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Partners Federal Credit Union is geared mainly toward employees of the Walt Disney Company and their families. You might like this credit union if you prefer a local financial institution over a national bank or CDs with solid interest rates. If you do not qualify to become a member, you can refer to our best credit unions guide.
Partners Federal Credit Union Review: Overall Rating
| Account | Insider rating (out of 5) |
| Savings | 3.25 |
| Checking | 4 |
| Share Certificates | 3.75 |
| Money Market Account | 3.75 |
| Trustworthiness | 3 |
| Total | 3.50 |
Partners Federal Credit Union: Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
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Partners Federal Credit Union Bank Account Reviews
Partners Federal Credit Union Primary Savings
$3 monthly service fee
0.05%
$5
- $5 minimum opening deposit
- Possible to waive monthly service fee
- ATM card included
- Low interest rate
- $3 monthly service fee
- 13 branches in Southern California and Florida (7 on Disney properties)
- Must maintain at least $5 in account
- $3 monthly service fee if you do not meet the minimum balance requirements
- Interest compounded and deposited monthly
- Federally insured by the NCUA
All members must open Partners Federal Credit Union Primary Savings with at least $5.
If you're looking for a competitive interest rate, you'll want to open the credit union's money market account or find a high-yield savings account at another financial institution.
Compare Today's Rates
Partners Federal Credit Union Basic Checking
no monthly service fee
None
$25
- $25 minimum opening deposit
- No monthly service fees
- No minimum balance requirements
- Overdraft protection available
- $2 out-of-network ATM fee
- $29 overdraft fee
- $1 overdraft protection transfer fee
- 13 branches in Southern California and Florida (7 on Disney properties)
- Access to 30,000 surcharge-free ATMs in CO-OP ATM network
- Eligible for Relationship Rewards benefits, like ATM fee reimbursements, depending on your account balance
- Federally insured by the NCUA
Partners Federal Credit Union Basic Checking could be a good choice if you do not want to deal with monthly service fees or minimum balance requirements.
Depending on your account balance, you'll also be eligible for Relationship Rewards, like monthly ATM fee reimbursements and free check orders.
Partners Federal Credit Union Share Certificates
0.75% to 4.20%
$1,000 to $100,000
- Solid interest rates compared to other brick-and-mortar banks
- Standard CD terms
- Standard-to-low early withdrawal penalties
- $1,000 minimum opening deposit
- 13 branches in Southern California and Florida (7 on Disney properties)
- Terms range from 3 months to 5 years
- Earn a higher interest rate on some CD terms when you deposit $50,000 or $100,000
- Early withdrawal penalties: If you have a certificate of 12 months or less, the penalty is 90 days of interest; If you have a certificate over 12 months, the penalty is 180 days of interest
- Interest compounded daily and deposited monthly
- Federally insured by the NCUA
Partners Federal Credit Union might be an appealing option for CDs. The credit union pays solid CD rates.
Partners Federal Credit Union Share Certificates also have standard-to-low early withdrawal penalties.
Partners Federal Credit Union Money Market Savings
no monthly service fee
1.05% to 3.50%
$2,500
- Decent interest rates compared to other brick-and-mortar banks
- No monthly service fees
- $2,500 minimum opening deposit
- No debit card
- No paper checks
- 13 branches in Southern California and Florida (7 on Disney properties)
- Earn 1.05% APY with a minimum balance between $2,500 to $24,999
- Earn 1.30% APY with a minimum balance between $25,000 to $49,999
- Earn 1.55% APY with a minimum balance between $50,000 to $99,999
- Earn 3.25% APY with a minimum balance between $100,000 to $249,999
- Earn 3.40% APY with a minimum balance between $250,000 to $499,999
- Earn 3.50% APY with a minimum balance of $500,000 or more
- No interest earned on account balance under $2,500
- Interest compounded and deposited monthly
- Federally insured by the NCUA
Partners Federal Credit Union Money Market Savings might be worth considering if you have a minimum of $2,500. However, also bear in mind that this is a tiered money market account, which means you'll earn a higher interest rate with a higher account balance.
If you don't meet the minimum opening requirements, some of the best money market accounts let you open an account with $0.
About Partners Federal Credit Union
Partners Federal Credit Union has 13 branches in Southern California and Florida (7 on Disney properties).
The credit union is part of the CO-OP Shared Branch and ATMs network, which means you'll have access to over 5,500 shared branches and 30,000 free ATMs throughout the US. If you visit another credit union in a shared branch network, you may take out money from your account, make loan payments, or deposit money. You won't be able to open new bank accounts specific to your credit union, though.
Customer support is available from 8 a.m. to 7:50 p.m. ET through live chat or 24/7 by phone.
The credit union's mobile app is rated 3.9 out of 5 stars on the Google Play store and 4.7 out of 5 stars on the Apple store.
