Frost Bank Review: Account Good for You?

Is local customer service important to you when you bank? Do you live in Texas? If so, you may want to put Frost Bank on your list of possible banks. As one of the larger banks in Texas, Frost Bank offers "human" customer service and personal touches that you won't see anywhere else.

Is local customer service important to you when you bank? Do you live in Texas? If so, you may want to put Frost Bank on your list of possible banks. As one of the larger banks in Texas, Frost Bank offers "human" customer service and personal touches that you won't see anywhere else.

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Frost Bank has 130 branches throughout the state of Texas as well as 1,200 ATMs. You'll find the ATMs not only at Frost Bank branches, but also at certain HEB and Corner Store locations.

Their account offerings aren't the largest of any bank you will see, but their personal customer service and higher interest rates may be enough to entice you to become a Frost Bank customer.

Is Frost Bank the right bank for you? Keep reading to find out.

Services Offered

Checking

Frost Bank only offers one checking account. It does offer many benefits, including free access to 1,200 ATMs throughout Texas, free online/mobile banking, and a free Visa checkcard.

• Personal Checking: You can open a Frost checking account with just $25. The account does pay interest, but only on balances higher than $5,000. You can avoid the monthly service charge with at least $100 in direct deposits each month, $1,000 minimum balance in the account, or a $5,000 combined balance across all deposit accounts at Frost Bank. You can receive eStatement or paper statements in the mail at no charge. You also have access to unlimited transactions and transfers.

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Member FDIC

Bank of America Advantage Banking - $300 Bonus Offer

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Expires 1/31/2025

• The $300 bonus offer is an online only offer and must be opened through the Bank of America promotional page.
• The offer is for new checking customers only.
• Offer expires 01/31/2025.
• To qualify, open a new eligible Bank of America Advantage Banking account through the promotional page and set up and receive Qualifying Direct Deposits* totaling $2,000 or more into that new eligible account within 90 days of account opening. Bank of America Advantage SafeBalance Banking® for Family Banking accounts are not eligible for this offer.
• Once all requirements are met, Bank of America will attempt to pay bonus within 60 days.
• Additional terms and conditions apply. See offer page for more details.
• *A Qualifying Direct Deposit is a direct deposit of regular monthly income – such as your salary, pension or Social Security benefits, which are made by your employer or other payer – using account and routing numbers that you provide to them.
• Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC.

Member FDIC

U.S. Bank Smartly® Checking - Up to $450 Bonus

Earn up to $450 when you open a new U.S. Bank Smartly® Checking account and complete qualifying activities. Subject to certain terms and limitations. Offer valid through December 30, 2024. Member FDIC.

Earn up to $450 with a new Bank Smartly Checking account. Complete the following within 90 days of account opening:

• Enroll in online banking or the U.S. Bank Mobile App
• Make two or more direct deposits(s) totaling $2,000 to $4,999.99 to earn $250, $5,000 to $7,999.99 to earn $350 or $8,000 or more to earn $450.

Fund your new account within 30 days to start qualifying activities. Offer may not be available if you are an existing U.S. Bank customer or live outside of the U.S. Bank footprint.

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Expires 12/30/2024

Member FDIC

HSBC Premier - Earn Up to $2,500

Start an HSBC Premier relationship today. You'll enjoy premium banking with both local and global benefits and access to wealth solutions offered through HSBC Securities, (USA), Inc*.

You could earn $1,500 or $2,500 if you open a new, eligible HSBC Premier checking account from July 1, 2024 through November 22, 2024, and complete qualifying activities.

• Get a $1,500 Cash Bonus: Add New Money of $100,000 to $249,999 in deposit and/or eligible investment accounts within 20 days of opening your new checking account and maintain the Qualifying Balance for 3 full consecutive months.
• Get a $2,500 Cash Bonus: Add New Money of $250,000+ in deposit and/or eligible investment accounts within 20 days of opening your new checking account and maintain the Qualifying Balance for 3 full consecutive months.
• Cash Bonus will be deposited into your new checking account within 8 weeks of meeting all the offer requirements.

