Just when you thought CD rates from banks and credit unions are good as it is, it gets better. HomeBanc N.A. offers several limited CD rate specials that are sure to have you end up with better value for your money than with any other CD offering in the country.

About the Special Rates

HomeBanc offers not just one, but four special CD maturity promotions. The best rate offering comes form their 3-month special in which you can avail a rate of 1.14% and an APY of 1.15%. To open an account, you only need an initial $5,000 deposit and a maximum amount of up to $ 100,000. This promo is open to new depositors. Previous participants of past offers and those who have had a CD account closed within the past 24 months will be excluded from the promo. Considering that the regular APY for the 3-month term is only 0.15%, grabbing this deal is like finding a diamond in the rough.

Another offer is the 11-month advantage CD. Here, account holders will enjoy a 0.70% APY which is considerably higher than the regular 12-month APY of 0.45%. At any time during the term, you can choose to change the rate once. This rate will be base don the bank’s adjusted non-promotional offer. This way, you can face the opportunity of getting a much higher APY for the remainder of your term, earning a much bigger amount of money on your end. To qualify, you need to have a HomeBanc checking account and a minimum balance of up to $1,500.

The third offer is the 3-year advantage CD. The mechanics are the same as that of the 11-month offer, wherein you can change your APY once during the course of the 3-year maturity. The starting APY is fixed at 1.00%. A regular 3-year term has an APY of 0.75%. The minimum cash deposit required upon opening is $10,000.

Last but not the least, HomeBanc offers its 25-month advantage CD. With an opening APY of 0.90% instead of the regular 24-month 0.65%, you’ll already have a head start on earning better with your investment. Like the previous two offers, you can change the APY to a much higher rate at any one time during the term. Minimum balance needed is $10,000.

For you to avail these specials, be sure to ask your customer service assistance regarding them. These offers may not be presented all at once to you directly unless you inquire about them.

Apart from these specials, the regular rates are as follows:

Term APY

3 months - 0.15%
6 months - 0.20%
9 months - 0.40%
12 months - 0.45%
18 months - 0.50%
24 months - 0.65%
36 months - 0.75%
48 months - 0.90%
60 months - 1.00%

For you to get the best deal, turn to the CD specials being offered instead. This way, you’ll get a much better return of your money.

HomeBanc has branches all over Tampa, Florida.

Chase bank surely knows how to please its customers. At the start of this year, it provided a $150 cashback bonus. If you missed out on this incredible offer, fret not. Chase Bank is back with another checking account promotion that lets you receive up to $125 cash bonus.

What the Promotion is About

If you don’t have any checking account with Chase Bank yet, now is the perfect time for you to open one. To be eligible for the offer, you need to have a new account, as Chase Bank disqualifies those with existing checking or with a negative balance. If you have had a Chase checking account closed within the past 90 days, you are disqualified from the promo as well. Once you have already signed up, your eligibility is still subject to approval upon discretion of the bank.

To earn the $125 cash back bonus, you must comply two things. First, you need to make a $100 deposit, all within the first 60 days upon account opening. Second, you need to have a direct deposit to the new account within the same period of time. This direct deposit should be in form of an electric paycheck, government or pension benefits from the government or from your employer.

An important thing to note is that once you earn your bonus within the 10-day period after you transact your direct deposit, you will not be eligible for another cashback bonus for the rest of the year. Should you choose to close this account within 6-months, the cashback bonus will be deducted as soon as the account closes.

If this offer sounds good enough for you, don’t wait any longer, or might miss out on the promo again. Keep in mind that this promotion only lasts until March 31, 2012.

Maintaining the Account

The Chase checking account does not require any monthly fees. However, this is only true when you faithfully fulfill the following:

• A total of $500 direct deposits must be made every month to the account
• The daily balance in your account should be no lower than $1,500
• You must maintain $5,000 in average balance of all your other Chase accounts or checking

Aside from these, you get free access to all other services, such as ATM transactions, online bill pay, online banking, e-mail and text alerts, and a Chase debit card.
Grab this awesome promotion while you still can and enjoy your reward money.

If you had the chance to earn even when not doing anything, would you grab the opportunity to do so? If your answer is a resounding yes, then opening a certificate of deposit or CD account is perfect for you. It lets you keep your money in the bank or any similar institution. Then after a period of time, your money will reach its maturity period and voila – you get more than the amount you started with.

Of course, you need to start off with a great bank that offers high CD rates. One such bank is Western Heritage Bank.

