Best Rewards Checking Account in Illinois paying 4.09% APY

It’s been a while since we reported on a decent rewards checking account so we thought we were overdue to uncover one of these diamonds-in-the-rough-savings-vehicles. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with these somewhat peculiar banking products we’ll give you a quick rundown…

Rewards checking accounts are essentially high interest checking accounts that come with a few strings attached. They made a lot of noise in 2009 and 2010 when CD rates began to nose dive into the abyss and have since seen their rates drop significantly as well. They are primarily offered by credit unions but can also be obtained by larger banks now as they’ve grown in popularity.

Here’s what you’ll typically get: an incredible interest rate (check out the one we’ve highlighted below which is paying a whopping 4.09% APY on balances up to $25k), a maximum balance allowance to earn the high APY, a few withdrawal allowances per month (similar to a money market account) and free ATM usage.

Here’s what you’ll typically have to do to obtain the bank or credit union’s advertised rate: set up a recurring payment from the account. This can be used to pay for any monthly bill (ie mortgage, auto loan, credit card debt, etc). Make a certain amount of transactions per month with your debit card from the account (usually around 10 or 15), and conduct your banking online with e-statements and other online banking tools.

Featured Account:

Thanks to BankVibe.com reader Tony for forwarding us a fantastic example of one of these accounts available today. Consumers Credit Union (out of Illinois) has a rewards checking account paying an incredible 4.09% APY on balances up to $25,000 PLUS a still respectable 1.59% APY on balances exceeding that amount. To keep earning this interest on your balance you’ll have to:

• Complete at least 12 Debit/Check Card Point-of-Sale Transactions (transactions must be made without using your Personal Identification Number, or PIN, to count towards the minimum of 12 and must be posted to your account on or before the last day of the calendar month).
• Each month, make one direct deposit OR one ACH debit OR pay one bill using Consumers Credit Union’s free online bill payment system
• Enroll in online banking
• Opt for electronic statements rather than paper

Check out their promo page for this offer here.

We also made note of Consumers Credit Union last week for offering one of the best credit cards from a credit union.

20 year CD Rates yielding above 4.0% APY. Would you invest?

If you’ve been in the market for a bank CD for the past year or so then you’ve undoubtedly been frustrated by the interest rates banking institutions are currently offering. Credit unions and online banks – institutions generally touting the best rates on deposits are advertising APYs that may not even beat inflation in the next 6 months – and the CD rates offered by the big banks are practically non-existant. Given these market conditions for savers we realize there could be a temptation to go long…real long. TD Ameritrade is offering savers a FDIC insured 20 year CD yielding a whopping 4.0% APY with a minimum deposit of $100,000 required. As tempting as a 4% CD can seem right now – you still may want to reconsider.

Things to Consider Before Going Long on a Bank CD:

1) Interest rates are about as low as they’ll go…hopefully.

2) This is precisely the opposite of what savers should strive to do – which would be to go long at the top of a rate cycle, locking in the best available rates before they come down.

3) Many economists expect the Federal Reserve to stop driving interest rates to these record lows sometime next year. If you buy into this assessment, the appropriate thing to do would be to keep your money in liquid, FDIC insured money market accounts or interest checking accounts until savings rate begin to rise.

4) Next year CD rates should begin to slowly climb back to normal/rational, market-based levels.

So – If after taking these suggestions into consideration and you still want to lock in a 20 year CD, you may want to check out the 20 year CD’s TD Ameritrade has available.

Quick Facts on TD Ameritrade’s 20 year CDs:

- 20 year CD rate yielding 4.04% APY with a minimum deposit of $100,000 required.

- FDIC insured up to $250,000

- Interest compounded semi-annually

- CD’s offered by TD Ameritrade are called brokered CD’s. Learn more here.

Lake Michigan Credit Union’s “Max Checking” paying 4.0% APY

It’s been a while since we reported on any spectacular high yield checking accounts mainly due to their tanking rates, however, we found one credit union still boasting a 4% APY checking deal (if you can meet the requirements).

Before you proceed with one of these accounts remember that interest checking accounts or “Rewards Checking Accounts” are not for every one. They come with fairly rigid monthly requirements which must me met or exceeded to earn the exceptional interest rate. Typically, you will be required to make a certain amount of debit transactions from the account (usually between 10 and 15) as well as set up at least one recurring transfer during the 30 day period and use their online banking system. The requirements vary with each banking institution, so make sure they can be met with ease on your part before opening one.

