Regions Bank Review: Checking, Savings, and CDs – Should I bank with Regions

Regions bank is a great bank for those looking for high rewards. 

Table of Contents:

Is Regions Bank a good bank?

What is the rating of Regions Bank?

What are the disadvantages of Regions Bank?

Does Regions charge a monthly fee?

What credit score do you need for a Regions credit card?

Does Regions Bank sell their mortgages?

Is it hard to get a mortgage loan with Regions Bank?

Is Regions a traditional bank?

What services does Regions Bank offer?

Does Regions Bank do a credit check to open a checking account?

Is Regions Bank a good bank?

Regions Bank is a full-service regional institute that can serve mainly those who are located in the South and Midwest. This bank is great for those who want to earn the most rewards possible and gain the most out of their checking and savings accounts. One of the things that set Regions Bank apart from other banks is the incredibly competitive reward programs that they set for their savings and checking accounts. One of the most famous ones of these is their annual 1% savings account bonus. However, while the reward programs set this bank apart from others, the interest rates that it offers are not as competitive as those offered in other banks. Especially their CD rates can be particularly bad when compared to those offered by other traditional and online banks. What’s more the overdraft fees that they have in place can truly shape someone’s experience with this bank. 

Benefits of banking with Regions: 

• Competitive reward programs available for both their checking and savings accounts
• Annual 1% reward bonus on select savings accounts
• Many branches available in the South and Midwest
• Savings accounts without monthly and annual fees are available

Drawbacks of banking with Regions: 

• Offers low-interest rates on most of their accounts, including their basic savings account and CD accounts
• Not great if you want to use CD accounts as their CD account require a high minimum deposit and have low-interest rates
• Checking accounts usually have monthly fees that can be pricey

What is the rating of Regions Bank?

Bank ratings can be important indicators of the safety of using certain banks. Regions, in general, tends to have high scores according to many credit rating agencies which make it a great choice for those who are in the South and Midwest. The current ratings of Regions bank are:

• Senior Unsecured Debt – Standard & Poor’s A- – Moody’s Investors Service Baa2 – Fitch Ratings BBB+ – DBRS A 
• Subordinated Debt Standard & Poor’s BBB+ – Moody’s Investors Service Baa2*+  – Fitch Ratings BBB – DBRS A(low)
• Short-term – Standard & Poor’s A-2 – Moody’s Investors Service P-1 – Fitch Ratings F1 – DBRS R-1
• Long-term Bank Deposits – Standard & Poor’s N/A – Moody’s Investors Service A2*+ – Fitch Ratings A- – DBRS A
• Outlook – Standard & Poor’s Stable – Moody’s Investors Service (-) – Fitch Ratings Positive – DBRS Positive

What are the disadvantages of Regions Bank?

If you are considering banking with Regions, you have probably heard all about its rewards programs and how competitive those can be. Especially their savings and checking accounts are often preferred by those in the South and Midwest as they can lead to them getting many reward benefits that they can then use elsewhere. However, while Regions bank is considered completely trustworthy, there are certain aspects of the banking business that you may find other banks are better at.

Cons of banking with Regions bank:

• Relatively low-interest rates on all of their accounts, including savings, money market, and CDs
• There are hefty monthly service fees, although those can occasionally be waived
• For their savings and checking account, a minimum deposit of $50 is required upon opening the account
• Low APY for the savings account
• For their checking account, an $11 or $8 monthly service fee is required
• Withdrawing money outside of their ATM network requires a $3 fee
• If you go into the overdraft on your checking account, you will be charged a $36 overdraft fee
• A checking account can have a $10 transfer fee when you use overdraft protection
• CD has a high minimum opening deposit of $2,5000 if the term is less than 3 months
• A money market account does not come with a debit card or ATM card

Does Regions charge a monthly fee?

Regions bank has monthly fees that for certain accounts can be quite high. For reference, their checking account monthly maintenance fee can range from $5 and it can go all the way up to $18 depending on the account that you have chosen to use. Those monthly fees cover the maintenance of your account and the service that Regions provides. While Checking accounts come with fees almost all of the Savings accounts offered by Regions do not have monthly fees associated with them. This means that if you are looking for a savings account using Regions can be a great option as you can benefit from both the high bonus reward programs and from the lack of monthly fees. 

Each checking account from Regions may have different prerequisites that you can take advantage of to get rid of the monthly fees associated with them. 

