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Travis Credit Union is a good option if you live in Northern California and prioritize banking with a local financial institution. Its strongest products are its checking and money market accounts.
Travis Credit Union: Overall Rating
| Feature | Insider rating (out of 5) |
| Savings | 3.5 |
| Checking | 4.25 |
| CD | 4 |
| Money market account | 4 |
| Trustworthiness | 5 |
| Total | 4.25 |
Travis Credit Union Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
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Travis Credit Union Bank Account Reviews
Travis Credit Union Prime Savings Account
$9 quarterly service fee
0.00% to 0.15%
$5
- Possible to waive quarterly service fee
- $9 quarterly service fee
- Must maintain at least $100 in account to earn interest
- 23 active branches in Northern California
- To become a member of Travis Credit Union, you or a family member must meet one of the following requirements: you live, work, worship, or go to school in Solano, Yolo, Contra Costa, Merced, Napa, Alameda, Colusa, Placer, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Sonoma, or Stanislaus county; You are a member of the military or civilian personnel of Travis Air Force Base
- Must maintain at least $100 to earn interest
- Earn 0.05% APY on account balances between $100 and $5,000
- Earn 0.10% APY on account balances between $5,000.01 and $10,000
- Earn 0.15% APY on account balances over $10,000
- $9 quarterly service fee if you are over the age of 21 and have a combined average balance under $100 in savings, money market, checking, and certificates
- Waive the quarterly service fee if you receive direct deposits of $500 or more monthly, or make at least three transactions of $10 or more each month from your checking account
- Interest compounded and deposited monthly
- Federally insured by the NCUA
All members must open the Travis Credit Union Travis Credit Union Prime Savings Account, and the rate is low compared to the best high-yield savings accounts. Take note you'll need to maintain at least $100 across savings, money market, checking, and certificates, or you'll have to pay a $9 quarterly service fee.
However, you'll be able to waive the fee regardless of your account balance if you receive direct deposits of $500 or more monthly, or make at least three transactions of $10 or more each month from your checking account.
Travis Credit Union Free Checking
no monthly service fee
None
$0
- No monthly service fees
- No minimum balance requirements
- Overdraft protection available
- $1.50 out-of-network ATM fee
- $29 overdraft fee
- $5 overdraft protection transfer fee
- 23 active branches in Northern California
- Access to over 30,000 surcharge-free ATMs in the CO-OP ATM network
- To become a member of Travis Credit Union, you or a family member must meet one of the following requirements: you live, work, worship, or go to school in Solano, Yolo, Contra Costa, Merced, Napa, Alameda, Colusa, Placer, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Sonoma, or Stanislaus county; You are a member of the military or civilian personnel of Travis Air Force Base
- Overdraft protection that lets you link your checking account to a savings account
- Federally insured by the NCUA
Travis Credit Union Travis Credit Union Free Checking is an overall solid checking account. It doesn't charge monthly service fees, and there aren't any minimum balance requirements.
You can also avoid overdraft fees if you get overdraft protection by linking your checking account to a savings account. However, keep in mind there's a $5 overdraft protection transfer fee if you utilize overdraft protection.
Travis Credit Union Standard Certificates
0.90% to 4.30%
$500
- Standard terms
- Low minimum opening deposit
- Higher interest rates than the average CD
- Standard-to-low early withdrawal penalties
- Online banks may offer higher interest rates
- 23 active branches in Northern California
- To become a member of Travis Credit Union, you or a family member must meet one of the following requirements: you live, work, worship, or go to school in Solano, Yolo, Contra Costa, Merced, Napa, Alameda, Colusa, Placer, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Sonoma, or Stanislaus county; You are a member of the military or civilian personnel of Travis Air Force Base
- Terms range from 6 months to 5 years
- Certificate specials for 4 month CD
- Early withdrawal penalties: For terms between 182 days and 365, the penalty is 90 days of interest; For terms over 365 days, the penalty is 180 days of interest
- Interest compounded and deposited monthly
- Federally insured by the NCUA
Travis Credit Union Travis Credit Union Standard Certificates have low minimum opening deposits and standard-to-low early withdrawal penalties. There are certificate specials for 11-month and 15-month share certificates, which offer a much higher interest rate than the average CD.
Travis Credit Union Jumpstart Money Market Account
no monthly service fee
0.00% to 4.00%
$0
- Earn 4.00% APY on the first $1,000 in your account
- Solid interest rate for account balances up to $5,000
- No monthly service fees
- Paper checks included
- No debit card
- No interest earned on balances over $5,000
- 23 active branches in Northern California
- To become a member of Travis Credit Union, you or a family member must meet one of the following requirements: you live, work, worship, or go to school in Solano, Yolo, Contra Costa, Merced, Napa, Alameda, Colusa, Placer, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Sonoma, or Stanislaus county; You are a member of the military or civilian personnel of Travis Air Force Base
- Reverse tiered interest rate: You'll earn a high interest rate on lower account balances
- You will earn a blended APY, which means that parts of your account balance may earn a different interest rate, depending on balance tiers
- Earn 4.00% APY on the first $1,000 in your account
- Earn 1.75% APY on account balances between $1,000.01 and $3,000
- Earn 0.75% APY on account balances between $3,000.01 and $5,000
- No interest earned on account balances over $5,000
- Only new money qualifies for a Jumpstart Money Market Account (Money that hasn't been deposited into a Travis Credit Union bank account)
- Interest compounded and deposited monthly
- Federally insured by the NCUA
The Travis Credit Union Travis Credit Union Jumpstart Money Market Account is a unique reverse-tiered money market account. It might be a good option depending on how much you usually keep in an account.
