In this in-depth Huntington Bank review, you will see how this financial institution fares among other banks particularly located in the Midwest, and what makes it an ideal choice.
When choosing a financial institution to bank with, you have to consider a lot of different factors. You have to look into where the bank is situated, how awesome its customer service is, how convenient banking with the institution is, and of course, the product offerings.
Many consumers prefer having the best of everything under one roof. While it seems unrealistic, there are some banks that try to provide such needs, which is why full-service banks exit.
There are a lot of full-service bank options out there, but, specifically for people living in the Midwest, there’s one to look out to — and it’s Huntington Bank.
It’s full-service banking that offers lots of banking products not only for consumers but for businesses as well.
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For people not living in the Midwest, you probably have not heard about it yet, but Huntington Bank actually has a large presence in eight states. Needless to say, the bank is one of the largest banks in that area of the United States.
In fact, according to a Bloomberg report, Huntington Bancshares Inc. acquires TCF Financial Corporation in an all-stock deal valued at almost $6 billion. The said tie-up is considered one of the largest regional tie-ups for 2020.
Furthermore, the article states that the merger will help boost the assets of Huntington Bank to about $168 billion, which will definitely help nudge the bank closer to its in-state competitors Fifth Third Bancorp and KeyCorp.
Needless to say, the merger will also help the bank serve its customers better and in a larger state. It will also help a lot in terms of the bank’s stability, which one of the things also that consumers look into when is choosing a bank.
Now, with so much to look forward to, in the following sections, we are going to share with you a couple of key pieces of information about Huntington Bank to hopefully convince you that this is one of the best choices for Midwest residents.
In the next sections of this Huntington Bank review, we are going to particularly tackle the following:
- What is Huntington Bank?
- Who is Huntington Bank best for?
- What does Huntington Bank offer?
- How to bank with Huntington Bank?
- Are there fees involved?
- Is Huntington Bank safe?
- What to like about Huntington Bank?
- What not to like about Huntington Bank?
WHAT IS HUNTINGTON BANK?
Based in Columbus, Ohio, Huntington Bancshares (also known as Huntington Bank) was formed in 1866.
To date, Huntington Bank is one of the largest regional banks in the country.
In fact, it is currently ranked 26th in the list of largest banks in the United States based on consolidated assets — as reported by Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council. The bank’s assets to date are totaled $122,838 billion.
Furthermore, the bank is also listed among the Fortune 500 list — currently ranked 500th.
As mentioned earlier, the bank recently acquires TCF Financial Corporation in an all-stock deal valued at almost $6 billion, which makes it one of the largest regional tie-ups in 2020.
Know more about this all-stock deal in the video report below by CNBC Television:
Huntington Bank is a full-service bank and services customers in the Midwest. The bank has 900 traditional and supermarket branches primarily situated in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. More so, Huntington currently has over 1,800 ATM locations.
The bank offers a wide variety of product deposit accounts, as well as loan products, investments, and insurance. For the purpose of this Huntington Bank review, though, we are only going to focus on its deposit account offerings, which include savings, checking, certificate of deposit, and money market accounts.
WHO IS HUNTINGTON BANK BEST FOR?
Huntington Bank is a full-service banking institution in the Midwest. Thus, it should appeal to consumers living in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
But apart from location, it should also appeal to customers who are looking for a bank that provides almost anything they need as Huntington Bank provides a wide range of products including loan products, investments, insurance, and of course, deposit accounts.
Furthermore, the bank is ideal for those who want a stable and reliable bank that also provides safe and secure mobile banking access as well.
If you are looking for a basic checking account that is fee-free, Huntington Bank is also a good choice.
More so, the bank offers an all-day deposit, robust customer support, as well as a 24-hour grace period on overdrafts.
If you want to avail all these perks, then Huntington Bank is the way to go.
WHAT DOES HUNTINGTON BANK OFFER?
In this section of our Huntington Bank review, we are, obviously, going to talk about the products offered by the banking institution.
As mentioned, Huntington Bank offers a wide selection of banking products and services, including loan products, investments, and insurance. However, for this review, we are going to specifically focus on the available deposit account options only.
Currently, the bank offers the following deposit accounts:
- Savings Account
- Checking Account
- Certificate of Deposit (CD) Account
- Money Market Account (MMA)
Savings Account
Huntington Bank has two savings account options. These are the Premier Savings and the Relationship Savings.
Huntington Premier Savings
The Huntington Premier Savings is the basic savings account option offered by the bank. It is fee-free for customers who meet any of the following requirements:
- A linked Asterisk-Free Checking account
- Maintain a $300 or more average daily balance
Failure to meet any of the above requirements entitles you to a $4 monthly maintenance fee.
To open a Huntington Premier Savings account, the bank requires a minimum deposit of $50.
Huntington Premier Savings account holders could earn a 0.02% annual percentage yield (APY). Unlike other savings accounts offered by other banks, customers only need at least a $0.01 balance to earn an APY.
