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Bangor Savings Bank VS Barclays

Which bank is better for you?

  • Financial Rates: 4.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Variety of Terms: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Required Opening Amount: 5.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
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Pros:

  • Good variety of accounts available
  • Competitive interest rates on CDs
  • Low opening required amounts
  • Many ways to contact customer service

Cons:

  • Cannot open CD accounts online
  • CDs have tiered interest rates
  • Early withdrawal fee is half of interest
  • No ten-day interest rate guarantee
  • Financial Rates: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 4.0 Star Icon
  • Variety of Terms: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Required Opening Amount: 5.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
Star Icon Star Icon Star Icon Star Icon Star Icon

Pros:

  • Competitive interest rates on most CDs
  • Good variety of CD terms
  • No required amount to open CDs
  • Encourages CD laddering

Cons:

  • CDs under 12-months have low rates
  • Limited ways to fund CDs
  • Link external account to CDs
  • Rate guarantee not offered
Bangor Savings Bank CD Review

There is a good variety of CD terms available through Bangor Savings Bank. The terms range from three-months to 60-months. There are a total of nine different CD terms offered through Bangor Savings Bank.

Bangor Savings Bank CDs offer competitive interest rates. The rates are competitive with other online CDs. Bangor Savings Bank CDs interest rates are slightly lower than other online CD terms. These CD rates are much higher than typical bank rates. Even the short-term CDs offer competitive interest rates.

The opening required amount is the same for each CD term. Each Bangor Savings Bank requires $500 to open. You must keep this balance in your CD to earn the competitive interest rates on these CDs.

There are a number of ways to contact customer service with Bangor Savings Bank. They have branch locations in Maine and New Hampshire. They offer live chat, email, mail, and phone options to contact customer service. You can also follow Bangor Savings Bank on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

You cannot open any of the Bangor Savings Bank CD accounts online. To open a CD with this bank you must visit a local branch location. Bangor Savings Bank has over 50 branch locations in Maine and New Hampshire.

The CDs available through Bangor Savings Bank have tiered interest rates. To earn the most competitive interest rates you must be a Benefits Plus Customer. To be a Benefits Plus Member you must meet certain requirements. Talk to customer service about those requirements when you open your CD.

If you withdraw money before your CD reaches the maturity date, Bangor charges a penalty. The penalty for most of the CD terms ends up being half of the earned interest of the CD term. For CDs with a term length of 12-months, the penalty is six-months of interest. For 36-month CDs, the penalty is 18-months of interest. The 48-month and 60-month CDs both have the penalty of 24-months of interest.

Bangor Savings Bank does not offer an interest rate guarantee. The interest rate you earn for the life of the CD term is the rate on the day you open the CD. If the rates increase shortly after you open your CD, your interest rate will not increase.

Read the full Bangor Savings Bank review.

Barclays CD Review

The interest rates for Barclays CDs are competitive for most terms. For terms longer than 12-months, the rates are competitive with other online CDs. The interest rates for all CD accounts are much higher than typical bank rates. Barclays CDs interest rates are not tiered. Any balance in the CD earns the competitive interest rate.

Barclays offers a good variety of CD terms. The shortest term offered is a three-month term. The longest term is a 60-month term. Barclays offers a total of nine different CD terms. All the terms are entirely online CDs. Each CD term is available to open online.

There is not a set amount required to open Barclays CDs. Open any of the nine CD terms with any amount. There is not a set amount required to earn the most competitive interest rates. The only balance requirement is that you have enough money in your CD to earn $0.01 in interest.

Barclays encourages CD laddering. This means customers can earn the most competitive interest rates but with more flexibility. CD laddering is investing money in CDs varying in term length. Customers invest in multiple long term CDs. By doing this, one CD will mature each year. This gives customers more access to their money while earning competitive rates. The Barclays website offers a CD ladder calculator. This allows customers to see how to build a successful CD ladder.

The Barclays short term CDs do not offer competitive interest rates. The three, six, and nine-month CDs offer interest rates that are lower than other online banks. These rates are higher than typical bank CD rates of the same term. They are not competitive with other online CDs of the same term length.

Barclays only offers two ways to fund their CDs. Customers can fund the account through an electronic transfer or mailing in a check. If you plan to transfer the money electronically, you must link the CD with an external bank account. Barclays does not accept cash or money orders to deposit into CDs.

The easiest way to make electronic transfers into a Barclays CD is to link it to an external account. You can link up to three external accounts to your Barclays CDs. The linked accounts must be with another bank that is chartered in the United States. You can link accounts when you initially fund your CD or at a later date.

Barclays does not offer an interest rate guarantee. The interest rate you earn on your Barclays CD is the rate on the day you open your account. The interest rates on CDs are competitive with other online accounts. But, if the rates increase shortly after you open your account, Barclays does not increase the interest rate for your CD.

Read the full Barclays review.

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