month CD which increased from 5% to 5.10% APY. Below are the full list of old and new certificate of deposit rates:

  CD Term      Old APY   Old APY   New APY  Latest
               4/07/06   4/14/06   4/21/06  Change
  3 months     4.80%     4.80%     4.80%
  6 months     5.00%     5.00%     5.10%   +0.10%
  9 months     5.05%     5.05%     5.13%   +0.08%
  12 months    5.20%     5.20%     5.25%   +0.05%
  18 months    5.20%     5.20%     5.25%   +0.05%
  2 years      5.20%     5.25%     5.25%
  3 years      5.25%     5.25%     5.25%
  4 years      5.25%     5.30%     5.30%
  5 years      5.25%     5.30%     5.30%

GMAC Bank has been doing a good job at consistently increasing their deposit rates similar to the consistency of Corus Bank. The advantage over Corus Bank is that GMAC offers competitive CD rates on longer terms. Also, the minimum is only $500 vs. $10K at Corus. Another advantage of GMAC is their fast and simple ACH system for transfering funds to and from external banks and the money market account. Their main downside seems to be a hard inquiry on your credit report when you open an account. Refer to this post for GMAC Bank's last rate change.

5.50% 10-Month CD at a California CU read and submit comments for this post

Southland Credit Union is offering a 5.50% APY 10-month certificate of deposit. The minimum deposit requirement is $1K.

The credit union's field of membership includes residents of several areas around Los Angeles, California. These areas include Orange County, Downey, Santa Fe Springs, La Habra Heights, La Mirada, Norwalk, Artesia, Cerritos, Bellflower, Lakewood, Hawaiian Gardens, Paramount, Long Beach, and Signal Hill.

Southland has branches in Downey, Los Alamitos and Los Angeles.

Bankrate's Spring 2006 Checking Account Survey and My Recommendations read and submit comments for this post

Another Bankrate.com survey of checking accounts from major banks continues to show increasing fees and balance requirements. Another issue repeated from last fall's survey (see post) was the bad deal with interest checking accounts. The good news is that the average yield on interest checking accounts is now the highest it has been in three years. The bad news is that the yield is only 0.32%. As the article recommends, yields from the average interest checking account rarely make up for the additional fees and balance requirements.

How much money sits in your checking account?

The article referenced a survey by Forrester Research. The survey included households with more than $10K in liquid assets. 52% of those households held more than half of those assets in a checking account. If that money were in high yield money market accounts, an additional $200/year or more in interest could be made.

In my opinion, the best choice for a high yield money market is at GMAC Bank's Money Market Savings Account which is currently paying 4.70% APY for balances over $500. Unlike EmigrantDirect or ING Direct, this GMAC MMA offers limited check writing. It also electronically links to your checking accounts, and unlike HSBC, the transfers are fast.

Local checking accounts

It can still be useful to have a local checking account. Online banks do have some disadvantages. A local free checking account may be the best choice. Last month Washington Mutual introduced a new free checking account with many perks (see post). Compass Bank's Free Checking Account is also a decent deal especially with a signup bonus (see post). Another Free checking account bonus from a major bank is at Wells Fargo, but this bonus ends after April.

USAA Bank

Although it may not be local, you may want to consider USAA Bank for a checking account. There's no signup bonus, but the checking account has many perks with no monthly fees. The account has many online features like an ACH transfering system that makes it useful for those who don't live near a branch. Refer to this post for more info.

High yield checking accounts

If you find yourself writing a lot of high dollar checks, a money market account which limits check writing to 3 a month may not be a good choice by itself. With a high dollar balance, you would lose out with the typical checking accounts which earn little or no interest. The Bankrate article mentions that internet banks offer checking accounts with average yields of 1.96%. Here's a list of internet interest checking accounts with yields over 3%. I've limited it to those with balance requirements under $10K.

• 4.37% (up to $25K) - Presidential Internet Checking Plus, Min's: $1.5K to open, $1K to avoid monthly fees, Req's: Direct Deposit
• 4.03% (up to $25K) - City National Bank's Reward Checking, Min's: $100 to open, no balance req's, Req's: Direct Deposit, 10 Visa check card POS transactions Perks: free checks, ATM fee rebates
• 3.20% (up to $25K) - Bank of Internet Freedom Checking, Min's: $100 to open, $1K to avoid $4/mo fee, Perks: ATM fee rebates (up to $7/mo)
• 3.10% (up to $10K) - AmericanBank e-Checking, Min's: $100 to open, $1K to avoid $5/mo fee, Perks: ATM fee rebates (up to $6/mo)
• 3.01% - EverBank FreeNet Checking, Min's: $1.5K to open, no balance req's w/o bill pay, $1.5K otherwise, Perks: 5.51% APY 3-mo promo, ATM fee rebates (up to $6/mo)
• 3.00% - ebank ePremium Checking, Min's: $100 to open, $2.5K to avoid $10/mo fee, Perks: ATM fee rebates, free checks

5.25% 13-Month / 5.30% 19-Month CD at a Florida CU read and submit comments for this post

The Power 1 Credit Union has some new promotional CD rates. These include a 5.25% APY 13-month CD, a 5.30% 19-month CD and a 5.35% APY 30-month CD. All of these certificates have a minimum balance requirement of $2.5K and are eligible for an IRA or SEP. In January their special certificates of deposit had yields about 0.35% to 0.55% lower than today's specials.

The credit union's field of membership includes residents of Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach Counties of Florida.

The credit union is NCUA insured with $376 million in assets and 38,000 members.

5.61% 24-Month CD at a Chicago Bank read and submit comments for this post

The International Bank of Chicago is offering 5.61% APY 2-year CD. The minimum deposit is $10K. This doesn't seem to be a special rate.

The bank has four branches in the Chicago area.

Highest Rate 24-Month CD

The best yield for a 24-month certificate of deposit currently listed at Bankrate.com is 5.30% APY at UmbrellaBank.com. Melrose Credit Union (open to all, see post) has a 2-year CD with an APY of 5.46%. State Bank of Long Island has a 5.50% APY 24-month CD available to New York residents (see post).

March CPI-U: Impact to Savings Accounts, I-Bonds read and submit comments for this post

The March Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) came out today. The core CPI increased more than what the experts had expected. This might mean the Fed won't end the rate hikes anytime soon (more at Yahoo). Perhaps we'll see savings account rates hit 5% before too long (here's one that's already at 5% non-promo).

The CPI-U ended March with a level of 199.8. That's 1 above the September 2005's level of 198.8 which results in an annual rate of 1.01%. So the I-Bond inflation component from May through October 2006 should be 1.01%. Those who bought I Bonds since November 2005 will be earning only about 2% for six months after May 1st. If you consider your first six months were at 6.73%, you'll average out to about 4.40% for the year.

With only a 1% fixed rate, the current I-Bond isn't a good deal. Hopefully, the fixed rate will be increased in May. It seems likely if the Treasury wants to keep the I Bond as an attractive investment. A 2% combined rate doesn't look good at all. I'm predicting that the fixed rate will rise to around 2%. That'll make the combined rate to be around 3% which isn't that good either when savings accounts are paying over 4%. Perhaps we'll see a fixed rate hike even bigger. However, the Treasury has never changed the fixed rate more than 1% at any one time, and the time it changed 1%, it was a drop (November 2001 it dropped from 3% to 2%). Refer to my previous post for more I Bond information and rate history.

5.50% 12-Month CD at a Virginia CU read and submit comments for this post

Apple Federal Credit Union is offering a special 5.50% APY 50-week certificate of deposit. The minimum deposit is $500 and the maximum is $500K. New money is required. The credit union also has some nice rates on long-term CDs. The 5-year CD has an APY of 5.70%.

Unfortunately, the field of membership is limited to select employment groups. There is a long list of employers.

The credit union is located in Fairfax, Virginia and has additional branches in Centreville, Falls Church, Herndon, Manassas, Alexandria, Springfield, Stafford, Winchester, Woodbridge and Washington, DC.

The credit union is NCUA insured with $824 million in assets and 75,000 members.

For the person who emailed me this special, thanks!

Another $50 Checking Account Promo at Compass Bank read and submit comments for this post

Compass Bank is again offering a $50 Amazon gift card when you open a new Compass Free Checking account. Here's the link to the promo page. It's also listed on their specials page here along with a $50 Staples Gift certificate for opening a free business checking account.

Compass Bank had been offering this Amazon promotion last year. I had posted on it last last January. This offer seems to come and go every so often. Note, if the promotional page says it has expired, try removing the cookies on your browser. It was showing expired to me until I did this.

Compass Bank's Free Checking Account has several nice perks including free checks and refunds of ATM charges by other banks.

Although you can apply online for a new Compass Checking account, you will still need to go to your local branch to complete the account opening process. Compass Bank has branches in Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, New Mexico and Texas.

Compass Bank also has some decent CD rates. Refer to this post for more info.

ING Direct / VirtualBank Referral Bonuses read and submit comments for this post

ING Direct's Winter Save Up Sale may be over, but at least they still have one of the best referral bonuses. This helps to make up for the fact that their rates have lagged many of their online competitors by about 0.5% over the last year.

If you plan to keep a small balance, a signup bonus can be more important than top rates. For example, if you plan only to keep $500 in the account, it'll take 10 years of interest at EmigrantDirect to exceed the $25 ING referral bonus plus the interest at ING Direct (assuming ING continues to lag by 0.5%). The referral bonus has the extra benefit in that after you sign up, you can make $10 for each referral bonus you send to a friend.

ING Direct Referral Bonus

I've used up all my ING Direct referrals, however, a friend who has helped me on this blog still has many left. He has created a special email address to receive referral requests @ bankreferral@gmail.com. Please make sure to include "ING Direct" and your first and last name in the email.

The referral bonus pays $25 when you sign up at ING Direct and make an initial deposit of $250. There is no minimum balance requirement after the hold period is over. You can make $10 for each referral that you make up to a total of $250.

Please refer to this post for more info on ING Direct.

Virtual Bank Referral Bonus

Virtual Bank has a similar referral bonus as ING Direct. In VirtualBank's case, the bonus is $20 and the person sending the bonus gets $20. The initial deposit has to be at least $100 for the eMoney Market account. There is no minimum after the account is opened. Currently Virtual Bank is paying a nice 4.60% APY. However, the interest rate did lag for most of last year. For more info on VirtualBank and the referral bonus, refer to this previous post.

Virtual Bank handles referrals a little different than ING Direct in that once you send a referral, you can't cancel it. So if the person doesn't join within 30 days, you lose that referral opportunity. If you would like a Virtual Bank referral, please send a request to my friend @ bankreferral@gmail.com with your first and last name and specifying that you want a VirtualBank referral.

[Post updated on 10/29/07]

New Higher Rates at Corus Bank and 6-Month CDs read and submit comments for this post

Corus Bank did their usual Tuesday rate hike today. The largest increase was in their 6-month CD. The APY increased from 5.05% to 5.12%. The 12-month CD APY increased from 5.23% to 5.27%, and the money market yield increased from 4.67% to 4.70%.

Corus Bank's 6-month CD over takes ETrade's 5.10% APY 6-month CD. World Savings still has their 5.26% 6-month CD special, but it's scheduled to expire by the end of this week (see post). Meadows Credit Union's 5.12% 6-month CD special is also still active and is open to all.

5.35% 10-Month CD at a Tennessee CU read and submit comments for this post

Y-12 Federal Credit Union is offering a 5.35% APY 10-month fixed-rate share certificate or IRA. The minimum deposit is $2.5K.

The credit union's field of membership includes anyone who lives, works, worships or attend school in the following Tennessee counties: Anderson, Loudon, Blount, Roane, Campbell, Sevier, Knox and Union.

Y-12 FCU has branches located in Oak Ridge, Knoxville, Maryville, Jacksboro, Harriman, Clinton, Sevierville and Maryville.

Y-12 FCU is NCUA insured with $382 million in assets and over 60,000 members.

6.00% 6-Month CD / 5.35% Money Market at a South Carolina Bank read and submit comments for this post

GrandSouth Bank is having a grand opening special at their new branch in Anderson, South Carolina. For a limited time they are offering a 6% APY 6-month CD with a minimum deposit of $1K. Also being offered is a 5.35% APY money market account for balances over $1K. Balances less than $1K receive 0.10%. No details are provided about how long this rate is guaranteed. Both of these specials are available only to Anderson County residents only. The new Anderson branch is located at 1601 North Fant Street. Their number is 864-224-2424.

These specials rates are not listed at the bank's website, but were advertised in the Anderson's newspaper on April 14th. The ad is available online here.