Lake Michigan Credit Union is offering a rewards checking account which they refer to as a “Max Checking Account.” It comes with an industry best 4.0% APY on balances up to $15,000.

Account Features:

-  No fees, and no minimum balance requirements.

-  It pays 4% APY* on balances up to $15,000

-  Refunds up to $15 per month in surcharge ATM withdrawal fees at non-LMCU ATMs when you withdraw from your Max Checking account.

Requirements to earn 4% APY:

- Direct deposit into any LMCU account

- Minimum of 10 debit card purchases per month

- Minimum of 4 logins to home banking per month

- Be eligible for and sign up to receive eStatements/eNotices

Visit their Max Checking page for further details.

ReliaBank Dakota’s “Ultimate Checking Account” – 4.07% APY

ReliaBank Dakota has moved to the number 3 spot on BankVibe’s high interest checking account chart this month with an “Ultimate Checking Account” which provides yields of up to 4.07% APY on balances up to $25,000. Unlike most interest checking or rewards checking accounts this one comes with no minimum balance requirements, although you must make an initial deposit of at least $50. You must meet the monthly requirements which are generally associated with these accounts (details below) or else you will only earn 0.25% APY. Also, if your account balance exceeds the $25,000 threshold you will only receive 1.01% APY on the exceeding amount.

Monthly Requirements to Earn 4.07% APY:

• Make twelve CheckCard transactions per statement cycle
• Enroll and receive e-statements
• Have at least one direct deposit, one automatic debit, or one bill pay clear the account per statement cycle

Earn 4.0% APY with this high yield checking account

Here is another fairly nice high yield checking account, this time offered through Lake Michigan Federal Credit Union. Their “Max Checking Account” provides an interest rate of 4.0% APY on all deposits up to $15,000. And although they are located in Michigan, they open their doors to potential customers nationwide.

Here are the details:

• It’s free – there are no fees, and no minimum balance requirements.
• 4% APY* on balances up to $15,000.
• Up to $15 per month in surcharge ATM withdrawal fee refunds.
• Four monthly usage requirements:
  • Direct deposit into your LMCU account
  • Minimum of 10 debit card purchases
  • Minimum of 4 logins to home banking
  • Sign up to receive eStatements/eNotices
• FREE MasterCard Debit Card
• Unlimited check writing
• No per check fees
• FREE Online Banking
• FREE Phone Banking
• $2.00 a pack up to $10.00 for unused checks from your former financial institution
• Direct Deposit with FREE automatic transfers
• FREE Online Bill Pay with Direct Deposit (a savings of $5.95/month)
• FREE 24-hour access to your funds with:
  • ATMs
  • Debit Card
  • Bill Pay

To learn a little more about these high yield checking accounts (sometimes called rewards checking accounts), visit our interest checking page to see what is typically required every month to earn the advertised interest rates.

High interest “Rewards Checking” account: 4.01% APY

These rewards checking accounts keep showing up in the BankVibe inbox. This one comes from Danvers Bank and is available to people throughout the country. Currently it yields a whopping 4.01% APY on all balances up to $25k with a much lower rate of 0.25% APY paid on all balances above that mark. Like most interest checking accounts you must meet the monthly requirements to receive the advertised rate.

Here are the terms, conditions and benefits of this account:

- 4.01% Annual Percentage Yield (APY) paid on daily balances up to $25,000, and 0.25% APY paid on all amounts above $25,000 each statement cycle the minimum requirements are met.

- To qualify for the Rewards Rate, account holders must complete the following each statement cycle: perform at least 12 debit card transactions, receive a monthly statement electronically, access online banking at least once, and receive a recurring ACH or direct deposit.

- Available on personal accounts only. If you do not meet the requirements per statement cycle, you will earn an APY of 0.25%, your account will still function as a Free Checking account, however, it will not receive ATM refunds for that time period. ATM refunds apply to non-DBK ATM Fees and other non-proprietary ATM surcharges. There is a fee for the Occasional Overdraft Privilege Service (OOPS) associated with this account.

