Arizona B&T Rewards Checking 6.01% APY guaranteed until April 2009 - branch visit required

Update: As of May 20, 2008, a branch visit is required to open this account.

I recently opened several Cash Rewards Checking accounts at Arizona Bank & Trust and have been blown away by the bank’s outstanding customer service. Of course, the biggest draw of this account is the fact that they are guaranteeing the 6.01% APY, on balances up to 20K, until April 2009. The 20K cap is relatively low, but they do allow customers to open multiple Cash Rewards Checking accounts. The Reward requirements will have to be met for each account to earn the high yield.

Rates:
$.01 - 20K = 6.01% APY
20K+ = 1.51% APY
Balances not meeting Reward requirements = .25% APY

Reward requirements for each monthly cycle:
- 12 signature-based debit card transactions
- 1 Direct Deposit or ACH debit
- Receive eStatements

Noteworthy:
- $25 opening balance required, no minimum balance thereafter.
- Notarization needed on one document only, even if multiple accounts are opened.
- Will waive $10 incoming wire fee for initial funding (YMMV?).
- ACH push/pull using external sources allowed.
- Can request a free set of 25 starter checks.
- Any amount charged to the debit card qualifies for the 12 transactions.
- Up to $20 in ATM fees automatically refunded monthly if Reward requirements are met.
- Written documentation of the rate guarantee comes in the form of a flyer included with the account opening packet.
- No requirements waiver given on the first Rewards cycle. Rewards begin to calculate on the first of the month following account opening.

My account opening timetable:
05.06 – Applied for Cash Rewards Checking accounts by phone (888.906.4500).
05.12 – Received account opening packet.
05.13 – Mailed to ABT signed and notarized documents along with check.
05.16 – Late evening ABT received documents and deposited check.
05.19 – Registered for online banking and eStatements.
05.20 – Received approval for online banking and successfully logged in.
05.30 – Received starter checks and debit cards.

Arizona B&T routing number - 122106015
www.arizbank.com

Thanks, mh83. I agree that the guaranteed 6.01% APY until 4/2009 makes this worthy of a separate thread. If people want to take advantage of this, it's best to do so now, so that the account will be opened before June 1st; you start earning 6.01% APY on the month following the month in which the account was opened. This is different from other Reward Checking accounts I'm familiar with, where you start earning the high rate immediately upon opening the account and funding it, and where the requirements for the first qualification period are waived.

BTW, the statement cycle, during which you must meet the requirements to get the 6.01% APY, begins on the first business day of the month. See Arizona Bank & Trust - Cash Rewards Checking Checking FAQ for more information.

You might want to move some of the info in your initial post to the Quick Summary, unless you want control over its maintenance. Also noteworthy to me was the form AB&T can send you that will automate ACH pulls to your AB&T account. That's a nice substitute for a payroll-type direct deposit, or having to remember to manually make ACH transfers from other instiutions or pulls from payees. Finally, they says they don't do a hard credit inquiry, just ChexSystems.

Also, their toll-free number is 1-888-906-4500. I liked the fact that the application was done by phone for multiple accounts, saving me much typing.

Another useful link: Bank Deals post about Arizona Bank & Trust.

When they say they require 12 signature based transactions, does that not include online purchases?

glxpass said: dvdjunkee said: When they say they require 12 signature based transactions, does that not include online purchases?
Signature-based really means "use your debit card as a credit card", i.e. no PIN-based transactions, and don't specify that you want to use a debit card network, should you see such an option. (I've only noticed that option when paying my AT&T phone bill.) On-line purchases using the debit card as a credit card are fine.

Sounds good to me. I've got a branch a block away, so I'll go open a couple accounts =)

FYI, I called to ask about wiring $19,000 to the account and if there was an incoming wire fee, they said there's a $10 fee. I asked if they can waive it since I'm funding the account but the rep said that there is "nothing in our system to waive the fee". $10 isn't too bad considering the rate, but that's what i was told.

alphaivt said: FYI, I called to ask about wiring $19,000 to the account and if there was an incoming wire fee, they said there's a $10 fee. I asked if they can waive it since I'm funding the account but the rep said that there is "nothing in our system to waive the fee". $10 isn't too bad considering the rate, but that's what i was told.
That’s interesting. Perhaps the waiver depends on the amount being deposited?

I think it’s more of a courtesy than an automatic system waiver. I didn’t ask for a waiver. I told the CSR the amount I was interested in depositing and she advised me to open multiple accounts. She then told me to wire in the initial deposit and she will waive the incoming wire fee and will distribute the funds evenly among my accounts.

Feel free to PM me if you’d like to know the name of the CSR I spoke with.

I look at the bigger picture, I'll have roughly $1000 after a year, enough for that new TV

Any data points on how long they take to process ACH push/pulls?

