Looking for some competitive CD rates in New Jersey? First Choice Bank is offering some of the highest rates in the state. Top rates include:

• 36 month CD paying 1.64% APY
• 48 month CD paying 1.83% APY
• 60 month CD paying 2.10% APY

The CDs have a $1,000 minimum deposit.

The bank is headquartered in Lawrenceville, NJ and has five branches around the Trenton area. The bank was founded in 2007 and has seen strong growth since then, increasing assets from $55 million to $669 million in 2011. That makes it one of the fastest growing banks in the state and the country for that time-period. Banks that are in high growth mode usually offer higher deposit rates since they need the cash for lending.

The growth hasn't hurt the bank's safety and soundness. Its Texas ratio is a low 6.94% versus the national average of 19.96% (a lower Texas ratio generally means a safer bank). In general, I've found that banks opened after 2006 tend to have lower Texas ratios as they avoided much of the lending excesses of the decade and started off with clean balance sheets.

Visit First Choice Bank

If you don't live near Trenton, NJ don't despair. In our database, I found 36 banks and credit unions nationally offering over 2% on a 3-year CD and over 200 banks offering at least 1.50% APY. The average national 3 year CD rate is 1% APY. There is not reason to settle for this average rate. With five minutes of research you can find a much better rate in your neighborhood or online.

Find the best CD rates in your local area. Remember, don't settle for average rates on your money.

Previous Weekly Rate Spotlights

• March 13, 2012 - The City National Bank of Metropolis Offering 1.26% APY Money Market Account
• March 6, 2012 - North Country FCU Offering 2.80% APY 60-Month CD - Northern Vermont
• February 27, 2012- El Paso Area Teachers FCU Offering 2.98% APY Five Year CD
• February 21, 2012 - Cardinal Bank Offering 2.01% APY First Choice Checking
• February 13, 2012 - Citizens State Bank Offering 4.00% APY Variable IRA
• February 6, 2012 - Liberty Bank & Trust Offering 1.31% APY Savings Account Rate
• January 30, 2012 - WYMAR Federal Credit Union Offering 2.27% APY 24-Month CD
• January 23- 2012 - Frederica Credit Union Offering 1.65% APY 12-Month CD - Open to All
• January 17, 2012 - Western Heritage Bank Offering 2-Year CD Paying 1.75% APY
• January 9, 2012 - Navy Federal Credit Union Offering 3.00% APY 20-Month IRA CD
• January 5, 2012 - Consumers Credit Union Offers 4.09% APY Rewards Checking Account - Nationally Available

Check back next Monday for a new bank deal. Email any deals you know about to ratedeal (at) bestcashcow.com. Feel free to also share them below. If you're a bank and have a great deal not listed on BestCashCow, register for access and add the deal to the site.

Email Rate Updates for BestCashCow Readers

Users can now register to receive the best bank rates via email every Monday. You can choose to either receive the best rates for banks across the country, or you can receive the best rates for your state. You can cancel delivery at any time and also login to change which product rates you receive for which state. This email service is free. You can register for the service here.

The City National Bank of Metropolis is offering a very competitive money market account that pays 1.26% APY. That's the fourth highest money market rate in the country according to the BestCashCow database and higher than the very best online savings or money market account rates - 1.15% APY. There is a minimum balance of $2,500 required to receive that rate and at that deposit level and above, there is no monthly fee on the account. The money market also comes with check writing, making it a hybrid money market/checking account. The account can only be opened in a branch.

The City National Bank of Metropolis is, natually enough, headquartered in Metropolis, IL, at the bottom of the state near the Tennessee border. The bank operates two branches in Metropolis, one at 2070 East 5th Street and the other at 423 Ferry Street.

From a safety and stability standpoint, the bank's numbers look good. Its Texas Ratio is 7.92% versus the national average of 19.96%. A lower Texas Ratio generally means that the bank is more stable and has assets in reserve to absorb any bad loans. Texas Ratios above 100% are warning signs of bank distress. The bank also looks to be well run, with a Return on Equity of 13.26% versus the national average of 6.78%. Bank assets have almost doubled since 2006, growing from $190 million to $343 million in 2011.

Visit the City National Bank of Metropolis

If you don't live near Metropolis, IL don't despair. In our database, I found 33 banks offering 1% APY or higher on a money market account. The average money market yield according to our database of millions of rates is 0.22%. With five minutes of research you can find a much better rate in your neighborhood or online.

