TIAA Bank VS LendingClub

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: 4.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Website Experience: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Bank Fees: 4.0 Star Icon
5.00%APY
Savings/MMA
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Pros:

  • Competitive interest rates
  • Free Rewards checking account
  • Checking account cash back option
  • No fees and low opening required amounts

Cons:

  • Required account balance for high rates
  • Specific stipulation for cash back benefit
  • High monthly fee for two checking accounts
  • Other accounts have low rates
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.

LendingClub Review

The accounts offered through LendingClub offer competitive interest rates. The high-yield savings account offers rates up to 0.60%. Their checking account earns a lower rate than the savings account, but does offer some interest earning at 0.15%.

LendingClub offers a Rewards checking account. This account does not have monthly maintenance fees. This checking account earns cash back, and interest, if you meet the requirements. It requires $100 to open the account. After you open the account, there are no monthly fees or required amounts to avoid the fees, but a set balance amount to earn the rewards.

With the Rewards checking account, customers can earn up to one percent back on their debit card purchases. The debit card is linked to your Rewards checking account. Purchases made online or in-store are eligible for the cash back option.

Most of the accounts at LendingClub do not have monthly maintenance fees. Once you open the high-yield savings account with $100, there is not a monthly fee or minimum requirement to keep in the account to avoid a monthly fee. The opening required amounts for most accounts are low. The high-yield checking account only requires $100 to open.

The interest rates for the high-yield account is high, but in order to earn that amount, you must keep a set amount in the account. This account requires a balance of $2,500 to be in the account to earn the highest interest amount. Balances that fall below $2,500 will receive a much lower interest rate of 0.05%.

In order to earn the cash back, you must have your account open for 30 days and have $2,500 in the account from direct deposits or another source of income. The credit comes from purchases made online or in the store using your debit card signature option. To earn the cash back option, you MUST choose the credit option instead of the debit option when making your purchase. Transactions made with your PIN are not eligible for the cash back. The money you earn will be credited into your account at the end of each earning period.

The Essential Checking account has a monthly fee of $9. You can waive this fee by keeping a set amount in the account, but this amount is high as well. To waive the monthly fee, you must have at least $5,000 in the checking account at all times. If the account balance falls below $5,000, you will be charged the fee. The Tailored checking account has a monthly fee of $10 if you do not have at least $5,000 in the account.

Not all accounts offer competitive interest rates. The CDs, money market account, and basic savings account do not offer competitive interest rates. Those rates are much lower than the high-yield savings account rates.

Read the full LendingClub review.

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American Express
Savings (Rate as of 4/26/2024)
APY 4.25%
Rate 4.16%
For APY $1
Monthly Fee $0.00
Checkbook No
Member FDIC
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