There is no better offer right now than the debit card reward offer from PerkStreet.  Those opening a checking account with PerkStreet and maintaining a $5,000 balance get 2% cash back on debt card purchases.  You get 1% if your balance falls below the $5,000 mark.  The company ever offers free checks, free mailing of all deposits and is part of the huge (37,000+) STARsf ATM network.  This is a great offer considering an overwhelming number of banks do not offer any rewards what so ever on debit card purchases.  The company claims that this cash back offer will not go away, but you must always be wary of that when switching for an offer like this one.

One of the unfortunate outcomes of the recent Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 is that a lot of card perks for those with good credit are gone.  One of those perks was 0% foreign transaction fees.  Visa itself charges 1% so when banks offered cards with 0% it was especially nice.  A good deal of cards, particularly small credit cards (many credit union based) have only the 1% fee on all foreign transactions.  Most cards, however, are a whopping 3%.

The best card that I’ve found so far to get 0% is the Capital One Venture One Rewards card.  It also has 1.25 reward points and no annual fee.  Be aware, however, that the annual fee (after the initial period) is rather high.  Nevertheless, it’s perfect if you’re not going to maintain a balance.

Going into the month of April, we find the best rate for a CD, or certificate of deposit, at 2.25%.  At Country Bank in Massachusetts, you only need $500 to stock away some money in their bank-leading CD rate.  You can find Country Bank branches in Massachusetts.  They exist in Belchertown, Brimfield, Charlton, Four Corners, Leicester, Ludlow, Palmer, Paxton, Ware, West Brookfield, and Wilbraham.  These CDs are not available online, but they can be obtain over the phone.

Looking for the best bank offers in North Carolina?  You can still find regional deals.  Take a look at the following financial instituions below.

Small business banking:

First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company, Raleigh, NC

Best credit union:

State Employees Credit Union, Charlotte, NC

Best regional bank:

First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company, Raleigh, NC

Who is offering the best bank offers on interest rates?  Well, by and large as we enter 2010, we’re seeing competitive interest rates for savings accounts at around 1.5%, with most below 1%.  Incredible Bank, an online bank, is now offering over 2% on its checking accounts, but it’s unlikely that this will last.  Maybe just long enough to get you to switch your bank account (not worth it).

Shore Bank seems to be intent on keeping its reign as the best paying savings account that I could find.  This in spite of the fact it dropped its interest rate significantly to 1.70%.