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State Farm Bank VS PenFed Credit Union

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: 5.0 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:

  • Low opening required amounts
  • Good variety of CD terms available
  • Competitive interest rates on CDs
  • Can choose how to receive interest

Cons:

  • Must become a member first
  • Can only open standard CDs online
  • No interest rate guarantee for CDs
  • Early withdrawal fees are high
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.

PenFed Credit Union CD Review

The opening required amount for PenFed CDs is low. Each standard and IRA CD terms only require $1,000 to open. The education CDs only require $500 to open. You can open the CDs online or in a branch location.

There are a good variety of CDs available through PenFed. They offer nine standard CD terms from six months to seven years. Their IRA CDs and educational savings certificates terms range from one to seven years.

Each CD term with PenFed offers competitive interest rates. The rates are competitive with other online CDs. The standard, IRA, and education CDs interest rates are competitive. They are higher than the typical bank interest rates.

There is more than one way to choose how to receive interest payments earned from your PenFed CDs. You can have the money added to the CD or another account. You can choose to have the money sent to you in a check. You can receive the interest earned monthly or when the CD matures.

To open a CD with PenFed, you must first become a member of the credit union. If you have or are currently serving in the military, you can become a member. Living in certain areas or being a member of set organizations qualifies you. If you work for the U.S. government or other organizations, you are eligible as well. If you do not meet any of these requirements, you can pay a $5 fee. Once you are a member, you can apply for accounts.

PenFed offers standard CDs, IRA CDs, and educational CDs. Members can only open standard CDs online. To open the other types of CDs, you must visit a branch location or contact customer service. All the standard CD terms are available to open online.

The standard PenFed CDs do not offer an interest rate guarantee. If you open a CD and the interest rates increase shortly after, your interest rates will not increase. The PenFed standard CDs offer competitive interest rates.

The early withdrawal fees for PenFed CDs are high. If you withdraw money early from a six-month CD, you will lose all your interest. For CD terms longer than six-month the fee is all interest earned if withdrawn in the first year. After the first year, the fee is 30 percent of what would have been earned if the CD had reached maturity.

Read the full PenFed Credit Union review.

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