Kevin is a freelance contributor to Newsweek’s personal finance team. As a content creator and podcast host passionate about helping families, Kevin has created content on a range of topics, from budgeting and money management to credit cards and travel rewards. Kevin is based in Cleveland, Ohio, with his wife and four kids.
Newsweek Vault’s banking experts have done hundreds of hours of research to present you with all the latest information about your banking options. Whether you’re interested in opening a new checking account or savings account, our research spans all the top online banks, credit unions and brick-and-mortar branches.
We assessed the following five key factors to help you choose the best account for your personal finance needs.
Synchrony Bank delivers with a trio of bank accounts to maximize your savings.
Certificates of Deposit (CDs): Synchrony Bank offers high-yield CDs in 14 terms ranging from three months to five years, along with special bump-up and no-penalty CDs.
Savings: The bank’s high-yield savings account offers a highly competitive rate with no minimum balance and no monthly fees.
Money Market Account: Synchrony’s money market account comes with optional checks and ATM card and earns high-yield interest, although much lower than its savings account.
Vault’s Viewpoint on Synchrony Bank
Synchrony Bank is an online bank aimed at savers. The bulk of its banking products offer high-yield interest rates. Like many online banks, Synchrony is known for its lack of monthly fees and no minimum deposit requirements.
Beyond its savings offerings, the bank also offers retirement savings through IRA CDs and IRA Money Market accounts, available with a traditional or Roth IRA. Synchrony has no physical bank branches, so it’s not ideal for consumers who prefer banking in person. It also doesn’t offer a checking account, although you can request checks with its money market account.
Synchrony Bank Certificates of Deposit
Synchrony Bank standard certificates of deposit (CDs) are available in 14 terms ranging from three months to 60 months. Its CDs offer competitive rates ranging from 2.25% APY to 5.50% APY with no minimum deposit to open an account.
Synchrony also offers two special CDs, including a 24-month bump-up CD, which allows you to request a rate increase one time if the offered rate increases during your term. There’s also an 11-month no-penalty CD with no penalty if you need to withdraw your funds before the end of the term.
- Early withdrawal penalties of up to 365 days of simple interest
- Only offers CD terms up to five years
- Some terms have lower rates than its high-yield savings account
Synchrony High Yield Savings currently earns a competitive 4.75% APY. You can open a savings account online with any balance. There are no ongoing balance requirements, and Synchrony doesn’t charge monthly service fees. Generally, savings accounts don’t come with an ATM card, but you can request one if you have a Synchrony high-yield savings account.
Synchrony Bank has no checking account, but you can request optional checks and an ATM card with its money market account. The hybrid bank account offers the convenience of a checking account with the high-yield APY of a savings account. At 2.25% APY, its rate is lower than its high-yield savings account.
Money market accounts typically offer higher rates than savings accounts but also usually come with a higher deposit requirement. Synchrony requires no minimum balance and charges no monthly fee for its money market account.
About Synchrony
Synchrony Bank is the online banking arm of Synchrony Financial. The bank itself is relatively new, at least under its current name, but its history dates back over 90 years as the General Electric Contracts Corporation.
The online bank is known for its competitive rates on savings products. Your deposits are FDIC insured up to $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, for each ownership category.
The bank offers IRA CDs and money market accounts. Synchrony has three credit cards available but is better known for its retail co-branded credit cards and CareCredit credit card for medical care financing.
Synchrony Bank Fees
Synchrony Bank charges no monthly fees on any of its bank accounts. As mentioned, if you exceed six convenient transactions in a statement cycle, the bank may charge an excessive transaction fee.
Synchrony does not charge bank fees for ATM transactions. However, the ATM operator may charge a fee. Synchrony reimburses domestic ATM fees up to $5 per statement cycle. You can qualify for unlimited ATM fee reimbursements if you are a member of the bank’s Perks Rewards program and reach Diamond status. Achieving Diamond status requires keeping a balance of at least $250,000 or having a five-year tenure in the program.
Synchrony doesn’t charge some common bank fees but issues fees for certain transactions like outgoing wire transfers, stop payments and overnight checks.
Who is Synchrony Bank Best for?
Synchrony Bank is for savers who prefer to bank online and want to earn competitive rates on their deposits. It’s also for those who want to avoid pesky bank fees that undermine savings efforts. Synchrony accounts have no minimums to open an account or earn interest, making it a great option for individuals who want to save regardless of their starting point.
Who Should Consider an Alternative to Synchrony Bank?
Synchrony Bank is a great option, but it may not be for you if you want a full-service bank. Synchrony doesn’t offer checking accounts, investing or retirement accounts, mortgages or auto or personal loans. Its money market account comes with optional checks but is limited to six transactions per statement period. A bank with a traditional checking account would give you a true everyday spending account to pay bills, make purchases and perform other transactions much better.
Synchrony Bank has no local branch locations. If you want in-person banking and support, you will need to bank elsewhere.
How Does Synchrony Bank Stack Up to Its Competitors?
Synchrony Bank offers excellent savings opportunities but may not fit everyone’s needs. Here’s a look at how the online bank compares to the competition.
Synchrony vs. Ally Bank
Both Synchrony and Ally Bank are great options to earn high-yield APYs, but Ally is better if you prefer to do all of your banking in one place. Ally is a full-service online bank, offering a comprehensive collection of financial products and services. This includes credit cards, investing and retirement accounts, mortgages along with auto and personal loans.
Most of Ally’s banking products come with competitive rates, no monthly fees, minimum deposit requirements to open an account or ongoing balance requirements.
Ally’s savings account earns a competitive APY and includes additional savings features like savings buckets round-ups, and a Surprise Savings feature, which analyzes linked accounts to help you maximize saving efforts automatically. It also has one of the best checking accounts thanks to several perks, including no overdraft fees and plenty of fee-free ATM access.
Ally Bank also offers a money market account, seven high-yield CD terms, a raise-your-rate CD and a no-penalty CD. It offers slightly fewer term options than Synchrony Bank, but CD rates are comparable between the two online banks.
Synchrony vs. CIT Bank
As online banks, neither Synchrony Bank nor Ally Bank offer in-person banking, but Synchrony offers more flexibility and higher APYs to maximize savings efforts. It also offers more account options than Synchrony Bank.
All of Ally’s accounts earn higher rates than the national average or what you’d likely find at a local bank, but rates vary considerably between accounts. CIT Bank Savings Connect offers competitive APY with only a $100 minimum deposit. But some options, like the CIT Bank Platinum Savings account, require you to meet higher balance requirements to earn a top-tier interest rate.
CIT Bank has a checking account and a money market account. Its eChecking account comes with a debit card, but neither account offers a checkbook or check-writing privileges. Similar to Synchrony, CIT Bank offers several types of CDs for various needs but only some CD terms earn competitive rates.
Synchrony vs. Chase
Chase is a household name for banking and credit cards. With over 4,700 branches across the U.S. and 15,000 ATMs, it’s a better option for in-person banking compared to Synchrony Bank.
It’s also a better option for anyone looking for full-service banking. Chase Bank offers eight checking accounts, two savings accounts and more than a dozen CD terms. The national bank is known for its wide range of rewards credit cards and mortgage, investing and lending products.
Chase Bank is not a good fit if you want to build your savings. Select CD terms 15 months or longer earn high-yield interest rates, but none of its shorter CD terms or other interest-bearing accounts earn competitive APYs, even if you qualify for relationship rates through the bank.