- Competitive yields
- No service fees
- Live chat and phone support
- No checking account
- No physical branches
- No cool features, such as automated savings tools
Synchrony is a digital bank that offers competitive rates on savings and CDs, plus credit cards and a money market account, which may serve you well if you want a little account flexibility. However, you won’t find a checking account, loans or investment account options, limiting its appeal.
Overall, if you’re comfortable with online banking, you want some high-yield savings and you don’t want to ditch your current financial institution that you use for your day-to-day banking, Synchrony Bank could be a good option.
Annual percentage yields (APYs) and account details are accurate as of October 27, 2023.
Synchrony Bank basics
- Checking accounts: None.
- Savings accounts: Synchrony Bank High Yield Savings Account.
- Money market accounts: Synchrony Bank Money Market Account (MMA).
- Synchrony Bank Certificates of deposit (CDs): 14 traditional CDs with terms from three months to five years, an 11-month No-Penalty CD and a 24-month Bump-Up CD; all with a $0 minimum deposit.
- Other accounts: IRA CD, IRA MMA, credit cards.
- Bank branches or online only: Online only.
Pros
- Competitive yields: The Online Savings Account offers a 4.75% annual percentage yield (APY) while CDs earn an APY from 2.25% to 5.50%.
- No service fees: You don’t need to jump through hoops to secure a fee waiver or pay out of pocket — there are no monthly service fees on Synchrony’s savings, money market account or CDs.
- Live chat and phone support: While you can’t stop by a brick-and-mortar branch, you can find live customer support during extended business hours and weekend hours, plus automated phone support 24/7.
Cons
- No checking account: Synchrony’s savings and money market account limit you to six transactions a month. You’ll likely need to rely on a different institution’s checking account to pay bills and manage your daily transactions, which can be inconvenient if you want a one-stop, full-service bank.
- No physical branches: As an online-only bank, Synchrony doesn’t offer in-person services. All transactions must be done digitally through its website or mobile app.
- No cool features: Many other institutions offer some useful add-ons, such as automated savings tools, early direct deposit and customization items so you can create savings goals and track your progress.
About Synchrony Bank
Synchrony was part of General Electric (GE) until 2015 when it became independent and joined the S&P 500.
While it offers fewer products and is less well known than the big names in online banking, such as Ally Bank and Marcus by Goldman Sachs, Synchrony focuses on digital savings accounts and is still backed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) with protection up to $250,000 per depositor, per account type.
Its deposit accounts have no minimum opening deposit requirement, no minimum balance requirement and no monthly service fee.
Savings accounts
Synchrony keeps it straightforward by offering one savings account aptly named: High Yield Savings. Its current yield is a competitive 4.75% APY and it comes with an ATM card, which allows you to access ATMs with the Plus or Accel logos for free. Synchrony also refunds out-of-network ATM fees up to $5 a month.
Keep in mind, however, that even though Federal Regulation D no longer limits savers to six transfers a month, some financial institutions still apply it to their own accounts — Synchrony is one of them.
You can’t make more than six transactions a month (not including ATM withdrawals) from your savings account or your money market account. If you do, Synchrony may not allow the transaction, could charge a fee and possibly close the account.
Money Market Accounts (MMAs)
Its money market account yields a 2.25% APY, which isn’t outstanding, but much better than you’ll find on a traditional checking account. Even though you can write checks from this account in addition to using an ATM card, you’re likely better off separating your checking funds from your savings funds, or considering a different money market account altogether.
Certificates of Deposit (CDs)
You can choose between three types of CDs, all which offer competitive interest rates and don’t require a minimum deposit.
You can withdraw earned interest at any time, but partial withdrawals of the principal aren’t allowed. Early withdrawal of the entire principal is allowed but will trigger a penalty, unless you have a no-penalty CD.
For example, if your CD term is one year or less, you’ll lose 90 days’ worth of simple interest; if the term is more than 12 months but less than 48, the penalty is 180 days’ interest; and the penalty for CDs with terms of 48 months or more is 365 days’ interest.
High-Yield CD
You can find traditional CD terms from three months to five years here, which can help whether you’re saving up for a short-term item, such as a vacation, or a long-term goal, like buying a house.
To see how much you’ll earn on any CD, use our CD calculator.
Bump-Up CD
Synchrony offers one bump-up CD, which has a 24-month term and a 4.00% APY.
Bump-up CDs (otherwise known as rate-bump CDs) let you increase their rate once during their terms for free, but typically start out with a lower yield. They can be good if you suspect that rates will rise significantly within the CDs’ term.
No-Penalty CD
A no-penalty CD means you don’t have to worry about an early withdrawal penalty so, if you suddenly need to use your money, you can skip the fee. The downside is that you’ll typically find lower yields compared to traditional CDs.
Synchrony’s 11-month no-penalty CD however, comes with a scorching 4.50% APY, which is highly competitive, and is why it’s one of our top picks for the category.
Other accounts
You’ll find a limited amount of other banking products here, but you can get a few individual retirement (IRA) options and three credit cards.
Synchrony’s IRA CDs mirror its traditional CDs — you have the same term options with the same yields. The IRA Money Market account is also a twin with the regular MMA. The benefit of getting these accounts as IRAs has to deal with taxes. Stashing money in an IRA will lower your taxable income and help you save for retirement, providing more steady and stable returns compared to the stock market.
Synchrony offers three types of credit cards; each one is geared towards a specific credit score band. For example, the Synchrony Premier World Mastercard®
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The information for the Synchrony Premier World Mastercard® has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
is aimed at people with excellent credit and provides 2% cash back on purchases without charging an annual fee, while the Synchrony Preferred World Mastercard could help you build your credit.
How Synchrony Bank stacks up
Synchrony Bank vs. Ally Bank
While it’s also a digital bank, Ally could be your one-stop shop as it has competitive yields and offers more products than Synchrony, such as checking, home loans, auto loans, personal loans and investment services.
If you already love your current bank, however, and just want to add a high-yield deposit account, Synchrony and Ally are comparable. Which one you’d choose will depend on exactly what type of banking product you’re looking for.
Synchrony Bank vs. Capital One 360
Capital One is the ninth largest bank in the nation and has a cornucopia of banking products to match, including specialized deposit accounts such as the MONEY Teen Checking and the Kids Savings Account, which we especially like.
In a bid to compare apples to apples, however, its 360 Performance Savings™ and 360 CDs® are competitive compared with Synchrony. Both have no required minimum balance, no monthly service fees and strong rates — Capital One offers a 4.30% APY on its savings account and a range of 4.10% to 5.30% APY on its CDs.
Synchrony Bank vs. Marcus By Goldman Sachs
Marcus by Goldman Sachs is strictly for savers since it doesn’t offer a checking or money market account. It doesn’t even provide a debit or ATM card. The CD rates of both banks are comparable, with Marcus’ top CD rate at 5.20% APY on its 12-month term.
Learn more: See the best CD rates.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Synchrony is best if you want an online bank for high-yield savings and you don’t mind making six or less transactions a month.
Synchrony is FDIC insured, which means your money (up to the $250,000 limit per depositor, per ownership type) is guaranteed.
Yes, Synchrony is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC).
The last time Synchrony Bank faced enforcement issues by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was back in 2014 when it was still called GE Capital. At that time, the company paid $225 million for deceptive and discriminatory credit card practices.
