What does a credit union owe to its members?
It’s been something I’ve been looking into since the America First Credit Union discourse began. You see, last year, America First started sponsoring Real Salt Lake’s stadium in a $100 million deal, which has caused some consternation for folks who don’t like that company’s name. But that’s not the only sponsorship deal AFCU has signed: It’s also paying for its name on the new ballpark in Daybreak, as well as the University of Utah’s new ballpark. Mountain America Credit Union, meanwhile, has paid for its name to be on Sandy’s expo center, along with Arizona State’s football stadium.
Here’s the thing: The research shows that purchasing stadium naming rights seems not to do much for a business, in either direction. Stock prices for businesses that purchase them don’t differ from those that don’t. Nor is there a long-term impact on profitability, either.
So given that, credit unions like America First should redirect the money they spend on sponsorships to instead improve the rates their members receive, both in savings and in loans. That’s my opinion, anyway.
But I like to test my opinions to see if they’re backed up by the data. Do we see big differences in the rates from our local credit unions? Do the big ones offer better or worse rates than the smaller ones? I compiled rates across eight of the largest credit unions in Salt Lake County, then compared them to national bank and credit union averages, to find out.
Methodology
In the beginning, credit unions were very restrictive about who they allowed in their voting block, and some still are. For example, Utah Power Credit Union only allows power company workers, electricians, and their family members in. (They also have excellent rates, on both the savings and loans side.)
These days, most people who do their banking with a credit union belong to one with a wider target audience. The ones we’ll be looking at today mostly allow anyone who lives or works within Salt Lake County and some surrounding areas to join. That includes America First, Mountain America, Cyprus Credit Union, Goldenwest Credit Union, Granite Credit Union, and UFirst Credit Union.
There are two additional entrants, which I allowed in our survey because of their size and eligibility for a large portion of Utahns. Deseret First Credit Union wants only members, employees, or family members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to join. I also added Utah First Credit Union, which confusingly has a similar name to UFirst Credit Union once the latter changed its name from University Credit Union in 2022. Utah First Credit Union asks people to join the Community Volunteers of Utah group (a $5 annual fee) to be eligible.
Meanwhile, I wanted to compare those rates to national bank and credit union averages. That data comes from Ratedex. In general, credit unions have better rates than banks do, because banks have to send some of their profits to Uncle Sam in the form of taxes, while credit unions are typically tax-free. As you’d expect, the banks lobby Congress about changing this because they believe it’s unfair, but the credit unions fight back by pointing out their own popularity and by threatening to make rates worse.
Comparing rates
The specific rates from each of the credit unions came from their individual websites. In cases where I couldn’t find particular rates on a website (due to them not offering a certain kind of banking product or not making it obvious in their website’s navigation), I left that space blank on the below table.
I was a little surprised to see that many of the credit unions don’t change their rates as often as I expected — some of them hadn’t yet been changed since the beginning of 2024. Others, though, kept them updated on a weekly or even daily basis. These searches were done on Wednesday of this week, March 27, 2024, for posterity.
Enough setup! Let’s look at some numbers. Here are Utah’s credit union rates, for various loan types. All numbers are APY (Annual Percentage Yield). These numbers typically reflect best-case scenarios: loans “starting at” a given percentage which may vary due to credit score or other factors.
(Christopher Cherrington | The Salt Lake Tribune)
What do we see? Who has the best rates depends on what kind of loan you want to get. Cyprus Credit Union has the best 30-year mortgage rates, but Goldenwest has the best 15-year rates. Want a new car? Mountain America or Goldenwest might be your best bets. Want a new boat or RV? Goldenwest and Cyprus will save you the most money. Want an unsecured personal loan for three years? Deseret First is your best bet, if you’re an eligible member. They also have the best rates on credit cards.
Let’s look at the savings side of things. Which credit union is going to allow you to grow your savings most?
(Christopher Cherrington | The Salt Lake Tribune)
When it comes to certificates of deposit — where you agree to keep a certain amount of money in the bank without withdrawing it for a certain period of time in exchange for higher dividend rates — it really depends on the length you’re willing to commit to. America First has the best rates for 1- and 3-year CDs, while Utah First’s 18-month CD has the highest rate in its class. Goldenwest’s CD rates look like the worst, but even they have better rates on unusual 8-month or 14-month terms if you’re willing to get a little wacky.
None of the credit unions are very good at giving out interest in basic, non-fee checking or savings accounts. America First and UFirst have the best of these in the checking department, giving at least a tenth of a percent, but it’s not going to make you rich. Granite and Utah First give out that same .1% in their savings accounts.
(Other, smaller credit unions sometimes have better rates on these types of accounts, so check that out if you’re potentially eligible for one.)
Unique offers and things to know
We should also note: Rates aren’t the only thing that matters when it comes to choosing a credit union. If you look up reviews of these credit unions on the internet, you’ll very rarely see people talking about rates. More often, the discussion turns to customer service or the number or location of physical branches.
Some credit unions include “shared branching,” which allows you to do banking activities at another credit union’s locations. Cyprus, Deseret First, Goldenwest, Utah First, and UFirst all participate in this.
The other fun differentiator: Different credit unions can offer different financial products based on what they believe their members want. Here are some things to know:
• America First’s sponsorships give it some unique discounts — like being able to buy Utah Grizzlies tickets for $8, or 10% off single-game Jazz tickets. But AFCU has also been criticized for adding a $6 monthly fee for checking accounts without asking for opt-in from individual members, so watch for that.
• Mountain America offers a “Christmas Club” certificate of deposit, in which members can contribute up to $10,000 to a fund that earns a 5.25% APR, then matures on Nov. 1 in time for Christmas gift spending.
• Cyprus’ loan rates include a .5% discount for payments that come from a Cyprus checking account. Goldenwest does the same, but with a .25% discount.
• Deseret First offers a “Mission Savings” account, which offers a 4.25% APR rate as teenagers save for the LDS Church mission fees and expenses. That account allows one free withdrawal per six months, others cost a $25 fee.
• Goldenwest offers a “Gold Account”, offering a 6% APY on an account that can only be funded in a limited number of ways, primarily through rounding up to the nearest dollar on debit card purchases, or cashback payments on credit cards. Cyprus offers a similar product, but with a 10% APY.
• UFirst offers a loan designed for in vitro fertilization fees for hopeful parents, the average cost for which in Utah is $12,000.
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