Bread Savings Review: Simple, Affordable, High-Yield Savings
GOBankingRates Score
Bread Savings
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Savings Accounts
5.0
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CD Accounts
4.8
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APYs
4.6
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Banking Experience
4.0
Pros
- No monthly maintenance fees on savings accounts and opening balance requirement of $100
- High-yield savings account pays 5.15% APY
- Bread Financial's one-year CD rate is 5.60% APY
- Buy now, pay later option — also known as Bread Pay — available
Cons
- No checking account offered
- Customer service hours are limited and only available by phone
- No debit cards available for making withdrawals
Bread Financial Overview
Breadwas acquired by Alliance Data to expand from its Comenity division of branded retail store credit cards such as Victoria’s Secret, Wayfair and Williams Sonoma into tech-first savings and loans.
Rebranded as Bread Financial in 2022, it offers simple savings, credit card and loan solutions. Deposit accounts are provided by Comenity Capital Bank. Bread Financial was named one of the Best Online and Neobank Savings Accounts of 2023 by GOBankingRates.
Bread Financial Key Features
Learn more about the products and services Bread Financial offers.
Bread Financial Savings Account
Bread Financial has only one high-yield savings account option, but the simplicity of the product should suffice for most account holders. Since there are no branch locations, you’ll need to feel comfortable doing your banking online or using a mobile app. If so, you’ll be able to deposit checks, transfer funds and manage your money any time, day or night.
Bread Financial makes banking affordable. You don’t have to worry about monthly maintenance or account minimum fees. Interest rates are competitive at APY, and interest compounds daily.
However, growing your savings can pose a bit of a challenge if you need to make withdrawals occasionally. Your only option is to transfer from one account to another since no debit cards are available for the account.
To open an account, you’ll need a $100 minimum opening deposit. Mobile check deposits, as well as direct deposits, are available, and interest compounds daily. While you won’t be charged monthly maintenance fees and fees won’t be hidden from you, expect that there will be a $25 fee for outgoing wire transfers, a $5 fee per paper statement request and a $15 official check request fee.
Bread limits total deposits to $1 million per account, but you can have a combined balance of up to $10 million. Note, however, that FDIC insurance only protects up to $250,000 per account type per customer.
Bread Financial CD Accounts
A certificate of deposit can be useful when you need a guaranteed interest rate for your funds and you won’t need to access the balance for a set period. The financial institution provides five annual term lengths starting at one year to make accelerated savings growth possible. The longer you leave your money in a CD, the more interest you’ll earn.
The current rate is % for all balances and all terms. You’ll need at least $1,500 to get started.
Choose your term wisely — if you need to withdraw part or all of your funds, your account is subject to an early withdrawal penalty of 180 days simple interest on terms of three years or less. Terms with a length of four or five years will have a penalty of 365 days simple interest.
Before you apply, compare how Bread Financial’s rates compared with the best CD rates from other banks.
Banking Experience
Bread Financial provides a positive banking experience for anyone who is comfortable with tech — there are no physical branches — and wants a straightforward approach to earning premium rates on their savings.
Benefits
Bread Financial is entirely online, making it convenient to handle your financial needs through the mobile app or website. Bread Financial doesn’t charge many of the fees that many banks commonly tack on, such as monthly maintenance fees.
Bread doesn’t even charge for ACHs or incoming wire transfers so you can fund your savings for free. Plus, you can control cash flow by using Bread Pay to pay select store and online purchases in installments.
Products
There may not be as many account options and products as larger banks, but the few available are notable. As mentioned, Bread Financial’s savings options earn competitive rates.
Plus, personal loans, Bread Pay for buy-now-pay-later financing and a Bread Cashback American Express card are available.
Digital/Mobile Experience
The Bread Financial website is easy to navigate and has detailed information about Bread and its products. The mobile app, Bread Savings, lets you deposit checks, transfer funds and manage your Bread Financial savings and CD accounts, but it doesn’t provide access to your credit cards or payment plans. For that, you must visit the Bread Financial website.
