Which online high yield savings account is best? Updated 2024
Saving money is essential to building your net worth. Savings accounts and money market accounts are meant to hold your liquid assets or funds that you expect to use within a year. You may think, “If you’ve seen one high-yield savings account, you’ve seen them all” but, actually, higher interest rates and certain features can make one account a better choice than another.
Online High Yield Saving Account and Money Market Account Rates
As online banking has evolved, consumers can find a high yield and still hope to get the mobile and digital banking convenience they need. They’re free to compare interest rates and account features in search of the best online high-yield savings account for their liquid assets.
Savings Accounts
When you want to set up an emergency fund or other savings account for short-term liquidity, an online savings account usually offers higher interest rates than many brick-and-mortar banks. In addition, online banking is much more convenient.
Money Market Accounts
While money market accounts are similar to savings accounts, they used to earn higher interest rates and their restrictions then were more stringent than they appear to be today. Our research is showing that, in some respects, the differences between the two types of accounts are blurring.
In your search for the best money market account, you may find that interest rates are quite similar to savings account rates. Also, the minimum balance requirements and number of withdrawal transactions allowed may be on par with savings accounts. All of this underscores the need to personally investigate the specifics of any account you open.
Even though rates are low right now, they will eventually rise as the economy recovers. Regardless, it is important to develop the habit of saving. Keeping track of the latest interest rates is the research part of that habit, but the payoff is that the best interest rates and services can help you make the most of your savings in any economic environment.
Here is a synopsis of what some of the major banks offer with a direct link to their individual website. That way you can easily learn more and open an account when you are ready.
The Best High-Interest Savings Accounts
Most Americans aren’t saving much these days, but if they knew how to better grow their money with high savings rates, they may change their mind. One recent survey found 62 percent had less than $1,000 in a savings account, and only 29 percent had over $1,000 put aside for emergencies.
Many will point to low interest rates as the reason they are not saving in an account, adopting an almost “why bother” attitude. But having a savings account is smart for several reasons:
- In case of emergency, there’s actual money to cover the cost, so you don’t end up overloading credit cards or having to take out a loan.
- It makes you more aware of your overall financial picture, especially if you set up a schedule to make deposits into the savings account.
- Saving money upfront also saves you on interest if you do need to cover an unexpected cost or save for something specific like a new car or a vacation.
- If you lose your job or find your hours reduced, a savings account is a nice addition to whatever severance or unemployment you receive.
With all the reasons to open a savings account, how about exploring these options?
Here are the best savings accounts:
Online Savings Account
Ally Bank
With a high savings rate, Ally Bank customers benefit from no monthly fees or minimums. Using the Ally Bank mobile app, customers can pay bills, perform money transfers and make deposits via mobile check deposit or other methods like electronic transfer, direct deposit or mail.
Synchrony Bank
In addition to a top-rated APY, Synchrony Bank offers a rewards program to get more out of your savings account. Synchrony Bank customers are automatically enrolled in its Perks program when they open a savings account (or other account like a certificate of deposit or individual retirement account). Synchrony Bank Perks gives customers a chance to earn rewards like ATM fee reimbursements and travel discounts.
Discover Bank
While Discover Bank is a big name among credit cards, its savings account is also deserving of attention, featuring no monthly maintenance charges. There is no minimum to open an account with Discover and after opening your savings account, there are no other minimum balance requirements to earn a high APY.
Barclays Bank
Barclays Bank offers an online savings account that has no minimum balance to open and a small minimum of just 1 cent to grow your money with a great APY. The bank’s mobile app has various features to manage your account like reviewing balances, transferring money and more.
MySavingsDirect
For a no-frills online savings account, look to MySavingsDirect, which offers a MySavings Account with no minimums to earn their best APY. Although MySavings Direct does not have a mobile app to oversee finances, customers can access their account information via online banking.
Bank5 Connect
Though Bank5 Connect has minimum balance requirements unlike some of the other banks on the list, it still has a similarly high savings rate. The bank has a minimum opening balance of $10. To earn the advertised APY, customers must deposit $100.
CIT Bank
True to its name, the High Yield Savings account offered by CIT Bank has one of the highest savings rates among the Best Savings Accounts with their APY. This free savings account has a low minimum opening deposit requirement of $100 to get this rate and no minimum daily balance requirement.
Best Savings Account Rates
Reminder: In terms of interest rates, there’s no difference between a money-market account and a savings account. “Money-market account” is simply a marketing term for high-balance/high-yield savings accounts.
- Barclays is offering a great APY for its online savings account. There are no monthly fees or minimums either. They also offer some attractive CD Rates. Barclays requires no minimum balance, and there are no monthly fees. They also advertise interest is compounded daily. Barclays is a large bank, that has been around for over 300 years, and operates in 50 different countries. Barclays and GE Capital Bank for Money Magazine’s Best Savings Account of 2013.
- Ally Bank currently offers their online savings account with no minimums. They have a heavy marketing campaign going right now so you have probably seen their ads stating, “You can also depend on no monthly fees, no minimum balances or deposits, and no sneaky disclaimers.”
- Incredible Bank is offering a decent rate on their money market account for balances between $0 – $249,999.99.
- SFGI Direct offers a high-yield savings account with a $500 minimum to open but only a $1 ongoing minimum balance to earn interest. The SFGI Direct savings account can only link to one external account.
- Discover Bank has an online savings account with a $500 minimum to open.
- CNB Bank Direct pays a rather low APY on its high-yield savings account with a $1 minimum balance.
- CIT has a savings account that offers a standard APY for all deposits between $100-$24,999 and a higher rate on any deposit of $25,000 or above. CIT was founded in 1908 in St. Louis by Henry Ittleson with a mission to provide financing for businesses. Throughout the 20th century, CIT continued to grow, offering financing, lending and insurance for corporations in all sectors. CIT Bank, an FDIC-insured institution, serves consumers and small businesses with certificates of deposit, savings accounts and custodial accounts.
- Everbank offers high-yield checking, savings and money market accounts with a variety of APYs, including a one-year intro rate for Yield Pledge Checking and Money Market Account holders. There’s a $5000 minimum deposit to open. Click through to learn more. EverBank is an online-only bank that has been named “Best of the Web” for 5 consecutive years by Forbes.com and was also named “Best of the Breed” for online banks by Money Magazine.
- Sallie Mae Bank has a high-yield savings account with an added twist: If you use Upromise, the Sallie Mae savings account gives you a 10% rewards match. Sallie Mae is best known for originating, servicing, and collecting student loans, and while they have a very competitive rate on the Sallie Mae high-yield savings account, they also stay close to their education focus by providing a 10% match on UPromise earnings.
- GRS reader favorite SmartyPig is paying a higher yield for account balances up to $2,500. SmartyPig is a goal-oriented savings account that many folks love.
- Nationwide Bank is paying a decent APY with a $1,000 minimum opening balance on their Money Market Account
- OneWest Bank has a Green Savings account that currently pays a good rate, considering it’s for balances up to $49,999.
- Zions Bank has long had some of the top savings account APYs in the country, and their non relationship Internet Savings Account is at a great APY right now. To qualify for their rate, your balance must be over $1,000. In addition, you may be eligible for a higher APY if you meet the relationship qualifications. (Rates located in New York.)
- iGOBanking is providing a high APY with no fees and no minimums.
- Dollar Savings Direct has a solid APY with no fees and a $1,000 minimum balance.
- FNBO Direct has a high yield online savings account with a $1 minimum deposit. FNBO was named best online savings account by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine. FNBO has also been rated as one of the safest of the major online banks according to a study by bankrate.com.
- Capital One has a 360 Savings account that pays a good APY. No fees and no minimums. Capital One 360 is the old ING which was the darling of the personal finance blogosphere. I use them too.
- The HSBC Advance Online Savings Account currently provides low APY for balances up to $14,999.99, but there are no monthly maintenance fees, though you do need a buck to open the account.
This second group of banks is also worth considering. They tend to have stiffer requirements, more hoops to jump through, or lower customer reviews:
- Savings Square Savings Account offers an average APY. $200 minimum to open. Electronic interface only. I’ve had a couple of readers tell me setting up an account at Savings Square is a nightmare.
- Presidential Online Bank Premier Savings Account offers a average APY on balances up to $35,000. Balances in excess of $35,000 earn a lower APY. Why rates drop as your balance goes up is a bit of a mystery. No fees, ATM access, web interface. $5,000 minimum to open.
- Emigrant Direct Savings Account offers a APY, no fees, web interface. No minimum. GRS readers like Emigrant Direct.
- Lending Club is another option, but it’s not like a bank. Lending Club works by people requesting personal loans between $1,000-$35,000, while others fund (fully or partially) them based on criteria provided by Lending Club. Although this option isn’t as safe as a traditional bank as it lacks some of the protections afforded to traditional savings accounts by FDIC insurance, Lending Club offers yields above today’s deposit rates. Projected returns for grades A-C are much higher that traditional savings accounts.
The rate of personal savings has been increasing recently, even despite low rates. A reader sent in a story about online banks last November, but that discussion was specifically about customer service. I’d like to hear from people who use one (or more) of these banks and can tell me more about the features. Which one should I choose and why?
You may also be interested to learn about rewards checking accounts. Also, Canadian readers should check out this article about Canadian high-interest savings accounts.
You can use the EDIE calculator to check on which types of accounts at which banks and for which amounts are FDIC insured. Do your homework and choose an online savings account that works for you.
Have you been able to find savings or money market account rates that are even better than the ones listed here? If so, please let us know. Don’t forget to include all the details: name of the bank, state, rate, when you opened this account with this rate and whether one can you open an account online or have to come in person. I’d like to find the best possible savings account rates and money market rates to share with Get Rich Slowly readers. Rates are low right now, but they’ll rise as the economic crisis eases. For more information about these banks, please see the 1,700+ comments that follow this list.
Comparing High-Interest Account Features
When it comes time to research which online high-yield savings account or money market account is best for you, take a look at the information we consistently maintain on this page and bookmark it. Plan to come back frequently to check that your accounts are still performing the way you want them to in light of any new rates and terms being offered.
An online savings account or money market account is a safe and convenient way to earn interest on funds that you may need easy access to. Either is a far better choice than simply keeping extra sums in cash or in a checking account.
Now that online banking is mainstream, many accounts offer some pretty nifty bells and whistles. It pays to shop for the best rates, the best service, and the best policies regarding their fees and services. Here are some of the most important factors to consider:
Safety
Banks are not required to be insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Most are FDIC-insured up to the legal limit of $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, for each account ownership category though.
Fee Structure
Monthly maintenance fees, statement fees, and ATM charges are just a few of the ways banks charge for their services. Since these costs can quickly exceed the interest you earn in your account, it is very important to compare each bank’s fee structure to find the most competitive terms.
Minimum Deposit Requirements
Banks may require that a certain amount of money be deposited when you first open a new savings account. Some banks waive that requirement now and allow you to fund your new account with whatever balance you choose. A minimum deposit requirement is more common with money market accounts, however.
Minimum Balance Requirements
Likewise, some banks require that you maintain a certain minimum balance in your account at all times in order to avoid paying their monthly maintenance fee.
Transaction Limits
You can make up to six withdrawals or transfers without charge from your savings accounts during any statement cycle according to Regulation D of the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 12, Part 204.
Even though many money market accounts allow check-writing privileges and debit-card transactions, Regulation D applies to this type of account as well.
Linking Accounts
Many online banks make it easy to transfer money between your various accounts even if they are with a different bank. This is especially convenient when you open your new online savings or money market account.
24-Hour Access
One of the best features of online accounts is that you can manage your money whenever you like 24/7/365. You don’t have to travel to a branch or wait for it to open.
Mobile Banking Apps
It is possible to do your banking from anywhere with some of the mobile banking applications available at an online bank as well. In addition, online banks invest heavily in making sure that every transaction is secure.
We’re working hard to find the best possible savings account rates and money market account rates to share with the readers of Get Rich Slowly. Do your homework and choose an online saving or money market account that works for you, and then share that knowledge with others in the comments.
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There are 1816 comments to "Which online high yield savings account is best? Updated 2024".
When I started researching this stuff, I used to look up MMA Savings Accounts across the 100 top yielding accounts at banks (web or otherwise).
From there I went with GMAC Bank since it had (and still does) have a >5% rate on an MMA savings account. I use this to hold my emergency fund money. I can quickly transfer funds from the site to my checking account at my local bank.
Simple to use and good returns while keeping my money very liquid in case I need to get my hands on it quickly with no penalties. And do it all from the web of course. Works great for me!
Oh yeah, and make sure the great number you’re looking at isn’t just an “introductory rate”.
Who cares which one has the highest interest right now? Choose one that consistently has high interest rates and go with them. HSBC and GMAC have both had high interest rates over a long period of time. They might not be the highest but I don’t like switching banks every 3 months chasing a better rate.
i wonder why ING is lower than the rest of the others? getting at least 5% would be nice
maybe i should think about switching
“Has anyone used this? Do other banks offer similar features?”
my account at fidelity has a feature called “full view”, which is actually a branded version of an account aggregation service offered at http://www.yodlee.com. its not quite full featured, but its a great overall account aggregation service. its also available for free, direct from yodlee.
I have bonus referral links for ING if you decide to go with them, $25 bonus on a $250 account opening. Drop me a line if you want one! I have 2 accounts with them and am very happy with the ease of transition, direct deposits, and customer service!
Good point Mark. Since this article mentioned this as a “savings” account, I wouldn’t keep moving my money around just because another institution can give me a 0.85% higher rate than where I’m currently out. It can get confusing and messy doing that frequently.
Funds that I would juggle around would be stuff for middle term investments not my short term or emergency money.
Yeah, I’m not interested in chasing rates. I just want to find an institution that pays consistently well and offers good customer service and ease of use. Anything is better than the 0.4% I’m earning now, right? 🙂
If your looking for High Yield Cash/Savings Accounts there is a great bank in Cape Girardeau, MO that does online accounts called Kasasa Cash that is a checking acct that pays 2.00 APY !! But you have to make like one direct deposit a month and have twelve debits from the account per month as well. It is easy if you set up some really small “auto” debits for stuff you need to pay off or bills. The bank is called Wood and Huston Bank.
A lot better than HSBC which sends you an email every other week saying they cut their interest rates again and its still the best interest rate of any bank around (they say that in every email when they cut rates!!) I am pretty sure you can set up everything for the account over the phone/mail, as I did so and did not live in Cape at that time.
https://www.woodhuston.com/pers-checking.aspx
is the link for Kasasa Cash accounts
I’ve been using ING Direct here in Canada for two years and couldn’t be happier, although I’m jealous of the higher rates you get in the States (ING’s interest rate here is currently 3.5 percent). I wonder if there are any better alternatives to ING in Canada; I’d love to hear about them if they exist. Here in Québec, ING is the only place I know of where you can make money on a savings account; all the regular banks provide such low interest rates and charge such high fees that you are literally better off financially keeping your money under the mattress.
I have had an EverBank checking account for a year now and the customer service is simply amazing. I get 3% interest for checking and they offer a money market account with 5% and 6% into for 3 months with only a $1500 minimum.
Brad, President’s Choice is now in Quebec: http://www.pcfinancial.ca/
4% on balances of at least $1000.01.
Citibank’s e-Savings account has a 4.75% rate, but it requires a Citi checking account. A Citi checking accounts can be a fantastic deal if you live someplace with no Citi branches; they will reimburse ATM surcharges if there is no Citibank in your home county.
I moved my checking and savings to Citi a few years back and I have not paid a single bank fee since. In fact, they were running a promo at the time that paid me for moving my accounts, so I’ve come out $200 ahead on the whole deal. You can also do instant transfers among your accounts, which is handy if you try to keep your checking balance at a bare minimum.
I have an ING account and can shed some light.
I believe the reason why ING currently has a lower rate is because they have been working hard on pushing out a product called Electric Orange. Basically what it is is a checking account with all your usual perks: direct deposit, free online bill pay, and ATM/Debit card. On top of that, they also have an interesting way of sending checks. They give you an online address book so that if you need to send a paper check, you can click who, type in how much, and ING will automatically send that check out for you at no cost. Additionally, they also have something called electronic checks which I won’t get into, but its pretty cool.