5.50% 9-Month CD at a Georgia Bank read and submit comments for this post

Colony Bank is offering a 5.50% APY 9-month CD. The minimum deposit is $500. This special is not listed at the bank's website, but was advertised in the April 16th Savannah Morning News. The ad is available online here.

Colony Bank has branches throughout central and south Georgia.

The highest rate on a 9-month certificate of deposit listed currently on Bankrate.com is 5.15% APY at UmbrellaBank, American United Bank and IndyMack Bank.

5.38% 11-Month CD at an Arizona CU read and submit comments for this post

Deer Valley Credit Union is offering a 5.38% APY 11-month CD with a $500 minimum deposit. This special is for a limited time.

The field of membership includes residents of many areas around Phoenix, Arizona. The credit union has four branches in Phoenix, Glendale and Anthem.

Deer Valley is NCUA insured with $238 million in assets and 21,000 members.

Another 5.38% CD

It's a little longer at 12-months, but it has the same APY of 5.38%. GTE Federal Credit Union's special certificate is 5.38% APY 12-month with a $500 minimum deposit. GTE is available for all to join. Refer to this previous post for more info.

ING Direct Sale is Over - Now What? read and submit comments for this post

The interest from the Winter Save Up Sale should now have posted in your ING Direct account. So it should be safe to move your money without worrying about losing credit for the last month. ING Direct's plan was to get people to try out their CDs. They specifically increased their 9-month CD to 4.75% APY and have marketed it in an email as a promotional rate good through the end of the month. They also increased all of the 1-year and longer CDs to 5% APY on Friday.

One good thing about opening an ING CD is that it's very easy to open oline. Also, you won't lose any interest moving the money into another account. The downside is that you lock your money into a CD that is around 0.25% lower than other nationally available online CDs. With two more Fed rate hikes likely in the next 2 months, you may want to stick with a high yield savings account.

HSBC Direct still has the best no-minimum savings account rate of 4.80% APY. Although this is also a promo rate, HSBC has had a history of high rates for the last year that has closely followed the Fed funds rate (see chart). I think it's likely that the HSBC rate after the promo ends on April 30th will be at least 4.50% APY. I'm expecting it will remain the same at 4.80%.

5.25% 7-Month CD at a Florida CU read and submit comments for this post

Eastern Financial Florida Credit Union has a special 5.25% APY 7-month certificate of deposit. The minimum is $500. The 5.25% APY requires direct deposit of $500 a month to any of the credit union's savings or checking accounts. Without direct deposit, the APY is 5%. This offer is also available for an IRA CD.

The credit union's field of membership includes residents of the following Florida counties: Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Hillsborough and Pinellas.

Eastern Financial Florida is NCUA insured. It's a large credit union with over $1.9 billion in assets and over 210K members.

Credit for this find goes to this iBankDesign thread.

6.25% 60-Month Variable CD at a Carolina CU (part 2) read and submit comments for this post

Sharonview Federal Credit Union is offering a 6.25% APY 60-month CD. It's a variable rate based on the Prime Lending Rate minus 1%. It changes according to that rate every January 1 and July 1. The minimum required deposit is $500. The early withdrawl penalty is 180 days of interest. Sharonview also has a 5.25% APY 36-month variable certificate of deposit. The rate of that CD is based on the Prime Lending Rate minus 2.5% on January 1 and July 1 of each year.

I first mentioned this CD in January. As I mentioned in that post, this seems like a good deal even though it's a variable rate. In this post from last week, I mentioned a Prime Rate Index CD from a Pennsylvania Bank. The Prime rate generally runs 3% above the Federal Funds rate. The next two meetings of the Fed occur on May 10th and June 28th. It's likely that we'll see at least two more rate hikes. So the Prime rate may be 8.25% by July 1st. So the Sharaonview FCU's Variable CD rates may only improve.

Sharonview is based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They have branches in several cities of North Carolina and South Carolina. They also have three banches in Bridgewater, New Jersey. The field of membership is primarily employer based.

Sharonview is NCUA insured, and has a 5-star rating from Bauer Financial. Credit for this latest update on Sharonview goes to Victor who left the comment in the finding deals post.

5.40% 12-Month CD at a New York Bank read and submit comments for this post

The State Bank of Long Island has again increased the yield on their CDs. Their CDs of terms 1-year and longer terms are some of the best in the nation. The 12-month CD has an APY of 5.40% and the 24-month CD has any APY of 5.50%. All of the CDs have a $2.5K minimum. IRA certificates have a $500 minimum. Below is the table of rates for all CD terms:

Term              APY
3 months          4.58%
6 to 11 months    5.00%
12 to 23 months   5.40%
24 to 59 months   5.50%
60 months         5.60%

I've been tracking this bank since February when they were offering a 5.05% 12-month certificate of deposit. Last month they were offering a 5.25% 12-month CD. Now it's up to 5.40%. It's always better to go with a bank with a good track record of high rates. When the CD matures, there's a better chance that the new rate will be near the top, and you can just let the CD renew and not worry about moving the money.

State Bank of Long Island has 16 branches in Queens, Nassau and Suffolk, New York.

Thanks to the commenter who mentioned the new State Bank rates!

5.45% 36-Month CD at a Los Angeles CU read and submit comments for this post

Pacific Resource Credit Union is offering a 5.45% APY 3-year CD. The minimum deposit is $1K. A yield of 5.47% is available for balances over $50K. The certificate also has a bump up option which allows you to adjust the rate once during the term.

The field of membership includes anyone who regularly works, resides, worships, or attends school in metro Los Angeles, Carson, Cerritos, Cypress, La Palma, Lakewood, or Torrance. For those who qualify, membership into the credit union only requires a $5 initial deposit into the Regular Share savings account.

The credit union has 3 branches in Carson and Los Angeles, California. The credit union is NCUA insured with 9,670 members and $120 million in assets.

Credit for this find goes to the commenter who mentioned it in the finding deals post. Thanks!

Highest Rate 36-Month CD

The highest 36-month certificate of deposit yield currently listed at Bankrate.com is 5.26% APY at Quantum National Bank of Suwanee, Georgia. For credit unions with easy membership, Melrose CU has the best 3-year CD rate of 5.56% APY.

Bank Deal Summary for April 15, 2006 read and submit comments for this post

The CD rates had more action this week than the savings account rates. Today I reported on ING Direct's big rate hike on all of their long term CDs. All of ING Direct CD terms of one year and longer are now at 5% APY. This would have beat EmigrantDirect's new 5% My Way CDs, but Emigrant just reduced the terms of their CDs from 18 months to 9 months. The 5% APY now applies to terms from 9 months to 10 years.

ING Direct seems to be trying to encourage customers who were attracted by the 4.75% Sale to open these CDs. Now that the Winter Save Up Sale is over, the 4% savings account rate looks pretty low compared to what other online banks are offering. Will a 4.75% 9-month CD and a 5% 12-month CD be able to prevent the out flow of money? ING Direct's CDs are very easy to fund for those with Orange savings accounts. And like the savings accounts, there are no minimums. But the rates are still low compared to the competition.

Both ING and Emigrant are a long way off from the CD rate leaders. World Savings' 5.26% continues to be the best national 6-month CD APY. ETrade started offering a 5.10% APY 6-month CD this week. I now have 9 banks and credit unions with 6-month CDs of 5% or higher APY.

For 12-month CDs, UmbrellaBank took the lead for online banks at 5.25% APY. GTE Federal Credit Union became the new 12-month CD rate leader with their 5.38% APY 12-month CD. This Florida based credit union is available to everyone via membership in a non-profit organization (see post).

The best new find this week for nationally available long-term CDs was at USA Federal Credit Union. They are currently offering a 6.01% APY 48-month CD. This California based credit union is available to all via membership in an association (see post).

There were modest rate increases for several savings and money market accounts this week. UmbrellaBank's money market rate increased from 4.66% to 4.70% APY. CapitalOne/Costco's money market rate increaed from 4.30% to 4.51% APY. Western Fiancial Bank made another rate increase to their savings account. It had remained 4.25% for through out the winter. Finally, in early April it was raised to 4.50% APY, and this week it was increased to 4.60% APY. There were worries that since WFB was acquired by Wachovia, the high rates might end. But this doesn't seem to be the case.

I've added two new banks on the savings account list. BankUnited just started offering online savings account and a 12-month CD (see post). This bank is based in Florida and seems to be getting into internet banking. Their current savings account rate is an impressive 4.75% APY. This rate does require a $5K balance and is only guaranteed to last through May 1st. We'll have to see if the bank intends to remain near the top.

I've also added Heritage Bank Online to the savings account list. This seems like another bank that wants to be make a name for itself as a rate leader in online savings accounts. I first reported on this bank on April 2nd with a 4.60% APY savings account. Today I reported on their new 4.72% APY.

Online banks are not the only ones raising CD rates. There have been many nice rates from some major regional banks. Compass Bank which has branches in several states in the south and west has been offering a 5% 11-month CD since March. SunTrust Bank just started offering a 5.25% 13-month CD in several states including Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia, West Virginia and DC.

Thanks to all who have helped by leaving comments or sending emails on rate updates. Sorry I can't include all of the best rates in this summary.

The rates listed below are based on Annual Percentage Yield (APY). No minimum balances are required unless noted. MMA next to the rates indicate a money market account. Most MMAs have check writing and ATM cards. Online savings accounts usually lack both of these. Previous weekly summaries are available for Apr 8th, Apr 1st, Mar 25th, Mar 18th, Mar 11th and Mar 4th.

As of April 15, 2006

Savings/Money Market Accounts:

• HSBC - 4.80%, offers checking, (rate history), my post (bonus info)
• BankUnited - 4.75% (min $5K), my post
• Heritage Bank Online - 4.72% (min $1K), my post
• American Partners Bank - 4.71% MMA (min $1K), my post
• GMAC Bank - 4.70% MMA (min $500), my post
• UmbrellaBank.com - 4.70% MMA (min $1K), offers checking, my post
• Corus Bank - 4.67% MMA (min $10K to open)
• Presidential - 4.62% (min $5K, only first $35K receives this rate), offers checking, my post
• Western Financial Bank - 4.60% MMA, offers checking, my post
• VirtualBank - 4.60% (min $100), offers checking, my post ($20 bonus)
• MyBankingDirect - 4.55% MMA (min $5K), my post
• CapitalOne/Costco - 4.51% MMA (min $5K, Costco members only, $50 deal for exec. members)
• EmigrantDirect - 4.50%, my post, ($10 signup bonus), (rate history)
• Citibank - 4.50%, requires checking account, my post
• Transportation Alliance Bank - 4.50% MMA (min $25), my post
• UFB Direct - 4.40% MMA, offers checking, my post
• FirstFedDirect - 4.25% (closed to CA residents), my post
• CapitalOne - 4.25% (MMA has same rate, but with checks and ATM. $100 min.)
• Self-Help Credit Union - 4.16% MMA (min $500), my post
• ING Direct - 4.00%, my post ($25 bonus), (rate history)
• MetLife Bank - 4.00% MMA (min $5K), my post ($50 bonus)
• NetBank - 3.52% MMA ($500 min), requires checking, my post ($175 deal)
• ebank - 3.50% MMA ($1K min, rate for $10K-25K balance), offers checking
• ETrade Bank - 2.80% (min $1K to avoid fees/$5K for APY), my post (4.75%/$50 bonus)

6-Month Certificates of Deposit:

• World Savings - 5.26% (min $10K), branch only, new funds only, my post
• Meadows Credit Union - 5.12% ($1K min), new funds only, my post
• ETrade Bank - 5.10% (min $1K), my post
• UmbrellaBank.com - 5.05% (min $1K)
• UFB Direct - 5.05% (min $8K)
• Corus Bank - 5.05% (min $10K)
• World Savings - 5.01% (5 months) (min $10K), new funds only, my post
• GMAC Bank - 5.00% (min $500)
• VirtualBank - 5.00% (min $10K), my post ($20 bonus)
• FirstFedDirect - 4.97% (min $10K), my post
• NetBank - 4.75% (min $1K)
• Transportation Alliance Bank - 4.65% ($1K min)
• Self-Help Credit Union - 4.57% (min $500), my post
• Western Financial Bank - 4.50% ($100 min)
• ebank - 4.50% (min $1K), 4.75% for ePremium checking customers
• MetLife Bank - 4.50% ($1K min)
• ING Direct - 4.50%

12-Month Certificates of Deposit:

