Skip to Main Content

Synchrony Bank Review 2024

Updated September 11, 2024
Bankrate logo

The Bankrate promise

At Bankrate we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions. While we adhere to strict , this post may contain references to products from our partners. Here's an explanation for .

At a glance

4.1
Rating: 4.1 stars out of 5
Bankrate Score
Caret Down Icon

CDs

Rating: 4.4 stars out of 5

Savings

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

MMA

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

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
  • Highly Rated App
  • No Monthly Fees
Sponsored offers
Info Icon

These are sponsored offers rated highly by us for competitive rates, fees, and minimums.

Bank logo
Member FDIC
CD
4.30
%
APY
APY
Info Icon
As of 12/3/2024
Rating: 4.4 stars out of 5
$0
Minimum deposit
View offer Arrow Right Icon
Promoted offer:
Bank logo
Member FDIC
Savings Account
3.90
%
APY
APY
Info Icon
As of 12/3/2024
Rating: 4.4 stars out of 5
$0
Min. balance for APY
View offer Arrow Right Icon
Promoted offer:
Bank logo
Member FDIC
Savings Account
4.10
%
APY
APY
Info Icon
As of 12/3/2024
Rating: 4.7 stars out of 5
$0
Min. balance for APY
View offer Arrow Right Icon
Promoted offer:

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

  • Checkmark Icon

    Synchrony consistently offers competitive rates on deposit products.

  • Checkmark Icon

    Synchrony doesn’t require minimum balances for its savings accounts, money market accounts and certificates of deposit (CDs).

  • Checkmark Icon

    Up to $5 in domestic ATM rebates are available per statement cycle.

Cons

  • Synchrony has no branches.

  • Checking accounts aren’t offered.

  • Synchrony Bank’s money market account doesn’t earn as high of a yield as its savings account.

Synchrony Logo

We want to know what you think about Synchrony Bank

Do you have experience with Synchrony Bank? Let us know your thoughts.

Synchrony Bank banking products

5.0
/5
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
SCORE BREAKDOWN
APY offering:
4.10%
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
5/5
Info Icon
Minimum balance for APY:
$0.00
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
5/5
Info Icon
Monthly service fee:
$0.00
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
5/5
Info Icon
Minimum balance to avoid fee:
$0.00
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
5/5
Info Icon
Access to funds:
Great
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
5/5
Info Icon
FEATURES
Invest Rate Icon
4.10% APY
Info Icon
Savings Icon
$0 minimum balance for APY
Loan Icon
$0 minimum deposit to open

Synchrony Bank savings overview

The Synchrony Bank High Yield Savings account earns a competitive yield and doesn't charge a monthly maintenance fee. It also doesn't require a minimum opening deposit and doesn't have a minimum balance requirement. The account offers an ATM card and reimburses up to $5 for out-of-network ATM fees in the U.S. per month.

Pros

  • Checkmark Icon

    The account offers a competitive yield.

  • Checkmark Icon

    There are no monthly service fees.

  • Checkmark Icon

    The account comes with an ATM card and offers rebates.

Cons

  • All tiers have the same APY, so customers are not rewarded for depositing more money.

  • Some banks offer a higher APY on their savings accounts.

  • See how rates for this account have changed over time. Interact with the trend lines to view APY by date.

    Synchrony Bank
    APY
    APY
    Info Icon
    National average APY
    How do we get this data?
    Info Icon

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

Customer experience

Customer support

Support hours. As an online-only bank, Synchrony Bank has no branches. Customers who need assistance can contact a representative via the mobile banking app, online chat service or phone.

Low customer satisfaction. Synchrony Bank received the second lowest score in overall satisfaction among online-only banks for its savings accounts, according to J.D. Power’s 2024 Direct Banking Satisfaction Study.

Digital experience

Highly rated mobile app. Synchrony’s mobile app is highly rated on the Apple App and Google Play stores. Collectively, more than 30,000 users have reviewed the app. “The desktop website is one of the cleanest, most intuitive platforms I’ve seen in awhile,” said a Bankrate staff member who uses Synchrony personally. “Each option provides plenty of instructions, FAQs and interactive options to toggle through ranging from how to deposit money to more specific prompts like a CD maturing and assessing how much I wanted to transfer, remove or keep the same.” 

