Is Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union a good bank?

Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union has been around for more than 70 years. It has $15.4 billion in assets and ranks as a top financial institution. The credit union is a finalist in GOBankingRates' list of the Best Credit Unions of 2023.

What credit score is needed for a RBFCU card?

The RBFCU website does not provide the credit score needed to qualify for a credit card. People with a good or excellent credit scores (typically higher than 670) tend to qualify for better terms than those with a lower credit scores. However, RBFCU members can talk with a credit union representative about their credit card options based on their credit scores.

Is RBFCU better than USAA?

RBFCU offers similar banking products and perks, including early direct deposit and overdraft protection. USAA offers nationwide ATM fee rebates of up to $10 per statement cycle versus the $1 per transaction fee that RBFCU charges at non-network ATMs. RBFCU has an edge over USAA when it comes to account interest rates, particularly when it comes to its USAA CDs, which top out at 3.71% APY.

Is RBFCU for military only?

RBFCU started as a credit union to serve military personnel, but today people have more than 4,000 ways to qualify for membership. They may qualify based on their employers, their neighborhoods, their churches or their community organizations.

Reviews / Banking

Randolph-Brooks Review: Fee-Free Banking With Competitive APYs

Name: Randolph-Brooks Review: Fee-Free Banking With Competitive APYs
Item: Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union
Rating: 4.8

January 13, 2023

7 min Read

Written by John Csiszar

Edited by Chris Cluff

Commitment to Our Readers

GOBankingRates' editorial team is committed to bringing you unbiased reviews and information. We use data-driven methodologies to evaluate financial products and services - our reviews and ratings are not influenced by advertisers. You can read more about our editorial guidelines and our products and services review methodology.

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GOBankingRates Score

Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union

4.8

SCORE

Quick Take: Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union operates only in four Texas metro areas, but it serves those communities well with a wide range of banking accounts, decent APYs and modest fees.

Checking Accounts

5.0
Savings Accounts

4.5
Certificate Accounts

5.0
Banking Experience

4.5

How did we calculate this?

Pros

Numerous fee-free accounts
Competitive yields on some accounts
Interest-bearing checking account

Cons

Limited to four primary areas in Texas

Randolph-Brooks Credit Union Overview

Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union, or RBFCU, started out serving military members and their families but has since extended its services to others. The credit union serves four major markets in Texas — Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas-Fort Worth and San Antonio — and has more than 60 branches.

RBFCU offers its members an impressive range of account types, from standard banking accounts to certificates, credit cards, insurance, loans and business accounts. GOBankingRates has ranked RBFCU as a finalist in its rankings of Best Credit Unions of 2023 and Best Banks of 2023.

Key Features

Checking Accounts

The Really Free Checking account is Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union’s only checking account option for adults, though it also offers a checking account for children younger than 18. Really Free Checking lives up to its name, charging no monthly maintenance fees and featuring no minimum balance requirements.

Really Free Checking is an interest-bearing account that pays an annual percentage yield of . The account also comes with a Freedom Debit Card with free ATM access to the CO-OP network, bill pay and early direct deposit.

Savings Accounts

Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union offers a single primary savings account as well as a Youth Savings account. The primary savings account requires a $1 deposit to establish membership in the credit union, and there is no monthly maintenance fee. Dividends are paid monthly. The APY for this account is , equal to the national average.

Certificate Accounts

Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union offers two types of certificate accounts, which are the credit union version of CDs: regular certificates and SuperSaver certificates. Terms are six months to seven years for regular certificates and 18 months for SuperSaver certificates. Rates are tiered, and there is a $1,000 minimum to open an account.

Yields are very strong across the board. Regular certificates pay an APY of to , with higher balances and longer terms getting the higher rates. SuperSaver certificates pay an APY of to .

Banking Experience

Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union has 60 branches across four metro areas in Texas. In addition, customer service representatives are available by phone Monday through Saturday. The credit union has a robust digital self-help service on its website where members can find answers to the most commonly asked questions.

Members have access to their accounts online and in the app. Through the app, members can manage their accounts, pay bills, deposit checks and locate ATMs. The app has a rating of 4.5 in Google Play and 4.7 in the App Store. In addition to checking and savings accounts, RBFCU offers additional banking products, including credit cards and loans.

Comparable Credit Union Options

Check out how Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union compares to similar credit unions.

