Update 4/4/20: Max rate is now 2%
Offer at a glance
- Interest Rate: Max of 3% APY
- Minimum Balance: None
- Maximum Balance: $2,000 for 3% APY
- Availability: CA only
- Direct deposit required: None
- Additional requirements: None
- Hard/soft pull: Soft without overdraft protection
- ChexSystems: Unknown, sensitive
- Credit card funding: None
- Monthly fees: None
- Insured: NCUA
The Offer
- Patelco offers a money market account with a reverse tiered interest rate (the more you have in the account, the lower APY you receive). The tiers are as follows:
- $0-$2,000: 3% APY
- $2,000-$5,000: 2% APY
- $5,000-$10,000: 1% APY
- Rates continue to decline
The Fine Print
- Limit one Money Market Select Account and Money Market Select IRA Account per account number.
- The maximum number of checks that may clear is three (3) in any calendar month period
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
This account has no monthly fees to worry about.
Eligibility
You need to be a member of this credit union to apply for this account, you can view the full requirements here. The most common ways to be eligible are:
- You live or regularly work, worship or attend school in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, or Sonoma counties
- You live or regularly work, worship or attend school in the California cities of Atwater, Auburn, Bakersfield, Eureka, Laguna, Los Banos, McKinleyville, Merced, Rocklin, Roseville, Santa Cruz, or Tracy
Our Verdict
The nice thing about these reverse tiered accounts is that there is no requirements for the higher APY and no minimum deposit required either. The downside is the APY quickly drops as well. If you had $5,000 in the account you’d earn $120 in the first year (or $60 with just $2,000), people would be better off signing up for a checking or savings bonus instead. You can get better than 1% APY on other accounts with no requirements, so no point putting more than $5,000 into this account. They also offer a credit card that is 2% everywhere and 3% on travel/restaurants.