• GTE FCU - 5.38% (min $500) my post
• Melrose CU - 5.35% (min $5K) my post
• UmbrellaBank.com - 5.25% (min $1K)
• BankUnited - 5.25% (min $5K), my post
• Corus Bank - 5.23% (min $10K)
• Pacific Mercantile Bank - 5.23% (min $10K), my post
• GMAC Bank - 5.20% (min $500)
• UFB Direct - 5.20% (min $8K)
• VirtualBank - 5.20% (min $10K), my post ($20 bonus)
• FirstFedDirect - 5.17%, (min $10K) my post
• Western Financial Bank - 5.15% ($100 min) (13-month)
• Transportation Alliance Bank - 5.15% ($1K min)
• ETrade Bank - 5.15% (min $1K), my post
• NetBank - 5.10% (min $1K), my post ($25 bonus)
• American Partners Bank - 5.07% (min $1K), my post
• MetLife Bank - 5.05% ($1K min)
• ING Direct - 5.00%
• Self-Help Credit Union - 4.98% (min $500), my post
• ebank - 4.75% (min $1K), 5.00% for ePremium checking customers

18-Month Certificates of Deposit:

• CapitalOne/Costco - 5.30% (min $5K, Costco members only)
• Pacific Mercantile Bank - 5.26% (min $10K), my post
• GMAC Bank - 5.20% (min $500)
• American Partners Bank - 5.18% (min $1K), my post

36-Month Certificate of Deposit:

• Melrose CU - 5.56% (min $5K) my post
• Pentagon Federal CU - 5.50% (min $1K), my post
• Self-Help Credit Union - 5.26% (min $500), my post
• Pacific Mercantile Bank - 5.26% (min $10K), my post
• GMAC Bank - 5.25% (min $500)

48-Month Certificate of Deposit:

• USA FCU - 6.01% (min $1K) my post
• Melrose CU - 5.67% (min $5K) my post
• Pentagon Federal CU - 5.50% (min $1K), my post

60-Month Certificate of Deposit:

• Melrose CU - 5.77% (min $5K) my post
• Pentagon Federal CU - 5.67% (min $1K), my post
• Transportation Alliance Bank - 5.34% ($1K min)
• Self-Help Credit Union - 5.33% (min $500), my post
• GMAC Bank - 5.30% (min $500)
• Pacific Mercantile Bank - 5.26% (min $10K), my post

84-Month Certificate of Deposit:

• Pentagon Federal CU - 5.88% (min $1K), my post

High Rates with Conditions - Open to All

• 10% Savings Account for kids ($500 max)
• 5.51% 3-month intro rate on checking account
• 5.38% 9-month CD (must sign a Christian statement of faith)
• 5.00% Money Market with $30K (3-month intro rate)
• 5.00% Money Market with $100K min
• 5.00% Money Market with $100K min

Checking and Saving Accounts at Local Credit Unions

• 5.00% no-minimum savings account (New York)
• 5.00% Money Market Account (New York)
• 4.50% checking account promo (Oklahoma)

CD Specials at Local Credit Unions/Banks Over the Last Two Months

Terms of 60 Months and Over

• 6.14% 60-Month CD at a Virginia CU
• 6.00% 60-Month CD at a California CU
• 6.00% 61-Month CD at a CU Open to All
• 5.76% 60-Month CD at a South Carolina CU
• 5.64% 60-Month CD at a New York CU
• 5.64% 60-Month CD at a South Carolina/Georgia CU
• 5.63% 60-Month CD at a Texas CU ($50K min)
• 5.61% 60-Month CD at a Minnesota Bank
• 5.50% 60-Month CD at a Illinois Bank (gradual withdrawal CD)

Terms of 24 Months to Under 60 Months

• 6.01% 48-Month CD at a California CU (Open to All)
• 6.00% 59-Month CD at a Missouri CU
• 5.81% 30-Month CD at a Wisconsin CU
• 5.75% 41-Month CD at a Missouri CU
• 5.66% 48-Month CD at a South Carolina CU
• 5.64% 36-Month CD at a Michigan CU
• 5.56% 24-Month CD at a Nashville CU
• 5.55% 24-Month CD at a Ohio CU
• 5.50% 30-Month CD at a Philadelphia Bank
• 5.50% 24-Month CD at a New York Bank
• 5.39% 24-Month CD at a California/Texas CU
• 5.35% 48-Month CD at a Texas CU
• 5.25% 24-Month CD at a Philadelphia Bank

Terms of 12 Months to Under 24 Months

• 10.00% 12-Month CD at a Multi-State CU ($2.5K max)
• 10.00% 12-Month CD at a Dallas Bank ($5K max)
• 8.00% 12-Month CD at a NJ/NY/PA CU ($2K max)
• 5.90% 18-Month CD at a Houston CU ($90K min)
• 5.54% 12-Month CD at a Ohio CU ($100K min)
• 5.50% 13-Month CD at a Chicago Bank
• 5.50% 15-Month CD at a Florida CU
• 5.38% 15-Month CD at a Maine CU
• 5.38% 12-Month CD at a Florida CU (Open to All)
• 5.35% 12-Month CD at a New York CU (Open To All?)
• 5.35% 13-Month CD at a Ohio CU
• 5.30% 13-Month CD at a Georgia Credit Union
• 5.30% 20-Month CD at a Illinois Bank
• 5.30% 12-Month CD at a New York Bank
• 5.30% 13-Month CD at a Virginia Bank
• 5.30% 13-Month CD at a Georgia Bank
• 5.30% 13-Month CD at a Pennsylvania Bank
• 5.27% 15-Month CD at a Kentucky Bank
• 5.26% 15-Month CD at a Florida Bank ($50K min)
• 5.25% 13-Month CD at SunTrust (FL/DC/TN/GA/VA/WV)
• 5.25% 13-Month CD at a Illinois Bank
• 5.25% 16-Month CD at a Florida Bank
• 5.25% 13-Month CD at a California CU
• 5.25% 12-Month CD at a New York Bank
• 5.25% 12-Month CD at a Vermont Bank
• 5.25% 12-Month CD at a Texas Bank
• 5.25% 18-Month CD at a Florida Bank
• 5.25% 20-Month CD at a Pennsylvania Bank
• 5.20% 12-Month CD at a Georgia CU
• 5.18% 12-Month CD at a Georgia Bank
• 5.17% 12-Month CD at a Texas CU
• 5.16% 13-Month CD at a Pennsylvania Bank
• 5.15% 15-Month CD at a Florida Bank
• 5.15% 12-Month CD at a Pennsylvania Bank
• 5.13% 12-Month CD at a Washington State Bank
• 5.12% 12-Month CD at a California Bank
• 5.12% 12-Month CD at a Texas Bank
• 5.10% 12-Month CD at a Washington State Bank
• 5.00% 12-Month CD at a New Jersey Bank

Terms of Under 12 Months

• 7.00% 7-Month CD at a Indiana CU ($14K max)
• 5.50% 11-Month CD at a California CU
• 5.45% 9-Month CD at a California Bank
• 5.38% 9-Month CD at a California CU (Open To All)
• 5.25% 9-Month CD at a Illinois Bank
• 5.25% 11-Month CD at a Michigan CU
• 5.25% 10-Month CD at a Massachusetts Bank
• 5.20% 9-Month CD at a California Bank
• 5.20% 7-Month CD at a Kentucky CU
• 5.15% 11-Month CD at a Georgia CU
• 5.15% 11-Month CD at a Minnesota Bank
• 5.15% 10-Month CD at a Florida Bank
• 5.15% 11-Month CD at a Multi-State CU
• 5.15% 7-Month CD at a Georgia Bank
• 5.10% 9-Month CD at a Ohio Bank
• 5.10% 7-Month CD at a Kentucky CU
• 5.10% 10-Month CD at a Virginia Bank
• 5.05% 7-Month CD at a Tennessee Bank
• 5.05% 5-Month CD at a Tennessee Bank
• 5.00% 7-Month CD at a Illinois Bank
• 5.00% 7-Month CD at a Pennsylvania Bank
• 5.00% 6-Month CD at a California Bank
• 5.00% 7-Month CD at a Florida Bank
• 5.00% 6-Month CD at a Virginia Bank
• 5.00% 3-Month CD at a Ohio CU (pick any term)
• 5.00% 9-Month CD at a Massachusetts Bank
• 5.00% 6-Month CD at a Washington State CU
• 5.00% 9-Month CD at a CA/MD/TX CU
• 5.00% 5-Month CD at a Tennessee Bank
• 5.00% 9-Month CD at a Wisconsin Bank
• 4.85% 4-Month CD at a California Bank

CD Alternatives

• Money Magazine article on risk-free investments
• I Bond Fixed Rate Predictions, I Bond Article, New I Bond Rate, I Bonds as CD Alternatives

Heritage Direct Savings Account Now 4.72% read and submit comments for this post

Heritage Bank Online increased the rate on their savings account from 4.60% to 4.72% APY. I first reported on this bank on April 2nd. As I mentioned in that post, this online savings account looks very similar to that of ING Direct or EmigrantDirect except that it has a $1K minimum to avoid a $10 monthly fee. Due to that minimum and fee, I still consider the other online savings accounts a better deal. However, it's nice to see that Heritage Bank intends to remain competitive on interest rates. This means more competition which will help improve rates on all savings accounts.

BankUnited Internet Offerings: 4.75% Savings / 5.25% 12-month CD read and submit comments for this post

BankUnited of Florida is offering a 4.75% APY savings account and a 5.25% APY 1-year CD. The 4.75% APY only applies to balances of $5K and higher. The minimum balance to open the account is $50. The minimum daily balance to avoid a $5 monthly fee is $300. The CD requires a $5K minimum deposit. Both can be opened online by people from any state.

Based on a conversation with the CSR, this 4.75% APY is only guaranteed through May 1st. We'll have to wait and see if Bank United will keep this savings account competitive.

The online account applications appear to be through CashEdge which is the same online banking service provider used by HSBC. The application instructions imply that account funding will be done by ACH. However, the CSR stated that it can be funded only by check. I'm not sure if she was too familar with these new online accounts.

The online savings account seems typical. It doesn't offer check writing, but, according to the CSR, you can get an ATM card.

The 5.25% 1-year CD has an early withdrawal penalty of 6 months. The online application looks identical to that of the savings account.

Credit for this find goes to this SavingAdvice thread.

ING Direct Raises All 12-Month and Longer CDs to 5% read and submit comments for this post

ING Direct just raised the rates to 5% APY on all of their CDs with terms of 12-months and longer. ING had just raised rates on several CDs on April 5th so I hadn't expected another rate change so soon. Thanks to the commenter who mentioned this.

This seems another attempt to reduce the outflow of money now that the Winter Save Up Sale has ended. In the CD rate increases of April 5th, the 9-month APY increased by 0.35% to 4.75%. ING advertised this CD specifically in an email and stated that it would end April 30th.

As I mentioned in the previous post, ING Direct does have two features that no one else has: no minimum deposit and a very easy online system to open CDs.

The table below shows the changes in the CD rates. The biggest change is in the 12-month APY. At the start of April, the 12-month APY was just 4.50%.

Term      Old APY   New APY    Change
6 Month   4.50%     4.50%
9 Month   4.75%     4.75%
12 Month  4.75%     5.00%      +0.25%
18 Month  4.75%     5.00%      +0.25%
24 Month  4.80%     5.00%      +0.20%
30 Month  4.80%     5.00%      +0.20%
36 Month  4.80%     5.00%      +0.20%
48 Month  4.85%     5.00%      +0.15%
60 Month  4.90%     5.00%      +0.10%

Perhaps we'll start seeing a rate war on CDs now. I had just posted on Emigrant's new shorter term CDs. Emigrant's 5% CDs now include a 9-month term. But 5% CDs don't seem so good anymore. When will EmigrantDirect bump up their CD rates? And when will HSBC Direct start offering some decent CD rates? Currently, HSBC's best CD rate is only 4.50% APY for a 15-month term.

5.38% 12-Month CD at a CU Open to All read and submit comments for this post

GTE Federal Credit Union has a special share certificate of 5.38% APY for 12 months. The minimum deposit is $500. There's also a special 5.12% 6-month CD with a $500 minimum. This 6-month CD requires Partner Checking, direct deposit and either a credit card, debit card or Bill Pay.

The credit union's field of membership includes members of a non-profit educational financial club called CUSavers. Anyone can join CUSavers for a one-time non-refundable ten dollar membership fee.

The credit union has branches through out Florida including the cities of Port Charlotte, Ocala, Crystal River, Hudson, Lake City, Clearwater, St. Petersburg, Jasper, Lakeland, Brandon, Tampa, Sarasota, Bradenton and Lake Mary. There are also branches in New Orleans, Louisiana and Portland, Maine.

