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Marcus by Goldman Sachs VS California First National Bank

Which bank is better for you?

  • Financial Rates: 5.0 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:

  • Low opening amount & competitive rate
  • Ten-day CD rate guarantee
  • Options on how to receive interest
  • No-Penalty CDs offered

Cons:

  • Full principal withdrawals only
  • Shorter terms not as competitive rates
  • Limited terms for No-Penalty CDs
  • Electronic transfers need linked account
  • Financial Rates: 3.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 3.5 Star Icon
  • Variety of Terms: 4.0 Star Icon
  • Required Opening Amount: 3.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
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Pros:

  • Can apply for CD accounts online
  • Shorter CD terms offer competitive rates
  • Can choose how to receive interest
  • Can withdraw interest without a fee

Cons:

  • High opening required amounts
  • Limited CD terms available
  • Low-interest rates on CD accounts
  • Early withdrawal fee does not vary
Marcus by Goldman Sachs CD Review

The set amount required to open Marcus CDs is low. Each CD term only requires $500 to open. Marcus CD offers competitive interest rates. The rates are competitive with other online CDs and much higher than typical bank rates. To earn interest on your Marcus CDs, you must keep $500 in the account. You will not earn interest until your CD has a balance over the $500 minimum.

Marcus offers a ten-day interest rate guarantee. Once you fund your account with the minimum deposit, you have ten days to watch the rates. If the rates increase in those ten days, Marcus locks in the highest interest rate.

Interest earned on Marcus CDs is automatically added to the principal amount of your CD. There are other options if you wish to receive interest in another way. You can have the monthly interest transferred to a Marcus online savings account. You can also transfer the money to an external linked account. You can withdraw the earned interest anytime during the CD term without a penalty.

Marcus offers a No-Penalty CD. This CD requires $500 to open. Once the account has been opened for seven days, you can withdraw your money at any time during the CD term. You will not be charged a fee for withdrawing your money before it reaches maturity. You cannot add additional funds to the No-Penalty CD.

You can withdraw money from the No-Penalty CD without a fee, but you cannot make a partial withdrawal. If you want to withdraw the money, you must withdraw the entire balance. This includes all the interest you have earned. You can withdraw the money after the account is open for seven days. You can only make a withdrawal one time during the term life of the CD. Once you withdraw your money, the account will close.

Marcus CDs terms less than 12-months do not offer as competitive of rates as the other CDs. The six-month and nine-month terms still offer competitive rates. Their rates are just not as competitive as the other CD term rates. These rates are still much higher than typical bank rates of the same terms.

The No-Penalty CDs offered through Marcus comes in limited term lengths. There are only three terms offered for the No-Penalty CDs. Those terms are a seven-month term, an 11-month term, and a 13-month term.

To make electronic transfers into your Marcus CDs requires linking another account. You can link a Marcus CD to a Marcus online savings account. You can also link your Marcus CD to an external account. Once you link the accounts you can transfer money electronically to fund the account. You can also have the earned interest transferred into the linked account.

Read the full Marcus by Goldman Sachs review.

California First National Bank CD Review

You can open all CalFirst CDs terms online. You can complete the entire application through the CalFirst website. There is also the option to apply by calling customer service or mailing in an application.

The shorter-term CDs offer more competitive rates than long-term CDs. The rates are more competitive with online CDs than long-term CDs. The short-term CDs include a three month and six-month term.

Customers can choose how to receive interest payments. You can have the money credited to your CD or another CalFirst account. You can have the money transferred into another bank account, or have the interest mailed to you in a check. Interest will credit to your account monthly.

Customers can choose how to receive interest payments. You can have the money credited to your CD or another CalFirst account. You can have the money transferred into another bank account, or have the interest mailed to you in a check. Interest will credit to your account monthly.

The initial amount required to open CalFirst CDs is high. Each of the standard CD terms requires $5,000 to open. You must keep that amount in the CD to earn interest. To open IRA CDs and earn interest requires a balance of $2,000.

There is a limited amount of CD terms offered through CalFirst. There are five CD terms available. Those terms range from three months to three years. CalFirst provides CD terms as standard CDs or IRA CDs. All terms can be opened online.

CalFirst CD interest rates are low. They are not competitive with online CD rates. These rates are competitive with typical bank rates. CalFirst rates are not tiered. Any balance over the opening amounts earns the rates listed on the website.

There are only two early withdrawal fees for CalFirst CDs. For terms less than one year, the fee is 90-days of interest. For CD terms 12-months or longer, the fee is 180-days of interest. If you withdraw money early, you must pay that amount of interest even if you have not earned it.

Read the full California First National Bank review.

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