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CIT Platinum Savings Review: A Huge APY and No Monthly Fees

Review Updated
Lyle Daly
Ben Gran
By: Lyle Daly
Lyle Daly
Lyle Daly
Writer

Lyle Daly is a personal finance writer who specializes in credit cards, travel rewards programs, and banking. He writes for The Ascent and The Motley Fool, and his work has appeared in USA Today and Yahoo! Finance. He was born in California but currently lives as a digital nomad with a home base in Colombia.

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 and  Ben Gran

Our Banking Experts

Nathan Alderman
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Nathan Alderman
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Nathan Alderman has worked with The Motley Fool since 2005, making errors his arch-enemies in a variety of roles including a six-year stint as the dedicated fact-checker for The Motley Fool's premium newsletter services. As The Ascent's Compliance Lead, he makes sure that all the site's information is accurate and up to date, which ensures we always steer readers right and keeps various financial partners happy. A graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, Nathan spends his spare time volunteering for civic causes, writing and podcasting for fun, adoring his wife, and wrangling his two very large young children.

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Many or all of the products here are from our partners that compensate us. It’s how we make money. But our editorial integrity ensures our experts’ opinions aren’t influenced by compensation. Terms may apply to offers listed on this page. APY = Annual Percentage Yield. APYs are subject to change at any time without notice.

CIT Platinum Savings might be for you if: You have at least $5,000 of cash that can be left alone in a high-yield savings account. CIT Bank offers one of the best savings rates, but you must maintain a minimum balance of $5,000 to get the maximum APY -- lower balances get a much lower APY. In this CIT Platinum Savings review, we'll cover the details to help you decide if this savings account is for you.

Rates as of Jun 26, 2024
Award Icon 2024 Award Winner

CIT Platinum Savings

Open Account for CIT Platinum Savings
Member FDIC.
Rating image, 4.50 out of 5 stars.
4.50/5 Circle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
 = Best
= Excellent
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Rating image, 4.50 out of 5 stars.
4.50/5 Circle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
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= Excellent
= Good
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Open Account for CIT Platinum Savings
APY
5.00% APY for balances of $5,000 or more Rate info Circle with letter I in it. 5.00% APY for balances of $5,000 or more; otherwise, 0.25% APY
Min. To Earn APY
$100 to open account, $5,000 for max APY
  • Competitive APY
  • No account opening or maintenance fees
  • Unlimited number of external transfers (up to daily transaction limits)
  • Interest compounds daily so your money can grow a bit faster
  • FDIC insured
  • Balance requirement for maximum APY
  • No branch access; online only

CIT Platinum Savings is a no-frills high-interest savings account that offers one of the highest APYs we've found available today -- as long as you can maintain a $5,000 minimum balance. Plus, customers can make an unlimited number of transfers and withdrawals each month (many savings accounts have monthly limits).

Compare savings rates

Make sure you're getting the best account for you by comparing savings rates and promotions. Here are some of our favorite high-yield savings accounts to consider.

Account APY Promotion Next Steps
up to 4.60%
Rate info Circle with letter I in it. You can earn the maximum APY by having Direct Deposit (no minimum amount required) or by making $5,000 or more in Qualifying Deposits every 30 days. See SoFi Checking and Savings rate sheet at: https://www.sofi.com/legal/banking-rate-sheet.
Min. to earn: $0
New customers can earn up to a $300 bonus with qualifying direct deposits!
4.25%
Rate info Circle with letter I in it. See Capital One website for most up-to-date rates. Advertised Annual Percentage Yield (APY) is variable and accurate as of April 11, 2024. Rates are subject to change at any time before or after account opening.
Min. to earn: $0
N/A
4.25%
Rate info Circle with letter I in it. 4.25% annual percentage yield as of June 26, 2024
Min. to earn: $1
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Full CIT Platinum Savings review

CIT Platinum Savings offers one of the best APYs of any bank savings account that we've found. See why this online bank's savings account made our list of best savings accounts -- and learn how to maximize your savings with CIT Bank.

CIT Platinum Savings interest rate

Account APY Minimum Deposit
CIT Platinum Savings 5.00% APY for balances of $5,000 or more $5,000
Data source: CIT.

CIT Platinum Savings is a tiered interest rate savings account. This means that not all amounts of money will earn the same amount of interest -- to get this bank's best savings rate, you need a minimum balance of at least $5,000. Lower balances can still earn yield from CIT Platinum Savings, but at a much lower rate: only 0.25% APY.

We tried it: Our team's firsthand experience

Here at The Motley Fool Ascent, we pride ourselves as real users of most of the products across our site. Our Director of Marketing, Rachel Zinanti, uses the CIT Platinum Savings herself.

Here's Rachel's experience:

I chose CIT Platinum Savings for it's high APY since I knew I would always keep the minimum required in the account. Sign up was quick and easy and the app is very user friendly. My standard bank account is with a local credit union, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that CIT integrated with them seamlessly so moving money around is no problem.

Fees

CIT Platinum Savings is an exceptionally low-fee (nearly "no-fee") savings account. There's no fee to open an account, and no monthly account maintenance fee. And CIT Bank only charges fees for a few miscellaneous account services and activities, like some wire transfers.

