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State Farm Bank VS American Express

Which bank is better for you?

  • 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
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Pros:

  • Low opening required amount
  • Good variety of CD terms offered
  • Competitive interest rates on CDs
  • Can open accounts online

Cons:

  • No CDs shorter than 12-month term
  • Does not offer interest rate guarantees
  • Early withdrawal fees are high
  • Jumbo CD rates similar to regular rates
  • 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
Star Icon Star Icon Star Icon Star Icon Star Icon

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
State Farm Bank CD Review

The set amount required to open State Farm Bank CDs is low. Each regular CD term only requires $500 to open. You must keep $500 in the CD to earn interest. State Farm Bank offers personal deposit CDs and business CDs. The required amount is the same for business and personal CDs. To open a jumbo CD requires $100,000 to open.

State Farm Bank offers a good variety of CD terms. They offer CDs specific to personal deposit and business CDs. There are six different CD term lengths for personal deposits as well as business CDs. The terms range from 12-months to 60-months. State Farm Bank also offer jumbo CDs in the same terms as regular CDs.

The interest rates for State Farm Bank CDs are competitive. They are competitive with other online CDs. All the CD terms offer rates competitive with other online CDs of the same term length. The rates of State Farm Bank CDs are much higher than typical bank interest rates. You must keep $500 in the regular CDs and $100,000 in the jumbo CDs to earn interest.

State Farm Bank CDs can be opened online. You can fund your account by linking an external account to your State Farm CDs. Once you are approved for an account, your account is completely online. You can view everything for your State Farm accounts online or on their mobile app.

State Farm Bank does not offer CD terms shorter than 12-months. They do not offer a three, six, or nine-month CD terms. The shortest terms available is the 12-month term. This term is available as a personal deposit CD as well as a business CD term.

State Farm Bank does not offer an interest rate guarantee. If you open a CD with State Farm and the interest rates increase soon after, your rate does not increase. The interest rate on the day you open your CD is the rate you receive for the entire CD term.

All State Farm Bank CDs have a fee if you withdraw money before the CD reaches maturity. The penalty for early withdrawals is high. If you withdraw money from a CD term between 12 and 23 months, the fee is 180 days of interest. For terms from 24 to 47 months, the fee is 365 days of interest. The fee is 545 days of interest if you withdraw money early from CD terms for longer than 48 months. There is also a minimum withdrawal penalty of $25 if your fee does not total more than that.

State Farm Bank offers jumbo CDs. To open a jumbo CD requires an opening balance of $100,000. The interest rates for the jumbo CDs are the same as the regular CD rates. These CDs do not offer interest rates any higher than the other CD rates. Jumbo CDs are available in personal deposit accounts and business accounts.

Read the full State Farm Bank review.

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.

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