How the Rates Compare

Undoubtedly, Western Heritage bank offers one of the best CD rate deals today. For a 1-year CD maturity term, it provides a 1.65% interest rate and APY. If you compare this to CIT Bank’s 1.08% and Ally Bank’s 1.01%, WHB certainly ranks superior. Currently, national average for CD rates at 1-year term is at an average of 0.52%. Since WHB has an offer of even more than half that rate, you can be assured that you’re getting more than what the majority of banks have in store.

You get to choose the term of maturity that suits you. For short-term plans, there is the 3-month scheme. However, if you’re planning to let your money acquire more interest for a longer period of time, you can sign up for a 5-year maturity CD. All accounts need at least $1,000 initial deposit.

TERM RATE APY
3 months - 0.25% – 0.25%
6 months – 0.40% – 0.40%
1 year – 1.65% – 1.65%
2 year – 1.75% – 1.75%
3 year – 2.00% – 2.00%
4 year – 2.50% – 2.50%
5 year – 2.75% – 2.75%

This same initial deposit of $1,000 should be maintained daily in the account. As with any other banks, penalty fees are incurred for any violation or actions deemed by the bank as punishable. These may include early withdrawal, account verification fees, closing or transfer fees, and many others. However, what WHB makes up for its many penalty fees is its online banking service. You won’t need to visit any of their two branches in New Mexico, because you can make all transactions online. You also get to sign-up for the account opening online. And if you feel confused and have further questions, they have online assistants to help you.

About WHB

The inception of WHB began in 2008 when Mesilla Valley Bank was bought by a group of investors. Since then, it has carried on its present name. With its relatively new footing in the industry, it has been serving its market community with satisfaction.

Cashback offers from credit cards are abundant. So are bonus points and other rewards. Because many banks provide virtually the same services, choosing from the sea of credit card offers becomes quite hard to do.

The Citi Forward credit card is one such card that has a host of great rewards. Here are some features they offer:

1. Earning Rewards

The more you spend, the more you get to earn bonus points for redemption. The Citi Forward credit card offers not just 1, but 5 points for every dollar you spend on your purchases. Other credit cards offer only up to 1 point or at most 3 points. But because of Citi Bank’s high earning reward, you get to save more points at a faster rate.

2. “ThankYou” Points

As stated above, you get to earn 5 points for each dollar purchase you spend. This is only applicable to things such as fast foods, restaurants, book stores, movie rental sores, music stores, movie theaters, and music or record stores. For all other purchases, you get the standard 1 point per dollar reward.

These points are what Citi Bank calls their “ThankYou” points. You can use these points to redeem great rewards. But here’s a quick tip – if you want to get the most of your points, you can use these to purchase gift cards. Since their $100 gift card is worth 10,000, it’s like earning 1% value for each point.

Earn even bigger points when you consistently pay bills on time. Doing so can give you up to 1,200 bonus points.

3. Other Benefits

All credit cards are not without an APR. This amount is assigned to every credit card holder, depending on their credit worthiness. This principle is applicable with Citi Bank, as they can lower your APR down by 2% less. You can be offered this benefit when you consistently stay just below your credit limit and when you make timely payments for 3 consecutive billing periods. This is also applicable when you make purchases. If these qualifications are met, Citi Bank will lower your APR by 0.25% every three months, for 8 times at a maximum.

This card is completely free, and this means you don’t get to pay an annual maintenance fee for it. It also has services when it comes to identity theft solutions, auto rental collision damage, and retail purchase protection.

If all these things seem too good to be true, try to check it out yourself. You can visit Citi Bank’s online banking site and give your inquiries. You might be surprised how real it is. Earning rewards has never been this fast and easy.

If bad credit has left you without any credit cards, then the best thing to do is to get a new one. What’s even more important is to choose a bank that allows you to build up a good credit name from scratch. Orchard Bank Secured Master Card offers the perfect solution through the services it offers to those who badly need to start from scratch.

What are the advantages?

The Orchard Bank Secured Master Card understands that for people who have had a bad credit history, it takes more than just learning new credit habits. Some credit cards take advantage on people with bad credit by offering high interest rates that sometimes make it impossible for them to pay. With the Orchard Secured Master Card, the APR for variable purchases is only 7.99%.

Another thing that’s important in rebuilding credit is putting up a good name for yourself. This only happens when the bank is able to report to a major credit bureau. By reporting your account, you can minimize the occurrence of late payments and other defaults in your credit. With the Orchard Bank Secured Master Card, they report not only to one, but to three major credit bureaus. When you know your account is being reported, you can then make conscious effort to keep your payments in time, thus helping you create a better credit.

