Santander Bank Review: Account Good for You?

If you're in the Northeast, Santander Bank offers solid basic checking and savings options, as well as competitive rates for CDs. Read on to see if it fits your needs.

Santander Bank is a Northeastern bank with branches in just eight states. They are a full-service bank that offers a variety of checking and savings accounts to meet the needs of different consumers. Like most banks, you'll find "lower" interest rates and high overdraft costs, but their benefits may outweigh the costs in your situation.

Is Santander the right bank for you? Keep reading to find out.

Services Offered

Checking

Each Santander Bank checking account comes with a debit MasterCard for you to use at Santander ATMs, non-Santander ATMs (for a fee), and at retailers. Each account also provides access to online and mobile banking platforms.

• Basic Checking: This is a simple checking account with no frills. You need $25 to open the account and you do pay $3 a month for the service fee that cannot be waived. You don't need a minimum balance and you can get a Santander Savings or Santander Money Market Savings along with the checking account free of charge.

• Simply Right Checking: You don't need a minimum balance for this checking account and as long as you make one transaction during the month, there's no service fee for that month. You can also open a Santander Savings or Santander Money Market Savings along with this checking account with no monthly service fee. Note: for this account to stay "fee free," you'll need to opt into paperless statements.

• Premier Plus Checking: This account is reserved for high-end savers. You'll need a combined balance of $75,000 in deposits and investments at Santander Bank to waive the monthly service fee. Alternatively, you can get it waived with $6,000 in monthly direct deposits. This is the only checking account that earns interest at Santander Bank. This account also includes free non-Santander Bank ATM withdrawals, free paper statements, and access to a dedicated personal banker.

• Student Value Checking: Students ages 16-25 can open this account, which has no monthly service charge. It also has no minimum required balance. Students need just $10 to open an account. They will have access to online/mobile banking and Santander ATMs. There is a $3 monthly charge if they don't opt into paperless statements, though.

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Savings

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• Santander Savings: You can open this savings account with just $25 and start earning interest right away. The small monthly fee can be waived by having any other Santander consumer checking account.

• Santander Money Market Savings Account: Earn higher interest on your money with the money market savings account and a balance of more than $10,000. You can avoid the monthly fee with a $10,000 balance and/or having a Santander checking account alongside the money market account.

• Premier Plus Money Market Savings Account: Not only will you earn higher interest on your minimum $10,000 balance, but you also have access to a dedicated Personal Banker. To have access to this account, you must be a Premier Plus Checking account customer. This account has no monthly fee.

• Santander Youth Savings: Children under the age of 18 can open a Youth Savings account with just $10. There is no monthly fee for this account.

• CDs: Open a CD with a maturity date ranging from 3 months to 5 years. All you need is $500 to get started. You must visit a branch in person to open a CD.

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Member FDIC

Discover Online Savings - $200 Cash Bonus

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• No fees
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CIT Bank Platinum Savings - 4.85% APY

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• 4.85% APY with a balance of $5,000 or more
• 0.25% APY with a balance of less than $5,000
• $100 minimum opening deposit
• No monthly maintenance fee
• Member FDIC

Reasons We Like Santander Bank

• Extended customer service hours. You can reach a customer service representative over the phone from 6 AM to 10 PM ET 7 days a week (except Christmas day).

• You can set up auto-save. This feature allows you to set the amount and frequency of transfers that go into your savings account. This takes the thinking out of saving and makes it automatic. If you have a hard time saving money, this could be a viable solution.

• Overdraft protection. You can link your Santander checking and savings accounts to avoid overdraft fees. Going over on your checking account can be expensive. If you tie your savings account to your checking, though, Santander will transfer the difference to your checking account. This helps you avoid the high overdraft fee, but you may incur a transfer fee, which is usually a smaller fee.

• Free mobile banking. You can use the mobile app to conduct standard banking transactions. This gives you the option to bank while on-the-go. You may also deposit your checks with the mobile app from the comfort of your own home.

• Lock your debit card. You can instantly put your debit card on hold if you think it was stolen. In your online banking portal, you simply click "Instant Card Hold," and your card will be frozen. The hold takes place immediately, but if you think you permanently lost your card, call 1-800-762-5895 to get a replacement.

• Low opening deposits and easy to waive monthly fees. The most you need to open an account is $50. The Simply Right Checking account has a $10 monthly fee, but it's easy to waive. All you must do is use your account at least one time each month.

• You can receive consolidated statements. Santander Bank can provide your checking and savings/money market account information on one statement. This can help you keep your paper clutter to a minimum as well as help you stay more organized.

• High APY for CDs. Santander's CDs offer a very competitive interest rate. You can have the interest earned from your CD deposited into your checking, savings, or money market savings account. You can also keep it with the CD and allow it to roll over into another term to make more interest.

• Custom alerts. You can customize the alerts you receive from the Santander mobile app. Once you choose the types of alerts that you'll receive, you can choose to have them sent via email, text, or both.

• You can sign up for eBills with partner companies. This eliminates the paper bills you receive in the mail. You can view the bills in your online banking portal. You can then schedule payments, make manual payments, or check the history of your bill payments.

Reasons You May Want to Look Elsewhere

• Low interest for Premier Plus Checking. Only the Premier Plus Checking offers interest, but it has a $35 monthly service charge if you don't meet the $75,000 combined balance in deposit and investment accounts. This is a very high balance requirement, but the interest on the account is very low. If you have that much, there are other checking accounts that offer a much higher interest rate.

• ATM fees. You will get charged between $2 and $3 every time you use a non-Santander Bank ATM. This is in addition to the fee the third-party bank charges for you to access your own money.

How It Compares

• Bank of America:
  Bank of America is more widespread than Santander Bank, as they operate in 37 states where they have thousands of ATMs and financial centers. Like Santander Bank, Bank of America doesn't offer interest on all of their checking accounts, and their account selection is somewhat limited. But the bank's location may be more convenient for some.

• Citizens Bank:
  Citizens Bank is another Northeastern bank and is the 13th largest bank in the United States. Citizens Bank has a large selection of account options, including IRA accounts. Citizens Bank is big on helping clients meet their goals, and they encourage the use of their GoalTrack Savings to keep your savings going.

• TD Bank:
  TD Bank is an East Coast bank and is the bank known for the most extended hours. They have 1,300 branches and offer 24/7 customer service. Their account selection may be minimal, but their extended branch hours and top-notch customer service are often what bring customers back for more.

The Bottom Line

Santander Bank is a good option for high-end savers or consumers looking for a barebones checking/savings account. If you fall somewhere in between those two lines, you may find yourself looking elsewhere so that you can earn interest and have a few more "perks" for opening a new bank account.