-
Financial Rates:
5.0
-
Customer Service:
5.0
-
Website Experience:
5.0
-
Bank Fees:
4.0
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:
3.5
-
Customer Service:
2.5
-
Website Experience:
3.0
-
Bank Fees:
4.5
Pros:
- Low required opening amounts
- Reimbursement of ATM fees
- Variety of personal deposit accounts
- Money market account earns good rates
Cons:
- Highest MMA rate requires large amount
- High required amount to open CDs
- Checking accounts have a monthly fee
- Must mail in application to open account
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.
Most of the BankDirect accounts have a low amount required to open the account. BankDirect checking accounts only require $500 to open. Both BankDirect money market accounts require $500 to open. The basic savings account only requires $100 to open.
BankDirect does not own any ATMs; they reimburse their customers the ATM fees. The first four ATM withdrawals per statement cycle are refunded. The refunds are up to $2.50 per transaction. There is a withdrawal limit of $500 from an ATM each day.
BankDirect offers a variety of personal deposit accounts. There are three different checking accounts and two different money market accounts. There are a variety of different CD terms available. BankDirect offers one savings account. There are no business accounts available.
The BankDirect Money Market Plus account offers a competitive interest rate. BankDirect also offers a mileage money market account. This account earns American Airline miles. Both MMA require $500 to open. The mileage money market account earns much lower interest rates. You earn miles instead of interest. There is no monthly fee for either account.
To earn the high rates offered on the BankDirect Money Market Plus account you must have $10,000 in the account. Amounts under $10,000 do not earn any interest. Only $500 is required to open this account, but to earn any interest requires $10,000.
BankDirect offers a variety of different CD terms. The required amount to open any of the CDs is $10,000. There is no monthly fee. The interest rates for CDs are competitive. The 12-month, 18-months, 24-months and 36-month CDs offer the most competitive rates. To open a mileage CD also requires $10,000.
Two of the BankDirect checking accounts have monthly fees. The interest and mileage checking accounts both have a monthly fee. The fee is waived for the interest checking account if you have at least $2,500 in the account. The mileage checking does not list a way to waive that monthly fee.
Opening an account with BankDirect is not entirely online. To open an account, you must fill out the application online, then print off part and mail it in. You will then receive a welcome kit within one to two weeks. Once you get your kit, you can finish setting up your account.
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| Savings (Rate as of 12/21/2024) | |
| APY | 3.80% |
|---|---|
| Rate | 3.73% |
| Min to Open | $0 |
| Min to Earn APY | $0 |
| Monthly Fee | $0.00 |
| Min to Avoid Fee | $0 |
| Checkbook | No |
| Member FDIC. | |
| Savings (Rate as of 12/21/2024) | |
| APY | 4.75% |
|---|---|
| Rate | 4.65% |
| Min to Open | $500 |
| Min to Earn APY | $500 |
| Monthly Fee | $0.00 |
| Min to Avoid Fee | $0 |
| Checkbook | No |
| Member FDIC. | |
| Savings (Rate as of 12/21/2024) | |
| APY | 3.80% |
|---|---|
| Rate | 3.80% |
| Min to Open | $0 |
| Min to Earn APY | $0 |
| Monthly Fee | $0.00 |
| Min to Avoid Fee | $0 |
| Checkbook | No |
| Member FDIC. Promoted offer: It only takes about 5 minutes to open a fee-free account. |
|
| Savings (Rate as of 12/21/2024) | |
| APY | 4.40% |
|---|---|
| Rate | 4.30% |
| Min to Open | $0 |
| Min to Earn APY | $0 |
| Monthly Fee | $0.00 |
| Min to Avoid Fee | $0 |
| Checkbook | No |
| Member FDIC. Promoted offer: No monthly maintenance fee, $0 to open, easily grow your money |
|
| Savings (Rate as of 12/21/2024) | |
| APY | 4.46% |
|---|---|
| Rate | 4.46% |
| Min to Open | $500 |
| Min to Earn APY | $0 |
| Monthly Fee | $0.00 |
| Min to Avoid Fee | $0 |
| Checkbook | No |
| Member FDIC. | |
| Savings (Rate as of 12/21/2024) | |
| APY | 4.35% |
|---|---|
| Rate | 4.35% |
| Min to Open | $0 |
| Min to Earn APY | $0 |
| Monthly Fee | $0.00 |
| Min to Avoid Fee | $0 |
| Checkbook | No |
| Member FDIC. Promoted offer: $200 Bonus w/ Tiered Savings Account and Qualifying Activities |
|
| Savings (Rate as of 12/21/2024) | |
| APY | 4.35% |
|---|---|
| Rate | 4.35% |
| Min to Open | $100 |
| Min to Earn APY | $5,000 |
| Monthly Fee | $0.00 |
| Min to Avoid Fee | $0 |
| Checkbook | No |
| Member FDIC. Promoted offer: CIT Bank, a division of First Citizens, 125+ years of experience. |
|
| Savings (Rate as of 12/21/2024) | |
| APY | 4.30% |
|---|---|
| Rate | 4.21% |
| Min to Open | $0 |
| Min to Earn APY | $0 |
| Monthly Fee | $0.00 |
| Min to Avoid Fee | $0 |
| Checkbook | No |
| Member FDIC. | |
| MMA (Rate as of 12/21/2024) | |
| APY | 4.10% |
|---|---|
| Rate | 4.02% |
| Min to Open | $0 |
| Min to Earn APY | $0 |
| Monthly Fee | $0.00 |
| Min to Avoid Fee | $0 |
| Checkbook | Yes |
| Member FDIC. | |
| Savings (Rate as of 12/21/2024) | |
| APY | 4.10% |
|---|---|
| Rate | 4.10% |
| Min to Open | $0 |
| Min to Earn APY | $0 |
| Monthly Fee | $0.00 |
| Min to Avoid Fee | $0 |
| Checkbook | No |
| Member FDIC. | |
| Savings (Rate as of 12/21/2024) | |
| APY | 4.75% |
|---|---|
| Rate | 4.64% |
| Min to Open | $1,000 |
| Min to Earn APY | $1,000 |
| Monthly Fee | $5.00 |
| Min to Avoid Fee | $0 |
| Checkbook | No |
| Member FDIC. | |
| Savings (Rate as of 12/21/2024) | |
| APY | 4.75% |
|---|---|
| Rate | 4.75% |
| Min to Open | $10 |
| Min to Earn APY | $0 |
| Monthly Fee | $0.00 |
| Min to Avoid Fee | $0 |
| Checkbook | No |
| FDIC insured at program banks†. Promoted offer: var. APY a/o 11/8/24. New customers only. Betterment LLC, not a bank |
|
| Savings (Rate as of 12/21/2024) | |
| APY | 4.10% |
|---|---|
| Rate | 4.02% |
| Min to Open | $0 |
| Min to Earn APY | $0 |
| Monthly Fee | $0.00 |
| Min to Avoid Fee | $0 |
| Checkbook | No |
| Member FDIC. | |
The rate information is obtained by Bankrate from the listed institutions. Bankrate cannot guarantee the accuracy or availability of any rates shown. Institutions may have different rates on their own websites than those posted on Bankrate.com. The listings that appear on this page are from companies from which this website receives compensation, which may impact how, where, and in what order products appear. This table does not include all companies or all available products.
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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.