-
Financial Rates:
4.0
-
Customer Service:
5.0
-
Website Experience:
3.5
-
Bank Fees:
3.0
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:
4.5
-
Customer Service:
4.0
-
Website Experience:
4.0
-
Bank Fees:
4.5
Pros:
- Competitive rates on all accounts
- Low opening required amounts
- Good variety of accounts
- Can send and receive money with Zelle
Cons:
- Tiered interest rates for most accounts
- Cannot open all accounts online
- Accounts not available to everyone
- Monthly fees for some accounts
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.
Gateway First offers competitive interest rates on most accounts. The interest rates are much higher than typical bank rates. The online savings account and 12-month CD offers the most competitive interest rates.
The opening required amounts for Gateway First accounts are low. The online savings account requires $10 to open. The CDs need $1,000 to open. The checking accounts require either $50 or $1,000 to open. The money market account does require $2,500 to open.
Gateway First offers a good variety of accounts. These include:
- Three personal checking accounts
- Online savings account
- CD terms from six-months to five-years
- One, two, and three-year IRA CDs
- Home and consumer loans
- Business checking account
- Commercial and specialty lending options
Customers can send and receive money through Zelle. Gateway First Bank offers Zelle as a feature for each of their checking accounts. You can initiate Zelle payments through the mobile app or online.
Gateway First accounts have tiered rates. The CDs require $500 to open, but to earn interest requires a $25,000 balance. Each CD earns competitive rates if you have $25,000. You cannot add money to the CD after the opening amount. The money market account requires $100,000 to earn the most competitive rate. The checking account requires $50,000.
Not all Gateway First accounts can be opened online. The only accounts available online are the high yield savings account and CDs. The CD terms range from six-months to five-years.
Gateway First accounts are not currently available in all 50 states. If you live in the following states, you cannot open an account:
- Alaska
- California
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Illinois
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- Montana
- New Hampshire
- New York
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
Some Gateway First Bank accounts have monthly fees. The fees for the checking accounts are between $7-8. There is a fee of $0.15 per debit item if you do not keep a set account balance. To waive the account fees, you must keep an account balance between $250 and $2,500.
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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.