HMBradley review: A hybrid bank account with an impressive APY

Our verdict

HMBradley is a digital bank that combines aspects of traditional checking and savings. Earn up to 4.3% APY when you deposit at least $500 a month, maintain a positive cash flow and make $500 in monthly purchases using its credit card, which requires a separate signup. It also offers a few handy savings tools, like creating separate savings buckets to help you work toward savings goals. But to earn the highest APY at 4.3%, you must open a rather lackluster HMBradley credit card and make card purchases. This complicates an otherwise good product and may drive away consumers who don’t want to add credit spending to their plate.

Best for: Consumers looking for a high-yield digital bank account for spending and saving.

Who is it best for?

HMBradley is best for someone looking for a checking and savings account combo. When you open an account, you get access to its base tier rate of 2% APY. But if you want to unlock its highest rate at 4.3% APY, you’ll need to also get a credit card from them and meet monthly spending requirements. Keep in mind that HMBradley is an online-only fintech, so if you don’t need in-person support, it could be a good fit for you.

What we like about HMBradley

HMBradley gives you the benefits of a savings and checking account. You’ll have easy access to your funds while you’re rewarded with a strong rate.

Competitive APY

HMBradley‘s strongest asset is its powerful 4.3% APY, the highest tier you can earn. It’s not often you find a checking account with such high APYs, as they’re usually reserved for savings accounts. In fact, HMBradley‘s APY is 61 times higher than the national average for interest-bearing checking accounts, which currently sits at 0.07% APY, according to the FDIC’s national rates.HMBradley operates on a tiered interest structure. The first two tiers have simple requirements you can usually meet with everyday banking. But the third tier requires you to open and spend on a new credit card, which may not be part of your banking plans and could potentially lead to overspending.

APY	Requirements
2%	Open an account
3.75%	Previous tier plus: Make a $500 monthly deposit Maintain monthly positive cash flow
4.3%	Previous tiers plus: Spend $500 per month on an HMBradley credit card

Create savings goals

The account also lets you create savings plans and goals, along with automatic deposits to help you meet those goals.

HMBradley doesn’t offer many details on their site about the goals, but we know you can create as many plans as you’d like to serve various savings goals. As you deposit money into your main account, you set an amount that automatically transfers monthly into each plan.

This automation can help you stay motivated to save, as well as keep you on track toward your next big spending goal.

Minimal fees compared to traditional accounts

HMBradley has minimal fees compared to a more traditional checking account. There are no monthly maintenance fees, returned deposit fees or incoming wire transfer fees. There’s also no deposit required to open the account.

However, it still charges a $35 overdraft fee per day and has no overdraft protection features.

Top competitor, SoFi, doesn’t charge overdraft fees, monthly maintenance fees, account inactivity or ATM withdrawals fees. And Chime offers SpotMe, an optional service that allows qualified account holders to overdraft up to $200 with no extra fees.

Where HMBradley falls short

HMBradley‘s biggest weakness is the need to open a credit card to earn the maximum 4.3% APY — and you must spend at least $500 on the credit card each month. The best APY requires a $500 monthly direct deposit minimum, $500 in spending on the HMBradley credit card and a net positive cash flow.

For some, spending that much on a credit card may encourage overspending.

This differs compared to competitors like Varo. Varo’s APY is also tied to spending, but in Varo’s case, you need to spend $1,000 per month just on your debit card, while HMBradley requires you to split spending across your debit card and credit card. And competitive savings accounts lack this sort of requirement altogether.

There’s also no guarantee you’ll qualify for the HMBradley credit card, which earns a rather average 1.5% cash back.

Still, HMBradley‘s base 2% APY for checking is strong compared to the base rate of another hybrid account like Aspiration, which earns just 1% as a baseline.

HMBradley account fees

Type of fee	Fee details
Monthly service	$0
Opening deposit	$0
ATMs	Free 55,000 ATMs nationwide. ATM owner fees may apply.
Card replacement fee	$0 for first two, then $10 thereafter
Overdraft or nonsufficient funds	$35 a day
Wire transfers	Incoming Domestic: $0 International: $0 Outgoing Domestic: $15
Debit card fees	Rush delivery of debit card: $15
Other fees	Stop payment order: $10 Legal processing fee: $25 Research fee and related copying: $75 an hour for research; $0.50 a page for copies

Compare HMBradley to other digital banks

Narrow down checking accounts by fees, minimum opening deposits and more to find the best account for your financial goals. Select Compare for up to four products to see their benefits side by side.

Customer experience

The HMBradley‘s account refresh has riled at least one customer on Reddit, who claimed to switch away from the bank on account of the new credit card spending requirements.

HMBradley also lacks reviews on Better Business Bureau, isn’t accredited and holds an F rating.

It also has an unclaimed profile on Trustpilot with only two reviews, both earning 1 star. Both cite issues with earning the promised high APY and roadblocks associated with getting into the highest tier.

Overall, there isn’t much insight into how HMBradley handles customer complaints, but the limited reviews are overwhelmingly negative.

HMBradley is not currently available on Finder

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