As a comparison to internet banks, the best 5-year CD rate is 2.75% APY at Salem Five Direct and the best 3-year CD rate is 2.00% APY at One West Bank. For credit unions with easy membership, the best 5-year CD rate is 2.93% APY at Melrose Credit Union and the best 3-year CD rate is 2.25% APY at Fort Knox FCU.

The early withdrawal penalty is worse than average with up to 360 days of dividends for terms of 30 months to 5 years. The early withdrawal penalties and other CD details are listed in the credit union’s truth in savings disclosure.

To qualify for membership at PFFCU, you have to belong to one of the credit union’s member groups. One group on the list is Weavers Way Cooperative Association which is open to anyone. However, PFFCU placed an additional requirement during the summer. Weavers Way members must also be a resident of Pennsylvania. Please refer to the credit union’s membership eligibility page for the full details.

Branches are located in Philadelphia and its suburbs.

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The special is listed at the credit union’s specials page as of 8/25/09. This special is scheduled to last through 9/30/09 but it is subject to change at any time.

The credit union also has a checking account promotion with a free emergency flashlight clock/radio when you open any of their checking accounts. In addition to free checking, they also have a reward checking called Incentive Checking. As of 8/25/09, Incentive Checking pays 3% APY on balances up to $25K if the typical reward checking requirements are met.

Membership is open to anyone who lives or works in the following Central Florida counties: Lake, Orange, Seminole, Volusia, Brevard, Marion, and Sumter. Membership requires a minimum balance of $5 in the share savings account. There’s an online application provided by Andera that allows you to join and open the checking account with funding via an electronic ACH transfer.

Branches are located throughout Central Florida including the cities of Orlando, Apopka, Lake Mary and Leesburg.

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Membership is open to those who live, work or attend school in several counties in the northeast part of Tennessee. Counties in southwest Virginia and in Harrison and Gregg Counties in Texas are also included. There’s also a long list of Select Employer Groups.

Branches are located in Tennessee, Virginia, Texas, South Carolina and Arkansas.

The credit union is federally insured by the NCUA. It’s a large credit union with $2.1 billion in assets and 109,770 members based on 3/19/09 NCUA data. It has grown quite a bit since 2007 when it had $1.6 billion in assets and only around 81,000 members.

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The credit union continues to offer a high-yield reward checking account. As of 5/15/09, the rate is 5% APY for balances up to $25K.

Membership is open to anyone who lives or works in Linn, Buchanan, Delaware, Jones, Cedar, Johnson, Iowa and Benton Counties. Membership requires a minimum deposit of $5 in the share savings account.

Branches are located in Cedar Rapids and Marion, Iowa. The credit union is NCUA insured.

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Membership is open to everyone who lives, works, worships, attends school or maintains a business in Chemung and Steuben Counties, New York, and Tioga County, Pennsylvania. Membership also requires a minimum balance of $5 in the share savings account.

The credit union is federally insured by the NCUA.

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1. Amplify Credit Union (TX) Share CD

One nice feature with all of Amplify’s certificates is that you can make additional deposits of at least $500 to the certificate at any time during the term. The new deposits will earn the same rate as the original CD.

You can apply for membership and open accounts online. Funding can be done with an ACH transfer from another bank or credit union. However, they limit your initial funding to $5,025. After you join, you’re able to log in and can initiate ACH transfers into your share savings or checking without the $5K limit. Then you can open a new CD or add to a current CD using their online interface.

Membership is open to anyone who lives, works or attends school in Travis, Williamson, Hays, Caldwell or Bastrop county, Texas. Membership requires a minimum deposit of $25 into your share savings account.

Branches are located in Austin, Round Rock and Cedar Park. The credit union is federally insured by the NCUA.

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The article described five corporate credit unions which reported $5.7 billion in “unrealized” losses as of the end of May. It also describes how there is an effort to reclassify the losses and downplay their importance.

Individual credit union members appear to be mostly insulated from these problems. Regular credit unions that have deposited money with the corporate credit unions could see losses if the corporates fail. According to the article the last time a corporate credit union failed was in 1995, and the regular credit unions were eventually able recover their money.

The article mentions that 9 regular credit unions have failed this year. However, many of these failures have been tiny credit unions. The last one that failed was Port Trust FCU which had assets of only $461,000 (see NCUA press release).

The major regular credit unions seem to be healthy based on their recent financial ratings. Here are a few of the largest credit unions in the US (source) and their ratings based on 3/31/08 data:

• Navy FCU – 5 stars at BauerFinancial, 3 stars at Bankrate.com
• Pentagon FCU – 5 stars at BauerFinancial, 4 stars at Bankrate.com
• Alliant CU – 5 stars at BauerFinancial, 3 stars at Bankrate.com
• The Golden 1 CU – 5 stars at BauerFinancial, 4 stars at Bankrate.com

The vast majority of credit unions are federally insured by the NCUA, and this insurance is very similar to what the FDIC provides for bank deposits. I have more info and references on NCUA insurance in this post. Whether your deposits are held at banks or credit unions, it makes sense to stay under the federal insurance limits.

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1. Credit Unions Open To Anyone

Field of membership in Northrop Grumman Federal Credit Union is offered to Northrop Grumman employees, retirees, and their family among others. For those who don’t otherwise qualify for membership in this credit union, prospective members can become eligible through membership in the Southern California Historical Aviation Foundation (SCHAF). Membership in SCHAF is $25.

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It appears a branch visit is required to open the CD. Branches are located in several Michigan cities including Farmington Hills, Fenton, Madison Heights, Sterling Heights, Troy and Warren.

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Membership is open to those who live, work, worship, or attend school in Newark, Elizabeth, or Jersey City. In addition, you can be eligible to join via Select Employer Groups and via family. Membership requires a minimum deposit of $5 into the share savings account.

Branches are located in Parsippany, Newark, Whippany, Montville and Morristown, NJ.

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