EmigrantDirect's 5% CD Terms Now 9-Months and Up read and submit comments for this post

EmigrantDirect's My Way CDs now have terms as short as 9 months. When these CDs first came out last month, the shortest term was 18 months. You can now choose any term from 9 months to 10 years in one month increments. The APY on all terms remains at 5% with a minimum deposit of $1,000. The early withdrawal penalty for terms of less than one year is 90 days of interest. Terms of one year and more have a penalty of 180 days of interest.

This change makes these CDs much more competitive. There's a big difference between a 5% APY 18-month CD and a 5% APY 9-month CD. The best 9-month CD currently available nationally is 5.10% APY at AmTrustDirect. So 5% is near the top.

I was hoping EmigrantDirect would just raise their savings account yield to 5%. With many non-promotional money market account yields around 4.70% and with the Fed likely to raise interest rates next month, 5% doesn't seem too high. Now with CDs, EmigrantDirect may see less reason to offer super high savings yields like it did in early 2005 and in September 2005.

The "My Way" certificate of deposit requires that you have an EmigrantDirect savings account. With a high-yield no-minimum savings account, I don't consider this a problem. In fact, I like this model. You fund the CD immediately with money from the savings account. When the CD matures, you have the option to close it and transfer the money back into your savings account. Once in the savings account, you can easily move it through ACH transfers. I don't see any documentation about tranfering money from a closed CD back into the savings account. I would assume EmigrantDirect has this feature.

ING Direct has the best online CD system that I've seen in terms of ease of use (not the best in terms of rates though). Once you open an ING Direct CD, the CD is shown in your account summary page. EmigrantDirect is still working on their system. In their CD disclosure they mention that they are enhancing their website so that the CD accounts will appear in your account summary and your statements will be displayed online.

5.17% 12-Month CD at a Texas CU read and submit comments for this post

Greater Texas Federal Credit Union has a special offer for their share certificates with terms of 12 months and longer. An APY of 5.17% is available on these CDs with a minimum deposit of $5K.

I first mentioned this credit union last January for their high long term CD rates for deposits over $50K. These rates are still in effect. They include a 5.63% APY 60-month, 5.47% APY 48-month, 5.26% APY 42-month and 5.16% 36-month. This is 50 basis points over the regular CD rates which have a $1K minimum. It's not clear if this extra rate would apply to the 5.17% special.

The credit union's field of membership includes residents of Bryan-College Station, Bastrop, East or Central Travis County or Central Hidalgo County areas. Branches are located in Austin, Arlington, Bastrop, Bryan, College Station, Dallas, Edinburg, Houston and San Antonio.

$75 Checking Account Bonus at a Credit Union Open to All read and submit comments for this post

Christian Community Credit Union is offering a $75 bonus for opening their interest checking account with direct deposit. There are no monthly fees with direct deposit or with a $750 minimum balance. You must sign up for direct deposit within 90 days of opening your account. There are also two additional small bonuses: $10 bonus for using Bill Payer and $5 bonus for signing up for e-Statement.

The credit union also has a CD and a money market promotion. They are offering a 6% APY 7-month certificate. Only one account per member is allowed and the deposit can only be $2.5K. The money market promotion has a special 5% APY for the first 6 months. There's a deposit limit of $2.5K. The minimum is $1K.

I consider the $75 direct deposit bonus better than the CD and money market promotions. The CD special will earn you about $14 over a similar CD at a place like VirtualBank. The money market account special will make you about $6 over what you would make at EmigrantDirect for those 6 months. After the promotions are over, the rates are not too competitive. But if you do the direct deposit bonus, you matter as well go for these promotions also.

Christian Community Credit Union is similar to America's Christian Credit Union that I posted on last week in that their field of membership includes anyone who affirms a personal statement of faith. If you're not a Christian, but put money over faith, I suppose you could still join :-)

The only problem with this credit union is that they're not NCUA insured. Like Patelco Credit Union, they are privately insured by American Share Insurance.

The credit union is located in Covina, California and is a member of the CU Service Centers.

Thanks to the commenter who noted these credit union specials in the finding deals post.

6% 59-Month / 5.75% 41-Month CD at a Missouri CU read and submit comments for this post

Kirkwood Municipal Credit Union has four special certificates. These include a 6% APY 59-month CD, 5.75% APY 41-month CD, 5.25% APY 23-month CD and a 4.75% APY 13-month CD. All have a minimum deposit of $5K and require money new to the credit union. The early withdrawal penalty is 90 days of interest.

The credit union's field of membership includes any business or any employee of a business located in Kirkwood. Kirkwood is located in the suburbs of St. Louis, Missouri.

Kirkwood Municipal CU is NCUA insured. It's a small credit union with only 557 members and $2.7 million in assets.

Credit for this find goes to eMoneyCentral.

5.38% 15-Month CD at a Maine CU read and submit comments for this post

Rainbow FCU is offering a 5.38% APY 15-month CD. The minimum deposit is $1K. The credit union also has some decent yields on their standard certifcates including a 5.48% APY 5-year CD. The Jumbo 5-year CD has an APY of 5.75%. The minimum for the Jumbo CDs is $90K.

The credit union's field of membership includes residents of Androscoggin and Oxford Counties, and the town of New Gloucester. Membership requires a $25 minimum balance in a savings account.

The credit union is NCUA insured and has insurance through ESI which provides $250K of additional insurance per account. It has 5 branches, 23,000 members and $102 million in assets.

5.90% 18-Month CD at a Houston CU ($90K min) read and submit comments for this post

Smart Financial Credit Union has a CD promotion with some very high rates for large deposits. The best deal is Jumbo 18-month CD with a 5.90% APY. The minimum deposit is $90K. The 18-month Mini-Jumbo CD only requires $25K and has an APY of 5.38%. The regular CD requires $1K minimum and has an APY of 5.12%. There are also special rates for 30-month and 60-month terms. Below is the full rate list for these special certificates of deposit:

   
Term     $90K min  $25K min  $10K min   $1K min
18 month    5.90%     5.38%               5.12%
30 month    5.59%     5.06%               4.80%
60 month    5.69%     5.54%     5.38%

The credit union's field of membership includes those who live in Harris and Montgomery County, Texas. There are 7 branches around the Houston area.

The credit union is NCUA insured with 82,000 members and $315 million in assets.

Credit for this find goes to eMoneyCentral.

New Rates for CapOne/Costco Money Market/CDs read and submit comments for this post

For the last month, Capital One/Costco money market had only led the standard Capital One money market by 0.05% (4.30% APY vs 4.25% APY). Typically, the Costco version leads by about 0.25% so I've been expecting a rate hike for awhile. This week, the rate of the Costco version finally increased. The CapOne/Costco MMA APY is now 4.51%.

In addition to the hike in the money market yield, the CD yields also increased. The 18-month term is 5.30% APY. All of the longer terms have essentially the same rate.

Note, the $25 sign-up bonus for Costco Executive members is still active for the first time opening of either a money market account or CD. These accounts have a $5K minimum deposit.

The best 18-month certificate of deposit rate currently listed on Bankrate.com is 5.28% APY at UmbrellaBank.com.

5.23% 12-Month CD Now at Corus Bank read and submit comments for this post

Last Tuesday Corus Bank made a 0.05% rate increase on both of their 1-year and 6-month CDs. The rate on the money market account also increased a little. The new APYs for the money market account, 6-month and 12-month CD are 4.67%, 5.05% and 5.23%. UmbrellaBank's 1-year 5.25% APY CD just beats Corus.

For the commenter who mentioned the Corus updates in the finding deals post, thanks!

5.15% 7-Month CD at a Georgia Bank read and submit comments for this post

American United Bank is offering a 5.15% APY 7-month CD with a $1K minimum deposit requirement. All of the certificates of deposit have a range of terms. For example, the 5.15% APY is available for terms between 7 to 12 months. If you just look at the highest rates for the shortest terms, you get several high rates for terms just 1 month longer than the typical terms. Below is a list of the rates and terms:

CD Terms  APY
1 month   4.30%
4 month   4.70%
7 month   5.15%
13 month  5.20%
25 month  5.25%
37 month  5.25%
49 month  5.25%

The bank is located in Lawrenceville, Georgia which is in the northeast suburbs of Atlanta. It's not apparent from the website if you have to be a Georgia resident to open an account. I had reported on the CD rates from this bank on January 4th when the 7-month CD had an APY of 4.70%.

6.01% 48-Month CD at a CU Open to All read and submit comments for this post

USA Federal Credit Union is offering a special 6.01% APY 48-month CD with a $1K minimum deposit. Here are details of this certificate of deposit special:

* 6.01% APY
* 48-month term
* $1,000 minimum, no maximum limit
* can be opened my mail or by phone
* early withdrawal penalty = 90 days of interest
* limited time offer - unknown end date
* no hard credit inquiry for opening accounts
* $10 membership fee in an association for CU eligibility
* $5 CU membership fee and $5 minimum savings deposit required

The field of membership allows eligibility for those who are members of the Prime Meridian Association. People can join this association with a $10 membership fee. An application can be requested from the credit union and can be included with the credit union application. Membership into the credit union requires a $5 membership fee and a minimum opening savings deposit of $5.

Branches are located in San Diego and Riverside County, California and in Las Vegas, Nevada. It also has overseas branches in Japan and Korea. The credit union is part of CU Service Centers network. Cash and check deposits can be made into your savings or checking accounts through these shared branches. CDs can then be opened by phone and funded by transfering the money from the checking or savings into the CD.

The credit union is NCUA insured with $680 million in assets and 61,000 members.

How Much Better Than The Competition?

The best 4-year CD nationally available that I'm aware of is 5.67% APY at Melrose CU. Penfed is close behind at 5.50% APY. The best bank yield for a 4-year CD is currently 5.32% at Transportation Alliance Bank.

Is Four Years Too Long?

This USA Federal CD rate may be much higher than others, but is 6% high enough for a 4-year CD when interest rates are continuing to rise? The 90-day early withdrawal penalty helps minimize this risk (both liquidity needs and opportunity cost). The typical penalty is 6-months.

One approach to help you decide on a long-term CD is to use a method I described in this post. In this method, you take the current rate on a savings account or short-term CD and try to estimate the rate that you might get when the long term CD would mature. Take the average of these two rates and compare it to the rate of the long term CD.

5.10% 10-Month CD at LaSalle Bank read and submit comments for this post

LaSalle Bank is having a Manager's Special CD with a 5.10% APY 10-month CD. The minimum deposit is $10K. This is a limited time offer. The certificate of deposit can be opened online, by phone, by mail or by visiting a LaSalle branch.

LaSalle branches are located in California, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and Missouri.

5.27% 15-Month CD at a Kentucky Bank read and submit comments for this post

Central Bank of Kentucky is offering a 5.27% APY 15-month CD special. The minimum deposit is $10K. A First Choice Checking account is required. Without the checking account the APY is 5%. This checking account has a $100 minimum opening balance and an $8 monthly fee unless the balance is at least $600. A $2K balance in any savings account can also be used to avoid the fee.

The bank has three branches in Louisville, Kentucky.

UFB Direct's 5% Money Market Promo read and submit comments for this post

More banks are following ING Direct and HSBC's lead with high-rate promotions. UFB Direct just started a promotion for their Jumbo Money Market Account which has a $50K minimum. New customers earn 5% APY on their Jumbo Money Market Accounts until the end of May. UFB Direct also raised the standard rate on the Jumbo MMA from 4.75% to 4.80%. Just last week, the Jumbo MMA APY was increased from 4.50% to 4.75%. The no-minimum savings account APY remains at 4.40%.

UFB Direct also increased the rates on their CDs. The APY on the 6-month CD with an $8K minimum was increased from 4.90% to 5.05%. The 12-month CD with an $8K minimum is now at 5.20% APY.

As I mentioned in the post last week, UFB Direct made some large rate cuts on their money market accounts in early March. They started to reverse this last week. Perhaps the March rate reduction was an attempt to improve profitability for the first quarter. Their financials are weak with a Bankrate.com rating of 1 out of 5 stars. Sky Financial Group is still on track to acquire UFB Direct's parent, Union Federal Bank.

5% 9-Month CD at a Wisconsin Bank read and submit comments for this post

Wauwatosa Savings Bank has a CD special with an APY of 5.00% and terms of 9 to 22 months. The minimum deposit is $5K.

The has branches at several Wisconsin cities in the suburbs of Milwaukee.

Credit for this find goes to commenter who mentioned this in the finding deals post. Thanks!

5.10% 6-Month CD at ETrade Bank read and submit comments for this post

ETrade Bank made a substantial increase on the yield of their 6-month certificate of deposit today. The 6-month CD APY went from 4.92% to 5.10%. The 6-month APY is now higher than the APYs of all other terms except the 5-year term which has an APY just 0.01% higher at 5.11%.

