(Update 7/12/22: Effective August 6, 2022: SaveUp Savings $50 deposit to earn a higher tier APY no longer applies to this account. The base rate is still at 3.56% APY)
Workers Credit Union offers their SaveUp Savings account with an interest rate of up to 1.05%. The credit union can be joined by anyone by joining the Financial Fitness Association which costs $8. Workers Credit Union will reimburse you for the $8.
Here are their rates as of today (5/14/21):
- 4.32% APY on balances up to $1,000 with no hoops to jump through.
- Balances between $1,000 and above increase incrementally, e.g. $25,000 gets .71% APY, $100,000 gets .84% APY, etc. You can see the full list of rates here. (It gets a bit confusing because the increased rate only applies to balances above that tier, and that gets blended with the lower tiers. Just look at the ‘Base APY’ number as that’s what you’ll actually be getting. )
- All balances get an extra .05% if you have automatic deposit of $50+.
This is currently sitting at the top of all available savings account options. Might not be worth opening the account just for the $1,000 high rate of 4.32%, but could make sense if you have a lot of cash savings since at higher balances the difference between this account rate and others get more significant.
Hat tip to reader Kyle who also notes that it’s a soft pull to join.
Reader Brian notes that there is a $10 fee for closing the account within 6 months, so don’t do that. Also, there’s a fee for outbound transfers, so be sure to always use an external bank to pull funds out of this account.
anyone close this account? can you really only do it by phone or mail?
Mailer sent out to current account holders regarding chang in terms:
“Effective August 6, 2022:
SaveUp Savings: $50 deposit to earn a higher tier APY no longer applies to this account”
The base rate is still at 3.56% APY on balances up to $1,000
Added a note
Newbie question. How do I “use an external bank to pull funds out of this account” ?
I had to use the mobile app to view the full account number. then i could add the routing and account number to my external bank’s transfer system.
for example my external bank is marcus, so then whenever i want to transfer money out of my wcu account, i login to my marcus account and set up the transfer in marcus
Dangerous. They want all kinds of sensitive information uploaded to a website which claims to be theirs. Then they want funding information. Again, noting there to verify anything, no login nor nothing. Every time you get a call, it is a different number. Not worth the risk. Only stupid people email copies of their driver license or similar via email. They can’t pay enough interest for me to join this club.
I thought so too. I got several calls from different phone numbers, no paperwork, nothing, but they wanted all kinds of personal information from me. I walked away, Never heard of or seen a bank that acted like this.
I thought the most hilarious thing was when they said that their email server was encrypted. And how does the email get there? From my computer throughout online all over the place first. What about encryption there? Can they use my Microsoft encryption? Answer: No, we do not do that.
I was told that they supposedly accept paperwork via regular mail.
I successfully applied, but when I was sent an email (excerpt below) requesting sensitive documents to be submitted via unsecured (regular) email, I declined. While I am fully willing to submit documents via a secure application webpage or secure message while logged in to my bank account, I will not do so via regular email. These docs were not requested during the website application process.
Thank you for your recent new account application that you submitted via our website http://www.wcu.com. A recent audit of your new account has shown that the following documentation is needed:
Driver’s license – Please reply to this email with a photo copy.
2nd Form of ID: Copy of Social Security Card or back and front of signed credit/debit card, or passport
Proof of Address – Ex. Utility Bill, bank statement, car registration etc….something showing your name and current address.
Agree. I got a cryptic email to call. Called and placed on hold only to get the b team. They said a team would call back. Surprise surprise they didn’t. So I emailed and they said send in 3 docs. I did. They claim they didn’t get them and now gave me a secure link to send in 4 docs. Yep you read that right. And they still need to talk to me to “verify ID” or whatever. I am working 11 hour shifts with a 1 hr commute. I am exhausted. Is this f**king ridiculous or am I crazy? I don’t understand how they have any customers if this is the sign up process. Anywho, fingers crossed for my call tmw!
Thanks for sharing. I am planning to apply and dreading the lengthy sign up process. Please kindly let us know when you’re all done with the opening process. TIA and best of luck!
Acct is open. For some reason I can’t link to Mint – it just has me log in to the site, not an intermediary like plaid. Anywho, kinda regret opening this one since the high interest is capped at 1k. Already have 7 HYAs.
Is this state specific? Has anyone outside of Mass. tried it?
Signed up as Michigan resident in September. I think it’s nationwide
Rate has been dropped to 3.5%/3.55% with $50 deposit. Not sure worth opening with Chex pull for only $1,000 balances.
Who didn’t see that one coming?
From CA – I called WCU 3-4 times to check on the new membership process. Every time they were trying to answer questions but were not sure and wanted to have some specialist call me back. Different answers , one says FFA membership qualifies and they reimburse but other says not reimbursed. Another agent says just initial deposit of $5 is enough. Also asked about NCUA insurance for up to 500k for Joint holders and they were not sure. Asked about ACH transfer fees, they were not sure and asked me if I would like to make an appointment for tomorrow as nobody is available today. Their rates are good but the process is strange not giving enough confidence.
Ach pull from another account is free. Dont know the exact limit but I usually pull $50 from hub to Workers and then pull $53 from Workers to hub.