Western Alliance Bank
Western Alliance Bank Review: Savings
Western Alliance Bank offers a high online savings APY, but it requires linking to an external bank account, and customer service hours are limited.
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The bottom line:
Western Alliance Bank is headquartered in Phoenix. It is a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and your bank account balances at this institution are protected by FDIC insurance up to a certain amount.
The bank mainly offers commercial and small-business banking products and services, but it does have personal banking products, though only its high-yield savings account is available to open online. The online savings account offers a highly competitive rate, but unlike other high-yield online accounts from other institutions, customer service for the account is available on weekdays only, for limited hours.
We rated only Western Alliance’s high-yield savings account because its other personal banking products can only be opened either in person or over the phone or, in the case of certificates of deposits, online but through a third-party broker rather than directly through Western Alliance Bank.
Best for: Savers who want a high-yield online savings account with a very competitive interest rate and who already have an account at another financial institution.
- No monthly fees on some savings accounts.
- Competitive rate on some savings accounts.
- Low minimum opening deposit on some savings accounts.
- No cash deposit or withdrawals.
- Limited branch access.
- Must already have another bank account to fund your account.
- Cannot open some accounts online.
- Limited customer support phone hours.
Full review:
What the Nerds think
“Setting aside its high-yield savings rate, which is excellent, Western Alliance Bank has a couple of drawbacks: You can’t make cash deposits or withdrawals, and you can’t deposit checks. That means that you’ll need to have an outside bank account in order to transfer money in and out of your account, which can be a pain if you need physical cash for any reason.”
Chanelle Bessette, Banking Lead Writer
Savings
APY
4.30%
With $0.01 min. balance for APY
Bonus
N/A
Western Alliance Bank’s High-Yield Savings Premier account is a high-yield online savings account that earns a super competitive 4.30% annual percentage yield. You’ll need to open the account with at least $500, but there are no monthly fees. However, in order to make deposits and withdrawals, you will need to link an external bank account. There’s no way to make cash deposits or withdrawals to this account or even deposit checks.
Customer experience
The high-yield account is tricky to find on the bank’s website. You have to go to the search bar and type in “HYSA” or “high-yield savings” to see it, though this may be temporary while the bank is building its consumer business, and the page may later become available directly through the navigation menu on the site, according to Alisa Bal, senior marketing director at the bank. But once your High-Yield Savings Premier is open, you can log into it directly from the bank website.
Customer support for the High-Yield Savings Premier account is available by secure messaging and email, and by phone on weekdays from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. PST. Other institutions that offer high-yield online savings accounts offer more expansive hours, including 24/7 customer service. The bank also offers mobile apps for iOS and Android devices, but neither receives good user ratings.
How does Western Alliance Bank compare?
APY
4.30%
With $0.01 min. balance for APY
Bonus
N/A
APY
3.80%
With $0 min. balance for APY
Bonus
$300
Earn up to $300 with direct deposit. Terms apply.
Ruth Sarreal
Ruth Sarreal is a content strategist at NerdWallet. She has written and edited content on personal finance topics for more than five years.