First Priority Bank if offering a 1.50% APY electronic savings account rate that is guaranteed through September 30, 2011. That's one of the best savings account rates according to the BestCashCow rate tables. The downside? Only residents of NY, NJ, and PA are eligible to recieve the rate according to the CSR I spoke with. In addition, First Priority is dedicated to concierge service. That usually means they service higher net worth individuals like a private bank. It's unusual to have such a competitive rate that is also guaranteed for a period of time. After September 30, First Priority can adjust the rate downward.

To get this rate, the account must be opened online and you must also opt-in to receive e-statements. According to the CSR, the account can be funded via an ACH. The minimum balance for this rate is $7,500. You'll earn .50% APY for balances from $50 - $7,499.

The bank holds $280 million in assets and operates five branches in Eastern PA, new the New Jersey border. It's Texas Ratio of 24.7% (see what Texas Ratio means) is slightly higher than the national average and it has a Return on Equity of -3.81 % versus the national average of 7.75%. The bank is FDIC insured.

A recent study of the number of home sales in the second quarter of 2011 shows that more than 30 percent of that figure is due to sales of foreclosed homes or homes in various stages of foreclosure. In 2010, that figure stood at only about 24 percent, so there has been a 6 percent increase in the number of homes that have sold that have at least started foreclosure proceedings.

One of the reasons so many home buyers are looking to foreclosed properties is because the sale prices are an average of 32 percent less than comparable homes that are not foreclosures. In addition to that, buyers can typically move into a foreclosure faster and the selling process is much shorter than the process of selling a non-foreclosed property.

But buyers aren’t the only ones who can benefit from the rise in sales of foreclosed properties. There are many distressed homeowners who can benefit from this trend. There are many homeowners who do not qualify for a loan modification or refinancing. This leaves them with very limited options. In some cases, the most obvious and strategic option is to put their home up for a short sale. This gives buyers the lower prices they are looking for as well as a streamlined buying process which means they can move into the home quickly while the home seller avoids full foreclosure. It seems like it’s a win-win situation all the way around.

On the other side of the coin, another study found that the number of homes that went into foreclosure during the second quarter of the year actually dropped. The percentage fell to its lowest point in four years.

Now for the bad news. Despite the fact that more foreclosures are selling and the number of homes entering foreclosure has dropped, the percentage of homeowners who are currently delinquent on their mortgage payment has increased to 8.44 percent which is an increase of 0.12 percent from the first quarter of the year. According to Mike Fratantoni, vice president of research and economics at MBA, the increasing delinquencies is troubling because it shows that there is not sufficient job growth to help bolster the economy. And since new delinquencies often end up as foreclosures, that could only mean that the number of foreclosed homes and properties is going to rise.

Does it ever seem like this vicious cycle is going to end?

See mortgage rates where you live.

While airlines regularly carry miles on the accounting books at 1.4 to 2 cents a miles, it is widely believed they sell miles to their credit card partners for no less than 0.8 cents a mile. In other words, the 25,000 miles - enough for an free domestic ticket on many airlines - which you were getting for opening a credit card was believed to cost the bank or credit issuer $200. In 2010, $200 seemed like a steep price for Citibank, Bank of America or Chase to pay to issue a credit card to someone who could very well be just seeking a free trip.

It seemed like the credit card rewards programs had to be cut, but they actually exploded into mid-2011. Banks are now offering more and more miles or other incentives to draw consumers in.

The extension into new still more rewarding airline programs started last year when Chase introduced a new British Airways card that offered 100,000 miles with a new account if you spent over $1,000 in three months. The offer has since been modified, is occasionally withdrawn, and, unlike most offers, requires that you pay the annual fee in the first year ($95).

Chase quickly followed the British Airways offer with a United Airlines card that provides you with 40,000 miles, and a Southwest card that offered 50,000 points.

Not to be outdone, Citibank is offering two American Airlines cards that give you 75,000 American Airlines points each as soon as you have spent $1500 on one and $4000 on the other. These programs are discussed here.

American Express has even mildly increased the points that it is giving for new card members to its wildly successful Starwood program (30,000) and its Delta program (40,000 as soon as you have charged $1000).

If airline and hotel miles with a specific airline or hotel are not entirely your thing, Citibank and Chase also have reward program (Citibank Thank You rewards and Chase Sapphire rewards) that give you flexibility to use miles across several airlines or even get cash. This article discussing the Chase Sapphire Preferred program outlines an option to redeem your Sapphire reward points for a $500 as soon as you charge $3,000 to the card!

The major airlines have made it more difficult to redeem miles for flights on domestic routes at the lowest reward levels (and made miles less valuable), yet nobody believes that they are selling these miles to credit card partners for less than they were only one year ago. Citibank and Chase are giving away hundreds of dollars in frequent flier miles for each new account; in fact, Chase will even just give you $500 instead of the miles for opening their account. It seems highly inconsistent with the world that we are living in and it is difficult to understand how the banks are making these programs possible. It also seems like something that consumers should be taking advantage of (as long as they remain cautious of the potential adverse impact on their credit scores).