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Chase Bank is currently offering a pretty slick deal where you can get up to $75 just for using your Visa® check card.  The details are as follows –

Get $25 for every $250 you spend – you can receive up to $75 in bonuses!

The signing up process is quite simple and requires little work.  Simply stop by your local Chase Bank and sign up for a Chase Visa® Check Card and use it between April 1, 2008 and June 15, 2008 (this is when the deal expires).  Every time you spend $250, you will receive $25 deposited in your checking account.

What I like about this deal is that the check card is like a debit card where they pull the money directly from your checking account.  This card can be used just about anywhere and the $75 shouldn’t be that hard to rack up at all.  This is probably one of the nicer deals I’ve seen in a while.

For more information, visit their webpage or call 1-800-242-7324

As I did my CD rate research for Tuesday, a new bank that never pops up in the top ten suddenly appeared on top of all of the charts.  This bank goes by the name of State Bank of India.  Even though the name sounds fishy, don’t let this name fool you.  We can take a look at the bank here –

The State Bank of India does have branches located in the United States.  Some of their major locations include New York and Chicago.

Their CD rates are FDIC insured.

Most of the bank’s branches do reside in India but don’t let this scare you away from their great CD rates.  Also, keep in mind that their rates do require a heavy initial investment of $95,000.  Here are their rates as of 4.15.2008. 

6 MONTHS – 3.65% APY

1 YEAR – 4.16% APY

2 YEAR – 4.16% APY

3 YEAR – 4.47% APY

5 YEAR – 4.68% APY

If these rates look appealing or you want more information, visit their website or call 212.521.3200.

I updated the CD rate averages for April of 2008 today and found that only two sectors made increases.  This is the first time ANY sector has made an increase in almost three months.  Below are the averages from March in the first bracket, followed by the current month, April’s averages.

3 MONTH – 3.55% to 3.26%

6 MONTH – 3.76% to 3.50%

1 YEAR – 3.60% to 3.67%

18 MONTH – 3.57% to 3.46%

2 YEAR – 3.60% to 3.60%

3 YEAR – 3.80% to 3.76%

5 YEAR – 4.04% to 4.06%

To browse this month’s averages and the past’s, visit the CD averages page.

The Community Bank of Dupage is giving away a $75 bonus for everyone that signs up for a free checking account with direct deposit.  Right now, the Community Bank of Dupage currently is located in Illinois with two locations.  One is located in Westmont and the other is located in Oakbrook Terrace. 

Here are more details on the bonus –

• You must deposit at least $100 and must be a first time customer (new money only).

• Must set up recurring direct deposit.

• The $75 will be deposited after 1 month of your first direct deposit.

For more information on this deal, please visit their bonus page or simply call 1.630.743.4001

If you’re currently looking for a decent money market account and you’re not sure who you want to use because of the fear of banks lowering rates or because the bank has a bad rating, we have implemented a system at GOtalkmoney to show you exactly whose consistent and who’s not.  I’ll show you how the system works –

If you go to our official top ten money market chart, you’ll notice that there’s a category with the column header “W”.

This column shows you how long the current bank has been on the top ten consistently.  This is a great way to see exactly how long a bank has been on the top ten.  The longer they are on the top ten charts, the more likely their rates are going to stay the same.  But remember, a bank can change their money market rate anytime soon.

Here are the top three money market accounts that have remained consistent for the past three months.

WTDirect is offering a 3.31% and has been on the charts for 25 weeks straight.  They are currently ranked #10.

Corus Bank is offering a 4.00% and has been on the charts for 22 weeks straight.  They are currently ranked #2.

OneUnited is offering a 3.60% and has been on the charts for 20 weeks straight.  They are currently ranked #7

As for the minimum balance, WTDirect is $10,000, OneUnited is $1,000, and Corus is $100.