DCU VS GTE Financial

Which bank is better for you?

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

  • Variety of accounts offered
  • Competitive interest rate for savings
  • Can open all accounts online
  • Low opening amounts and no fees

Cons:

  • Must become a member first
  • Tiered interest rates on MMA
  • High balances to earn interest
  • Only one withdrawal per month for Ltd.
  • Financial Rates: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 3.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
Advertiser Disclosure
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Pros:

  • Variety of accounts offered
  • Competitive interest rates on accounts
  • Low opening required amounts
  • Add-on option for CDs

Cons:

  • Must become a member
  • Daily withdrawal limits
  • Money market account has tiered rates
  • Accounts have monthly maintenance fees
DCU Review

Digital Federal Credit Union offers a wide variety of personal deposit accounts. These accounts include:

  • Free checking with different benefit levels
  • HSA checking
  • Primary savings
  • Money market savings
  • Ltd. savings
  • Holiday Savings Club
  • Regular CDs with terms from 3 to 60 months
  • Jumbo CDs from 3 to 60 months
  • Jump-Up CDs with a 15-month and 27-month term
  • QuickStart CDs from 3 to 60 months
  • Loans and credit cards
  • Business accounts and lending options

The Primary savings account offers competitive interest rates. For the first $1,000, you earn over a six percent interest rate. Any amount over $1,000 earns a lower rate of 0.25 percent. Between the two rates, the account earns competitive interest rates. The Primary savings account is the account you must open to become a member of DCU.

You can open all DCU accounts online. You do not need to visit a branch location to open the accounts. To open DCU accounts, you must be at least 18 years old. You must provide a government-issued ID and Social Security Number. Your address, phone number, and date of birth are also required.

The highest amount required to open a DCU checking or savings account is only $5. To earn interest for some accounts requires a larger balance. The CDs require $100 or $500, depending on the CD. Jumbo CDs require $25,000. DCU accounts do not have monthly fees or a required amount to keep in the account to avoid a fee.

To open an account with DCU, you must become a member of the credit union. You become a member by opening the Primary savings account with at least $5. Once you open that account and become a member, you can open any other DCU account.

The DCU money market account has tiered interest rates. To earn the most competitive interest rates requires a balance of at least $100,000. Lower balances earn interest, just not the highest rate.

The Ltd. savings account requires a balance of $25,000 to earn any interest. Any balance over $25,000 earns the most competitive rate, but balances below do not earn any interest.

Only one withdrawal is allowed per month from the Ltd. savings account. For every other withdrawal, there is a fee of $25. To earn interest on this account requires a balance of $25,000. There is no required amount to open the account.

Read the full DCU review.

GTE Financial Review

There are a variety of accounts available from GTE Financial. They offer personal savings, checking, and money market accounts. They offer personal CDs, loans, and credit cards. They also offer business accounts and accounts specifically for students.

GTE offers CDs and a checking account with competitive interest rates. The rates are competitive with online accounts. These account interest rates are much higher than typical bank rates. To earn the most competitive rate on the checking account, you must meet set requirements. That includes receiving eStatements, having a direct deposit over $500, and 15 debit card transactions each month.

GTE accounts have low amounts required to open. The savings accounts only require $5 to open. To earn interest requires $100. Each of the CD terms require $500 to open. The checking accounts do not have a required amount to open.

GTE Financial CDs offer an Add-On Feature. This allows you to add money any time during the CD term. You must add at least $20 each time you add money to the CD. Sometimes there is a limit of $6,000 you can add to the CD. GTE Financial offers promotions where there is not a cap on the amount you can add to the CD.

Before you can open an account with GTE Financial, you must first become a member of the credit union. You are eligible to join if a family member is a member of the credit union or if you work for a specific company. Your business can join, and living in certain areas makes you eligible to join. If these don’t work, you can join CU Savers, a non-profit educational financial club. There is a one-time $10 fee to become a member.

GTE Financial has daily withdrawal limits. You can withdraw up to $500 per 24-hour period from an ATM. There is a $5,000 limit that you can transfer from another bank into a GTE Financial CD.

The money market account with GTE Financial has tiered interest rates. To earn the most competitive rate on your money requires a balance of $100,000. Balances below this amount earn interest, just not the most competitive rate.

Most GTE Financial accounts have monthly maintenance fees. The checking account fees range from $4.95 to $9.95 each month. The Go Premium checking account has a fee of $4.95. There is no way to waive this fee. You can pay the fee with Go Points, but you cannot waive the monthly fee. There are ways to waive the other checking account fees.

Read the full GTE Financial review.

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American Express
Savings (Rate as of 11/21/2024)
APY 4.00%
Rate 3.92%
Min to Open $0
Min to Earn APY $0
Monthly Fee $0.00
Min to Avoid Fee $0
Checkbook No
Member FDIC
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EverBank
Savings (Rate as of 11/21/2024)
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 No monthly maintenance fee, $0 to open, easily grow your money
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