Updated April 2024. Navy Federal Credit Union is the nation’s largest credit union, with a long history of serving active military members. More recently, they have expanded their field of membership to include veterans and family members of veterans. NavyFed often offers special rates and/or features on their share certificates. Here’s a recent example:
- Limited-Time 18-month EasyStart Certificate at 4.70% APY. Open with as little as $50. No maximum balance. Make additional deposits any time. You also get a single early withdrawal with no penalty.
I opened one with the $50 minimum because I thought the optionality was neat. If rates drop drastically, I’ll have the ability to add unlimited additional funds at 4.70% APY. If rates rise drastically, I can withdraw it all at once with no penalty. If nothing big happens (most likely scenario), I’ll only have committed $50. I already have other products with NavyFed, so it didn’t require any additional paperwork.
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Jonathan….I was about half way through their application process when I decided to check their reviews….which range from somewhat mixed to somewhat terrible especially on Yelp.
And then when I got down to their terms and conditions I noticed that an e-Checking account carries a $5/month fee which seems to be required to open a CD.
Looking beyond the 3.5% rate which sure looks attractive right now do you think the whole
package is really worth the effort?
Any predictions for the July 30th Fed meeting? It would seem with 224,000 new jobs this month there is no logical reason for another cut. But as soon as that number came out, Mass Media changed the entire narrative to an “insurance rate cut”. In my whole life I never heard of the Fed making an “insurance rate cut.
Any thoughts on which way they will go?
I don’t use NavyFed as my primary checking account, so I don’t really have a lot of customer service interactions with them. For my purposes, they have been fine.
I have the Free EveryDay Checking. No monthly fees, no minimum balance. No ATM rebates, but again I don’t use the ATM card. Just be sure to have some sort of activity (transfer in, out) once a year to avoid having a dormant account.
I’ve seen some 5 year Fixed Annuities at 4%. And they allow you to take some withdrawals if you want to.
“This 3-month certificate rate would be a top rate”
Which 3 month certificate? Do you mean the 37 month one?
Looks like the easy start CD is still yielding 3.5% APY despite the latest FED move.
I’m looking to open one of these for my son. Do you know what the typical lag time is between FED rate cuts and banks and CU’s dropping their APYs on savings products?
What’s nice about Navy Fed is they let you choose what you want to do with their proceeds at any time on the website. Other credit unions are sneaky and automatically renew your CD and give you like a 10 day grace period to undo it.
The fine print suggests a 3K limit or am I missing something?
“Limit one Special EasyStart Certificate per member. The Special EasyStart Certificate has a $50 minimum balance and a $3,000 maximum contribution limit. Additional deposits are allowed at any time subject to the maximum contribution limit. “
NavyFed always has a “Special” EasyStart certificate that is sort of starter account designed to encourage a savings habit with a $3,000 deposit max but a relatively high APY.
This 18-month EasyStart one does not have a deposit limit. I wrote “Special” but it is not, it’s a “Limited-Time” certificate which I guess is “special” but not “Special”. Sorry for any confusion.
I have had Navy Federal for many years. Thanks Jonathan for the heads up!
I called NF and they said they could take my dividends from old certificates which I am earning a lower rate and open up the 18 month certificate and place all dividends in new certificate with NO PENALTY.
All my certificates mature 07/2024 and they can automatically transfer the principal from the certificates to the 18 month certificate as well!
This is great and easy!!!
Hi Jonathan,
Do you generally recommend a brokered CD or a regular bank CD? I currently have my CDs at my CU, offering 4.50% for 12mo, but my brokerage offers 5.50% for 12mo. I read that the brokerage does not do compound interest whereas my CU does, thought brokered CDs generally offer higher rates. And also the withdrawal/sale is different (pay penalty at CU vs risk not being able to sell at brokerage).
Do you recommend I go with the higher interest rate or keep it at my CU?
(also, how many places should we keep our money at? i would love to chase the highest rates every year but i worry about having too many accounts everywhere).
Thanks.
Victoria, there are some pros and cons of spreading your money across multiple banks:
PRO: if one bank fails or is difficult to deal with (or if your account is compromised), all your money isn’t tied up in one place
CON: It’s more to account for (and more 1099s at tax time). If you need all your money quickly, you may need to consolidate it into one account first, which may take a few days for transfers to complete.
Some banks may give you additional bonuses for having a large sum of money with them. For instance, BofA’s Platinum Honors for balances over $100k can give you 2.625% back on all credit card purchases, and 3.5% on travel/dining. (This balance can be in IRA or other investment accounts.)
I have BofA Platinum Honors and I was told since they changed to the new card ALL purchases are 2.625%. No longer any higher amounts on categories