CD Discussion Thread

Just a heads up:

For those with PenFed CD maturities upcoming shortly, in first half of December.

Be certain you have selected your maturity option for each CD you might have with them. This selection can be accomplished online with no need to telephone the credit union.

My own selection is to move funds straightaway into savings whereupon money will be yanked out of PenFed via ACH and into PurePoint (or wherever, maybe some into Alliant).

I struck out at Pathways. They were very courteous and totally gave me a fair shake. They even consulted their charter! But I was told that after review they believed admitting me as a member would for them be a charter violation. Obviously they would never do that, I understand completely. Such a great deal. Hate to miss out.

Connexus? Have set aside my application for now. Spoke with them; nice folks. But the comments on Ken’s site from back in May are just too concerning. Quite possibly a mistaken judgement on my part not to go ahead regardless. Just not prepared under the circumstances to move forward.

Q: Shin, have you tried your “attend school” angle at Founders?

I have not. The Pathways deal is so great I thought it was worth the trouble. The Founders deal is a more conventional 4%, five year, deal. It’s a perfectly good deal. But I’m not as motivated by the Founders’ terms as I was by the better deal at Pathways.

Those are the only 4% CD deals of which I’m aware at present. Given rates are still rising, I’m not looking to do anything below 4%.

Uh, I could be full of prunes with this observation. This is a CD discussion thread. NOTHING is more important here than interest rates and their direction. Interest rates going forward depend on future level of economic activity.

I’m sitting here typing looking out at between eight and ten inches of snow, snow which I’ll shortly be out there shovelling. All I know about future economic activity is what I can glean on the internet. My personal experience, e.g. clearing away snow, does not help much at all. So here is what I’m seeing that is making me think twice:

This is from Ken’s forum

This is from NBC news

Bottom line:

If the economy is cooling then I’m probably wrong about CD rates continuing to head north. What do you think? Where are intermediate to longer CD interest rates headed from here?

As I read from Ken’s forum, they say to lock in the highest rate for the longest period of time.

I still don’t like to lock in for the longer period. Right now my longest period of CD is Sharonview 4% maturing 7/2023. (that’s when my driver’s license expires). My next would be Freedom CU 3.56% maturing 2/2021. I’m still working on Pathways 40-mo 4%.

shinobi, I hope your thoughts about CD rates cooling is wrong. Savings rates seem to be holding tight…

Gosh I wish I were able to know in which direction interest rates are headed! Today the Dow closed down almost 400 points. That’s not great.

We will know more in a month when the FOMC meets in December. Their failure then to raise short rates the long-anticipated additional quarter point would signal they believe the economy is weakening. And of course a weakening economy is not supportive of higher long-term interest rates.

The FOMC meets on Tuesday, December eighteenth. They will make their announcement on Wednesday, December nineteenth, in the early afternoon. So will Christmas arrive early? I dunno.

Ally has upped the APY on their 11 month no-penalty CD again. Current APY is now 2.25%.

This means many Payback Time participants, including me, are gonna have to close their existing 2.20% APY certificates and then re-open at the new higher rate.

Note the 2.25% APY rate applies to accounts of $25,000 and over.

If Ally keeps this up I won’t have to withdraw my money on January sixteenth! :grinning:

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I just received the paperwork for the 11-month CD opened on 11/10, which lasted only 10 days! Is there a way to suppress that mailing?

Am a bit confused. Why would you desire to suppress that mailing?

Anyway, my own closures and reopenings at the new, higher, rate went forward uneventfully. It did take me a good fifteen minutes, though, to convert the three accounts. It’s important to convert ASAP since they might raise the rate once again and you must wait six days before you are permitted to close. You want that six day clock to commence running as soon as possible.

shinobi, I guess I struck out at Pathways also.

They accepted my application & $5 but without hesitation they cancelled everything. I could cause a problem & reject it but it’s not worth the effort. I did belong to one of their SEGs but without even an e-mail or call to discuss the issue they just closed my account.