Remember, don't settle for average rates on your money.

Previous Weekly Rate Spotlights

• March 6, 2012 - North Country FCU Offering 2.80% APY 60-Month CD - Northern Vermont
• February 27, 2012- El Paso Area Teachers FCU Offering 2.98% APY Five Year CD
• February 21, 2012 - Cardinal Bank Offering 2.01% APY First Choice Checking
• February 13, 2012 - Citizens State Bank Offering 4.00% APY Variable IRA
• February 6, 2012 - Liberty Bank & Trust Offering 1.31% APY Savings Account Rate
• January 30, 2012 - WYMAR Federal Credit Union Offering 2.27% APY 24-Month CD
• January 23- 2012 - Frederica Credit Union Offering 1.65% APY 12-Month CD - Open to All
• January 17, 2012 - Western Heritage Bank Offering 2-Year CD Paying 1.75% APY
• January 9, 2012 - Navy Federal Credit Union Offering 3.00% APY 20-Month IRA CD
• January 5, 2012 - Consumers Credit Union Offers 4.09% APY Rewards Checking Account - Nationally Available

Check back next Monday for a new bank deal. Email any deals you know about to ratedeal (at) bestcashcow.com. Feel free to also share them below. If you're a bank and have a great deal not listed on BestCashCow, register for access and add the deal to the site.

Email Rate Updates for BestCashCow Readers

Users can now register to receive the best bank rates via email every Monday. You can choose to either receive the best rates for banks across the country, or you can receive the best rates for your state. You can cancel delivery at any time and also login to change which product rates you receive for which state. This email service is free. You can register for the service here.

BankDirect, a subsidiary of Texas Capital Bank, has offered a Mileage Checking with Interest program for many years. The program is structured so that it pays you interest in miles instead of cash (there is a virtually meaningless cash interest component of 0.01% APY). For each $1,000 on deposit each month, you receive 100 American Airlines miles, up to $200,000 on deposit. Hence, a $200,000 deposit will generate 20,000 American miles each month and 240,000 each year. When interest rates were higher, the program made little sense although it often drew the attention of commentators in the financial space, including Ron Lieber of the New York Times.

With interest rates very low, the program is very interesting, particularly to those who can extract real value from frequent flier miles. In the past, I’ve been able to use frequent flier miles at a value over 8 cents per mile (mainly by redeeming them for business class seats on transcontinental flights), giving the 240,000 miles that I could earn on $200,000 deposited at BankDirect over a year an imputed value of $19,200. With the best savings rates at 1%, the miles can create more value than the $2,000 (probably closer to $1000 depending on your tax bracket) that your $200,000 will generate in a savings account over the next 24 months. To boot, the $19,200 mileage value is tax free (BankDirect takes the position that frequent flier miles are the property of the airline as stated in the terms and conditions and does not report their issuance to the IRS).

However, there are some good reasons not to get too excited about the BankDirect program. These include the following:

1) American Airlines is in bankruptcy. Your frequent flier miles are not only the property of the airline (they are not “yours”) and they are a credit of the airline. While United and Delta went through bankruptcies and their mileage programs were not adversely affected, there is no certainty that American Airlines will remain a going concern, and it is entirely possible that, whatever the outcome, its miles will have no value or a lesser value than they have today.

2) American Airlines has already followed Delta’s lead in dramatically decreasing the value of their frequent flier program. Round-trip domestic tickets can already rarely be had for fewer than 50,000 miles. If you are planning to use your miles to redeem tickets for the family to go to Disney World in low season, you may in fact be better off getting interest in a high yielding online savings account.

3) Whereas previously miles earned through BankDirect went towards meeting American's annual status qualification and to its Million Miler status qualification, that policy changed in December 2011. If you are an airline status hog like me, this program is no longer a shortcut to getting status.

4) BankDirect implemented a $12 monthly service fee on all mileage accounts. This charge can rapidly deplete accounts with smaller balances and offset the value of the miles you receive.

In short, if you can extract a lot of value out of American Airlines miles and have a lot of cash on hand, you might want to consider putting as much as $200,000 in a BankDirect account. You should take the risks of American’s bankruptcy into account, and you should check the best online savings rates and local savings rates first.