Third Federal VS First Bank

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
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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: 3.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 4.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 3.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
Advertiser Disclosure
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Pros:

  • Checking account for 55 and older
  • Anywhere Accounts
  • Business accounts offered
  • Variety of personal products offered

Cons:

  • Accounts have fees
  • Online banking is not free
  • Accounts not offered everywhere
  • Low-interest rates
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.

First Bank Review

FirstBank offers a checking account for anyone over 55 years old. This account earns interest. There is no minimum balance to earn interest or required to keep in the account. This account does not have any fees, and direct deposit is not required.

The Anywhere Accounts are a savings and checking account. Both of these accounts do not have monthly fees. There is no minimum balance required to keep in the account. You can sign up to have money from transactions rounded up to the nearest dollar. The difference is deposited into your Anywhere eSave Savings account. Those transactions include debit transactions, bill pay, or other electronic transfers.

FirstBank offers accounts for businesses. Checking and money market accounts are available. There is a checking account offered specifically for nonprofits. There are no fees for the nonprofit checking and the basic business checking. The other accounts have a monthly fee.

Not just personal deposit accounts are available at FirstBank. Personal credit cards, home equity loans, and personal construction loans are available. Health Savings Accounts and accounts to help save for college are also offered.

Most FirstBank accounts have a monthly fee. The fees range from $5 to $20. The debit card has a yearly fee of $10. You are only allowed 25 deposits into the eSave Savings account per month. You are charged $0.10 for each item over 25.

Account interest rates at FirstBank are not competitive with other online banks. The interest rates are similar to your typical bank rates.

FirstBank offers products and accounts in Arizona, California, and Colorado. They have over 115 branch locations in these three states with over 200 ATMs. To open an account, you must live in one of these three states.

Online banking with FirstBank is only free if you sign up to receive electronic statements. The fee is $3 each month if you do not sign up. The money will be automatically withdrawn from your checking account on the first day of each month. If you want to receive paper statements, you must keep $10,000 in FirstBank accounts to waive the monthly fee.

Read the full First Bank review.

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