Flagstar Bank Review

Flagstar Bank Flagstar Performance Savings

4.50% APY

Flagstar Bank originally began in Michigan as a mortgage lender, and today has loan offices in all 50 states. While mortgages are its primary business, it has a growing community banking business as well, with over 100 branches in Michigan and a handful in southern California. It also has branch locations in Arizona, Florida, Indiana, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Wisconsin.

For customers in Michigan, Flagstar offers an excellent array of deposit accounts. Checking and savings accounts tend to have low or no balance requirements, and interest rates are above industry averages. Rates on their certificates of deposit are especially good.

In addition to those high rates, Flagstar offers some neat features with its accounts. These include no fees on overdraft protection transfers (transfers from savings to checking accounts to protect against accidental overdrafts), and access to the nationwide Allpoint ATM network. For those seeking a bank in the Great Lakes State, Flagstar Bank is a solid choice.

Products Offered

Flagstar Bank Interest Rate Comparison

Flagstar Bank Overview

Flagstar Bank is a relatively young bank, having been in operation for just about thirty years. Yet over that period of time, it has achieved substantial growth, expanding from its original branch in Michigan to lending locations across the country, with over 100 branches in Michigan and a handful in southern California.

As the fifth-largest mortgage originator in the country, mortgage lending is its primary business. But in addition to making home loans, it also operates a substantial banking business, offering a wide range of deposit accounts, from checking to certificates of deposit.

If you do your banking with Flagstar, there are a few things you can expect regardless of your account type. This includes free online and mobile banking, a free debit or ATM card, and free access to all Allpoint ATMs (there are 56,000 in the global network). You'll also be eligible for a 0.25% rate reduction on personal loans and home equity loans if you make payments automatically from your deposit account.

Save more with these rates that beat the National Average

• Savings & MMAs
• CDs

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Flagstar Performance Savings

Flagstar's Performance Savings account offers some really strong interest rates for account holders, though you'll need quite a bit in savings in order to access those top-tier rates. More specifically, if your balance is less than $25,000, then your APY will be a fairly low 0.10%. However, if you can get your balance to $25,000 or higher, your APY will vastly increase to 4.50%.

The account does have a $15 monthly service charge, but it's waivable if you either have a Flagstar personal checking account or maintain an average daily balance of at least $10,000 in your account. Between this and the aforementioned accessiblity to a rate increase, this account is clearly angled to those who already have substantial savings to sock away.

Account holders will receive a few other features, such as a debit card and online and mobile banking.

Flagstar Ready Savings

Flagstar's Ready Savings account is a much more basic option than the aforementioned Performance Savings account. For instance, the account has a much lower monthly fee of $3, though it is also waivable by meeting one of the below requirements:

• Maintain a $300 average daily balance
• Own a Flagstar personal checking account
• Be 18 years old or younger

Account holders will also receive access to Flagstar debit card, online and mobile banking and a savings APY that isn't publicly available on Flagstar's website. You'll also only need $1 to open an account, making it an extremeley accessible option.

Flagstar Certificates of Deposit

With a certificate of deposit at Flagstar Bank, you can earn higher interest rates by setting aside your money for a fixed period of time. Flagstar offers a wider range of terms than most banks, with CDs as short as one month and as long as ten years. 

The minimum deposit for a CD at Flagstar is $500. Your interest rate is fixed for your term, which means the bank cannot lower your rates. On the other hand, if rates go up, you will be stuck with your initial rate. 

The best rates tend to be on the longest CDs. Keep in mind that there are penalties for early withdrawal, so don’t open a CD if you might need to access your money before the end of your term.

Flagstar Money Market Account

Flagstar Bank offers one other type of savings deposit account — a money market account. The balance required to avoid a $15 monthly fee with this account is $2,500.

You can also avoid the monthly fee by opening a checking account. Like a checking account, the money market account does come with check-writing capabilities.

Flagstar Ready Checking

Checking accounts at different banks tend to be pretty similar, but Flagstar offers a few features on its Ready checking account that make it stand out. For starters, there’s just a $3 monthly fee that's easily waived and no minimum balance requirement. So once you open your account with at least the $50 minimum initial deposit, you don’t need to worry about your balance.

Flagstar is a part of the Allpoint ATM network, which has 56,000 ATMs around the world, including ATMs at many CVS and Walgreens pharmacies. For Flagstar customers, withdrawals at these ATMs are free.

Perhaps the most notable feature offered on the account, however, is Flagstar’s overdraft protection policy. The bank offers overdraft protection transfers from linked Flagstar Bank deposit accounts at no cost. They will transfer an amount to cover your overdraft from, for example, your savings account, without charging you anything.

Flagstar Elite Checking

If you plan on maintaining at least $25,000 in your checking account, one of Flagstar’s interest checking accounts may be worth consideration. The Elite Checking account has that high of a minimum to avoid its $15 monthly fee, but then you'll gain access to interest-bearing potential.

In addition to Flagstar’s excellent overdraft protection policies (see the previous section), these accounts come with some features for ATM usage. As with all Flagstar accounts, you will have access to the Allpoint ATM network with your ATM or debit card. But you will also be able to use other ATMs.

Where Can I Find Flagstar Bank?

Flagstar Bank has around 400 branch locations across nine states. Michigan and New York are home to the most branches, as there are roughly 230 between the two states. The other states that house branches include Arizona, California, Florida, Indiana, New Jersey, Ohio and Wisconsin.

What Can You Do Online With Flagstar Bank?

Through Flagstar’s website and mobile app you can review account balances, transfer money between accounts, pay bills, and receive alerts about account activity. You can also deposit checks with the mobile app. The app receives fairly low rankings on the Google and Apple app stores, with 2 and 2.7 stars, respectively.

How Do I Access My Money?

Flagstar is part of the Allpoint ATM network, which means there are surcharge-free ATMs almost everywhere that Flagstar customers can use. Most accounts come with a debit or ATM card so that you can withdraw money, although the number of withdrawals allowed per month is limited for savings and money market accounts.

How Can I Save More Money With Flagstar Bank?

If you are looking to grow your savings, Flagstar Bank’s certificates of deposit offer fairly good interest rates. The CD specials have rates up to 4.85%, with terms as short as 7 months (though these are subject to change). At that rate, for every $1,000 in savings, you would add at least have $28.01 in interest. 

What’s the Process for Opening an Account With Flagstar Bank?

You can apply for an account with Flagstar online. To complete the process you will need your social security number, a photo ID such as a driver’s license or passport, and some kind of funding source. This could be an account number and routing number for another bank account, or a check. If you use a check you will either need to mail it in or bring it to a Flagstar branch.

What’s the Catch?

As mentioned above, Flagstar only has branches in Michigan and a small part of Southern California. If you are not in one of these areas, you can still open an account, but you will not have the convenience of a nearby branch office. However, you may still have a surcharge-free ATM in your neighborhood, as Flagstar is a part of a national ATM network.

Bottom Line

Though Flagstar Bank is primarily a mortgage lender, with loan offices in all 50 states, it also has retail branking branches across nine states. Despite that relatively small footprint, Flagstar offers excellent features on its deposit accounts, such as free overdraft protection transfers, and automatic enrollment in the Allpoint ATM network. It also has great rates on its certificates of deposits.