Top Reward Checking and Savings Combo at Security Bank - Texas Only

I first mentioned Security Bank's reward checking and savings account in my review of the best reward checking accounts for large balances. I realized that I have not done a review specifically on these accounts. With the current rates and balance caps, it definitely deserves a review. Security Bank offers two types of accounts. One is a standalone Rewards checking account. It has the following rates and features if certain monthly requirements are met (as of 8/16/2011):

• 3.28% APY on balances up to $50K
• 0.52% APY on portion of balance over $50K
• 0.05% base rate if requirements are not met
• Refund of ATM fees nationwide (up to $25 per qualification cycle and up to $5 per occurrence)

Monthly requirements include:

• 10 debit card purchases
• At least one recurring direct deposit or auto debit
• Access online banking
• Receive free eStatements

It's a free checking account with no minimum balance or monthly fees.

There's also a combo reward checking and savings account called RealRewards with Saver. The unique thing about this is that the checking has a rate that's a little lower than the standalone version. Here are the rates and features of these two accounts if certain monthly requirements are met (as of 8/16/2011):

• RealRewards Checking
• 3.23% APY on balances up to $50K
• 0.52% APY on portion of balance over $50K
• 0.05% base rate if requirements are not met
• Refund of ATM fees nationwide (up to $25 per qualification cycle and up to $5 per occurrence)
• RealSaver
• 1.83% APY on balances up to $50K
• 0.51% APY on portion of balance over $50K
• 0.05% base rate if requirements are not met

Monthly requirements include:

• 10 debit card purchases
• At least one recurring direct deposit or auto debit
• Access online banking
• Receive free eStatements

Just like the standalone checking account, this combo checking and savings accounts have no minimum balance requirement and no monthly fee.

Online Application

Update 8/24/2011: The online application has changed, and now it says "you must reside within our market area". You have to enter your zip code to ensure it's in their market area.

The bank has an online application for these accounts. However, according to the first page of the application, only Texas residents are eligible to apply. Note, this is as of 8/16/2011. As we have seen before, banks have often reduced the availability of these accounts to their market area.

Security Bank Overview

Security Bank branches are primarily located in West Texas in and around Odessa. There's also one branch in the Texas Hill Country between Austin and San Antonio.

The bank has an overall health score at DepositAccounts.com of 5 stars (out of 5) with a Texas Ratio of 2.85% (excellent) based on March 2011 data. Please refer to our financial overview of Security Bank for more details. The bank has been a FDIC member since 1934 (FDIC Certificate # 13408).

How the Reward Checking Compares

The nice thing about the RealRewards with Saver is that you can have $100K balance earning around 2.53% APY (3.23% in the checking and 1.83% in the savings). The best rate that's available nationwide is 2.52% APY for balances up to $25K at ABCO Federal Credit Union (as of 8/16/2011). So these reward checking and savings account combo at Security Bank is a very good deal. Hopefully, it will stay available to all those in Texas.

Searching for the Best Reward Checking Accounts

To review more accounts, you can use our reward checking account table. Use the "Filter Accounts" button on top of the table to select either nationwide accounts and/or your state. Also, you can use this button to select the investment amount. This allows you to compare accounts with different rate tiers.