Great Low Fixed-Rate Credit Card offer from this Credit Union!

Neighbors Federal Credit Union out of Baton Rouge, Louisiana has a great fixed-rate credit card available to those with decent credit living in Louisiana. It comes in the form of a Visa Classic Card and provides an enticingly low APR of 8.90%. The national average for low interest credit cards currently hovers around the 11% mark (to put this offer in perspective).

Unfortunately for most of us, this offer will be out of our reach because you must be a member of Neighbors Federal Credit Union (as well as have sufficient credit) to be approved for the card. If you do not reside in the state of Louisiana or have family members there you will most likely not be able to gain access to this credit union.

How to Join NFCU:

Neighbors Federal Credit Union proudly serves anyone who lives, works, worships, or attends school in these nine Louisiana parishes: East Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge, Ascension, Livingston, Iberville, Pointe Coupee, East Feliciana, West Feliciana, and Saint Helena.

Details of Low Fixed Rate Credit Card offered by NFCU:

• Low, FIXED rate, as low as 8.9% APR;
• View balances and make payments with Online Banking or by phone with Audio Response;
• Online account statements and information;
• Lost/Stolen Card Reporting day or night

Neighbors Federal Credit Union is a member of the NCUA (credit union equivilent to FDIC).

Louisiana money market accounts: Who offers the best rates?

Below are the highest yielding money market account rates serving citizens of the state of Louisiana.

If you are strictly after the best interest rate then you have a variety of options that will provide you with similar yields. The question you need to ask yourself is, “what type of minimum balance can I keep?” Most money market accounts provide a given interest rate based on a certain account balance. The more money you are able to keep in these accounts, the higher the interest rate you will generally receive.

After sorting through dozens of interest rate tables belonging to banks and credit unions serving the state of Louisiana, we have found that in most instances you will be able to lock in more competitive rates with national institutions rather than local ones. Before committing to one of the banks/credit unions listed below, you may want to browse through our archive of money market accounts.

Keep in mind, money market rates are time-sensitive in nature, therefor you may want to refer to the date of this article for accuracy. As with all money market accounts, the interest rates are variable and are subject to change without notice.

Top 2 MMA (money market account) rates in Louisiana:

(click on the institution for more information)

• Total Choice Federal Credit Union: LA Place, LA. Money market account yielding 2.02% APY with a minimum balance of $10,000. The account rates are set up in two tiers based on minimum balance. The first tier provides an interest rate of only 0.75% APY for all balances up to $9,999. The second tier contains all balances above $10,000 and yields the 2.02% APY.  Total Choice Federal Credit Union is open to all persons who live, work, or worship, in Saint Charles, Saint John, and Saint James Parishes. Family members and co-workers can also take advantage of credit union benefits. Members can enjoy credit union services with a savings account deposit of just $5.00 and one-time membership fee of $5.00. Contact (985) 783-2905
• Investar Bank: Baton Rouge, LA. Money market account yielding 1.95% APY with a minimum balance of $2,500. If your balance falls below $2,500 at anytime during the month you will incur a $10 fee. You are entitled to 6 withdrawals per month, 3 of which can be made by check (each additional withdrawal will cost $10). Investar Bank is a locally-owned, full service community bank headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The bank offers a full array of banking products and services for individuals, professionals and small and medium-sized businesses, including mortgage loans and construction loans. They offer a number of services that used to be reserved only for the large banks, such as bill paying services, cash management and real time balances. They have one location in Baton Rouge and one in Port Allen, Louisiana. Contact: (225) 757-7117

Both of the above institutions are federally insured by either the FDIC or NCUA. If you live in Louisiana and know of a better money market rate offered through your local institution, please share by leaving a comment.

Louisiana certificate of deposit rates – Who offers the best?

Below are the top 3 certificate of deposit rates available to the residents of Louisiana. After researching several banks and credit unions in the region (and their accompanying CD rates) I noticed that in most cases local community-oriented banks will generally provide better interest rates than the large national banks. However, this is not a common trend throughout the country. Many states in the northeast encounter much lower savings rates offered locally than those offered by large national banks.

Here are the highest yielding CD rates for Louisiana residents. These come in the form of 12 month, 24 month and 36 month CD’s. You will almost always find higher rates packaged together with longer maturities, therefor I listed the rates that beat the national average by the highest margins for their given maturities.

Best CD Rates (Louisiana)

clicking on the institution will bring you to their rates page (except for WYMAR Federal CU)

WYMAR Federal Credit Union: Geismar, Louisiana. 12 month CD yielding 3.30% APY with a minimum deposit of $5,000. WYMAR Federal Credit Union is very exclusive as far as memberships are concerned. They occupy most of the state of Louisiana, however only allow members that fall within their selected group of employers. Their savings rates were last updated in April of ’09, therefor may be slightly outdated. You my need to contact this institution directly for current rates (rather than referring to their website’s rate page).

Riverland Credit Union: New Orleans, Louisiana. 24 month CD yielding 3.50% APY with a minimum deposit of $1,000. Riverland Financial CU is a not-for-profit credit union whose earnings are returned to it’s members in the form of higher savings rates and lower loan rates. Like WYMAR, Riverland CU has fairly exclusive membership requirements in which you must work for, or be a family member of, a select group of employers in the greater Louisiana area. Visit their website for further eligibility requirements.

Advancial Federal Credit Union: Lafayette, Louisiana. 36 month CD yielding 3.80% APY with a minimum deposit of $1,000. Advancial Fed CU is another not-for-profit credit union serving a select group of people whom qualify for membership based on their employers. You may also qualify for membership if you are a in any way related to a current member or to someone who works for one of the selected companies. Visit their website to view a full list of eligible employers.

All of the institutions mentioned above are insured by the NCUA. Your deposits are federally insured by the US government (up to $250,000).