The my consumers credit union does look appealing. The only thing I don't like is the CC interest rates they list on their site are variable, and are the lowest. It does not list the full range. And since you only need to spend 1k/mo to get the highest APY, I guess the interest really wouldnt matter. The debit swipes would be easy to circumvent. Just use amex serve and do $0.01 a day for however many days or just leave it on there (guess theres always a chance that wouldn't qualify). Can anyone chime in here on what their experience was like? What is their increase process like? If not, I will call in and ask.
I do like this one small town bank. It has started to acquire various Citizens Bank branches. It is not a credit union but acts like one. It has 5.01% APY on up to 5k. Each person can have two checking accounts. Only requirements are 10 debit swipes a month per account (easy). They also offer only one visa. 7.5% variable 0 bt fee, 3% CA fee. Weird point structure, you dont start earning cash back on the Visa cc until you have spent 3k, it goes from .25 to .5 then .75 first. With the high APY I could care less about its CC rewards.
The other odd duck is the 5.01% APY high yield checking accounts do not post as a monthly cash dividend. Instead they are points that are grouped into an account with the Visa. So naturally you'd probably want to just open two checking accounts and each month roll over all the rewards into the 2nd checking account. Seems to be an easy 260-520 per year. In the few convos I have had with them by email they have said they are going to try to get the Visa APR Fixed. You have to apply for all this in branch only. In central Illinois.
Regarding LMCU, I was not aware they were not so lenient. I remember they had a 6% promo for a while. But I always thought in the back of my mind one day I'd get their 3% 15k checking and hopefully wait a while and get approved for the 6.5% visa.
I will post an update to the Auto Loan Approval if I can get a good rate!