60,000 points
Good to Excellent
Featured Reward
3 free nights (each worth up to 50,000 points) after qualifying purchases and 10x total points on qualifying purchases in certain categories
Credit needed
Good to Excellent
Featured Reward
$ 200 after spending $ 500 on purchases in the first three months after opening the account
Credit needed
Good to Excellent
This article was reviewed and updated on August 25, 2021.
Overall rating of the bank
Advantages and disadvantages
Savings
Annual percentage return (APY)
0.01% APY
Advantages
- No monthly service fees
- No minimum opening deposit
- Low $ 3 Excess Withdrawal Fee
The inconvenients
- Low APY
- Not good if you are not comfortable with digital banking
- Online savings account only
- Access to 1,700 branches in 15 states, primarily in the East and Midwest, and Washington DC
- Interest compounded daily
- FDIC insured
The BB&T Electronic Savings Account is an online-only option, and like many digital accounts, there is no monthly fee or minimum opening deposit.
Most online savings accounts pay higher rates, around 0.50%, but BB&T only pays 0.01% APY. This rate is more comparable to what a physical bank would pay for an account that you have to open in person than to what
online banks
To pay.
BB&T also offers specialized savings accounts, including the investor deposit account, the health savings account (HSA) and the young savings account.
Verification
Annual percentage return (APY)
Nothing
Advantages
- Overdraft protection available
- Access to 2,500 ATMs
The inconvenients
- $ 50 opening deposit
- Monthly service charge of $ 12
- $ 3 off-network ATM fee
- $ 36 overdraft fee
- $ 12.50 overdraft transfer fee
- Forgo the $ 12 monthly fee by maintaining a minimum balance of $ 1,500 OR receiving $ 500 in direct deposits each month
- Access to 1,700 branches in 15 states, primarily in the East and Midwest, and Washington DC
- Access to 2,500 ATMs
- FDIC insured
The bank’s website says the BB&T Bright bank account is its most popular checking account. Unfortunately, this option comes with a number of fees.
You will pay a monthly fee of $ 12 unless you qualify for a waiver. You’ll pay a $ 3 fee if you use an off-network ATM and an overdraft fee of $ 36. You can link your checking account to another BB&T account so that the bank will transfer funds whenever you risk an overdraft, but you will pay $ 12.50 each time BB&T needs to transfer money.
CD
Annual percentage return (APY)
0.01% APY
Minimum deposit
$ 1,000 or $ 2,500
Advantages
- Terms as short as 7 days
- Interest compounded daily
The inconvenients
- Low APY
- Opening deposit of $ 1,000 to $ 2,500
- Standard to high early withdrawal penalties
- No mandate over 5 years
- Duration ranging from 7 days to 5 years
- The early withdrawal penalties are either $ 25 or the interest that would have been earned over a number of months, whichever is greater; all interest for terms of less than 3 months, 3 months of interest for terms of 3 to 12 months, 6 months of interest for terms of 13 to 23 months, 12 months of interest for terms of 24 months or more
- Opening deposit of $ 2,500 for terms of 7 to 31 days; Opening deposit of $ 1,000 for terms of 31 days or more
- Access to 1,700 branches in 15 states, primarily in the East and Midwest, and Washington DC
- Interest compounded daily
- FDIC insured
BB&T offers a variety of CD types. His traditional personal BB&T fixed rate CD comes with terms as short as seven days. Most banks’ shortest deadlines are three months, which makes BB&T a good option if you want to lock in a fixed rate but need to access your money fairly quickly.
If you are looking for non-traditional CDs, BB&T has plenty of options. No matter what type of CD you open, BB&T pays low prices. They are comparable to other large traditional banks, but you can certainly find higher rates at credit unions or online banks.
Money Market
Annual percentage return (APY)
0.01% APY
Advantages
- Includes paper checks
- Link to your current account for overdraft protection
The inconvenients
- Only available for people who also have a personal checking account with BB&T
- Low APY
- $ 100 opening deposit
- Monthly service charge of $ 12
- $ 15 Excess Withdrawal Fee
- Avoid the $ 12 monthly fee by maintaining a minimum balance of $ 1,000
- Access your money with check writing privileges
- Access to over 1,700 branches in 15 states, primarily in the East and Midwest, and Washington DC
- Interest compounded daily
- FDIC insured
BB&T offers a money market account, but you must also have a BB&T checking account to open one.
The BB&T High Performance Money Market Account comes with paper checks, making it easier to access your money than if you had a regular savings account. But unlike some
money market accounts
, this account does not come with a debit card. There is a monthly fee of $ 12, unless you maintain a minimum balance of $ 1,000.
How BB&T Bank works
BB&T merged with SunTrust to become Truist Bank. However, BB&T and SunTrust still offer separate products, including accounts and loans, and you will still see a BB&T sign outside of a branch.
BB&T has more than 1,700 branches in 15 states and Washington DC. Locations are primarily in the East and Midwest; here is the full list of states:
- Alabama
- Florida
- Georgia
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- Maryland
- New Jersey
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Caroline from the south
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Virginia
- West Virginia
BB&T has approximately 2,500 ATMs across the country. As BB&T merged with SunTrust to form Truist Bank, BB&T customers can also use SunTrust ATMs for free. If you are using an off-network ATM, you will pay a fee of $ 3 along with the fees charged by the ATM provider.
The BB&T mobile app, U by BB&T, received 4.8 out of 5 stars in the Apple Store and 4.6 out of 5 stars in the Google Play Store.
To contact customer service, call BB&T Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET, or Saturday 8:00 a.m. to noon ET. You can also chat online with a live representative Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET.
BB&T accounts are FDIC insured up to $ 250,000, or $ 500,000 if you have a joint account.
Is BB&T trustworthy?
BB&T is accredited by Truist Bank. The Better Business Bureau gave Truist an A + for reliability. A good BBB rating means the company is transparent about how it conducts its business, has honest publicity, and responds effectively to customer complaints.
Not all major banks have good BBB ratings. For example, Wells Fargo used to have an F, possibly for its fraudulent bank accounts and predatory racial minority loans – now it’s not rated because the BBB is investigating its profile. Truist, on the other hand, has no scandalous history.
How BB&T Bank Stacks Up To Similar Banks
Most of BB&T’s branches are in the East (especially the Southeast) and Midwest, so we compare BB&T to two banks with branches in similar areas: SunTrust and Regions.
BB&T Bank review vs. SunTrust Bank review
BB&T and SunTrust have joined forces to become Truist Bank, but the two still offer separate products. For the most part, the account types and rates are quite similar. They both offer different types of CDs, so if you want to open a CD, compare and contrast your options between the two institutions.
When trying to decide which bank to open accounts with, your decision may depend on which one has a branch closer to your home or several branches in your area. SunTrust only has locations in the Southeast, while BB&T also has branches in parts of the Midwest and further up the East Coast.
BB&T review vs Bank of the Regions review
Like BB&T, Regions has branches in the Southeast and Midwest. Some states differ, so your choice may depend on the bank closest to you.
Regions offers bank accounts and rates similar to BB&T. The main differences relate to CDs. BB&T offers a lot more variety in the types of CDs it offers, but you can earn significantly higher rates through regions if you meet certain criteria.
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