As you said it was such a great deal but there will be others coming. (I hope)

Just like most of my statements are online only, I have no use for it.

That’s a whole nother other situation entirely! That’s a big deal that never applied to me.

I would definitely ring them up and discuss the matter. You’ve nothing whatsoever to lose . . . . . and a whole lot to gain!!!

You deserve to know why you were dismissed even though you qualify owing to SEG association.

Their telephone number: (800) 367-7485

Just bear in mind they are on eastern time.

Thanks shinobi, I decided to give Pathways a call.

Of course they couldn’t give a direct response. So they said I would get a call from someone later. A couple hours later a rep returned the call. I did my explaining on the matter, to which their only response was, I didn’t live in their state. Even though I told them that I belonged to one of the SEGs listed. The rep insisted that I still must reside in OH. I also explained that I never receive an e-mail or call regarding my application. She said, they had sent me an e-mail which was not true.

So I said, “it’s your loss”, I’ll take my money elsewhere. So, for Thanksgiving we will all be on the lookout for GOOD DEALS in the near future.

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I commend you for having tried, pattyb53. I would not have seen coming the “because you do not live in Ohio” excuse . . . not after your listed-SEG association was made known to them.

When I was trying to gain entry I specifically inquired whether my lack of Ohio residence was a deal killer. They said “no”. But of course they had a different way to spear my own membership aspirations.

So it goes. Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose. But you never win if you do not play the game. :wink:

Great Lakes Credit Union has a 7-month CD paying 7% with a $7k max. $1k minimum. Hard pull. Open to all if you choose “Not listed - Let us help” when it asks for your affiliation. You’ll need to open a share savings account with $5 minimum first. Promotion ends November 30th. I applied, but my application is pending.

Link: Share Certificate Options | Great Lakes Credit Union | Great Lakes Credit Union
Credit to Doctor of Credit: Great Lakes CU 7.00% APY Rate on up to $7,000 with 7-Month CD - Doctor Of Credit

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What about Provident CU 18-mo 3.01%. First look, not bad, but then again I’m still hoping for 4%.

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The Connexus 4% CD deal has died a mean and ugly death.

RIP: Connexus 4% CD deal

Just for the record: I never went in

Information only…

For any of you that got in on the United Bank 19-Mo Flex CD 3.15%. (offered last month) I just called to open a savings acct to set up ACH transfers. You cannot use a transfer to add funds to the acct. You must snail mail a check with instructions.

With rates not so good now, I thought I might use this 3.15% CD to place funds later in December. Sure hope I don’t have to, still waiting for those 4%'ers to pop up.

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PenFed has raised CD rates across the board. They are ballyhooing their rate increase here:

Link to new higher CD interest rates at PenFed

My opinion? You do not want to know my opinion. I don’t care for the new rates. But I am aware other folks are interested in purchasing CDs at these new rates . . . so I posted this.

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Today is Sunday. Am posting this heads up because so many of us have PenFed CDs maturing today and right on into this coming week and even shortly thereafter. There is a wrinkle. And it stinks.

First, credit where due. A poster on Ken’s site, gregk, just posted about this. If you have a PenFed CD maturing you really need to read this person’s post:

Read this if you have PenFed CD(s) about to mature

As the poster there signals, PenFed seeks to hold onto your money for an extra day, with no payment of interest!! You must telephone them if you are wanting to avoid this outrage.

This is an avoidable annoyance as the poster suggests. But to avoid the annoyance you must act. If you fail to act your money will be residing at PenFed for an extra day.

shinobi,

You have your maturing CD’s added directly to your PurePoint acct & start gaining Interest immediately. I agree it’s a good idea, but isn’t it true that you cannot remove funds from PurePoint for 7 days?
The question is, what if you find a need for the funds sooner? I usually put those funds into Alliant CU, & the hang up there is the ach movement out, of $25K per day.