Garden Savings Federal Credit Union: 4-Year CD at 4.08% APY

(Update: “Due to the tremendous success of our certificate promotion, we have concluded the special rates that were being offered as of the end of business on Friday, November 9th.” Reader Ryan adds that as long as you started the application process before the end of business on Friday, they will let you complete the process but you must fund by the next Friday.)

Garden Savings Federal Credit Union has a limited-time certificate special on their 4-Year Share Certificate at 4.08% APY. They also have a 2-Year certficiate at 3.04% APY. NCUA-insured. Here are the highlights:

• $500 minimum deposit.
• Interest paid monthly.
• Penalty for early withdrawal is 180 days of dividends.
• Membership with at least $5 deposited in a Share Savings account required.

According to a myFICO forum post from 2016, the membership application is a soft credit pull. This is not a guarantee, of course. Please share your own experience if you apply.

If you have the big bucks, Garden Savings FCU has the usual NCUA-insurance up to $250,000, but also another $250,000 in additional deposit insurance through Excess Share Insurance.

Credit union membership eligibility. You are eligible for membership if you live, work, worship, attend school, volunteer or regularly conduct business in Newark, Elizabeth, or Jersey City. Select employer groups are also eligible. In addition, anyone can join by being a member of the American Consumer Council (ACC), a non-profit organization dedicated to consumer education, advocacy and financial literacy. The cost is a one-time $8, although there is a promo code “consumer” that has worked to get the membership fee waived. You can make additional donations as you wish, but it is not required. They will send you an e-mail shortly with your ACC membership number. I’ve joined a couple of credit unions with my ACC membership.

Good deal? 4.08% APY is the best rate that I know of for a 4-year CD, with the current competitive range for a 4-year CD being around 3% to 3.35% APY. The closest deal from my Best Cash Rates November 2018 post was a 5-year CD at 3.63% APY that required a $60,000 deposit. A 5-year Treasury bond currently yields about 3.05% and is exempt from state and local income taxes. The 180-day early withdrawal penalty is on the reasonable side.

I think the deal is good enough that it won’t last very long. This credit union is not tiny, but it isn’t huge either. It is quite possible that there will be enough new applications to overwhelm their staff (and deposit needs). If you’re interested, I would act quickly as these deals can end abruptly. I’d be ready to send in additional paperwork (like a copy of your driver’s license) if requested to expedite things.