Banking Bank Reviews

Truist Bank Review [2024]: Full-Service Perks, Low APYs

Truist Bank might be the largest U.S. bank you haven’t heard of, and it deserves your consideration.

Updated Dec. 17, 2024
Fact checked
Truist Bank

Truist Bank

OUR VIEW

Truist is a massive full-service bank with branches in 17 states and Washington D.C. It offers checking, savings, money market accounts (MMAs), and certificate of deposit (CD) accounts, as well as a host of other financial products like credit cards, loans, investment accounts, and insurance.

There are a couple of things I like about Truist, such as the fact that it offers multiple checking and savings options and has lower minimums. But overall, there’s a lot more I don’t like. Aside from making it surprisingly difficult to qualify for accounts, the bank slaps fees on many of its products that aren’t justified, and its annual percentage yields (APYs) on savings accounts are more than a little disappointing.

I wouldn’t open an account with Truist or recommend the bank to most people. But you might consider it if you live near a branch and like to bank in person.

Pros

In-person branches
Checking, savings, MMAs, and CDs
Relatively low minimums

Cons

Extremely low APYs on all savings
Monthly maintenance fees on most products
Branches only in 17 states (plus Washington, D.C.)
CDs must be opened in person
Some accounts restricted to certain states
How we evaluate products

4.3
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Truist One Checking Benefits

  • New checking clients can earn a $400 bonus with qualifying activities1
  • No overdraft fee to worry about
  • Minimum opening deposit is just $50
  • $100 Negative Balance Buffer2 for eligible clients
  • Ways to waive the monthly maintenance fee3
  • Member FDIC
Open a Truist One Checking account here

What is Truist?

Truist is a brick-and-mortar bank that resulted from the merger of SunTrust and BB&T in 2019. When these two established banks came together, the institution rebranded as Truist. Today, Truist is the eighth-largest commercial bank by asset size (just ahead of Capital One and behind Goldman Sachs), with over $500 billion in assets. It has over 1,900 branches in 17 states. This is a respectable footprint, but it pales in comparison to giants Chase and Bank of America.

Despite its considerable size, Truist doesn’t offer banking services to everyone. Some of its products are only available in certain states, and some require visiting a branch to open.

Who is Truist Bank best for?

  • People who live near a branch
  • Students looking for a checking account
  • People looking for a full-service bank

You can visit one of over 2,000 Truist branch locations in the U.S. if you prefer face-to-face customer support over digital banking. Access to in-person locations sets Truist apart from online-only banks, but it’s worth noting that Truist branches are only in 17 states.

In addition to its lineup of checking and savings accounts, Truist also offers credit cards, loans, and retirement accounts. But if you decide to do a lot of your banking with Truist because you prioritize convenience, know that you’ll likely face more monthly fees and potentially lower APYs than you’d get with many of the best banks.

Who Truist might not be right for

  • People who want to avoid monthly fees
  • People looking for savings accounts
  • People who bank primarily online or from a mobile device

Truist is a poor choice for avoiding monthly maintenance fees, as many of us try to do. Even though you can waive most monthly fees by meeting requirements, you shouldn’t have to. There are enough fee-free bank accounts to make settling for waivable fees not worth it. And whether you waive the fees or not, you won’t earn high rates on your accounts.

And although Truist has thousands of branches, people in most of the country won’t live near one. For comparison, PNC Bank is not that much larger than Truist in terms of its assets and branch network, but it operates in 28 states.

Truist Bank checking

Checking account Minimum to open Monthly maintenance fee
Truist One Checking $50 $12 (can be waived)3
Truist Confidence $25 $5 (can be waived)

Truist offers two checking accounts: One Checking and Confidence. Neither account charges overdraft fees, which sets them apart from accounts with many big banks. They also have low deposit requirements, though many other checking accounts have lower or no minimums.

Truist One Checking

Truist One Checking requires $50 to open, but you may need to aim for a higher balance to avoid a $12 monthly fee.

This fee can be waived in five different ways:

  1. Make $500 or more in total qualifying direct deposits per statement cycle.
  2. Maintain a combined monthly average balance of $500 or more across eligible Truist bank accounts.
  3. Have an eligible personal Truist credit card, mortgage, or consumer loan.
  4. Have a linked small business checking account.
  5. Be a student under 25 years old.

