Citizens Bank VS PurePoint Financial

Which bank is better for you?

  • Financial Rates: 1.5 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 4.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 3.5 Star Icon
No Rate Information
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Pros:

  • No set amount to open most accounts
  • Good variety of accounts available
  • Overdraft Pass
  • Can open most accounts online

Cons:

  • Products not available everywhere
  • Accounts have monthly fees
  • Limited CD terms offered
  • Low interest rates for accounts
  • Financial Rates: 3.5 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 4.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 5.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
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Pros:

  • High interest rates
  • No monthly fees or required amount
  • PurePoint Best Rate Commitment
  • Financial centers available

Cons:

  • High opening deposits
  • CD deposit requires single transaction
  • Only savings account and CDs offered
  • Online transfers require linked account
Citizens Bank Review

Checking, savings, and money market accounts do not have required opening amounts. However, to earn the best rates, you must be a Platinum member. A Platinum member has at least $25,000 in Citizen Bank accounts. The basic checking and savings accounts do not require you to be a Platinum member.

Citizens Bank offers a variety of accounts. These accounts include:

  • Four personal checking accounts
  • Three personal money market accounts
  • Four personal savings accounts
  • CD terms of 11, 14, and 24-month CDs
  • IRA accounts
  • Personal credit cards, lending, retirement, and investment options
  • Business savings, checking, and money market accounts
  • Business CDs
  • Credit cards, lending, and investment options for businesses

Checking and money market accounts include $5 Overdraft Pass. If you overdraw your account for $5 or less, there will not be a fee. To avoid other overdraft fees, deposit money into your account as soon as possible. There is no limit to how many overdrafts qualify for the pass.

If you live where Citizens Bank account are available, you can open most personal accounts online. The application is entirely online. To open the College Saver savings account, you need to visit a branch location. Business and IRA account must also be opened in a branch.

Accounts are not available everywhere. Citizens Bank currently operates in 11 states. If you do not live in one of these states, you cannot open an account. Those states are:

  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Massachusetts
  • Michigan
  • New Hampshire
  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • Ohio
  • Pennsylvania
  • Rhode Island
  • Vermont

Citizen Bank accounts have fees. The fees range from $3.99 to $25 each month. There are ways to waive the fees. Those included making deposits and having set account balances. The balances range from $2,500 to $25,000, depending on the account. You can waive some money market and savings account fees by opening a Platinum checking account.

There are only three standard CD terms offered through Citizens Bank. They offer 11, 14, and 24-month CDs. The 14-month CD is an online-only account. Each term requires $1,000 to open. Business and IRA CDs are also available.

Most Citizens Bank accounts have low rates. The interest rates compare to typical brick-and-mortar bank rates. The CDs offer slightly higher rates if you also open a Citizens Bank checking account. Even those higher rates are not competitive with other online accounts.

Read the full Citizens Bank review.

PurePoint Financial Review

PurePoint offers competitive interest rates. The rates for their savings account and CDs are high. Earn more money off your money with these accounts.

PurePoint savings account does not have monthly fees. There is no required amount to keep in the account. If you do not keep the $10,000 in the account, you will earn lower interest rates, but there is not a fee. The PurePoint savings account is free.

PurePoint CDs offer the Best Rate Commitment. This helps to ensure you earn the best interest rates for your CD. After the application is complete, you watch the interest rates for ten days. The best rate from that 10-day period is the rate you will receive for the term of the CD.

PurePoint is an online bank. There are no monthly fees. The interest rates are competitive with other online accounts. However, PurePoint offers the low fees and high rates and has some financial centers. PurePoint has over 20 financial centers in Florida, Illinois, New York, and Texas.

PurePoint requires a large amount to open the account. The savings account and CDs requires $10,000 as the minimum deposit. If you do not have $10,000 in the savings account, you will not earn the high-interest rates offered. You will still earn interest on amounts under $10,000, but it will be a much lower rate.

The CDs and savings accounts require a large opening deposit. That deposit for CDs must be in a single transaction. Ten thousand dollars must be in the account to earn the competitive interest rates.

PurePoint only offers a savings account and CDs. The CDs offered vary in terms from six-months to five-years. They offer nine CD terms. PurePoint does not offer a checking account or a money market account. No business accounts are available.

You must link your PurePoint savings account to an external bank account. Since PurePoint does not offer a checking account, an external bank account is necessary. This allows you to transfer funds online into and out of your PurePoint savings account. You can also transfer money into the account by sending a check in the mail, a wire transfer, or a mobile deposit.

Read the full PurePoint Financial review.

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