I receieved my package this morning. There are three places for me to sign, the account agreement, backup withholding certifications, and to open the ATM/debit card. Do I need all three signatures notarized? The going rate in my area for notarizations is $10/signature. I figure I'll save $10 since I don't need the ATM/debit card as I'll be doing my withdrawals through ACH pulls.

alphaivt said: I receieved my package this morning. There are three places for me to sign, the account agreement, backup withholding certifications, and to open the ATM/debit card. Do I need all three signatures notarized? The going rate in my area for notarizations is $10/signature. I figure I'll save $10 since I don't need the ATM/debit card as I'll be doing my withdrawals through ACH pulls.
Just notarize the account agreement. The point is to attest to your identity. Doing that on one document should be sufficient. At least, that's what the personal banker told me.

alphaivt said: I receieved my package this morning. There are three places for me to sign, the account agreement, backup withholding certifications, and to open the ATM/debit card. Do I need all three signatures notarized? The going rate in my area for notarizations is $10/signature. I figure I'll save $10 since I don't need the ATM/debit card as I'll be doing my withdrawals through ACH pulls.
You must sign at all three places but only one signature needs to be notarized.

I was instructed to notarize the one you’re calling “backup withholding certification”, located on the backside of the account agreement.

studiddy said: Charter bank pays the same rate, with a $25k limit and only 10 debit transactions, so it might be useful as a second account if you have $45k to play with.

Yea but they do not state as to when the offer is valid UNTIL:

http://www.charterco.com/personal/turbo.cfm

Shahhere

shade45 said: "Make an automatic payment or direct deposit
Have one or more automatic payment (like a utility bill) or direct deposits each month."


can i do ACH pull from my other bank and eligible for automatic payment?
Yes, this should meet the above requirement, which essentially means any ACH transaction that adds funds to or takes funds from your AB&T Rewards Checking account.

Diedforebates said: Is this offer still valid? I did not see the statement of "...6.01APR until April 2009..." on the website www.arizbank.com. Thx.
It should still be valid. It was when I spoke to the bank last Friday right before I posted. I don’t think the rate guarantee was ever on the website.

Havent seen it mentioned yet, do they do a hard pull with any of the CRA's?

Thanks

I asked in another thread if ACH pushes into AB&T will count towards the monthly direct deposit requirement. mh83 confirmed that it will count towards the requirement.

lol i know, didn't realize you started this thread too. my question was more generalized but now i've narrowed it to AB&T. i'll continue from here

btw, here's our conversation from another thread for other AB&T customers:

alphaivt said:

Is it confirmed that ACH pushes into AB&T count as the direct deposit? I just want to make sure, have you had experience with that?


Yes, an ACH push will satisfy ABT’s requirement.

I want to make sure you understand that ABT does not require Direct Deposit from your employer. The requirement is one Direct Deposit OR one ACH debit/credit per month.

It is okay to call ABT to clarify any conditions you are unsure about. They want you to be able to successfully meet all the requirements and will be happy to let you know if what you are proposing will work.

Just so you know, I will be doing monthly ACH pulls out of ABT to satisfy the requirement.

I was considering doing ACH pulls similar to mh83 taking the interest out each month but I think I'll put $150 in a month. $30 for cell phone payment, $80 for tv/cable bill, and the $40 to pay for the 12 card purchases each month.

i sent back my notorized forms today with a $100 check from my local bank (live in CA). just sent that in get things rolling.

i'm looking through the packet I received and at the section titled "Regulation CC Funds Availability Disclosure." Near the bottom is a section for new accounts that reads:

If you are a new customer, the following special rules apply during the first 30 days your account is open:
Funds from electronic deposits to your account will be available the day we receive the deposit. Funds from deposits of cash, wire transfers, and the first $5,000 of a day's total deposits of cashier's, certified, teller's, traveler's, and federal/state/ and local governemnt checks will be available on the first business day after the day of your deposit if the deposit meets certain conditions (e.g. the checks must be payable to you). The excess of $5,000 will be available on the ninth business day after the day of deposit.

From that paragraph, if I ACH push $20,000 in, it'll be available right away but a wire transfer will have a nine day hold on the remaining $15,000. Can anyone confirm if this has happened to them?

I'm going to call tomorrow to see what the real deal is.

ThursdaysChild said: Suggestion from the CSR when I called to open my account today: fund the account with $20,000 rather than keeping it to $19K and change. You'll still earn a little interest on the amount over $20K and you'll earn interest on the full $20K.

One of you math gurus can probably work out the optimum amount to fund.You will not earn 6.01% apy on the 20k in the first cycle as you will probably not have the card in time to complete the 12 debit purchase transactions for may. ABT does not waive first month.

OP, where does it state that the APY until Arpil 2009?

ThursdaysChild said: I just tested the timing of a pull by Ally from AZB&T: it posted at Ally and at AZB&T the same day, so there goes the strategy of double interest over the weekend.
That’s odd, it worked for me. I successfully emptied my ABT accounts last weekend in this manner:

Using Ally, I scheduled a pull from each ABT account to start on Friday, May 29.
- Friday, May 29, the funds credited to Ally
- Monday, June 1, the funds debited from ABT

After seeing on Monday, June 1, that I withdrew less than I intended to on some accounts, I moved the excess to one ABT account and scheduled another Ally pull to start on Tuesday, June 2.
- Tuesday, June 2, the funds credited to Ally
- Wednesday, June 3, the funds debited from ABT

Ally screenshot
ABT screenshot
(click on images to enlarge)

The May 29th pulls for the rest of my ABT accounts are on additional pages; let me know if you’d like me to upload the screenshots.