6.01% Reward Checking Account at a MI/OH/AR Credit Union (United) read and submit comments for this post

Update 10/28/08: The 6.01% APY is guaranteed to last to 2010.

United FCU is offering a reward checking account called Interest Plus Checking that pays 6.01% APY on balances up to $25,000 (0.50% for above) and refunds ATM fees of up to $25 per month if the following monthly requirements are met:

• 10 signature-based debit card transactions
• one direct deposit or ACH
• receive your statements electronically

If these are not met, the rate falls to 0.10%. There are no minimum balance requirements. One downside mentioned in the small print is that this account is not eligible for free checks.

Membership is open to those who live, work, worship, volunteer or attend school in parts of Southwest Michigan, Ohio, Eastern Oklahoma and Western Arkansas. You can also be eligible to join via Select Employer Groups and via immediate family. Refer to the credit union's membership page for the full details. Membership requires a minimum $5 deposit into the savings account.

Branches are located in Michigan, Ohio, Arkansas, North Dakota and North Carolina. The credit union is federally insured by the NCUA (Charter # 6288). It has $749.6 million in assets and 79,075 members as of May 2008.

Thanks to the reader Mike who mentioned this account in the finding-the-best-deals post.

For other high yield reward checking accounts and to learn more about these accounts, please refer to my High Yield Checking website.

Edit 6/14/09: Updated FOM to include parts of Eastern OK.