ETrade's CDs require a minimum deposit of $1K. The CD can be funded by ACH transfer, wire transfer or by check. The ACH transfers are limited to $25K per account per day. Incoming wire transfers are free.

Another important detail of ETrade's fixed rate CDs is the penalty for early withdrawal which equals half the interest for the term of the CD. For a 6-month CD, that's only 3-months. However, for the longer term CDs, it's much higher than the typical long-term CD penalty of 6-months interest. An early withdrawal penalty on a 5-year CD would be 2.5 years of interest (earned or unearned).

New UmbrellaBank Rates: 5.25% 12-Month CD read and submit comments for this post

UmbrellaBank raised their rates on the money market account and all CD terms today. The highest rate is the 2-year CD with an APY of 5.30%. The money market account yield increased from 4.66% to 4.70% APY. Below is the full list of old and new CD yields:

Term    Old APY   New APY    Increase
3 Month   4.80%     4.85%      +0.05%
6 Month   4.95%     5.05%      +0.10%
1 Year    5.15%     5.25%      +0.10%
1.5 Year  5.16%     5.28%      +0.12%
2 Year    5.10%     5.30%      +0.20%
2.5 Year  5.00%     5.20%      +0.20%
3 Year    5.00%     5.20%      +0.20%
4 Year    5.00%     5.20%      +0.20%
5 Year    5.00%     5.20%      +0.20%

UmbrellaBank's last rate change was two weeks ago.

UmbrellaBank's current financial rating at Bankrate.com is only 1 out of 5 stars (weak). In February the rating had been 2 stars (below industry average). They are FDIC insured, so if you keep below the FDIC limits, you shouldn't have a problem (see my FDIC post).

UmbrellaBank and GMAC Bank have been going back and forth in terms of CD and money market rates over the last several months. I still think GMAC Bank is a better deal due to a smaller minimum ($500 vs. $1K) and GMAC's strong bank-to-bank ACH transfer system which UmbrellaBank completely lacks (see post).

ING Direct May Introduce a High Yield Checking Account read and submit comments for this post

An article in today's Wall Street Journal states that ING Direct may be planning to roll out a high yield checking account called Electric Orange. Highlights include no minimums, no fees, debit card and an expected yield of 3%. Since I don't subscribe to the WSJ, and the article is only available to subscribers, I don't have the details or a link. It was mentioned in this SlickDeal thread and this FW thread.

Rumors on the Electric Orange have been around for many years (see old FW thread). I remember reading an interview of ING Direct's CEO last year who didn't seem interested in offering checking accounts. He considered them high-overhead accounts in which the customers often end up unhappy due to fees like for non-sufficient funds. Now that ING Direct is facing more online competition, they may be looking for other ways it can keep customers without having to lead in the deposit interest rates.

6.14% 60-Month CD at a Virginia CU read and submit comments for this post

The State Department Federal Credit Union (SDFCU) has some high yield CDs on terms of 36-months to 60-months. The 60-month CD has an APY of 6.14% with Capital Club membership which requires a checking account with either direct deposit or a savings account with a $500 balance. The 48-month and 36-month APYs are 6.03% and 5.61%. Without Capital Club membership, the APYs are about 0.25% lower. IRA share certificates are available with APYs of 0.10% higher than the regular CDs.

SDFCU's field of membership is primarily employer-based. In addition to the US Department of State, there are about a hundred other employers listed.

SDFCU's headquarters is in Alexandria, Virginia. Branches are located through out Virginia, Maryland and Washington D.C.

4.75% Savings Account at a California Bank read and submit comments for this post

Security Pacific Bank has a new savings account they call the "Smarter Savings Account" which pays 4.75% APY with a minimum deposit of $1K. This new savings account is not listed at the bank's website. It was advertised in today's LA Times. A copy of the ad is available here.

The bank has branches in Los Angeles, Ontario and Seal Beach, California.

5.50% APY 13-Month CD at a Massachusetts Bank read and submit comments for this post

North Middlesex Savings Bank has a special 5.50% APY 13-month certificate of deposit with a $500 minimum deposit. It must be funded with money from another financial institution. The special CD is being offered to promote the opening of their branch in Groton. It appears that the CD can be opened at any of their branches. Credit for this find goes to eMoneyCentral.

The bank has branches in the following north central Massachusetts cities: Ayer, Littleton, Pepperell, Devens, Lunenburg and Shirley.

In addition to FDIC, the bank is also covered by Depositors Insurance Fund (DIF) which insures all deposits and interest not covered by FDIC, without limit. DIF is available at 71 Massachusetts chartered savings banks.

High Yield CDs at New AmTrustDirect read and submit comments for this post

Ohio Savings Bank, the parent of AmTrust, just launched a new internet division called AmTrustDirect which offers CDs that can be opened online. All the certificates of deposit have a minimum of $1K. The current 6-month, 9-month and 12-month APYs are 5.00%, 5.10% and 5.20%.

AmTrustDirect's FAQ does a good job of providing the details. Some of the important details regarding the CDs include:

• Online application allows for funding by ACH transfer or check
• IRA CDs are not available online
• The early withdrawal penalty is 3 months of interest for terms 11 months or less, 6 months for terms of 12 to 23 months, 9 months for terms 24 to 47 months and 12 months for terms of 48 months or more
• Accounts can be opened with up to two beneficiaries
• Instructions to close a CD at maturity must be mailed. A check will be mailed to you in the amount of the closed CD.

Ohio Savings Bank is rated 4 out of 5 stars at Bankrate.com (sound). The bank has over $16 billion in assets.

5.25% 13-Month CD at Suntrust Bank read and submit comments for this post

Update: This CD is no longer available. Please check with the bank for the latest rates.

Suntrust Bank advertised in several Sunday newspapers a 5.25% APY 13-month certificate of deposit with a $2K minimum. It was advertised in the Orlando Sentinel, the Richmond-Times Dispatch and the Washington Post. A scan of the ad is available in this iBankDesign thread. The special isn't listed at the bank's website. The offer is good for consumer and business accounts. It's only available for new CD and IRA accounts and not CDs that are maturing.

SunTrust Bank has over 1700 bank branches across southeastern states, including Florida, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Washington, DC.

For the commenter who mentioned the Richmond ad in the finding deals post, thanks!

5.45% 9-Month CD at a California Bank read and submit comments for this post

Vineyard Bank advertised in yesterday's LA Times a 5.45% APY 9-month certificate of deposit. It requires a $25K minimum deposit and a new checking or a Super Now account (minimum balance of $5K). Without related accounts the APY is 5.20%. Offer is only for California residents and requires money new to the bank. Credit for this find goes to Carol who mentioned it in the finding deals post. Thanks!

This 5.45% special isn't listed at the bank's website. However, the interest rates page (pdf) does show the 5.20% 9-month CD. In addition to the 5.20% 9-month CD there's also a 4.85% 4-month CD. Both have a minimum of $1K and a maximum limit of $95K. The maximum limit can be extended to $5M if a checking, savings or money market is opened. I first reported on this 5.20% CD on March 20th.

This bank has branches in several cities in Southern California including San Diego, Manhattan Beach, Irwindale, Irvine, and Chino.

5.30% 13-Month CD at a Pennsylvania Bank read and submit comments for this post

First Conerstone Bank is offering a 5.30% APY 13-month certificate of deposit. The minimum deposit is $1,000 and the CD requires money new to the bank. This special does not seem to be listed at the bank's website. It was advertised in today's Philadelphia Inquirer. The ad is available online here.

The bank has branches in the Pennsylvania cities of King of Prussia, Media and Folsom.

6.00% 61-Month CD at a CU Open to All read and submit comments for this post

Telcom Credit Union has a special 6.00% APY 61-month certificate of deposit. The minimum is $2.5K. The penalty for early withdrawal is 180 days of interest.

The credit union's field of membership is open to everyone by virtue of a $2 donation to the Salvation Army Bed and Bread Program.

Branches are located in the Michigan cities of Novi, Southfield and Canton. The credit union is also a member of the CO-OP Network which has 2,003 shared branches and 25,111 surcharge-free ATMs nationwide.

The credit union is NCUA insured with 29,000 members and $370 million in assets.

Credit for this find goes to the commenter who reported on this in the finding deals post. Thanks!

5.25% 10-Month CD at a Massachusetts Bank read and submit comments for this post

The First National Bank of Ipswich is offering a 5.25% APY 10-month certificate of deposit. The minimum is $1,000. The offer is good from 4/12 to 4/16 only. This special is not listed at the bank's website. It was advertised in today's Boston Globe. Credit for this find goes to scottj61 who reported on it in the finding deals post. Thanks!

First National Bank has branches in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

Bank Deal Summary for April 8, 2006 read and submit comments for this post

A week after the Fed increased the funds rate, we finally saw several banks make rate hikes to their savings accounts and CDs. Presidential and Western Financial Bank both made 0.25% increases. UFB Direct raised their no-minimum savings account from 3.75% to 4.40% APY. This almost puts the rate back to where it was when UFB Direct slashed the rate in early March. The jumbo money market rate also increased (from 4.50% to 4.75% APY). GMAC Bank continued a gradual and steady rate climb to remain near the top on rates. GMAC Bank's money market is now 4.70% APY.

I've added two banks to my lists. Citibank was added to the savings account list with their 4.50% e-Savings account. I should have added it last week. I also added American Partners Bank which is offering a 4.71% money market account and some high yield CDs.

In addition to money market accounts, there were several rate hikes to CDs. GMAC Bank and Virtual Bank now offer 5.20% 1-year CD. I now list 10 banks and credit unions (open to all) with one year CD rates at or above 5.15% APY.

There was a deal that's sort of available to all. It's a 5.38% APY 9-month CD at the America's Christian Credit Union. The credit union only has branches in California and Kansas. However, their field of membership allows anyone to join who agrees to sign a Christian statement of faith.

For local deals, RateEdge.com increased the yield on their no-minimum savings account from 4.75% to 5.00% APY. RateEdge.com is an online division of Sunmark FCU with a FOM that includes areas of New York State. RateEdge's savings account has had higher rates in the last 8 months than any other online savings account.

Thanks to all who have helped by leaving comments or sending emails on rate updates. Sorry I can't include all of the best rates in this summary.

The rates listed below are based on Annual Percentage Yield (APY). No minimum balances are required unless noted. MMA next to the rates indicate a money market account. Most MMAs have check writing and ATM cards. Online savings accounts usually lack both of these. Previous weekly summaries are available for Apr 1st, Mar 25th, Mar 18th, Mar 11th, Mar 4th and Feb 25th.

As of April 8, 2006

Savings/Money Market Accounts:

• HSBC - 4.80%, offers checking, (rate history), my post (bonus info)
• American Partners Bank - 4.71% MMA (min $1K), my post
• GMAC Bank - 4.70% MMA (min $500), my post
• UmbrellaBank.com - 4.66% MMA (min $1K), offers checking, my post
• Corus Bank - 4.64% MMA (min $10K to open)
• Presidential - 4.62% (min $5K, only first $35K receives this rate), offers checking, my post
• VirtualBank - 4.60% (min $100), offers checking, my post ($20 bonus)
• MyBankingDirect - 4.55% MMA (min $5K), my post
• EmigrantDirect - 4.50%, my post, ($10 signup bonus), (rate history)
• Citibank - 4.50%, requires checking account, my post
• Western Financial Bank - 4.50% MMA, offers checking, my post
• Transportation Alliance Bank - 4.50% MMA (min $25), my post
• UFB Direct - 4.40% MMA, offers checking, my post
• CapitalOne/Costco - 4.30% MMA (min $5K, Costco members only, $50 deal for exec. members)
• FirstFedDirect - 4.25% (closed to CA residents), my post
• CapitalOne - 4.25% (MMA has same rate, but with checks and ATM. $100 min.)
• Self-Help Credit Union - 4.16% MMA (min $500), my post
• ING Direct - 4.00%, my post (4.75% promo and $25 bonus), (rate history)
• MetLife Bank - 4.00% MMA (min $5K), my post ($50 bonus)
• NetBank - 3.52% MMA ($500 min), requires checking, my post ($175 deal)
• ebank - 3.50% MMA ($1K min, rate for $10K-25K balance), offers checking

6-Month Certificates of Deposit:

