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How To Max Out Your FDIC Insurance On Savings and CD’s

Rate Nerd — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 21:15:32 +0000

With banks and the economy in the news so much lately, you may be thinking more about the safety of your money.

If a depositor’s accounts at one FDIC-insured bank or savings association total $250,000 or less, the deposits are fully insured. A depositor can have more than $250,000 at one insured bank or savings association and still be fully insured provided the accounts meet certain requirements. Here’s how to get the maximum coverage for your savings.

All funds in a “noninterest-bearing transaction account” are insured in full by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation from December 31, 2010, through December 31, 2012. This temporary unlimited coverage is in addition to, and separate from, the coverage of at least $250,000 available to depositors under the FDIC’s general deposit insurance rules.

The term “noninterest-bearing transaction account” includes a traditional checking account or demand deposit account on which the insured depository institution pays no interest. It does not include other accounts, such as traditional checking or demand deposit accounts that may earn interest, NOW accounts, money-market deposit accounts, and Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts (“IOLTAs”).

For more information about temporary FDIC insurance coverage of transaction accounts, visit the official FDIC Web site.

Maximize Your FDIC Coverage

FDIC deposit insurance is $250,000 per depositor, per deposit category. The FDIC provides separate insurance coverage for funds that depositors may have in different categories of legal ownership. The FDIC refers to these different categories as ownership categories.

This means that each ownership category you have at the same bank is separately insured:

The FDIC adds together all single accounts owned by the same person at the same bank and insures the total up to $250,000.

Every joint account that an individual owns at the same insured bank are added together with his or her other joint account shares at the same bank, and the total is insured up to $250,000.

The FDIC adds together all Roth, Traditional, SEP and SIMPLE retirement accounts owned by the same person at the same insured bank and insures the total amount up to $250,000.

Here’s one way a household can have $1,500,000 of FDIC insurance:

Two Person Household
Accountholders Within a Household	Account Type^*	Account Balance
Accountholder 1	Individual Money Market or CD Account	$	250,000
Accountholder 2	Individual Money Market or CD Account	$	250,000
Accountholder 1	Traditional and/or Roth IRA CD	$	250,000
Accountholder 2	Traditional and/or Roth IRA CD	$	250,000
Accountholder 1 & 2	Joint Online Savings, Money Market or CD Account	$	500,000
Total Deposits per Household		$	1,500,000
Total Amount Insured		$	1,500,000

Here’s one way a single depositor can be covered up to $500,000:

One Person Household
Accountholders Within a Household	Account Type^*	Account Balance
Accountholder 1	Individual Online Savings, Money Market or CD Account	$	250,000
Accountholder 1	Traditional and/or Roth IRA CD	$	250,000
Total Deposits per Household		$	500,000
Total Amount Insured		$	500,000

If you’re not sure how to set this up, check with your financial advisor, or with Discover Bank – one of the top paying CD and money market providers at this time.

How To Max Out Your FDIC Insurance On Savings and CD’s is a post from: RateNerd - unadvertised deals from banks.

Best Checking Account Offers for 2012

Rate Nerd — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 18:08:16 +0000

Here’s our annual list of the best checking account offers for the new year – Happy 2012!

Your checking account is the centerpiece of your financial life. You can always have a savings account elsewhere, and then link it to your checking account. Your Checking account should be easy to use, have nationwide ATM access, and pay rewards.

Are Free Checking Accounts Still A Good Deal?

Free checking accounts are still relatively easy to find, although most banks will charge for extra products and services such as a safety deposit box, bounced checks, and withdrawals outside its ATM network. If you choose a free checking account, the only way it will cost you money is if you have poor financial habits.

However, only 45% of non-interest bank checking accounts are free, down from 65% in 2010 and 76% two years ago. Fees, meanwhile, are rising: The average monthly fee for a non-interest account is $4.37, up 75% from a year ago.

Banks are adding fees to recover from new regulations that could cost them billions in lost revenue. Starting Oct. 1, 2011 the maximum fee banks can charge retailers when customers pay with a debit card is 21 cents, down from an average of 44 cents. Last year, the Federal Reserve Board prohibited overdraft fees unless customers sign up for the service. This is why Bank of America tried (unsuccessfully) to charge checking account holders a $5/month fee to use their debit cards.

