Fort Knox Federal Credit Union has competitive certificate of deposit (CD) rates for terms ranging from three months to 5 years. Current CD specials include a 23-month rate of 2.3% annual percentage yield (APY) and a 14-month rate of 1.75% APY. Other CD rates include:

• 3 months for 1.4% APY
• 6 months for 1.4% APY
• 1 year for 1.6% APY
• 18 months for 1.8% APY
• 2 years for 2% APY
• 30 months for 2.35% APY
• 3 years for 2.4% APY
• 4 years for 2.6% APY
• 5 years for 3% APY

CD rates are current as of July 14, 2010, but could change at any time. You must have a minimum deposit of $500 to open a CD. Money in a Fort Knox Credit Union CD is insured  for up to $250,000.

The credit union is based in Radcliff, KY. Membership is available to people who live, work, worship, attend school, or regularly do business in Boyle, Breckonridge, Grayson, Hart, LaRue, Meade, Nelson, or Taylor County. Relatives of people eligible for membership to the credit union can also join.  Check the list of employers to see if you are eligible to join.

The credit union also allows  active duty military, reserve, guard, civil service employees, or contractors attached to the post to join. Retired military or civil service employees receiving benefits on Fort Knox can also join.

It can pay to check out savings and checking account deals with local credit unions. The Saginaw Medical Federal Credit Union has competitive savings rates for people who are employed by, retired from, or volunteer for any health care business in the Saginaw, MI area.

If you have an account at the credit union but move out of the area, you can still remain a member as long as you keep at least $5 in the account.

The credit union has a Rewards checking account with a 5% annual percentage yield (APY) on balances up to $25,000. Details of the checking account include:

• $50 minimum opening deposit
• No minimum balance
• No monthly fees
• Balances over $25,000 earn a 0.5% APY
• Refunds of ATM surcharge fees

To earn the highest interest rate on the checking account, you must make at least 12 debit card signature-based transactions each month, sign up for online banking and e-statements, and set up direct deposit.

MoneyPlus money market accounts require a minimum balance of $2,500. The money market account includes:

• Six withdrawals per month
• Free checks
• Minimum withdrawal of $500
• Dividends paid monthly on the average balance

Saginaw Medical Federal Credit Union has offered financial services to its members since 1971.

Thanks goes out to reader “writer” for e-mailing about this.

I know the rates sound way too good to be true.  You can get these rates but there’s a catch.  You can only deposit up to $2,000 but if you have a small amount to deposit, you may want to check this out.

Paragon is offering the following 2 options:

9-month CD at 6% APY - you must deposit at least $500 and can’t put in more than $2,000.

9-month CD at 8% APY with an auto loan of $10,000+ - once again, you can’t deposit more than $2,000 but if you need an auto loan, you may want to check out their rates, they seem to be pretty competitive.

Other requirements include a direct deposit of $100 per occurrence and you must sign up for free eStatements and “Go Green”.

You can read all the terms and conditions here.

For more details on this offer, visit ParagonFCU.org or call 1.800.222.8877.  Paragon is insured by the NCUSIF up to $250,000.

Delta Community Credit Union currently is offering a 1 year CD at 3% APY.  This rate is effective as of 2/23/09.  Delta is the largest credit union in the state of Georgia with over 180,000 members and more than $2.9 billion in assets.  Anyone is able to join.

Below is a table of the rates currently being offered:

• 6 month:  2.50% APY
• 12 month:  3.00% APY
• 24 month:  3.15% APY
• 36 month:  3.25% APY
• 60 month:  3.75% APY

All accounts require a minimum of $1,000 to open.  Interest is compounded monthly.

To get more information on these rates, visit DeltaCommunityCU.com.  All of their accounts are NCUA, insured.

If you’re a fan of Credit Unions, you may want to check out Melrose Credit Union’s top CD rates this week.  They are offering some amazing deals that no other banks are even coming close to.

Here are the rates as of 2/18/09:

• 1 year:  3.39% APY
• 2 year:  3.55% APY
• 3 year:  3.70% APY
• 4 year:  3.85% APY
• 5 year:  4.27% APY

On top of that, Melrose CU is offering a 2.02% APY share account.  In order to open up a CD, you must deposit at least $5,000.

By the research I did, this Credit Union has been quite competitive among other banks in the past few years.

Anyone can join this Credit Union and it only has a $1 one time membership fee.  In order to open an account, you must provide:

• Valid photo ID
• Proof of address like a utility bill
• Social Security Number

For more information on these great rates and how to join, visit MelroseCU.org or call 718-658-9800 ext. 1014.