In addition to all these great services, Electric Orange also provides 3 different tiers of interest you can earn on your account: 4.00%, 5.05%, and 5.35%. Right now Electric Orange is only available to a select few, but I’m sure once the service is made public ING will be competitive again.
I’ve used HSBC’s online savings account at 5.05% for about six months now for my emergency fund. Account security is second to none, customer service isn’t half bad, and I love watching that interest roll in month after month.
As an added bonus, they’ll give you 6% on all money deposited before 4/30.
Hey Brad (and other Canadians!):
Redflagdeals has a nice article about the options available to us: http://www.redflagdeals.com/deals/main.php/articles/savings1/
It was last updated in September so rates may have changed, but at least it’ll give you an idea of where to look for more information.
I have been using ING Direct for a while and recently opened an Orange checking account as well. The checking account actually pays a higher interest rate than the savings, if your balance is more than $50,000.
I’ve had an HSBC online savings for about 6 months and have no complaints. The account setup is long because they send everything through the mail.
You can tell they’re focused on security, even when it makes things less convenient (which is most of the time because they’re diametrically opposed), but I appreciate that as a customer.
Phone service is helpful once you get a person, but took me 5-15 minutes the few times I’ve used it.
ING will give you $25 bonus if you find a referral link (all over the web); I could even give you one. 🙂 We have 3 accounts with them because it’s so easy to set up additional accounts and it’s nice to keep large items were saving for separate (vacation, taxes, computer). The bank transfer can be slow at times (why does it take 3 days to transfer money between banks?); I’m not sure if that’s true at all banks.
I didn’t realize we’re loosing 0.5% by going with them (vs E-trade), with the amount we keep there, it’s probably not worth the hassle of moving though.
Your Countrywide APY is incorrect. It’s 5.4% only if you have a $50,000 minimum balance. For
whoa… messed up comment. I guess it doesn’t like less than symbols 🙂
Anyway, for less than $10,000, the APY is only 4%.
Clearly they’re trying to be sneaky, which is a good reason to steer clear of them.
I’ve been using HSBC for about the past year. No complaints, it has really been a nice account. Very security focused as well.
Have you considered a brokerage account? They usually also have money market mutual funds for 5% or better (not FDIC but still your risk is pretty much 0). You can online link to/from your checking accounts and transfer very easily and quickly. I have a Fidelity account and am very happy with it; also like the fact that I have $8 trades (I have a Gold account though; most trades are $10) another one to think about is Ameritrade. They just got a huge writeup today on cust sat and I can’t imagine that they wouldn’t have a high yielding money market mutual fund.
I have accounts with Emigrant and Etrade – both were easy to open and I haven’t had any real trouble with them. Someone did come by my site the other day and leave a comment that in their experience, Etrade’s transfers from the bank account don’t work as promised, resulting in late payments and problems. I haven’t made any transfers with the account other than the opening balance, so I don’t know myself.
Everything I’ve ever heard about ING has been overwhelmingly positive – it’s almost like a cult! I myself am waiting to open an account, once I have $250 to take advantage of the bonus.
oops I meant to say more. Transfers are only 1-2 days between Fidelity and BofA so pretty quickly. The default settlement account, a municipal money market and thus tax free, is 3.5%. Really, good stuff! And you can buy CDs for free and since there’s so much visibility through Fidelity, banks list pretty competitive CDs (I buy CDs 6-12 month term with monthly payouts with annual rates of 5.2% which is great; CDs are FDIC insured).
I am a total interest rate whore, so I have accounts at several of them. Presently nearly all of my cash is in HSBC for the 6% APY promo, although I will move it back to Presidential’s savings account once the promo expires. I highly recommend Presidential’s internet plus checking account as well (4.5% APY on a checking account ain’t bad either). If you don’t want to jump around for rates, both EmigrantDirect and HSBC are good choices. ING was the first in the game but they aren’t staying competitive anymore and just aren’t relevant to a discussion of “high-yield” savings accounts.
Avoid E-Loan like the plague. Their website is buggy and customer service is absolutely horrible. I wouldn’t put my money back there even if they did a promo rate like HSBC.
Great article, I’d like to see similar about the variety of IRA options that are out there.
Thanks Bessam and sjw for the Canadian tips! If ING is able to provide their Electric Orange service in Canada for zero or low fees, I’ll drop my bricks-and-mortar bank immediately. Last year I paid $173 in bank fees (there’s no such thing as free checking in Québec, at least as far as I know) and earned $2.95 in interest from my regular bank. With ING I paid $0.00 in fees and earned $1,230 in interest.
I’ve been using HSBC for about 3 months. Overall, the process to set it up took a little while (mostly because they mailed everything separately), but the process only took me a couple minutes. Their website is easy to navigate, the bank transfers only take a few days to go through. In general I have been very happy with them. And its difficult enough that when I put money into it I won’t be pulling money out all the time. Thats why I have a checking account. Its a great way to actually save.
I started with ING, but HSBC is better. I love the EasyView service, which is a “view all online accounts on one page.” I have set up 20 accounts to view there–it totals it all up and sections it out.
I’ve used ING since 2004 and have always been pleased with them. I also just opened up an Electric Orange checking account with them, 4% interest, and I’ve been using it for about a week now. So far so good!
Is Captial One really the only one that offers a Debit Card with the account? I like the idea of how easy it could be to access the account, but I’m not a huge fan of CO. I’ve looked into ING, but I don’t think they have a debit card, anyone know for sure?
I have had and ING Direct savings account for a while now. I have made a nice chunk of change parking my student loans there. I just opened up and Electric Orange checking account, which took about 3 seconds to do since I am already a customer. I like ING because the features of the accounts cover all the bases of what I am looking for in a bank: high interest, no fees or minimums, ease of use, and good customer service. As soon as I graduate and get a job I intend to open a money market with them and take advantage of automatic transfers.
Be warned of the citibank account. I’m not sure how other’s work when tied to your checking but with this account you can only make about 6 transfers out of it to your checking during a billing cycle… online at least.. I was successful completing a transfer at the ATM
For my emergency fund account, I’ve been using Paypal for the last 2 years and it has treated me really well. It’s at 5.05% in a money market account, and although it is not FDIC insured, it’s an easy and reliable way to hold money so it is virtually liquid yet still making interest. Do you guys think I should switch to one of these savings accounts referred to on this post? Don’t worry, I’m never tempted to just buy something impulsively on ebay, which I hear is a problem for some who store money on paypal. Any feedback would be great. Thanks. BTW, J.D., love your site.
One that you left out is PayPal. Most of us already have PayPal accounts, and they offer a Money Market account that is earning 5.05% APY. I don’t keep tons of money there, but it’s nice to have for (minimal) eBay income not to have to worry about it before I transfer it to my bank account.
JD — I have an ING account and also signed up for an Emigrant Direct account although I’m not using it. While opening the account I needed to call Emigrant Direct and had a really bad customer service moment.
On the other hand I really love my ING account — I like the web interface and security features. I’d like the higher interest rate but when I calculated it, at least in the short term there wasn’t a huge difference. So I’ve been procrastinating in looking elsewhere. If I did it would probably be Everbank or HSBC.
I have no interest in the Electric Orange account though.
db
I personally use ING Direct for my savings account. I’ve been using ING since 2001, though I haven’t been very active with it until November of last year (hard to get into savings when you’re in college). I’m one of those people who wants to do EVERYthing online and thinks that everything should be instantaneous.
And while yes, ING’s transactions aren’t what I would consider instantaneous (usually takes 3-4 days for deposits and withdraws to process) it’s pretty good considering it’s a 99% online acocunt. That and I have it linked to my BoA account, so I tend to blame the slowness on BoA 🙂
I haven’t heard of this Electric Orange thing they’re doing though, but I’m excited for it to go public! I have a feeling you’d only be able to do direct deposit though… someone needs to invent a way to deposit paper checks online.
I had an E*TRADE account and two ING accounts (US & Canada). E*TRADE customer service is the worst I’ve ever seen. It took me months to establish EFT. Be prepared to pay a fee if you decide to close the account. I have no complaints about ING.
Definitely look at features in addition to rates. I did a lot of research (bankrate.com, as others have mentioned) before choosing GMAC for myself. They have high rates (5.1% currently), fast ACH transfers, a debit card, and *free checking*. The last is the most important for me. It is limited to three checks written per month, but since I rarely write checks, it’s perfect for me, personally. I don’t need a separate checking account at all – everything goes in the MMA with its high interest.
Like a few other fellow readers, I too used bankrate.com and zeroed-in on GMAC. The MMA account currently offers 5.0% APY. Their website is very user-friendly, and the customer service is the best I have encountered anywhere.
It is best to go with a reputed company and one that does not change their rates every few months. Also, it was important for me to open an account with a company that does not indulge in cheap gimmicks to attract customers.
I use Amboy Direct 5.25% APY up to $19,999. 5.35% paid for $20,000 and up. FDIC insured.
Fatwallet.com has a forum thread that follows Savings rates and each has a separate discussion thread on people’s experiences with the company. Should be a useful tool for anyone doing the search:
http://www.fatwallet.com/t/52/437553/
I am currently using GMAC Bank and have been happy with their service. They don’t have the best rate, but transferring money to and from is pretty quick and painless.
I initially signed up with ING for a 5% promotion that they were running and have to say that compared to some banks like Wells Fargo, the interest rates at ING are pretty good considering that there is no minimum balance required. A few things to note with ING:
(1) If you are putting money into an ING account via electronic transfer, it takes several days to link the accounts; basically ING does some small (i.e., less than $1) deposits into the account that you are linking to and you are required to verify those amounts on the ING site before you can transfer funds. The amount of time it takes for these amounts to appear in your linked account is a good indication of how long it takes to transfer money between accounts.
(2) It does take a few days for actual transfers to complete; I’m linked to a Wells Fargo account and it seems to take around 4 business days for transfers.
(3) ING’s security for accounts is pretty extraordinary. A note of caution is to be sure that you are paying attention as you go through the security steps, especially if you are accessing your account(s) through different computers.
(4) Additional savings accounts are very easy to set up (and close) if you have a particular goal you are saving for.
Electric Orange (“EO”) seems to be available to ING customers that have a savings account; I’m pretty sure that if you find a savings account you will be able to sign up for EO. While the EO rates tend to be more aggressive than brick and mortar banks, you really need to get $50K into the account to realize the big 5.05% APR. A few notes about EO:
(1) You can immediately fund an EO account from an ING savings account, which makes it very easy to open an EO account as there is not minimum for EO accounts.
(2) EO accounts, like most traditional bank checking accounts, do provide overdraft protection — I have to imagine that this is formulaic based on the funds in your EO, funds in ING Savings, and probably your credit score.
(3) EO easily shows you your purchasing power, which includes the overdraft protection.
(4) This account is fully paperless — don’t sign up expecting to receive paper checks in the mail. Online bill pay and a cool feature called “electronic checks” (this allows you to send checks via e-mail) are included with every account.
(5) You do receive an EO Mastercard debit card, but unlike traditional banks, there does not appear to be levels (i.e., gold, platinum, etc.) based on the amount of funds in the account, so be aware that there are daily point-of-sale and withdrawal limits.
(6) EO uses a network of ATMs on the AllPoint ATM network to provide fee-free ATMs. In my case, most of the ATMs are in Target stores, making it somewhat inconvenient to do all of my traditional ATM banking.
In summary: I keep some amount of money in ING savings accounts for different purposes and some amount of money in EO to earn a much higher interest rate than most traditional bank checking accounts, but I still maintain accounts at a traditional bank to ensure some amount of immediate cash and to make my ATM banking easier. I have to admit that I have yet to use the EO debit card and do most of my deposits and withdrawals through my traditional bank, interacting with my ING accounts via electronic transfer.
Another HSBC customer chiming in – I have had no problems with my account. I was able to use my account all over Europe with a flat 1 euro/transaction fee for non-network ATMs. The fact that you have access to phone support worldwide is quite good and I like the security features they offer. I’m going to India to work in July for 6 months and will definitely be using HSBC as my primary USD denominated account, as the wire transfer fees (salary while over there will be denominated in INR) are relatively low ($15 a transaction) compared to the local credit union ($35 per transaction).
I want to switch bank accounts, but I am a minor. I could get my parents to make an account for me and then put my money in it, but then I would be taxed at their rate. I have almost $5000 and am really looking for a way to make higher returns on it (as compared to my 1.25 rate). Any tips for minors?
To reiterate KJS, I’ve done some amount of research on how I’d bank if/when I move abroad, and I thought HSBC was probably going to be my best option for handling any residual bill paying in the US.
Steven — couldn’t your parents help you get the online account set up? I confess I really don’t know an answer for you, but I think you and your parents should contact your online bank of choice and see what’s possible.
>Has anyone used this? Do other banks offer similar features?
Money Center from Yodlee is a full aggregation service. At the back-end on a few of these banks, yodlee is the software that is used.
https://moneycenter.yodlee.com
Bank of America also uses Yodlee aggregation service in “My Portfolio”.
I’m late to comment and I’m not going to read all 48 other comments, but my Dad had E-Trade and –hated– them. Customer service is terrible. If your brokerage account dips below $10k (say because the market goes down), they start hitting you with inactivity fees ($40 a quarter).
Ridiculous.
ING is by far the best. You’re only missing out on .25-1% with ING, you get great customer service, and fantastic online security.
OK, I’m really late to this article, but I’ll echo nearly everyone else about ING. I’ve been using them for nearly two years now and have been more than thrilled. The new interface is uber secure, the actual transfering of money is super easy and the options to do auto-deposits on a regular basis is great.
The downside to ING that I’ve found is that it takes 10 full days from the time you transfer money till the time you start earning it.
A co-worker recently tried HSBC because he wanted to make a bit more money than his ING account, he left after three weeks due to the horrible interface and lackluster customer support. ING has some of the best phone support I’ve ever dealt with, even at 2am!
My mortgage is through CountryWide and I recently had a bad taste from a poor experience with their phone support, it was resolved in a timely manor and I am once again liking the company. I have recently received the offers with my bill for their new high interest accounts but don’t like the idea of having to keep $10k in them – I’d like to keep my money a little more liquid right now.
Fighting over .5% for me isn’t worth it right now, I’ll take the slightly lower rate and great customer service ING has been providing me with thus far.
Great discussion! This article came at the exact time that I’m looking for an online bank. I’m considering Countrywide… they’ve got the rates (and they currently have my mortgage). Besides being relative newcomers, I wonder if there are any other negatives about them? I’m not concerned about the tiered interest levels, but consistent rates and any fees could definitely be a factor.
I have been using HSBC for the higher rate. I have not been impressed with the speed of the balance transfer.
For example on Tuesday evening 10pm, I went to HSBC site and transferred $900 from my credit union.
Wednesday I get an email from HSBC that says I have requested a tranfer.
Thursday it is taken from my credit union account, Friday to Sunday nothing.
Monday I get an email that says the transfer is complete and it should show up in my HSBC account within the next 24 hours.
So on Tuesday, a full week later, the transfer shows. Not planning on staying with HSBC, looks like there are many others that are faster and easier.
Not strictly a savings account, but if you have PayPal, you can enable the money you put there to be placed in a money-market account. Not FDIC insured, but it does pay 5.05% now. There’s no fee, so if you have any money in a PayPal account, it shouldn’t hurt, right?
Washington Mutual isn’t on your list? Lots of branches in Portland, an ATM in every Fred Meyer, and 5% APY on a savings account. I live only a few blocks away from a branch and it’s been great. “Real human” Teller access, ATM deposits, ATM withdrawals, yada yada. Link to their Free Checking with free checks (and soon money orders), billpay, and so on, and it’s a very good deal.
Let me know if you have any questions.
I kept my ING Orange Savings account since I figured out that i needed to pile up some money for Taxes.
The phone support is amasing, provided you can find the Phone number!
In anycase, I am a big fan of stability. I transfer almost 1K into the account every month, and I just love watching the interest dollars earn more and more.
Also, ING Direct tells you whats going on in your account, ie Deposits, or widthdrawals, they even tell you when the interest rate has been increased! I like getting those emails.
ING Direct has been working out well with my linked BofA account. I just wonder how easy is it for me to link my Scottrade acct to my Orange Savings so I can move money in an out of the market.
