Considering a Precious Metals IRA?
We’re here to help.
In this post, we’ll compare Goldco vs Allegiance Gold and which one of these is best for you.
And even though Augusta Precious Metals is our #1 choice, our goal at GSC is to ensure you have the best information available on all your options, not just what we recommend.
Because when it comes to investing, you can never be too careful.
Today, we’re going to compare these two on some key criteria:
- Years in Business
- Fees and Costs
- Products Offered
- Education Provided
- Gold IRA Account Assistance
- Pricing Transparency
- Min and Max Contribution Amounts
- Order Process
- Customer Service
- Buyback Programs
- Reputation – Customer Reviews and Complaints
See this post as an Allegiance gold review and Goldco review combined.
In the end, you’ll see precisely how each compares, their strengths and weaknesses, and which firm may be the best fit depending on your financial situation and investment goals.
#1 Recommended Gold IRA Company in the US (With the lowest fees and strongest reputation!) |
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Without further ado, let’s get started.
Years in Business
Experience is an important factor when evaluating businesses. Newer companies may not have the staying power of more experienced ones.
Ideally, you want to see that they’ve weathered one or two financial crises to know that their management team can handle difficult times.
Goldco
Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Los Angeles, Goldco has over 17 years of experience. They managed the Great Recession of 2008 and the COVID pandemic in 2020.
Allegiance Gold
Located in West Hills, California, Allegiance Gold was founded in 2013. With ten years of experience, they aren’t exactly young, but they have yet to weather a global recession.
Conclusion
Though both companies have ten-plus years of experience, Goldco has the edge, having gone through both the Great Recession and the global pandemic.
Gold IRA Fees and Costs
Gold IRA costs are important considerations when comparing precious metal providers.
While high fees can impact your overall returns, cut-rate fees may indicate less-than-desirable customer service.
Ideally, you want a firm that offers excellent customer service and reasonable fees.
Goldco Fees
Though this firm doesn’t list any fees on its website, through our business relationship with them we know that:
The required minimum purchase at Goldco to start a gold IRA is $25,000.
Goldco’s preferred Custodian charges a flat annual account service fee which includes a one-time IRA account set-up fee of $50, as well as a $30 wire fee.
Annual maintenance is $100, and storage is $150 for segregated storage or $100 for non-segregated storage.
Fees for precious metal storage and custodianship can vary depending on the company you select to handle these services (required by the IRS, as all IRA assets must be managed by a custodian).
Depending on the Custodian, storage fees can range from $10 to $60 per month, or as a percentage of assets, from 0.35% to 1% annually.
Goldco does not charge any storage fees for cash transactions over $25,000.
Allegiance Gold
Their preferred custodians are Strata Trust and Goldstar Trust Company.
Allegiance Gold doesn’t charge any upfront fees. According to the company’s website, annual maintenance fees are $95 and $100 for storage of up to $100,000 in precious metals.
Their preferred storage facilities are Delaware Depository or Brinks.
Like Goldco, they will also waive fees for qualified purchases.
Conclusion
Allegiance gets the nod here due to no setup or wire fees.
Overall, both have competitive costs and will waive them for qualified purchases. Goldco provides more flexibility as they work with all major IRA custodians.
Products Offered
Ensuring that the company you’re considering offers your desired products is essential.
Also, since the IRS imposes specific standards for precious metals to be eligible to be held in an IRA, you’ll want to make sure that the firm you’re working with has coins and bullion that meet these standards.
Goldco
This firm works with mints worldwide to ensure that the products they offer are eligible for IRA accounts.
They currently offer 17 different gold coins, including:
- American Eagle
- Canadian Maple Leaf
- Lucky Dragon
- Australian Sea Turtle
- Washington Monument
If you’re interested in silver coins, they have 29 different options available, including:
- Chuck Norris “5 Principles” series
- American Eagle
- Silver First Moon Landing
- Silver Dragon and Lucky Dragon
- Canadian Maple Leaf
In addition to coins, Goldco has gold and silver bars available in various sizes.
Allegiance Gold
This Gold IRA provider has direct access to the world’s top mints, such as the US Mint and Royal Canadian.
As a result, they only offer the highest quality coins and bars and benefit from buying in bulk to provide competitive prices.
They currently list 19 styles of gold coins on their website, featuring favorites like:
- American Eagle
- American Buffalo
- Canadian Maple Leaf
- Liberty Gold Coin
- South African Krugerrand
Or, if you prefer silver, they have 20 different options, including:
- American Buffalo
- Canadian Maple Leaf
- American Eagle
- Silver Marlin
- Silver Polar Bear
In addition, they have a selection of gold and silver bars at various weights.
On top of that, they also offer five different platinum coins and a Palladium Maple Leaf coin.