Best Checking Account Offers for 2012

So here are the best deals and promotions and offers we have found on checking accounts from leading banks and credit unions nationwide. Enjoy!

Best High Yield Checking Account: floridacentral Credit Union

floridacentral Credit Union is offering 4.50% APY on its checking accounts, with a loan balance of $5,000 or more.

If you don’t have the loan account, but meet all the other requirements you’ll still get an APY of 3.00%.

Read our review of floridacentral Credit Union’s Offer here: floridacentral Credit Union

Best Debit Card Reward Program – PerkStreet

PerkStreet offers an FDIC insured checking account with the most debit card rewards around. When you use your PerkStreet Financial Debit MasterCard you can earn up to unlimited 2% cash back, plus up to 5% cash back in popular categories called PowerPerks. No matter how you use your PerkStreet Financial Debit MasterCard, the money is withdrawn from your checking account. You also get free paper checks and online checking.

Read our PerkStreet Review Here: PerkStreet Debit Card

Best Cash Incentive To Open A New Checking Account – Chase

Open a Chase Total Checking account, set up direct deposit and get a $125 cash bonus.

Chase continues to offer one of the best checking account incentives out there – plus having a truly good checking account, great ATM’s, and lots of branch offices. Read our review here: Chase Checking Account

Best Checking Account Offers for 2012 is a post from: RateNerd - unadvertised deals from banks.

$125 Chase Checking Account Offer

Rate Nerd — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 17:54:18 +0000

Open a Chase Total Checking account, set up direct deposit and get a $125 cash bonus.

Chase continues to offer one of the best checking account incentives out there – plus having a truly good checking account, great ATM’s, and lots of branch offices.

For new checking customers, open a Chase Total Checking account with a $100 opening deposit, set up direct deposit and get a $125 cash bonus. Plus all of these benefits:

FREE access to 16,500 Chase ATMs nationwide
FREE Online Banking & Online Bill Pay
FREE Chase Debit Card with built-in security
FREE Text and E-mail Alerts
24/7 access with Chase Mobile on your phone

Click here to get access to the Chase Checking Account Offer.

Chase checking account offer bonus/account Information

Offer not available to existing Chase checking customers, fiduciary accounts and those who have closed an account within 90 days. Offer valid through 1/7/12. To receive the bonus: 1) open a new Chase Total CheckingSM account, which is subject to approval; 2) deposit $100 or more within 60 days of account opening; AND 3) have your direct deposit made to this account within 60 days of account opening. Your opening deposit cannot be money held by Chase or its affiliates, nor can the bonus be used as the opening deposit. Your direct deposit needs to be an electronic deposit of your paycheck, pension or government benefits (such as Social Security) from your employer or the government. After we receive your first direct deposit, we’ll deposit the bonus in your new account within 10 business days. You can only receive one checking account-related bonus per calendar year. If your checking account is closed within six months, we will deduct the bonus amount at closing. Also, if your account is closed within 90 days, an Account Closing Fee of $25 will apply.

$125 Chase Checking Account Offer is a post from: RateNerd - unadvertised deals from banks.

4.01% Free Checking Account – Daily Deal

Rate Nerd — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 21:42:18 +0000

Pelican State Credit Union’s e-Xtra Bonus Checking is paying a very high interest rate of 4.01% APY on balances up to $20,000.

Experience the Ultimate Advantage in Checking! This electronically based free checking account offers monthly dividends with the opportunity to receive an additional bonus dividend each month. You could earn up to 4.01% APY! Plus you can earn ATM fee reimbursement up to $12.00 per month just for meeting the simple monthly requirements.

Free Checking Account Features:

No monthly service charge
Earn monthly dividends
High bonus dividends paid on balances up to $20,000
ATM fee reimbursement
FREE online account access
FREE Visa debit card
Unlimited check writing
FREE e-Pay bill payment
Overdraft Protection available
FREE e-Statements

Meet these simple monthly requirements:

Receive electronic statements (e-Statements) and notifications
Receive payroll deduction or direct deposit
Access your account online at least once a month
Perform at least 15 debit card transactions per month

How it works: If you receive electronic statements and notifications, you will receive a monthly dividend of 0.25%. If you meet all the monthly requirements listed above, you will receive an e-Xtra Bonus dividend of 3.94%. Plus, you will get your foreign ATM fees reimbursed up to $12.00.