Penalties cannot be avoided at times. Therefore, there are also penalty fees to consider. The variable APR for penalty fees is fixed at 29.99%, so you better make sure to avoid incurring this amount. For the first year, you will not be charged an annual fee, but you will be then expected to shell out $35 annually thereafter.

Other variable APR fees are as follows:

Balance Transfer – 7.99%
Cash Advance Fee – 5%
Foreign Transaction Fee – 3% on the U.S. amount from transactions done in foreign currency

How do I open an account?

If all these seem good enough for you, opening an account is in order. You can log in to their website where you will be asked to fill up an online form. This form will be regarded as a survey of your credit history. You will then be advised which card you are most likely to be approved on.

All succeeding forms and applications can be continued online, and in as little as 5 minutes, you’re done. Remember that you need a minimum $200 deposit to open this account. Once you’ve been approved, you can then start your way to making better credit.

A good credit entails not only ditching old spending habits, but it depends on other factors as well. It requires a credible company that understands your need and offers an excellent opportunity for you to start all over again. Choose Orchard Bank Master Secured Card, and you get a chance to win over bad credit in no time.

According to doomsday predictions, 2012 is the year when the world ends. This being said, any forms of man-influenced activities are doomed to go haywire. This includes the rise and fall of the economic market, as well as the liquidity of loans and investments.

However, the future is anything but bleak in Integrity First Financial Group. From the looks of it, their mortgage rates remain to be very competitive, and there is no way else for them to go but up.

How These Rates Compare

If you’re putting off buying your first house for next year, you might want to think again. The US Bank and CitiMortgage Group fixes their mortgage rates at 3.625% and 4.125%, and their APR at 3.820% and 4.275% respectively. These high rates seem to be trending along with Quicken Loans’ 4.625% rate and 4.897% APR. Here’s the sweet surprise – if you begin your mortgage with the Integrity First Financial Group, you can get a rate as low as 3.500%. Plus, the fixed mortgage rate for 30 years is set at only 3.63%. Sounds like a good offer, indeed.

Aside from these rates, the other loan plans are equally competitively low as well. Some are set at 15 year- or 10 year –fixed mortgage rates. For those who are planning on only 5-years worth of payment, they offer an AMR rate. This differs in the fixed rate in such a way that interest and APR prices depend on the market trend.

One thing to note however, is that the APR does not include all the closing fees, which may extend to appraisals, document preparation, and other paperwork.

About Integrity First

This California-based lending group has several branches all across the state. If you can’t find one in your area, don’t panic. You can always get a sample quote from their official website to help give you a clear picture of the desired amounts you want. Once you are satisfied with the results, the company can schedule a meeting with one of their agents to guide you through the process of agreement in a place that is most convenient for you. This company can offer closing of deals in as little time as possible – saving you from all the hassle of waiting.

The Integrity First Financial Group is an approved member of the FHA, or Federal Housing Administration, making it a steady and secure place for you to set your financial loans on.

It’s the start of a new year, and there’s no better time to start your investment than today. To help you get better returns, Freedom Credit Union offers some competitive rates for long term CDs. The benefit of investing in longer term CDs is that you get to enjoy a higher interest rate which, when it comes to investments, is the thing that matters most.

CD Rates from Freedom Credit Union

6 Month - .75 % APY
12 Month - 1.00 % APY
18 Month - 1.10 % APY
24 Month - 1.30 % APY
36 Month - 1.75 % APY
48 Month - 2.20 % APY
60 Month - 2.50 % APY

Freedom Credit Union is one of the best places to invest your money for the long term. They offer some of the highest rates for long term CDs. For example, the best rate nationally available from banks for the 5 year CD is 1.95% from Intervest National Bank. Freedom Credit Union’s rates are considerably higher. The highest for 3 year CDs is also Doral Bnak which only offers 1.65% APY as opposed to Freedom’s 1.75%. 4 year CD rates are also uncommon among banks, so if you think 5 years is too long, you can still avail of a high interest long term CD with the 4 year CD.

The downside is that those who are looking for a temporary place to park their money, can only invest to the minimum term of 6 months. Freedom Credit Union does not offer certificates of deposit lower than that.

Can Anyone Join Freedom Credit Union?

The only downside of credit unions is their membership. Unfortunately Freedom Credit Union does not open its doors to just about anyone. Membership is available to anyone who works, lives, performs volunteer service, worships or attends school in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, or Philadelphia Counties. Also eligible are individuals in our SEGs or in their Members’ families.

About Freedom Credit Union

The credit union was established in Philadelphia since 1934. It is insured by the NCUA for deposits up to $250,000. The credit union has been given a 5 star rating from Bauer Financial and it currently has over 57,000 members and $500 million in assets.