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Expires in 18 hours

Savings

Frost Bank offers three savings accounts to help you make the most of your money. You need $50 to open each of the three accounts and each account offers a way to waive the monthly service fee. You'll receive free access to Frost Bank ATMs and earn interest on each of the three accounts

• Savings Account: You'll need a minimum $500 balance to waive the monthly fee on this account. You can set this account up to be your overdraft account if you have a Frost Bank checking account. Your first two withdrawals per month from this account are free. After that, you'll pay a fee for each withdrawal. Interest is compounded quarterly and you can use free online/mobile banking.

• Frost Money Market Account: If you have at least $15,000 to keep in a savings account, you can earn money market interest rates with this account. The $15,000 balance will waive the monthly service fee. You'll also receive a Visa checkcard with this account. The interest on this account is compounded monthly. You will have access to free online/mobile banking, but if you use the bill pay service, you'll pay a small fee for each payment. You can take advantage of six free check withdrawals per month. After that, you'll pay an excessive withdrawal fee, which is standard for any savings account (it's federal law).

• Health Savings Account: If you have a high-deductible insurance plan, you may want to take advantage of the Frost Bank Health Savings Account. The money in this account earns interest monthly and if withdrawn for qualified healthcare purchases, your earnings remain tax free. You'll have access to an HSA checkcard, which you can use to pay your medical bills. If you keep a minimum $3,000 balance, Frost Bank will waive the service fee. You'll be able to make three check withdrawals per month free of charge, after which you will pay a fee. All balances roll over from year to year as long as you remain eligible.

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High-Yield Savings Premier - 4.46% APY

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• No account activity or maintenance fees
• $500 minimum opening deposit
• FDIC insured

The annual percentage yield (APY) is accurate as of November 7, 2024 and subject to change at the Bank's discretion. Refer to product's website for latest APY rate. Minimum deposit required to open an account is $500 and a minimum balance of $0.01 is required to earn the advertised APY. Member FDIC

Member FDIC

Discover® Online Savings - $200 Cash Bonus

To qualify for Bonus: Apply for your first Discover Online Savings Account, enter Offer Code CY924 at application, deposit into your Account a total of at least $15,000 to earn a $150 Bonus or deposit a total of at least $25,000 to earn a $200 Bonus. Qualifying deposit(s) may consist of multiple deposits and must post to Account within 45 days of account open date. Maximum bonus eligibility is $200.

What to know: Offer not valid for existing or prior Discover savings customers, including co-branded, or affinity accounts. Eligibility is based on primary account owner. Account must be open when bonus is credited. Bonus will be credited to the account within 60 days of the account qualifying for the bonus. Bonus is subject to tax reporting. Offer ends 03/13/2025, 11:59 PM ET. Offer may be modified or withdrawn without notice. Due to new customer funding limits, you may wish to initiate fund transfers at your other institution. For information on funding your Account, see FAQs on Discover.com/Bank. See advertiser website for full details.

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Expires 3/13/2025

Member FDIC

CIT Bank Platinum Savings - 4.55% APY

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• 4.55% APY with a balance of $5,000 or more
• 0.25% APY with a balance of less than $5,000
• $100 minimum opening deposit
• No monthly maintenance fee
• Member FDIC

CDs

• Frost Personal CD: You'll need a minimum opening deposit of $1,000 to open a Frost Bank CD. Frost Bank offers a variety of terms that range from 14 days to 24 months. If you invest less than $100,000, you can choose from 90 days, 180 days, 12 months, or 24 months. If you invest more than $100,000, you can also choose from a 14-, 30- or 60-day term. You must keep the money in the account for the entire term or you risk paying an early withdrawal penalty.

Retirement Accounts

Frost Bank also offers the opportunity to save for retirement with a Traditional, Roth, or Rollover IRA. Your contributions and withdrawals can be done according to IRS rules and you can invest your money in a variety of ways, including mutual funds, stocks, bonds, and annuities.

