Discover Bank VS Key Bank

Which bank is better for you?

  • Financial Rates: 4.5 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 4.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 5.0 Star Icon
3.60%APY
Savings/MMA
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Pros:

  • No monthly fees or required balances
  • Personal deposit accounts offered
  • Can open all accounts online
  • Competitive interest rates on accounts

Cons:

  • Only personal deposit accounts
  • Not wide variety of accounts
  • Outgoing wires have a high fee
  • MMA has high opening balance and fee
  • Financial Rates: 3.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 3.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
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Pros:

  • Savings account for kids
  • Many CD term length options
  • Business accounts are available
  • Relationship Rewards on certain accounts

Cons:

  • Low-interest rates and monthly fees
  • Amounts to waive fees is high
  • Not all checking accounts earn interest
  • High required amounts to open CDs
Discover Bank Review

Most Discover online bank accounts do not have monthly fees. They also do not have required balances to keep in the accounts. The online checking account, savings accounts, and CDs do not have a monthly fee. They are completely free. Only the money market account has a fee if your balance falls below $2,500.

Personal deposit accounts are available through Discover. They offer online savings, money market, and checking accounts. Their CDs range in terms from three months to ten years. Discover offers IRA CD terms as well as regular CDs.

These Discover accounts are entirely online accounts. Open the savings, money market accounts, and CDs online or by calling customer service. The checking account can only be opened online. Everything for these accounts is done online.

Discover accounts offer competitive interest rates. The rates for every account are much higher than your typical brick and mortar bank rates. The rates are competitive with other online accounts. The only account that has tiered interest rates is the money market account. The difference between the two-tiered rates is very small. Balances over $100,000 in the money market account earn a slightly higher rate. All balances earn competitive rates.

Discover Bank offers only personal deposit accounts. Those accounts include a savings, checking, and money market account, as well as CDs. Discover Bank does not offer any business accounts.

There is not a wide variety of personal deposit accounts offered through Discover. Discover offers one savings, one money market, and one checking account. No business accounts are available. CD terms range from three months to ten years.

One way to access your money in your Discover accounts is through a wire transfer. There is a fee to complete each wire. That fee is $30 for each outgoing wire sent from your Discover account. There is not a fee for domestic wire transfers received into Discover accounts. There may be a $20 fee for wire transfers received in a foreign currency.

The Discover money market account has a high opening required amount. That account requires $2,500 to open. There is a monthly fee of $10. Waive that fee by keeping $2,500 in the money market account.

Read the full Discover Bank review.

Key Bank Review

KeyBank offers a savings account for kids 18 years old and younger. Their parent or guardian must have a KeyBank account. This account only requires $10 to open. There are no monthly fees or balance requirements. This savings account earns interest.

KeyBank has a variety of CD term lengths, including short-term CDs. The short-term lengths vary from seven days to six months. There are a number of tiered CD accounts. The terms vary from six months to 10 years with many options in between. The jumbo CDs range from seven days to 11 months.

KeyBank offers a variety of business accounts. Checking, savings, and CD accounts are available. A Mastercard and business loans are offered. Other business services include wire transfers and HSA accounts. Automated tax payments, electronic payments, and invoicing are other features of the business accounts.

KeyBank checking account and reward credit card holders earn rewards points. Points are earned by making debit and credit card transactions. Earn points by using online banking, ATMs, and mobile deposits. Direct deposit, automatic debits and credits, and online statements also qualify. Redeem points for gift cards, cash back, travel, and other items. There is an annual fee to earn rewards. Key Privilege or Key Privilege Select checking accounts do not have the annual fee.

The interest rates on KeyBank accounts are lower than other online-only accounts. The rates are competitive with typical bank rates. Most all KeyBank accounts have a monthly maintenance fee. The only checking account without fees is the KeyBank Hassle-Free account. That account does not earn interest. All KeyBank savings accounts have a monthly fee except the kids account.

The amounts required to waive the monthly maintenance fees are high. The lowest amount required for checking accounts is $500. The other checking accounts require $10,000 to $100,000. KeyBank savings accounts require $300 to $25,000 to waive the monthly maintenance fees.

Not all KeyBank checking accounts earn interest. The only two interest earning accounts are the most expensive accounts to keep open. To waive the monthly fee you must keep $10,000 to $100,000 in KeyBank accounts. You can also waive the fee by having a mortgage through KeyBank. Direct deposits totaling $1,000 to $5,000 each month also waives the fee.

The amount required to open a CD is $2,500 for the short term CDs and the tiered CDs. The jumbo CDs require $100,000 to open. You earn Relationship Reward points for opening any of the KeyBank CDs.

Read the full Key Bank review.

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