Moreover, the bank provides deposit-to-deposit overdraft protection for customers who have a linked checking account.
If you’ve overdrawn, however, Huntington will automatically transfer money in increments of $100 covering the overdraft from your Premier Savings account.
While there is no fee for this protection, it is important to know that there are potential transfer limits.
Huntington Relationship Savings
If you want an improved APY that gets better as you link an additional account, Huntington Relationship Savings is best for you.
For this savings account type, the basic APY is 0.02%. However, it could go higher depending on the type of accounts you also have with Huntington Bank.
When linked to a Huntington 5 Checking, the APY is 0.03%; for Huntington 25 Checking, it’s 0.05% APY; as for when linked to a Private Client Account, you get to earn 0.08% APY. Please note that the APY changes, so it’s best to always check with the bank first.
Although it seems a good call, there is a downside to it. The bigger the rate, the higher the costs are as well.
To avoid the $10 monthly maintenance fee, Huntington Relationship Savings account holders must meet any of the following requirements:
- Maintain an average daily balance of $2,500
- Link your account to either Huntington 5 or Huntington 25 checking account (both of these accounts also have minimum daily balance requirements and also charge a fee if the required balance is not met).
Similar to Premier Savings, Relationship Savings also offers deposit-to-deposit overdraft protection for as long as you link your account to a Huntington 5 Checking account.
Checking Account
Huntington Bank has three different types of checking accounts to choose from. These are:
- Asterisk-Free Checking,
- Huntington 5 Checking, and
- Huntington 25 Checking
Asterisk-Free Checking
Huntington Bank makes sure that this checking account lives up to its name.
Asterisk-Free Checking account holders will get to enjoy the following perks:
- No minimum deposit to open an account
- No monthly maintenance fee
- No minimum balance requirement
- Free paper statements
Apart from all these amazing benefits, Asterisk-Free Checking account holders also gets to take advantage of the all-day deposit policy feature. This basically treats all deposits made before midnight on a business day as getting in on the same business day.
In addition, Asterisk-Free Checking account holders also get a 24-hour grace policy for overdrafts allowing customers to make a deposit or transfer funds to cover the overdraft until midnight the day after. More so, customers also get to enjoy the free deposit-to-deposit overdraft protection with a Premier Savings account.
Huntington 5 Checking
Huntington 5 Checking is the bank’s lower-level interest-bearing checking account.
With Huntington 5 Checking, customers can earn an APY of 0.04% on their account balance.
With this particular checking account, the customer will get to enjoy the following perks:
- No minimum balance to earn interest
- No minimum deposit requirement to open an account
Furthermore, as a Huntington 5 Checking account holder, you may also enjoy a free monthly maintenance fee as long as you are able to maintain $5,000 in total relationship balances. Otherwise, you will be charged $5 per month.
Similar to Asterisk-Free checking, Huntington 5 Checking account holders may also enjoy a 24-hour grace period, and overdraft protection. To enjoy the overdraft protection, you will need to link your Huntington 5 Checking to your Relationship savings account.
Additionally, all Huntington 5 Checking account holders are eligible to earn a 1.05% cashback with a linked Voice Credit Card with Rewards. The bank also waives five out-of-network ATM fees per month.
Huntington 25 Checking
Huntington 25 Checking is ideal for customers who want to earn higher rates on their checking account.
With the Huntington 25 Checking account, account holders earn 0.06% APY in all balances.
While there is a $25 monthly maintenance fee, customers may avoid it by maintaining $25,000 in total relationship balances in all your accounts.
Similar to other Huntington Bank accounts, Huntington 25 Checking account holders will also get to enjoy an all-day deposit, a 24-hour grace period, and overdraft protection (with a Relationship Savings account).
Apart from those, Huntington 25 checking account holders will also enjoy other major perks including:
- Free paper checks
- Free credit and identity monitoring
- 1.25% cashback on purchases made using a linked Voice Credit Card with rewards
- 0.15%–0.50% rate discount on a home equity line of credit (HELOC), plus an annual fee waiver
- A mortgage relationship discount of up to 0.375%
- Unlimited out-of-network ATM fee waivers
- 100 commission-free online equity or exchange-traded fund (ETF) trades per year through Huntington Financial Advisors
Certificate of Deposit (CD) Account
For customers who want to keep their money in the bank for a longer period and earn more, Huntington Bank also offers certificate of deposit (CD) accounts.
The bank offers standard CDs with terms ranging from one month up to 72 months. Meanwhile, CD rates vary from 0.01% to 0.25%.
To open a CD account, Huntington requires a minimum deposit of $1,000.
In addition, Huntington Bank also offers Jumbo CDs, which require a minimum deposit of $100,000. For this particular type of CD account, the term range from seven to 1,825 days (or approximately 60 months).
As with the rates, it varies from 0.01% to 0.25%.
Money Market Account (MMA)
The Huntington Relationship Money Market Account is similar to Huntington Savings, which offers better rates if customers have additional accounts.
