Axos VS California First National Bank

Which bank is better for you?

  • Financial Rates: 2.5 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 3.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 5.0 Star Icon
0.25%APY
Savings/MMA
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Pros:

  • Variety of accounts available
  • Competitive interest rates on accounts
  • Most accounts do not have monthly fees
  • Low opening required amounts

Cons:

  • Earning interest has set requirements
  • Tiered interest rates on accounts
  • Not all rate information listed
  • Interest rates may change without notice
  • Financial Rates: 1.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 3.5 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 2.5 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 3.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
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Pros:

  • Reimbursement of ATM fees
  • Competitive interest rates on accounts
  • Interest rates are not tiered
  • Free first order of checks with checking

Cons:

  • Not a wide variety of accounts
  • High opening required amounts
  • Accounts have monthly fees
  • Not all CDs offer competitive rates
Axos Review

Axos Bank offers a good variety of bank accounts. They offer cash-back and interest-earning checking accounts. They offer a checking account for those over 55 and for teens. Axos offers money market and savings account, along with CDs. Their CD terms range from three to 60 months. Axos offers checking, savings, and money market accounts for businesses. They also offer lending options for personal accounts and business accounts.

The Axos Bank accounts offer competitive interest rates. The rates are slightly lower than other online accounts but still competitive. Axos Bank interest rates are much higher than typical bank rates. There is not a set account balance required to earn interest.

The Axos Bank accounts do not have monthly fees. The accounts do not have set balances that you must keep in your account to avoid fees. These accounts are free. The only accounts with a fee are the Second Chance and World checking accounts. That fee is $6.95 a month with a direct deposit for the Second Chance account. The World checking account fee is $30 if your balance falls below $150,000.

The minimum opening required amount for Axos accounts are low. Most of the Axos checking accounts require $50 to open. The World checking account requires $75,000 to open. The savings accounts require $50 to open. The High Yield savings and IRA savings accounts requires $250. The High Yield money market account and CDs both require $1,000 to open.

The Axos Rewards checking account has requirements to earn competitive interest rates. The more requirements you meet, the more interest you earn. To earn the most competitive rate, you must have a direct deposit into your account and make 15 debit card transactions each month.

Most Axos accounts have tiered interest rates. To earn the most competitive interest rates requires a high account balance. The highest tier requires more than $100,000 in the account. Some checking accounts will not earn interest if the balance is over $150,000.

Not all the rate information for Axos accounts is on the website. The disclosures say accounts have tiered interest rates. The Axos website does not list the rates for the different tiers. To find the specific rates for the tiers call customer service.

Interest rates for Axos accounts may change without notice. This applies to their checking, savings, and money market accounts. The rates are subject to change without giving the customer notice. The interest rates on CDs are also subject to change at the bank's discretion.

Read the full Axos review.

California First National Bank Review

You can withdraw money from any ATMs with the specific “Plus” logo. If you withdraw money from another ATM, you are reimbursed for the fees charged. CalFirst will reimburse up to $6.00 each statement cycle in ATM fees.

Most CalFirst accounts offer competitive interest rates. The interest rates are not tiered, so you earn the highest rates offered on any balance in the account. Interest is paid monthly on the actual daily balance.

The interest rates for CalFirst accounts are not tiered. Any amount you have in their accounts earns the competitive interest rates. You do not have to have a certain amount in the account to earn the most competitive rates.

The first order of checks is free when you open an interest checking account. You get an ATM card when you open an interest checking account. Free online bill pay comes with each CalFirst checking account opened.

CalFirst does not have a wide variety of accounts. No business accounts are available, only personal deposit accounts. One money market account and savings account are available. There is an interest checking and one regular checking account. CalFirst only offers five different CD terms.

CalFirst accounts have high opening amounts. The money market account and CDs require $5,000 to open. The interest checking account requires $2,500 to open. The savings account and regular checking account both require $1,000 to open.

The accounts at CalFirst all have a monthly fee. The fees range from $10 to $20 a month, depending on the account you open. Waive the fee by keeping a set amount in CalFirst accounts. You can also have a combined balance between a variety of CalFirst accounts.

Not all the CD terms offer competitive rates. The most competitive rates are the three-month, six-month, and the one-year terms. The two-year and three-year terms have interest rates much lower than the other terms. Regular CDs require $5,000 to open. The IRA CDs require $2,000 to open. The only fees are if you withdraw the money before the maturity date.

Read the full California First National Bank review.

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