ViewPoint Bank’s high interest checking account: 4% APY

Here is another great high interest checking account available to people nationwide: ViewPoint Bank is currently offering an “absolute checking” account which is yielding an APY of 4.0% for balances up to $50,000. Many of the interest bearing checking accounts in which we have covered in the past have maximum balances of much less than $50k, so if you have a larger chunk of cash in which you are looking to plop into a high yield FDIC insured investment this may be your best bet (just make sure you can achieve the monthly requirements).

Benefits of Absolute Checking through ViewPoint Bank:

• No monthly service charge
• No minimum balance to earn interest
• Free online bill-pay
• Unlimited ATM transactions
• Free checks
• Free online banking with online statements and e-mail account alerts
• 4.01% interest rate!

Requirements to earn the advertised interest rate:

• Sign up for direct deposit OR actively use free online bill-pay
• Receive your monthly bank statement and notices on your account electronically
• Use your Absolute Checking Visa Check Card at least 15 times per month for purchases<

Heartland Community Bank’s Interest Plus Checking Accounts

Another great interest checking account came through our inbox today. Heartland Community Bank of Arkansas has an “interest plus checking” account (or rewards checking account) which is yielding 4.01% APY and is available to prospective customers across the country.

You can only earn the advertisied interest rates on balances up to $30,000. If your balance exceeds this amount, the excess funds will generate a still respectable 1.31% APY. This is a variable interest rate, meaning it is subject to change without notification.

Also, if you are familiar with rewards checking accounts, you probably know you must meet the typical requriements each month. For this particular account these include:

• at least 10 check card transactions
• Receive a monthly Electronic Statement
• One direct deposit or ACH Auto Debit
• Access Online Banking

In exchange for fulfilling the above requirements, you will receive (along with 4.02% interest on your balance):

• Free ATM’s Nationwide
• Write as many checks each month without a per-check charge.
• Earn high-interest yields on your account
• No minimum balance
• No service charge
• overdraft privilege available
• Free ATM or Visa check card
• Telephone Banking
• Free Internet Banking

Heartland bank is federally insured by the FDIC. You’re balances will be insured up to $250,000.

Rewards Checking through Peoples Bank of Kankakee County

The Peoples Bank of Kankakee County has a pretty solid interest checking account offer for prospective customers. Although the name of this bank sounds like a small community bank, this account is actually available to customers nationwide. Currently they have a “Electric Blue Rewards Checking Account” which is yielding an APY of 4.01% on all balances up to $50,000 (1.00% APY on balances above $50k). The additional features of this account as well as it’s requirements are pretty typical when compared to other interest checking accounts. These features, terms and conditions are listed below.

Rewards Checking Account Features:

(as seen on promo page)

• 4.01% APY* on balances up to $50,000
• 1.00% APY* on balances over $50,000
• No minimum balance or monthly charge
• Base rate of 0.50% APY* if qualifications are not met
• ATM Fee Refunds Nationwide (up to $25)
  
• Unlimited check writing
• Free ATM/debit card
• Free Online Banking with Bill Pay
• Free e-Statements
• Free TeleBanker access
• Direct Deposit available
• FDIC insured
• $100 to open

Account Requirements:

• 12 debit card purchases
• 1 direct deposit or automatic payment
• Access Internet Banking

US Bank’s 59 month certificate of deposit: 4.0% APY

This is one of the first decent savings rates I have seen come out of US Bank in a while. If you happen to be in the market for a certificate of deposit with a long maturity …say 59 months to be exact, then this may be your best bet.

Currently US Bank has a 59 month CD with an interest rate of 3.92% or 4.00% APY, the national average sits at around 3.0% APY. I’ve seen a few national banks raise the rates for their long maturity CD products lately and slim down the rates for their short term CD’s. Both Ally bank and Discover bank have made somewhat similar moves lately.

US Bank doesn’t offer any great shakes on it’s 6 month CD, 12 month CD, or 24 month CD. In fact they have a 13 month CD that is only yielding 1.00% APY which is about 40% below the national average of 1.75%.

As always, here is a magnifying glass over the fine print:

• must open a CD in person at a local US bank branch
• CD will automatically renew upon maturity without prior written notice
• Penalty for early withdrawal
• Rates subject to change without notice
• Fixed rate CD (once you’re money is locked in, the rate will remain the same until maturity)