Currently Scottrade pays like a bank on unused funds available for trading. However they do offer CD’s and MoneyMarket.
Just my $0.02
-Israel
Washington Mutual isn’t on your list?
They didn’t come up in the Google results. There’s no question: my methodology here is lame. And I forgot completely about Bankrate, which is silly since I visit that site for other reasons a couple times a week.
Thanks for reminding me of WaMu, Jonathan…
Wow, I’ve always been a huge fan of ING but I didn’t know it had as many strong supporters as it does here. To join the crowd: it also takes me 3-4 days to put money into ING from BoA, but only takes 1-2 days to withdraw money from ING to BoA.
HSBC also seems to be a fan favorite here too. I’ve honestly looked into it, but I guess I just can’t get use to their web interface. I personally like ING’s better.
Well JD, from the sound of the votes it seems you really have two strong contenders: ING and HSBC.
Every pfblogger should bookmark bankdeals.blogspot.com and check it regularly. Banking Guy is my hero.
Anyway, as I’ve said before, when I look for an online savings account, I want:
Ease of beneficiary nomination for transfer on death. This is my first priority, because I don’t want these assets probated. On this front, Emigrant and E-Loan are by far the best. You can do it online as you open the account. E-Trade lets you mail a form in. ING doesn’t offer this option anywhere on the site, although I suppose you could email them and check.
Low minimums. If I have an emergency, I don’t want to pay fees to pull my funds. Emigrant, ING, E-Trade and many others do well here. You have a list of some of those that don’t.
Decent rates. There is no reason I can’t get at least 5% in the current prime rate environment, and I look for companies that have done this consistently. Again, Emigrant, HSCB and others do well.
Ease of direct deposit. ING offers a form. Emigrant and E-Trade both offer routing numbers. I’m sure most others do, but it’s worth checking the website to see if they make it obvious. (I’m lucky in that my HR system lets me request routing for anything I want.)
Electronic delivery of monthly and tax statements. I don’t like waiting for my 1099s. This is one reason I left VirtualBank. Again, ING, Emigrant, and E-Trade have all done well for me here.
The upshot is I went with one account at Emigrant and one at E-Trade. If I had to pick, I’d go with Emigrant. After the rollout hiccup last year, I have not had one single problem, and the site is a dream to use.
I clicked through from the RSS hoping somebody would say more about the E-Trade QuickTransfer. Oh well.
I have been using HSBC for a month or so, but don’t have anything to compare it to. In this case, I guess it is fine.
I use use E*TRADE for both my brokerage account and my checking account. I agree with others the support is definitely lackluster. I am seriously considering switching to ING’s Electric Orange checking. I am concerned about the lack of physical checks. Anyone have any thoughts on this?
As far as the QuickTransfer feature. I don’t find it to be anything special. You are basically allowed to setup accounts (either other E*TRADE or outside banks) which you can transfer money to and from. That’s it. I don’t find it to be very “Quick” for being called QuickTransfer. It takes the normal 2 to 3 days of a regular electronic transfer if you’re going to or from an outside bank. Obviously transfers within E*TRADE are instantaneous.
moved from ING to GMAC about 18 months ago ( based on bankrate.com info). GMAC is faster and the rate is higher. Very happy with the switch. I use the big local bank ( Chase ) for checking/ATM because they have waaaay more free atm’s here ( Chicago ) than anyone else.
If you are hands off Money Market Accounts are great. I recently opened one at AmTrustDirect. But if you hare more hands on Treasury Bills are the way to go. Because they are actually exempt from State & Local taxes their Tax EAPY (Tax Equivalent Yield) can actually be 6%+.
TreasuryDirect.gov
A bunch of other blogs have tons of info on how to open an account, and calculating the EAPY (it is different if you itemize and changes depending on state tax rates, etc.)
EmigrantDirect’s rate (5.05) isn’t the highest, but their transfer feature allows you to set an exact date on which transfered money appears in the target account, rather than the generic 2-3 days. Very useful for timing bills and other transactions.
Fidelity also has a great money market that pays over 5%. They also feature free banking services, so if you need to transfer between Fidelity and your bank, it’s an easy online process.
Fidelity also does offer a one stop shop for all of your banking info. You can establish and download all of your bank info for all your banks and accounts into one screen. (including any SkyMile and Credit card points accounts)
Dustin, I think “outbound” QuickTransfers are pretty average, but “inbound” transfers (from your external checking account, for example) actually credit on the day of the request. I don’t particularly care if the money isn’t wired directly as long as I’m paid interest on the assumption that it is.
HSBC took an unacceptably long time to approve our account. We finally had to go into a local branch; when we went to access the account online the next day, we couldn’t get into it. We called their customer service line and they said they had no record of our deposit or our account. Luckily, we started with just $10, but if they can’t keep track of that I won’t trust them with any more of our cash.
I have an E*Trade Complete Savings account, which I opened largely because I keep almost all of my banking/brokerage accounts there. Overall, I like the features and offerings, and I really like the idea of keeping everything in one spot.
There are a couple of things I don’t like. First, the time it takes to fund a new account is excessive. Even if you transfer money from an existing E*Trade account, it takes something like 7 business days for the transfer to take place.
Also, the banking side of E*Trade went through a core software conversion recently, and I lost the ability to automatically update through MSMoney. The brokerage accounts work fine. They don’t seem to have designs on fixing this.
I’ve been with ING for about a year now and have been quite happy with them, although I must admit that it’s tempting to chase the slightly higher interest rates of the other online banks.
I’ve been thinking about dropping the brick and mortar bank altogether and opening up an Electric Orange account to pay the bills. Does anyone here do all of their banking using only online banks?
In the meantime, are there any fees to do transfers between ING and your linked bank (BoA, in my case)? It’s something I haven’t yet tried…
Add me to the list of PayPal fans. Besides the 5.05% APR, you can also get a PayPal debit card which pays 1% cash back on purchases. The money is instantly refunded back into your account. Plus withdrawing cash and transferring funds to your bank account or any other PayPal user is easy. Also, if you link your bank account and you charge more than you have in your account, PayPal will draw the balance from your checking account automatically, up to a certain amount.
Been using ING for a year. Love it, although I havnt tried others. I do have a etrade account so i might take advantage of rhtier 5 %.
After seeing all their fees/etc though I really dont like etrade. I’m slowly switching over to scottrade.
So basically my setup is
BOA – small amount of money for rent/etc
ING – storage for money
Scottrade – broker/roth IRA
@Don
There are no fees associated for transferring money between ING and BoA.
I “virtually” do all my banking online using the Electric Orange account. Money is directly deposited there, and I use that account to pay all my bills too. I still have my ING linked to BoA simply because I travel a lot and I’m always able to find a BoA ATM machine to pull out any needed cash.
I have both ING and virtualbank. VB seems to follow the fed closer and they have worked well for me.
Another ING fan here; I’ve been using them for almost a year and am really pleased. The website is secure, thoughtfully laid-out and extremely easy to use. I recently shifted the bulk of my savings cash over to HSBC to take advantage of the 6% deal they’re running, but when that deal ends I’ll send the cash back to ING. HSBC’s website is a wreck.
I am in the same position as J.D. – tired of the low interest rate at Wells Fargo and looking for an online bank with a good rate. And now, I need to decide between HSBC and ING – has anyone had any particularly good/bad experiences with either bank? I can’t decide!!
i use emigrant direct. they used to guarantee the highest rate in the country until HSBC put the squeeze on ’em. but i like the fact that there’s no minimum to open or maintain the account. you earn 5.05% regardless of how much you have in there.
emigrant is also pretty good about matching rates too. in the year or so i’ve had the account, emigrant has pretty much kept pace with hsbc.
i also have a checking account with wachovia. transfers between the two are pretty seamless. i just schedule the transfer (either direction) with emigrant.
in the last few months, it’s taken no more than a day to transfer money between the accounts. but in the past, i’ve had to wait three or four days.
I’ve been using ING Direct for almost 6 months.
Because I’m just getting started out, the “no minimums” policies at ING Direct are good for me. I’ve finally got my cushion savings account filled up, and now I’m starting to put some into my emergency fund. (as a side note, I opened the emergency fund with $25, and earned 8 cents interest in the first month).
Plus, ING Direct has other products like a free checking account that gives you 4% APY with free billpay; no-minimum CD’s (I’ve got two for $50, and one for $100; much less than the minimums required at HSBC), and an IRA with index funds ($25 min, + $25/mo; cheaper than most IRA’s you’ll find).
Those are just the ones I use. And they’re helping me get things under control. The no minimum part is the best.
You mentioned the interfaces… the ING Direct interface is clean, and easy to use for most people. Personally, I find it a little too simplistic, but I’m a professional computer nerd. 🙂
On the interface in every interest-bearing account, you can get a count of how much interest you’ve accumulated so far this month, and so far this year. This type of feedback has helped me immensely! The way my mind works, I know I’d pull money out if I wasn’t watching it grow right before my eyes each time I log in.
They also do something pretty convenient that my other online banking websites don’t do. On the OFX (MS Money) export, they take advantage of the fact that OFX supports multiple accounts in one export file. Thus, even though I’ve got 6 accounts with them, I only download one file to reconcile in GnuCash.
And I know the ING Direct website works with all alternative operating systems. 🙂
All four of my accounts (interest-bearing checking, Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, and taxable brokerage, which I use as ‘savings’) are with E*Trade and I couldn’t be happier. By having all of my accounts with E*Trade, I am well-above the minimums to avoid monthly fees (including ATM fees) even though any individual account may drop below- it’s the sum total they look at. I have one dashboard for all my accounts at a glance.
I’ve never had any problems with transfers, since they’re now all to other E*Trade accounts. There are no limits to transfers and they can be scheduled or one-time, nearly instantaneous.
Any downside to one-stop-shopping (such as the amount of time it takes to get all your accounts transfered) isn’t going to be limited to E*Trade, it’s going to be the same no matter where you go.
If you qualify, USAA has some of the best rates around.
You all should check out GE Money as well. They offer tiered APYs, with the highest being 5.05%
http://www.gemoney.com/personal/savings/index.html
Very simple to set up and manage! No minimum and you can set up automatic transfers.
Anybody use Capital One? I stumbled across their web site one day and see that they have a very competitive money market offering. That surprised me, as I don’t think I had seen it advertised before.
It’s at 5.0% APY now, which is not bad. BUT if you’re a Costco member you can open a Capital One MM account and earn 5.2% APY. That’s close to as good as you’ll find these days, and it’s a well-known, reputable company.
So I’m curious to see if anyone has an account there.
Another CITI customer chiming in. I used ING in the past and it was great, but Citi allows you to withdraw from your online MMA at the branch same day. So you have access to your MMA at a branch and transfers to checking accounts are available same day, unlike with ING or other “traditional online banks” (if such a thing exists for a service that is only ~two years old). Moved to Citi a few months ago, really couldn’t be happier. Much more user friendly than ING or EmigrantDirect. My money is available at all times.
I haven’t seen anyone mention risk. I have an account with ING. I’m leary of HSBC, GMAC, Countrywide and others that might be mired in the subprime (and now Alt-A) mortgage debacle – as in they made loans to people who couldn’t pay back. Sure if it’s an FDIC insured bank you’re OK up to $100K, but there’s still the hassle involved in getting your money back – if there was trouble you can bet that there would be some delays getting your money from the FDIC. Something to keep in mind.
I have been using Emigrant Direct for 6 months and have been very pleased so far. They employ more security than just a username and password which I like. I should have done this sooner. My brick bank is paying .10% (that is a tenth of a percent) on my savings so I moved my money over to Emigrant at 5.00% and have been very happy since. Stay away from Etrade! I had a brokerage account there and they were penalizing me since I did not have the minimum balance and never let me know. Pretty crooked if you ask me. I introduced my parents to Emigrant and the 2 initial deposits they do for security was more money than they earned on the $10,000 in the brick bank from the previous month! Were talking about $1.50 but just shows you how the brick banks are fleecing everyone right now.
I have to put in a plug for Emigrant Direct. I have had accounts with them for almost a year and a half now. Transferring money back and forth is easy and usually happens the next business day. No fees. Like the security. Like that I actually have interest income to speak of for a change. If my regular bank would pay good interest rates, they would have more of my money. For now, thanks Emigrant.
A great site for tracking the best rates on savings accounts, cds, money markets, etc is Best Cash Cow.
Enjoy.
USAA has the most AMAZING customer service. Business Week rated it #1 in customer service above (2)Four Seasons, (3)Cadillac, (4)Nordstroms, and (5)Wegmans. Their service is so good we have our checking, savings, credit cards, mortgage, home & auto insurance with them. Any time we have tried somewhere else, we get so pissed off with the customer service we end up right back with USAA. We rarely have to wait when calling them, their phone numbers are obvious (and you’re encouraged to use them), and their reps across the board are EXTREMELY patient and nice. Just recently my husband called to change our insurance from renters to homeowners, and they (without prompting) let him know that we qualified for new discounts on our already active auto insurance.
For savings accounts, you get 4.85% above $10k. For the checking they reimburse you up to $10 a month for ATM fees, and don’t charge any themselves. So, if we use a BofA ATM, eg, we get the $2.50 back that BofA charges. That means we can use any ATM anywhere for free. They also have the Deposit@Home program where you scan a check in, and deposit it electronically. It’s amazing. Their brokerage accounts have trades that are $5.95 or $11.95 depending on the amount in your account.
The website makes it seem like you need to either be in the military or have a spouse/parent that is/was (my case), however we have friends that opened banking accounts without this requirement, but they can’t get the insurance. So it might be worth a call. (1-800-531-2265)
Honestly, I can’t rave enough about them!
Great comments. One option that doesn’t advertise heavily is GE Interest Plus – http://geinterestplus.com/interestplus/
Amount APY
Less than $15k 4.91
$15k – $49,999 5.17
$50k and more 5.43
It’s not FDIC insured as its invested in unsecured debt from GE Capital (read prospectus), but I’ve had it for many years and it’s consistently above other options I’ve researched (excluding promo offers). There is a similar type account with GMAC (6% top rate as I recall), but I like GE’s financial strength much more, so not willing to switch.
You can do direct deposits and link with your checking account for ACH transfers…so maximize the interest earned until it’s time to pay bills.
Like some of the other posters, I don’t like to switch accounts all the time…
I don’t think anyone mentioned this, but HSBC has ATM access too. As an added incentive for California customers, you can withdraw money from any Wells Fargo ATM without any fees. The exchange rate from withdrawing from an HSBC ATM in a foreign country is better than any rate I can get from any currency exchange service.
Electric Orange, ING’s checking account USED TO be only available to a select few. It’s not that way anymore. I’ve had the debit card for about a month now, and I find the service to be great– Love instantly being able to transfer money from my ING savings to withdrawable Electric Orange. Plus it uses “cardtronics” ATMs, so that means no $1.95 surcharge on ATMs in every CVS, Supermarket, Convenience Store, and basically any other store around. There’s a free ATM locater on the website thats very useful.
I have had an ING account now for over a year and find it is o.k. except for beneficiary or co-owner. I recently opened a Capital One for the better rate and that I can have my daughter as a co-owner; they also provide for beneficiaries. Not much experience yet. ING has worked best in transferring money when I know the date of transfer ahead of time, just plug it in and on that date money is there.
I can vouch for ING Direct.
Very easy to use. No nonsense transaction capabilities. Money in, money out, money into CDs, etc.
I’m sure the other banks are fine too.
Most of the other points have been covered already so I’ll just mention that I like Emigrant over HSBC and ING purely because I can log in with a username that I selected.
Both HSBC and ING identify you with an assigned long customer number that I had to look up every time I wanted to log in.
Great article! I have been looking to move from my bank’s MMA to something better, there are some great options…
Maybe you said it had to be FDIC insured, as you mentioned the ones originally listed all were, but I stand by Ford’s Interest Advantage account.
– Need $1000.
– Free transfer in/out from another bank acct.
– Free checks and unlimited check writing above $250.
– No fees.
Current rates as of Mar 19th:
Invested InterestRate CompoundYield
Under $15,000 5.75% 5.90%
$15,000 to $50,000 5.90% 6.06%
Over $50,000 6.05% 6.22%
ING FTW
Pc Financial is the best bank online in Canada for a savings account. 4% interest in the savings account on balances over $1000 no fees on anything, and you can use any CIBC atm in canada for free. I really don’t understand why everyone doesnt use it.
