PenFed Credit Union VS PurePoint Financial

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

  • High interest rates
  • No monthly fees or required amount
  • PurePoint Best Rate Commitment
  • Financial centers available

Cons:

  • High opening deposits
  • CD deposit requires single transaction
  • Only savings account and CDs offered
  • Online transfers require linked account
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.

PurePoint Financial Review

PurePoint offers competitive interest rates. The rates for their savings account and CDs are high. Earn more money off your money with these accounts.

PurePoint savings account does not have monthly fees. There is no required amount to keep in the account. If you do not keep the $10,000 in the account, you will earn lower interest rates, but there is not a fee. The PurePoint savings account is free.

PurePoint CDs offer the Best Rate Commitment. This helps to ensure you earn the best interest rates for your CD. After the application is complete, you watch the interest rates for ten days. The best rate from that 10-day period is the rate you will receive for the term of the CD.

PurePoint is an online bank. There are no monthly fees. The interest rates are competitive with other online accounts. However, PurePoint offers the low fees and high rates and has some financial centers. PurePoint has over 20 financial centers in Florida, Illinois, New York, and Texas.

PurePoint requires a large amount to open the account. The savings account and CDs requires $10,000 as the minimum deposit. If you do not have $10,000 in the savings account, you will not earn the high-interest rates offered. You will still earn interest on amounts under $10,000, but it will be a much lower rate.

The CDs and savings accounts require a large opening deposit. That deposit for CDs must be in a single transaction. Ten thousand dollars must be in the account to earn the competitive interest rates.

PurePoint only offers a savings account and CDs. The CDs offered vary in terms from six-months to five-years. They offer nine CD terms. PurePoint does not offer a checking account or a money market account. No business accounts are available.

You must link your PurePoint savings account to an external bank account. Since PurePoint does not offer a checking account, an external bank account is necessary. This allows you to transfer funds online into and out of your PurePoint savings account. You can also transfer money into the account by sending a check in the mail, a wire transfer, or a mobile deposit.

Read the full PurePoint Financial review.

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