CIT Bank High-Yield Savings Accounts Review

CIT Bank, a member FDIC bank and subsidiary of First Citizens Bank, offers a range of savings products. These include high-yield savings accounts, a money market account and certificates of deposit (CDs) with a variety of term lengths.

Our review includes in-depth research on the best high-yield savings account CIT Bank has to offer, as well as thorough information about the online bank’s other savings products. Read on to find out if CIT Bank is the right home for your hard-earned savings.

Best high-yield savings account to save $5K or more

The CIT Bank Platinum Savings account offers a competitive annual percentage yield (APY) for balances starting at $5,000. You can open the account with an initial deposit of $100. However, to qualify for the highest available APY, you’ll need to maintain a minimum balance of $5,000. (Balances below this threshold earn a considerably lower interest rate.)

To add funds to this high-yield savings account, you have multiple options. You can deposit checks remotely using the CIT Bank mobile app or transfer funds from external bank accounts through either the app or the CIT Bank website.

CIT Bank high-yield savings account pros and cons

Pros explained

High APY for $5K and more

The CIT Bank Platinum Savings account offers a strong annual percentage yield for balances of $5,000 and above. Unlike some high-yield savings accounts that limit customers to earning the highest APY up to a certain balance, CIT Bank doesn’t impose a balance cap.

Daily compounding interest

CIT Bank Platinum Savings offers compounding interest, meaning you’ll earn interest on both the principal (all funds you’ve deposited) as well as any interest accrued. Additionally, interest compounds daily, allowing you to maximize the return on your savings.

No monthly maintenance fees

CIT Bank has no monthly service fees, so you won’t have to worry about recurring bank fees eating up the interest you’ve earned on your savings. Additionally, while CIT Bank requires a minimum deposit to open an account, there's no minimum balance requirement after that. (However, you must maintain a balance of $5,000 or more to earn the highest available APY.)

Unlimited transactions

Many high-yield savings accounts limit the number of transactions — specifically withdrawals — you can make per month. Customers may incur fees or even risk the closure of their account if they exceed the allotted number of transactions. However, with CIT Bank Platinum Savings, you can make as many transactions as you like with no penalties.

Cons explained

Very low APY for balances under $5K

If your CIT Bank Platinum Savings account balance is lower than $5,000, you won’t earn much interest. In fact, the annual percentage yield for balances below this threshold is very poor when compared to the best high-yield savings accounts available. This account may not be the best fit for those who aren’t sure they can maintain at least $5,000.

No physical branches

While CIT Bank is a subsidiary of First Citizens Bank, which has physical branches, CIT Bank itself does not. Services are exclusively available online, through the mobile app or via phone. You can also send and receive checks by mail.

Minimum opening deposit

CIT Bank offers a few savings products, each requiring a minimum opening deposit of $100. While there's no monthly balance requirement, the minimum opening deposit could exclude some customers who want to begin their high-yield savings journey with a smaller amount of money. Additionally, on the CIT Bank Platinum Savings account, you must have and maintain a minimum balance of $5,000 to earn the highest APY.

No 24/7 customer support

Many financial institutions, including online banks, offer 24/7 live customer support. Here, CIT Bank falls short compared to its competitors, as it doesn’t offer around-the-clock customer support. You can access your account information anytime online, through the mobile app or by phone, but actual communication with representatives is restricted to business hours.

CIT Bank high-yield savings account offerings

CIT Bank offers a few different types of savings accounts, including three different savings accounts and a Money Market account. The three savings accounts share some features:

• Minimum $100 initial deposit to open

• No monthly fee

• No transaction limit

• No overdraft fees

• Manage funds via electronic transfer, BillPay, PayPal, wire transfer ($10 or free for balances of $25K and more), remote check deposit via CIT Bank mobile app, Zelle (limit of $300 per transaction, $600 daily maximum), or request/send checks by mail

CIT Bank Platinum Savings

This account offers the highest APY of all CIT Bank's savings products, but only for balances of $5,000 and higher. For lower balances, the APY drops dramatically.

CIT Bank Savings Connect

The CIT Bank Savings Connect account offers a slightly lower annual percentage yield than the Platinum Savings option, but the rate is the same regardless of balance. Like with the CIT Bank Platinum Savings account, the minimum deposit to open this account is $100.

CIT Bank Savings Builder account

The CIT Savings Builder is a tiered savings account that offers customers increasingly higher interest rates as their balances grow. However, the highest interest rate offered is significantly lower than the rates you find with a high-yield savings account.

