Signature FCU Rewards Checking 3.50% APY on up to $20,000 [Nationwide]

Update 8/4/22: Up to 3.50% APY, effective September 1, 2022. At that time, the debit requirement also increases from 10 to 15.

Update 7/15/22: Back up to 2%

Update 8/23/21: Rate is now 1.5% (down from 2%)

Update 9/10/19: They’ve now increased the upper limit from $15k to $20k. (ht Frito)

Offer at a glance

• Interest Rate: 3% APY
• Minimum Balance: None
• Maximum Balance: $20,000
• Availability: Nationwide
• Direct deposit required: Yes, $1,000
• Additional requirements: 10 debit card purchases and e-statements
• Hard/soft pull: Soft (1 report of hard pull)
• Credit card funding: $500
• Monthly fees: None
• Insured: NCUA
• Expiration date: None listed

The Offer

Direct Link

• Signature FCU Choice Checking offers 3% APY on balances up to $15,000 when meeting the qualifying activities:
  • Have direct deposit totaling $1,000 or more into your account per month
  • Enroll in Signature e-statements
  • Use your debit card at least 10 15 times per month for purchases in person or online

Be sure to select the Choice Checking option when signing up. With this account, you can choose one of three benefits: 3% APY, ATM fee waiver, and debit card rewards. We’re focusing on the 3% APY option in this post.

The Fine Print

• Limit one account per person.
• High Yield has certain requirements that must be met: The debit card must be used at least 10 times and there must be a total of $1,000 being directly deposited into the account each month. The member must be enrolled in e-statements and can only have one Choice Checking per account. If any of the requirements are not met, the account will earn the standard checking account rate for that month.
• Balances above $15,000 earn the standard checking APY while balances below $15,000 will earn the High Yield APY.
• You can even create a personalized design on your Visa debit card to make it stand out in your wallet, and when you pay.
•  No minimum balance requirement

Avoiding Fees

There aren’t any monthly fees on this account.

Geographic Availability

Signature FCU is available for all to join by enrolling into American Consumer Council for free.

“Still need another way to join? By selecting this option Signature FCU will enroll you into American Consumer Council (ACC), at no cost to you, therefore making you eligible for membership.”

Our Verdict

It seems that this will be a soft pull, has $500 in credit card funding (we still need data points on cash advance), and ACH-transfers count as direct deposit. This is another solid nationwide 3% APY option on up to $15k, similar to Evansville, LMCU, and GLCU. We’ll add this one to our list of Best High-Yield Savings Accounts.

Hat tip to Depositaccounts