TIAA Bank VS Commerce Bank

Which bank is better for you?

  • Financial Rates: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 4.5 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 4.5 Star Icon
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Pros:

  • No monthly fees for accounts
  • High-interest rates on select accounts
  • Variety of business accounts offered
  • Interest on checking, high for first year

Cons:

  • Checking interest drops after first year
  • Large amount required to open accounts
  • Basic accounts have lower interest rates
  • ATM fee reimbursement requires high sum
  • Financial Rates: 1.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 4.5 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 3.5 Star Icon
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Pros:

  • Rewards for saving in money market
  • Free ATM transactions and refunds
  • Good variety of accounts offered
  • mySpending card

Cons:

  • Only three withdrawals per month
  • Account interest rates are low
  • Monthly fees and other fees on accounts
  • Customer service not open 24/7
TIAA Bank Review

Note: TIAA has acquired EverBank, rebranding the bank as TIAA Bank. The acquisition completed on June 12, 2018.

The Yield accounts at TIAA Bank do not charge monthly maintenance fees. There is no amount required to keep in the accounts to avoid fees. You will earn interest on any amount you have deposited in the account.

TIAA Bank guarantees that their account offerings will earn the top five percent interest in the nation. This makes them a competitive bank in the field of high-interest rates.

Business accounts are available through TIAA Bank. Your business can earn the high interest rates you earn with personal banking. There are checking accounts for small businesses and non profits. Interest earning and basic business checking accounts are available. Money market accounts, CDs, and credit cards are also available for your business.

The Yield Checking account offers a one-year spotlight APY. The rate for one year is much higher than the regular interest rates. This rate is only for new customers. Earn interest on any amount above $5,000, but less than $250,000.

After the one-year spotlight APY, the rate drops. The account still earns interest, but lower than the first year. The interest you earn after the first year depends on the amount you have in the account. The rates drop by almost one whole percentage point for balances under $10,000.

The high interest earning accounts have a high required opening balance. You must have $5,000 to open the Yield Pledge Checking, Yield Pledge Money Market, and Yield Pledge CD accounts. Once you open one of these accounts, you will earn the top five percent of yields on your money. TIAA Bank ensures the top interest rates on these accounts.

To open the TIAA Bank accounts with the high interest rates you must have $5,000. TIAA Bank does offer a basic checking and savings account. These accounts only require $25 to open. There is no monthly fee as long as you keep $25 in the account. The basic CDs only required $1,000 to open. These basic accounts get lower interest rates, but still competitive.

TIAA Bank does reimburse fees charged at ATMs, but only if your account balance is over $5,000. TIAA Bank does not charge fees for using their ATMs. The fees are only for other bank ATMs.

Read the full TIAA Bank review.

Commerce Bank Review

Get rewarded for saving money with Commerce Bank. When you open a myRewards money market account, you will earn a bonus at the end of each year. Commerce pays 0.05 percent of the average collected month-end balance after every 12 months. The maximum reward each year is $200.

Checking accounts offer free transactions at Commerce Bank ATMs. The CommerceRelationship checking account offers free transactions at ATMs across the nation. This account also offers up to $10 each month in ATM fee refunds. To have the fees refunded, the transactions must come from the CommerceRelationship account.

Commerce Bank offers a variety of accounts. These accounts include:

  • Five checking accounts
  • Student savings and checking account
  • myRewards savings account
  • myRewards money market account
  • Premier money market account
  • CDs terms from three-months to five-years
  • Personal loans, credit cards, and investment options
  • Business checking and savings accounts
  • Business loans, bonds, investments, and credit cards

Commerce offers a mySpending card, which is a reloadable Visa debit card. Load the amount you want onto the card. The card is accepted anywhere Visa is. There is not a monthly fee. It costs $5.95 to buy the card for the first time. You must load it with at least $20 the first time. There is a loading limit of $3,000 per week.

Savings accounts only allow for three withdrawals per billing cycle. Any more than three will cost you $2.00 per withdrawal. Federal regulations allow six withdrawals from a savings account per billing cycle.

The interest rates for Commerce Bank accounts are low. They are not competitive with other online-only banks. Their rates are typical of brick-and-mortar banks.

Accounts with Commerce Bank have a plethora of fees. They have monthly service charges ranging from $3-20, depending on the account. Some accounts have fees for paper statements, e-statements, and foreign ATM fees. The student checking account has a $2 fee for every check written and for each teller-assisted withdrawal. Know the fees and how to waive them before you open accounts.

Customer service is not open 24/7. Customer service hours are Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. These times are Central Time. There is a 24-hour account information line.

Read the full Commerce Bank review.

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