Home Savings Bank VS PenFed Credit Union

Which bank is better for you?

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

  • Competitive interest rates for CDs
  • Personal deposit accounts offered
  • Can open CDs online
  • Online mortgage options

Cons:

  • High opening required amounts
  • Monthly maintenance fees are high
  • Cannot open all accounts online
  • MMA has tiered interest rates
  • Financial Rates: 4.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 3.5 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 3.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
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Pros:

  • CDs have competitive interest rates
  • Low opening required amount
  • CDs offered to save for education
  • Low monthly fee for checking account

Cons:

  • High opening balances for CDs
  • Low-interest rates
  • Best rates require large balances
  • Do not offer a variety of accounts
Home Savings Bank Review

Home Savings Bank CDs offer competitive interest rates. The rates are competitive with other online accounts. Their rates are much higher than typical brick and mortar bank rates. The rates are competitive whether you open the account in the branch or online.

Personal deposit accounts are available through Home Savings Bank. These accounts include a checking account, money market account, CDs, and IRAs. Not all accounts can be opened online. Only the CDs and IRAs have the option to open online.

Home Savings Bank offers CDs that are entirely online. These accounts are available for anyone across the United States to open. You must be at least 18 years old. You must be a resident of the United States or a resident alien. You must have an address in the U.S., a social security number, and a driver license or other ID.

Home Savings Bank offers online mortgage options. You apply for your loan online. A loan officer will contact you by phone, email, or online chat to answer your questions. Because the mortgage is online, the rates and fees are typically lower than other banks.

Each of the accounts with Home Savings Bank has a high required opening amount. The CDs, money market account, checking account, and IRA accounts all require $5,000 to open. The opening required amount is the same whether opening in the branch or online.

The monthly maintenance fees for Home Savings Bank accounts are high. The fee for the money market account and checking account is $35 a month. Waive this fee by keeping a set balance in the account. The checking account requires $5,000 in a combination of Home Savings Bank accounts to waive the fee. The money market account must have $2,500 in the account to waive the fee.

Not all Home Savings Bank accounts have the option of opening online. Only the Home Savings Bank CDs and IRAs have the online option. To open the checking or money market account visit the branch location. There is one branch location in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The interest rates for the Home Savings Bank MMA are not competitive. These rates are also tiered. To earn the best rate requires an account balance over $200,000. Even the highest rate is not competitive with other online money market accounts. Only the CDs with Home Savings Bank earn competitive interest rates.

Read the full Home Savings Bank review.

PenFed Credit Union Review

PenFed CDs have competitive interest rates. The rates on CDs are competitive with online-only accounts. The longer you can invest the money in the CD the higher the interest rates you will earn. CD terms range from six months to seven years.

All accounts, other than CDs, have a low opening balance of only $25. The more you invest in the money market account, the higher interest rates you will earn. However, you are only required to have $25 to open an account with PenFed.

PenFed offers CDs designed to save specifically for education costs. These CDs only require $500 to open instead of $1,000. The education CDs range in term from one year to seven years. The interest rates earned on these CDs are competitive with other CD accounts.

Only the checking account has a monthly maintenance fee. The fee is low and is easy to waive. The fee is waived by having a daily balance of $500 in the account. Having a direct deposit into the account of more than $500 each month will also waive the fee. The savings account and money market accounts do not have a monthly fee.

To open a CD, PenFed requires $1,000. The CD terms vary in length from six months to seven years. The longer you can invest your money in a PenFed CD the higher interest you will earn over the CD term. The interest rates on these CDs are competitive with other online-only CDs.

The interest rates for PenFed savings, checking, and money market accounts are not competitive. The rates are low. Those interest rates are competitive to your typical bank rates. Online only accounts offer much higher interest rates for these accounts.

To earn the highest interest on the PenFed checking account, a daily balance of $20,000 to $50,000 is required. If you do not have at least $20,000, you will earn much lower interest rates. Any amount earns interest. To get the highest rates, your daily balance must meet the requirements.

PenFed only offers one checking account, savings account, and money market account. This does not allow you to find the account that best fits your needs.

Read the full PenFed Credit Union review.

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