SmartyPig VS UFB Direct

Which bank is better for you?

  • Financial Rates: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 3.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 5.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
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Pros:

  • Free savings account
  • Tiered Interest Rates
  • Set up multiple goals
  • Direct withdrawals

Cons:

  • Only offer one type of account
  • Six withdrawals allowed per month
  • Maximum account balance
  • One external funding source allowed
  • Financial Rates: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 3.5 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 4.0 Star Icon
4.01%APY
Savings/MMA
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Pros:

  • Low required amounts to open an account
  • No minimum balance or monthly fees
  • Earn American Airline miles
  • High interest rates on accounts

Cons:

  • No branch locations
  • Highest interest rate requires large sum
  • MMA has a fee and large opening deposit
  • Business accounts and CDs not offered
SmartyPig Review

SmartyPig accounts do not have monthly maintenance fees. There is not a required amount to keep in the account. The first initial deposit to open the account is $25.

This savings account offers tiered interest rates. This means the more money you have in the account, the more interest you will earn. The interest rates do not vary much between tiers. The difference from a low amount to the higher amount is around 0.05%.

With this SmartyPig account, you can set up different savings goals. The savings accounts can be long-term, like saving for a college education. They can also be short term, like saving for a mountain bike or birthday party. You can transfer money from your SmartyPig primary account to different savings goals.

The best way to save money is to set up direct withdrawals. You set up when you want the money to come out of your account and how much to withdraw. Then, SmartyPig does the rest. Once the money is deposited into your account, you can transfer it into different savings goal. The withdrawals can be set up to occur monthly or biweekly.

SmartyPig has only one account offered: a high yield savings account. They do not offer checking accounts, CDs, money market accounts, or business accounts. The interest rate on this savings account is considerably higher than other banks savings accounts.

The website says you can withdraw money anytime, but federal regulation only allows six withdrawals per billing cycle. This includes transfers between your SmartyPig primary account and your different savings goals. The transfer or withdrawal will not take place if you have made more than six in a billing cycle. If you repeatedly try to make more than six, your account will be closed. Once you reach your goal, you cannot withdraw part of your money back to your external funding source. You must withdraw it all, or transfer the money between other savings goals.

This account is not meant for high account balances. There is a maximum account balance of $250,000. If your account has $250,000, you will earn interest on the money in the account, but you cannot add to the account.

Each SmartyPig account is only allowed to have one external funding source set up for it. That means you can only have one bank account connected to each SmartyPig account. You can change your external funding source if you want, but never have more than one.

Read the full SmartyPig review.

UFB Direct Review

UFB Direct checking and savings accounts have a low required opening amount. The opening deposit is only $100. To receive the highest interest rates, you must keep a certain amount in the accounts. If the balance is below the set amount, you will earn a lower interest rate, but not be charged a fee.

Most UFB Direct accounts do not have a monthly maintenance fee. UFB Direct savings and checking accounts are free. There is no monthly fee and no amount required to keep in the account.

Earn miles for everyday purchases with the UFB Airline Rewards Checking account. When you use your debit card for purchases, you earn miles. Earn one mile for debit transactions over $3.00. The miles go toward American Airlines. You can earn up to 120,000 per calendar year. UFB Direct may add more airlines in the future.

The interest rates on UFB Direct accounts earn very competitive interest rates. The savings, checking, and money market accounts earn some of the highest rates on the market. For some accounts, you must keep a high balance in the account. However, if you do not have that set amount in the account, you will earn a lower rate. The lower rate on those accounts is still much higher than your typical brick and mortar banks rates.

There are no branch locations for UFB Direct. It is an entirely online bank. To talk to customer service, you can call a 24-hour phone line. You can reach customer service through mail or email. You can access everything about your account online.

Certain balances are required to earn the highest interest rates on the UFB Direct savings accounts. The basic savings account requires $20,000 in the account to earn the highest interest rates. The Premium savings account requires $25,000 to earn the highest interest rates. Any amount lower than the required amount will still earn interest, just a much lower rate.

The UFB Direct money market account has a monthly fee and a large sum required as the opening deposit. The monthly fee is $10 a month. Waive the fee by keeping a balance of $5,000 in the account. The required opening deposit is $5,000. You will earn interest and can write checks from the MMA.

UFB Direct does not offer business accounts or CDs. The accounts offered are a personal checking, saving, and money market account. There are options for loans, but not business accounts or CDs.

Read the full UFB Direct review.

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