About Pelican State Credit Union

For more than fifty years, Pelican State Credit Union has been providing financial services to individuals and their families throughout the state of Louisiana. http://www.pelicanstatecu.com/pers_checking.aspx

4.01% Free Checking Account – Daily Deal is a post from: RateNerd - unadvertised deals from banks.

4.09% Free Rewards Checking Account Deal – Daily Deal

Rate Nerd — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 17:09:30 +0000

4.09% APY on a free rewards checking account on balances up to $10,000 – WOW!

If you are tired of big-bank “bait and switch” teaser rates, try Consumer’s Cooperative Credit Union’s free Rewards Checking account, paying a guaranteed 4.09% Annual Percent Yield (APY) rate through June 30, 2012!

And don’t worry about paying ATM fees or any administrative fees. There are NO fees, plus they will refund fees from other banks’ ATMs when you meet your Rewards Checking Requirements.

Here is a complete recap on the rate tiers for this free checking account:

4.09% APY for deposits up to $10,000.00 for Members meeting the qualification requirements
0.56% APY for balances between $10,000.01 and $25,000.00 for Members meeting the qualification requirements
0.35% APY for balances in excess of $25,000.00 for Members meeting the qualification requirements
0.01% APY for Members who do not meet the qualification requirements

Check out these other great benefits from Free Rewards Checking:

NO minimum balance required
NO ATM fees
FREE VISA Debit Card
FREE mobile banking
FREE online banking and bill payment
FREE electronic statements
Unlimited check-writing privileges

Qualified Members receive Overdraft Privilege, a helpful resource that covers your overdrawn checks and provides you the peace of mind. Anyone can take advantage of these valuable perks, including new Members.

Consumers Cooperative Credit Union requires the following to earn these rewards:

Complete at least 12 Debit/Check Card Point-of-Sale purchases
Each calendar month, one direct deposit OR one ACH debit OR pay one bill when using Consumers Credit Union’s free online bill payment
Access Online Banking at least once each calendar month
Receive Electronic Statements

Even if you don’t meet all four requirements, you’re still rewarded with free online banking and free online bill payment. And although you won’t receive ATM refunds, Consumers Cooperative Credit Union will pay you 0.01% APY.

About Consumers Cooperative Credit Union

Consumers Cooperative Credit Union is one of the largest credit unions in Illinois, with approximately 51,000 Members and more than $500 million in assets. CCU is owned and democratically operated by its Members, who elect our all-volunteer Board of Directors. In turn, the Board represents our Member-owners’ interests in credit union policymaking. https://www.myconsumers.org/en/personal-banking/checking.aspx

4.09% Free Rewards Checking Account Deal – Daily Deal is a post from: RateNerd - unadvertised deals from banks.

4.50% APY Checking Account Interest Rate Offer – Daily Deal

Rate Nerd — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 14:51:38 +0000

floridacentral Credit Union is offering 4.50% APY on its checking accounts, with a loan balance of $5,000 or more.

If you don’t have the loan account, but meet all the other requirements you’ll still get an APY of 3.00%.

Ultimate Checking earns you a world-class return of up to 4.50% APY and unlimited checking with no monthly service fees or minimum balance requirements to earn rewards each monthly qualification cycle. You even get ATM fees refunded no matter whose machine you use.

Features of the floridacentral checking account offer:

4.50% APY on balances up to $15,000
3.00% APY if loan qualifications are not met but other three qualifications are met on balances up to $15,000
1.00% APY on amount of balance over $15,000
0.10% APY if qualifications are not met
Free ATM transactions nationwide
Unlimited check/debits
No minimum balance to earn rewards or monthly service fees
Free check card
Free online banking with bill pay
Free paperless eStatements
Unlimited Member Services Call Center access
Unlimited Call 24 telephone banking
Overdraft Privilege of up to $700
NCUA insured up to $250,000

Checking Account Offer Qualifications

To receive the ultimate return of 4.50% APY and ATM fee refunds, simply do the following each monthly qualification cycle:

Have at least 12 debit card purchases post and clear
Have at least 1 Automatic Payment or Direct Deposit post and clear
Receive paperless eStatements
Have loan balances of $5,000 or more
If you don’t meet the loan qualification in a given cycle, you still get a great 3.00% APY. The combined loan balances of $5,000 or more, excludes credit cards and secondary market mortgages.

