TD Bank vs. Bank of America: Which Is Better for You?

Finding the best bank in America to fit your specific needs is crucial for building a solid foundation in your financial life. But with dozens of different banks operating in the U.S., how can you know which one is best suited for you? The answer is to compare each bank on the metrics that matter most: account options, fees and interest rates. Below you’ll find a comprehensive side-by-side analysis of TD Bank and Bank of America so you can make a smart, informed decision about where you should consider opening an account.

Picking a bank and then selection which types of accounts to have can be challenging. That’s where the insights and guidance of a financial advisor can be valuable.

What to Know About TD Bank

If you’re looking for a bank that enables you to withdraw money anytime and anywhere, TD Bank, which traces its origins to a merger of Canada’s Dominion Bank and Bank of Toronto, should be a strong contender. TD Bank also stands out with its unusually long store hours and commitment to being open on weekends and many holidays. It operates about 1,148 branches in the U.S.

TD Bank offers a great deal of account variety to its customers: savings accounts, checking accounts, certificates of deposit (CDs), money market accounts (MMAs) and IRAs. Some savings accounts include waivable monthly maintenance fees. MMAs even come complete with check-writing capabilities. In general, most of these services also offer increased rates with qualifying account activity.

What to Know About Bank of America

With a beginning in 1904 as the Bank of Italy, the Bank of America of today has expanded worldwide. Not only that, but its offerings of banking products have grown to include home loans, auto loans, investment opportunities with Merrill Lynch and more. It operates approximately 3,900 branches.

Though one of the nation’s largest banks, it doesn’t feature any of the nation’s highest-earning interest rates. So if you’re focused on other benefits in addition to building your current savings incrementally, BoA could be a great place for you to have an account. It offers checking accounts, savings accounts and nearly a dozen CDs. There are two types of CDs, both with a minimum initial deposit of $1,000. It also offers mortgages.

TD Bank vs. Bank of America: Bank Accounts

TD Bank is one of a few banks in America that offers money market accounts (MMAs). These are a type of savings account that will generally earn you a higher amount of interest than a run-of-the-mill savings account. However, a small caveat is that the minimum balance and deposit for MMAs are often much higher than for a basic savings account.

With TD Bank, you may also take advantage of CDs, high interest-earning checking accounts and more. The bank also specializes in mobile banking for savings and checking account customers, which gives you the ability to deposit your checks as you receive them, via the convenience of your smartphone.

Bank of America, meanwhile, offers its customers savings accounts, checking accounts, two types of CDs and IRAs. Perhaps the strongest feature that Bank of America offers customers is its Apple and Android mobile apps. Through these platforms, users can review their account activity and balances, order new checks, order debit card replacements, mobile bill pay, do internal transfers and, via Zelle, do external transfers, find ATMs and branches in their area, set up secure login procedures and more.

Bank of America’s most popular loans are its fixed-rate conventional mortgages. It also offers these mortgages in 15-, 20- and 30-year terms, affording you flexibility in how long you want to take to pay off your home. Although shorter-term loans allow you to save significantly on interest, you will then be subject to larger monthly payments. But if you can afford these heftier bills, it’s well worth doing.

Jumbo loans are exactly what they sound like: a sizable loan for those who are likely looking to purchase a more expensive home. The exact amount that a mortgage must reach in order to be considered “jumbo” was set by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae and currently sits at $647,200. Jumbo mortgages sometimes come with higher interest rates than their fixed-rate counterparts, but that’s not always the case, and they can come as either a fixed-rate or adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM). Its ARMs are available in 10/1, 7/1 and 5/1 forms.

Here is a table, representing percentages and dollar amounts, as of mid-2022:

Comparing TD Bank and Bank of America Fixed-Rate Mortgages

In comparing TD Bank vs. Bank of America, you may want to consider access to personalized customer service. If you prefer to talk with a real person about your finances, BoA can provide you with extensive  human expertise. Even more so than TD Bank, BoA boasts thousands of physical branches around the U.S., as well as a large network of ATMs nationwide. For those who want mobile banking as a centerpiece, the BoA app does it all, giving you access to your balances on the go. The bank buttresses these services with ultra-tight security measures to give you peace of mind.

TD Bank vs. Bank of America: Fees

It’s easy to overlook fees when opening an account with a bank that seemingly fits your needs, but don’t let down your guard. Doing business with a bank that has an extensive set of fees can end up costing you a ton in the long run. The TD Bank vs. Bank of America consideration measures up in the following way:

TD Bank vs. Bank of America

The bank’s saving accounts have monthly maintenance fees, but it’s also possible to waive those. Its CD accounts don’t have a fee, while Simple Savings accounts have a $5 to $8 monthly fee and Signature Savings accounts’ include a $15 rate. Overall, the takeaway for fees is that, for the most part, they are usually nonexistent or waivable.

With a Bank of America Advantage Savings account, you will be charged a $8 monthly fee that’s waivable under certain circumstance. You can avoid this fee if you maintain a minimum daily balance of at least $500, link your Bank of America Advantage Relationship Checking account to your Advantage Savings account or if you are, or plan to become, a Bank of America Preferred Rewards client.

TD Bank vs. Bank of America: Rates

As you may have gathered, Bank of America loses this round. Bank of America has notoriously low interest rates. Many online-only banks have Bank of America beat in terms of what they may offer customers in annual rates across several different accounts.

TD’s interest rates, while better than Bank of America’s, are still not stellar. TD has a  reputation for offering its clients mostly below-average savings rates. However, if you elect to open a TD Signature Savings account (as opposed to the standard account, known as a Simple Savings account), you could begin to collect higher interest rates as your account balances increase. Even at the lowest tier and most basic version of the account, your rates would still be higher than those of most other big banks. Needless to say, when you’re sizing up TD Bank vs. Bank of America in terms of rates, TD wins here.

TD Bank vs. Bank of America

Bottom Line

The TD Bank vs. Bank of America decision is a difficult one. TD Bank is a great choice for those who don’t have a particularly large amount of savings and would appreciate having around-the-clock help when they need it.  Bank of America, on the other hand, is a big chain for a reason: it offers some great benefits. But if you’re just starting out financially, you’ll likely have to wait some time to take full advantage of those perks.

Bank of America should be your choice if you’re more secure and have some wiggle room with your finances. TD Bank is better suited for banking newbies. Some of you may fall in the middle. In that case, it may be best to determine which bank would be better for you according to respective rates, accounts and fees.

Tips for Choosing the Right Bank

• First and foremost, take the time to identify the two or three most important factors that you want included in your new account(s). This will drastically help in narrowing down the banks you should be considering. For example, if you want to earn rewards from your checking account, check out the best rewards checking accounts. But if no fees are more important to you, a free checking account might be a better choice.
• You might find that while a bank suits you well, a credit union could work even better. These financial institutions afford members special perks that most banks simply cannot match. Interested? SmartAsset came up with the best credit unions of 2018.
• A financial advisor can offer valuable help as you review your choices of banks. Finding a financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to three financial advisors who serve your area, and you can interview your advisor matches at no cost to decide which one is right for you. If you’re ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.

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