Third Federal VS Bank5 Connect

Which bank is better for you?

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

  • Low opening required amounts
  • Variety of accounts offered
  • Online Savings Plus account
  • Competitive interest rates

Cons:

  • Tiered interest rates on accounts
  • CD early withdrawal penalty high
  • Checking account has monthly fees
  • Cannot open all accounts online
  • Financial Rates: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 3.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 5.0 Star Icon
1.50%APY
Savings/MMA
Advertiser Disclosure
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Pros:

  • Competitive rates on all accounts
  • ATM fee reimbursement
  • Low opening required amounts
  • No monthly maintenance fees

Cons:

  • Limited personal deposit accounts
  • External transfers only for checking
  • Daily withdrawal amounts low
  • Customer service not always available
Third Federal Review

Third Federal accounts have low opening required amounts. The high yield checking account requires $10 to open. CDs only require $500 to open. Third Federal money market account requires a high amount. That account requires $5,000 to open.

Third Federal offers a variety of accounts. Those accounts include personal deposit and business accounts. Those accounts include checking, savings, and money market accounts. The CDs range in terms from 30-days to 10-years. Lending and credit cards are also offered through Third Federal.

The Third Federal Online Savings Plus account is an entirely online account. This account requires $5,000 to open and to earn interest. There are no monthly fees and no limit on monthly transactions.

Interest rates for Third Federal accounts are competitive. They are higher than other brick and mortar bank accounts. The interest rates are competitive with other online accounts.

Third Federal accounts have tiered interest rates. The money market and savings account require a balance of $100,000 to earn the best interest rates. The checking account requires a $25,000 balance to earn the best rate. Balances under these amounts earn interest, just not the most competitive rate.

Third Federal CDs have high penalties for withdrawing money before the maturity date. CDs from one to three years require six months’ worth of interest. CD terms over four years require 18 months’ worth of earned interest.

The Third Federal checking account has a monthly fee. The fee is $7 a month. Waive that fee by keeping an average daily balance of $1,500 in the account. That average balance can come from all Third Federal accounts or just your checking account.

Not all Third Federal account can be opened online. To open a money market or checking account must be in a branch location. You can open a savings account and CDs longer than 6-month terms online.

Read the full Third Federal review.

Bank5 Connect Review

Bank5 Connect offers competitive interest rates on all accounts. The rates are much higher than your typical brick and mortar bank rates. They are competitive with other online accounts. Interest rates are not tiered. Any amount over $100 earns the most competitive rate.

To get cash from a Bank5 Connect account, you can access any ATMs in the SUM network. If you withdraw money from an ATM that is not in the SUM network, Bank5 Connect will reimburse you the ATM fee. Bank5 Connect will reimburse up to $15 each month in ATM fees.

Bank5 Connect has low opening required amounts. The checking and savings account only require $10 to open. The CDs require $500 to open. To earn interest on the checking and savings account you must have $100 in the accounts.

Bank5 Connect accounts do not have monthly maintenance fees. There is not a required balance to keep in the account. To earn interest, you must have $100 in the checking and savings account. However, you will not be charged a fee for not having that balance.

Bank5 Connect does not offer a wide variety of accounts. Only personal deposit accounts are available. Those accounts include a checking account, savings account, and CDs. CD terms range from 6-months to 36-month terms. They also offer one investment CD. That term is a 24-month CD. There are no business accounts offered through Bank5 Connect.

Only money in a Bank5 checking account can be transferred to an external bank account. You cannot transfer funds from the Bank5 Connect savings to an external account. You must transfer the money from the Bank5 Connect checking account.

The Bank5 Connect checking account has daily withdrawal and purchase limits. You can only withdraw $500 each day from an ATM. There is a daily purchase limit of $1,000 with your debit card. If you need to spend more money, you must contact a Bank5 Connect representative.

Bank5 Connect customer service are not available 24/7. Their hours vary depending on the day. They open at 7:30 a.m. every day, except Sunday. They open at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday. They are open until 5:00 p.m. Monday thru Wednesday, and 7:00 p.m. Thursday and Friday. They close at 3:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Online chat is available Monday thru Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. All times are Eastern Standard Time.

Read the full Bank5 Connect review.

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