Partners Federal Credit Union is federally insured by the NCUA. Up to $250,000 is secure in individual bank accounts, and $500,000 is safe in joint bank accounts.
How to Join Partners Federal Credit Union
Credit unions require membership to open accounts. To become a member of Partners Federal Credit Union, you or a family member must meet one of the following requirements:
- You are an employee of the Walt Disney Company or a subsidiary
- You are an employee of Partners Federal Credit Union or a Select Employee Group
All members are required to open Partners Federal Credit Union Primary Savings with $5, and may have to pay an additional one-time $5 membership fee.
The Role of Community Development Financial Institutions
CDFIs serve low-income and disadvantaged communities. Banks and credit unions have to undergo certification by the US Department of Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund and meet specific requirements to address banking barriers.
Partners Federal Credit Union has given over $300,000 in college scholarships to over 35 students since 2000. The credit union also hosts monthly webinars for members on a variety of personal finance topics like credit and homebuying.
Is Partners Federal Credit Union Trustworthy?
Partners Federal Credit Union hasn't been involved in any recent public controversies.
Our Partners Federal Credit Union review also includes ratings from the Better Business Bureau so you can see how an institution addresses customer issues.
Partners Federal Credit Union received an NR "No Rating" grade because the BBB doesn't have enough information about the business to provide a rating yet.
A great BBB rating doesn't necessarily guarantee a smooth relationship with a financial institution, though. Read online customer reviews and talk to current customers to see if Partners Federal Credit Union could be a good match.
How Partners Federal Credit Union Compares
Partners Federal Credit Union Review vs. Orange County's Credit Union Review
Orange County's Credit Union is another CDFI with branches in Southern California. To become a member of Orange County's Credit Union, you or an immediate family member must live or work in an eligible Southern California county on this list.
If you're looking for a free checking account, you'll likely favor Partners Federal Credit Union over Orange County's Credit Union. Partners Federal Credit Union Basic Checking doesn't have monthly service fees or minimum balance requirements. At Orange County's Credit Union, the checking accounts have monthly service fees unless you meet certain requirements each month.
For money market accounts, both credit unions have solid options that stand out for different reasons.
Orange County's Credit Union has a money market account with paper checks and an ATM card, so it could be worth considering if you'd like to have easy access to your savings. Meanwhile, Partners Federal Credit Union might be more suitable if your priority is earning a competitive interest rate. Both credit unions have tiered money market accounts, but the rates for Partners Federal Credit Union Money Market Savings are higher regardless of how much money you keep in your account.
Partners Federal Credit Union Review vs. First General Bank Review
First General Bank is an Asian American-owned bank with five branches in Southern California. The credit union is also designated as a CDFI. If you do not qualify for membership at Partners Federal Credit Union, First General Bank doesn't have membership requirements.
Both financial institutions have solid checking account options if your goal is to avoid monthly service fees.
First General Bank has a free interest-earning checking account. However, it doesn't have an ATM network. First General Bank won't charge you a fee at out-of-network ATMs. If the ATM provider charges a fee, though, you'll have to pay it.
If you frequently visit ATMs to make transactions, you might lean more toward Partners Federal Credit Union. Partners Federal Credit Union Basic Checking has zero monthly service fees and access to over 30,000 free ATMs through the CO-OP ATM network.
Why You Should Trust Us: How We Reviewed Partners Federal Credit Union
In our Partners Federal Credit Union review, we rate checking accounts, savings accounts, CDs, and money market accounts by looking at features like minimum opening requirements, monthly service fees, and customer support available. Learn more about our methodology for rating bank accounts.
For example, using our CD methodology we'll review interest rates, minimum opening deposit requirements, early withdrawal penalties, CD variety, customer support availability, mobile app ratings, miscellaneous features, security, and ethics of the overall company. Meanwhile, for checking accounts, we'll factor in the ATM network size and fees, overdraft protection options, customer support hours, mobile app ratings, ethics, security, miscellaneous features, minimum opening deposit requirements, and fees.
We rate bank accounts on a scale from one to five stars. We use a weighted average to get our star rating, which means we weigh certain features, like interest rates and fees, at a higher weight percentage than others. We understand that these areas can more heavily impact a person's overall banking experience.
Partners Federal Credit Union FAQs
Yes, Partners Federal Credit Union is federally insured by the NCUA. Checking, savings, CD, and money market accounts are secure for up to $250,000 per depositor.
Partners Federal Credit Union branches are located in the following cities: Anaheim, California; Burbank, California; Glendale, California; Bay Lake, Florida; Orlando, Florida or Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
Editorial Note: Any opinions, analyses, reviews, or recommendations expressed in this article are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer. Read our editorial standards.
Please note: While the offers mentioned above are accurate at the time of publication, they're subject to change at any time and may have changed, or may no longer be available.
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