Washington Federal Savings Bank CD rates (WA and ID)

Washington Federal Savings Bank is offering some fairly respectable returns on their FDIC-insured savings products. If you visit their website, however, you will not be able to find any savings rates posted. They may want to reconsider this (in our opinion) given the competitiveness of some of their current rates.

For terms up to 18 months they offer rates which are pretty much on par with the national average, however their 24 - 36 month CD rates are substantially above it.

After reaching out to a representative I found that these rates are available in both Washington state and Idaho. If you do not live in one of these two state you may want to dig through our archive of best cd rates to find products in which you CAN take advantage of.

Washington Federal Savings Bank CD Rates:

(available in Washington and Idaho)

• 24 month CD yielding 2.50% APY for deposits between $1,000 and $89,999. This rate gets bumped up to 2.55% APY with deposits of $90k and larger. The national average for 24 month CDs currently hovers around 2.05% APY.
• 36 month CD yielding 2.75% APY for deposits between $1,000 and $89,999. This rate is bumped up to 2.80% APY with deposits greater than $90,000. The national average for 3 year CDs sits at roughly 2.20% APY.
• 48 month CD yielding 3.0% APY for deposits between $1,000 and $89,999. This rate is also bumped up 0.05% to 3.05% APY with deposits of more than $90,000. The national average for 4 year CDs currently sits at around 2.40% APY.

As it states in their bank’s name (federal savings), Washington Federal Savings Bank specializes in savings products. They offer a wide range of savings accounts which include money market accounts, CD (certificate of deposits) accounts and interest checking accounts. They also offer some loan products and credit cards as well. Their mission is to provide every customer with personal service and attentiveness, to provide their customers with deposit instruments which are highly competitive with the larger institutions and to provide mortgage loans primarily to individuals seeking to purchase or refinance a home in the Bridgeport community, as well as the greater Cook and DuPage counties of Illinois. In following this mission, Washington will be able to maintain profitability and a strong capital position necessary to continue well into the future.

Golf Savings Bank 4 year promotional CD rate: 3.40% APY

Golf Savings Bank out of Washington state has a great 4 year certificate of deposit which is currently yielding 3.40% APY! Thanks to BankVibe reader Justin for submitting this lucrative rate.

You will need a minimum deposit of $10,000 to invest in this product.

If you feel that a 4 year term is too long, they have a 1 year CD yielding 2.30% APY with the same minimum deposit. The national average for 12 month CD rates sits at roughly 1.65% APY (to put this offer in perspective).

They may change this rate at anytime, however, once your application is submitted, the rate is locked in and will be fixed for it’s duration.

They will impose withdrawal penalties if you need to take out of any of the money before the 4 year term is completed. In addition, they will automatically reinvest your money into another 4 year CD once the term is up if you do not specify otherwise.

For smaller deposits Golf Savings Bank offers a traditional savings account that yields 0.25% APY on balances below $1,000, 1.26% APY on balances from $1,000 to $10,000, 1.77% APY on balances from $10,000 to $50,000, and 2.02% APY on balances above $50,000. Keep in mind with the latter, there is a $3 monthly fee if you account falls below $300.

For those looking to invest a larger chunk of cash into something a little more liquid and with more flexibility they offer fairly competitive money market rates as well.

Money Market Rate breakdown…

0.65% APY up to $2,500
1.90% APY $2,500-$10,000
2.15% APY $10,000-$50,000
2.30% APY $50,000-$100,000
2.35% APY $100,000-$250,000
2.40% APY on balances over $250,000

Although Golf Savings Bank is headquartered in Washington state, their products are available throughout the country. Golf Savings Bank is member FDIC.

BECU (Boeing Employees Credit Union) Savings Account

Thanks to BankVibe reader Josh for tipping us off on a fantastic “Member Advantage” savings account currently going on through BECU. Although we covered this rate in the past, we thought it could use another shout-out since it’s yield has remained consistently high despite the overall downturn in the CD rate marketplace.

As of the first of August, any member of Boeing Employee Credit Union can open a member advantage savings account and receive a nice return of 6.17% APY!

Here’s the catch… You can only invest up to $500 into this account. Any amount past $500 will only receive an interest rate of 0.50%.

This is an ideal account for young or new savers looking for above average savings rates. This is a variable rate though and is subject to change at anytime without notice.

BECU used to only allow members whom worked for, or were family members of, employees at Boeing. However they have since opened their doors to anyone in Washington state. Compare Washington state CD rates to see how this interest rate stacks up against the local competition.

Features and Benefits:

• Free Online Banking, Bill Payment, and eStatements
• BECU Debit MasterCard
• Thousands of CO-OP Network surcharge-free ATMs
• Federally insured up to at least $250,000**
• No fees to maintain the account

Best certificate of deposit rates in Washington state (Top 3)

Below are the highest yielding certificate of deposit rates available to the residents of Washington state. After researching a few dozen local and regional credit unions and banks serving the state, we compiled a list of the top 3. These rates are time-sensitive in nature, therefor you must take the date of this article into consideration. If you feel they may be outdated you can dig through our archive of best CD rates in Washington state to find a more current offer.

The institutions in which we have listed below whom are currently offering the most lucrative rates may have strict eligibility requirements, especially if they are a credit union. If you do not reside in the state of Washington, then you may have a difficult time taking advantage of these products. If you do reside in Washington state, then you may still want to visit the institution’s membership eligibility page to see if you are eligible.