Navy Federal Credit Union

Navy Federal Credit Union, which caters to active and retired military and Defense Department personnel and their families, gets the edge with its certificates. The APY for certificates tops out at 4.45%. However, its 0.25% savings account rate can’t top RBFCU. Navy Federal also has 350 branches around the world, but Texas residents may find it easier to locate an RBFCU branch if they live in the service area.

Alliant

The line of banking products offered by Alliant is similar to RBFCU, including courtesy pay and online banking. However, where it stands out is in the APY. The high-yield checking account has an APY of 0.25%, and the high-yield savings account has an APY of 2.70%. The APY for certificates tops out at 4.60%. However, Alliant has no physical branches, which can be a drawback for members who like to bank in person.

Final Take

Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union packs a lot of service and features into a relatively small geographical area. Most accounts have no monthly maintenance fees, and all of the basic banking accounts at RBFCU pay interest. Many of the credit union’s APYs are higher than those offered by national banks. RBFCU is best for people who live in one of the credit union’s Texas service areas and enjoy the convenience of visiting a local branch.

FAQ

Here are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about RBFCU.

Is Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union a good bank?
- Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union has been around for more than 70 years. It has $15.4 billion in assets and ranks as a top financial institution. The credit union is a finalist in GOBankingRates' list of the Best Credit Unions of 2023.
What credit score is needed for a RBFCU card?
- The RBFCU website does not provide the credit score needed to qualify for a credit card. People with a good or excellent credit scores (typically higher than 670) tend to qualify for better terms than those with a lower credit scores. However, RBFCU members can talk with a credit union representative about their credit card options based on their credit scores.
Is RBFCU better than USAA?
- RBFCU offers similar banking products and perks, including early direct deposit and overdraft protection. USAA offers nationwide ATM fee rebates of up to $10 per statement cycle versus the $1 per transaction fee that RBFCU charges at non-network ATMs. RBFCU has an edge over USAA when it comes to account interest rates, particularly when it comes to its USAA CDs, which top out at 3.71% APY.
Is RBFCU for military only?
- RBFCU started as a credit union to serve military personnel, but today people have more than 4,000 ways to qualify for membership. They may qualify based on their employers, their neighborhoods, their churches or their community organizations.

Vance Cariaga and Allison Hache contributed to the reporting for this article.

Editorial Note: This content is not provided by any entity covered in this article. Any opinions, analyses, reviews, ratings or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author alone and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any entity named in this article.

Methodology: To discover the Top Banks, GOBankingRates looked at the top national institutions (excluding credit unions) with over $100 billion in total assets. To determine rankings, GOBankingRates looked at the following factors: (1) checking product minimum deposit; (2) monthly checking fee ratio (percentage based on the minimum to avoid the fee compared to the monthly fee itself); (3) savings product minimum deposit; (4) savings product APY; (5) Bauer rating (out of 5 stars); (6) products/services offered (auto loans, mortgage loans, credit cards, investment services and insurance); and (7) the average mobile app rating between the Android and Apple app stores. All factors were then scored and combined, with the lowest score being best. Factors (1) and (3) were weighted 0.5 times, factor (4) was weighted 2.5 times, and factor (6) was weighted 1.5 times.

Methodology: To discover the Best Credit Unions, GOBankingRates looked exclusively at the 50 credit unions in terms of total asset size that had available published data. To determine rankings, GOBankingRates looked at the following factors: (1) total assets as sourced from the NCUA; (2) number of branch locations as sourced from the NCUA; (3) minimum deposit to open a checking account; (4) monthly checking fee ratio (percentage based on the minimum to avoid the fee compared to the monthly fee itself); (5) checking APY; (6) minimum to open a savings account; (7) minimum balance needed to achieve savings APY; (8) savings APY; (9) minimum to open a 12-month CD account; (10) 12-month CD APY; (11) 60-month CD APY; (12) customer service options offered (24/7 customer service and live chat with a human); (13) Bauer rating (out of 5 stars); (14) products/services offered (auto loans, mortgage loans, credit cards, investment services and insurance); and (15) the average mobile app rating between the Android and Apple app stores. All factors were then scored and combined, with the lowest score being best. Factors (1), (2) and (12) were weighted 0.5 times, and factor (14) was weighted 2 times. For all savings and checking account data, only the basic accounts/products offered at each institution were analyzed.

Rates are subject to change; unless otherwise noted, rates are updated periodically. All other information on accounts is accurate as of Jan. 14, 2022.