CD Discussion Thread

The rep I just spoke with (I’m having funds moved to Ally that should arrive tomorrow so they can initiate a draft from the navy fed side. I wasn’t just calling for the heck of it.) said she was unaware of anything changing before the end of the month. I did ask her to notate my account. I already have cd’s with them so I’m putting more funds in one place then I really like but the other’s are short term cd’s and as mentioned I’m locking in the 3.5% while it’s available. The only other ones are of course the GTE ones and I setup both of those for additional deposits. Other than that the rates are pretty much already “high and dry” with the possible exception of the 84 month cd at Andrews that is paying 3.45%.

then maybe you should do what several people have already recommended…open the cd and tell them you are mailing a check. This would lock the rate for 30 days provided you DID get it funded in that time period. The one you said was maturing was within that window.

1 Like

This is excellent counsel, famewolf. I should have thought of it myself but I did not. But yes, of course, she would have 30 days with privilege of opening the CD, but not the obligation to do so in case NFCU remains alive when her funds arrive and that becomes her choice.

I am in that situation at present, just five days into my 30 day window. My money is tied up at PurePoint for only a few more days after which I will slingshot it to Grow. Thence plan is to snail mail a Grow Promo MM check to GTE to complete funding and opening of my 3.3% add on. Will do all I can to ensure that check arrives on a Friday. Do plan to follow through on my commitment to GTE, and not give the money to NFCU even if available, because I want to be able, in future, to add on at 3.3%. Hope that will be a bridge over troubled waters going forward, worth even more than the 3.5%.

With a Rising Bank CD you can put a floor under your yield for up to $0.5M of your money for three years. It’s a $25K buy in so quite steep. And the yield is only 2.5% APY. But it’s an add-on and it’s not GTE:

Link to deal

Note: Rate is not high to begin with and has been falling. If you want it, better move quickly.

Q: Shin, are you in?

Not at this time. With a lower buy in, even a few thousand, this would be a no-brainer in the current interest rate environment. But with price of entry at $25K, well, not for me so far. It’s one of those CDs I’ll probably wish I had in a couple of years when my add-on deal at GTE collapses. :unamused:

Q: Huh? Collapses?

I did USCU way back, and Valor more recently. Enough said.:wink:

This is great information & thanks so much for the heads up…

I’ve been gone most of the day & tomorrow I’ll get with it. So I have 1 CD that matures 8/28/19, so that should work for me. The other CD matures 9/1/19. The lock on the CD for 30 days should work on both CD’s.

Any more information that would help before I call would be appreciated.

I setup a topic here and started the ball rolling with 8 stocks that have been paying dividends for 125+ years. Conversation by anyone on the topic can continue there.

3 Likes

I continue to search for add-on CDs to offer readers here. I’m very disappointed Ken has not featured them. God knows, given what is happening to interest rates generally, CD investors need add-ons and more choices, too, than just GTE.

I’ve been thinking about the Rising add-on and want to offer this analysis:

If you’re willing to accept 3% APY as your minimum “must have” bogie, then any yield below that can be looked upon as a cost. I’m doing this example at 3%, but if your number is different then you can adjust your personal cost accordingly just by re-doing my numbers.

OK, so Rising is only at 2.5% and they demand $25,000 of your money to buy in and potentially protect half a million $$ down the line, should rates fall. This is essentially insurance. It’s a three year policy which costs at most 0.5% of $25,000 per year. So worst case you’re out $750 across the three years.

As with any insurance you might never need the coverage, in which case you’re out $750 minus whatever tax you would have to have paid on that money had you actually received it in interest.

If interest rates over the next few years fall enough, then your insurance coverage offers you sanctuary for an additional $475,000. Of course if interest rates fall at all from here, your cost for the insurance you bought goes down. And, again, if your CD APY bogie is higher than 3% then the cost for this insurance is higher than in this example.

Ideally we want an add-on less costly than Rising’s offering, something with a lower buy in or with a higher interest rate, or both. Also, the longer the better. I would rather have a five year insurance policy than one that is only good for three years. But it’s no surprise there is some separation between what we want and what we can get. :wink:

ETA

Re-reading the above, I see I missed something. Interest rates are too unpredictable to ignore the following:

Though apparently today unlikely, there is always the chance interest rates could turn around and rise instead of remaining constant or falling. Should rates rise, it must be mentioned that the cost of Rising Bank’s insurance increases. We do not appear to be heading into a period of rising interest rates. But it could happen nevertheless.

The 3.3% 5 year add-on deal is still good today. Your deal cannot be done online. You must telephone them.