About floridacentral Credit Union

floridacentral Credit Union was established in 1958. Back then it was called Tampa Central Credit Union and served as the credit union for other credit unions, since regulations then stated that board members and managers were not allowed to belong to the credit union in which they served.

In 2007, floridacentral merged with St. Petersburg Municipal Employees Credit Union, turning the location into our St. Pete Branch and then in February 2010, floridacentral opened the Clearwater Branch adding another branch to our Pinellas County branch network. Currently, floridacentral Credit Union serves nearly 39,000 members and over 1,000 SEGs with 9 west-central Florida branches.

4.50% APY Checking Account Interest Rate Offer – Daily Deal is a post from: RateNerd - unadvertised deals from banks.

$150 Checking Account Offer From KeyBank – Daily Deal

Rate Nerd — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 14:35:28 +0000

KeyBank’s $150 new checking account offer bonus just might help your holiday savings.

KeyBank checking accounts give you convenient, 24/7 access to your money and the freedom and flexibility to pay bills and make purchases without cash. Plus, you can opt to have your paycheck directly deposited into your account.

Here are the four checking account offer types that are eligible for the $150 bonus:

1) Key Express Checking Account – Basic checking account with a debit MasterCard. Skip monthly maintenance service fees by making at least $500 in deposits or initiate five transactions per statement cycle. $40 yearly maintenance fee applied regardless.

2) Key Coverage Checking Account – Another basic checking account which has several fees, but reduced overdraft fees. $10 monthly service charge, annual $30 maintenance fee, plus an $18-per-item overdraft fee if you overdraw your checking account. Save on overdraft fees, including waiver of first two overdraft or return item fees assessed per monthly statement. plus protection against identity theft with ITAC Sentinel, including credit report and score, credit file monitoring, and up to $2,500 identity theft insurance, at no additional cost to you ($0 deductible).

3) Key Advantage Checking Account - These accounts require a $10,000 minimum balance to avoid fees. Pays nominal interest, and features reimbursement of other banks’ ATM cash/withdrawal surcharges, up to $6 per month.

4) Key Privilege Checking Account – Enjoy the benefits of a suite of premium financial management solutions integrating banking and investing. A Relationship Manager will work with you to help determine your personal investment strategy.

To take advantage of the KeyBank checking account offer, you must do the following:

open a qualifying KeyBank checking account online and enter offer code ONFT1011 by December 30, 2011, and
make at least 30 payments and/or purchases within 3 months of account opening, plus
make 3 direct deposits each of $500 or more within 3 months of account opening.

About KeyBank

Cleveland-based KeyCorp is one of the nation’s largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $89 billion. Key companies provide investment management, retail and commercial banking, consumer finance, and investment banking products and services to individuals and companies throughout the United States and, for certain businesses, internationally. For more information on this checking account offer, visit www.key.com.

$150 Checking Account Offer From KeyBank – Daily Deal is a post from: RateNerd - unadvertised deals from banks.

Credit Card Consolidation Tips

Rate Nerd — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 19:01:02 +0000

Credit card consolidation may be the easy solution to eliminate debt problems.

Student life is the best part of life when you do not have to worry about anything. It has been seen that when you enter your college life, your parents give you multiple credit cards so that you can use them in case you face any financial problem. As soon as you get credit cards in your hands, you forget the emergency importance of using them and thus swap them for every little purchase that you make.

Since credit cards usually charge high rate of interest, it becomes difficult for the students to repay the outstanding credit card balance on time with their low income. This is one of the main reasons that a student falls into credit card debts. In order to pay off your debts, you may take advantage of credit card debt consolidation so that you can free yourself from the clutches of credit card debts.

Credit card consolidation benefits for students

When you find yourself sinking in the sea of credit card debts, you spend sleepless nights thinking as to how you will be able to come out of your debts. Go through this article to know about the 4 benefits of credit card debt consolidation that will help you solve your credit card debt problems.