I might recommend this as a student checking account because that’s an easy way to waive the fee.

An interesting feature of Truist One Checking is that you can receive more benefits as your combined monthly average balance increases4. There are five incremental levels with decent benefits, like certain waived fees and loyalty bonuses. If you’re into relationship banking, this isn’t a terrible option. But you’ll need at least $100,000 for the best tier, and other banks for high-net-worth customers have much better perks.

Pro tip
In general, keeping that much money in a bank account — rather than saving it in a high-yield savings account and/or investing it — won’t make sense for most people. Consider a free checking account with no minimums instead.

4.3
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Truist One Checking Benefits

  • New checking clients can earn a $400 bonus with qualifying activities1
  • No overdraft fee to worry about
  • Minimum opening deposit is just $50
  • $100 Negative Balance Buffer2 for eligible clients
  • Ways to waive the monthly maintenance fee3
  • Member FDIC
Open a Truist One Checking account here

Truist Confidence

The Truist Confidence checking account is designed for everyday purchases and transactions. It doesn’t include paper checks, but you won’t be charged overdraft fees either. It has a $5 monthly service fee, which is low, but many bare-bones checking accounts like this are free to open and maintain.

You can avoid this fee by meeting one of the following requirements:

  • Make $500 or more in total deposits per statement cycle.
  • Make 10 or more qualifying transactions per statement cycle.
  • Be a student under 25 years old.

Truist Bank savings accounts

Savings account APY Minimum to open Monthly maintenance fee
Truist One Savings 0.01% (as of 12/16/24)5 $50 $5 (can be waived)
Truist Confidence Savings 0.01% (as of 12/16/24) $25 $0
Truist One Money Market 0.01% (as of 12/16/24), up to 4.00% (for new customers) $50 $12 (can be waived)
Truist CDs 0.05% (standard); 3.50% to 4.00% (promotional) $2,500 for terms between seven and 31 days; $1,000 for terms 32 days or greater $0

Truist offers two savings accounts, a money market account, and CDs. The Truist One Savings and Confidence Savings are savings accounts with low minimums.

For savings, Truist offers way below-average APYs. According to current FDIC data, the national average rate on savings accounts is 0.43% (as of 11/18/24)6. While some of the best high-yield savings accounts offer rates ten times greater than this, Truist pays 0.01% (as of 12/16/24). CD rates are similarly poor.

Truist One Savings

APY: 0.01% (as of 12/16/24)

Truist One Savings requires a $50 deposit to open and has a $5 monthly maintenance fee. You can waive this by meeting one of the following requirements:

  • Maintain a minimum daily ledger balance of $300 or more.
  • Schedule a recurring preauthorized internal transfer of $25 or more per statement cycle into your Truist One Savings account.
  • Be a minor under the age of 18.
  • Have any related Truist checking product.

Overall, this is a very disappointing account. Since the rate you earn on your deposits is generally the most important factor when choosing a savings account, this isn’t worth opening.

4.8
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Earn up to 4.75% APY

Earn up to 4.75% APY7when you open a new LevelUp Savings account and deposit $250+ per month. Member FDIC.

Learn More
5.0
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SoFi Checking & Savings - Earn Up to $300 When You Set Up Direct Deposit

Earn up to 4.00% APY8 and collect up to a $300 cash bonus with direct deposit or $5,000 or more in qualifying deposits.9 FDIC Insured.10

Learn More

Truist Confidence Savings

APY: 0.01% (as of 12/16/24)

Truist Confidence Savings account is a basic account with no monthly maintenance fees and a $25 minimum deposit requirement, but you’ll need a Truist Confidence checking account to open it.

This account could make sense if you have a checking account with Truist and want to avoid overdraft-related fees, returned item fees, and negative account balance fees.

Truist One Money Market

APY: 0.01% (as of 12/16/24)

Truist One Money Market accounts require you to maintain a $15,000 minimum daily ledger balance to waive a $12 monthly fee. This account earns a rock-bottom rate well below the national average of 0.60% (as of 11/18/24)6. Other money market accounts blow this one out of the water.

However, Truist may offer promotional APY rates from time to time for its Money Market account, so you could consider this account if you’re a current customer.

