First Choice Bank of NJ Offering Five Year CD at 2.5% APY

First Choice Bank of NJ is offering a 5-year CD that pays 2.5% APY if it is opened with a Platinum Checking account. That's one of the highest rates in the country for a five year CD. The rate is not listed on their website but I did call and confirm that the offer is valid. Others on BestCashCow have called and stated that the customer service rep did not confirm the offer. Be sure you ask for the one that requires a Platinum Checking account.

The CSR also told me that the Platinum Checking account requires a daily minimum balance of $500 in order to waive fees but this differs from the website which says that there is only a $1 minimum balance but a holder needs $25,000 in aggregated loan and/or CD and Savings balances to qualify. Based on this, if you opened a CD with at least $25,000 and put only $1 in the Platinum Checking account you could quality for the higher rate and avoid fees. I'd clarify this before opening the account.

First Choice Bank of NJ has $930 million in assets according to recent FDIC data. Its branches are located Northeast of Philadelphia near the NJ/PA border.

If you do open an account or speak to someone at the bank, please share your experience with the community.

View CD Rates in Your Area

Today's Highest Online CD Rates

Bank	Product Term	Interest Rate (APY)
Northern Bank Direct	1-Year	5.60% APY with $500 minimum
Finworth, a division of InsBank	1-Year	5.38% APY with $50,000 minimum
TotalDirect, a division of City National Bank of Florida	1-Year	5.35% APY with $25,000 minimum
Dollar Savings Direct, a division of Emigrant Bank	3-Year	5.00% APY with $1,000 minimum
First Internet Bank of Indiana	3-Year	4.66% APY with $1,000 minimum
IncredibleBank	3-Year	4.58% APY with $1,000 minimum
First Internet Bank of Indiana	5-Year	4.55% APY with $1,000 minimum
BMO Alto, a division of Bank of Montreal Harris	5-Year	4.50% APY with no minimum
Department of Commerce	5-Year	4.34% APY with $500 minimum

Bank

Product Term

Interest Rate (APY)

Northern Bank Direct

1-Year

5.60% APY with $500 minimum

Finworth, a division of InsBank

1-Year

5.38% APY with $50,000 minimum

TotalDirect, a division of City National Bank of Florida

1-Year

5.35% APY with $25,000 minimum

Dollar Savings Direct, a division of Emigrant Bank

3-Year

5.00% APY with $1,000 minimum

First Internet Bank of Indiana

3-Year

4.66% APY with $1,000 minimum

IncredibleBank

3-Year

4.58% APY with $1,000 minimum

First Internet Bank of Indiana

5-Year

4.55% APY with $1,000 minimum

BMO Alto, a division of Bank of Montreal Harris

5-Year

4.50% APY with no minimum

Department of Commerce

5-Year

4.34% APY with $500 minimum

Comments

Jersey Girl

May 23, 2014

I just called my local First Choice branch on May 22, 2014 - and was told that the rate for a 5 yr Cd is 2.05% ( and not 2.50%, as I had hoped )
What looked like a nice deal at 2.5% does not seem appealing at 2.05%
..what are your thoughts on this ??

Is this review helpful? Yes:2 / No: 1
First Choice offer

May 24, 2014

Hi Jersey Girl,

Did you ask for the rate on a CD with a checking account? I was told you can only get the rate when you open a Platinum Checking account with it. I'll call again on Monday to see if they are still offering it.

Sol

Is this review helpful? Yes:2 / No: 0
Mike In LA

June 06, 2014

Just called. There was not 2.5 percent offer; it's 2.05.

Is this review helpful? Yes:2 / No: 0
Sol

June 10, 2014

I just called again and confirmed the offer. They are offering a 2.5% APY 5-year CD with a checking account. The CSR confirmed this is available at all locations. Make sure when you ask you tell them the offer with the checking account.

https://www.firstchoice-bank.com/about-locations.htm

Sl

Is this review helpful? Yes:2 / No: 0