Cardinal Bank Offering 1.21% APY Checking Account for D.C. Metro

Cardinal Bank, headquartered in Mc Lean, VA and with 27 branches in the Washington D.C. metro area is offering a checking account that pays a 1.21% APY on balances up to $100,000. Last year when we covered the account, it paid 2.01% APY and its drop is indicative of the overall decline of bank rates in general. Still, 1.21% APY today is higher than the best online savings and money market rates. Past that amount the rate drops to 0.31% APY.

The checking account is a blend between a high yield checking account and a rewards checking account. In order to get the 1.21% APY, depositors must either set up direct deposit or do 10 debit card transactions per statement cycle. It's not exactly a classic reward checking account because it doesn't require a combination of behaviors - direct deposit, debit card usage, and usually online banking or bill pay together, and, it has a much higher reward limit ($100,000) than most rewards checking accounts.

The account can be opened via a branch and partially opened online. The online application starts the process but to complete the opening a customer must visit a branch.

Other features of the account include no check card or ATM fees from Cardinal and $15 in rebates each statement for ATM charges from other banks. The minimum opening deposit is $100 and a $5,000 daily balance must be maintained to avoid a $15 monthly fee.

Financially, Cardinal Bank has a Texas Ratio of 2.23% down from 5.31% last year. The average Texas Ratio for the country is 17.60% (the lower the Texas Ratio the better). The bank's assets have grown from $1.6 billion in 2006 to over $3 billion at the end of 2012.

For the sake of full disclosure, I want to mention that Cardinal Bank is currently an advertiser on BestCashCow. I'd like to thank the bank for their support. Advertisers like Cardinal Bank help keep the lights on and allow BestCashCow to grow and add more features.

• Learn more about Cardinal Bank First Choice Checking
• Don't live in the Washington D.C. area? Find other checking accounts in your local area.