Dear Dr. Don,
Have you heard of or have any information on Redneck Bank?
— Don Down-Home
Dear Don,
OK, you got me to look. Redneck Bank is the Internet banking division of the Bank of the Wichitas. It is FDIC-insured. The Bank of the Wichitas is rated 5 stars on the Bankrate “Safe & Sound® Star Ratings” page.
The bank is offering a high-yield checking account, as described in the Bankrate feature “High-yield checking: A good bet.” In this case, the hook — besides the whole redneck thing — is that you can earn 4 percent annual percentage yield on up to $10,000 on deposit in a redneck rewards checking account.
The bank just lowered the teaser rate to 4 percent, effective May 5, 2009, from the previous rate of 5.25 percent.
However, to earn the 4 percent reward, you must use your Redneck Bank Visa check card 10 times every month in check card sales transactions.
Amounts on deposit over $10,000 in the account earn 1 percent APY. But if you don’t make enough check card transactions in a month, you’ll earn a pea-picking 0.25 percent.
Redneck Bank also has a money market account where you can earn 2 percent APY on the first $35,000 on deposit and 1.65 percent for amounts over $35,000. This rate also became effective May 5, 2009, down from the 3.1 percent/2 percent APY offered previously.
The money market account allows six free withdrawals per month and charges a $5 fee for each additional withdrawal after the sixth withdrawal.
Redneck Bank has closed its account to new customers. However, there are many other banks that offer high-yield checking accounts at various rates of return. The CheckingFinder Web site can help you shop for the right account.
You also can compare yields and terms available at other banks nationwide by using Bankrate’s “Compare Interest Rates” feature.