To earn an APY that ranges between 0.21% and 0.29%, Huntington Relationship Money Market Account holders must meet the minimum balance requirement of $25,000. Accounts with balances below $25,000 will not earn interest.
Similar to other account types, the Huntington Relationship Money Market Account also comes with a monthly maintenance fee of $25. However, this can be waived if you maintain a $25,000 minimum balance in your account, or you have linked either a Huntington 5 or Huntington 25 checking into your account.
Relationship Money Market account also provides an all-day deposit, a 24-hour grace period, and overdraft protection.
HOW TO BANK WITH HUNTINGTON BANK?
By now, you have probably chosen your preferred account type and are wondering how to actually bank with Huntington.
Unlike other banks, Huntington provides its customers two options to open an account. You may opt to either open online or visit a branch near you.
However, it is important to take note that Huntington is only present in the Midwest if you choose the latter option.
If you live outside the Midwest and still prefer Huntington, you may opt to open an account through its online channel instead.
Huntington Bank also has a mobile app, which allows customers to manage their accounts, as well as handle transactions anytime, anywhere. The Huntington mobile bank app is highly rated on both Apple and Google.
Meanwhile, to open an account, just like other banks, Huntington requires customers to provide personal information including name, address, phone number, as well as your Social Security number. The bank will also require you to present a valid government-issued identification like a passport or driver’s license to prove your identity.
ARE THERE FEES INVOLVED?
Another important thing to know when choosing a bank is the fees involved. So, in this section of our review on Huntington Bank, we are going to tackle just that.
Apart from monthly maintenance fees (which can be waived as long as customers meet the bank’s requirements) and overdraft fee, Huntington also charges the following:
- Extended Overdraft Fee – $25
- Non-Huntington ATM Fee – $3 (excluding fee charged by the ATM owner)
- ATM Extended Statement – $2
- International Transactions Fee – 3% of the amount posted for each debit card or ATM transaction processed abroad
- Stopping Payment Fee – $31
- Return Deposit Item – $37.50
- Cashier’s Check – $6
- Checking Reserve Account Fee – $12
IS HUNTINGTON BANK SAFE?
There are two things that we are going to look into in this Huntington Bank review when it comes to safety.
First, how safe is Huntington’s mobile banking platform?
To ensure that all personal data gathered as well as your account are safe, the bank uses bank-level encryptions. Huntington makes sure that all security and safety measures are in place to avoid fraud or identity theft cases.
Second, how safe is your money with Huntington Bank?
Huntington Bank is a member of the FDIC, which means all deposits are insured for up to $250,000 per depositor, per account category, in case the bank fails.
So, overall, is Huntington Bank safe? Definitely, it is.
WHAT TO LIKE ABOUT HUNTINGTON BANK?
Now, in this part of our review, we are going to provide you a list of the things to like about Huntington Bank, which include the following:
- Fee-Free Basic Checking Account – Asterisk-Free Checking has no minimum balance, no monthly fee, as well as no minimum deposit requirement to open an account. Paper statements are also free.
- All-Day Deposit Feature – With this feature, the cut-off is extended when getting in a deposit on a business day to midnight. When making a deposit on a business day prior to midnight, the bank will consider that same day to be the day when the deposit was made.
- Robust Customer Support – Huntington Bank customers may reach a customer service representative by phone daily from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. (EST). Customers may also send inquiries to them anytime by sending a message via an automated assistant on the website, or through Facebook or Twitter.
- 24-Hour Grace Period on Overdraft – In case you overdraw, the bank has a 24-hour grace policy that gives customers until midnight on the next day to make a deposit or transfer to cover the overdraft.
- Lots of Product Options – Apart from deposit accounts, the bank also has loan products, investments, as well as insurance products.
- Fees Can Be Avoided – While there are fees, the bank also provides a number of ways to avoid them so you end up not paying any fees at all.
- Strong Branch Network in the Midwest – The bank has branches across the following states: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
WHAT NOT TO LIKE ABOUT HUNTINGTON BANK?
To complete this Huntington Bank review, here are some of its downsides:
- Limited Availability – Unfortunately, Huntington’s physical branches are only available in the Midwest. Outsiders may still bank with them, though, by opening an account online.
- Low APY – Compared to other full-service banks out there, Huntington does not have a very appealing APY on its products.
- High Overdraft Fee – Although it can be avoided, should you miss it, you will be charged $37.50 per overdraft.
- High Minimum Balances – Particularly on the bank’s interest-bearing checking accounts, the minimum balance requirements are quite high as compared to other banks. Interest-bearing accounts require either at least $5,000 or $25,000 minimum balance requirement to avoid fees.
FINAL THOUGHTS ON HUNTINGTON BANK REVIEW
Huntington Bank is a full-service bank in the Midwest that provides a wide selection of products and services.
Although the bank has limited physical branches (only across the Midwest), outsiders may still bank with them through its online channels. The bank comes with a highly-rated mobile banking app that allows customers to transact and manage their accounts anytime, anywhere.
Very convenient, right?