+1 for HSBC — I’ve been using them for a little over a year now after switching from ING Direct. HSBC consistently has higher rates than ING, which was my reason for switching.
HSBC does not currently do the “long customer number” thing mentioned above. I log in with a user name, although they do the new image/cookie thing along with 2 passwords. Security is a good thing though…
I am interested in looking around at better rates for larger amounts of $$$.
You missed American Express – I have their “One” card. You get 1% of your spending on the card deposited in a savings account at 5% and they give you 50 bucks when you make your first purchase. No minimum balance.
jpsfranks,
You can change your HSBC login username. I know this for a fact because I changed mine.
Pretty unhappy with E*Trade myself. I just switched to them from BOFA as BOFA is a giant outsourcer and e*trade will pay your ATM fees.
I’ve used a lot of online banking, AmSouth, USBank, BOFA, ING Direct and Scottrade.
So far E*Trade has been ATROCIOUS about holding onto my money for days and days without letting me have access to it. Transferring money out of a BOFA account into an E*Trade account took 3 business days – usually moving money into BOFA the funds are available the same day. I could understand this but then moving money from an E*Trade Checking account into an E*Trade IRA account takes _6_ business days? They claim they aren’t earning interest on my money during this 6 day period but I can’t think of ANY legitimate reason for this in this day and age.
NO Other online banking system has been so terribly slow with giving me access to my own money.
I really recommend against E*Trade, i’m looking for another solution.
Steve,
I used to have an Amex one account, the problem is that it costs $35/year and transferring money to and from the account took me 3-4 business days. It is a cool concept, but poorly executed in my opinion.
PayPal is my high-yield savings account. Like others have said 5.05% APY; get a ATM debit card for your account, and get 1% cash-back which means you’re really earning between 5.05% – 6.05% on the account with no minimum and interest compounded monthly, with high liquidity
Don’t use E*Trade. I have had an account with them for awhile and recently their customer service has been horrible and they refuse to do simple things like give you certain reports on your account activity. Also they charge you $5 for some printed reports.
I switched both my bank accounts to HSBC last summer, with my savings going to HSBC Direct. I’ve been very happy with it so far – consistently high interest rates, satisfactory customer service, instant transfers between my checking and savings accounts, and no fees.
I think you are all off. Use GMAC Demand Notes. All you need to own is one share of GM and a balance over $1k. The current rate is 5.75%
http://www.demandnotes.com/main.htm
Try it out. Its much better!
Hello,
I have an iGobanking.com account, they have a good rate and they are very easy to setup and use; my fear is that nobody had said anything about it on this page; does anyone else use them?
~Edgar
I have Amtrust, ING, and Citi direct. I use all 3 just to push around for best rate and i love all of them. They are all linked together so i can move money and the good thing is there is a real Citi bank in my town so i can make deposits easily too and just move it.
Great customer service for all 3, even though i haven’t had to deal with them much.
I’ve had an ING account for 2 years and it is exceptionally easy to transfer money from and into. It takes about 2 days to get money from the savings to my local checking branch, but that doesn’t bother me. I opened the account for the $25, then opened both my daughter and husband an account and we ended up making around $80 in all.
Recently I switched to an ETRADE account since my balance was growing and the interest rate was higher than ING. I’m very happy with ETRADE and will most likely stick with it, unless ING rates become higher.
I have had an ING Direct account for about 2 years. Great product. You kind of forget about the account too so you’re less likely to take the money and spend it.
You made it to Lifehacker.com again, well done.
I’ve seen several comments here regarding people who want to keep their savings money liquid, PayPal’s Money Market Fund is currently at 5.05% has no load and no minimum and is available to most anyone that is verified through Paypal.com. I’ve been in it for over a year and tend to keep as much in PayPal as I do in my bank savings with nearly double the return.
I had thought I’d posted a response. Oh well. Sorry if this is a double-post.
I have high-yield FDIC insured savings accounts with HSBC Direct and Emigrant Direct.
Emigrant Direct has a straightforward website, which allows you to see how much interest you’ve earned so far that month (which is compounded daily but not added to the account until the end of the month), what pending transfers are up, and is my favorite financial services website I’ve used so far, for those and other reasons. The interest rate isn’t the top, but it’s high up in the lists. Since I don’t really have a lot of money to throw around I also appreciate that having a savings account with this bank allows me to open CD accounts for 6 months or longer with $1,000 or more, all at the same APY.
Transfers out appear in the other account’s listing the day that the transfer was scheduled for. They have to be scheduled at least 2 business days in advance, though, I think. Transfers in do not become “available” funds immediately (just like how transfers out make the funds that are to be transfered unavailable, though presumably still interest-bearing, a few days before the transfer out), but they are used in the total amount in the account as soon as the date of the transfer, unlike the HSBC policy of not including the money until several days after the date of the transfer. I haven’t done the math to make sure that the interest is actually calculated on the unavailable money, so I might be wrong on that, though it’s certainly what the account page makes it look like. I highly recommend Emigrant Direct.
HSBC takes a long time for transfers to clear compared to Emigrant. The reason I have an account with them is that I like having an ATM card for it, since it is my emergency account. The problem is that there are no HSBC ATMs in my area, so I’d most likely have to forfeit some of my savings in the form of fees if I were to ever use it. Logging in is sort of confusing to do, and requires use of the mouse to enter in a second password-type thing, which I find obnoxious. I have casually been looking for a differen savings account with ATM access, even if they also don’t have any ATMs local to me, since their website is such a pain to use and the transfers take so long to clear. I would not recommend HSBC Direct unless you need the ATM access and your location is different than mine or your willingness to pay ATM fees is better than mine.
I’ve casually looked at the Citibank account since there are a lot of 7-Elevens with Citibank ATMS in my area, but the difference in interest rates and my belief that there might be an early-closing fee with HSBC have prevented me from doing too deep an investigation.
I have two of these accounts; Capital One (because it has check writing) and iGoBanking.com (pays a higher interest rate). iGoBanking.com is where the majority of my emergency fund is, but enough to get me through any real short term is in Capital One just because it’s easier for me to get it out.
I’ve been using ING for two years now with zero problems. I’m very pleased with the amount of security they have implemented. One thing mentioned about another OLB: there is a limit of 6 transactions per statement cycle. This was the case when I signed up; don’t know if this still the case.
I’m surprised there are so many mentions of PayPal. With PayPal’s history of abyssmal customer service, transaction mistakes, customer-hostile policies and ‘guilty until proven innocent (and good luck trying…)’ SOP, I wouldn’t invest money in them even if I owned the company. I refuse to give PayPal my checking account info to become ‘verified’, and will only transact with them using a credit card in order to have buyer protection. paypalsucks.com, paypalwarning.com, aboutpaypal.org tell some of the stories. I have a friend who experienced PayPal issues where they attempted to transfer money out of his account without warning, and not at his request. The transfer failed. PayPal hit him with a fee, then froze his account. The bank hit him with a fee. PayPal refused to admit to any facet of the problem or refund any of the fees. It was an ugly mess and in the end he dropped PayPal, leaving a small amount of money in his account that they refused to unfreeze.
Perhaps PayPal’s savings are a different ‘division’, but I would avoid putting any funds at risk with them.
All U.S. savings accounts have a restriction of six withdrawals per statement cycle (month). It’s not just “online” banks.
We’ve been very satisfied ING customers for several years. Last week I did an inbound transfer Thurs nite that went through on Friday, hoping to see this promptness continue.
It’s good to see the variety of alternatives today. We declined the EO offer because the terms seemed overly unbalanced with regard to things like errors and disputes. I’d echo Pat’s sentiments @82 above about exposure to mortgage lenders.
I’d be particularly interested to know if any accounts offer ATM deposit, as I have for some years wanted to be able to deposit checks to remote banks, and going to my local bank branch and then doing an online transfer seems more complicated than it should need to be, particularly if the check needs to clear before funds are available at my local bank.
I use HSBC for my savings. The website looks like it is from the 90s but all the functions are there. The security login is irritating, but at least they try. Quick transfers in and out, you can setup automatic transfers easily. Not the best interface, but it works and I am satisfied.
I would not recommend E-Trade for banking. When it comes to transfering money into the account, They hold your money for what seems like weeks! Guarenteed at least one week. They are notorious for puting funds on HOLD for at least 8 Business days ( for me at least ). The money wires into the Etrade within 3 days, but you have no access to the funds for quite sometime afterwards. Transfering money out seems to be ok.
Gahhh! For the last two days I tried to sign up with Emigrant Direct.
Attempt #1: I filled out the form but got distracted for several minutes and the application session time expired. I had to retype the app.
Attempt #2: They couldn’t verify my address since it was listed as a business address and they wouldn’t accept another address. I had to give them permission to decline my application and try again the next day.
Attempt #3: I couldn’t apply again because my userid was already taken (the one I made yesterday). I wanted to reuse that ID and called not wanting duplicate info on their server and they insisted that I use a new ID.
Attempt #4: New ID time. I filled out the info a fourth time using a different user ID. Upon form completion I get a message that I can not apply for an account because my previous app was declined (from me in attempt #2). I call again and they gave me an 800 number to call on Monday so I could try again. Screw that.
I’ll try HSBC now.
I just came over here from Digg.com, sweet blog, I personally love ING Direct because of their integrated online checking account.
Considering how the value of the US Dollar continues to plummet, I want to know where I can get a savings account in *euros*. I should have put all my dollar savings into euros long ago. But the dollar still has a way to fall, probably until after the next election.
As both an ING and HSBC direct customer, I have been happy with both. I got the HSBC account after holding the ING account for a year because I live in NY and wanted the ATM access. The website is not user friendly and takes FOREVER to transfer. I just got the ING card, and i am seriously loving it.
Unless you have a large amount (10k plus) in one of these accounts, 50 basis points is not going to make an appreciable difference in your takings.
Risk. Paying higher savings rates attracts money to these banks and increases their reserves. My question is, why do they feel they need to increase their reserves?
I bank with Citigroup, and they also have exposure to housing industry losses which doesn’t exactly help me sleep at night.
I’ve heard that ING has exposure from Europe, and GMAC/RESMAE lost a lot of money last year also. So far (?) I’ve seen only HSBC reporting losses and writeoffs (over 10 Billion dollars – so far.)
These impacts are still accelerating, and a major tree teetering in the forest isn’t impossible. These banks “create” a lot of money out of thin air by their lending. Other investors are highly leveraged as well. If things get rather worse the interest rates may get even better 😉 but so would the risk.
I have been using an Emigrant Direct account for the past 6 months. I’m very happy with it.
What I really like about it is that I was able to make 3 different accounts under one user id (I believe you can make up to 5). That way I have one account for my insurance savings, one for my travel savings, and one for my emergency savings.
Another great feature which other people have already mentioned is the automatic transfers. So every two weeks (payday), all three accounts get an “allowance” that goes directly into them. No fuss. And the coolest part is that you can put limits on these transfers (i.e., stop the transfer at this date, or stop the transfer when it reaches this amount).
I have yet to take money out of the account and put it back into my bank account, but I heard it takes a few days. No problem for me since I can use my credit card til it transfers over. One thing I wish Emigrant would do is have the actual names of my accounts on the site instead of the last 4 digits of the account, but oh well. Emigrant’s great.
–> Brad
In Quebec, in addition to PC Financial and ING Direct, HSBC has an online savings account. If you go on their website it’s HSBC Direct but I have one from before that offered a better rate…it was 4.0% with it. Not sure if anything changed, but it was for people who already had a normal checking account with them.
I’ve held an INGDirect accounts for 2+ years and never had a problem. I love being able to log in and get tax info during tax season, and not having to wait around for a 1099.
I’m a new HSBCDirect customer and so far so good. I wanted it primarily for access to its international network, as I enjoy traveling overseas a lot and the ATM card will come in handy. Setting up an account took 24 hours, and I haven’t noticed a major lag time between transfers yet but I’ve only done 2.
I don’t mind the more complicated log-in feature as this means they’re paying attention to security.
I’ve been using ING for years and am thoroughly satisfied with features, although I am disappointed with their lagging interest rate. They used to remain at the top, but seem to have decided not to compete there anymore.
To the minor that requested where he/she could invest, I found that ING is the only site that will accept such an account. I set up accounts for each of my five kids with very little effort through the 800 number. I have envelopes in our kitchen where they each insert their babysitting, chores, etc. earnings. Once a week or so, I just collect and pocket their earnings and then do an equivalent transfer out of my checking account into their respective accounts. And the kids love logging in with me to see how much interest they are earning.
Wow! 135 comments thats nice but how come no one mentioned iGoBanking.com, currently its 5.30% APY with no minimum, no fees. Currently am with ING but this one seems tempting. BTW its savings account.
I love Emigrant. They consistently have high rates. Capital one is great because you get checks and debit card…perfect for those who feel like they want instant access. Captial one even called when I made a large transaction to make sure it was me doing it.
I have a fairly large-sized cash balance with Etrade (used to be with Brownco). After reading this I thought I’d try opening a savings account with them. This is what I keep getting:
“An error has occurred while processing your application. Please try again or print out an application. Otherwise, please return to the E*TRADE Bank home page.”
Obviously they aren’t interested in making this expedient, and why would they when they’ve been paying me less than 1% on cash balances. I think I’ll continue to put my cash in the short term bond ETF (NYSE; SHY) or Treasury Bills until Vanguard introduces their short term bond ETF in the near future.
I have been using Bank of Internet for several months now. While their savings rate is not as high as others, they offer very good rates on their checking accounts, especially for “Boomers” like me. I have an ATM card and a monthly allowance for ATM fees which I have never exceeded. They offer excellent phone and web support and overdraft protection. I have also used ING direct for several years without a problem. (ING also gave me a very competitive mortgage offer recently, over the phone in about 20 minutes.) Sure beats my experience with Wells Fargo – no interest on checking, less than 1% on savings!
I’m thinking about moving to online checking. I already have an online savings account. If I move my checking to an online provider, how would I cash in an occasional paper savings bond? Is it safe to mail paper bonds? Can paper bonds be converted to the relatively new electronic bonds?
Can you believe it? I actually went through all of 142 comments on this post!!!
I am a University student right now, but I wanted to start out saving some money right away, so that I have a decent footing once I graduate.
I learned a lot reading through the post and the comments. From what I’ve read so far, I think the best option for me would be HSBC or ING. I am a little more inclined towards ING right now. Even though the ING rates (in Canada) are not at the top, but I am looking for stability and ease of use right now.
So thanks to everyone!
I have HSBC and has been working great for me. Sure their website isn’t the best of the best, as J.D. said, it’s a mess. But it’s a mess because they are working on it to be better for the consumer.
I would also like to mention that HSBC does in fact have an automatic savings plan. If you choose “Bank to Bank Transfers”, you can select a “Recurring Transfer” to be withdrawn from an external bank account/or even another HSBC account, at no charge to you. I currently have an automatic plan set up to deposit $100 every month and building a nice piece of change from monthly interest.
I would love to have another high interest savings account that pays more than 5.05%APY, but it seems that the other higher ones want a set minimum. May be good for some, but I use my savings for an emergency fund and free cash stash if I sell my investments. HSBC’s $1 minimum works great for me and recommend it.
Did you know that ING requires you to be a US citizen or permanent resident to open an account? Can someone please let me know if resident aliens can open an account at ING if they have an SSN number?
One nice thing about ING is the fact that you can refer a friend and earn $10 for every person who opens an account with a min. of $250. The friend will also earn an instant $25 to their own account. 4.5% may seem to be a lower interest rate than the others, however an instant $10 or $25 here and there yeilds a higher overall rate.
I still love ING Direct.. Their customer service department answers the phone on the first ring and transfers are incredibly easy. Email me at jew98 (at) hampshire.edu if you’d like a referral code to take advantage of the $25 bonus.
I’ve had Capital One (5%) & ING (4.50%) for two years and the rates are decent. I just opened an account a month ago with HSBC (6%) this temporary until April 30. Then it’s back to 5.05%. Captial One takes 1-2 to transfer money. ING has gotten better now with 1-2 days for transfer. I have HSBC debit card as an emergency account. All three banks seems to working out great for me. If I had to choose one as my favorite, I would be ING!!! all the way.