That noted, Synchrony doesn’t show you how much interest you’ve earned across accounts. Thus, you’ll need to check year-to-date interest paid on each account and tally it up to see how much you’ve earned across accounts.

Lightbulb Icon

Bankrate staff insights

“My experience with Synchrony Bank has been nothing short of exceptional,” said a Bankrate staff member with a Synchrony account. “Most of the digital products I use in my day-to-day are ones I’ve vetted, tested its competitors and landed on a product that checks boxes that competitors didn’t.”

Disclosure: To enhance our product reviews, Bankrate employees often open accounts and provide feedback. They may have been compensated for their time and account maintenance, but this does not affect the integrity of their review.

Caret Down Icon

The above images were last updated on Feb. 19, 2024.

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.

How Synchrony compares to other banks

Compare different account types offered by Synchrony Bank. Annual percentage yields (APYs) shown were updated between Nov. 26, 2024 and Dec. 2, 2024.

Selected bank
Synchrony Bank savings account
Synchrony Bank Logo
Member FDIC
Bankrate score
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
5.0
Info Icon
Most comparable
Capital One savings account
Capital One Logo
Member FDIC
Bankrate score
Rating: 4.4 stars out of 5
4.4
Info Icon
Read review
Search for or select a bank:
Caret Down Icon
Bankrate score
Info Icon
Read review
APY
Info Icon
4.10% 3.90%
Minimum balance for APY
$0.00 $0.00
Estimated earnings
Info Icon
$2,050 $1,950
You’ll earn a competitive yield and can access your money at an ATM with the Synchrony Bank High Yield Savings Account. You’ll also have $5 worth of domestic ATM fees reimbursed per month and you won’t be charged a monthly service fee. Capital One’s 360 Performance Savings Account earns a competitive yield. It doesn’t require a minimum opening deposit and you won’t pay a monthly service fee with this account. Capital One is one of the few online banks that you can visit at a branch location to withdraw cash.
  • You can get up to $5 worth of ATM fees reimbursed with this account.
  • You’ll earn a competitive yield with Synchrony’s savings account.
  • There are no monthly service fees.
  • The bank pays a competitive yield on its 360 Performance Savings Account.
  • The Capital One 360 Performance Savings Account doesn’t have a monthly service fee.
  • You don’t need a minimum opening deposit.
  • You can deposit checks through mobile deposit with this account.
    N/A
  • Some banks pay a higher yield on their savings accounts.
  • All tiers have the same APY, so customers are not rewarded for depositing more money
  • Some banks offer a higher yield on their savings accounts.
    N/A
APY offering:
4.10%
5/5
Info Icon
Minimum balance for APY:
$0.00
5/5
Info Icon
Monthly service fee:
$0.00
5/5
Info Icon
Minimum balance to avoid fee:
$0.00
5/5
Info Icon
Access to funds:
Great
5/5
Info Icon
APY offering:
3.90%
4/5
Info Icon
Minimum balance for APY:
$0.00
5/5
Info Icon
Monthly service fee:
$0.00
5/5
Info Icon
Minimum balance to avoid fee:
$0.00
5/5
Info Icon
Access to funds:
Good
4/5
Info Icon
Info Icon
Info Icon
Info Icon
Info Icon
Info Icon
Bankrate does not currently track additional product details for this bank.

Synchrony Bank FAQs

Review methodology

With so many financial institutions to choose from, it can be hard to know who to trust. Bankrate’s ever-growing list of bank and credit union reviews is updated regularly. Our editorial team analyzes and reviews each institution across deposit products such as savings accounts, checking accounts, certificates of deposit (CDs) and money market accounts (MMAs). Banks are rated by important factors such as offered interest rates, fees, minimum balance requirements, access to funds and more.

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.

Synchrony Bank customer reviews

CTA Synchrony Bank has 24 reviews

Synchrony Bank has 24 reviews

Dive into community reviews below and see what others think about Synchrony Bank.

