5Star Bank VS UFB Direct

Which bank is better for you?

  • Financial Rates: 3.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 4.5 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 3.5 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 3.5 Star Icon
No Rate Information
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Pros:

  • Variety of personal accounts offered
  • Low opening required amounts
  • Reimbursement for ATM fees
  • Savings account offers good rates

Cons:

  • Money market account has tiered rates
  • Accounts have monthly fees
  • Daily debit card limits
  • Cannot open accounts completely online
  • Financial Rates: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 3.5 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 4.0 Star Icon
4.01%APY
Savings/MMA
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Pros:

  • Low required amounts to open an account
  • No minimum balance or monthly fees
  • Earn American Airline miles
  • High interest rates on accounts

Cons:

  • No branch locations
  • Highest interest rate requires large sum
  • MMA has a fee and large opening deposit
  • Business accounts and CDs not offered
5Star Bank Review

5Star Bank offers a variety of accounts. They offer personal deposit and business accounts. These include:

  • 5Star checking account
  • E-Checking account
  • Basic savings account
  • Money market account
  • CD terms from six-months to five-years
  • IRA CDs from 18-months to five-years
  • Lending options
  • Credit cards
  • Business checking and money market accounts
  • Business CDs from six-months to five-years
  • Business lending and credit options

5Star Bank has low amounts required to open their accounts. The E-Checking requires $50. The 5Star checking and the basic savings account require $100 to open. Both the money market account and the different CD terms require $1,000 to open.

The 5Star checking account refunds up to five ATM transactions fees per month. You must keep at least $1,000 in the checking account to have ATM transactions refunded. The E-Checking account does not offer ATM reimbursement.

The basic 5Star savings account offers competitive rates. The rates are higher than typical brick-and-mortar rates. This account only requires $100 to open and keep in the account to waive the monthly fee. Any amount in the account earns the competitive rate. These rates are not tiered.

To earn the most competitive rates for the money market account requires an account balance over $1 million. Any balance over $1,000 does earn interest but a lower rate. The rates gradually increase the more money you have in the account.

Most 5Star Bank accounts have monthly maintenance fees. The savings account fee is $2. The money market fee is $5, and the checking account fee is $7. Waive each of these fees by keeping a set amount in the accounts. Those balances range from $100 to $1,000, depending on the account.

5Star has daily limits for your debit card. The limit for point of sale purchases is $1,000 per day. The daily limit for ATM withdrawals is $300.

Accounts through 5Star Bank are not available to open entirely online. To open the accounts, you need to visit a branch location. You may be able to open the accounts through the mail. Contact customer service for more information.

Read the full 5Star Bank review.

UFB Direct Review

UFB Direct checking and savings accounts have a low required opening amount. The opening deposit is only $100. To receive the highest interest rates, you must keep a certain amount in the accounts. If the balance is below the set amount, you will earn a lower interest rate, but not be charged a fee.

Most UFB Direct accounts do not have a monthly maintenance fee. UFB Direct savings and checking accounts are free. There is no monthly fee and no amount required to keep in the account.

Earn miles for everyday purchases with the UFB Airline Rewards Checking account. When you use your debit card for purchases, you earn miles. Earn one mile for debit transactions over $3.00. The miles go toward American Airlines. You can earn up to 120,000 per calendar year. UFB Direct may add more airlines in the future.

The interest rates on UFB Direct accounts earn very competitive interest rates. The savings, checking, and money market accounts earn some of the highest rates on the market. For some accounts, you must keep a high balance in the account. However, if you do not have that set amount in the account, you will earn a lower rate. The lower rate on those accounts is still much higher than your typical brick and mortar banks rates.

There are no branch locations for UFB Direct. It is an entirely online bank. To talk to customer service, you can call a 24-hour phone line. You can reach customer service through mail or email. You can access everything about your account online.

Certain balances are required to earn the highest interest rates on the UFB Direct savings accounts. The basic savings account requires $20,000 in the account to earn the highest interest rates. The Premium savings account requires $25,000 to earn the highest interest rates. Any amount lower than the required amount will still earn interest, just a much lower rate.

The UFB Direct money market account has a monthly fee and a large sum required as the opening deposit. The monthly fee is $10 a month. Waive the fee by keeping a balance of $5,000 in the account. The required opening deposit is $5,000. You will earn interest and can write checks from the MMA.

UFB Direct does not offer business accounts or CDs. The accounts offered are a personal checking, saving, and money market account. There are options for loans, but not business accounts or CDs.

Read the full UFB Direct review.

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