Golden 1 Credit Union VS Quontic

Which bank is better for you?

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

  • Variety of accounts offered
  • CDs offer competitive interest rates
  • Low opening required amounts
  • Freedom Checking Account for teens

Cons:

  • Must become a member first
  • Cannot open all accounts online
  • Monthly maintenance fees
  • Not competitive rates for most accounts
  • Financial Rates: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 4.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
Advertiser Disclosure
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Pros:

  • Competitive interest rates on accounts
  • Low opening required amounts
  • Good variety of accounts available
  • No monthly fees on accounts

Cons:

  • Accounts have tiered interest rates
  • Checking account rates have requirements
  • Limited CD terms available
  • No ATM fee reimbursement
Golden 1 Credit Union Review

Golden 1 offers a wide variety of accounts. They offer free checking, interest-earning checking, and checking for students. They offer CDs, a money market, and a basic savings account. They also offer savings accounts for youth, the holidays, and big purchases. They also offer credit cards, investment options, insurances, and loans.

Golden 1 CDs offer good interest rates. The rates are higher than typical brick and mortar bank rates. They are slightly lower than other online accounts. A few of the CD terms do offer rates that are competitive with other online CDs.

Most Golden 1 Credit Union accounts have low opening required amounts. The opening amounts range from $1 to $100 depending on the account. Some accounts do not have a required amount. The CDs require $1,000 to open. The money market account does require $2,500 to open.

This checking account is set up specifically for students ages 16 and 17. To have this account, you must maintain a B average in school. Teens can have freedom of their own finances and learn to manage their money. There is no required amount or monthly fee. They offer online and mobile banking, and mobile deposit.

To open an account with Golden 1, you must first become a member. If you live or work in California, you qualify to be a member. Family members of other Golden 1 members also qualify. You can qualify if you belong to certain employee groups. If these options do not work, you can join the Financial Fitness Association to become a member.

Not all Golden 1 accounts can be opened online. Some accounts require visiting a local branch location to open. All the CDs and most of the savings accounts can be opened online.

The premier checking account and the money market account both have monthly fees. The fees are $5 each month. You can waive those fees by having a set amount in each of the accounts. The checking account requires $1,000, and the money market account requires $2,500.

Most accounts with Golden 1 do not offer competitive interest rates. The checking, savings, and money market account rates are not competitive with other online accounts. They are competitive with other brick and mortar rates.

Read the full Golden 1 Credit Union review.

Quontic Review

Quontic accounts earn competitive interest rates. These account rates are competitive with other online accounts. The interest rates are much higher than typical bank interest rates.

The required opening amounts for Quontic accounts are low. The regular savings account requires $100 to open. The checking account and money market account requires $500 to open. Each of the CD terms require $1,000 to open.

There are a variety of accounts offered through Quontic. They offer personal savings, checking, and money market accounts. They also offer personal CDs and IRA CDs. Quontic offers business accounts. Those include business checking and savings accounts. Quontic offers personal and business lending options, including reverse mortgages.

The Quontic checking account does not have a monthly fee. The money market account only has a fee if you receive a paper statement. That fee is $5 per month. If you opt into paperless statements, there will not be a fee on the account. Most Quontic accounts do not have a minimum balance required to keep in the account to avoid the fees. The regular savings does have a $3 fee if your account balance falls below $100.

Quontic accounts have tiered interest rates. To earn competitive rates on accounts requires a high account balance. To earn the highest rate for the MMA requires a balance over $100,000. The regular savings account requires a balance of $250,000 to earn the most competitive rate. Amounts over $5,000 for the MMA earn competitive interest rates, just not the highest. The regular savings account requires a $50,000 balance to earn a competitive rate.

The Quontic checking account earns very competitive interest rates. To earn those rates, you must meet the requirements. You must have 15 point-of-sale debit transactions and one ACH transaction in or out of the account. You must meet these requirements each statement cycle. If you do not meet these requirements, you will not receive the competitive rates.

Quontic Bank has limited CD terms available. They do not offer a CD term shorter than 12-months. The longest CD term is a 60-month term. There are five total CD terms available with Quontic Bank. Each CD requires $1,000 to open. The CDs and IRA accounts are only for personal deposit accounts.

Quontic offers over 90,000 surcharge-free ATMs. If you use an ATM not in their network, Quontic will not reimburse you the ATM fee. The ATMs in their network include AllPoint, MoneyPass, and SUM. The ATMs at Citibank branches are also included.

Read the full Quontic review.

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Min to Open $0
Min to Earn APY $0
Monthly Fee $0.00
Min to Avoid Fee $0
Checkbook No
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Min to Open $0
Min to Earn APY $0
Monthly Fee $0.00
Min to Avoid Fee $0
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Min to Open $0
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Min to Open $0
Min to Earn APY $0
Monthly Fee $0.00
Min to Avoid Fee $0
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APY 4.35%
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Min to Open $100
Min to Earn APY $5,000
Monthly Fee $0.00
Min to Avoid Fee $0
Checkbook No
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APY 4.30%
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Checkbook No
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MMA (Rate as of 12/21/2024)
APY 4.10%
Rate 4.02%
Min to Open $0
Min to Earn APY $0
Monthly Fee $0.00
Min to Avoid Fee $0
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APY 4.10%
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APY 4.75%
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Min to Open $10
Min to Earn APY $0
Monthly Fee $0.00
Min to Avoid Fee $0
Checkbook No
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Rate 4.02%
Min to Open $0
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Checkbook No
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