[Georgia] MidSouth FCU 5% APY Checking Account on up to $10,000

Offer at a glance

• Interest Rate: 5.01% APY
• Minimum Balance: $25 to open
• Maximum Balance: $10,000
• Availability: Select Georgia counties, see below
• Direct deposit required: Yes
• Additional requirements: Yes (50 debit transactions totally $250)
• Hard/soft pull: Unknown
• Credit card funding: No (in-branch only)
• Monthly fees: None
• Insured: NCUA

The Offer

Direct Link to offer

• MidSouth Community FCU of Georgia offers their iChecking account with 5.01% APY on balances up to $10,000

The caveat to the rate is that you need to do 50 debit transactions per month to be eligible for the 5% rate. Worse yet, the average debit charge needs to be $5 to be eligible. Essentially, you need to swipe the card 50 times for a combined total of $250 per month to be eligible for the top rate. 

There are also lower rate tiers:

Aside from the debit requirement, there are a few other things you must do to get the rate:

• log into Home Banking at least once per month
• be enrolled in e-Statements
• maintain a valid e-mail address
• have a Direct Deposit posted to the iChecking account within the calendar month for which dividends are posted

The Fine Print

• No minimum balance
• $25 minimum to open
• Limit one (1) iChecking dividend-bearing account per membership.
• The iChecking account dividend rate is a variable rate. The dividend rate and annual percentage yield (APY) may change at any time, as determined by the Credit Union Board of Directors.
• The iChecking Annual Percentage Rate (APR) and Annual Percentage Yield (APY) is based on the number of Point of Sale (POS) transactions that post to the account during the calendar month. The minimum number of Point of Sale transactions does not include authorizations. The debit card transactions only include Point of Sale transactions that have paid on the account before the end of the month. Does not include transactions made at an ATM.
• The rates above will be paid on the average daily balance for the calendar month, up to $10,000. Any amount of the average daily balance above $10,000 will earn the current Premier Checking Account rate of .100% APR / .100% APY. Dividends are compounded monthly and credited to the account monthly.
• Checking accounts subject to credit approval.

Avoiding Fees

The account does not have any monthly fees. It even comes with 7 free ATM transactions/month (I assume that’s referring to non-affiliate ATMs, but not entirely sure).

Geographic Eligibility

The credit union is open to anyone who works, lives, worships, or attends school in these Middle Georgia counties: Bibb, Baldwin, Crawford, Hancock, Houston, Jones, Monroe, Peach, Pulaski, Putnam, Twiggs, Washington, and Wilkinson.

Account must be opened in branch.

Our Verdict

This is a pretty good deal for those in the target area. It is a hassle dealing with swiping the card 50 times, but you can simplify it by making a single large purchase of $225.50 and then 49 $.50 Amazon reloads. Or just use it regularly for your smaller transactions.

In the end you’ll lose a bit on from the credit card rewards on those $250 in spend. If we’ll figure a 2% credit card, you’ll lose $5/mo for the ~$41/mo interest earned on the $10k which lowers the earnings a bit. Overall, there’s still a healthy gain to having this account over an ordinary 1% savings account.

I like that they are clear on the requirements; Northpointe has a similar 5%/$10k deal with a debit requirement that’s a bit more vague. (The Northpointe is easier on the direct deposit front, and most importantly it’s available nationwide.)

We’ll add this to our list of Best High Yield Savings Accounts.

Hat tip to Depositaccounts