4.4 Star Icon
24 ratings
Info Icon
Score breakdown
5 stars
54%
4 stars
29%
3 stars
17%
2 stars
0%
1 star
0%
Score by category
Overall Rating 4.4 / 5
Competitiveness of APY 4.3 / 5
Amount of fees 4.3 / 5
Customer support 4.2 / 5
Website / Mobile app 4.4 / 5
Verified Badge Icon Bankrate methodology disclosure

In July 2024, Bankrate collaborated with a third-party vendor to survey 1,200 bank account holders nationwide. Bankrate and our vendor collected and summarized account holder responses to five rating questions on a 5-point scale as well as open-ended reviews of the banking experience. Responses are based on individual account holder product details, and therefore cannot be verified for accuracy. Reviewers received an incentive for their feedback. Their ratings are unedited and have not been reviewed or approved by the associated bank or credit union, nor do these responses reflect Bankrate's own expert review of these banking products.

Community Reviews

See what users like you are saying about Synchrony Bank.
Search Icon
Caret Down Icon
Anonymous account holder
September 13, 2024
Rate of return, time period, and early withdrawal time frames. Good service as an online bank, easy to use app and website.
Score by category
Amount of fees 5 / 5
Competitiveness of APY 5 / 5
Customer support 5 / 5
Website / Mobile app 5 / 5
Anonymous account holder
September 13, 2024
The saving account is a great way to save money. I always had or have a good experience The staff is always helpful Its very easy toake an deposit.
Score by category
Amount of fees 5 / 5
Competitiveness of APY 5 / 5
Customer support 5 / 5
Website / Mobile app 5 / 5
Anonymous account holder
September 13, 2024
You have to have a continued balance of a certain amount or they deduct from it. if you are a penny short they will charge you bounced check fees and overdraft fees. It was online. I didn’t need any money to start up the account. They didn’t check credit to open an account.
Score by category
Amount of fees 3 / 5
Competitiveness of APY 3 / 5
Customer support 4 / 5
Website / Mobile app 5 / 5
Anonymous account holder
September 13, 2024
So far its been good but some fees for overdraft are kind of ridiculous. Overdraft Easy to use Sign up approval.
Score by category
Amount of fees 3 / 5
Competitiveness of APY 3 / 5
Customer support 3 / 5
Website / Mobile app 3 / 5
Anonymous account holder
September 13, 2024
Synchrony bank offers a slight better interest rate, there are no monthly fees. APP is very easy to use, easy to transfer money between accounts,.
Score by category
Amount of fees 5 / 5
Competitiveness of APY 5 / 5
Customer support 5 / 5
Website / Mobile app 5 / 5
Anonymous account holder
September 13, 2024
I have a savings account and money market account and a debit card. Its easy to transfer money between the accounts when I need to write a check from the MMA, which I do. I have called up customer service and gotten immediate help by a knowledgeable person. I am very happy with the completive rates. The factors that led to me choosing this bank were the rates, ease of use, and friendliness of customer service representatives.
Score by category
Amount of fees 5 / 5
Competitiveness of APY 5 / 5
Customer support 5 / 5
Website / Mobile app 5 / 5
Anonymous account holder
September 13, 2024
It is not a fixed APY, it is variable, so it can go up or down, but interest is paid out monthly. It is convenient as it is more digital than in-person.
Score by category
Amount of fees 5 / 5
Competitiveness of APY 5 / 5
Customer support 3 / 5
Website / Mobile app 4 / 5
Anonymous account holder
September 13, 2024
If or when you might need money transferred to another bank, there is a 5 day wait to have access. The rates for money market accounts and CDs were better than local bank branches. We could automatically weekly save. Easy peasy.
Score by category
Amount of fees 5 / 5
Competitiveness of APY 5 / 5
Customer support 5 / 5
Website / Mobile app 5 / 5
Anonymous account holder
September 13, 2024
I love banking with them. I chose this bank because I was referred.
Score by category
Amount of fees 4 / 5
Competitiveness of APY 4 / 5
Customer support 4 / 5
Website / Mobile app 4 / 5
Anonymous account holder
September 13, 2024
It depends on what banking service you go through. I have had a couple bank accounts get closed due to inactivity and/or a negative balance, and finding a bank that would do business with me became rather challenging.
Score by category
Amount of fees 2 / 5
Competitiveness of APY 2 / 5
Customer support 3 / 5
Website / Mobile app 5 / 5