With a reverse-tiered money market account, you'll earn a higher interest rate on lower account balances. Here's how it works:
- You'll earn 4.00% APY on the first $1,000 in your account
- You'll earn 1.75% APY on account balances between $1,000.01 and $3,000
- You'll earn 0.75% APY on account balances between $3,000.01 and $5,000
You won't earn any interest on account balances over $5,000. You'll also only be able to deposit new money in a Travis Credit Union Jumpstart Money Market Account. This means money that hasn't been deposited into another Travis Credit Union account.
About Travis Credit Union
Travis Credit Union is a community development financial institution (CDFI) with 23 active branches in Northern California. It's part of the CO-OP ATM network, so it has access to over 30,000 ATMs throughout the US.
To contact customer support, call from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. PT on weekdays or 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT on Saturdays.
The bank's mobile app is rated 4.6 out of 5 stars in the Google Play store and 4.8 out of 5 stars in the Apple store.
Travis Credit Union is federally insured by the NCUA. Up to $250,000 is safe in an individual bank account, and $500,000 is secure in a joint bank account.
How to Join Travis Credit Union
To become a member of Travis Credit Union, you or a family member must meet one of the following requirements:
- You live, work, worship, or go to school in a select county in Northern California (Solano, Yolo, Contra, Costa, Merced, Napa, Alameda, Colusa, Placer, Sacramento, Sano Joaquin, Sonoma, or Stanislaus county)
- You are military or civilian personnel of Travis Air Force Base
All members must open a Travis Credit Union Travis Credit Union Prime Savings Account with at least $5 and pay a 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.
Travis Credit Union is a Juntos Avanzamos designated credit union. Juntos Avanzamos is an initiative that is dedicated to helping Hispanic and immigrant people find suitable financial products. To receive the designation, financial institutions will need to show it is committed to serving its local community. For example, a financial institution must permit alternative ID forms if you don't have a US ID.
You can read more about how Travis Credit Union serves its local community through its 2021 Community Impact Report.
Is Travis Credit Union Trustworthy?
Travis Credit Union hasn't been involved in any recent controversies.
We also share ratings from the Better Business Bureau so you may see how an institution addresses customer issues. Travis Credit Union received an A+ rating from the BBB.
A good BBB rating doesn't necessarily mean your relationship with the credit union will be perfect, though. Talk to current customers or read online customer reviews to see if a particular financial institution may be suitable.
How Travis Credit Union Compares
Travis Credit Union vs. 1st Nor Cal Credit Union
Another financial institution based in Northern California is 1st Nor Cal Credit Union. To become a member of 1st Nor Cal Credit Union, you or a family member live, work, go to school, or worship in Contra Costa, Solano, or Alameda counties. All members must open a savings account with at least $5.
Both banks pay low interest rates on their regular savings accounts. However, you'll earn 0.15% APY with Travis Credit union if you maintain more than $10,000 in your account, which is more than Golden 1 Credit Union offers.
If you'd like to open a money market account, Travis Credit Union might be more appealing. The minimum opening deposit for the Travis Credit Union Travis Credit Union Jumpstart Money Market Account is $0. At 1st Nor Cal Credit Union, you'll need an initial deposit of $10,000, which is pretty steep compared to other brick-and-mortar banks.
Travis Credit Union vs. Golden 1 Credit Union
Golden 1 Credit Union is a regional financial institution with numerous branches in Northern California. Golden 1 Credit Union lets you join if you live in California or you are a military service member who resides in California. All members must open a savings account with at least $1.
If you're searching for a money market account, you might prefer Travis Credit Union over Golden 1 Credit Union. The Travis Credit Union Travis Credit Union Jumpstart Money Market Account has a lower minimum opening deposit than the Golden 1 Credit Union Money Market Account. Travis Credit Union also offers a high interest rate for money market account balances of $5,000 or less.
If you'd like to get a share certificate, both credit unions pay higher interest rates than the average CD. Both banks also have low minimum opening deposits for CDs, so the best for you may ultimately depend on the term you choose.
Why You Should Trust Us: How We Reviewed Travis Credit Union
For our Travis Credit Union review, we rated bank products and services using our editorial standards.
We rate products on a scale from one to five stars, and use a bank account methodology
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 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.
Travis Credit Union FAQs
To become a member of Travis Credit Union, you or a family member must live, work, worship, or go to school in a select county in Northern California. Solano, Yolo, Contra Costa, Merced, Napa, Alameda, Colusa, Placer, Sacramento, Sano Joaquin, Sonoma, or Stanislaus county are all eligible locations. You may also become a member if you are military or civilian personnel of Travis Air Force Base.
All members must open a Travis Credit Union Prime Savings Account with at least $5 and pay a one-time $5 membership fee. There isn't a minimum opening deposit required for checking and money market accounts. If you'd like to open a share certificate, you'll need a minimum of $500.
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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