I am looking for just a savings account to save money in for future use (like retirement), if somebody could refer me to a good website for just a savings account and making a good interest rate i would be extrememly thankful. Thank You.
Thanks to everyone for all the responses! I’m trying to decide between ING and HSBC direct as far as where to open a saving account.
I’m going with ING after much consideration. I’ll start setting it up tonight or tomorrow.
Email me at [email protected] to get the referral code so we can both get some bonus money. 🙂
I’m going with ING after much consideration. I’ll start setting it up tonight or tomorrow.
Email me at [email protected] to get the referral code so we can both get some bonus money.
I use HSBC Direct and am quite happy with it. When deciding which savings account to go with you should definitely compile a list of wants and compare them to what people are saying about the particular Banks. For example, HSBC bank to bank transfers are slow, but since this is my savings account I could honestly care less.
This is my emergency/general savings account so three or four days transfer time isn’t an issue for me. If you have to dip into your emergency account frequently, or may possibly need the money quickly, HSBC Direct may not be your best option.
As mentioned the site is a little clunky but the security is nice. All in all I’m very happy with HSBC.
Currently I have 5 online banking accounts : 1)CITIBANK, 2)PAYPAL, 3) CAPITAL 1, 4)AMTRUST, AND 5)BANKUNITED. I am still a bit nervous about having ALL my savings in just ONE account. I figure IF some hacker gets into ONE account. I still have the majority of my savings. I love all my accounts EXCEPT BANKUNITED. All but BANKUNITED allows for adding and withdrawal of funds online ( ACH ). For this reason alone, even though they pay HIGH interest, I am highly considering closing my account with them. You never know when the day might come when you need immediately access to ALL your funds. Other than this, I am totally satifised with ONLINE BANKING. Thanks for ALL for sharing their comments. Have a great day
I disagree that HSBC’s website is “a busy mess.” I have two savings accounts with HSBC and I’ve had nothing but great experiences with them – I’ve never had any trouble using their website either. Everything is straight-forward and easy to use. Also, this article doesn’t mention that HSBC has a no-fee ATM card as well. A local convenience store chain in my area has no-fee ATMs and when I make withdraws from the HSBC account at these machines, I don’t pay any fee, whatsoever.
I’ve used WTDirect ever since I pulled my money from Citi (I was sick of them limiting how much I could transfer out). WTDirect lets you transfer as much as you want, and has 5.26% rate.
I use HSBC and have no complaints and impressed with the high yield. I pulled all my savings from a number of different accounts and placed them all here. It’s an easy web site to move money in and out of other bank accounts and only take 3 business days for each transaction. Accounts are FDIC protected for $100,000 per account. When most savings accounts get less than 1% yield, how can one refuse up 5-6%. You have to be a complete idiot to pass it up.
I forgot to mentions with HSBC. There is no minimum and no term limits. You can move money in and out at any time with no penalties and still collect the high yield. I have held this account for over 1 year now. High marks for HSBC.
Jeff mentioned wanting to put his money into a non-US Dollar account.
Check out Everbank.
I am seriously considering dropping $10G into a Icelanic CD at 12%. Its FDIC insured if you go through Everbank. The only drawback is the currency exchange from US dollarrs to Iceland’s Kronas’. You could lose or make a little on the currency exchange. Also the CD has only a 3 month maturity date, which tells me the return rate can be volitile. You can also give instructions to everbank, to automatically roll it over with returns, or send the returns by check.
Hi Everyone!
Don’t forget that HSBC has a promo going on until April 30 for all new money – it’s at 6%. I just moved more money into the account. Still when the rate goes down to 5.05%, that’s better than most high yield internet banks are offering. I’m loving it!
I was very pleased when I found http://www.iGOBanking.com online from a yahoo search . . they offer 5.30% with No Minimums!
Hope this helps
I think after reading this I’m definitely going to get a capital one account. Looks like a really good deal there.
I was at wells fargo then I moved to ING then to Emigrant Direct. Now moving back to ING electric Orange and countrywide. There is no fidelity in this business. I think I will be using more and more ING direct to get rid of Wells Fargo.
no one has mentioned gmac. They have a competitive rate 5.30 and are great for ach’s in and out.$500 min to avoid monthly fee.
You can write a few checks, about 3-4 on the account per month.
I used to use HSBC for a savings account, but I got sick of their stupid little “keyboard” password: I not only had to enter a login and password, I then had to type a seperate password using mouse clicks on a keyboard. I complained, but they wouldn’t change it, so I transferred my money to Capital One and closed the old account. The interest rate is about the same, right now, I’m getting 4.75%, but that varies month to month. It is still higher than Bank of America where I have both checking and savings. BOA pays me only .20%
I still keep one month’s expenses in the BOA account, simply so I can transfer by computer, telephone or ATM should an emergency arise. The high rate account is use for a larger emergency fund (which, sad to say, did have to get dipped into, but is normally higher) which should contain at least another 2-3 months of expenses.
I do also use this account for another purpose: I have Capital One transfer a fixed amount every two weeks to save for my IRA. I do this because Capital One will transfer it for free and BOA wants a fee to transfer outside their bank. This means my IRA contributions earn a little money until I am ready to transfer a large chunk to my IRA and invest it when market conditions are most favorable to me. And, since I have to pay taxes on that interest anyway, that compound interest helps me make my IRA contribution with less of my takehome pay.
The best one is not always the highest return. In my case, it was one that didn’t make me do stupid mouse clicks, that still pays a high rate, and offers free transfers both in and out.
FNBO Direct now offers 6% until September. Rock on.
Eloan is offering a savings acct at 5.25% interest rate ($5,000) minium and 5.36% on 6 month CD ($10,000 minium).
Whoa! I am heading over to FNBO Direct for that deal!
I have used ING for years with no problems. However, I just freed up enough money from investments to save that I will be putting that in Emigrant Direct. The consensus seems to be that the service is similar and as good or better with around .5% better yield.
People keep mentioning GMAC, but that is not an FDIC insured savings, it’s an MMA with no more insurance than junk bonds. If General Motors goes bankrupt, or otherwise decides not to pay you back, your money is gone. From what I see in the news, I’m not trusting my money to an american auto company.
also RE: Savings in foreign currencies. It sounds attractive, but do your research. My understanding is that there are special tax problems with doing that, including a lot of extra scrutiny from the IRS.
I’ve had ING direct since 2005 and last week I opened the Electric Orange Checking; received the debit card in about 3 days. I think this service will work out for me at 4%. My local bank pays nothing in interest; I like to have my money working for me at all times. I also have HSBC at 5.05% with debit card.
Before you open up a high interest savings account you should first consider how and when the interest is calculated.
Question: Achieva Financial offers 4.10% interest compounded and paid monthly. Steinbach Credit Union offers 4.20% interest paid once annually. Which savings account is the better deal?
Answer: Achieva Financial since every month you will earn interest which then carries forward to the next month. Essentially you are earning interest on top of your interest!!! Monthly pay outs are way better than once annually!!!
Question: Achieva Financial offers 4.10% interest compounded and paid monthly. Steinbach Credit Union offers 4.20% interest paid once annually. Which savings account is the better deal?
Answer: Achieva Financial.
Wrong.
(1 + 0.041/12)^12 = 1.041779
So, 4.10% simple interest compounded monthly gives an APY of 4.18%. Steinbach at 4.20% APY is the better deal.
No need to do the maths though as (in the US and the UK at least, I don’t know about other countries) banks must show an APY, which takes compounding into account.
Essentially you are earning interest on top of your interest!!! Monthly pay outs are way better than once annually!!!
Compounding is good, but for low-ish rates there’s not a great deal of difference between monthly and annual compounding. But to get the true comparison, just compare the quoted APYs.
I use HSBC as they gave 6.00 APY for some time. After that I believe all others are the same. Unfortunately though HSBC does not allow transfer of money from one HSBC account (mine) to another (My friend) unless we both are listed on each other’s account. This mean a flat NO.
I know wellsfargo allows so what’s the problem. Any one has any such experience with HSBC or any other bank?
– Jayant
I have used both INGDirect and HSBC, although HSBC offers a higher rate, the account also comes with too many issues. I prefer IngDirect, we have never had any issues resetting passwords or when calling for help. HSBC customer service line always takes way too long and if you call on a weekend, forget it. IngDirect has been the best option for us.
I finally decided to go with an ING savings account. So far I’ve had it only for a month, but I already love it so much. Don’t know how I was getting by without it. When the first month of interests rolled in, I was blown away. Really. I guess anyone would when they jump from a 0.05% to 3.5%. I love to see my money grow!
Right now, ING Canada has a $13 referral promotion going on. That is, you get a $13 bonus when you refer a friend as does your friend. Awesome deal for both!
If anyone would like a referral (ING Canada), I’d be happy to give you one. This way we both make some money! Please email me at sinpra (at) yahoo (dot) ca
Capital One has seductive introductory rates, but be careful – the checks they offer are also very tempting (and God help you if someone gets their hands on the mounds they will mail to you). Watch out for those transfer rates – as high as 3% per transaction. It is far too tempting for those who have trouble keeping money in their pockets. I used mine early on (student) when they used to offer no-transfer fee and low rates over the life of the debt. It worked well for sums that were on higher interest accounts and because I paid on time (if you don’t your rate goes up exponentially). Despite being an excellent customer with the company for years they did not offer better rates – further they do not report your records accurately for credit rating scores. This can place you in a real bind if you are only relying on them. Further, customer service and Capital One are an oxymoron. I had to play hard ball with them just to get decent service on a number of occasions. I canceled my card today – but it took over an hour to do so. They initially refused my request. I had to go through three reps and two supervisors until they deigned to cancel my card. There was no reasonable explanation for this run around. I can only guess they believe that they can get away with shoddy service and perhaps keep customers by refusing to allow them to cancel. Capital One does not take customer service seriously – only money talks with these folks and I say walk and shop around for others who are care about their customers.
Beware of EXTREMELY slow ACH transfers at HSBC Direct!!! They may have a good rate, but when they keep your money in limbo for about 4 days for each transfer, that does eat into the rate. The money is withdrawn from the source bank 3-4 days before it is deposited at HSBC online savings account. Anyone know of a bank with faster ACH transfer?
Lee Anne, thank you for your post! I have been reading, looking for someone who has had experience banking with Capital One. I am currently looking to start a high-yield savings account, and was seriously considering them. After reading your post, I think that I will be going with ING instead of Capital One.
I’ve just completed a lot of research about where to put my emergency fund and I decided that GMACBank is the clear winner. Their rates over the past year are in stide with HSBC Direct, they offer 3 checks a month for free, and they offer a Debit card (6 monthly transactions for free). Also, it appears that their ACH transfer system is as fast as anyone else (1-2 Days). Yes it is part of GM, but it is FDIC insured and recieves 5 stars at Bankrate.com for finacial strength. Here is a blogpost I found very helpful (check out the rest of the site for other great information) – http://bankdeals.blogspot.com/2006/04/opening-gmac-bank-money-market-savings.html
See my posts on AmTrust, FNBO and Rateedge in the “Banking” section of mymoneyblog.com
I’ve had HSBC since they started offering it. It’s great. It’s convienent. A solid company that I trust with my money!!
I love ING! Rates around 4.5% APY, and has a nice referral program if you have alot of friends, deposit more than $250 and get a free $25
anyone interested in an account, email me at [email protected] for your free $25
I recently signed up with fnbodirect. Their rate is the best at the moment – 6% through Sept 28 – and their sign up process is quick and easy, nothing to mail in. Their website is sleek and simple. The only problem I have with them is that they use the same ACH transfer system as HSBC, which means sloooooooow transfers. They also charge for ATM usage and don’t reimburse other banks’ fees, so if you need money in a hurry, you have to go to the ATM and pay to withdraw your cash, which sucks. ING, Emigrant, Amboy, GMAC and others all have free rapid transfer systems, so you can access your funds fast.
Don’t get me wrong – right now FNBO is the best on the market, but after their promo period, I may switch. I’d rather have a slightly lower rate with fast access than a higher rate with a 3-4 business day wait on ACH. Not only are you losing interest on the funds, but you also have to plan for all emergencies in advance. 🙁
I have a account with ING paying 4.5 and love it started a new no check electric orange checking that pays 4.0 percent on the balance and has free bill pay service. I love this but I also started a account with Emmigrant Bank at 5.05 percent. Now I’m looking at First National Bank of Oaklahoma with online savings no minimum rate of 6.0 % until 9/30/07. Their site is http://www.fnbodirect.com
^Oaklahoma, lol. First National Bank of Omaha has been good so far, it took a few days to get signed up and to get the ACH up and going, but very easy. Hopefully, I won’t need any emergency transfers that take 3-4 days. They do offer an atm card w/ $2.50 fee per withdrawal for those bad emergencies.
While ING pays the lowest rate for the banks listed, I really like that there’s no minimum for opening a CD. Each payday, I open a CD with the money left over after paying my bills. Great and easy way to keep your money at hand.
I also like how ING allows multiple “sub” accounts. I have about 20 “sub” accounts, for insurance, taxes, entertainment, even a Christmas account. I have money automatically transferred from my low interest Citibank checking account into each of these every payday. A GREAT way to spread large payments across the entire year. I’m not sure if other online banks allow this convenience.
I had moved most of my money (except for a few dollars)to HSBC a year a go.
And I’m on the move again to find better interest rate. Don’t get me wrong HSBC was great but their interest isn’t at the top any more.
Is there any good reliable saving bank which give more than 6%?
I still say HSBC bites for their stupid “mouse clicks” for a second password that I can’t enter with a keyboard or from my bank’s portfolio option that tracks all my accounts from one place (HSBC does not work in this).
I also think that .0025 more interest for the harrassment is unacceptable. I am happy with a bank that currently pays 4.75% interest with “no hassles”. Keep it going, Capital One!!!
HSBC, I told you more than once, it is not worth $0.02 to deal with your stupid “mouse click keyboard” for a second password…..give it up!!! It’s why I dropped your lousy firm, and hope others do also!!!!
Hello there!
I heard a lot about this online savings account, in particular the attractive interest rate. But I have a problem here, I am from Singapore. The average interest rate for savings account in my home country is less than 1%! Real pathetic…that did not deter me from building up an emergency fund though. Can someone enlighten me…for I believe that such online saving accounts are not available outside U.S?
I have had HSBC for 2 years and have not problems. The keyboard password is not a problem for and it only takes me 3 seconds to enter it. It is well worth the extra interest it pays out. For those that are lazy then move on to the cheaper rates. One account is easy to manage for me. If I have and need extra accounts to track my money then I would get one. I keep a spreadsheet if I need to itemize everything. I enjoy keeping track on my spreadsheet that can be set up the way I want to see it…not the way the bank sets them up. Lighten up lazy people with the lack of knowledge that don’t know how to use a mouse on HSBC. It’s called computer skills 101.
HSBC is number one in my book.at a very reasonable payout in interest.
Does anyone know anything about HNBO direct. They are offering a 6.00 apy on a savings account.
correction FNBO.
I agree w/ Mike R. I’m an HSBC’er and haven’t had any problems with them. Plus now that they’ve launched a checking acct w/ bill pay, etc. earning 2.5% (i think), I’ll stay w/ them for a while…mouse clicks and all. 🙂
I think that to get the best deal you need to be an “interest rate whore”. That means you periodically check which online savings account give the best deal and move your money there. I usually leave my “old” account open with $1 balance….just in case they decide to start paying the most competitive rate again.
Right now, I have the bulk of my savings in FNBO Direct. They are paying 6% until 9/28. They are slow on transfers though. If their interest no longer becomes competitive, I’ll switch to somewhere else.
I also have accounts with HSBC and Emigrant Direct.
I would say to avoid HSBC if you can help it. They are very slow and bureaucratic about everything they do. Their customer service sucks. They keep you waiting on the line forever and you often get a person from India.
I recently opened up a savings account with ING.The entire sign-up process was very simple. I am very happy and intend to stay with ING as long as possible. though there apy could be more competative, i would recommend ING to anyone.
Is it possible to open such an account based in another country? Just idly wondering if the soaring strength of e.g. the CAD vs. the ever-falling USD would make a Canadian account potentially even more rewarding.