1. Interest rate gets revised - One of the main reasons why the students fall into the trap of credit card debts is the high interest rate charged from them on their outstanding debts. But, when you enroll in a credit card consolidation program to pay off your debts, the interest rate charged on your debts gets lowered. This gives you the relaxation to pay off your outstanding credit card debts at a low interest rate.

2. Enjoy single monthly payment – When you fall into multiple credit card debts, it is quiet obvious that you will have to pay to the multiple creditors. But this is not possible for you when you are already trapped into enormous credit card debts. In such a situation, it is best that you take the help of credit card debt consolidation where you only have to make a single monthly payment on all your outstanding debts. Thus, you do not have to face the harassment of paying your several creditors individually and you will be able to pay off your credit card debts with ease.

3. Boost your credit score – Your credit score will fall down when you have huge credit card debts to pay off. Being a student, it is very important on your part that you try to repay your debts as soon as you can and regain your credit score so that you may be able to get the best job once you pass out from your college. Thus, by taking the help of debt consolidation, you will be able to pay off your entire debt amount and, in turn, boost your credit score.

4. Eradicate late fees and penalties – You may have mounted up late fees and penalties on your credit cards because of the late payments that you make on your outstanding dues. However, you can get rid of the late fees and penalties by enrolling in a debt consolidation program. You pay off your debts with the help of the program and they abolish the late fees and penalties on your outstanding debts. Thus, your monthly payments get lowered than what you were supposed to pay.

Thus, credit card debt consolidation can be said as the most suitable solution that can help you pay off your outstanding debts in a much convenient manner. This will help you come out of your debt problems and, in turn, live a debt free life.

Credit Card Consolidation Tips is a post from: RateNerd - unadvertised deals from banks.

Best CD Rates for October 2011

Rate Nerd — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 14:46:22 +0000

Following last week’s pause, CD rates on certificates of deposit continue to fall in the most recent CD rate survey.

The national average on a one-year CD yield is down 1 basis point to 0.36 percent. The national average on a five-year CD yield fell 2 basis points to 1.2 percent. Each basis point is equal to one-hundredth of 1 percentage point.

Savers need to look hard to find higher yields. RateNerd finds higher CD Rates at Discover Bank which are presently paying 1.10% APY on a one-year CD.

National Average CD Rates

0.36% (1-year CD yields)
1.2% (5-year CD yields)

For deposits of $100,000.00 or more, the average one-year jumbo CD yield is down 1 basis point to 0.4 percent, and the five-year CD yield fell 1 basis point to 1.25 percent.

There is some good news for savers. The average money market account gained back the 1 basis point it lost last week and is now 0.15 percent. You can check all rates at the CD Rate center on RateNerd.com.

Best CD Rates for October 2011 is a post from: RateNerd - unadvertised deals from banks.

CD Rates: Lots Of Cash, Where Is The Yield?

Rate Nerd — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 13:43:30 +0000

Americans are pumping money into bank accounts, sending deposits to record levels near $10 trillion on fears the U.S. economy is on the verge of another implosion.

As a result, the national average on a 12 month CD is a meager 0.34% APY, according to Discover Bank’s website.

And the Los Angeles Times reports that banks are driving away deposits by refusing to renew CDs at higher rates and by imposing fees on checking accounts for depositors who don’t use other, profitable financial services as well. This week Bank of America announced its intent to charge customers a $5 monthly fee to use their debit card.

There’s no sign that the flood into checking, savings and money market accounts is slowing down. In the last three months, accounts at U.S. commercial banks have increased $429 billion, or 10%, almost double the increase for all of last year.

The Fed has pledged to hold short-term rates near zero through mid-2013 unless the economy improves as a way to combat the nation falling back into a recession. That’s going to continue to cause pain to savers, and could force banks to become even more stringent about their intake of new deposits.

To find the best yields available for CD rates, check out the CD Rates tab on RateNerd.com. Here you can find market leaders like Discover Bank who at the time of this post is offering 1.10% APY on its 12 month CD products – nearly three times the national average.

Resource: Discover Bank CDs

CD Rates: Lots Of Cash, Where Is The Yield? is a post from: RateNerd - unadvertised deals from banks.