Assuming you’re already a GTE member, you call and tell them you want to open a 3.3% five year jumbo add-on CD. You say you will be sending them a check . . a paper check in the snail mail . . to fund the account. That’s it. They should open the account for you and lock the rate, offering you 30 days to get your funding in. If you fail to fund within 30 days you will lose the account. But you do not actually have to send a check. You may fund by any means of your choice, so long as they receive the money within the 30 day window.

I did this. I have my account and I have an account number. My balance shows zero dollars today. That will change within thirty days.

1 Like

shinobi Question…

I just called to see about getting this deal. Did you have to fill out the long form, attach your DL & mail or e-mail all this back? Or did they do all the paperwork for you over the phone?

Just wondering before I start the process…

Setup the Navy Fed 3.5% today. I’ll just mention if you are earning less than 3% ( Inflation Rate in the United States averaged 3.26 percent from 1914 until 2019) then you are still “losing money” or rather you are losing money VALUE. At that point you need to look hard at what options are available whether it’s the addon cd’s or other options.

Shinobi, based on your comment about the longer the better I would have thought the 84 month 3.45% cd at Andrews FCU would be attractive to you? Nevermind. As of today it’s now 3.05% https://www.depositaccounts.com/banks/andrews-federal-credit-union.html

Yes, pattyb53, I was required to fill out a form. Do this:

  1. Log into your GTE account online
  2. Mouse over “Everything Else” and see the drop down menu
  3. Mouse over “Resources” and see the drop down menu
  4. Click on “Forms” and a new page will open
  5. Beneath category “General Forms” find and click on “Ownership Designation Form”
  6. After the form has downloaded, bring it up and print it out, two pages.

You must fill out this form. Sign it on the second page and also sign anywhere else depending on your individual needs. For example, you must sign separately if you wish to designate a beneficiary. Follow the instructions.

When form is completely filled out and signed, scan both pages and email back to GTE. Better if you obtain email address from the specific person there who is helping you. I also emailed them a copy of driver’s license at the same time, though I was not asked to do so.

Hope this helps

ETA

To answer your question:

When I did mine I think the rep did offer me the option of mailing in the form via snail mail. But I wanted to get it to them ASAP, and besides I did not have money so was unable to send a check right away. So I opted to email them the form solving thereby both problems at once.

Good for you, famewolf. Congrats!

What you are losing is purchasing power and that is, indeed, a big deal.

My best knowledge is the Andrews deal is not today, and never was, an add-on deal. My “longer is better” comment pertained to the insurance value of having an add-on certificate. And it only applies when the insurance can be purchased at reasonable and affordable cost. That said:

The way things are today, if I could purchase seven years of 3.45% APY insurance for a cost of, say, even $25,000, I almost certainly would opt in. Course at only 3.05% APY, for the same $25,000 cost, I would be much more circumspect. :wink:

For GTE? Are you already a member? If not, join online, just open the required savings account to start. They’ll call you tomorrow, at which point you can tell them you ultimate purpose is to open a CD. At least the Rep who called me was on top of everything and I’m pretty much all set already. Have a copy of your license, social security card, and some sort of proof of residence, and a statement from your account funding source (if using a credit card, the credit card statement (with individual transactions redacted if you want) ready; you can either upload them all once your application is completed using that option, or you can email them as attachments after the Rep calls. I had them pull my CD funds via ACH, so they also wanted a statement from that account too, dont know if they’ll need that for a mailed check.

I’m just not in the ball game here. It may be to late for me!! Scanning, Faxing, etc. :roll_eyes:

I followed all your instructions, filled out form, printed & that’s where my problems start. Scanning & e-mailing. So I’m stopping for now. If I decide to go on, I’ll call tomorrow for snail mail address & go on.
OR, I may just wait until my CD’s mature, then take my money & see what’s available.

Who knows, maybe NFCU 5yr 3.5% will still be around?

You should not give up, pattyb53. It is too good a deal to pass up. You can see other participants here have already dived in.

OK, so you have the form filled out and it is signed. Your goal is to see a new 3.3% CD account opened within your overall GTE account, on your account list. It will be unfunded, which is NOT a problem in any way. Here is what I would suggest:

Call them, explain the situation and your difficulty in scanning and emailing the form. If you are able to fax them a copy, offer to do that. Faxing is much less challenging than scanning and emailing. If unable to do a fax yourself, perhaps a local business with fax service could help you . . . if GTE will accept a FAX. If all that fails:

Explain your dilemma to them and ask, if you promise to snail mail the form immediately, whether they will open the account and hold the rate for you. The 30 day rate lock is what you really need . . . to provide opportunity for your funds to arrive. The account must be opened for you to get the rate lock. But it does NOT have to be funded.

