Kiplinger Readers' Choice Awards 2024: National Banks
The Kiplinger Readers’ Choice Awards celebrate the best products and services in personal finance.
About the Kiplinger Readers’ Choice Awards
The Kiplinger Readers’ Choice Awards aim to recognize and celebrate the best products and services in the personal finance arena. We asked you, our Kiplinger community, to help us name the products and services you think have delivered excellent value in the past year.
The survey results, which we’re sharing here in our second annual Readers’ Choice Awards, offer valuable insight into which providers shine when it comes to your everyday interactions and experiences with them. Our Awards recognize excellence in everything from credit cards, banks and brokers to insurers, tax software and financial apps. For each category, we’ve listed an overall winner that earned the highest score. We’ve also highlighted other products and services that earned above-average scores for various criteria we asked readers to assess.
By voting, our community has helped us form our guide to the very best financial products. These are the products and companies that you think stand out from the crowd.
Kiplinger Readers' Choice Awards: National Banks
These large brick-and-mortar institutions have a presence in many states, and they offer a range of products and services, including checking accounts, savings accounts, certificates of deposit and loans. We assessed readers’ overall satisfaction with their bank, their opinion of its customer service, and the likelihood they would recommend the bank to others.
OVERALL WINNER: KeyBank
Outstanding for:
- Customer service
- Most recommended
- Overall satisfaction
Readers bestowed KeyBank with the highest total score among national banks. It has 1,000 full-service branches in 16 states scattered around the U.S. Notably, KeyBank’s basic Key Smart Checking account has no maintenance fee or minimum balance requirement.
Key Select Checking comes with extra perks, such as reimbursement of out-of-network ATM fees, and the monthly fee is waivable if you have $5,000 monthly in direct deposits or meet other requirements. Savings accounts with KeyBank recently yielded as much as 4% for the first six months, and one of the CDs has a 5% yield over a nine-month term.
Huntington Bank
Outstanding for:
- Customer service
- Most recommended
- Overall satisfaction
Huntington Bank also earned high praise from readers. “An excellent bank that cares about its customers,” says one survey respondent.
Huntington operates approximately 1,000 branches in 11 states, primarily in the Midwest. The bank offers four types of checking accounts; some are loaded with perks, such as unlimited no-fee withdrawals from non-Huntington ATMs and interest rate benefits with money market accounts and savings accounts.
If you’re looking for a no-fuss account, check out Asterisk-Free Checking, which requires no minimum opening balance and no monthly maintenance fees. Yields on money market deposit accounts hover at about 4.4% on balances of $25,000 up to $2 million.
Chase Bank
Outstanding for:
- Customer service
- Overall satisfaction
Chase is the largest bank in the U.S., with millions of customers and more than 4,700 branches in all of the lower 48 states. “For such a huge bank, they seem to do most things right,” says one reader. Survey respondents also complimented the personal touch that the bank offers clients. “A Chase representative occasionally calls just to check in, which is really appreciated.”
The bank offers a handful of checking and savings accounts. To avoid a monthly maintenance fee on its basic account, Chase Total Checking, maintain a $1,500 minimum balance in checking or meet other requirements. CDs with yields up to 5% were recently available, depending on the deposit amount and term.
TD Bank
Outstanding for:
- Most recommended
Readers called TD Bank “accessible, friendly and competent” and “extremely accommodating” in our survey, and they spoke highly of its customer service. “TD Bank reps really go out of their way to resolve issues,” says one respondent.
With more than 1,100 branches in 15 states and Washington, D.C., TD has a large presence on the East Coast. Its Complete Checking account charges no monthly fee if you keep a minimum checking balance of $500 or meet other requirements, and Beyond Checking (maintaining $2,500 in checking is one way to avoid the monthly fee) comes with benefits such as free standard checks and reimbursed wire transfer fees.
Kiplinger Readers' Choice Awards Categories
Get Kiplinger Today newsletter — free
Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more. Delivered daily. Enter your email in the box and click Sign Me Up.
Emma Patch joined Kiplinger in 2020. She previously interned for Kiplinger's Retirement Report and before that, for a boutique investment firm in New York City. She served as editor-at-large and features editor for Middlebury College's student newspaper, The Campus. She specializes in travel, student debt and a number of other personal finance topics. Born in London, Emma grew up in Connecticut and now lives in Washington, D.C.
- Lisa GerstnerEditor, Kiplinger Personal Finance magazine
- Ellen B. KennedyRetirement Editor, Kiplinger.com
-
Why Hewlett Packard Stock Is Still a Buy After Earnings
Hewlett Packard stock is sizzling Friday after the tech giant beat expectations for its fiscal fourth quarter. Here's what Wall Street is saying.
By Joey Solitro Published
-
Ulta Beauty Stock Gets a Much-Needed Boost After Earnings
Beaten-down Ulta Beauty stock is notably higher Friday after the cosmetics retailer's strong earnings report and encouraging outlook.
By Joey Solitro Published
-
2024 Kiplinger Readers' Choice Awards Results
Kiplinger Readers' Choice Awards The results are in for the 2024 Kiplinger Readers’ Choice Awards — celebrating the best products and services in personal finance.
By Lisa Gerstner Published
-
Kiplinger Readers' Choice Awards 2024: Peer-to-Peer Payment Services
Kiplinger Readers' Choice Awards The winners of the Kiplinger Readers’ Choice Awards' best peer-to-peer payment services category. Our awards celebrate the very best products and services in personal finance.
By Ellen Kennedy Published
-
Kiplinger Readers' Choice Awards 2024: Full-Service Brokers
Kiplinger Readers' Choice Awards These are the winners of the Kiplinger Readers’ Choice Awards' best full-service brokers category. Our awards celebrate the very best products and services in personal finance.
By Emma Patch Published
-
Kiplinger Readers' Choice Awards 2024: Tax Software
Kiplinger Readers' Choice Awards The results of the Kiplinger Readers’ Choice Awards' best tax software category. Our awards celebrate the very best products and services in personal finance.
By Emma Patch Published
-
Kiplinger Readers' Choice Awards 2024: Homeowners Insurance Companies
Kiplinger Readers' Choice Awards The results of the Kiplinger Readers’ Choice Awards' best homeowners insurance company category. Our awards celebrate the very best products and services in personal finance.
By Emma Patch Published
-
Kiplinger Readers' Choice Awards 2024: Auto Insurance Companies
Kiplinger Readers' Choice Awards The results of the Kiplinger Readers’ Choice Awards' best auto insurance company category. Our awards celebrate the very best products and services in personal finance.
By Emma Patch Published
-
Kiplinger Readers' Choice Awards 2024: Donor-Advised Funds
Kiplinger Readers' Choice Awards The Kiplinger Readers’ Choice Awards celebrate the best products and services in personal finance.
By Emma Patch Published
-
Kiplinger Readers' Choice Awards 2024: Internet Banks
Kiplinger Readers' Choice Awards The winners of the Kiplinger Readers’ Choice Awards' best internet banks category. Our awards celebrate the very best products and services in personal finance.
By Ellen Kennedy Published