The mobile app is rated 3.1 out of five stars on Google Play and 4.5 out of five stars on the App Store.
Customer Service
Customer service is limited to phone support by dialing 855-796-9632 during business hours, but agents are prompt and knowledgeable.
Bread Financial vs. Competitors
Bread Financial is a good option when you need to establish an emergency savings fund or you’d like to save for a down payment on a home. But how does its highly-focused banking services compare to other similar banks?
Bread Financial vs. Ally Bank
Bread Financial is a solid low-fee savings account contender but falls short in the breadth of products. If you’re in search of a place to deposit your money that offers both low-fee, interest-bearing checking and savings Ally Bank is the better option.
Bread Financial vs. Vio Bank
Vio Bank provides a similar product to Bread Financial. If you had to choose between the two, Vio Bank’s savings rate is much lower at vs. Bread Financial’s APY. For CDs, Bread Financial also pays more in interest.
How To Open a Bread Financial Account
According to Bread Financial, opening an account online takes minutes. You’ll need to be at least 18 years of age, have a valid U.S. Social Security number and provide a physical U.S. residential address. Follow these steps:
- From the Bread Financial website or mobile app, click on “Open an Account.”
- Set up a login and password.
- Provide an email address.
- Upload a government-issued photo ID.
- Enter your Social Security number.
- Providing a U.S. residential address.
- Answer some questions to verify your identity.
- Fund your account by setting up a transfer using a current bank account and routing number.
Final Take
There are plenty of good reasons to separate your checking and savings accounts. One of the main reasons may be simply to avoid spending the funds if you had easy access. Bread Financial’s savings and CDs are high-yield and only allow for limited transfers each month. There are no monthly maintenance fees — open more than one account to save for different goals. Best of all, opening an account is simple and can be done in just a few minutes to get to your savings goals faster.
Bread Savings FAQ
Here are the answers to some commonly asked questions about Bread Savings.- Is Bread Financial legitimate?
- Yes. Bread Financial is a legitimate banking platform, offering online-only services. Its high-yield savings account boasts a competitive 5.15% APY.
- Is Comenity Bank now Bread Financial?
- Yes, Comenity Bank became Bread Financial in April 2022.
- Who owns Bread Financial?
- Bread Financial is owned by Bread Financial Holdings.
- How long has Bread Financial been around?
- Bread Financial was founded in 1996 and went public in 2001.
- What is Bread financing?
- Known as Bread Pay, you can opt to pay later on select store and online purchases. You'll know what you're signing on for upfront since Bread Pay calculates your APR and installment amount for you to approve.
- Does Bread affect credit score?
- Your credit score isn't affected to check on Bread Pay eligibility. However, accepting the installment financing could affect your credit score since Bread may report your payment history to the credit bureaus.
- Is Bread the same as Affirm?
- Bread and Affirm are similar options, offering flexible, buy-now-pay-later financing.
- What is Bread Pay Over Time?
- Bread's pay over time feature is called Bread Pay. You may qualify to pay select online and store purchases in installments.
Daria Uhlig contributed to the reporting for this article.
Rates are subject to change; unless otherwise noted, rates are updated periodically. All other information on promotions is accurate as of Feb. 16, 2023. Additional requirements may apply. Offers and terms are subject to change.
Editorial Note: This content is not provided by Bread Financial. Any opinions, analyses, reviews, ratings or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author alone and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by Bread Financial.
To determine rankings for the Best Online Bank and Neobank Savings Accounts, GOBankingRates looked at the following factors from all online banks and neobanks: (1) total assets as sourced from the FDIC; (2) minimum deposit to open an account; (3) monthly savings fee ratio (percentage based on the minimum to avoid the fee compared to the monthly fee itself); (4) minimum balance needed in account to earn APY; (5) savings APY; and (6) the average mobile app rating between the Android and Apple app stores. All factors were then scored and combined, with the lowest score being best. Factor (1) was weighted 0.5 times, factor (4) was weighed 1.5 times and factor (5) was weighted 3 times.
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