Top Reward Checking & Savings Account at BankFirst Financial Services
I first reported on the reward checking account at BankFirst Financial Services in 2009. As you might expect, rates have fallen. However, the rate remains competitive and the balance cap has remained the same. In addition to rate changes, the bank has moved the account into the Kasasa brand. The reward checking account is called Kasasa Cash, and they have added a linked savings account called Kasasa Saver. The website Kasasa.com is currently showing these accounts as nationally available which makes this a very good deal. The following rates and tiers are listed at the bank's Kasasa Cash page and the Kasasa Saver page as of 6/14/2012:
Kasasa Cash:
- 2.00% APY for balances up to $50,000
- 0.50% on the portion of the balance above $50,000
- 0.10% APY on entire balance if requirements are not met
- ATM fee refunds nationwide (up to $25 per monthly qualification cycle)
Kasasa Saver:
- 1.00% APY for balances up to $50,000
- 0.50% on the portion of the balance above $50,000
- 0.05% APY on entire balance if requirements are not met
Monthly Requirements:
The above rates and ATM fee refunds require that the following be met on the Kasasa Cash account for each month:
- 10 debit card purchases
- one direct deposit or ACH auto debit
- Receive monthly e-statements
Minimum to open is $250 for the Kasasa Cash account and $100 for the Kasasa Saver account. Both accounts have no monthly fees and no minimum balance requirements. There's a limit of one account per household.
Application & Availability - Nationwide!
A link to an online application is on the bank's Kasasa Cash page. This application allows you to fund the accounts with an ACH transfer using an existing checking or savings account. There's no mention of geographic restrictions. To verify I sent a message to confirm they accept applications nationwide. I'll update this post when I receive a reply. Update: I just confirmed with the bank that these Kasasa accounts are available nationwide. Here's an excerpt of the email reply that I received "We do accept applications for our Kasasa accounts outside of Mississippi."
The bank is also listed at Kasasa.com. I've used several zip codes, and BankFirst shows up for all of them. You can also apply for these accounts at Kasasa.com.
It should be noted that small banks will sometimes make their accounts available nationwide for a little while. However, this often doesn't last long. So if you can't find BankFirst at Kasasa.com for your zip code, it has likely changed its policy.
Bank Overview
BankFirst Financial Services branches are located in several Mississippi cities including Columbus, Flowood, Macon, Madison, Ridgeland, Shuqualak, Starkville and West Point.
The bank has an overall health score at DepositAccounts.com of 4 stars (out of 5) with a Texas ratio of 8.76% (above average) based on March 2012 data. Please refer to our financial overview of BankFirst Financial Services. The bank has been a FDIC member since 1934 (FDIC Certificate # 8870).
How This Reward Checking & Savings Accounts Compare
If this remains available nationwide, it'll be a very good deal. The highest reward checking rate that's nationally available for a $50K balance is 1.50% APY at North Country Savings Bank. The highest rate for a $25K balance is 2.52% APY at ABCO Federal Credit Union.
If you have both the Kasasa Cash and Saver accounts with $50K balance in each, your average APY would be 1.50%. So with these accounts you can get a blended APY of 1.50% for up to $100K. The next best nationally available reward checking account for a $100K balance is at Bank of Internet USA which offers a rewards checking account that pays 1.25% APY on all balances if certain requirements are met.
The above rates are accurate as of 6/14/2012.
To find the highest reward checking rates in your area, please refer to our reward checking rate table. This can also be used to find accounts available nationwide. If you're new to these tables, my rate table guide should be useful.
If you're new to reward checking, my blog post, 10 Common Traits of High-Yield Reward Checking, should be useful.