PenFed Credit Union VS Bank7

Which bank is better for you?

  • 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
  • Financial Rates: 3.5 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 4.5 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 2.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
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Pros:

  • Personal and business accounts offered
  • Online personal deposit accounts
  • Competitive rates for online accounts
  • Some accounts have low opening amount

Cons:

  • Accounts have monthly fees
  • CDs and checking have high opening amount
  • Interest rates not listed on the website
  • Online accounts only for new customers
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.

Bank7 Review

Bank7 offers a variety of personal and business accounts. Checking, savings, and money market accounts are available for personal deposit or businesses. They offer business and personal CDs, credit cards, and lending options. These accounts can only be opened in a branch location.

Bank7 offers online personal deposit accounts. These include checking, savings, money market accounts, and CDs. The term length of CDs offered are 24-month and 36-month CDs. Only one online money market and savings account per person can be opened. Customers can open more than one CD and checking account.

The Bank7 online accounts offer competitive interest rates. Those rates are much higher than the Bank7 rates for in branch accounts. To earn the most competitive rate, you must have a set amount in the account. Those accounts range from $100 to $10,000, depending on the account.

Some Bank7 online and in branch accounts have low opening required amounts. The savings accounts and Bank7 checking account only require $100 to open. The Super7 checking requires $1,000. The 6-month, 12-month, and 18-month CD terms also require $1,000 to open.

All Bank7 in branch checking accounts have a $1 monthly fee. This fee is easy to waive. Electronic statements, a direct deposit, or keeping a set balance waives the fee. The online Bank7 accounts have a monthly fee of $15. Waive the online fees by receiving electronic statements and keeping a set balance. That amount is $100 for high rate online savings and $5,000 for the online MMA.

Some CDs and one checking account have a high opening required amount. The 24-month, 36-month, and 48-month CDs require $10,000 to open and earn interest. The Premier7 checking account also requires $10,000 to open. The online money market account requires $5,000 to open.

Specific interest rates for in-branch accounts are not listed on the Bank7 website. To get account rates, call a bank representative. The interest rates for the savings account are tiered. To earn the best interest on the accounts requires a set account balance.

The online accounts at Bank7 offer the most competitive interest rates. These online accounts are only for new customers to Bank7. You can open these accounts online. Everything for the account is online.

Read the full Bank7 review.

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