Synchrony Bank Review 2023
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At a glance

CDs
Savings
MMA
About Bankrate Score
Overview
Synchrony Bank is ideal for savers who are comfortable banking entirely online. Synchrony offers competitive rates on its savings products, and there’s no minimum balance requirement. However, the bank doesn’t offer a checking account.
Highlights
- High APY
- No Monthly Fees
- Highly Rated App
Offers featured here have been sponsored by our partners, which impacts how, where, and in what order the products appear.

APY, or annual percentage yield, is the yearly return on a bank or investment account.
APY, or annual percentage yield, is the yearly return on a bank or investment account.
Bankrate Savings rating = 5/5
Bankrate scores are objectively determined by our editorial team. Our scoring formula weighs several factors consumers should consider when choosing financial products and services.

APY, or annual percentage yield, is the yearly return on a bank or investment account.
APY, or annual percentage yield, is the yearly return on a bank or investment account.
Bankrate Savings rating = 5/5
Bankrate scores are objectively determined by our editorial team. Our scoring formula weighs several factors consumers should consider when choosing financial products and services.

APY, or annual percentage yield, is the yearly return on a bank or investment account.
APY, or annual percentage yield, is the yearly return on a bank or investment account.
Bankrate Savings rating = 4.9/5
Bankrate scores are objectively determined by our editorial team. Our scoring formula weighs several factors consumers should consider when choosing financial products and services.
Overall
Synchrony Bank is an online bank that issues credit cards and offers several products that pay some of the best rates. But if you’re looking for a checking account at an online bank, you’ll want to consider other options such as Ally Bank or Capital One.
Pros
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Synchrony consistently offers competitive rates on deposit products.
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Synchrony doesn’t require minimum balances for its savings accounts, money market accounts and CDs.
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Up to $5 in domestic ATM rebates are available per statement cycle.
Cons
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Synchrony has no branches.
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Checking accounts aren’t offered.
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Synchrony Bank’s money market account doesn’t earn as high of a yield as its savings account.
Synchrony Bank banking products
FEATURES
APY, or annual percentage yield, is the yearly return on a bank or investment account. APY as of 9/28/2023
Synchrony Bank savings overview
Pros
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The account offers a competitive yield.
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There are no monthly service fees.
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The account comes with an ATM card and offers rebates.
Cons
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All tiers have the same APY, so customers are not rewarded for depositing more money.
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Some banks offer a higher APY on their savings accounts.
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See how rates for this account have changed over time. Interact with the trend lines to view APY by date.
Synchrony BankAPYAPYNational average APYSee table viewHow do we get this data?
Offers featured here have been sponsored by our partners, which impacts how, where, and in what order the products appear.

APY, or annual percentage yield, is the yearly return on a bank or investment account.
APY, or annual percentage yield, is the yearly return on a bank or investment account.
Bankrate Savings rating = 5/5
Bankrate scores are objectively determined by our editorial team. Our scoring formula weighs several factors consumers should consider when choosing financial products and services.
Bank fees
Fee | Charged? |
---|---|
Overdraft fee | None |
Non-sufficient funds fee | None |
Monthly maintenance fee | None |
Out-of-network ATM fee | None |
Excessive transaction fee | None |
Outgoing wire transfer | $25 |
About Synchrony Bank
Synchrony Bank is based in Stamford, Connecticut. Until 2014, Synchrony Bank was known as GE Capital Retail Bank, an extension of General Electric.
Synchrony offers certificates of deposit as well as savings and money market accounts but no checking accounts. A number of credit cards, including those offered by Amazon, Lowe's and Walgreens, are issued by Synchrony Bank. Synchrony is the biggest issuer of private label credit cards in the U.S., according to Synchrony's website.
Bank experience
As an online-only bank, Synchrony Bank has no branches. Customers needing assistance can contact a representative via the mobile banking app, online chat service or phone. Synchrony charges no ATM fees, though fees imposed by the ATM owner/operator may still apply. And as mentioned above, Synchrony will refund domestic ATM fees up to $5 a month.
The mobile banking app has earned highly positive ratings on the Apple App Store, but only an OK rating on the Google Play Store.
How Synchrony compares to other banks
Synchrony vs. Ally Bank
As online-only banks, Ally and Synchrony share many similarities. Neither bank has minimum opening requirements, minimum balance requirements or monthly maintenance fees for their accounts. Moreover, both banks offer highly competitive APYs for their savings products, which is a hallmark of the best online banks.
Although Ally generally has a larger pool of financial products, including checking, retirement and investment accounts, both banks offer competitive yields on par with each other for their CDs and savings accounts. Moreover, Synchrony has a wider array of CD terms to choose from.
Synchrony FAQs
Review methodology
We assign a score to each type of account and its features, weigh them carefully based on importance to account holders and determine an overall score. Read our full review methodology.
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