• Lifegreen Checking
  • Every month you will need to make a qualifying deposit of $500
  • A balance of $1,500 must be maintained
• eAccess Checking
  • You will need to use your card to make 10 or more purchases
• Preferred Checking
  • A balance of $5,000 or more must be maintained
  • All your Regions accounts must have a combined balance of $25,000 or more
  • A combined outstanding balance of $25,000 or more for your Regions loans and lines of credit
  • If you have a Regions first-lien home mortgage you must be in good standing
• 62+ Checking
  • A monthly deposit of $300 or more is required
  • A balance of $1,500 must be maintained

What credit score do you need for a Regions credit card?

For a Regions Bank Preferred line of Credit card, you will need to have a Credit score of at least 600. Regions will supply these cards to those who have a credit score between 600 and 850. 

Does Regions Bank sell their mortgages?

It is normal for Lenders to sell their mortgages to either other banks or investors before you ever make your first payment for it. This is because by selling your mortgage they will have more capital freed up that they can then use to give out more loans. This is no secret and many banks openly disclose the reasons that they sell the loans and mortgages that they offer you and even disclose some more information regarding the reasoning behind it and the methods that they use to determine which buyers would be good for your loan. However, Regions bank is not one of those banks that openly discloses if they are selling your loans. There is no section on their website making note of your mortgage potentially being sold off after you sign on it. This may be for two reasons. The first one is that possibly Regions bank does not sell their mortgages. This would be unlikely and it would set this bank apart from so many of the other lenders that are currently in the market. The second reason is that while they possibly are selling their mortgages, they simply do not want to disclose that for some reason.

Regardless of whether they sell their mortgages or not, Regions remains a perfectly respectable bank and if you are looking to get a mortgage and you are in an area that they service then turning to them would not be a bad option. 

Is it hard to get a mortgage loan with Regions Bank?

Regions Bank does not disclose much about their mortgages and the products that they have available. While there are many options available in terms of getting a first-time homebuyer mortgage, or a construction-to-permanent loan, for none of these options does Regions disclose the credit requirements or even the rates that they give these mortgages up. To determine what you would be able to get from a mortgage with Regions your best options are to either use their online calculator or directly talk to someone at Regions. They will be able to assist you more with all the available options and the requirements that they have for each of these options. 

Is Regions a traditional bank?

Regions are very much so a traditional bank or a brick-and-mortar bank as they are called. For years they have worked and serviced customers through their branches. However, while they are a traditional bank, they do have a very highly used and praised online application that allows you to control all of your accounts with Regions without any hassle. They have also recently been redesigning their branches in an effort to bring about some much-needed changes to the world of in-person banking. 

What services does Regions Bank offer?

As a bank that has been around for many years Regions has grown to offer almost all of the services that one would expect to find from a traditional bank. This means that if you wanted to you would be able to do all of your banking through Regions, which could include having a Checking Account, a Savings Account and IRA, a mortgage, credit card and so much more. Currently, the full list of products and services that Regions offers include: 

• Relationship Rewards
• Credit Cards
• Cash Rewards
• Cashback Rewards
• Visa CheckCards
• Checking Accounts
• Home Equity and Mortgage – including options for first-time homebuyers and refinancing
• Investments and IRAs
• Personal Credit Lines
• Personal Loans
• Prepaid Cards
• Savings and CDs

If you are going to go to Regions for your banking needs then you should be aware that what they are particularly famous for is all of their reward programs. While they do not necessarily offer the most competitive rates in the market, especially when it comes to their checking and savings accounts, they still manage to offer some of the best rewards and bonuses available. If this is something that is important to you then this bank is definitely worth checking out. 

On the other hand, many financial websites and reviews will tell you that their mortgage services while extensive tend to lack transparency. What that means is that while a wide variety of mortgages and programs are listed on their website, when one goes to check they will find that no information regarding the rates and fees for those mortgages is available online. Pairing this lack of transparency with the fact that they only have branches in a limited number of states and you have a bank that is often not preferred or recommended for those looking to get a mortgage. Still, the fact that their rates are not made public does not necessarily mean that the rates that they will offer you are not competitive. Therefore, it may be worth going into one of their branches if one is available in your area and checking with them what the rates and options would be for your case. 

Does Regions Bank do a credit check to open a checking account?

Regions Bank does use the ChexSystems, which means that even if you are simply looking to open a simple checking account, they will still check what your credit is prior to giving you access to an account. If this is something that concerns you then you can choose a different bank that does not require a credit check when you first open your account. 

Summary

Regions bank can be a great bank for those in the South and Midwest. While the bank’s reach is a bit limited geographically, they still manage to offer a wide variety of products that can help those who are looking to purchase a new home. The bank also offers excellent rewards for those who wish to gain back from their bank account.