Ally Bank Review: Leading Rates on a Variety of Banking Products

Ally Bank is one of the most popular options for those looking to leave brick-and-mortar banking behind thanks to its high APYs and minimal fees. Even though it only offers one checking account and one savings account, both are among the best we've seen. And they have no minimum balance requirements. Check out our full Ally Bank review below to learn more about these accounts as well as everything else Ally has to offer.

The Ally Savings account charges no monthly maintenance fees. Plus, it offers one of the most competitive APYs we've seen. There are no minimum balance requirements to open the account or to earn interest.

The account also stands out for its strong online and mobile management tools, plus its built-in budgeting features that help you save for your financial goals. Those features include a digital envelope system, recurring transfers, and "Surprise Savings." That last feature analyzes your linked Ally Bank checking account and transfers safe-to-save money to your savings every month. You can turn this feature off if you don't want to use it.

Ally Bank offers three types of certificates of deposit (CDs): High Yield CDs, Raise Your Rate CDs, and No Penalty CDs.

Ally High Yield CDs

Ally High Yield CDs have no minimum opening deposit, and offer terms ranging from three months to five years. Its rates are among the best we know of, and if you choose to renew your CD for another term, or open a new Ally High Yield CD once your initial term is up, it rewards you with a bonus APY increase for loyalty. The bank also offers a unique Ally Ten Day Best Rate Guarantee, so if rates go up within 10 days of opening a CD, Ally will raise yours automatically.

Ally Bank Raise Your Rate CDs

Ally's Raise Your Rate CDs offer a 2- or 4-year term. If you go with a 2-year term, you can raise the rate once during the term if Ally's rates for new Raise Your Rate CDs are higher than your current rate. If you choose the 4-year term, you can raise your rate twice. These CDs also come with loyalty bonus 0.05% APY increases for customers who renew or open a new CD after the initial term ends. One downside is that Ally's Raise Your Rate CDs offer APYs that are a bit lower than those offered for standard CDs with comparable terms. But if you want to benefit from potential rising rates while still having a guaranteed yield, these could be worth a look.

Ally Bank No Penalty CDs

Ally Bank's No Penalty CDs have a single 11-month term, and let you withdraw your deposit plus any interest earned penalty free any time after the first six days from account opening. The rates aren't quite as high as Ally's other CD rates, but they are not far off and are still competitive, especially compared to CDs offered by brick-and-mortar banks. Customers who stick it out until the end of the term are rewarded with a loyalty bonus if they renew, and the No Penalty CD is also subject to Ally's 10-day best rate guarantee.

Ally CD's tend to match or beat the competition, but it's always worth considering a selection of offerings to find the right CD account for your needs. Review our side-by-side comparison below for other competitive CD rates.

Ally offers a checking account, which it calls the Spending Account, with some unique features, which may appeal to new customers:

Ally Spending Account

The Ally Spending Account lets all customers earn interest, though those with larger balances earn a higher rate. Like its other bank accounts, Ally's checking account doesn't have minimum balance requirements or annual fees.

The bank doesn't have physical branches, but its mobile apps and online banking account let you transfer funds, pay bills online, and remotely deposit checks. When you need cash, you can use more than 43,000 Allpoint ATMs for free with your Ally Bank debit card. Ally also provides out-of-network ATM fee reimbursements of as much as $10 each month.

Ally Bank's customer satisfaction is a strong point. It had the third-highest score in the J.D. Power 2023 U.S. Direct Banking Satisfaction Study, and it currently has an A rating with the Better Business Bureau.

Ally doesn't have branches, so you have to be comfortable doing most of your account management online and reaching out via phone, live chat, or email when you have questions. Ally has customer support representatives standing by 24/7 to assist you.

Online banks rely on high APYs and few fees to draw customers in. Brick-and-mortar banks, which can't afford to compete with online banks on those fronts, fall back on relationship benefits like waived fees or higher APYs for opening multiple accounts and keeping larger sums at the bank.

The only thing Ally offers that resembles a relationship benefit is the bonus APYs for customers who renew CDs at the end of the term. This isn't something you see with many banks -- online or brick-and-mortar -- but it's not something everyone will be interested in.

That said, there's still plenty to appreciate about Ally, and it doesn't need special relationship benefits to entice new customers to join.

SoFi Bank

SoFi Bank is another online bank that offers competitive APYs and no monthly maintenance fees on deposit accounts. It's one of the few online banks we've seen that actually has a product range as impressive as Ally's, and it offers some compelling relationship discounts that could be appealing if you're planning to do all of your banking with one institution.

Capital One Bank

Capital One Bank is a hybrid brick-and-mortar and online bank. It has branches in a few states, but many of its customers bank entirely online. Its APYs are more in line with online bank rates than with their brick-and-mortar cousins, and it has a good variety of banking products to choose from.

Ally Bank is a smart choice for you if:

• You want high interest rates with minimal fees.
• You want a bank that offers a wide variety of banking products, including deposit accounts, loans, and investment products.
• You're comfortable managing your money entirely online.