Kiplingers Personal Finance

(John Hannent) #1
Annual
yield as of
March 7

Min.
amount

Website
Savings (www.)
PurePoint Financial (C ali f.)* 1.25% $10,000 purepoint.com
Popular Direct (Fla.)* 1.15 none populardirect.com
Northpointe Bank (Mich.) 1.12 10,000 northpointe.com
Incredible Bank (Wis.)* 1.11 none incrediblebank.com
NATIONAL AVERAGE 0.18%

Annual
yield as of
March 7

No-Fee Interest Checking
Minimum balance may be required

Website
(www.)

America’s Credit Union (Wash.)# 5.00% $0–$1,000 youracu.org
Northpointe Bank (Mich.) 5.00 0–5,000 northpointe.com
Consumers Credit Union (Ill.)# 4.59 0–20,000 myconsumers.org
La Capitol FCU (La.)# 4.25 0–5,000 lacapfcu.org
NATIONAL AVERAGE 1.79%

Annual
yield as of
March 7

Balance
range†

High-Yield Checking
Must meet activity requirements‡

Website
(www.)

Rates are adjustable. Banks may offer lower introductory rates. *If you do not qualify for this
interest rate, the issuer will offer a higher-rate card. (P) Platinum. #Must be a member. †$37
if late more than once in 6 months. ‡6% groceries up to $6,000 per calendar year (1% thereafter);
3% gas/retail; 1% other purchases. ^Categories change quarterly on up to $1,500 of spending.
&Earn 1% when you buy and an additional 1% when you pay for a purchase. SOURCE: Bankrate.

Balance
range†
GTE Financial (Fla.)# 1.99% $0–$500 gtefinancial.org
Langley Federal Credit Union (Va.)#1.61 0–1,000 langleyfcu.org
MemoryBank (Ky.)* 1.50 0–250,000 mymemorybank.com
Aspiration (C ali f.)* 1.00 2,500 and above aspiration.com
NATIONAL AVERAGE 0.13%

TOP-YIELDING DEPOSIT ACCOUNTS

Andrews Federal Credit Union (Md.)# 1.45% $10,000 andrewsfcu.org
Connexus Credit Union (Wis.)# 1.42 5,000 connexuscu.org
EverBank (Fla.)* 1.40 5,000 everbank.com
PurePoint Financial (C ali f.)* 1.40 10,000 purepoint.com
NATIONAL AVERAGE 0.52%

Annual
yield as of
1-Year March 7

Min.
amount

Website
(www.)

#Must be a member; to become a member, see website. *Internet only. SOURCES: Bankrate,
DepositAccounts.

United States Senate FCU (D.C.)# 2.34% $20,000 ussfcu.org
EverBank (Fla.)* 2.30 5,000 everbank.com
State Farm Bank (Ill.)* 2.30 500 statefarm.com
Utah First FCU (Utah)# 2.30 500 utahfirst.com
NATIONAL AVERAGE 1.44%

5-Year

Min.
amount

Website
(www.)

Annual
yield as of
March 7

TOP-YIELDING CERTIFICATES OF DEPOSIT

Lake Mich Credit Union Prime (P)# 6.75% none $27† lmcu.org
Simmons Bank Visa (P) 7. 7 5 n o n e 2 7† simmonsbank.com
First Command Bank Visa (P) 8.75 none 27 † firstcommandbank.com

Issuer

Rate
as of
Mar. 7*

Annual
fee

Late
fee

Website
(www.)

LOW-RATE CREDIT CARDS

Amex Blue Cash Preferred13.49% $95 6%/1%‡ americanexpress.com
Chase Freedom 15.49 none 5/1^ chase.com
Citi Double Cash 13.49 none 2 & citi.com

Issuer

Rate
as of
Mar. 7*
Annual
fee

Rebate
earned
Category/Other
Web site
(www.)

CASH REBATE CREDIT CARDS

#Must be a member; to become a member, see website. *Internet only. ‡To e a r n t h e
maximum rate, you must meet requirements such as using your debit card several times
monthly and receiving electronic statements. †Portion of the balance higher than the listed
range earns a lower rate or no interest. SOURCES: Bankrate, DepositAccounts.

An individual’s deposits at a
credit union are insured for
up to a combined $250,000
in all deposit accounts—
including CDs as well as
checking and savings ac-
counts. Joint accounts come
with separate coverage of
$250,000 for each depositor
listed on the accounts. IRAs
and trusts come with their
own insurance limits, too.
At http://www.mycreditunion
.gov/estimator, you can use
a tool to calculate whether
your deposits are fully
insured.
Until Melrose’s financial
troubles are resolved, we
are removing its CDs from
our tables. New York–based
Melrose has suffered heavy
losses related to loans for
taxi medallions, which taxi
operators purchase to li-
cense their services. (The
taxi industry is under pres-
sure from ride-sharing
services such as Uber and
Lyft.) If a troubled credit
union can’t resolve its issues,
then it will liquidate, and
the NCUA will either trans-
fer accounts to a credit union
that has agreed to acquire
them or send checks to
customers for their insured
deposits. LISA GERSTNER

FOR SEVERAL MONTHS, CDs
from Melrose Credit Union
have appeared at or near
the number-one spot on our
table of top-yielding certifi-
cates of deposit. Recently,
the National Credit Union
Administration, an inde-
pendent federal agency that
oversees credit unions, an-
nounced that it had taken
Melrose into conservator-
ship because of “unsafe
and unsound practices.”

That may set off alarm
bells if you are a yield-
starved saver who invested
your money in Melrose CDs,
but be assured that your
money is safe. Money held
in deposit accounts at Mel-
rose is federally insured up
to the limits prescribed by
the National Credit Union
Share Insurance Fund,
which is the credit union
equivalent of Federal
Deposit Insurance Corp.
coverage for bank accounts.

Deposit Insurance


Has Your Back


RATE UPDATES
For the latest savings yields
and loan rates, visit kiplinger
.com/fi nances/yields.

Kiplinger.com

CREDIT

As of March 7, 2017.

● (^) EE savings bonds purchased
after May 1, 2005, have a
fi xed rate of interest.
● (^) Bonds bought between
May 1, 1995, and May 1, 2005,
earn a market-based rate
from date of purchase.
● (^) Bonds purchased before
May 1, 1995, earn a minimum
of 4% or a market-based rate
from date of purchase.
YIELD BENCHMARKS Yield
Month-
ago
Ye a r -
ago
U.S. Series EE savings bonds 0.10% 0.10% 0.10%
U.S. Series I savings bonds 2.76 2.76 1.64
Six-month Treasury bills 0.85 0.63 0.49
Five-year Treasury notes 2.05 1.85 1.42
Ten-year Treasury notes 2.52 2.40 1.91
SOURCES FOR TREASURIES: Bloomberg, U.S. Treasury.

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