CIT Bank Savings Review [2024]: 4.70% APY With Platinum Savings

CIT Bank has two high-yield accounts worth considering.

Edited by Mindy Woodall

Updated June 10, 2024

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4.3

CIT Bank Platinum Savings

OUR VIEW

If you have $5,000 ready to move into a high-yield savings account, CIT Bank’s Platinum Savings offers an excellent APY of 4.70% that's among the best I've seen.¹²

That’s a very competitive APY that could grow your money faster than you might expect. With daily compounding interest at this rate, if you deposit $5,000 and let it grow for 10 years, you’d earn $3,120.61 in interest. Interest rates can move up and down, so this is hypothetical, and you could earn more or less.

If you don’t have $5,000 to move into an account, you could start with CIT Bank’s Savings Connect account, which has a 4.35% (as of 9/25/24) APY and no minimum balance requirements beyond the $100 minimum to open. The difference between 4.70% and 4.35% (as of 9/25/24) on $5,000 is only about $20 in interest over a year, so it's really not a huge deal to go with the lower rate.

CIT Bank’s third savings account option, the Savings Builder, offers a low APY of up to 1.00% (as of May 3, 2024). The other two CIT Bank accounts are significantly stronger options if you’re looking to grow your savings.

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Pros

Higher-than-average APY with the Platinum Savings and Savings Connect accounts

No monthly maintenance fees, so you don’t need to worry about meeting requirements to get a fee waived

Daily compounding interest helps to grow money faster (interest is paid out monthly)

Cons

$100 minimum deposit for all accounts could be a barrier to entry

Savings Builder has low APY compared to similar accounts (and the other two CIT Bank savings accounts)

How we evaluate products

CIT savings account comparison

	Platinum Savings	Savings Connect	Savings Builder
APY	4.70% APY on balances of $5,000 or more	4.35% (as of 9/25/24) APY	1.00% (as of May 3, 2024) with a balance of more than $25,000 or by receiving $100 or more in monthly direct deposits 0.40% (as of May 3, 2024) on balances less than $25,000
Minimum opening deposit	$100	$100	$100
Monthly maintenance fees	None	None	None
Transactions per month	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited
FDIC insured	Yes, up to $250,000	Yes, up to $250,000	Yes, up to $250,000
	Learn more	Learn more	Learn more

Who should get these accounts

Platinum Savings

Since CIT is an online-only bank, you should be comfortable with not having branch access to open any of CIT’s accounts, including its Platinum Savings. Practically speaking, that means you’ll need to transfer money out of the account to withdraw it, since there isn’t any ATM access with this account. It could take a couple of business days (or more) before you can access any cash.

You should also be able to generally meet the minimum balance needed to get the highest rate (4.70% APY). While the account pays an APY on balances less than $5,000, it’s only 0.25% (as of 07/22/24), which isn’t worthwhile.

If you anticipate needing to make regular withdrawals or transfers that could bring the balance down, you may want to go with the Savings Connect account since it has a lower balance requirement to earn a high APY.

If you can meet the minimum, the rate is very competitive. It’s higher than Citi’s Accelerate High-Yield Savings account, for example, which has a 4.30% (as of November 10, 2024) APY, and Barclays Tiered Savings Account, which has an up to 4.80% APY.³

Savings Connect

The Savings Connect account is a strong alternative to the Platinum Savings account. While it has a lower APY of 4.35% (as of 9/25/24), it doesn’t have a minimum balance requirement of $5,000 to earn the highest APY, and that makes it more accessible.

You do need to meet the $100 opening deposit requirement, but that’s the case for all CIT Bank’s savings accounts.

Savings Builder

With its low APY of up to 1.00% (as of May 3, 2024), this is by far the weakest savings account option from CIT. In addition to the APY being low, you need to have a balance of $25,000 or more or make monthly deposits of $100 or more to even get the highest rate. If you don’t meet one of these higher APY requirements, the CIT Savings Builder has an APY of 0.40% (as of May 3, 2024).

Who shouldn’t get these accounts

You shouldn’t get a savings account with CIT Bank if you’re looking for a financial institution with everything. CIT Bank has checking, savings, CDs, and home loans, which is a decent line-up. But other banks also have investment accounts, personal loans, credit cards, home equity loans, and so on.

For example, SoFi®, Member FDIC⁴, has an APY of up to 4.20% on its savings⁵, which is a rate very similar to the Savings Connect. SoFi also has a very wide variety of products, so it’s a better choice if you’re looking for a one-stop-shop banking experience. You do need to have direct deposit to get this APY with SoFi, though, so if you won't be setting up direct deposit, a CIT account could still be the better choice.

Obviously, CIT Bank’s savings accounts aren’t a great choice if you regularly need to deposit cash. You can’t even deposit cash into a CIT Bank checking account.

Savings over time comparison

Here’s how much your money would grow, based on CIT Bank’s savings account rates on September 25, 2024.

	Platinum Savings	Savings Connect	Savings Builder
Starting balance	$5,000	$5,000	$5,000
Total in 10 years	$7,999.73	$7,724.62	$5,525.85
Total in 20 years	$12,799.13	$11,933.94	$6,107.00

How to open an account

Opening a CIT Platinum Savings account or any other CIT Bank account is simple, and the process takes about five minutes. You’ll need to provide your home address, email address, Social Security number, and birthdate.

You then transfer the $100 minimum opening deposit (or more) to your account.

How to withdraw money

While CIT doesn’t offer ATM access as a perk with its savings accounts, if you want to withdraw money from your account, you have a few options for doing so, including:

An electronic transfer (ACH)
Outgoing wire transfer. One thing to keep in mind is that there’s a $10 for each outgoing wire transfer if your account balance is less than $25,000.
Paper check by mail

CIT Savings Builder account FAQ

Is CIT Bank safe?

CIT Bank is a well-established financial institution that has been in business for over a hundred years. It offers fraud and security features with all its financial products, including secure encryption, activity monitoring, and firewalls to block unauthorized individuals or networks. The FDIC also insures your deposits up to $250,000 per account type with CIT Bank.

Does CIT Bank compound interest daily?

Yes, the interest you earn with a CIT savings account is compounded daily and paid to your account monthly.

Does CIT Bank offer joint accounts?

Yes, CIT Bank does offer joint accounts. As you go through the account application process, you can designate whether you’re applying for an individual account or a joint account.

Does CIT Bank charge monthly maintenance fees?

CIT Bank does not charge monthly maintenance fees for its savings accounts. There are also no account opening fees and no ACH transfer fees to worry about.

What types of accounts does CIT Bank offer?

In addition to its high-interest savings products, CIT Bank also offers several other financial products. You can open a money market account, a checking account, and various types of CD accounts (certificates of deposit). CIT Bank CDs include term CDs, jumbo CDs, and no-penalty CDs that offer the flexibility of no early withdrawal penalties.

Bottom line

CIT Bank’s Platinum Savings and Savings Connect products offer a competitive rate, and interest is compounded daily. Just be sure that you meet the requirements to get the highest APY and that you have the $100 required to open an account.

If you’re confident you can meet the deposit requirements. it’s worth it to apply for an account. The daily compounding interest and the APY rate make CIT one of the best banks for those who are looking to earn interest on their money over the long term.