PenFed Credit Union VS KS StateBank

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: 4.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 5.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
Advertiser Disclosure
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Pros:

  • Variety of accounts offered
  • Most accounts have low opening amounts
  • Competitive interest rates on accounts
  • No monthly maintenance fees

Cons:

  • Not all accounts are available online
  • MMA has tiered interest rates
  • Jumbo CDs rates same as regular CDs
  • Fee for bank-to-bank transfers
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.

KS StateBank Review

A variety of accounts are available through KS StateBank. They offer a variety of personal deposit accounts. Those accounts include checking accounts, savings and money market accounts, and CDs. KS StateBank offers regular CDs and jumbo CDs. The CD terms range from six months to seven years. They also offer business accounts.

Most KS StateBank accounts have low amounts required to open the accounts. The checking and savings account require $100 to open. The regular CDs require $500 to open. The Jump Up CD requires $1,000 to open, and the MMA requires $2,500. The jumbo CDs do require $100,000 to open.

The Checking Plus account and CDs offer competitive interest rates. The savings and money market accounts offer slightly lower rates. Those rates are still good rates for online accounts. These rates are competitive with other online-only accounts. The rates are much higher than typical brick and mortar bank rates.

KS StateBank accounts do not have monthly maintenance fees. The accounts do not have required account balances to avoid monthly fees. There is a fee for paper statements or if you make more withdrawals each month than allowed.

Not all KS StateBank accounts are available online. The online checking account is only for residents of Kansas, Missouri, and Arizona. The other online accounts include a savings account, money market account, and CDs. Those accounts are available for any citizens around the United States. Open other accounts by visiting a local branch location.

The KS StateBank money market account has tiered interest rates. To earn the most competitive rate requires a balance of $100,000. Amounts under $100,000 earn interest, just not the most competitive rate. This account requires $2,500 to open. There is no required amount to keep in the account; you earn lower rates depending on your balance.

The interest rates for KS StateBank jumbo CDs are the same as their regular CDs. They do not offer higher interest rates. The jumbo CDs require $100,000 to open. Jumbo CDs are only for consumer accounts. They must be opened online.

KS StateBank has a fee for electronic transfers made between banks. They do not charge a fee for money transferred from another bank into your KS StateBank account. However, there is a $3.99 fee for each transfer made from KS StateBank to another financial institution.

Read the full KS StateBank review.

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