Minimum balance

CIT Platinum Savings requires $100 to open an account, and you must maintain a $5,000 minimum balance to earn its maximum APY. Any lower amount ($100-$4,999.99) will only earn 0.25% APY.

The CIT Platinum Savings $5,000 minimum balance requirement is higher than most of the best savings accounts. Some other banks will pay you the same APY (or higher) on your savings, even if you have less than $5,000 to deposit.

Withdrawal limit

Some banks will only let you take money out of your savings account a few times per month, with six "convenient withdrawals" as part of Regulation D limits. However, not all banks enforce this rule. CIT Bank does not have any withdrawal limits or transaction limits on its CIT Platinum Savings account. This is good for savers, because it lets you access your cash anytime for any reason -- but be mindful of falling below the $5,000 minimum balance to earn the best APY.

Mobile app

You can access and manage your CIT Platinum Savings account via the CIT Bank mobile app, where you can view your balance, make transfers to or from your savings account, deposit checks via mobile deposit, and more. The CIT Bank app gets great reviews on the App Store (4.6 out of 5 stars) but seems to have issues on Android devices -- only 2.7 stars on Google Play. Android users have recently complained about persistent login issues, biometrics not working, and problems with mobile deposit.

How to access your money

CIT Bank is an online bank, but it offers several easy ways to deposit and access money in your CIT Platinum Savings account.

Deposit options

The bank offers a few ways to put money into your CIT Platinum Savings account:

  • Electronic bank transfer (ACH): Move money (for free) from an external bank account
  • Mobile deposit: Scan a check via the CIT Bank mobile app
  • Incoming wire transfer: The bank charges no fees for incoming wires
  • Send a check by mail

Withdrawal options

There are three ways to take money out of your CIT Platinum Savings account:

  • Free ACH transfer to external bank account
  • Outgoing wire transfer ($10 fee if you have a balance under $25,000)
  • Call CIT Bank and ask for a check to be sent to you by mail (no fee)

Online user reviews

Like most banks, CIT Bank's online customer reviews are a mixed bag. Although CIT Bank has a grade of "A-" from the Better Business Bureau, it is not BBB accredited -- and it has 1.14 stars (out of 5) based on customer reviews.

Some savings account customers have complained to BBB about how long it takes for ACH transfers to process, with money not being available in their accounts as soon as they'd expected. Other customers have complained about being declined after applying to open a new savings account, or having their accounts closed without warning or explanation.

CIT Bank gets slightly better reviews (2.1 stars out of 5) on Trustpilot, where some customers also complained about how long it takes for ACH transfers to go through. Other customers complained about being rejected for a high-yield savings account without adequate explanation. However, some CIT Platinum Savings account customers on Trustpilot have specifically praised the bank for how easy it is to transfer money, and mentioned the great customer service they received in processing a wire transfer.

Top perks

High APY: The best reason to open a high-yield savings account is to, well, get a high yield -- and CIT Platinum Savings delivers. Its APY is one of the best rates we've seen.

Well-rated mobile app for iOS: The CIT Bank mobile app gives you everything you need to manage your CIT Platinum Savings account, and it gets rave reviews on the App Store.

What could be improved

High minimum balance: To get the best APY from the CIT Platinum Savings account, you need to keep at least $5,000 in the bank. This is more than most of the best savings accounts require.

Unreliable mobile app for Android: Based on the recent negative reviews on Google Play, the CIT Bank mobile app's Android version is experiencing some login issues and bugs. This doesn't have to be a dealbreaker, but beware.

Is CIT Platinum Savings FDIC insured?

Yes. CIT Bank is part of First-Citizens Bank and Trust Company, which is a member of the FDIC. That means your CIT Platinum Savings account (and any other deposit accounts you have with CIT Bank or First Citizens Bank) are protected by FDIC insurance -- up to $250,000 per depositor, per account ownership category.

CIT Platinum Savings is right for you if:

You have at least $5,000 of cash savings that you don't need to spend anytime soon, and you want to earn one of the highest APYs on the market.

Keep reading about CIT Bank:

Our savings account methodology

At The Motley Fool Ascent, we rate savings accounts on a five-star scale (1 = poor, 5 = best). We evaluate all savings accounts across four main criteria: annual percentage yield (APY), brand and reputation, fees and minimum requirements, and perks that really make a difference -- think ATM access, linked checking accounts, or even branch access.

Our scores are weighted as:

  • APY: 50%
  • Brand and reputation: 20%
  • Fees and minimums: 15%
  • Other perks: 15%

Learn more about how The Motley Fool Ascent rates bank accounts.

FAQs

  • If you can maintain a balance of $5,000, you can earn the highest tier APY from CIT Platinum Savings, which is one of the best savings account rates we know of. But for lower balances between $100 and $4,999.99, you'll earn a meager 0.25%.

  • This account is only worth it if you can keep a balance of $5,000. Otherwise, you'd be better off choosing another savings account that doesn't have a minimum balance requirement for a high APY.

  • CIT Bank is a division of First-Citizens Bank and Trust Company, which is a member of the FDIC. So yes, your money is safe from bank failure with a CIT Platinum Savings account, as long as your combined deposits between CIT Bank and First Citizens Bank accounts are under the $250,000 limit for FDIC insurance.