Axos Bank Review - Full Online Personal Banking Made Easy
Ranking
9/10
Axos Bank offers 7 types of banking accounts with leading rates, low to no monthly maintenance fees, and agile software to make your personal banking experience positive and efficient. Axos Bank is a great online banking option.
Axos Bank was founded as a digital bank in the year 2000. Since then, they’ve grown to hold nearly $10 billion in assets in just over 19 years.
Axos Bank is an FDIC insured bank and is owned by a holding company, Axos Financial, that is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange as the symbol AX.
Axos Bank offers both personal and business banking services. In particular, their personal banking services include checking accounts, a savings account, a money market account, certificates of deposit (CDs), mortgages, personal loans, and auto loans.
If you’re considering opening a bank account and starting a banking relationship with Axos Bank, here’s what you need to know.
The Axos Bank accounts in review
Axos Bank offers five different types of checking accounts depending on your needs. They also offer a savings account and a money market account.
Because Axos Bank is an online bank, they include the following benefits with every single account:
- Free mobile deposit to deposit your checks anytime and anywhere
- Online bill pay
- Mobile banking apps for both Android and iOS phones
- A no-hassle switch kit that guides you through the process of switching to Axos Bank
Essential Checking
Axos Bank’s Essential Checking account is for those that want a simple no-fee checking account.
There are no overdraft or non-sufficient funds (NSF) fees, and you don’t have to pay a monthly maintenance fee. Plus, there are no minimum monthly balance requirements.
These features are nice because some other banks have annoying requirements to avoid monthly maintenance fees. And bonus: you get unlimited domestic ATM fee reimbursements whenever you need to take cash out.
Rewards Checking
Rewards Checking is an even better option than Axos Bank’s Essential Checking account for most customers.
Similar to Essential Checking, there are zero overdraft, NSF or monthly maintenance fees. Also, you can even get unlimited domestic ATM fee reimbursements.
How to earn interest on your money
- First, you can earn 0.40% APY by receiving monthly direct deposits totaling $1,500 or more.
- Next, you can add another 0.30% APY by using your Axos Visa® Debit Card for a total of 10 transactions per month, but each transaction has to be a minimum of $3 to count.
- If you want to earn an even higher APY, you can add 0.20% APY by maintaining an average daily balance of $2,500 per month in an Axos Managed Portfolios Invest Account.
- Add an additional 0.20% APY by maintaining an average daily balance of $2,500 per month in an Axos Self Directed Trading Invest Account (Claim Your $200 Bonus when you pair your Self-Directed Trading account with your Rewards Checking account).
- Finally, you can add another 0.15% APY by using your Rewards Checking account to make your full monthly Axos consumer loan payment.
If you meet the first requirement, you only earn 0.40% APY. Even so, that’s higher than most checking accounts available today. Meet all requirements and you can earn up to 1.25% APY.
CashBack Checking
If you’d rather earn cash back than interest, the CashBack Checking account might be better for you. You can earn up to 1.00% cash back on your signature-based purchases with this account.
Plus, similar to some other Axos Bank checking accounts, there are no monthly maintenance fees and unlimited domestic ATM fee reimbursements.
How to get cash back
You will earn 0.50% cash back on your signature-based purchases if your average daily collected balance falls below $1,500. And if you maintain an average daily collected balance of $1,500 or more, you qualify for the full 1.00% cash back on signature-based transactions.
Note that cash back is limited to $2,000 per month on signature-based transactions and is based on net purchases, which is purchases minus returns or credits.
Cash back will be deposited in your CashBack Checking account. Be aware that cash back earned may be reported as miscellaneous income on IRS Form 1099-MISC.
First Checking
First Checking at Axos Bank is a joint checking account aimed at 13 to 17-year-olds to help them get started managing their money. There are no monthly maintenance fees, overdraft fees or NSF fees. It also offers up to $12 off domestic ATM fee reimbursements each month.
This is a great option for teens to earn interest on their money, and currently, First Checking offers a 0.10% APY.
Note that there are daily transaction limits on this account type of $100 for cash and $500 for debit transactions.
