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.

There are no monthly maintenances fees for NBKC Bank accounts. There are no required amounts to keep in the accounts to avoid fees. NBKC accounts are completely free.

The opening required amounts for most NBKC accounts are low. The personal account and money market account only require $5 to open and earn interest. The health savings accounts do not have a set amount required to open. Each of the CD terms require $1,000 to open.

The accounts offered through NBKC Bank offer competitive interest rates. The rates are competitive with other online accounts. They are much higher than typical brick and mortar bank rates.

The interest rates for NBKC Bank are not tiered. Any amount over $0.01 earns the most competitive interest rates offered. You will receive a slightly lower interest rate if you have more than $1 million in NBKC accounts. Any amount from $0.01 to $1 million earns a competitive interest rate.

NBKC Bank offers four special CDs. Those terms include a seven-month, 12-month, 14-month, and 18-month CDs. These CDs earn more competitive interest rates than the other accounts. The seven-month and 14-month CD terms require $25,000 to open. The 12 and 18-month CDs require $1,000 to open.

NBKC Bank offers personal and business accounts. The only personal accounts offered are a checking and money market account, with some CDs. There are some business accounts available. Other accounts may be offered if you contact the bank directly.

There are fees to make wire transfers with NBKC Bank. To send a domestic wire anywhere in the United States has a $5 fee. To send or receive an international wire has a fee of $45.

Customer service for online accounts is not available anytime. They have specific hours at their branch locations. The hours are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Time. Some branch locations are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Read the full NBKC Bank review.