• World Savings - 5.26% (min $10K), branch only, new funds only, my post
• Meadows Credit Union - 5.12% ($1K min), new funds only, my post
• World Savings - 5.01% (5 months) (min $10K), new funds only, my post
• GMAC Bank - 5.00% (min $500)
• VirtualBank - 5.00% (min $10K), my post ($20 bonus)
• Corus Bank - 5.00% (min $10K)
• FirstFedDirect - 4.97% (min $10K), my post
• UmbrellaBank.com - 4.95% (min $1K)
• ETrade Bank - 4.92% (min $1K), my post
• UFB Direct - 4.90% (min $8K)
• NetBank - 4.75% (min $1K)
• Transportation Alliance Bank - 4.55% ($1K min)
• Western Financial Bank - 4.50% ($100 min)
• ebank - 4.50% (min $1K), 4.75% for ePremium checking customers
• MetLife Bank - 4.50% ($1K min)
• Self-Help Credit Union - 4.47% (min $500), my post
• ING Direct - 4.50%

12-Month Certificates of Deposit:

• Melrose CU - 5.35% (min $5K) my post
• American Partners Bank - 5.23% (min $1K), my post
• Pacific Mercantile Bank - 5.23% (min $10K), my post
• GMAC Bank - 5.20% (min $500)
• VirtualBank - 5.20% (min $10K), my post ($20 bonus)
• Corus Bank - 5.18% (min $10K)
• FirstFedDirect - 5.17%, (min $10K) my post
• Western Financial Bank - 5.15% ($100 min) (13-month)
• Transportation Alliance Bank - 5.15% ($1K min)
• UmbrellaBank.com - 5.15% (min $1K)
• NetBank - 5.06% (min $1K), my post ($25 bonus)
• ETrade Bank - 5.00% (min $1K), my post
• Self-Help Credit Union - 4.93% (min $500), my post
• MetLife Bank - 4.90% ($1K min)
• UFB Direct - 4.90% (min $8K)
• ING Direct - 4.75%
• ebank - 4.75% (min $1K), 5.00% for ePremium checking customers

18-Month Certificates of Deposit:

• American Partners Bank - 5.28% (min $1K), my post
• Pacific Mercantile Bank - 5.26% (min $10K), my post
• GMAC Bank - 5.20% (min $500)
• CapitalOne/Costco - 5.13% (min $5K, Costco members only)

36-Month Certificate of Deposit:

• Melrose CU - 5.56% (min $5K) my post
• Pentagon Federal CU - 5.50% (min $1K), my post
• Pacific Mercantile Bank - 5.26% (min $10K), my post
• GMAC Bank - 5.25% (min $500)
• Self-Help Credit Union - 5.17% (min $500), my post

60-Month Certificate of Deposit:

• Melrose CU - 5.77% (min $5K) my post
• Pentagon Federal CU - 5.67% (min $1K), my post
• Pacific Mercantile Bank - 5.26% (min $10K), my post
• GMAC Bank - 5.25% (min $500)
• Self-Help Credit Union - 5.22% (min $500), my post

84-Month Certificate of Deposit:

• Pentagon Federal CU - 5.88% (min $1K), my post

High Rates with Conditions - Open to All

• 10% Savings Account for kids ($500 max)
• 5.51% 3-month intro rate on checking account
• 5.38% 9-month CD (must sign a Christian statement of faith)
• 5.00% Money Market with $30K (3-month intro rate)
• 5.00% Money Market with $100K min
• 5.00% Money Market with $100K min

Checking and Saving Accounts at Local Credit Unions

• 5.00% no-minimum savings account (New York)
• 5.00% Money Market Account (New York)
• 4.50% checking account promo (Oklahoma)

CD Specials at Local Credit Unions/Banks Over the Last Two Months

Terms of 60 Months and Over

• 6.00% 60-Month CD at a California CU
• 5.76% 60-Month CD at a South Carolina CU
• 5.64% 60-Month CD at a New York CU
• 5.64% 60-Month CD at a South Carolina/Georgia CU
• 5.61% 60-Month CD at a Minnesota Bank
• 5.50% 60-Month CD at a Illinois Bank (gradual withdrawal CD)

Terms of 24 Months to Under 60 Months

• 5.81% 30-Month CD at a Wisconsin CU
• 5.66% 48-Month CD at a South Carolina CU
• 5.64% 36-Month CD at a Michigan CU
• 5.56% 24-Month CD at a Nashville CU
• 5.55% 24-Month CD at a Ohio CU
• 5.50% 30-Month CD at a Philadelphia Bank
• 5.50% 24-Month CD at a New York Bank
• 5.39% 24-Month CD at a California/Texas CU
• 5.35% 48-Month CD at a Texas CU
• 5.25% 24-Month CD at a Philadelphia Bank

Terms of 12 Months to Under 24 Months

• 10.00% 12-Month CD at a Multi-State CU ($2.5K max)
• 10.00% 12-Month CD at a Dallas Bank ($5K max)
• 8.00% 12-Month CD at a NJ/NY/PA CU ($2K max)
• 5.90% 12-Month CD at a New York CU (based on NCAA picks)
• 5.54% 12-Month CD at a Ohio CU ($100K min)
• 5.50% 13-Month CD at a Chicago Bank
• 5.50% 15-Month CD at a Florida CU
• 5.35% 12-Month CD at a New York CU (Open To All?)
• 5.35% 13-Month CD at a Ohio CU
• 5.30% 13-Month CD at a Georgia Credit Union
• 5.30% 20-Month CD at a Illinois Bank
• 5.30% 12-Month CD at a New York Bank
• 5.30% 13-Month CD at a Virginia Bank
• 5.30% 13-Month CD at a Georgia Bank
• 5.26% 15-Month CD at a Florida Bank ($50K min)
• 5.25% 13-Month CD at a Illinois Bank
• 5.25% 16-Month CD at a Florida Bank
• 5.25% 13-Month CD at a California CU
• 5.25% 12-Month CD at a New York Bank
• 5.25% 12-Month CD at a Vermont Bank
• 5.25% 12-Month CD at a Texas Bank
• 5.25% 18-Month CD at a Florida Bank
• 5.25% 20-Month CD at a Pennsylvania Bank
• 5.20% 12-Month CD at a Georgia CU
• 5.18% 12-Month CD at a Georgia Bank
• 5.16% 13-Month CD at a Pennsylvania Bank
• 5.15% 15-Month CD at a Florida Bank
• 5.15% 12-Month CD at a Pennsylvania Bank
• 5.13% 12-Month CD at a Washington State Bank
• 5.12% 12-Month CD at a California Bank
• 5.12% 12-Month CD at a Texas Bank
• 5.10% 12-Month CD at a Washington State Bank
• 5.00% 12-Month CD at a New Jersey Bank

Terms of Under 12 Months

• 7.00% 7-Month CD at a Indiana CU ($14K max)
• 6.00% 6-Month CD at a Oregon CU
• 6.00% 5-Month CD at a Oregon CU
• 5.50% 11-Month CD at a California CU
• 5.38% 9-Month CD at a CU Open To All
• 5.25% 9-Month CD at a Illinois Bank
• 5.25% 11-Month CD at a Michigan CU
• 5.20% 9-Month CD at a California Bank
• 5.20% 7-Month CD at a Kentucky CU
• 5.15% 11-Month CD at a Georgia CU
• 5.15% 11-Month CD at a Minnesota Bank
• 5.15% 10-Month CD at a Florida Bank
• 5.15% 11-Month CD at a Multi-State CU
• 5.10% 9-Month CD at a Ohio Bank
• 5.10% 7-Month CD at a Kentucky CU
• 5.10% 10-Month CD at a Virginia Bank
• 5.05% 7-Month CD at a Tennessee Bank
• 5.05% 5-Month CD at a Tennessee Bank
• 5.00% 7-Month CD at a Illinois Bank
• 5.00% 7-Month CD at a Pennsylvania Bank
• 5.00% 6-Month CD at a California Bank
• 5.00% 7-Month CD at a Florida Bank
• 5.00% 6-Month CD at a Virginia Bank
• 5.00% 3-Month CD at a Ohio CU (pick any term)
• 5.00% 9-Month CD at a Massachusetts Bank
• 5.00% 6-Month CD at a Washington State CU
• 5.00% 9-Month CD at a CA/MD/TX CU
• 5.00% 5-Month CD at a Tennessee Bank
• 4.85% 4-Month CD at a California Bank

CD Alternatives

• Money Magazine article on risk-free investments
• I Bond Fixed Rate Predictions, I Bond Article, New I Bond Rate, I Bonds as CD Alternatives

BankAtlantic $277 Bonus for Business Checking Account read and submit comments for this post

Bank Atlantic is offering up to $277 for a free business checking account. Here are the details:

Gift Card $150, Business Check Package $61, unused checks $50, free BusinessCard Debit Card for the first year $12, Gift Card purchase fee waived $3.95. Offer ends April 30, 2006. $150 bonus offer is limited to one account per business. Minimum opening deposit to obtain the bonus is $1,000. Must be in good standing 77 days after opening. Bonus will be mailed within 30 days of account qualification.

BankAtlantic seems to constantly offer these bank deals. Last month, they were offering $77 for personal checking accounts. The current bonus for personal checking accounts includes various Florida Panther gifts and passes along with luggage. Plus, you can earn $25 cash for unused checks from your former bank.

Bank Atlantic has 79 branches in South Florida including the counties of Broward, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie. It also has branches in Tampa Bay. Credit for the $277 bonus find goes to this iBankDesign thread.

Prime Rate Indexed CD at a Pennsylvania Bank read and submit comments for this post

Nittany Bank has a unique type of CD deal. The CD offers 65% of the Prime Rate for 5 years. You have the option to do a penalty free withdrawal or deposit every anniversary date and 10 days after. There's a $1K minimum deposit. Currently, the Prime Rate is 7.75% so this CD is currently paying 5.04% APY. There's also the same type of CD with a 3 year term that earns 60% of the Prime Rate. Currently, the APY is 4.65%.

A history of the Prime Rate is available here. The Prime rate general runs 3% above the Federal Funds rate. The next two meetings of the Fed occur on May 10th and June 28th. If the Fed raises the rate at both meetings by 0.25%, the new funds rate will be 5.25% and the Prime Rate will likely be 8.25%. This will result in the following rates on these CDs: 5.36% 5-year and 4.95% 3-year. So this could be a pretty good deal. If the rates fall later this year or next year, you can always withdraw the money within one year.

The bank has branches in State College and Bellefonte, Pennsylvania which is about 50 miles northwest of Harrisburg.

Credit for this find goes to a commenter in the finding deals post. Thanks!

5.30% 13-Month CD at a Georgia Bank read and submit comments for this post

The Savannah Bank is offering a 5.30% APY 12-month CD. The minimum opening deposit is $5K. The offer is available for personal and business accounts. This special certificate of deposit is not listed at the bank's website. The special was in an ad in the April 7th Savannah Morning News. The ad is available online here.

The bank has 5 branches around Savannah, Georgia.

Summary of Bank iPod Deals read and submit comments for this post

There are many bank deals where you can get free iPods. None of these deals are "iPod easy". There are several hoops that you have to jump through. I've looked back through the archives and tried to put together a summary of the best bank iPod deals that still seem to be available.

TCF Bank iPod nano Deal

The latest free bank iPod bonus is from TCF Bank. I first reported on this deal last week. TCF Bank is offering a free iPod 1G nano when you open any checking account and a savings account with recurring automatic payment and direct deposit. You may be able to use ACH transfers to count as direct deposits. Refer to this FW thread for the details on this.

Citibank iPod shuffle Deal

Citibank has had several iPod promotions for both credit cards and checking accounts. You can get a free iPod shuffle when you get a Citi Professional credit card and make at least $500 in purchases within the first 3 months.

For the Citibank checking account promotion, you can get a free iPod shuffle when you apply online for a regular checking account with the Citibank EZ Checking account package. Fund the account with $1,500 and pay 2 bills online each month for the first consecutive caldendar months. You will receive your iPod within 90 days after y ou pay your first 2 bills online.

$200 Citibank Deal

There's even a better deal with Citibank than these iPod deals. Instead of an iPod, you can make $200 by opening a regular checking account and paying online your Citi credit card bill through the checking account. See this FW thread for more details. It has been reported that Citibank does a hard pull on your credit when you open a checking account.

Schwab Credit Card iPod shuffle Deal

Charles Schwab is offering an iPod shuffle when you get a new Charles Schwab Bank Visa credit card and make any purchase within 45 days of the account open date.

Other Past Deals

Netbank use to offer an iPod shuffle for opening a CD, but this deal has expired. There has been several versions of this deal in the past, so I would expect something similar sometime in the future.

World Savings 5-Month 5.01% Internet CD read and submit comments for this post

World Savings Bank is now offering a 5.01% APY 5-month on their website. The minimum deposit is $10K and the funds must be new to the bank. The maximum limit is $100K.