Golden Checking
Axos Bank offers a Golden Checking account for those age 55 and older. A super attractive benefit to this account is you get one free box of Colonial Classic 50 pack checks every six months, with a limit of two boxes per year.
Other features for Golden Checking include the ability to earn interest at 0.10% APY, up to $8 of domestic ATM fee reimbursements per month, no minimum balance requirements, and no monthly maintenance fees.
High Yield Savings
The High Yield Savings account at Axos Bank offers its highest APY of 0.61% on balances under $25,000.
The account has no monthly maintenance fees nor any minimum balance requirements. You even qualify for a free ATM card upon request.
High Yield Money Market
Axos Bank’s High Yield Money Market account pays 0.25% APY. The account is FDIC insured and has no monthly maintenance fees or minimum balance requirements.
This account allows check writing privileges and debit card transactions. Unfortunately, federal regulations limit you to six of these transactions per month. If you exceed these limits, you’ll have to pay a fee for each transaction, and Axos Bank may convert your account to a different type of account that doesn’t have these limits.
Why open an Axos Bank account?
Deciding to open a new bank account is a big deal. There are plenty of good reasons to consider opening your next bank account at Axos Bank.
No fee or low fee options
Most of the big banks charge you crazy fees to hold an account with them. At these banks, you may have to maintain a minimum balance to avoid monthly service fees. You may even have to pay a long list of other fees based on your specific account type and how you use it.
The good news is that Axos Bank is different. Most of their accounts keep fees to a minimum and don’t charge monthly maintenance fees. Some accounts even give you ATM fee rebates for domestic ATMs when you need access to cash.
If you prefer to keep fees to a minimum, you may very well go with their Essential Checking account, but a reminder that this type of account does not pay interest.
Interest rates ahead of the brick and mortar norm
Axos Bank gives you plenty of options if you want to earn interest on your money both in checking and savings.
Their Rewards Checking account offers up to 1.25% APY for meeting their monthly requirements. This APY is higher than the APYs most big banks offer on their savings accounts. The big banks APYs on their checking accounts are usually even more pitiful.
Even Axos Bank’s Savings Account and Money Market Account offer decent interest rates that are ahead of most brick and mortar banks. That said, you can find higher interest rates at some other online banks that offer savings accounts.
Up to date technology
As an online-only bank, it makes sense that Axos Bank is focused and prioritizes having up to date technology.
Axos Bank has an app for both Android and iOS phones which allows the free mobile deposit of checks. They also offer online bill pay so you can stay up to date on your bills from one dashboard.
How to open an Axos Bank account
Opening an Axos Bank account is easy and takes only a few minutes.
After you navigate to their website, find the type of account you want to open. Once on the appropriate account page, click the Open an Account button.
You’ll need:
- your Social Security Number
- a valid Driver’s License or State ID card
- a valid U.S. address that isn’t a post office box
- You must be a U.S. citizen or resident alien to open an account.
Also, you must be 18 or older to open an account unless you’re a teen opening a Teen Checking account. In that case, a parent or guardian must be listed as the primary joint owner on the account.
Finally, Axos Bank also offers a no-hassle switch kit when you sign up for an account that gives you a step-by-step checklist to follow when switching from your old bank.
Pros & cons
Pros
- Competitive APYs — Better APYs than most brick and mortar banks - Axos Bank offers accounts with APYs that are likely much better than your typical brick and mortar local bank.
- Customizable — Different checking account options based on your needs - With five different checking accounts, at least one should meet your needs.
- Low fees — Low to no fee options - If avoiding fees is your main goal, Axos Bank has a checking account for you.
- Mobile apps — Up to date technology - Mobile apps and free mobile deposit make banking online much easier.
Cons
- Less competitive rates for savings — Higher APYs can be found at other online banks for savings accounts - Other online banks offer superior APYs on savings accounts.
- Online-only bank — Lack of physical branches - As an online bank, don’t expect to find a physical branch in your area.
Summary
Axos Bank offers seven types of banking accounts for personal and business banking services, with attractive benefits including low to no fees.
And although Axos only offers online banking, APYs are decidedly more competitive than most brick and mortar banks making it an attractive option overall.
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