My concern is they could cancel the deal at any time, things in the markets being so turbulent as they are. If the rate holds tomorrow, you MUST contact GTE for certain then because you cannot rely on the rate holding in this economic environment. Get up early, telephone them, and get yourself a great deal!! Do NOT dawdle. You snooze, you will for certain lose. The early bird gets the worm!

I will check during, what is for you, the middle of the night and post as to whether or not the deal still exists. I hope for your sake it does.

Thursday morning

Both the GTE and the NFCU five year “gift horse” certificates of deposit continue to be alive, well, available, and circling the track this morning.

Go get 'em! This will not last forever.

I’m going to post this Keesler deal and . . .

Q: Shin, do we have to remind you? Not everyone can participate at Keesler. While membership was open nationwide at one time, it has since become severely restricted!

Acknowledged. But a great many people joined Keesler back when they had their 5%, 7 month, CD deal middle of last year. Once a member always a member. I’m posting this deal in hope of helping participants here who wisely have retained their Keesler membership. I concede for non-members, like myself for example, this is a non-deal.

Keesler is offering a 30 month jumbo CD deal having a blended rate of 3.21%. That is a very competitive rate on a 30 month CD. Their non-jumbo 30 month rate of 3.1% is also good. You need only a thousand buck to get that one. I do not know how much longer these rates will hold.

The downside is these CDs are structured so as to make them, for practical purposes, nearly unbreakable. So do not participate unless you know you can leave your money with Keesler for the full 30 months.

Keesler also has other CD deals worth a look. Here is their rate chart:

The Keesler rate chart - You must click on “Certificates”

ETA

And if I may, on a personal note:

One of the most idiotic things I did last year was my failure to join Keesler . . when I could! What the hell was I thinking!!!

I hate when I act stupidly. And you cannot fix stupid. :unamused:

ETA

In the spirit of “never give up” I have further investigated Keesler membership. Here is my finding so far:

You may become a Keesler member beneath today’s rules if you are a member of the John C. Stennis chapter of the Air Force Association (AFA). Anyone can join the AFA. It costs only $20 to join. Some participants here most likely already are AFA members, or were.

The question I have to which no answer so far:

When you pay your money and join the AFA, are you permitted to choose your chapter affiliation . . . or do they assign you a chapter based upon your state or region of residence? That is the key. Plan is to telephone the AFA today and try to elicit an answer to that key question. Perhaps I can fix stupid after all!:slightly_smiling_face:

2 Likes

Argyll, respectfully:

I recently did the Empower 18 month CD at a very similar rate, perhaps only just a scooch higher not enough to matter.

I now consider the opening of that CD an error. It’s not the rate of interest I see as a problem. 3% is fine. It is highly competitive.

I just do not want 18 month certificates . . . at least not now. To be comfortable with all that is happening today I need to be out at least 30 months.

This is a follow up on my above post regarding Keesler and getting the 30 month CD there:

Members of the John C. Stennis chapter of the Air Force Association (AFA) are permitted to become Keesler members. You can see this at the Keesler membership page, here:

Becoming a Keesler member

  1. Fill in your zip
  2. Scroll down, find “I am a member of the following association”, click on that box
  3. Click on the down arrow
  4. Click on “John C. Stennis Chapter of the Air Force Association”

That’s it!

To join the AFA for twenty bucks:

Go here to join the AFA

Q: But shin, that does not get us into the John C. Stennis chapter!!

Correct. Here is the magic:

When you join the AFA online you are auto-assigned to a chapter which is determined by your zip code. However:

The AFA permits you to join any chapter of your choice, including the John C. Stennis chapter, if you telephone them toll free at

(800) 727-3337

You must press 2, for membership, speak with the representative there, and request re-assignment to their John C. Stennis chapter.

ETA

I am in process of doing the above right now in real time. If it all blows up on me like that Russian nuclear missile did a few day ago I will let you know. So far so good and no radiation burns . . yet.

Keesler update

It went south for me but probably would not for you. They require a notary certification of your signature. I live too distant from any notary to make that a practical possibility for me to accomplish quickly or easily. But you most likely can do the notary thing without much stress.

Also, in speaking with Keesler I am told you can join by first making a $10 contribution to the American Cancer Society, which they will take care of for you as part of your opening deposit.

Bottom line Keesler appears to be open and available to all if you are able to jump through their hoops. And that 30 month CD is nice.