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My Safra Bank FSB VS TIAA Bank

Which bank is better for you?

  • Financial Rates: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 3.0 Star Icon
  • Variety of Terms: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Required Opening Amount: 5.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
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Pros:

  • Competitive interest rates for CDs
  • Variety of CD terms available
  • Can open CDs entirely online
  • Low opening required amounts

Cons:

  • No interest rate guarantee
  • Customer service not available 24/7
  • Link external accounts
  • Cannot add money to CDs
  • Financial Rates: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Customer Service: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Variety of Terms: 5.0 Star Icon
  • Required Opening Amount: 4.0 Star Icon
No Rate Information
Star Icon Star Icon Star Icon Star Icon Star Icon

Pros:

  • Competitive interest rates
  • A wide variety of CD terms
  • Bump Rate CD
  • Yield interest rates guaranteed

Cons:

  • High opening amounts for some CDs
  • Basic CDs offer lower interest rates
  • High penalty for early withdrawal
  • Cannot make deposits after opened
My Safra Bank FSB CD Review

MYSB Direct CDs offer competitive interest rates. Their rates are competitive with other online CDs. They are much higher than the typical bank rates. Even the shorter-term CDs offer competitive interest rates. Those rates are very competitive with short-term online CDs.

There are a good variety of CD terms available through MYSB Direct. The terms range from three months to 72-months. Between these terms, there are a total of nine different CDs. MYSB Direct CDs are entirely online CDs.

You can open each of the MYSB Direct CD terms entirely online. These CDs range in terms from three-months to 72-month terms. The application is available on the M.Y. Safra Bank website.

The opening required amounts for MYSB Direct CDs are low. The MYSB Direct accounts require either $500, $750, or $1,000 to open. The required opening balances vary depending on the CD term.

The MYSB Direct CDs offer competitive interest rates on their terms. But there is not an interest rate guarantee. If the interest rates increase shortly after you open your CD, your rates will not increase. MYSB Direct guarantees rates for the life of the CD term.

MYSB Direct is an online division of M.Y. Safra Bank. These accounts are entirely online. Customer service for these accounts is not available 24/7. Reach customer service through email, phone, mail, or their branch location in New York. Customer service hours are Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. EST.

To deposit money into MYSB Direct CDs, you must link an account. The account can be another M.Y. Safra account or an external account. Because MYSB Direct accounts are entirely online, electronic transfers are necessary.

You cannot add money to your MYSB Direct accounts after the initial deposit. Once you open the CD, you must wait until it reaches maturity to add money to the CD. The opening required amounts for the MYSB Direct CDs is $500, $750, or $1,000 depending on the term.

Read the full My Safra Bank FSB review.

TIAA Bank CD Review

The interest rates for TIAA Bank CDs are competitive. Each of the term interest rates is competitive with other online CD accounts. TIAA rates are much higher than typical bank rates. Their CD rates are not tiered. Any account balance earns competitive rates.

TIAA Bank offers a wide variety of CD terms. Their terms range from three-months to five-years. They offer the basic CD terms between these times, but they offer a nine-month term and a 30-month term as well. TIAA Bank also offers a 42-month Bump Rate term.

TIAA Bank offers on Bump Rate CD. This CD term is a 42-month term. This CD only requires $1,500 to open. If interest rates increase during the CD term, you have the option to bump up to the new interest rate. You can bump up the interest rate once during the CD term. Customers can only have one Bump Rate CD opened at a time.

TIAA guarantees their interest rates earned are in the top five percent of the most competitive accounts. Each week TIAA reviews the rates of competitors. Based on their findings they adjust their rates to make sure they are competitive with the best.

The TIAA Bank high yield CDs have a high opening required amount. Each of these CDs terms require $5,000 to open. TIAA Bank offers the option of CDARS. This is if you want to invest an amount over the FDIC insured limit of $250,000 and still be insured. To open a CDARS CD requires an opening deposit of $10,000.

TIAA Bank offers high yield and regular CDs. The regular CD account interest rates are slightly lower. They are not as competitive as the high yield interest rates. The high yield accounts earn high rates but require a higher opening amount.

The early withdrawal penalty for CDs is high. The Bump Rate CD charges 318 days of interest if you withdraw money before the maturity date. The six-month CDs require 45 days of interest. The 18-month CDs require 136 days of interest. The five-year CDs require 456 days of interest. Other early withdrawal fees vary depending on the CD term.

Once you open a TIAA CD, you cannot make deposits into the CD. The opening deposit is the only deposit allowed until the CD reaches maturity. Contact customer service to decide what happens to your CD once it reaches maturity.

Read the full TIAA Bank review.

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