Savings accounts

Synchrony Bank is known for having some of the most competitive rates on its high-yield savings accounts on the market. Opening a high-yield savings account with Synchrony Bank today would start yielding you APY.

Synchrony Bank can offer such high APY because they are an online bank with virtually no physical branch locations (except for two). The lack of physical locations might turn some people away. If you are comfortable with only banking online, then you can take advantage of the great interest.

Synchrony Bank does not have any minimum balance requirements. You can start earning interest on your savings immediately.

If you need access to cash, you can use any ATM that accepts the Synchrony Bank ATM card—any ATM displaying the Plus or Accel logos.

For ATMs that charge a fee by the owner/operator, Synchrony Bank will refund you up to $5 per statement cycle. However, if you have Diamond status or are in the Perks Rewards program, you’ll get unlimited domestic ATM fee refunds.

Money market accounts

Synchrony Bank’s Money Market account also boasts an impressive APY of on all balances. You can start earning interest on your savings immediately after opening an account. Plus, there are no minimum balance requirements.

Like most money market accounts, Synchrony Bank’s Money Market account comes with check-writing privileges. Once you open and fund your account, you can request checks.

If you are approaching retirement, you can take advantage of Synchrony Bank’s IRA Money Market account. You’ll get the tax advantages of a retirement account, with the high-interest of a money market account—all without taking much risk.

Certificate of deposits (CDs)

Synchrony Bank offers CDs with terms ranging from three months to five years. The rates on their CDs vary between for a three month CD up to for a five year CD. 

The minimum opening deposit for a CD at Synchrony Bank is . You can also open an IRA CD with a minimum opening deposit of .

Synchrony Bank does not offer no-penalty CDs like some banks. If you remove your money early from a CD, be prepared to pay an early withdrawal fee. For CD terms below one year, you’ll be charged 90 days of simple interest at the CDs current rate. For a CD with a term of 48 months or more, you’ll be charged a fee of 365 days of simple interest.

Banking experience

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The Investor Post rating

Synchrony Bank offers an overall good banking experience for an online bank. Not having physical banking locations or checking accounts make it challenging to use Synchrony for everyday banking. However, if you only want a place to store your money and maximize your interest earnings, that’s where Synchrony excels.

Both Synchrony Bank’s website and mobile apps are clean and easy to use, making digital banking easier. Although you can’t speak to bank tellers face-to-face, the customer service hours are very generous.

Rating methodology

To give you the most trustworthy and accurate information, The Investor Post takes an objective and unbiased approach to the way we rate banks and credit unions. We first take a weighted average of several categories, including checking, savings, CDs, money market, and banking experience. We look at several other factors within each category, including rates and fees, branch and ATM access, technology, customer service, and account features or limits. We average these factors into a star rating between one star (poor) and five stars (excellent).

About the author

Joshua Mayo is the founder of The Investor Post, runs a self-branded YouTube channel, and is an avid investor and entrepreneur.