Axos Bank review

Axos Bank’s checking account options stand out with perks for customers with different types of needs. You can either get early access to your direct deposits or enjoy higher interest rates if you meet the requirements.

The drawback is that Axos Bank’s savings and CD rates are extremely low compared to other options out there, making it difficult to recommend this online lender if you’re looking for a place to park your cash for a while.

All annual percentage yields (APYs) and rates are accurate as of July 31, 2023.

Axos Bank basics

• Checking accounts: Essential Checking, Rewards Checking, Cashback Checking, First Checking and Golden Checking.
• Savings accounts: High Yield Savings Account.
• Money market accounts: High Yield Money Market.
• Certificates of deposit (CDs): Terms available between three and 60 months with $1,000 minimum deposit.
• Other accounts: Mortgages, personal loans, auto refinancing and brokerage accounts.
• Bank branches or online only: Online only.

Pros

• Fee-free checking account. The Essential Checking account doesn’t compel a minimum balance requirement, nor does it charge a maintenance fee. Likewise, you needn’t worry about non-sufficient funds or overdraft fees, making it an ideal option for someone looking for a simple bank account.
• Competitive checking interest rates: You could earn as much as 3.30% APY in the Rewards Checking Account if you meet a series of requirements, which include having at least $1,500 in direct deposits each month.
• Unlimited ATM reimbursements: If you stray from the 91,000 fee-free ATMs, three Axos checking accounts (Rewards Checking, Cashback Checking and Essential Checking) will reimburse all of your domestic ATM fees each month.
• Cashback program available: The CashBack Checking account allows you to earn up to $2,000 per month in cash back. All signature-based transactions are eligible for 1% cash back when you maintain a daily balance of at least $1,500.

Cons

• No physical locations: Axos Bank is completely online. There are no physical branches.
• Many perks require a minimum balance: While Axos Bank offers many perks and few fees, the accounts with the best benefits have eligibility requirements; requiring you to maintain a minimum daily balance or enroll in direct deposit with a minimum monthly threshold.
• Savings rates aren’t competitive: The High Yield Savings Account offers a maximum rate of just 0.61% APY (the best high-yield savings accounts offer greater than 4.00% APY) and all its CDs come with a mere 0.20% APY (some of the best CDs offer over 5.00% APY).

About Axos Bank

Axos Bank has some accounts with standout features, while others rank low compared to competitors. Here’s what you need to know about your account options before moving forward.

No-fee banking

You don’t have to worry about monthly maintenance fees eating away at your account balance. Axos Bank deposit accounts don’t charge service fees.

Its three most popular checking accounts reimburse you for any domestic ATM fees, with no monthly limits. That can save you a lot of cash if you frequently withdraw funds.

You can also use the Personal Finance Manager dashboard for free. If you have multiple accounts, loans and investments via Axos Bank, you can see all of your information in one place. The tool also organizes transactions to help you track your spending and savings habits.

Entirely online customer experience

There are no Axos Bank physical branch locations. But, there’s a quality online experience.

The mobile app has a 4.7-star rating on the Apple App Store, a 4.5 in the Google Play Store, an intuitive design and a virtual assistant.

Evo, a financial chatbot, can answer your banking questions and perform transactions. Rather than clicking around, you can ask things like, “What’s my account balance?,” or say, “Transfer money into my checking account.”

Comprehensive ATM access

Although the bank has no branches, you can withdraw and deposit funds at over 91,000 ATMs for free, across the country, no matter which type of checking account you have.

You can also deposit cash using the Green Dot Network, found at retailers like 7-Eleven, CVS, Dollar General and more. There’s no fee charged by Axos Bank, but you may encounter a fee of up to $4.95 charged by the retailer.

Competitive checking 

Axos Bank’s checking accounts do stand out with some unique features.

Rewards Checking lets you earn up to 3.30% APY on your balance. The downside is that there are several criteria you must meet to get that rate:

• You must first have a direct deposit of at least $1,500 deposited per month to earn the base 0.40% APY.
• Then you need to either enroll in the Personal Financial Manager or use your account debit card for ten, in-person purchase each month to earn an additional 0.30% APY.
• Put $2,500 in both a self-directed and a managed Axos investment account to earn another 1.00% APY each and using your checking account to pay an Axos Bank loan can earn a final additional 0.60% APY.

If jumping through those hoops sounds like too much work, the CashBank Checking Account has far fewer and Essential Checking has none.

In the CashBank Checking Account, you can earn 1% cash back on transactions that require a signature with a monthly maximum of $2,000. However, there is an additional caveat that you need to maintain a $1,500 daily balance in order to access that reward, otherwise your cash back rate is cut in half, falling to 0.50%.

Essential Checking has no no fees, but few rewards, but comes with early direct deposit, which gives you access to your funds two days sooner.

The last two types of Axos checking accounts are First Checking and Golden Checking; designed for teens and seniors respectively. Both have no maintenance fees, offer 0.10% APY and come with digital security features. In these accounts, teens (and their parents) don’t have to worry about overdraft or non-sufficient fund fees, and seniors have free personal checks.

Dismal savings rates

Axos Bank’s luster starts to fade when you look at their savings account options, however. The maximum savings APY is 0.61% on balances up to $9,999 — and it drops beyond that threshold.

On top of that, the maximum CD rate is just 0.20% APY. That essentially means that there is no incentive to lock up your funds when you’d earn more in the standard savings account.

You can find significantly better savings rates at other online banks.

How Axos Bank stacks up

While Axos Bank has competitive checking accounts, the competition offers much better CD and savings account rates.

Axos Bank vs. Ally

A fellow online bank, Ally Bank has fee-free accounts, but it has only one checking account, the Ally Spend Account, which offers early direct deposit access, ATM fee reimbursement and a tiered interest rate system. Balances under $15,000 earn a small rate of 0.10% APY and accounts above that threshold earn 0.25% APY. Ally CDs are much more competitive overall, ranging between 2.50% and 5.00% APY.

Axos Bank vs. Quontic Bank

Quontic Bank’s online-only accounts also provide greater yields than those offered by Axos. The High Interest Checking Account, for instance, only requires 10 debit transactions a month to qualify for up to 1.10% APY. There is also Bitcoin Rewards Checking and Cash Rewards Checking. Quontic’s High Yield Savings Account offers 4.50% APY with just a $100 deposit and CD rates go up to 5.30% APY.

Axos Bank vs. Capital One

Capital One offers fee-free checking with a basic, no-strings-attached APY of 0.10% on its 360 Checking account and its savings products smoke Axos’. The Capital One 360 Performance Savings Account has 4.30% APY with no monthly fees or minimums and its CDs offer top-of-market rates.