You missed one: UFB Direct
http://www.ufbdirect.com
I’m a graduate student who will be receiving a lump sum in loan money (roughly 12K each semester after tuition) and would like to get a return on it. i’ve been looking into savings accounts because i’ll need to use the money for monthly rent, books, etc. meeting minimum opening balances wouldn’t be a problem, but as i’ll be taking money out on a regular basis, the fees for going below a balance would hit me pretty hard.
i’d also need something with easy transfers between bank.accounts if family wanted to deposit money into one of my accounts (assuming the institution i go with doesn’t have branches in both manhattan and cleveland) with as little monthly and transaction fees as possible.
any suggestions for someone in my spot?
there are several websites, such as bankrate,emoney,moneyrate. i recently signed up with ing, their apy isn’t the best, but the setup,and customer service is so good. i’m happy with ing.
ING is the one I’ll take in your case because they pay you 4.5% on your savings and will give you a electric orange account which is a checking account with a free debit mastercard and on top of that pay you 4.0% on the balance in the electric orange account with minimuns. They have free bill pay with the account sent electronic or a paper check. I’m with ING and I have been satisfied with their service.
I have been using ETrade bank since they bought Telebank in the 90s. I have brokerage accounts there too. All told I have 7 accounts with ETrade and I have had no problems.
QuickTransfer is very easy and convenient if you have money at other institutions like I used to. I like being able to quickly open a new account via an online form (even joint accounts) whenever I want to start a CD, or segment my money.
I love that they pay all your ATM fees so you can go to any bank anywhere.
It is true that by default they do not allow you to withdraw recent transfers from outside banks, but you do earn interest from the moment the money is wired in. If you order the digital security fob this transfer hold is also waived so there is a way around it.
I have had no serious problems with their customer service in the 10 years I’ve been with them.
Do you have direct deposit into your ETrade account, Dave? If so, can you access that money right away or does it take awhile also? I have a brokerage and savings account with them already, like them a lot, and am considering switching my checking over.
has anyone used Millennium Bank. They have MMA >5% as well as CD at 8%
cynthia, check out http://www.mymoneyblog.com, scroll down to millennium bank.
I have E-Trade bank accounts. Direct deposits (ACH pushes) are available the same day. I don’t know what some of these people are talking about with long holds at E-Trade. If you have them do an ACH pull, the funds earn interest immediately, but are subject to a three-day hold.
Account opening deposits are subject to a long hold (12 business days maybe?) but that is the only exception.
I didn’t know that they’d remove the 3-day holds if I got a SecurID; I may have to do that.
Frank, thanks for the information. I checked out the web site–my gut instinct was right.
I’ve used ING for a few years and one thing that I really like is the ability to create subaccounts. For example, I can create a separate account for my car fund, without having to go through the whole account setup process again.
The biggest negative at ING for me is that it won’t let me add a link to a Fidelity brokerage account. When I first signed up for ING, it did and that link is still active, but I wanted to link to another account and they rejected it, saying they don’t allow that anymore and that if they knew about the earlier link, they would de-link it.
A suggestion that I received on my blog, which I think came from http://www.mymoneyblog.com, was to just use Fidelity’s money market funds, which currently get about 5.18%. There’s a handful of money market funds, which offer very similar rates, so I can use one fund for the car, and another for other purposes, for example.
HSBC sucks. I was tempted by the 5.05%, and transferred about $25,000 there in March 2007. I just closed my HSBC account.
I’ve had ING since 2003, and they’re WAY better; just transferred $31,000 back to ING. The extra 0.55% HSBC pays is NOT worth it. Even though I’ll earn $20 less a month with ING, that $20 a month is worth it NOT to deal with HSBC.
HSBC took FOREVER to open an account, harassed me for bank statements and ID, as opposed to ING’s simple account opening process.
HSBC’s ACH transfers take way too long.. I’ve initiated ACH transfers with ING and have seen them credited at the other bank the next morning. HSBC, takes like 4 days. You know they pocket the interest on that longer timeframe.
HSBC’s customer service in India and Phillipines is HORRIBLE. ING has customer service in the USA/Los Angeles and almost no hold time ever.
Also, HSBC lied to me multiple times, not letting me add ING Direct as an account with which to perform Bank to Bank transfers with. They told me “ING doesn’t allow it”. I had to prove them wrong. I faxed a bank statement showing my credit union successfully debited my ING account via ACH. What do you know.. a month or two later.. ING was allowed. Idiots.
HSBC doesn’t even have something as simple as a daily recurring balance on their website.
I repeatedly had to call AGAIN about issues. Poor customer service would drop the ball.
I closed my HSBC account mid-statement, and they KEPT the interest accrued. Crooks. Good Riddance, HSBC. I hope other people close their accounts, or don’t open one, too.
I tried HSBC, Capital One, and Fidelity in search of slightly higher yields than ING, and all I got was a big headache ( especially from HSBC! Horrible customer service based in India, undisclosed fees, outright false information, poor website and interface, etc etc ). It’s worth losing .5% interest with ING just for the peace of mind that comes with ease of operation and prompt and courteous American customer service.
offering ultimate checking account @ 6.01 apy. no min. no fees. free atm access.
It is indeed fruitful to store your spending cash in one of these accounts. A lot of people are missing the boat when it comes to earning interest. Thank you for sharing this info!
For more tips of saving and putting your money to work check out…
http://stretchthatdollar.blogspot.com
It is indeed fruitful to place your spending cash in one of these accounts. A lot of people with “plain old” checking accounts are missing the boat when it comes to interest. Thank you for posting this info!
For more tips on saving, planning, and improving life check out…
http://stretchthatdollar.blogspot.com
I’m still happy with my Capital One savings account. Maybe not the highest paying firm, but nice to see my savings, car loan and credit card all on one screen. I prefer convenience over stupid mouse clicks or “site keys” that others make me go through. One bank has a “site key” that I picked and allows me to add a caption that I included what my city will never be….then, they add a security question, “What city do you currently live in?”….DUH!!!!! I guess these extra BS prompts really help, huh?
PS. If you are worried about a few fractions of a point of interest, remember one VERY important thing: You don’t MAKE money on savings interest, you protect your short term funds against inflation. That’s all, nothing more….4-5% does the job…. The 0.5% Bank of America offers is an insult! If you open a savings account with tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars to “make” money, then you are stupid. Intelligent investments have the potential to “make money”, not passbook savings accounts.
@ Drew
Check out AmTrust Direct. They’re your standard online savings account (technically money market) but if you need it, they offer a “companion account” basically an online checking account through them with no minimum fee, and no maximum transactions since it’s “internal” you need to call to find out about this since they haven’t posted it online, but their customer service is great as i’ve noticed so far.
Also, there is a 1$ minimum (not $1000) opening fee contrary to what the article says.
What kind of ATM card does Capital One issue? Is it on the Visa or Mastercard network?
Also, is there any refunding of other banks’ ATM fees?
Thanks,
Robert
To Chris Hollander:
Yes, you can get the yodlee aggregation service at HSBC. You can go to HSBCDirect.com and open a 5.05% (no minimum, no fees, no gimmicks) online savings account. When you use their personal internet banking, they have a service called “easy view,” where you can aggregate all your information on one page. It’s really cool, and free!
Edgar (Post 110),
You inquired about IGoBanking.com. I just opened a savings account with them. I’ll let you know how it goes.
I’ve been with EmigrantDirect for 10 months. There have been no glitches.
I’ve tried hsbc,ing,emigrant. I would recommend Emigrant and ING to anyone, but I did not like HSBC at all. The HSBC site is horrible and seems to have its fair share of bugs.
Along with a couple other people, I think Amtrust is being overlooked for no good reason. I’ve had my money with them for almost a year, and I haven’t had any problems. They offer the highest rate under for under $10,000 (not introductory). The money takes 2-4 days to transfer, but on inward transfers your interest starts accumulating sooner than that.
I’ve read some comments about poor customer service @ HSBC Direct. Well, I have an account at EmigrantDirect, HSBC and ING and while I’ve never used any of the customer service on any of them, I did find that HSBC goes a bit overboard in terms of security. For me, however, I find the nuisance to be tolerable considering they’re usually at or near the top when it comes to rate of return (without a min req). If you’re just looking for a place to put your money in, and keeping it there for the long haul, then HSBC is a solid choice.
Does anybody have the referral for the $25 bonus through ING. I’m thinking about going with them.
I pretty much have an account or had an account with all the big guys plus some smaller ones (…AmboyDirect, AmTrust, Apple Bank, Citibank, Emigrant, E*Trade, HSBC, ING, OneUnited, UFB Direct, VirtualBank).
OneUnited compounds interest quarterly…so, although they have a competetive rate (5.30% apy on bal of $1000+), its an obvious no. amboy, amtrust, e*trade and virtualbank have all worked well for me with the little tranfers i do with them.
i personally like HSBC the best. signing on is obnoxious due to all the security…but i also appreciate it. the best part i like about HSBC (sorry if this point has already been commented on) is the ‘bank to bank transfers’ screen which allows you to basically use HSBC as a hub for all your banking accounts…HSBC or not. i currently have 13 external bank accts registered with HSBCs bank to bank service. it makes it really nice if you want to transfer money from one external acct to the another and the two really have nothing to do with HSBC…yet HSBC allows you to do it for no charge. its awesome.
I started my online ventures with ING. although they were the leader in online banking in the early years, they have since ceased to be competitive. i think the only reason they keep customers is bc a lot of people are just scared of change and scared to move their money. i mean really, why would anybody stay there if they can get 1% higher at HSBC? it just doesnt make sense. ive had good experiences with both companies’ cust service…so, that shouldnt be an issue either.
the last thing ill comment on is why there isnt more chatter about http://www.ufbdirect.com (http://www.ufbdirect.com/ufbdirect/rates.asp under ‘absolute savings’). ive had nothing go wrong with my account with them PLUS the rate is 5.19% (5.31% APY) on ALL balances…no min, $1 to open. if youre looking at something for an emergency savings only, this would be a great option. im also a big fan of emigrant and HSBC for this as well.
Hi Marinski, you can email me at [email protected] to get the referral for ING. Look forward to hearing from you! 🙂
Hayley
ING is dropping it’s rate to 4.3% as of tomorrow. The sign-up bonus was nice to start with and the 4.5 rate was reasonable but now with the drop I’ve looked elsewhere.
I’ve seen a couple remarks about igobanking and I opened an account with them a few weeks ago. The setup was about a week and a half for me. Some of the hoops to jump through suck, ie no “premium” next day transfer available for a certain time period so I have to wait 3 days for funds to be available when transferring in. However with a 5.3% rate, I really can’t complain too much.
This is a fantastic discussion!
I use three of them. ING, Emigrant, and HSBC. Each one is used for different savings goals.
Of the three, I think I like ING the best for its ease of use. HSBC’s interface isn’t all that user friendly to me. (ie Why do they have two “Transfer” links? Bank to Bank and Transfers? I always have to stop and think before I click to make sure I’m clicking the correct one.)
Also, another complaint about HSBC is the amount of time it takes to transfer both in and out.
I’m still happy with the account, however it’s not my favorite of the three.
Emigrant was my first high yield online account and I’ve almost closed it a few times. The only reason I’m still a customer is because I’m a penny pincher. I withdrew all of the money from it thinking that they would close it after a few months for inactivity. But then a couple months later I went back and checked it just for kicks and saw that I had a few cents in there.. presumably from interest pro-rated or something.
Anyhow, I’ve decided to keep it.
I love ING’s referral incentive.. So far I’ve used 5 of my alloted referrals and have gotten the bonuses. Hey, Free money! I wish the other two offered this as well.
The absolute greatest thing about ING is that their withdrawal process counts as a direct deposit with Bank of America.
This is important to me because I have the “Free checking with direct deposit” account with BofA. It was great when I had a JOB, however I’ve since gone self employed in a primarily cash oriented business and therefore do not have the luxury of direct deposit.
Without direct deposit I get dinged $5 every month from BofA…. Until…. I discovered that a single transfer of $1 from ING each month counts as a Direct Deposit and waives the fee.
So as long as I remember each month to do this it’s all good.
Finally, I’d like to tell you about Paypal. I keep a significant sum of money in Paypal and I have their Mastercard Debit card. Paypal will give you 1% cash back on any purchase you make using the debit card as credit as opposed to debit.
Hey, if you’re going to be spending money anyways, might as well get a small kickback, right?
Just be careful though.. There is a fee if you use it as a debit card (none if you use it as a credit card)
Anyways, I’ve talked your ear off. Hope someone’s able to use this info to their advantage.
Oh yeah. One more thing. Bank of America’s Keep the Change option is awesome!!!!! I love it. The match! I’ve been on the program almost two years and my first match last November was $75! Free money!
I’m coming up on my two year and I expect my match this year to be about the same.
And while BofA doesn’t pay a high yield, I can transfer my keep the change money to ING or Emigrant each month and badabing!
I have been with AMTrust and love it. 5.36% how can you not love it. No fees and very user friendly.
I use ING and have always been happy with them. I can actually get someone on the phone when I need to and they are in the US.
Try this:
1. Open a high yield savings account that lets you do direct deposit and bill pay. 4-5%.
2. Get a cash back rewards credit card with no annual fee. 1-2%
3. Direct deposit your paycheck into the high yield account.
4. Buy everything with the cash back rewards credit card, groceries, DVD’s, rent, bill pay, everything. Basically spend $0.00 cash.
5. Pay off your credit card bill IN FULL at the end of the month to avoid finance charges.
6. Watch as you earn money on the purchases you made with your cash back credit card, and the money you didn’t spend for 30 days that was sitting in your high yield savings account.
This method relies on you to completely pay off your credit card bill on time and in full every month, so for those forgetful types this probably isn’t the best idea for you.
However, those of you bouncing back and forth between high rate savings accounts, just think: You get 5% on your savings account money, plus 1-2% on your cash back credit card. In theory up to 7% a month.
Miserly I know, but who cares.
I just logged into my ING account. It didn’t take them very long to drop their interest rate to 4.9%
I’ve got a boatload of money in ING that I use for a CD ladder. That is the pits!
I’m sure that the recent cut is going to cause a bunch of new posts (well – I hope so)
I don’t know how many people still visit this post — I know that there are new comments all the time — but those of you who do, would you like to see an updated post on current yields, etc? Or would your rather just keep all the discussion here?
I do not know anything about this one, but has anyone heard of Frist Bank online? http://www.firstbankonline.com
It says 6.17% APY
Hey, just to throw my two-cents in…
Anyone see the Money Market account from FlagStar bank? It’s over 5%, no minimum, no fees, and has check-writing. Technically it’s not a savings account, but I’d take a rate over 5%!
JD, saw your note
I keep coming back to this, in fact I’m about to pick one of the sites today and get an account open, but I’d be curious for an update..
Thanks!
JD, yes, I would definitely like to see an updated post for this!
I have had ING for about 2.5 months and they just dropped my savings from 4.5% to 4.3% and the checking from 4% to 3.5%. I wrote an email asking what was up. We’ll see what they say, I’ll post it if it is interesting. The other banks don’t seem to have dropped their rates.
Well, I got an instant response, I guess I wasn’t the first to ask. 🙂
From ING:
Currently, interest rates are dropping across the country. Like the rest of the industry, we are responding to market conditions. We have a strong value proposition at ING DIRECT, which means we will always have a rate among the highest in the nation.
We did not lower our rates in connection with the Federal Reserve. Our rates are based upon market conditions which have been influencing bank lending rates for the last several months. The Federal Reserve made a major reduction in interest rates, while we made a minor change.
End Quote
I must say, I love the interface on their website.
I received a email from FNBO today informing me about their new rate to start on 9/29/07 will be 5.05%. Just opened a account with KeyDirect.com at 5.35% and one at Flagstar.com at 5.30%. I will be transfering my dollars next week.
JD, I would love to see an updated post… rates have changed so much, not to mention it seems like there are a few new players. I’ve been reading the posts on iGObanking.com at the fatwallet forum (http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/messageview.php?catid=52&threadid=689719&start=0) and people are either happy with them or really unhappy.
