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American Express VS ableBanking

Which bank is better for you?

  • Financial Rates: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 4.5 Star Icon
  • Variety of Terms: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Required Opening Amount: 5.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
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Pros:

  • Most terms offer competitive rates
  • Choices on how to receive interest
  • No required amount to open CDs
  • Good variety of CD terms offered

Cons:

  • Shorter terms have lower rates
  • Cannot make a partial withdrawal
  • High early withdrawal fees
  • Does not guarantee best interest rates
  • Financial Rates: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Variety of Terms: 4.0 Star Icon
  • Required Opening Amount: 5.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
Star Icon Star Icon Star Icon Star Icon Star Icon

Pros:

  • Low opening required amounts
  • Competitive interest rates on CDs
  • Lower balance required to earn interest
  • Can open CD accounts online

Cons:

  • Limited CD terms available
  • No interest rate guarantee
  • Link an external account to CDs
  • Cannot add money to CDs
American Express CD Review

Most American Express Personal Savings CDs offer competitive interest rates. The terms 18-months or longer offer rates that are competitive with other online CDs. These rates are much higher than typical bank rates. The interest rates for American Express CDs are not tiered. Any amount in the account earns the most competitive interest rate.

American Express offers a variety of ways to receive the interest earned off their CDs. You can request a check mailed monthly, each quarter, or once a year. You can transfer the money into another American Express account or a linked account. You can also leave the money in the CD account. American Express gives options to withdraw interest, but it will reduce your earnings. Contact customer service to initiate these options.

There is no set amount required to open American Express CDs. You can open each of the different CD terms with any amount. There is no monthly fee or no required amount to keep in the account to earn interest.

American Express Personal Savings offers a good variety of CD terms. The terms range from 6-months to 60-months. There are seven total CD terms to choose from.

The shortest American Express CD terms have lower interest rates. These term rates are not competitive with other online CDs of the same length. The six-month and 12-month terms do not offer as competitive interest rates as the other American Express CDs.

American Express does not allow partial withdrawals from the CD before maturity. If you need to withdraw money before the maturity date, you must withdraw the entire CD balance. As with all CDs, if you withdraw money before maturity, there is a fee assessed.

The early withdrawal fees for American Express CDs are high. If your CD is less than 12 months, the fee is 90 days of interest. For terms from 12 months to less than 48 months, the fee is 270 days of interest. CD terms from 48 months to less than 60 months, the fee is 365 days of interest. The fee for 60-month terms or longer is 540 days of interest. If you have not earned enough interest to cover the fee, the rest is taken from the CD principal.

American Express Personal Savings does not guarantee to get customers the highest interest rate. The interest rate you receive for the CD term is the rate on the day you fund your account. The interest rate is fixed. It is locked in for the life of the term.

Read the full American Express review.

ableBanking CD Review

Each of the ableBanking CDs has low opening required amounts. All the terms only require $1,000 to open. The CD terms available range from six months to four years.

The ableBanking CDs offer competitive interest rates. The rates are competitive with other online CDs. They are higher than the typical bank rates.

ableBanking CDs require $1,000 to open, but only $500 to earn competitive interest rates. The CD rates are not tiered. Any balance over $500 earns the competitive rates.

You can open ableBanking CDs online. ableBanking is an online division of Northeast Bank. Because of this, you open your accounts and access your accounts entirely online. You do not need to visit a branch location to open an account.

There are five CD terms offered through ableBanking. They offer six-month, one, two, three, and four-year CDs. These are the only CD terms available through ableBanking.

The ableBanking CDs do not offer an interest rate guarantee. If CD rates increase shortly after you open your account, your rates will not increase. The interest rates for each CD term are competitive.

ableBanking is an online bank. To transfer money into your account, you must link another account. This account can be the ableBanking money market account or an external account. Once you link the accounts, you can transfer money. Only one external account can be linked to an ableBanking account at a time.

The only time you can add money to ableBanking CDs is when you open the CD and once the CD reaches maturity. They do not offer CDs that you can add money to at any time. ableBanking does not accept cash deposits. Only electronic, wire, or check deposits are accepted.

Read the full ableBanking review.

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