Conclusion
Regarding products offered, both companies are about equal, with a wide selection of high-quality coins and bullion.
However, we give the edge to Allegiance Gold for offering both platinum and palladium coins in addition to gold and silver products.
Education
Unless you’re an experienced precious metal investor, education should be one of the top criteria in your selection process.
The amount and quality of free education provided should be an important consideration when comparing companies.
Goldco
When you visit their website, you can request a free investors kit.
It contains valuable information about gold investing and precious metal IRAs, and how you can get started 100% tax & penalty free.
In addition, they have an extensive library of educational articles organized by category.
Finally, their website features live gold and silver price charts showing the current spot prices for both metals as well as historical pricing information.
Allegiance Gold
On their website, you’ll find an extensive video library and two free investor information kits that you can download.
They also offer two white papers covering IRS regulations on home storage and precious metals reporting.
In addition, their site features live pricing charts for gold, silver, platinum, and palladium.
And finally, they have a company blog that covers recent and relevant topics related to the economy and precious metal investing.
Conclusion
Both companies have significantly invested in providing their customers with top-notch educational resources.
Both offer free investor information kits.
However, if you prefer to watch rather than read, Allegiance may be the better option with their extensive collection of online videos.
IRA Account Assistance
Opening a gold IRA is more complicated than a standard one.
You need to find a custodian specializing in handling the IRS reporting requirements and a storage facility to house your precious metals.
You want to ensure you’re working with a company that has extensive experience with this type of retirement accounts and will easily assist you throughout the process.
Goldco
How to setup a gold IRA with Goldco?
This firm’s professional team makes it easy to open type of account. You can call them directly or fill out a form online.
You’ll then receive an extensive guide on precious metals investing (or you can grab it right here).
After reviewing, you’ll sign a term of service agreement. An IRA specialist will then assist you with all the required custodian paperwork.
Once approved, they will work with you to fund your account and help with any rollovers from other retirement accounts.
Goldco’s specialists will help you diversify with the appropriate physical metals based on your goals, which will be shipped directly to your storage facility.
Allegiance Gold
Before starting the process, this firm provides a one-on-one consultation with a trained representative. During this call, the rep will answer all your questions.
You can then complete a form online or request a physical copy to start the process.
Then the professional staff at Allegiance Gold will help you open a self-directed IRA with one of their two preferred providers – Strata Trust or Goldstar Trust Company.
Once your application is approved, you’ll work directly with your custodian to fund your new precious metals retirement account.
Once funded, an AG representative will help you diversify it with coins or bullion and explain which storage facility and method – segregated or non segregated – is available and what that means.
A quick note on the difference between segregated and non-segregated storage.
Your precious metals are kept separate under your name and account number with segregated storage.
Non-segregated storage means that your products are combined with other customers – when you go to sell or withdraw, you’ll receive a “like-kind” metal, not the actual one you purchased.
Conclusion
Both companies provide excellent IRA assistance.
However, Goldco goes above and beyond, holding your hand through the entire process – from opening your account to funding to selecting your precious metals.
Pricing Transparency
When a company offers live online product pricing, you can evaluate the difference between the current spot price and the purchase price for the coins and bullion offered.
That way, you can quickly determine the premium you’re paying for your precious metals.
Goldco
Their website has live charts showing the current spot prices for gold and silver.
While products are listed online, unfortunately, it doesn’t provide any online pricing, so you must speak directly with a Goldco specialist before investing.
Allegiance Gold
This firm also doesn’t provide online pricing, requiring you to speak with a representative for quotes. Instead, they provide live spot prices for all four precious metals they carry.
Conclusion
Neither company offers online pricing, and both claim to have competitive prices. Without a way to confirm their claims, we will call this one a draw.
Investment Amounts for Gold IRA
Depending on how much you plan to invest, the minimum and maximum order sizes can play a role in selecting the most appropriate Precious Metals IRA company for your situation.
Goldco
So, what is the minimum investment in Goldco?
The required minimum purchase at Goldco to start a gold IRA is $25,000.
They don’t list a maximum order size, but it’s our understanding that you may rollover any amount from your 401k and other retirement accounts without being subject to tax penalties.
In any case, if you plan on making a large order, you’ll need to speak with one of their specialists.
Allegiance Gold
Unfortunately, we could not find any minimum or maximum order sizes on the company’s website or in other review articles.
You need to speak with a representative to confirm that your order would meet their requirements.
Conclusion
We’re giving this one to Goldco as Allegiance doesn’t provide any information on contribution amounts for a Gold IRA, and we couldn’t find any information through third-party reviews as well.
Order Process
A safe, reliable, and secure order process should be a top concern when working with a precious metal company.