Reasons We Like Frost Bank

• You can get free automatic overdraft transfers. If you link your Frost Bank savings account to your Frost Bank checking account, the overdraft transfers don't cost you anything. If you are approved for an overdraft line of credit, you won't pay a transfer fee, but you may pay interest on the money borrowed on the line of credit, though.

• Your deposits are FDIC insured. Your deposit accounts are protected for the first $250,000 in each account. If Frost Bank went out of business, the FDIC would reimburse your funds.

• You can set up customized debit card alerts. You can choose which alerts you receive via text, such as declined transactions, a purchase over your specified limit, or transactions outside of the U.S, just as a few examples. You can also take immediate action from your mobile phone should you receive an alert about a transaction that you did not initiate. You can respond to the alert to freeze your card immediately.

• Your phone calls to customer service are answered by a "real" person. You won't have to deal with automated systems that make you want to scream because they don't understand your answers. Real people answer the phone and they are located right in Texas, so you get the answers you need during the times you need them.

• You can decide if you want overdraft protection. You can decline authorization for debit card overdrafts alone. You can also decline all overdraft coverage, which includes checks and auto bill pay along with debit card transactions. If you don't want to take the chance of paying the overdraft fee or just don't want to go over your balance, this is a nice option to have.

• You can make mobile check deposits. In addition, if you do so by 9 PM, your funds may be available the next business day. The amount of the deposit may determine just how much of the check is available, but at least some of the funds should be available for use right away.

• College students can pay a discounted monthly service fee for a checking account. The monthly service fee is cut in half for college students with a valid school ID and as long as they are younger than 25-years old. College students can also have the fee waived completely if they meet one of the standard requirements to waive the service fee.

• You can earn tiered interest rates on your money market account funds. If you meet the $15,000 balance requirement for the money market account, you can earn higher interest rates as your balance increases. This isn't offered with the standard checking account, which means you may earn more money with the money market account.

• You can make transfers to and from your Frost Bank Savings account online. You are free to transfer funds from your Frost Bank checking account or even an external account to your Frost Bank savings account. This can make saving money a little easier since you are able to send it over rather than having to visit the bank in person.

• Frost Bank offers a variety of technology-based services to make banking easier. You can view your balances and transactions on your Apple Watch, add your Visa checkcard to Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, and Microsoft Wallet, and see all of your accounts (even non-Frost Bank accounts) with one log-in to Frost Bank. You just have to set up access to the accounts in your Frost online bank portal to set it up.

Reasons You May Want to Look Elsewhere

• You have to live in Texas to open an account. Frost Bank is big in Texas, but they aren't located anywhere else. Even their ATMs are only located in Texas, which means it could get expensive to access your own money if you aren't in Texas.

• You can only open a Frost Bank checking account online. If you want to open one of Frost Bank's savings accounts or a CD, you will have to call a bank representative or visit the bank in person. This can make it less convenient to open a bank account at Frost Bank.

• You need at least $1,000 to invest in a Frost Bank CD. Frost Bank doesn't give the option to open a CD with anything less than $1,000. This means you'll be stuck with the basic savings rates if you don't have at least $1,000 to take advantage of the higher CD interest rates offered at Frost Bank.

How It Compares

• Bank of America: If you are looking for a "convenient" bank, you may have found it in Bank of America. While they don't offer anything special in terms of high interest rates, promotions, or even enticing bank accounts, they win for the most branches and ATMs throughout the country.

• Capital One: If you want a bank with high interest rates and low fees, Capital One 360 may be a good choice. This is an online only bank, which means you won't have any physical branches to visit. In exchange, though, you may receive higher interest rates and pay fewer fees due to the lack of overhead the bank carries.

Bottom Line

If you live in Texas, you may want to give Frost Bank a try. While they only have a few deposit accounts to choose from, their higher interest rates and lower fees may make them a top competitor for your money. Consider the features you need for a bank account and look at the costs to see if you can swing the balance requirements to avoid the monthly service charge. If you can, Frost Bank may provide a safe and profitable place for your money.