Truist CDs

APY: 0.05% (standard); 3.50% to 4.00% (promotional)

Terms: Seven days to 60 months (five years)

Truist offers CDs, but I strongly recommend against getting them. This is because you need to visit a branch to open one, and Truist’s standard CD rate is one of the lowest I’ve ever seen. It’s also the same for every term, which is highly unusual. Many banks offer better yields on certain terms, such as those less than a year or very long terms.

Expert advice
Because they require you to lock up your money, CDs need to earn very good interest rates to be worth opening. I try to beat the best savings rates when opening new accounts. Otherwise, there isn’t much reason to choose a CD over an account with more flexibility.

Truist CDs would provide the yields of a supremely bad savings account. The bank’s promotional rates are decent, though I prefer a bank with competitive yields across the board because I like to open different accounts when mine expire. For the best CD rates, check out online banks like Ally and Marcus by Goldman Sachs, as well as credit unions.

Additional Truist Bank products

As a full-service bank, Truist also provides:

  • Credit cards
  • Loans (including personal loans, auto loans, home equity lines of credit (HELOCs), mortgages, and more)
  • Retirement accounts (including traditional and Roth individual retirement accounts (IRAs))
  • Investing services
  • Insurance
  • Small business products and services
  • Wealth management
  • Commercial services

Truist mobile app

  • App Store: 4.8 stars
  • Google Play: 4.7 stars
  • Total reviews: 1.1 million

The Truist Bank mobile app scores highly overall with customers, with star ratings similar to Capital One and Synchrony Bank (though Truist has far fewer reviews than Capital One and significantly more than Synchrony).

Truist customers have praised improvements to the digital platform and app since the merger, noting that it’s packed with helpful features. But updates seem to be a source of frustration as well. Some users complain that there are too many, that some rollouts cause more glitches, and that the app can be slow to load. I want to note that Truist representatives respond to many customer reviews, which I don’t see from every bank.

Alternatives to Truist Bank

SoFi®

If you’re looking for one solid bank account and care more about earning good rates and avoiding fees than anything else, I recommend SoFi. With a SoFi Checking and Savings account8, you’ll have no monthly maintenance fees and no minimum opening deposit requirement.11 Even better, this account provides up to 4.00%9 APY with direct deposit. This is an online-only account with next to no banking fees and tons of banking perks, like early direct deposit12 and debit card roundups to help you save more.

SoFi doesn’t offer any other bank accounts, so it isn’t a good Truist alternative if you need to open a lot of accounts.

Visit SoFi or read our SoFi review.

Bank of America

If you’re looking for a big bank, Bank of America is generally a better option than Truist. It has more branches in more states than Truist, with over 3,700 locations. It also has account variety going for it, and you can open any bank account online. You’ll still have monthly fees to think about with Bank of America, but you can waive them with a higher relationship balance like you can with Truist. The Bank of America Preferred Awards program is also far more rewarding than Truist’s relationship banking program.

Bank of America isn’t right for you if you’re seeking high savings APYs or an institution with no monthly fees, but it’s a good choice for full-service and in-person banking.

Visit Bank of America or read our full Bank of America review.

FAQs

Is Truist a real bank?

Truist is a legitimate bank based in Charlotte, North Carolina. It has over 2,000 branch locations and more than 3,000 ATMs in 17 states and Washington, D.C. With over $535 billion in total assets, Truist is one of the top 10 largest banks in the U.S.

What bank took over Truist?

Truis was formed as a merger of equals between BB&T and SunTrust banks in 2019. The merger made Truist one of the largest banks in the U.S. It trades on the NYSE as TFC.

Is my money safe at Truist?

Truist deposits are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which provides up to $250,000 in FDIC insurance per depositor per account type for funds in applicable accounts. That could include checking and savings accounts, money market deposit accounts, and certificates of deposit. FDIC insurance doesn’t typically cover investment and insurance products.

Bottom line

Truist is a large bank with various financial products and services. We like that you can manage all your different accounts under the same roof, and its well-rated mobile app makes that easier. However, this isn’t going to be a good bank for many people. Its APYs aren’t competitive, and almost all its accounts have monthly fees.

With limited features and too many restrictions, Truist banking doesn’t offer the customer experience I look for in a bank.

4.5
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