In February World Savings started advertising a 5.01% 5-month liquid CD which allowed some deposits and withdrawals during the term. This liquid CD seems to have ended sometime in March.

You can still get a 5.26% APY 6-to-11 month CD at World Savings' branches (see post).

I'm glad to see this new 5.01% 5-month CD clearly advertised at World Savings' website. Neither the 5.26% CD nor the liquid CD were advertised. The liquid CD did have a website page but there were no links anywhere on World's main website pages. The 5.26% CD seems to have been advertised by mailers to certain customers. I had called to confirm this when I first heard about it on March 20th. At least World Savings' policy allows them to offer the CDs once a customer asks about them. However, the branches often are not aware of these specials.

Although this latest CD special is clearly advertised, it still requires new funds which means that the money has to come from another financial institution. You can get around this restriction by moving your money, but it adds extra steps which may include time in which your money isn't earning interest.

Credit for this find goes to Victor who left a comment about it in the finding deals post. Thanks!

8% 12-Month CD at a NJ/NY/PA CU ($2K max) read and submit comments for this post

Paragon Federal Credit Union is offering an 8.00% APY 12-month CD. The minimum deposit is $500 and the maximum limit is $2K. It requires a checking account with a minimum $100 direct deposit. This offer is good through April 21, 2006.

For larger deposit, the credit union is offering instant bonuses: $50 bonus for a $5K deposit into a 12-month 4% APY CD and a $100 bonus for a $25K deposit into a 12-month 4.30% APY CD.

Another special is a 5.55% APY 5-year CD for deposits of at least $50K.

The 8% 12-month CD with a $2K deposit would result in about $60 over a 5% CD. Since it requires a checking account with direct deposit, you can think of this like a checking account bonus.

The $50 bonus for a 4.00% 12-month CD with a $5K deposit would be equivalent to a 5% 12-month CD without a bonus. This is just an okay deal.

The $100 bonus for a 4.30% 12-month CD with a $25K deposit would be equivalent to a 4.70% 12-month CD without a bonus. You can do better at many other places.

The credit union's field of membership includes those who live in areas of New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.

The credit union is NCUA insured with 60,000 members and $384 million in assets.

Credit for this find goes to John at The Financial Ladder who left a comment on it in the finding deals post. Thanks!

GMAC's Money Market Account Now 4.70% read and submit comments for this post

GMAC Bank raised the APY on their money market account from 4.65% to 4.70%. The last money market account rate increase occurred March 11th. GMAC also did a 0.05% to 0.10% increase on most of their CD rates. Below is the full list of changes:

CD Term     Old APY   New APY
3 months      4.70%     4.80%
6 months      4.95%     5.00%
9 months      4.95%     5.05%
12 months     5.15%     5.20%
18 months     5.15%     5.20%
2 years       5.20%     5.20%
3 years       5.20%     5.25%
4 years       5.20%     5.25%
5 years       5.20%     5.25%

GMAC Bank's certificates of deposit have an early withdrawal penalty of 90 days of interest for terms of one year and under. The penalty for terms of over one year is 180 days of interest (see GMAC fees).

There has been some uncertainty with GMAC Bank since GM has been trying to sell GMAC Financial Services. Will the bank keep their rates competitive? It's hard to say, but in the last 6 months, GMAC Bank has consistently stayed on top. With this latest change in rates, it appears GMAC Bank plans to continue to be near the top at least in the near term.

There is a lot to like about GMAC Bank's money market account in addition to the very high rates. Here are a few of the perks:

• Limited check writing. First 50 checks are free.
• ATM card. The first four fees per statement cycle assessed by the ATM owner, up to a total of $6, will be refunded by GMAC Bank.
• ACH transfer system that's easy to setup online
• ACH transfer system that's fast without days of time in which the money earns no interest.

Here are a few of the drawbacks:

• $500 minimum to avoid fees.
• Hard inquiry on your credit report in account opening process

Refer to this FW GMAC thread for more info on GMAC Bank.

Western Financial Bank's Money Market Now at 4.50% read and submit comments for this post

The yield on the Western Financial Bank's Online Money Market Plus account was finally raised from 4.25% to 4.50% APY. Many had worried that after WFB was acquired by Wachovia, this high yield money market account would go away or would never again have competitive rates. With this latest rate change, at least WFB seems intent to keep it competitive.

WFB hasn't done a good job at promoting this account at their website. There still exists inconsistencies in the account features. For example, On the Online Accounts page, the Online Money Market Plus is described as requiring a $5K minimum opening deposit. However, in the savings account rates page, this account is described as requiring only $1 minimum to open. Based on this FW thread, it seems that the $5K requirement use to apply but was removed last year. WFB certainly needs to do a better job at updating their website.

This no-minimum money market account was the first to reach 4.25% APY last November. Unlike the other no-minimum savings account, this is a money market account that has both ATM access and check writing.

Note, WFB is still offering a 5.15% APY 13-month certificate of deposit with only a $100 minimum.

5.25% 11-Month CD at a Michigan CU read and submit comments for this post

Community Choice Credit Union has a special 5.25% APY 11-month CD. The minimum deposit requirement is $500. A checking account is required for this rate. The required checking account can be a Premium Choice or Direct Choice Checking account. The Premium Choice requires direct deposit but has no monthly fees. The Premium Choice requires a $2.5K minimum balance.

A 4.50% APY 4-month certificate of deposit special is also available with the same minimum and requirement as the 11-month CD.

The field of membership includes those who live, work or attend school in Western Wayne County. There are three branches in Livonia and Redford which are on the western side of Detroit, Michigan.

The credit union is NCUA insured. It has $191 million in assets and 43,000 members.

5% No-Minimum Savings Account (New York CU) read and submit comments for this post

The yield on RateEdge.com's no-minimum online savings account reached 5.00% APY yesterday. RateEdge.com has consistently maintained a yield higher than the online savings accounts offered by the banks. Unfortunately, RateEdge.com is a division of Sunmark FCU which has a field of membership that's primarily limited to those who live in areas of New York State.

RateEdge       RateEdge   Emigrant     HSBC
Rate Change    APY        Direct APY   APY
Apr 05         5.00%      4.50%        4.80%
Feb 09         4.75%      4.25%        4.80%
Jan 07         4.50%      4.00%        4.25%
Nov 14         4.25%      4.00%        4.00%

Note, RateEdge.com was 4.25% before November 14th. That was the date when I first came across RateEdte.com. Refer to my post last February for more info on RateEdge.com. For the commenter who left a note about this rate update, Thanks!

We Need More Online Savings Accounts from Credit Unions!

I'm still hoping more credit unions will pursue online divisions like RateEdge.com. I've sent emails to my credit unions about RateEdge.com and asked them to look into something similar. I recommend that you do the same. Online savings accounts have done well for banks and customers. There's no reason why they can't be run even better by credit unions. Many credit unions should be able to run online savings accounts that can be comparable to RateEdge.com with rates 0.25% to 0.50% higher than the best online savings accounts from banks.

4.71% Money Market / 5.23% 12-Month CD read and submit comments for this post

American Partners Bank is offering a 4.71% APY on their Personal Money Market Savings Account. The minimum to open the account and to receive this APY is $1K. No interest is earned if the balance falls below $1K, however, there are no monthly fees. The first order of checks is free, and ATM rebates are provided for up to 10 transactions per month.

The bank also has two nice CD deals: 5.23% APY 12-month CD and a 5.28% APY 18-month CD. The minimum deposit is $1K. The early withdrawal penalty for CDs with terms of 3 months to 18 months is 91 days of interest.

Account application must be printed and mailed. The accounts can be funded by mail or by wire transfer. ACH transfer doesn't seem to be an option.

American Partners Bank was formerly called Assurance Partners Bank. I first mentioned this bank last November 17. At that time the money market account had an APY of 4.08%. For comparison, UmbrellaBank's money market account had an APY of 4.15% at that time, and GMAC Bank was at 4.00% APY. So American Partners Bank does have a good track record with high rates. Their rating with Bankrate.com has fallen a bit since then from 4/5 stars (sound) to the current rating of 3/5 stars (performing).

New ING Direct CD Rates - 4.75% 9-Month read and submit comments for this post

ING Direct raised rates on most of their CD terms. The largest increase was with the 9-month CD. The APY increased from 4.35% to 4.75%. This is the same rate that's currently offered in the Winter Save Up Sale.

I had thought ING Direct would push their CDs as the savings account promo was coming to an end. Although the rates are about 0.25% to 0.50% under what other internet banks offer, ING CDs do have two features that no one else has: no minimum deposit and a very easy online system to open CDs. It'll be interesting to see how they advertise this in the coming weeks.

I don't think this will be enough to stop many from moving their money elsewhere. With rates moving up so much lately, there's not much incentive to lock your money in a CD with below average rates. However, there are two things to consider. Moving your money into an ING CD is very simple, and it has no delays where you won't be earning interest.

Term      Old APY   New APY    Change
6 Month    4.30%     4.50%     +0.20%  
9 Month    4.35%     4.75%     +0.35%
12 Month   4.50%     4.75%     +0.25%
18 Month   4.75%     4.75% 
24 Month   4.75%     4.80%     +0.05%  
30 Month   4.75%     4.80%     +0.05%  
36 Month   4.75%     4.80%     +0.05%  
48 Month   4.80%     4.85%     +0.05%  
60 Month   4.85%     4.90%     +0.05%  

5.38% 9-Month CD at a CU Open To All read and submit comments for this post

America's Christian Credit Union is offering a special 5.38% APY 9-month CD. The minimum deposit is $1K. The offer is good through 4/30/06 or until the credit union's $5 million cap is reached.

The credit union's field of membership is based on membership in several Christian organizations. If you are not a member of these, you can still join by signing a statement of service and mailing it along with your membership documents.

A $25 initial deposit to the savings account and a one-time $5 membership fee is required for membership.

The credit union has branches near Los Angeles, Sacramento, California and in Wichita, Kansas.

The credit union is NCUA insured. It has 13,000 members and $190 million in assets.

High Yield CDs at M&T Bank - 5.06% 9-Month read and submit comments for this post

M&T Bank, N.A. is offering very competitive rates on CDs for terms ranging from 3 month to 60 month. These include a 5.06% APY 9-month CD, 5.18% APY 12-month CD and a 5.28% APY 18-month CD. The full list is provided below:

M&T Bank Certificate of Deposit Yields as of 4/05/06

Term          APY
3 Month CD    4.65%
6 Month CD    4.99%
9 Month CD    5.06%
12 Month CD   5.18%
18 Month CD   5.28%
24 Month CD   5.27%
30 Month CD   5.27%
36 Month CD   5.26%
48 Month CD   5.26%
60 Month CD   5.31%

All have a minimum deposit of $5K. The early withdrawal penalties are 182 days of interest on terms of one year and over, 91 days of interest on terms under one year. The bank has an online application but it has to be printed and mailed with your check. The bank doesn't provide online access. You must call for account information.

Full details of the CDs are available at the bank's FAQ page and specific features and terms brochure.

New VirtualBank CD Rates - 5.20% 12-Month CD read and submit comments for this post

VirtualBank just increased the rates on many of their longer CD terms by 0.05%. The 1-year CD now has an APY of 5.20%. The 5-year CD has an APY of 5.25%. There were no changes to the short term CDs. The 6-month CD is still at 5.00% APY. Below is the full list of new and old yields:

CD Term    Old APY   New APY  Change
3 months     4.85%    4.85%
6 months     5.00%    5.00%
9 months     5.00%    5.00%
12 months    5.15%    5.20%   +0.05%
18 months    5.15%    5.20%   +0.05%
2 years      5.15%    5.20%   +0.05%
3 years      5.15%    5.20%   +0.05%
4 years      5.20%    5.20%
5 years      5.20%    5.25%   +0.05%

Virtual Bank's certificates of deposit have a $10K minimum. Based on info received from VirtualBank, the penalty for early withdrawal is one month of interest for the 3-month term, 3 months of interest for the 6 and 9 month terms, and 6 months of interest for the 12 month and longer terms. For more information on Virtual Bank CDs, their Money Market account, and their referral bonus, refer to this post.

5% Money Market Account in Southern California read and submit comments for this post

IndyMac Bank seems to be having a local promotion on their Prime Index Money Market account. Here are the details as posted by Carol in the finding deals post (Thanks Carol!)

Today's Ventura(CA) Star has an ad from IndyMac Bank for a 5% Prime Indexed money market with $1,000 minimum and a checking account. There is a Value checking account with a $100 minimum and no fees available. This is available to both new and existing customers, but valid at only Camarillo and Ventura branches. This offer is good until 5/31/06 and makes no mention of phone or online opening. Phone:(805)465-1053 and (805) 677-2300.