I currently have $30k with ING and I’m wondering at what point should I switch to something like HSBC, Emigrant, or even iGO… switching to iGO’s rate would give me an additional $6k in interest alone. But, I like ING and find it convenient enough for my needs. Eventually I’d like to get into CD laddering, either with ING or through Fidelity, which is where my IRA is. I’m just concerned about having my money in too many different accounts – it’s hard to keep track!
Oh, never mind on the $6k interest… I’m doing my math way wrong. But still, at what point does it make sense to move to a new interest rate? Does a couple hundred dollars over the course of the year become worth it?
@aaron: HSBC just dropped 55 basis from 5.05 APY to 4.50 APY. I was thinking of switching to one of the others, but I’ll wait a month or so and see if all the high yield accounts start dropping.
Okay, folks — here’s the plan. Since interest rates are in the process of settling, I’ll wait a few months. But then I’ll post a new list of current rates. Actually, if I can find the time, I’ll create a WordPress “page” that contains up-to-date interest rates…
HSBC just sent me a note their 5.05% is now dropped to 4.5%…presumably as of today….
“Does a couple hundred dollars over the course of the year become worth it?” Looks to me like it is worth a couple hundred dollars…or am I missing something??
I stumbled across this site after researching high interest rates upon reciveng the same E-mail as Brad stating the drop in my HSBC savings… Yes I do find it worth it to switch banks to “chase” an interest rate as long as the bank is reputable & FDIC insured!
I found this site for the same reason as the two commenters above me…the drop with HSBC. I joined when they had the 6% promo in March. Too bad about the drop with HSBC, but it does seem to be a trend if ING just dropped and now HSBC. I’ll check back here, but a new post would be cool, too, given the changes in the market since March.
country wide…still at 5.5 with a 10k min…
where is it 5.5%with 10K min?
HSBC isnt the only one dropping there rates. Its nation wide…no bank is suppose to offer no more than a cetain percentage. If you relly pay attention no bank is offering over a certain amount. Some banks are going to offer it to get rate shoppers like most of you and then drop them again when they realize they cant handle it. And plus you shouldnt be dumping over 100K into an institution even of they are FDIC insured.
Today I see Emigrant is dropping to 4.75% APY. Banking101 doesn’t seem to know that banks do vary their interest depending on their need/lack of need for funds. Often specials will occur for needed cash influxes, which is why the banks normally restrict the specials to “new money.” I got a 6.0% 5 yr CD from my credit union when they had a 10 day special about a year ago. Gotta keep your eye on them.
I signed up for IGO Banking and ZION Bank today. Zion is 5.57% over $50k, and 5.30 between $1k ans 50k. But I could only get to that screen via Bankrate.com, as when I went directly to Zion Bank, the “internet rate” was below 5%.
I’ve sent an email requesting clarification, as Zion’s process requires you to print deposit slips and signature cards to mail in with your check. If they are dropping below 5% and that’s all they’ll pay me in a week when they get my check, I’ll pass.
I just opened an online checking account with Salem Five Direct. It’s the eOne account and has a 4.8% APY for up to $5K, 4.9% up to $10K–the highest rate right now on bankrate.com. I really like the idea of making interest on my checking account. This bank has no fees as far as I can see, a $100 minimum to open, and reiumburses for ATM fees up to $15/month. The only snag I don’t really understand is that you have to mail in your initial deposit if you don’t already have a Salem Five brick and mortar account, which seems bizarre to me. Anyway, great account, hope all goes well with their customer service.
What is the risk of putting over 100K in an online account? If the bank is in trouble you are sure to hear about it. Cant you just then transfer the money into another bank account that you also opened?
Any advice on this?
Well, Mark…read the stuff about Netbank that just failed Friday without any real notice… Read also the CNN link about the NY software company that has $1,000,000 there, and their $900,000 ininsured exposure.
No reason to push it, keep under $100k in any bank, altho there are ways of titling the accounts to get more insured. It is simpler just to use more banks if you have enough money to reach the $100k insured limit.
Zion still hasn’t answered me on what their rate really is (see earlier post)… UFB Direct told me they’d hold my app waiting for a call from me. When I didn’t call in a day, they called me and approved the account on the phone. Still waiting for a response from IGOBanking, as they wanted a DL copy.
HSBC, ING and Emigrant were a lot easier to set up…but they are all a lot less interest at this time….
An updated list of rates would be good. I know that AmTrust is over 5.00% and Emigrant dropped to 4.75%. I do want to check into Keydirect.com and Flagstar.com to make sure they are FDIC insured. If anyone can think of others please keep us all up to date.
Don’t use Countrywide! They put a hold of over a month on my money and when I tried to transfer some back to my checking account to pay my bills they stopped the transfer and didn’t tell me why! These people are crooks!
I think Countrywide is struggling to stay afloat. They are offering excessively high mortgage rates now, they keep bombarding me with “We want you back” emails from a former loan, and they have laid off something like 3,000 folks recently if I remember the article correctly.
IGObanking (5.17% APY) finally finished its process and let me fund with an easy small ACH transfer. Seems to be ok.
UFB (5.31% APY) also finished and I printed off their UPS sheet…free-to-me envelope and free handling of my deposit (UPS bill to the bank was $7.75 I think, to handle my $50 check for initial deposit). Hate having to mail it in…
Zions Bank still hasn’t responded to a several-day-old email requesting clarification of their rate… It shows as 4.91% APY when you go directly to their website (“Ultimate” account) and there is nothing higher shown…but if you click on the link from Bankrate, then they offer 5.30% APY (“Deseret” account) for $1000-$50000 and all the way up to an astounding 5.56% APY for $50k and over…
Anyone having luck with them?
Has anyone tried Amegy Bank of Texas? They currently have a 5.2% APY for accounts $1,000 – $99,999 and 5.3% APY for accounts $100,000 and above.
There is a $1,000 minimum to open and a monthly service fee of $12 will be charged if your balance drops below $1,000.
I just got off the phone with ING….asked them about setting up a joint savings acct. with my daughter (under 18), and benefits of me being primary, or her….the lady said something about setting up my daughter as the primary would be better tax wise…what does that mean? She also mentioned something about me paying taxes on my total balance…anyone have any idea what she was talking about???
Thanks Brad for the response.
I thought about opening an account with Amtrust but now I am not so sure. Their rate dropped from 5.37 to 5.21 a week or so ago. Which makes sense as they are all dropping. Today I went on their website and it is now 5.16. Why didnt it just drop to 5.16 the first time? It seems very deceptive. Whats the point of signing up if they keep abruptly dropping like this?
Hey also…has anyone tried Grand Yield Direct (the online version of Apple Bank)? They have a 5.15% APY and it requires $2,500 to open. They look pretty good, but I can’t seem to locate their “terms and conditions” document on their website and that kind of bothers me. Has anyone tried them or has anyone found their terms and conditions?
I found their terms and conditions.
Each ACH withdrawal costs $3, unless you want it done in 1 day, then $10…and the other fees are very high (stop payment is $33).
I tend to trust Bankrate.com…if they don’t list a bank (like this one isn’t listed), I generally pass…..
https://www.theapplebank.com/bridge/disclosures/ib/disclose.html
Some notes on the various banks I have tried:
ING Direct: I was happy with them until I went to try and import the account into moneycenter.yodlee.com. They do not provide OFX account access, so you cannot have a 3rd party automatically download your account information.
HSBC Direct: I wouldn’t go with them at all, It took forever to open the account, and if you want more than one savings account (I have 4) you have to open each separately (which takes forever).
Currently I am trying Emigrant Direct.
Thanks for the link, Brad, but I did in fact find Grand Yield Direct on Bankrate.com. I looked up high yield MMA and Savings accounts at Bankrate and Grand Yield Direct is near the top of the list. Bankrate ranks Grand Yield/Apple Bank’s financial condition as 4 stars.
Guess I’m old and blind, Michael… I see it there now…sorry.
Zions.bank did get finally back to me today, and they gave me a link to their Deseret account. It is indeed 5.56% for over $50k, and 5.30% (APYs) for $1000-$49.999.99. You can’t find it on their website directly, but the link is:
http://www.deseret.zionsbank.com
brad/michael…i have to say that i just read the terms and conditions for applebank, but i personally have had an acct with them for a few years now and have NEVER received a charge (the $3) for ACH transfers. i even looked at my previous transfer history just to make sure i wasnt going bonkers…and im not.
i dont use this acct all that often, but ive done THREE (3) external ACH transfers in the last year from my applebank.com acct to my personal bank acct in my local area (that would be considered ‘external’). under the “charge” heading for all 3, it says “FREE”.
so, im a bit puzzled, i guess as to why they would even put that on there if its not true…especially if its a positive selling point since nobody else i use has any transfer fees.
hope this helps.
AppleBank *might* be meaning that it would charge $3 if you performed the ACH to your external bank *FROM* your external bank…instead of their desire that you do it *FROM WITHIN* the Applebank transfer system *TO* your external bank?
You’re right…very puzzling, the way they have it stated. Unclear writing abounds these days…
i would agree with that IF it were possible. when i try to transfer FROM my local brick and mortar (from the drop-down menu) TO anything through the website…it ONLY allows me to trans to the applebank acct, NOT any of my other external accounts…which is the same thing with my HSBC acct.
so again i ask, why even put that in there? makes one ponder.
Brad,
I am not an expert on how these interests rates work but I opened an account with Amtrust just after the interest rate dropped from 5.36 to 5.21 about 2 weeks ago. I checked the site a few days ago and it was 5.16. Today, I go on the site and it is 5.06!!. I really am considering closing the account as I feel they are dealing in deceptive practices. Like I said though I am not an expert but I dont see the other banks dropping in increments like this (HSBC went from 5.05 to 4.5 in one instance). Im afraid by Monday it will be below 5%. What do you think about all this? Thanks
Well, I think it does sound a little too reactive for them to put out multiple changes like that. The others I am with (HSBC, ING, Emigrant) were all pretty stable and each just took a 1-step drop this time. I’m in the process of trying out Zions, UFB and IGO right now. I already think UFB might not have been the greatest move, as you can’t fund it via ACH, and I did see there is a $30 “Early Closing Fee” if one closes within 180 days. BUT, it is the highest rate for me for a $1 minimum at 5.19–5.31%APY.
If you do leave AmTrust, it looks like there is a $25 “Early Account Closing Fee”…with no explanation of what “early” is. I “left” ING when it dropped so far below HSBC and Emigrant, but that still meant I kept a small amount in there. Too much work to get these open, I’ll just keep them all but put my money where it earns the most…which, as we’ve all seen, varies depending on the bank and its need.
Hope this helps…
I have been with Emigrant (Both Suze Orman and Clark Howard (radio talk show host)) had recommended them. In addition to the great interest rates and customer service with links to checking accounts they have a fabulous credit card program as well. If you keep 10,000 in your savings account, they will pay you 1.4% back each year. This is better than “bonus points” which are usually 1% back per year in gift cards. This is cold hard cash to your savings account.
Money magazine for October had these rates for Savings:
UFB Direct 5.31 (min. $1)
GMAC Bank 5.30 (min. $500)
IGObanking.com 5.30 (min. $1)
Security Savings Bank 5.25 (min. $100)
Transportation Alliance Bank 5.25 (min. $25)
Newbie to this site. Has anyone checked out the Bank of Toledo? They are offering 6.01% with no min balance. They require 10 transaction min and one ACH per period. Doesn’t sound too bad. What’s your take?
GMAC down to 4.9%
IGO.com down to 5.17%
They are dropping fast. I have a question. If you open one of these accounts and link the account externally to your normal bank to withdraw funds into the new account do you also have to set up the external accounts at your original bank? My new online account already withdrew $ from my original bank when I opened the account. I now added my original bank as an external account and I am waiting for it to be verified. Once it is verified, am I now done?
Thanks in advance.
Watch out for capitalone. I signed up for their savings account for my emergency fund, only to have my account access restricted. The reason for the restriction was that I had moved residences a several months prior to setting up the accounts. Apparently this looked like fraud to CapitalOne. I suppose this would not be a problem, except CapitalOne never sent me checks or an ATM card for the savings accounts. The net result: I can’t access my emergency fund. CapitalOne will be mailing me checks, but those checks will not arrive for several weeks, I will not be earning interest on these funds during this period, and it took me more than four hours to try to figure out what was going on (I had to wait on hold). I would warn anyone to seriously reconsider putting aside money in a CapitalOne savings account for an emergency fund, as they might find that when an emergency arises they cannot acces their own money!
5.31% Money Market @ UFBDirect.com ($1 min.)
4.00% Interest Checking @ Presidential.com
I have accounts at both and have no complaints. UFBDirect has the best rate of return with the least about of restrictions. Presidential offers the best “Checking Plus” I’ve ever seen. But they do have 2 req. to obtain that rate of return. They are pretty simple – 1) Balance can’t go below $1,000. 2) Have one payroll direct deposit a month. They do have another req. – $1,500 to open an account (one time only).
Forgive me because I am a former finance major and have not looked into high yield accounts until now! : )
I have about $15,000 sitting in my checking account at any given and I pay my monthly bills from this account. Which of these online accounts (ING, HSBC, etc.) if any, can I use to do the same thing? Can I be earning money on my “bill money” without incurring too many fees? Can I link it to my Bank of America checking account and transfer enough from the high yield account to checking periodically?
Paypal pays 5.05% right now for money left in there, it has for awhile. that is hard to beat right now, adn they obviuosly have no minimum
But I was told that PayPal is not FDIC insured. That means your money can go with its bankrupcy. Is that true?
you may want to buy gold,just to be safe
You all have been so inspiring. I am closing and opening accounts right now with better rates. I’m just wondering if it would be safe for me to open an out-of-state account. What the heck, I’ll start with the minimum and see after a couple of months. It’s worth that great rate.
Eric, I’m opened my accounts with Amtrustdirect.com and I love what they have to offer. Their e-money market apy is 5.06 and just opened the new e-savings at 5.36 apy and a free checking account with a visa debit card.
Im headed home from Iraq and wanted to put some money away for a year or so. Someone recommended iGObanking.com for short term savings. I’m curious if anyone has an opinion on their savings account?
I’ve used EmigrantDirect for a couple of years now. Never had any problems. Transfers back and forth have always gone smoothly, no problems.
ChrisCD
ING just dropped their rate from 4.30 to 4.20. :/
@The Dog Clothing Company (#297):
Yes, that is effectively true. You’re covered if you hold a regular PayPal account AND the bank in which PayPal keeps your money goes under. However, you’re not covered if you have a PayPal Money Market account or if PayPal itself goes insolvent:
http://tinyurl.com/2qz3l3
ETRADE Complete Savings Account –My Experience and Review
I attempted to open an ETRADE/Complete Savings account at the end of September. I applied online and mailed in a very low deposit (there was at $1 min to open, I did it with $5 just to be safe since I’m new at this.)
After two weeks or so I got a call saying they need to verify my address, so I sent them that information. Then I called to see if they received it and was told they closed the account and I would need to start over. I started the process again with the same deposit amount.
My complete savings account with ETRADE was opened on Oct. 22, and I got a welcome letter with account details including my $5 balance from the deposit.
Today Nov 3, when I accessed my account online I see that it has $0 balance and no history of deposits ever. So I call the bank and speak to a customer service representive.
She says she sees no history of deposits and tells me they would have to investigate the matter. She tells me to call back in 2 business days. I was just about to close my main saving account and transfer all my funds over to the new account, but at this point I’m afraid. So I ask the customer service rep. how often are deposits misplaced. She tells me she can’t answer that. There was basically no real assurances given to alleviate my fears. I read this nonresponse as, “I work here and I can’t begin tell you how bad this bank is.”
I just wanted to share my experience with ETRADE. Follow your instincts. My instincts are saying stay away!
p.s. I opened a IMG account and it was opened very quickly even though I did it by mail. I also opened an Emigrant savings account.
Status report on a few of the Internet banks:
I’ve successfully opened up iGO, Zions and UFB Direct accounts this past month and so far so good. They pay substantially more than my old accounts and seem to be working just fine.
Each has different rules about whether they will allow ACH transfers from within the account OR from another account. This makes 6 different internet accounts I’ve had and every one of them is just slightly different. The only trouble I’ve had so far is that iGO, which will perform ACHs from within your account, doesn’t seem to have the correct ABA number listed for UFB Direct. Other than that, all has gone well.
