Lisa Gerstner
About the Kiplinger Readers’ Choice Awards 2025
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: Internet Banks
Internet banks often provide higher yields than their brick-and-mortar counterparts. The reason? Internet banks don’t have physical locations, so their overhead costs are lower, allowing them to pay out better rates. Survey respondents judged these institutions on customer service, how likely they would be to recommend the bank to others and how satisfied they are overall with the bank.
OVERALL WINNER: Charles Schwab Bank
Outstanding for:
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- Customer service
- Most recommended
- Overall satisfaction
If you want to bundle your banking and brokerage services, Charles Schwab is a great option. Schwab Bank’s Investor Checking charges no monthly fees, and although you must link it to a Schwab One brokerage account, you’re not required to maintain a minimum balance in either account. You can move money securely and quickly from your checking account to your brokerage accounts. Schwab also offers a savings account with a 0.15% yield.
Schwab Bank is particularly appealing for international travelers. You don’t pay foreign-transaction fees when you use your debit card overseas, and you get unlimited reimbursement of out-of-network fees when you use your card at ATMs worldwide—a “fantastic” benefit, one reader says.
Ally
Outstanding for:
- Customer service
- Most recommended
- Overall satisfaction
Ally offers healthy yields on its CDs, high-yield savings account and money market account. The money market account for example, recently yielded 3.6% and provides quick access to your cash with a debit card. One reader notes, “The interest rates are consistently competitive, and the customer service is excellent.”
Ally also keeps fees to a minimum, charging no monthly maintenance fee on accounts and no fees for incoming wires. Customers have access to more than 75,000 fee-free ATMs nationwide, and the bank reimburses up to $10 monthly in out-of-network ATM surcharges.
USAA
Outstanding for:
- Customer service
- Most recommended
- Overall satisfaction
“I've been with USAA for over 45 years. I would not use another bank as my primary bank for checking and savings,” says one dedicated reader.
To become a USAA member, you must be an active-duty military member, a veteran, or a spouse or child of one who served. For those who qualify, USAA offers a full suite of banking services and money-management tools.
Checking customers can access more than 100,000 in-network ATMs nationwide, and they also get up to $10 refunded monthly in out-of-network fees. In some cases, members can receive their paycheck via direct deposit up to two days before payday.
Kiplinger Readers' Choice Awards Categories
- Readers' Choice Full-Service Brokers
- Readers' Choice Wealth Management
- Readers' Choice Cash Back Credit Cards
- Readers' Choice Travel Rewards Credit Cards
- Readers' Choice Airline Credit Card Rewards Programs
- Readers' Choice Hotel Credit Card Rewards Programs
- Readers' Choice National Banks
- Readers' Choice Auto Insurance Companies
- Readers' Choice Homeowners Insurance Companies
- Readers' Choice Annuity Providers
- Readers' Choice Tax Software
- Readers' Choice Peer-to-Peer Payment Services
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