Typically, when a bank offering high-yield savings products also offers a product with a significantly lower yield, it means that the lower-yield product has some sort of other benefit, such as second-chance accounts for those with undesirable banking histories or youth accounts accessible to customers under 18.

However, the Savings Builder product has no such benefits. A CIT Bank representative explained that the Savings Builder product is a relic that hasn't yet been removed from CIT Bank's roster of savings products.

If you're trying to decide between the CIT Savings Connect and the Savings Builder accounts, the Savings Connect option is the clear choice.

CIT Bank Money Market

Typically, the appeal of a money market account is that — despite possibly having a lower APY than other high-yield savings options — it offers the option to withdraw money more frequently without penalty. However, the CIT Bank money market account doesn’t offer a very competitive APY, and its other account options also allow customers unlimited transactions.

CIT Bank Certificates of Deposit (CDs)

CIT Bank offers several types of CDs, which are savings accounts with fixed annual percentage yields for fixed periods of time. Interest rates for CDs are typically higher than other savings accounts, with term lengths that vary from one month to 10 years.

Below you’ll find details on CIT Banks' multiple certificate of deposit products:

To learn more about certificates of deposit (CDs), read our explainer here and check out the best CD rates. You can also read up on certificates of deposit vs. high-yield savings accounts or compare certificates of deposit vs. money market accounts.

CIT Bank high-yield savings account pricing

CIT Bank's high-yield savings account pricing is on par with the best high-yield savings accounts available. There are no monthly maintenance fees, no minimum balance requirements and no overdraft fees.

CIT Bank also allows for unlimited transactions, so there are no monetary penalties for exceeding limits. Additionally, CIT Bank offers daily compounding interest, which allows you to get the highest return possible on your savings.

CIT Bank high-yield savings account financial stability

CIT Bank's parent company, First Citizens Bank, holds a Baa1 rating from S&P Global and Moody's. This category indicates moderate credit risk, and the numerical modifier means that the financial institution is on the higher end of this rating. While this is only the fourth-best score on the ranking system, it still shows sound financial stability.

Additionally, First Citizens Bank is the principal subsidiary of First Citizens Bancshares, a publicly traded company with a market capitalization of over $20 billion. In 2022, the company had revenues of $5.5 billion, up 183.26% from 2021, and gross profit of $5.08 billion, up 167.76% from 2021.

CIT Bank high-yield savings account accessibility

Availability

CIT Bank is an online bank available in all 50 states via the CIT Bank website, mobile app and by phone. (CIT Bank has no physical branches.) Most of its services are available 24/7, except for customer service, which is only available during business hours.

Contact information

Unlike many other online banks, CIT Bank doesn't offer 24/7 customer service. Instead, customer service is available by phone at 1-855-462-2652, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. EST, and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST.

User experience

CIT Bank offers a solid user experience via its mobile app and website. Both platforms feature easy navigation and comprehensive details about its range of financial products.

CIT Bank high-yield savings account customer satisfaction

CIT Bank's high-yield savings account customer satisfaction skews negative. CIT Bank’s Better Business Bureau (BBB) listing shows an A- rating, but the company scores only 1.19 stars out of a possible 5 for customer satisfaction. On another third-party review site, CIT Bank has a rating of 2.2 out of five stars.

Negative reviews mention long waits for transfers into savings accounts to clear, as well as unexpected account freezes and closures. Customers also note difficulty reaching customer service representatives. On the other hand, a handful of positive reviews praise attentive, helpful customer service representatives.

How we evaluated CIT Bank's high-yield savings account

We researched all of CIT Bank's high-yield savings accounts, as well as its other savings products. Our assessment is based on the following factors:

• Annual percentage yield: We analyzed CIT Bank’s APRs against what competitors offer.

• Types of accounts: We explored the different types of savings products available to customers, including the pros and cons of each.

• Fees: We examined CIT Bank’s account disclosure document to determine account fees, such as monthly maintenance fees and overdraft fees.

• Accessibility: We researched the accessibility of CIT Bank financial products, including the user experience and customer service availability.

• Customer satisfaction: We scrutinized CIT Bank's high-yield savings reviews to better understand how real customers felt about their experience with the online bank.

Summary of Money's CIT Bank high-yield savings account review

CIT Bank offers several high-yield savings products, including three savings accounts, a money market account and several types of certificates of deposit. Of all its products, the CIT Bank Platinum Savings account has the strongest annual percentage yield. However, this account is best for people able to maintain a balance of $5,000 or greater, as all balances below that threshold earn a significantly lower APR.

All accounts require a minimum opening deposit of $100. The bank doesn’t charge monthly maintenance or overdraft fees, and there is no limit on the number of transactions you can make in a statement cycle.