Western Alliance Bank Review 2024

If you’re looking for a bank that makes your money work harder, Western Alliance Bank offers a range of financial products tailored to your needs. The Western Alliance High-Yield Savings Account offers one of the highest rates among our top picks, and with their other solid offerings among their products, you can manage all your banking in one place. Here’s what you need to know.

The Western Alliance Personal Checking Account and Western Alliance Personal Interest Checking Account share many features, including a monthly service fee you can avoid by maintaining a minimum daily balance.

While that’s less ideal than a no-fee checking account, the bank’s high-yield savings account is one of the best we’ve seen. If you choose Western Alliance for your savings, you may feel maintaining a more-than-attainable minimum balance is worth the convenience of having your checking and savings accounts under one (digital) roof. Plus, as the name suggests, the Personal Interest Checking account allows you to earn some money on your balance, which is always welcome.

Here’s how these checking accounts compare: 

Personal Checking Account 

• $100 opening deposit requirement  
• A monthly service fee of $5, with the option to waive by maintaining a daily balance of at least $500 or a monthly recurring direct deposit
• Does not earn interest  

Personal Interest Checking Account 

• $100 opening deposit requirement  
• A monthly service fee of $10 with the option to waive by maintaining a daily balance of at least $1,500 or being 55 or older
• Tiered interest rates (contact institution for details)

Western Alliance offers both a traditional savings account and a high-yield savings account. The APY on the Western Alliance Personal Savings Account is available upon account opening, so you’d have to contact the institution for further details.

On the other hand, the Western Alliance High-Yield Savings Account (offered through online savings platform Raisin) boasts one of the highest rates on the market. There’s no cap on the balance that earns the APY, and you can make unlimited withdrawals.

Another nice feature of this account is its lack of fees. You won’t deal with any overdraft or monthly maintenance fees, and you only need a minimum deposit of $1 to open the account.   

It’s worth noting that this account is operated through Raisin, a savings platform that handles your deposits and withdrawals, bank statements, and customer service. Your funds remain FDIC-insured, and according to Raisin’s website, the platform employs security measures like encryption and multi-factor authentication to safeguard your money. 

The Western Alliance High-Yield Certificates of Deposit (CDs) are also powered through Raisin and offer terms ranging from three months to one year with high APYs. This makes the bank a good choice if you want to lock in a high rate for a short-term goal. All of the bank’s CDs have a minimum opening deposit of $1 and charge an early withdrawal penalty of 90 days simple interest.  

If you’re looking for an interest-bearing checking account, the LendingClub Rewards Checking Account offers 1% unlimited cash back on qualified purchases with your debit card. The account requires a minimum opening deposit of only $25 and doesn’t charge any overdraft or maintenance fees. In return you get 0.10% APY for balances between $2,500.00 and $99,999.99; and 0.15% APY for balances of $100,000.00 or more. The LendingClub High-Yield Savings Account also offers a high APY with just a $100 opening deposit requirement and no monthly fees.

SoFi Bank also offers a SoFi Checking and Savings Account that’s worth a look, especially if you already have monthly direct deposits of $5,000 or more. When you set this account up with direct deposit, you earn a high APY on savings, as well as some interest on your checking balance. New account holders (or current account holders without direct deposit set up) may also qualify for a bonus of up to $300 by meeting specific direct deposit requirements. You’ll receive the full $300 bonus by direct depositing at least $5,000 within 25 days of your initial direct deposit. Even depositing between $1,000 and $4,999.99 earns you a $50 bonus. 

At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every banking review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of banking products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics. See our methodology for more information on how we choose the best banking products.

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