California Coast Credit Union: 9.5% APY 5 Month CD

Update 4/18/24: Available again.

Looks like this is also available for people outside of CA, more information here.

Offer at a glance

• Maximum bonus amount: $112.5
• Availability: Must live or work in San Diego or Riverside County
• Direct deposit required: No
• Additional requirements: See below
• Hard/soft pull: Hard pull
• ChexSystems: Unknown
• Credit card funding: Can fund using a credit card (Can fund a total of $5,100. $3,000 for this account and $2,100 into the savings account that is also required).
• Monthly fees: None
• Early account termination fee: Unknown
• Household limit: None listed
• Expiration date: None listed

The Offer

Direct link to offer

• California Coast Credit Union is offering a 9% APY 5 month celebration CD. Minimum balance is $500 and maximum is $3,000. You also need a checking account with eStatements and at least one transaction per month to be qualified

The Fine Print

• Offer excludes business and individual retirement accounts. New Money only.
• A primary member is allowed to open one (1) Celebration Certificate Account under the same member name and related tax identification number.
• The minimum deposit required to open the Celebration Certificate is $500.
• Certificate opening deposit balance cannot exceed $3,000.
• The following conditions also apply: A qualifying checking account with eStatements is required, and must remain active with at least 1 transaction per month, during the certificate term.
• Eligible transactions include, but are not limited to, Direct Deposit, Preauthorized Payments, Checks, ATM, POS, Debit Card, and Bill Pay.
• As an alternative, the following products existing or opened within 30 days of the Certificate Account date can be substituted for the checking account requirement: a consumer loan (excluding share secured loans and Mastercard credit card account), or a minimum balance of $5,000 in a money market account, a regular certificate account, or an IRA certificate account. The stated alternative deposit account must remain open for the certificate term period. You will have a 30-day grace period to meet the requirements. If the conditions are not met, the stated APY may be reduced to the APY in effect for a 3-Month Certificate Account for the remainder of the term.
• Serving anyone who lives or works in San Diego or Riverside counties.
• New members – a one-time $5 membership fee and savings account required.
• All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them

Avoiding Fees

Monthly Fees

The CD has no monthly fees. A checking account is also required, they offer a free checking account with no monthly fees as well.

Early Account Termination Fee

I wasn’t able to find a fee schedule so I’m unsure if there is any early account termination fee or not.

Our Verdict

Update: Not worth doing due to the hard pull

If you fund the full $3,000 then you’ll earn $112.5. I basically just see this as a saving bonus for that amount, although a checking account does need to be opened and one transaction per month needs to be completed as well. The upside is the credit card funding which some people will find useful. If we can confirm this is a soft pull then I do think it’s worth doing. If anybody goes for this deal, please share your experiences in the comments below.

Hat tip to reader Matt K

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