Tellus Review 2023

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Tellus Pros and Cons

About Tellus

Tellus is an online fintech company with a mobile app that offers ways to grow your money.

You’ll start off by opening the Boost Account, which is a high-yield cash account that has similar features to a high-yield savings or checking account. The Boost Account allows you to earn a high interest rate on your savings. However, it isn’t considered a bank account. The Boost Account is not FDIC-insured.

Tellus has several sub-accounts, which are accounts that stem from your Boost Account. Once you deposit money into the Boost Account you’ll also be able to open a High Yield Account, which is FDIC-insured through Capital One. 

Tellus is able to offer a high interest rate because it earns money which get passed down to Tellus customer accounts.

The company also has rental property management tools. For instance, you can get a screening report on tenant applicants, receive rental payments through online rent collection, or communicate with tenants and employees through landlord-tenant chat.

Customer support is available through in-app support chat from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT Monday through Friday. You may also go through the website’s FAQ section or send a message and wait for a response through email.

In comparison, several online institutions may offer 24/7 customer support by live chat or phone. If you prioritize customer support availability, you might explore some of the options on this list of financial institutions with 24/7 customer support.

The fintech’s mobile app is rated 4.1 out of 5 stars in the Google Play store and 4.4 out of 5 stars in the Apple App Store.

Is Tellus Trustworthy?

We use ratings from the Better Business Bureau to help determine how a business deals with customer issues. Tellus hasn’t been rated by the Better Business Bureau or been involved in any recent public scandals. 

You’ll also want to talk to customers or read online customer reviews to get a better idea of whether Tellus may be suitable.

Tellus FAQs

Tellus Account Reviews

Tellus Boost Account

Tellus may be a good option if you’re strictly looking for competitive interest rates on an account. The Tellus Boost Account is a high-yield cash account with a base rate of 5.75% Annual Percentage Yield (APY). In comparison, a traditional savings account currently earns an average of only 0.45%, according to the FDIC. 

The most notable perk to the Tellus Boost account is its Boost rewards feature, which can temporarily increase your account’s interest rate. Free Boost rewards are available every 24 hours. You can earn a temporary rate increase just by logging in and activating a reward, correctly answering a daily quiz question, or participating in a Tellus promotion.

You’ll want to consider other savings options if you’re searching for an account that makes it easy to deposit cash or has a lower minimum deposit.

Boost Account Features

Tellus has several sub-accounts, which are accounts that stem from your Boost Account. These accounts are designed to set aside some money for a specific purpose.

• Tellus Reserve Account: The Reserve Accounts pay 6.10% APY on up to $2,500, so it might be worthwhile if you’d like to set some money aside while earning a flat rate. Keep in mind this account doesn’t allow you to add any Boost rewards. 
• Stack: Stacks allow you to save for personal goals, like vacations or rent. You may customize Stacks with descriptions and set targets to track your goals over time. Stack require a minimum balance of at least $125. You may apply Boost rewards to Stack.
• Tellus Vaults: Tellus also has Vaults, which are cash accounts that are comparable to CDs. You might consider a Tellus Vault if you want to earn a higher interest rate than the base rate of the Tellus Boost Account for a term of three months, six months, one year, or two years. Tellus Vaults currently earn up to 5.65% APY. Tellus Vaults require a minimum of $1,000. Also bear in mind that you’ll need to keep money in a Vault for the entire term, or you lose all the interest earned if you withdraw early. 

Tellus High Yield Account

Tellus now offers a high-yield savings account that’s FDIC-insured by Capital One. The Tellus High Yield Account is also a sub-account, so you need to open the Boost Account.

The Tellus High Yield Account pays 4.55% APY and allows you to deposit a maximum of $2,500 in the account. If your account exceeds that balance, the interest will be moved into the Boost Account. 

If you plan on keeping more than $2,500 in your account, consider one of the best high-yield savings accounts instead. 

How Tellus Compares

Tellus vs. Chime

Chime is another popular online banking platform.

Tellus pays a higher flat interest rate on its Tellus Boost Account than Chime does on its Chime Savings Account. You’ll also be eligible to earn a temporary rate increase on your Tellus Boost Account if you participate in daily Boost rewards.

If you’d like to open a checking account or have easy ATM access, you might prefer banking with Chime. Chime checking and savings are also both FDIC-insured. At Tellus, only the Tellus High Yield Account is FDIC-insured.

Chime Review

Tellus vs. Ally

If you’re strictly prioritizing high interest rates, Tellus might be more appealing than Ally. The Tellus Boost Account currently offers a higher interest rate than the Ally Savings Account.

Ally will likely be a better option if you’re looking for a variety of banking options. For example, if you’d like to open an interest-earning account with a debit card, you might consider getting the Ally Money Market Account or Ally Spending Account. All types of Ally bank accounts are also FDIC-insured. 

Ally will also stand out to you if would rather have more traditional banking features, like telephone customer support. Ally has 24/7 customer service available through live chat or by phone.

Ally Review

Why You Should Trust Us: How We Reviewed Tellus 

For our Tellus review, we rated Tellus Accounts using a scale from zero to five stars. We used our bank account methodology for savings accounts since they share similar features. We looked at minimum opening deposit requirements, monthly fees, interest rates, customer support availability, mobile app ratings, and ethics to determine each account’s rating.