-
Financial Rates:
5.0
-
Customer Service:
4.0
-
Website Experience:
5.0
-
Bank Fees:
5.0
Pros:
- No monthly maintenance fees
- Low required amounts to open accounts
- Accounts offer competitive interest rates
- Interest rates are not tiered
Cons:
- Limited accounts offered
- Must link to an external bank account
- Can only make electronic transfers
- Must be a customer to open CDs
-
Financial Rates:
2.0
-
Customer Service:
5.0
-
Website Experience:
4.0
-
Bank Fees:
3.5
Pros:
- Good variety of accounts available
- Low opening required amounts
- Business accounts offered
- Money market and CDs earn good rates
Cons:
- Low interest rates on accounts
- Tiered interest rates on some accounts
- High rates require eligible checking
- Accounts have monthly fees
There are no monthly maintenance fees for the MySavingsDirect savings account. The CDs do not have monthly maintenance fees. However, there is a fee if you withdraw money before the CD reaches maturity. MySavingsDirect accounts are free.
The MySavingsDirect savings account does not have a required amount to open. You can choose the amount you invest when you open the account. The MySavingsDirect CDs do have a required amount to open. Each of the CD terms requires $1,000 to open.
The interest rates for all MySavingsDirect accounts are competitive. The rates are competitive with other online-only accounts. They are much higher than typical brick and mortar bank rates.
MySavingsDirect account interest rates are not tiered. Any balance in the account earns the most competitive interest rate. The interest rates are competitive with other online accounts.
MySavingsDirect only offers a few accounts. The accounts are a personal deposit savings account and CDs. The CD terms range from 60 months to 120 months. They also offer one 30-month CD term. They do not offer a checking account or money market account. MySavingsDirect does not offer business accounts.
To fund your MySavingsDirect accounts, you must link to an external bank account. MySavingsDirect accounts must link to an existing checking account. Once the accounts are linked, you can transfer money electronically between accounts.
The only way to make deposits or withdrawals are through electronic transfers. Your initial deposit to open the account can be made by mailing in a check. After the initial deposit, all other deposits or withdrawals must be through electronic transfers. Transfer money between your MySavingsDirect account and the linked external bank account.
To open a CD with MySavingsDirect, you must first open a savings account. Once you have a savings account through MySavingsDirect, you may open a CD. The CD terms range from 60 to 120 months. The most competitive CD rate is the six-month CD. MySavingsDirect offers a three-month term, but the rate is lower.
WaFd Bank offers a good variety of accounts. Those include:
- Savings account
- Savings account for minors
- Checking accounts
- Money market accounts
- CD terms from three-months to five-years
- Retirement accounts
- Lending options
- Credit cards
- Small business accounts
- Commercial options
The opening required amounts for WaFd accounts are low. Most savings and checking accounts only require $25 to open. A savings account for minors requires $10 to open. The Stellar Plus checking account requires $100 to open. The money market accounts require $100 to open. All CD terms require $1,000 to open.
WaFd Bank offers business accounts along with personal accounts. Those accounts include small business checking and savings accounts. They also offer some commercial business accounts. To open those accounts, you need to contact a commercial banker.
The WaFd Gold Money Market account has competitive rates. These account rates are the most competitive rates offered at WaFd. They are lower than other online money market accounts but still competitive. The seven-month and 13-month special CDs also earn higher rates than other WaFd CDs.
WaFd accounts besides the Gold MMA and special CD terms have low interest rates. These rates are similar to other brick-and-mortar bank rates. They do not compare to other online-only accounts.
Some WaFd accounts have tiered interest rates. To receive the highest rate for the Stellar Plus checking account requires a $10,000 balance. The regular money market account requires $90,000 to earn the best rate. Even the highest interest rate for these accounts is low.
Specific WaFd accounts require you to open other eligible accounts. To earn the best rates on the special CD terms, you must have an eligible checking account. The rates are only 0.05% higher if you have the checking account.
Most WaFd Bank accounts have monthly fees. The checking account fees range from $0-8 per month. The savings accounts have monthly fees from $3-10 per month. There are ways to waive some of the monthly fees. Those include keeping a set account balance. That balance ranges from $100-$20,000, depending on the account.
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| 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 | |
| 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 | |
The rate information is obtained by Bankrate from the listed institutions. Bankrate cannot guarantee the accuracy or availability of any rates shown. Institutions may have different rates on their own websites than those posted on Bankrate.com. The listings that appear on this page are from companies from which this website receives compensation, which may impact how, where, and in what order products appear. This table does not include all companies or all available products.
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1 APY stands for Annual Percent Yield. It's different from Rate because it takes into account compounding interest for the year.
2 MMA stands for Money Market Account. It's a savings and checking hybrid, allowing you to earn interest and use checks 6 times a month.