Earn Bank VS Comenity Direct

Which bank is better for you?

  • Financial Rates: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 3.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 4.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
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Pros:

  • Competitive interest rates on accounts
  • Low opening required amount for MMA
  • No tiered interest rates on accounts
  • Accounts are entirely online

Cons:

  • CDs have high opening required amounts
  • MMA has monthly maintenance fees
  • Must link accounts to external account
  • Limited accounts offered
  • Financial Rates: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 2.5 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 4.5 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 5.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
Advertiser Disclosure
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Pros:

  • Low opening required amounts
  • Competitive interest rates on accounts
  • No monthly maintenance fees
  • Can open accounts entirely online

Cons:

  • Limited account options
  • Must link an external bank account
  • No checks or debit cards available
  • Early withdrawal fee on CDs is high
Earn Bank Review

earn.bank accounts offer competitive interest rates. The rates are competitive with other online accounts. Their interest rates are much higher than typical bank rates.

The money market account through earn.bank has a low opening required amount. To open this account only requires $100.

The earn.bank money market account does not have tiered interest rates. You do not have to have a set amount in the account to earn the most competitive interest rate.

All earn.bank accounts are entirely online. You can open their money market account or CD terms from anywhere. Because they are an online bank, the interest rates are much higher than typical bank rates. To open an account, you must have a social security number and a government issued ID. You must have the amount required to open the account. You can fund the initial amount with a credit card, or external savings or checking account.

To open a CD with earn.bank requires a large sum. Each of the CD terms require $25,000 to open. The CD terms available are a one-year and a two-year.

The money market account has a monthly maintenance fee of $10. To waive this fee requires an account balance of $10,000. This fee is not assessed for the first three months of opening the account. After that time, if you do not have a $10,000 balance, you will be charged $10 each month that the balance is below $10,000. There is also a $25 paper statement fee. Avoid this fee by signing up for electronic statements.

The easiest way to withdraw money from your MMA is to link the account to an external account. The linked account allows you to also deposit money easily into your earn.bank accounts. You can withdraw money through a wire transfer by calling customer service.

earn.bank does not offer a wide variety of accounts. They only offer one personal deposit money market account and two CD terms. The CD terms offered are a one-year and two-year term. They do not offer checking accounts, savings accounts, or business accounts.

Read the full Earn Bank review.

Comenity Direct Review

The required amounts to open Comenity Direct accounts are low. The Comenity Direct savings account requires $100 to open. Each of the CDs offered through Comenity Direct require $1,500 to open.

The interest rates for Comenity Direct accounts are competitive. Their rates are much higher than typical bank rates. They are competitive with other online accounts. To earn interest on CDs, you must keep $1,500 in the CD. The high-yield savings account only requires $1.00 to earn interest.

Comenity Direct accounts do not have monthly maintenance fees. There are not set account balances required to avoid the monthly fees. Their accounts are free. The CDs have a fee if you withdraw the money before the maturity date, but no monthly fee.

All Comenity Direct accounts can be opened online. You do not need to visit a branch location or mail in part of the application. The entire account opening process is online. You must be at least 18 years old and have a social security number. You must be a resident of the United States with an address. You cannot open an account with a P.O. Box.

Comenity Direct offers limited accounts. They offer a high-yield savings account and CDs. The CD terms range from one to five-years. There are no CD terms shorter than one year. Comenity Direct does not offer checking or money market accounts.

Comenity Direct accounts require a linked external account. You can link an account with your current bank. Once you link the two accounts, you can transfer money electronically. You can also have money directly deposited into your Comenity Direct account.

The Comenity Direct high-yield savings account does not offer checks or debit cards. Federal law allows for six withdrawals each billing statement from a savings account. Make withdrawals through electronic transfers into the linked external bank account.

Comenity Direct offers CD terms from one to five-years. The early withdrawal fees for these CDs are high compared to other online CDs. For terms from 12-months to three-years, the fee is 180 days of interest. For terms four-years or longer, the fee is 365 days of interest.

Read the full Comenity Direct review.

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