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.

E*TRADE accounts do not have set amounts required to open accounts. You can open the Premium savings, Max-Rate checking, and E*TRADE checking with any amount. To avoid a monthly fee may require a set balance, but not to open the account.

The interest rates for E*TRADE Bank accounts are not tiered. Any balance earns the most competitive interest rate. The highest rates are not competitive with other online-only accounts. But any balance earns the best rate.

E*TRADE Bank accounts offer unlimited ATM fee reimbursement. There are no ATM fees for money withdrawn from ATMs across the nation. To get a refund, you must meet certain qualifications. If you qualify for the refund, the money should be in your account by the end of the day of the ATM transaction. Not all accounts offer ATM fee refunds.

You can open E*TRADE accounts online. They are available for anyone to open across the United States. You can transfer money from external bank accounts into your E*TRADE account.

The E*TRADE Max-Rate checking account has a monthly fee. The fee is $15 a month. Waive the fee by keeping a set account balance in one account or an average in multiple accounts. Having a direct deposit over $200 waives the fee. Making a set amount of trades can also help waive the fees.

The types of personal accounts offered through E*TRADE Bank are limited to new customers. Those accounts include a savings account and two checking accounts. More accounts may be available once you become a customer.

The E*TRADE Bank accounts earn interest, but the rates are low. The interest rates are not competitive with other online accounts. Any account balance earns the most competitive rate. Even the highest rates are not competitive with other online accounts.

E*TRADE offers limited accounts for small businesses. They do not offer traditional accounts for small or commercial businesses. The accounts offered to small businesses include retirement accounts.

Read the full E*TRADE review.