Alliant Credit Union VS Synchrony Bank

Which bank is better for you?

  • Financial Rates: 4.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 4.5 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 5.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
Advertiser Disclosure
Star Icon Star Icon Star Icon Star Icon Star Icon

Pros:

  • No monthly maintenance fees
  • ATM fee reimbursement
  • Low opening required amounts
  • Variety of personal deposit accounts

Cons:

  • Must qualify to become a member
  • No business accounts offered
  • To earn interest requires qualifications
  • Jumbo CD rates similar to regular CDs
  • Financial Rates: 4.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 4.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 5.0 Star Icon
2.25%APY
Savings/MMA
Advertiser Disclosure
Star Icon Star Icon Star Icon Star Icon Star Icon

Pros:

  • No monthly fees or required balances
  • Variety of CD terms available
  • Competitive interest rates
  • Reimbursed ATM fees

Cons:

  • Best perks require Diamond member
  • No checking account offered
  • High opening amounts for CDs
  • Tiered interest rates not offered
Alliant Credit Union Review

Accounts offered through Alliant do not have monthly maintenance fees. The only fee is if you receive paper statements. To keep the account open requires a $5 balance. To earn interest does require $100 in all the savings accounts.

Alliant participates with over 80,000 ATMs free of charge. If you withdraw money from an ATM not in their network, Alliant will reimburse those fees. They reimburse up to $20 per month in ATM fees. Deposits, withdrawals, transfers, and checking account balances qualify for a rebate. The high rate checking, and teen checking account qualify for ATM reimbursement.

The amounts required to open Alliant accounts is low. The savings accounts require $5 to open. The checking accounts do not list a set amount to open. All the regular CD terms require $1,000 to open. Alliant does offer jumbo CDs, but they require $25,000 to open.

Alliant offers a good variety of personal accounts. They offer a free, high-rate, and teen checking account. They offer two savings accounts and a savings account for kids. Personal credit cards, lending options, and insurance options are also available.

To open Alliant accounts, you must become a member of their credit union. You must meet qualifications to become a member. Those requirements include working with specific companies or be related to someone who is a member of Alliant. If you do not meet those requirements, you may be able to qualify through Support Foster Care to Success. Find out if you are eligible on the Alliant website.

Alliant does not offer specific business accounts. Only personal deposit accounts are available. Those accounts include savings accounts, checking accounts, and CDs. Personal credit cards, lending options, and insurance are also offered.

The interest rates on Alliant accounts are not tiered. To earn the most competitive interest rate, you must meet specific qualifications. Those include receiving eStatements and having at least one monthly electronic deposit. Direct deposits help you qualify.

The Alliant jumbo CDs interest rates are only slightly higher than the regular CD rates. The jumbo CDs require $25,000 to open, but do not offer much higher rates than the regular CD rates. The regular CDs require $1,000 to open. Alliant offers six regular and six jumbo CDs.

Read the full Alliant Credit Union review.

Synchrony Bank Review

The high yield savings account and money market account do not have any monthly fees. Synchrony does not require a set amount be kept in their accounts. There is no required amount to open a savings or money market account.

Synchrony offers a variety of CD term lengths. The terms range from three months to five years. As with any CD, the longer the term length, the higher the interest rates offered on the account. There are no monthly fees for the CD accounts. A fee is charged if you withdraw your money before the CD reaches maturity.

The interest rates for all Synchrony accounts are competitive. The savings and money market accounts and CDs are much higher than your typical bank rates. They are competitive with other online-only accounts.

Synchrony will refund the ATM fees charged by other financial institutions. The fees for every account holder will be reimbursed up to $5 each billing cycle. If you are a Diamond Reward member, you will receive unlimited ATM reimbursements.

All customers receive some perks for being an account holder with Synchrony bank. To earn the best perks, you must become a Diamond Reward member. To qualify to be a Diamond Reward member, you must have over $250,000 in Synchrony accounts. You must also be a customer for at least five years.

There is no checking account offered through Synchrony Bank. They offer a high yield savings account, money market account, and CDs.

The amount required to open a CD is high. Synchrony offers a variety of different CD terms. To open any of the terms requires $2,000 as a minimum opening deposit.

The savings and money market rates do not increase based on how much money you invest. If you invest $1,000 or $250,000, you will earn the same interest rate for each amount. Some banks offer tiered interest rates based on how much money you invest in the account.

Read the full Synchrony Bank review.

Sponsored Offers
From Our Partners

Advertiser Disclosure
Sponsored Offers
American Express
Savings (Rate as of 12/12/2024)
APY 3.90%
Rate 3.83%
Min to Open $0
Min to Earn APY $0
Monthly Fee $0.00
Min to Avoid Fee $0
Checkbook No
Member FDIC.
Next >
Capital One
Savings (Rate as of 12/12/2024)
APY 3.80%
Rate 3.80%
Min to Open $0
Min to Earn APY $0
Monthly Fee $0.00
Min to Avoid Fee $0
Checkbook No
Member FDIC.

Promoted offer: It only takes about 5 minutes to open a fee-free account.
Next >
EverBank
Savings (Rate as of 12/12/2024)
APY 4.75%
Rate 4.64%
Min to Open $0
Min to Earn APY $0
Monthly Fee $0.00
Min to Avoid Fee $0
Checkbook No
Member FDIC.

Promoted offer: No monthly maintenance fee, $0 to open, easily grow your money
Next >
BMO Alto
Savings (Rate as of 12/12/2024)
APY 4.45%
Rate 4.35%
Min to Open $0
Min to Earn APY $0
Monthly Fee $0.00
Min to Avoid Fee $0
Checkbook No
Member FDIC.
Next >
AxosBank
Savings (Rate as of 12/12/2024)
APY 4.86%
Rate 4.86%
Min to Open $0
Min to Earn APY $0
Monthly Fee $0.00
Min to Avoid Fee $0
Checkbook No
Member FDIC.

Promoted offer: Get up to 4.86% APY on savings and 0.51% APY on checking
Next >