Here's the link to their Value Checking Account. Indymac also has very competitive CD rates available nationally including a 5% APY 6-month CD and a 5.15% APY 12-month CD.

5.39% 24-Month CD at a California/Texas CU read and submit comments for this post

National 1st Credit Union has a new CD promotion: 5.39% APY 24-month CD. The minimum deposit is $5K and the maximum deposit limit is $100K. Unfortunately, their 7.25% 11-month CD special ended last month. To qualify for this new share certificate you must be a member with a checking account and direct deposit.

The credit union's field of membership includes those who live in Santa Clara County California and in the community surrounding the Arlington, Texas branch.

Credit for finding this deal goes to Sree who noted it in the finding deals post. Thanks!

5.64% 60-Month CD at a South Carolina/Georgia CU read and submit comments for this post

SRP Federal Credit Union is offering a 5.64% APY 5-year CD with a minimum deposit of $500. This is available for both share certificates and IRA certificates. The credit union has other long term CD rates that are rather competitive including a 5.27% APY 48-month CD and a 4.22% APY 36-month CD.

The credit union's field of membership includes those who live in Aiken, Edgefield, Barnwell, or Allendale counties in South Carolina, or Columbia, Richmond, or McDuffie counties in Georgia.

The credit union is NCUA insured with 83,000 members and $417 million in assets.

Credit for this find goes to Victor who noted it in the finding deals post. Thanks!

UFB Direct's Savings Account Rate Back Up at 4.40% read and submit comments for this post

The APY of UFB Direct's no-minimum High Yield Money Market Savings account increased from 3.75% to 4.40% which is almost what it was in early March before it had the big fall from 4.50% to 3.75%. Early this year, UFB Direct was keeping their money market rates very competitive. In addition to the 4.50% on the no-minimum savings, their jumbo money market (that requires $50K+) reached an APY of 4.73%. When the no-minimum savings fell to 3.75%, the jumbo fell to 4.50%. There was no change in the jumbo's rate today.

Perhaps the bank was trying to improve profitability for the first quarter. UFB Direct's parent company, Union Federal Bank of Indianapolis, is currently rated only 1 of 5 stars (weak) at Bankrate.com. For 2005 the bank recorded a net loss of almost $14 million. So it could be making an effort to improve profitability. Also, the bank is being acquired by Sky Financial Group (see article). This may be another factor.

With erratic interest rates, no ACH transfer system and a poor financial situation, there's currently not much to like about UFB Direct. They're going need to bring back the sign-up bonus and keep the interest rates steady and high if they want to keep and attract customers.

Note, UFB Direct does currently have some high yield short term CDs. The APY of the 3-month CD is 4.85% ($8K minimum). The APY of the 6-month CD is 4.90% for $8K minimum deposit and 5.00% for $50K minimum deposit.

5.55% 24-Month / 5.35% 13-Month CD at an Ohio CU read and submit comments for this post

BFG Federal Credit Union has high yield CDs on all terms. The following APYs are for the minimum deposit of $10K:

APY       Term
5.35%     13 month
5.55%     24 month
5.65%     36 month
5.75%     48 month
5.85%     60 month

The following APYs are for minimum deposit of $500:

APY        Term
5.00%      6 month
5.25%     12 month
5.30%     18 month
5.45%     24 month
5.55%     36 month
5.65%     48 month
5.75%     60 month

These are available as share or IRA certificates. The money market also has a decent yield of 4% with only a $2K minimum.

The credit union's field of membership includes those who live in Summit County, Ohio. Branches are located in the following Ohio cities: Akron, Hudson and Twinsburg.

The credit union is NCUA insured with $160 million in assets and almost 28,000 members.

5.25% 20-Month / 5.15% 12-Month CD at a Pennsylvania Bank read and submit comments for this post

Continental Bank has three special CDs: 5.25% APY 20-month, 5.15% APY 12-month and 5.00% APY 10-month. All have a minimum deposit requirement of $1,000. These are available as both certificates of deposit and individual retirement accounts. The bank also has some decent rates (for a brick-and-mortar bank) on a money market account ranging from 3% APY on $1K to 4.15% APY for balances over $50K.

Continental Bank has branches in the Pennsylvania cities of Devon, Plymouth Meeting and Limerick.

5.25% 18-Month CD at a Florida Bank read and submit comments for this post

FirstBank Florida is offering three CD specials: 5.25% APY 18-month, 5% APY 12-month and 4.75% APY 9-month. All have a minimum deposit of $1,000. These specials are not listed at the bank's website. They were advertised in the April 3rd Orlando Sentinel.

FirstBank Florida has branches in Central Florida and also in Miami and South Florida.

Best 18-Month CD Yield?

The highest 18-month certificate of deposit currently listed at Bankrate.com is 5.20% APY at American United Bank of Georgia. This interest rate is also available for terms as low as 13 months.

6% 3-Month Intro Rate on a Money Market Account read and submit comments for this post

Dime Bank has increased their 3-month intro rate on their Rewards Money Market Account from 5% to 6% APY. The 6% APY is guaranteed for 3 months from the date of account opening and applies to balances of up to $250K. Credit for this find goes to the Fatwallet member bksavings who posted the info on this FW thread.

To receive this rate, you need an invitation from Dime Bank. According to the thread, if you sign up for their mailing list, you may be sent the invitation code. The mailing list signup form is located here. Once you receive the invitation code, the application starts here.

After the Guaranteed APY period has elapsed, the account will become a regular Rewards Money Market tiered rate account in which the interest rates will vary with the balance. The regular interest rates are low. For balances between $1K and $25K, it's only 1.10% APY. It appears the money market may have a $10 monthly fee if the average daily balance falls below $2.5K. After the bonus, it's hard to justify keeping it opened. I can't find any info on account closing fees.

This promotion looks similar to Everbank's 5.51% checking account 3-month promotion. With Everbank, there are more reasons why you may want to keep the account opened after the promo.

New Rates at Presidential Bank: Savings 4.62%, Checking 4.37% read and submit comments for this post

Presidential Bank increased the APY on their Premier Savings Account from 4.37% to 4.62%. The Internet Checking PLUS APY increased from 4.25% to 4.37%. Presidential has been pretty reliable in raising rates around each new hike in the Fed funds rate. Their last rate increase was January 31st.

It should be noted that the Premier Savings earns 4.62% on balances up to $35K. Balances over $35K only earn 3.00% APY. Two other major issues with this savings account is a $5K minimum to avoid monthly fees and no ACH transfer system.

Their Internet Checking PLUS account is what stands out from other banks. It has long had the highest interest rate of any nationally available checking account (nBank's nPower XL checking was higher for little awhile, but this account is no longer available.) As is typical with high-yield checking accounts, Presidential's Internet Checking PLUS account has several requirements:

• $1500 minimum opening balance
• $1000 minimum balance to avoid monthly fees
• Lower rates earned on balances above $25K (currently 2.75%)
• Requires monthly direct deposit of $200 or more

5.35% 48-Month CD at a Texas CU read and submit comments for this post

Texans Credit Union has a special 5.35% APY 48-month CD. The minimum deposit is $1K. This CD has a bump-up option which gives you the option to increase the rate on your account once during the term.

The field of membership includes those who live in the Texas counties of Collin, Dallas, Rockwall, Travis and Williamson. The credit union has branches in Dallas, Austin and Houston.

The APYs for the 36-month and 60-month bump-up CDs are 4.80% and 4.96%. So in a year or two, the 48-month bump-up CD rate could rise enough to make this bump-up option useful. You're not losing anything by chosing the bump-up option since the standard 48-month CD APY is only 5.06%.

For those in the Dallas area, there's a special 10% APY 1-year CD (with $5K max deposit) being offered at American Bank of Texas (see post).

Best 48-Month CDs Nationally

The best 48-month certificate of deposit listed at Bankrate.com is 5.20% APY at both GMAC Bank and VirtualBank.

The best 48-month certificate of deposit from a credit union with easy membership is 5.67% APY at Melrose CU. A close second is 5.50% APY at Pentagon FCU.

Long term CD rates are slowly rising but still don't offer much premium over 1-year CDs.

Heritage Bank's New Online Savings Account - 4.60% read and submit comments for this post

Update 5/22/09: The savings account rate is now 1.50% APY.

Heritage Bank is another bank getting into the high yield online savings account. The bank's new Heritage Direct Savings Account has a 4.60% APY. It requires a $1K minimum opening balance. The balance must remain above $1K to obtain the APY and to avoid a $10 monthly fee.

This savings account has the same features as the typical online savings account. It must be opened online, and it links to your existing checking account. Like EmigrantDirect or ING Direct, it doesn't offer ATM cards or check writing privileges.

Heritage Bank Online is run by Heritage Bank N.A. of Spicer, Minnesota which is FDIC insured. Bankrate.com rates this bank as 4 of 5 stars (financially sound).

With the $1K minimum at Heritage, EmigrantDirect and VirtualBank are still better deals. Nevertheless, it's good to see more banks offering online savings accounts. Last week, Citibank began offering an online savings account with 4.50% APY. The more competition, the better rates we should see.

Hopefully, we'll see more credit unions starting online-only savings accounts. Sunmark FCU of New York began one last year at RateEdge.com which has offered rates on a no-minimum savings account better than EmigrantDirect's rates over the last 8 months. Its current APY is 4.75% which began in early February (see post).

Bank Deal Summary for April 1, 2006 read and submit comments for this post

After the Fed increased the funds rate this week, I had expected more money market account rate increases. ING Direct did raise their non-promo rate from 3.80% to 4.00% APY which isn't much to be excited about. UmbrellaBank slightly increased their money market account from 4.61% to 4.66% APY. EverBank increased their promotional 3-month rate on their FreeNet Checking Account from 5.01% to 5.51%.

The big news for this week in savings and money market accounts was Citibank's new 4.50% e-Savings account. Although there are many online accounts that offer 4.50% and higher, it does represent more competition for online savings accounts when a major bank gets into the field.

Several banks raised their CD rates this week. VirtualBank's 6-month CD reached 5% APY. GMAC Bank just increased rates on many of their CDs today. The 3-month APY increased from 4.60% to 4.70% APY. The 1-year APY increased from 5.10% to 5.15%, and the 2-year and 3-year APYs increased from 5.15% to 5.20%. UmbrellaBank also had similar CD rate increases earlier in the week.

The best 6-month CD deal continues to be World Savings with a 5.26% APY special (see post). The best 6-month CD deal online is at Meadows Credit Union with a 5.12% APY special (see post).

On the local deals, I'm seeing more 10% 1-year CDs. These always have a maximum deposit limit but if the limits are over $2K, you can earn at least an extra $100 from these specials (see post).

Thanks to all who have helped by leaving comments or sending emails on rate updates. Sorry I can't include all of the best rates in this summary.

The rates listed below are based on Annual Percentage Yield (APY). No minimum balances are required unless noted. MMA next to the rates indicate a money market account. Most MMAs have check writing and ATM cards. Online savings accounts usually lack both of these. Previous weekly summaries are available for Mar 25th, Mar 18th, Mar 11th, Mar 4th, Feb 25th and Feb 18th.

As of April 1, 2006

Savings/Money Market Accounts:

• HSBC - 4.80%, offers checking, (rate history), my post (bonus info)
• UmbrellaBank.com - 4.66% MMA (min $1K), offers checking, my post
• GMAC Bank - 4.65% MMA (min $500), offers checking, my post
• VirtualBank - 4.60% (min $100), offers checking, my post ($20 bonus)
• Corus Bank - 4.59% MMA (min $10K to open)
• MyBankingDirect - 4.55% MMA (min $5K), my post
• EmigrantDirect - 4.50%, my post, ($10 signup bonus), (rate history)
• Transportation Alliance Bank - 4.50% MMA (min $25), my post
• Presidential - 4.37% (min $5K, only first $35K receives this rate), offers checking, my post
• CapitalOne/Costco - 4.30% MMA (min $5K, Costco members only, $50 deal for exec. members)
• Western Financial Bank - 4.25% MMA, offers checking, my post
• FirstFedDirect - 4.25% (closed to CA residents), my post
• CapitalOne - 4.25% (MMA has same rate, but with checks and ATM. $100 min.)
• ING Direct - 4.00%, my post (4.75% promo and $25 bonus), (rate history)
• MetLife Bank - 4.00% MMA (min $5K), my post ($50 bonus)
• Self-Help Credit Union - 3.97% MMA (min $500), my post
• UFB Direct - 3.75% MMA, offers checking, my