When forming this list, we realize that the highest deposit yields will be accompanied with the longest maturities, therefor we took the CD rates which are beating the national average by the highest margins so that we would not be strictly listing long term deposit certificates.

Top 3 CD rates (Washington State)

(clicking on the institution will bring you to their rates page)

Wings Financial Federal Credit Union (PDF): Seattle, WA. 12 month CD yielding 2.78% APY with a minimum deposit amount of $500. The current national average rate for a 1 year CD is roughly 1.67% APY. Wings Financial Federal Credit Union serves employees of entities engaged in the Air Transportation Industry who work in the United States, meaning:

• employees of airlines;
• government employees who work directly in the administration, regulation, or security of airlines, airports, or air transportation; and
• employees who are located at an airport if they work directly with:
  • air transportation of freight
  • air courier services
  • air and air transportation support and services, for example, janitorial services, airport baggage handling, aircraft cleaning, maintenance and repair services, and runway maintenance services; and
  • on-board airline food services.

North Cascades National Bank: Wenatchee, WA. 36 month CD yielding a rate of between 3.09% - 3.40% APY. The rate you receive is dependent upon how much you deposit. If you deposit the minimum amount you will receive 3.09% APY if your deposit is greater than $100,000 you will receive 3.40% APY. Although, in the title, this bank claims to be a national one, they list community banking with local locations as one of the greatest strengths. They are headquartered in Chelan, WA and serve the state of Washington and perhaps more. You may want to contact them for further eligibility requirements.

Cashmere Valley Bank: Wenatchee, WA. 48 month CD yielding 3.40% APY with a minimum deposit amount of $100. Cashmere Valley Bank was established September 24, 1932 by two brothers, Hy W. Rieke and H.H. Rieke, who moved to Cashmere after selling their interest in another bank in Odessa, Washington. Cashmere was chosen as the site to begin their new bank because the community was without a financial institution after the failure of two banks during the beginning of the Great Depression. They currently have 11 locations serving most of the middle to east side of the state.

If you reside in Washington state and know of a better deposit rate offered by your local bank or credit union, please share by leaving a comment.

All of the above mentioned institutions are federally insured by the FDIC.

Savings account with highest interest rate found at Regal Financial Bank

Much thanks to BankVibe reader Trevor for tipping us off on one of the best savings account rates we’ve seen so far this month. It comes from Regal Finanacial Bank of Seattle, Washington. It carries an interest rate of 2.96% or 3.00% APY. So yes, the 3.0% APY savings rate still exists!

A few weeks back we noted Regal Financial Bank. At that time they were offering an astounding 12 month CD rate of 4.0% APY for a VERY limited time. Also keep in mind that a couple of strings came attached to that CD rate. The most notebale string being the fact that you needed to open another checking/savings account with them in order to qualify for the 12 month CD special. However, with this current high yield savings offer, I believe no additional hoops are required to jump through. You may want to double check and contact a bank rep though becuase their last 12 month CD promo didn’t have the additional requirements listed on their website.

High Yield Savings Account details:

• to earn the advertised 3.0% APY you must maintain a balance betwee $2,500 - $250,000 (easy enough)
• Rates are subject to change after account is opened (aka this is a variable interest rate)
• Rates updated March 15, 2009 - typically banks adjust interest rates on a monthly basis to conincide with current ecnomic trends, therefor this rate may be on the verge of an adjustment

5 day CD rate promotion with a 4.25% APY. Weird.

Sorry to get your hopes up with this headline, this 4.25% CD is not actually available… and to be honest, I am not sure it ever was. I recently stumbled upon a CD rate promo page by the following credit union and found it rather intriguing. Red Canoe Credit Union out of Washington state was atleast mildly attempting to advertise a 4.25% NCAU insured certificate of deposit through their website last month. Here is the weird part - it seems there was only a 5 day window in which you could apply.

I have contacted Red Canoe Credit Union about this rate to see if it ever was available last month from the advertised dates of February 23 - Feburary 27. Something tells me it wasn’t. It almost looks as if they began to start a CD rate promo page and decided not to pursue it, but until I hear back I have no official answer.

Also, it appears there was no duration of time or maturity for this certificate of deposit, however they did specify you need atleast $500 to deposit.

Looking through their CD rate page I found nothing close to the yields of their promotional rate.

CD Rates through Red Canoe Credit Union

Three to five month certificate of deposit yielding 1.93% APY. Six to eleven month CD rates yielding 2.40% APY. Twelve to seventeen month (flex CD) yielding 2.50% APY. Eighteen to twenty-three month CD rates yielding 2.84% APY and fourty-eight to sixty month CD rates yielding 3.74% APY. The previous rates are good as of 2/11/2009 and all require a $500 minimum balance.

12 month CD yielding 4.0% APY through Regal Financial Bank

Regal Financial Bank of Seattle, Washington currently has an MVP 12 month CD special going on through March 15, 2009. The 12 month MVP certificate of deposit comes with an impressive 4.00% APY!

I’ve attempted to contact a representative from this bank to see if there are any geographical restrictions. I will post the results when I hear back.

According to BankRate’s chart of highest yielding certificates of deposit with 12 month maturities, the highest APY is offered through Flagstar Bank. Their 12 month CD has a 2.97% APY, making this MVP 12 month CD extremely attractive in comparison.

The 4.0% APY is good for all balances between $2,500 and $250,000 - essentially making this CD a jumbo certificate of deposit if you so choose.