By Lisa Gerstner
From Kiplinger’s Personal Finance
Here are the credit union medal winners in Kiplinger’s Personal Finance annual survey of the best financial institutions. All three credit unions are open to anyone in the United States.
Gold: Alliant Credit Union
Where it is: Alliant operates fully online (www.alliantcreditunion.org).
How to join: Become a member of the Foster Care to Success charity. (Alliant pays the $5 membership fee on your behalf.) You must also open a savings account; Alliant makes a complimentary $5 deposit for you.
Alliant’s free High-Rate Checking account provides a 0.25 percent yield if you receive electronic statements and have one monthly electronic deposit (including direct deposits, ATM deposits, mobile deposits and transfers from other institutions) into the account. You’re reimbursed up to $20 per month in out-of-network ATM fees, and the first box of checks is free. Teens ages 13 to 17 can use a similar checking account….