-
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:
1.5
-
Customer Service:
4.5
-
Website Experience:
4.5
-
Bank Fees:
3.5
Pros:
- Higher rates than typical banks
- Good variety of accounts online
- Free ATM transactions
- Digital Wallet
Cons:
- Monthly fees for most accounts
- High opening required amounts
- Must wait for accounts to activate
- Tiered interest rates on 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.
The interest rates for Sun Canyon are higher than typical bank rates, but lower than online accounts. The accounts do have tiered interest rates. But even the lowest tier rates are higher than typical bank rates.
Sun Canyon Bank offers online accounts. Those accounts include:
- Checking account
- Savings account
- Money market account
- Standard CDs in 6, 12, and 24-month terms
Sun Canyon allows for eight ATM transactions each month, or up to $25 per billing cycle, free of fees. The other banking institution may charge a fee. Sun Canyon will not charge a fee for those first ATM transactions.
Through the mobile app, you can make purchases and payments with Sun Canyon Digital Wallet. You load your debit card into the mobile app. You can then make purchases. Sun Canyon also supports Apple, Google, and Samsung Pay.
Most Sun Canyon accounts have fees. The money market fee is $10. To avoid fees, you must keep at least $2,500 in the account. The savings account has a fee of $5 per month. To avoid this fee, you must have a balance of at least $250. The checking account has a fee of $5 if you have less than $5,000 in your checking account. To waive the fees, you can also have set combined balances. The savings account requires $2,500 in combined accounts. The MMA requires $5,000, and the checking account requires $20,000 in combined accounts.
The opening required amounts for Sun Canyon accounts are high. The savings account requires $250 to open. The checking account requires $1,000 to open. The CDs all require $1,000 to open. The money market account requires $2,500. You must keep these amounts in the accounts to avoid the monthly fees.
Apply for an account with Sun Canyon by filling out an application online. Once your application is complete, customer service sends an email when the account activates. You can start using the account once you receive the email.
To earn the most competitive rates, you must have a high account balance. The checking account requires $50,000 for the best rates and the money market requires $100,000. The savings account requires $250,000. Balance over $250 for the savings account and over $2,500 for the MMA and checking accounts earn interest, just not the highest rate.
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| Savings (Rate as of 4/20/2024) | |
| APY | 4.30% |
|---|---|
| Rate | 4.21% |
| For APY | $1 |
| Monthly Fee | $0.00 |
| Checkbook | No |
| Member FDIC | |
| Savings (Rate as of 4/20/2024) | |
| APY | 5.00% |
|---|---|
| Rate | 5.00% |
| For APY | $0 |
| Monthly Fee | $0.00 |
| Checkbook | No |
| Member FDIC Plus, no monthly fees and unlimited free external transfers | |
| Savings (Rate as of 4/20/2024) | |
| APY | 4.35% |
|---|---|
| Rate | 4.35% |
| For APY | $0 |
| Monthly Fee | $0.00 |
| Checkbook | No |
| Member FDIC | |
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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.