Truist Bank Review

Choosing a bank is an important decision, and it's essential to check factors such as account fees and interest rates before making your choice. It's also important to ensure you entrust your money to a financially strong institution.

If you're considering banking with Truist, the following Truist review can help you decide if it's the right option for your needs.  

BB&T Corporation vs. SunTrust Banks: What Is Truist?

Truist is a relatively new financial institution founded in 2019 following the merger of BB&T and SunTrust. BB&T and SunTrust operate as separate institutions, but they're due to unify sometime in 2022.

While its headquarters are in Charlotte, North Carolina, Truist operates over 2,100 branches and more than 3,000 ATMs. However, branches are unavailable in some states. Truist offers a range of personal banking and wealth management products and currently holds assets worth around $545 billion. 

What Products and Services Does Truist Offer?

Truist is a full-service commercial bank offering various accounts, lending products and insurance options. Therefore, it could be a good choice if you want to manage all your accounts with the same institution. Available products include:

• Checking accounts
• Savings accounts
• Debit cards
• Credit cards
• Money market accounts
• CDs
• Mortgages
• Home refinancing
• Home equity line of credit
• Personal investing
• Home and auto insurance
• Life, long-term care and disability insurance

Checking Accounts

Truist offers two checking account options: Truist One Checking and Truist Confidence accounts.

A Truist Confidence Account is the most affordable option and requires a $25 minimum deposit. You won't pay an account maintenance fee if you make direct deposits worth $500 per month, make ten or more qualifying transactions per month or are a student under 25. Otherwise, you'll pay $5 per month to maintain your account. 

You also won't pay check cashing or overdraft fees as a Truist Confidence Account holder. Furthermore, the account includes access to Truist Money and Mindset resources to help improve your knowledge of money management. 

Meanwhile, Truist One Checking accounts require a minimum deposit of $50. This account doesn't charge overdraft fees and offers a $100 negative balance buffer, regardless of your account balance. 

Typically, you'll pay a monthly maintenance fee of $12 for a Truist One Checking account. However, Truist will waive this fee if you're a student aged 25 or younger or meet any of the following eligibility criteria:

• Make direct deposits totaling $500 or more each month
• Keep a consistent balance of at least $500 across all your Truist accounts
• Have a Truist credit card, mortgage or loan
• Have a Truist Small Business Checking Account

Truist One Checking operates a tiered perks package, and the benefits increase according to your account balance.

You can earn a 10% loyalty bonus if your checking account balance is between $0 and $9,999.99 (Level 1), increasing to a 50% bonus for Premier Level customers with balances exceeding $100,000. The bank may also waive non-Truist ATM fees as you advance through the levels. 

What Is the APY for Truist Savings Accounts?

You can open a Truist One Savings account with a $50 minimum deposit. While this account usually costs $5 per month, you won't pay account maintenance fees if:

• You're entitled to waived fees for a linked Truist checking account
• You maintain a consistent minimum balance of $300
• You're younger than 18
• You transfer at least $25 per month to your savings account from a linked Truist checking account

Unfortunately, Truist doesn't offer tiered interest rates on its Truist One Savings account. Instead, you'll earn an APY rate of 0.01%, regardless of your account balance. It's probably worth shopping around to see if you can earn a better rate with a different institution or product, especially if you have a relatively high starting balance. 

Alternatively, you could choose a Truist One Money Market account. Like Truist One Savings accounts, this account pays 0.01% APY, regardless of balance size. It also charges a monthly maintenance fee of $12 unless you maintain a minimum daily balance of at least $1,000. 

However, money market account customers with linked Truist One Checking accounts may be eligible for a loyalty cashback bonus. Truist bases your bonus on your average monthly balances across your accounts:

• Less than $10,000: 10% bonus
• $10,000 to $24,999.99: 20% bonus
• $25,000 to $49,999.99: 30% bonus
• $50,000 to $99,999.99: 40% bonus
• $100,000+: 50% bonus

What Are Truist's CD Interest Rates?

You can purchase a Truist Certificate of Deposit (CD) with a minimum deposit of $2,500 for terms of 7 to 21 days or $1,000 for periods between 32 days and 60 months. The bank doesn't charge monthly maintenance fees for CDs.

In theory, Truist operates tiered interest rates depending on your deposit size, and rates may vary between states. However, as of September 2022, the bank currently offers 0.05% APY on balances of any size in most eligible states. Therefore, it may be worth comparing CD interest rates across several institutions to check if Truist offers the best possible growth.

Does Truist Provide Good Customer Service?

Truist offers several methods for customers to get in contact. You can get support over the phone from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. You can also access 24/7 automated phone support for straightforward queries. 

Alternatively, you can contact Truist via Twitter or by phoning or attending your local branch. While this range of options is accessible for most customers, it's unclear how to get in contact out-of-hours for urgent problems. 

Consumer Affairs rates Truist 3.8 out of five, according to verified customer reviews. Many customers praise the bank's excellent customer service and say they received personalized, friendly support with their banking queries. Several reviewers mention that representatives took the time to explain how to use online banking to help them manage their finances remotely. However, a few clients say that they had issues reporting fraudulent transactions following the SunTrust merger. 

Is Truist Trustworthy?

As of 2022, Truist has an A+ Fitch Rating (high credit quality). While this isn't the highest rating available, it verifies that Truist has a low risk of defaulting and has a solid capacity to meet its financial obligations.

Therefore, you can be reasonably comfortable that your money is safe in a Truist checking or savings account. However, the bank may be more vulnerable to adverse economic events than those with higher ratings. 

Is Truist a Good Bank?

Overall, Truist is a financially stable organization that generally provides decent customer service. It could be a good option for you if you want to pay minimal account fees and need the option of a no-fee financial buffer. However, APY rates for savings accounts may not be generous enough for some customers, especially those with higher balances. If Truist doesn't have branches in your state, you may be better off with a different bank.