So let’s see how these two operate.
Goldco
The firm doesn’t offer an online order process.
Instead, all orders are placed by phone with a Goldco representative, who will confirm your selections and provide the final quote.
In addition, they provide free shipping to your selected storage facility and offers up to 10% in free silver on qualified purchases.
Allegiance Gold
Orders are also placed by phone with an AG representative. They make no mention of free shipping or other free offers.
Conclusion
Both have trained and experienced order specialists, and neither offers an online order option. However, Goldco provides free shipping and a 10% rebate in free silver on qualified purchases.
Customer Service
This should be at the top of your list because nobody wants to work with a business with poor customer service, right?
Goldco
This Gold IRA firm has an excellent reputation for providing outstanding customer service.
The website features an online chat option, or you can email them.
Their trained customer service agents are available 4am-8pm PST, Monday through Friday, and 6am-6pm PST on Saturdays.
Allegiance Gold
Allegiance is also known for its excellent customer service. Unfortunately, they don’t offer an online chat option, though you can email them.
Their customer service agents are available from 7 am – 5 pm PST, Monday through Thursday, and from 7 am to 4 pm PST on Fridays.
Conclusion
Both companies provide excellent customer service, as we’ll see in the review section below.
Goldco has a significant edge with their online chat option, longer hours on weekdays, as well as being available on Saturdays as well.
Buyback Programs
A buyback program is when a company is willing to buy back the coins and bullion they sold you.
This makes the process easier if you ever decide to sell your physical metals in the future.
Goldco
Provides a buyback program for all their customers and guarantees they will pay you the highest price for your precious metals.
Allegiance Gold
Allegiance also offers a buyback program.
However, they don’t guarantee that they will purchase your metals, nor offer a guarantee to pay the highest price.
Conclusion
Goldco, with its guaranteed highest-price buyback program, is the clear winner in this category.
Customer Reviews and Complaints
If you’re comparing these Gold IRA companies, it’s natural to wonder:
- Is Goldco legit?
- Is Allegiance Gold reliable?
- What are the Allegiance Gold and Goldco ratings?
Let’s face it:
One’s reputation is essential when deciding to do business with them.
Third-party customer reviews can provide greater insight into how the company operates.
What if there are Allegiance Gold or Goldco complaints?
Conversely, negative reviews or numerous complaints can warn us that the business we’re considering may not be trustworthy.
Let’s start with Goldco precious metals complaints and ratings, and have a look at what the customers say:
Goldco Reviews
- TrustPilot – 4.8/5.0 based on 1105 reviews.
- Business Consumer Alliance – AAA rating with one resolved complaint and one positive review.
- Trustlink – a 5-star rating based on 254 reviews.
- Better Business Bureau – 4.83/5 stars based on 481 customer reviews.
They have been accredited with the BBB since December 9, 2011, and have an A+ rating.
Consumers have filed 21 complaints in the past three years, with eight coming in the last 12 months. All have been resolved, and Goldco has a 100% response and resolution rate for complaints.
Allegiance Gold Reviews
- TrustPilot – AG is not listed on the TrustPilot site.
- Business Consumer Alliance – 5 stars based on five reviews and a AAA rating.
- Trustlink – a 5-star rating based on 44 reviews.
- Better Business Bureau – Goldco BBB has 5 stars based on five reviews, with one resolved complaint filed in the past 12 months.
They have been an accredited member since January 11, 2018, with an A+ rating. They have a 100% response and resolution rate for complaints.
If you’re looking at Allegiance Gold lawsuits, they are a common thing with most big companies, doesn’t necessarily mean they are not trustworthy.
Conclusion
Though both firms have excellent reputations, Goldco gets the nod with close to 2000 positive reviews versus less than 60 for Allegiance.
Which Gold IRA Company Is Best?
After reviewing both, either company would make an excellent choice for your precious metals needs.
Goldco has significantly more positive reviews, a guaranteed highest-price buyback program, provides free shipping, and offers a 10% rebate in free silver for qualified purchases.
On the other hand, Allegiance offers platinum and palladium products, and an extensive online educational video library.
However, if we had to pick just one, we’d go with Goldco for its excellent reputation and free silver rebate.
Grab their free investor kit here.
The truth is:
You can never be too careful when choosing a gold IRA company. And our goal is to help make that process easier.
Now that you’ve had a chance to review the differences between Goldco and Allegiance Gold, you can better decide which is right for you.
And while Augusta Precious Metals continues to be our top choice, both of the aforementioned firms would make fine alternatives.
Now we’d like to hear from you:
- Have you dealt with any of these 2 businesses before?
- Which one do you think is best: Goldco or Advantage Gold?
Share your thoughts in the comments below!