UFB Direct doesn’t directly say you can use ACH from another bank, but when I asked them they said yes…and I successfully made a deposit (from the sending bank…no ACH from within UFB).
Zions doesn’t allow ACH from within, but accepts them from outside and the “Deseret Account” is actually a checking account, currently paying up to 5.40% APY for larger deposits, 5.19% for a $1000 minimum.
Appears my ING rate got dropped again to 4.2% and my igobanking account was dropped to 5% even. Still beats the crap out of my credit unions .45%!
I am going to open up an ING savings accounts. Seems everyone overall likes them the best.
I have a question.
Now with the Electric Orange available, is it good to test it out and possibly get rid of my Wells Fargo account? Or should I keep it? I guess I’m just wondering if ING is good to do everything with, Thanks
I’ve had my ING Orange Savings account for two years now and couldn’t be more pleased. The customer service is second to none, the website is well laid out and easy to use and best of all I haven’t incurred a single fee while I’ve banked with ING. Along side an Orange Savings account I also recommend getting Electric Orange. A feature I particularly like about Electric Orange is free online bill pay. When its time to pay my monthly bills I can transfer funds instantly from Orange to Electric Orange and pay everything from credit cards to utilities.
The interest on Electric Orange varies from 3.25%-4.90% APY depending on balance while Orange does not employ a tiered interest rate and is currently at 4.20% APY.
For those of you looking to get that $25 referral, shoot me an email at [email protected] and I’ll be happy to send you one.
Here are some links to the ING Direct Orange Savings Account $25 promotion.
If you open this account with an initial deposit of at least $250, you will receive a $25 bonus to get you started. To qualify for this bonus, you must use the link provided below.
Each link can only be used once so make sure there isn’t a paragraph of red text stating the promo is no longer valid or has expired.
Enjoy!
ING Direct $25 Bonus
ING Direct $25 Bonus
ING Direct $25 Bonus
ING Direct $25 Bonus
ING Direct $25 Bonus
I’ve arrived at the conclusion that Zions is the best place to do everything. First open a Deseret Checking account with a $1000 minimum and earn 5.19% APY (the low tier) and then open a connected free regular checking account. Free bill pay and unlimited checks from the regular checking account…so just transfer money immediately online from the Deseret account as you need to write checks. Only limit issue is 3 moves monthly from Deseret to the regular checking account. Then unlimited free billpay and checks from there. Minimal interest in that checking account, but maximum in the Deseret account.
The one thing I don’t like about ING is how long it takes for a transfer to be available in my account. But I found a work around for that, inititate the transfer from the outside account! I explain on my website at
http://allenjoiner.googlepages.com/ingtransferhack
Hi all… I am looking to open a new ING Orange Savings Account. Does anyone have any $25 referral bonuses left that I might link to? Thanks!
Maria, I don’t have a link per se, but you are welcome to email me with your contact info (I just need your email address) so I can send you a referral. Just put something in the subject line about ING Direct referral and Get Rich Slowly so I don’t forget I offered. 🙂
Not sure why anyone would select ING right now. It is by far the lowest of the six that I watch. Today’s rates are:
UFB Direct: 5.31%
Zions: 5.08-5.23%
iGo Banking: 5.00%
Emigrant: 4.75%
HSBC: 4.50%
ING: 4.20%
Thank you Steve, I used one of your codes.
All all… I recently signed up for an ING Orange Savings account and now have the $25 referral bonuses available if anyone would like to sign up as well. You get $25 deposited directly into your account if you open an account with $250 or more. Please just shoot me an email at [email protected] if you would like the referral link. I am on my email all day long. Thanks!
Hi all,
I was just wondering why no one has mentioned Washington Mutual (WaMu)Their online savings account is 4.6 or 4.7% with no minimum balance. I already bank there, but i’ve been lookin on many sites, and no one really mentions this bank. Just wondering if someone knows something I don’t or if there is something negative I should be aware of.
In response to the poster above about why anyone would choose ING: ease of use (including signing up, access, transferring funds, etc); GREAT customer service; top notch security; and finally, having a reliable place to keep your savings if you’re not into rate chasing.
After all, unless you have $50,000 or so to put away, a percentage point here and there is not that significant. I’m very satisfied with ING.
What about FNBODirect.com. I think their rate is currently 5.05%
“3 Reasons Not to Use Online Bank Accounts”
(http://banking.about.com/od/savings/a/3onlinebankacct.htm)
Online banks are not all that well reviewed here.
Is the reviewer correct? What you folks think?
Is he right? If not, what is he missing?
Just signed up for Emigrant Direct today. So there is a light at the end of the tunnel after paying student loans for 9 years and a few more to go. 🙂
Thanks for all the postings here. They have been very informative.
@324 Craig,
That review is in my opinion poorly thought out and not in the least bit convincing. About the only serious legitimate point he makes is the second one – the time it takes for deposits to clear (I have no experience with writing checks against an online-only bank account so I can’t comment on that).
His first point (poor customer service) is too general and vague to even be considered a genuine concern. You “may” run into bad service? You can run into bad service just about anywhere, including at your local, family owned business. Just as a data point, I once had an issue with my EmigrantDirect account (I got locked out of it). I called customer service and the issue was resolved immediately. The representive was helpful and polite. Maybe next time I have to call I won’t be so lucky but so what? That’s the crap shoot we take when we call *anyone’s* customer service.
As to the third point, I guess that’s technically true but I think most people here would see that as an advantage rather than drawback. Online accounts are good, safe places for parking a wad of cash that you won’t be needing for day-to-day living. If you’re just starting out, trying to get out of debt or trying to build discipline and reign in your spending having an account that doesn’t lend itself to impulse purchases is a very useful thing.
Every point he makes argues for keeping a separate, more liquid checking account and maybe other redundant savings accounts with other banks. But nothing he says is a very persuasive argument for avoiding online bank accounts alltogether.
i think i have a headache, i read all 325 articles and i forgot, which one is the best? i want to open a savings with high yield, be able to move $ without penalties for an emergency,do not want to touch it for 5 yrs, but have the ability to do so without penalties if need to. currently have bank of america for checking, savings (keep the change) program, love this. looking into also considering puting $ into 403(b),but if i do that i will get penalized right?
For those of us with a social conscience, ShoreBank (sbk.com) offers an online HYSA currently paying 5.00% interest. ShoreBank is a community-development, environmental bank. The is a $1.00 minimum deposit required and you can link to your other bank accounts. Transfers take about 3 business days. You can also schedule recurring deposits from your other bank account(s). This is not a CD so there are no penalties for “early” withdrawal. Like other HYSAs the rate is variable. I had an ING Orange savings account previously, but switched to ShoreBank after seeing a report on The News Hour with Jim Lehrer. I’m getting a higher interest and I’m supporting the bank’s mission. I will say that ING’s setup process was more streamlined and their website is a little prettier to look at, but I feel better with my money in a bank that supports community-development and the environment. And I’m getting a better return to boot!
Good morning… thanks for all of the great advice on here. This website is very informative!!
I signed up for an ING Orange Savings account with the intention of opening another account at either Emigrant, Zions, or Shorebank (see post above.) I need to research Shorebank a little further and am looking for any additional feed back in regards to it.
Also, with the new ING account, I now have the $25 referral bonuses available to pass out to anyone that is interested in them. You get $25 deposited directly into your account if you open an account with $250 or more.
Feel free to send me an email at [email protected] if you would like the referral link. I’d be more than happy to send it to anyone that’s interested!
Thanks!
I opened up an iGO account a few months ago it had the best APY. THough it has dropped now (Etrades is better) I also dis like how long it takes to transfer funds. A minimum of 3 business days, but it is more like 5. That could be a long time in an emergency. And that is 5 days you lose out on earnings. I am shopping around. Has anyone tried the Etade… how fast are their quick transfers? Have you found any hidden fees??
Oh yes I forgot to mention that not only does it take between 3-5 days to complete the transfer there is a few more days wait for the funds to be available to you. This worries me abit. How long will it take them to send me my money when I need it, say tax time or an emergency?? I suppose I should test it out and see.
My HSBC account just dropped to 4.25% today.
Currently:
ING Direct is at 4.10%
Emigrant Direct is at 4.65%
E*TRADE is at 5.05%
HSBC had dropped to 4.50% in late October. I wonder if the higher ones are just lagging a bit. It looks like interest rates are going to be sunk for a while.
Hey I saw others were doing this an thought it was a good way to get some free money! If you are interseted in opening an ING savings account with at least $250. Email me first and let me refer you. Opening it this way will give you an extra $25 and me $10. Email [email protected] with first, last, and email address, and ill send you the referral ASAP.
Thanks!
I opened a UFBDirect savings account (currently 5.22%) a little over a month ago. Went fairly smooth. I opened an interest checking account (low interest, about 0.50%) with them a couple weeks ago so I could link the accounts and have quick access to my money. Transferred money from savings to checking one time so far, but it was painless and posted quickly. It does take a few days to mail and post the deposits, but I expected that. I don’t foresee any problems accessing my money since I can just transfer it to checking and then write a check. Maybe I’m wrong but so far everything seems to be going well. I just sent in paperwork for a direct deposit monthly to the savings account. We’ll see how it goes.
I’m still very happy with UFBDirect…they are the highest in my little group of 6…followed by Zions. Those are the only 2 I have still over 5%. UFBDirect is the only one that hasn’t taken a drop in the last two rounds of drops…so I expect to see one any day now…but am pleased each time I look and see 5.22% APY still on their opening page.
I will be positive and say that both HSBC and ING had the courtesy to email me when their rates fell. They don’t all do that.
I saw no posts in which Countrywide Bank was mentioned. (I read only the first twenty & last twenty.)
Countrywide currently pays 5.3% APY, consistently the highest rate around.
The online service is easy to use, transfers go through quickly, there are no fees or charges and a low minimum.
The rub is that Countrywide is in financial trouble, bankruptcy can’t be ruled out. Thus I keep a close eye on the price of Countrywide stock (CFC)and never keep more in my account than the maximum insured by the FDIC, $100k.
I have had ING, HSBC and ETrade.
Here is my review:
HSBC sucks big time. They give incorrect information and outright lie. Their customer service is terrible. I ended up getting locked out of my account and even after verifying all my information their cs reps in India said the info I was providing did not match. (I think I know my Mothers maiden name).
ING – Top notch customer service. No incredible customer service. Very easy to set up an account.
However I switched to etrade due to higher rates and the ability to have my trading account in the same place.
Etrade customer service is so so. Sometimes it sucks, sometimes its good. The transfer system is awesome and the ability to open trading accounts and view your money in one place easily is great to.
I currently still have my high yield savings with ETrade but I am considering moving my mutual funds and stocks to scottrade due to less fees associated with trading.
If you are considering and of the accounts mentioned in this article I would say go with what you think is the best fit. To me its worth dealing with a few more idiots in customer service with ETrade to get a higher rate and quicker transfers.
However I recommend staying away from HSBC no matter what. It is one of the worst companies out their and their credit card offers are damn near mafia like.
Hope this helps!
Merry Christmas and happy investing in 2008!
Question for Brad and Kjoe (or anyone else):
Just opened up a UFBdirect absolute savings account and free checking. Plan on linking the accounts so I can quickly transfer funds through deposit with my debit/atm card and then electronically transfer to my savings account. Do funds post right away, and if not, when do you start earning interest on the transfer?
Also, sent a question via bankmail about 3 days ago and havent heard anything. Is this normal?
Brian: No, it isn’t normal. They responded quickly to my questions a few weeks ago. I imagine they are a little short-staffed thru the Christmas season…
They post as soon as they get it, and this is one of the few that actually post daily interest gains…even tho it isn’t paid until the end of the month. When you click on your account, it has a line that says “Accrued Interest This Period”. Handy. Can’t believe they are still at 5.22 APY after recent rate cuts….
Thanks for the info Brad. The only downside to UFB seems to be the waiting time to mail in the initial deposit and wait for the check to post. Not bad I guess if its a one-time thing though. Thanks again.
Does anyone hold more than one of these online savings accounts, and transfer between them when rates change? ANd does this really pay off with the couple of days interest you lose in between accounts? Just wondering, My Igo has dropped and I am think of opening another for a higher rate and if I could find quicker transfers. Maybe the UFB.
I signed up with ING about two months ago–by far the EASIEST and fastest set-up of all the online banks. Great, great customer service and interface is very user friendly. Only downside is the rather low interest rate. (4.10%)
Just opened up a UFB account for the higher rate (5.22%) but I wont be transferring funds from my ING account. Plan on using the UFB more as an emergency fund since you get an ATM card which will refund any ATM fees other banks charges up to a certain amount. (Plus, its a little tedious to transfer funds into and out of the account–UFB does NOT allow FREE ACH transfers initiated from your account). I would recommend getting a free checking account so you can just instantly transfer funds back and forth to your savings.
Alicia, I have 6 of them now. I opened ING first, then added HSBC and Emigrant. As ING got money and press, it started downward and I moved it to the other two which have remained higher than ING over time.
I left that sit until a few months back when they all started to fall. I then opened iGo Banking, UFB and Zions at once.
I ended up shifting all but small amounts to UFB and Zions as they are still both over 5%. Yes, it is a pain to wait and lose the interest for the few days between, but the difference in earnings from say ING at 4.21% or UFB at 5.22% is almost a 25% increase at UFB. That is substantial and I’ll take a hit of losing 3-5 days interest in return for 25% more.
I don’t transfer all that often to chase it and it has always been a one-way transfer. I have not seen any bank that was lower in ranking of interest paid go higher than another bank I had transferred money into.
HSBC and iGO both do free ACH transfers (in and out) and both serve well as conduits to or from the ones that don’t. UFB and Zions both will accept deposits via ACH from other accounts…altho that is hard to discover. iGo has some very goofy restrictions of both incoming and outgoing transfers, tho…and you have to contact them to get “permission” to move over a certain amount. At 4.9%, they are in the middle of the pack anyway.
Zions is my favorite as it has all the options of a real bank except the ACH capability…which I think they may eventually work out and add. With free bill pay from checking accounts, it is handy to do your quasi-ACH transfers in that manner. Beware there is a limit if you only have their Deseret Checking account…like 3 check or bill pays per month before they start costing. They will happily open up a regular type checking account for you and then you can move $$$ from the Deseret Checking to the regular one for bill paying instantly online. Regular checking pays lower interest and NO interest for balances under $1000, so I don’t keep much there.
Today’s APY rates are:
ING 4.21%
HSBC 4.25%
Emigrant 4.65%
iGo 4.90%
Zions 4.86 (or 5.14% over $50k)
UFB 5.23%
I now focus my short term savings in two places — Emigrant (4.65%) and a Vanguard Money Market Account(4.61%).
I’ve opened an Emigrant Direct account (I consider it a smooth process) and have been pushing/pulling small amounts into the ED account. Am I reading correctly that Wachovia charges a $3 fee to ACH “push” money out to a non-Wachovia account? Is that commom at brick and mortar banks? I like banking with Wachovia, but I just might direct deposit into an ING Direct Electric Orange if Wachovia charges a fee.
ING has great customer service and a simple to use interface. My transfers have all been done in a timely fashion. As stated above, the slight difference in percentage does not really hurt you as the average saver simply looking for a bank you can trust. Not to mention the referral bonuses are great.
Email me with your full name for a referral link and receive $25 with an initial deposit of at least $250. After that, whenever you refer a friend you will receive $10. – parenthetics @ gmail.com
Hey Bianca, thanks for the offer. I may take you up on your offer later on. I do like a lot about ING. Last night, I decided to go with FNBO Direct in addition to Emigrant already opened earlier. What tipped the scales for me was a feature called Bill Pay, which is essentially a checking account without an ATM card or checks. You transfer (immediately) an amount from the Savings account over to your Bill Pay account (interest @ ~3.5%) and then direct the money where you want. This will give me two strong banks to work with in terms of APR (can move back and forth if I choose). As said earlier, my next move will be to open an ING account because they seem so cutting edge.
I haven’t read many of the comments, so sorry if this was covered… I am a rate chaser and recently opened up my WTDirect account. I have to say that out of all my online accounts, it feels like WT’s takes FOREVER to move the money. This feeling could be partially caused by the fact that I get emails from them 1) when I initiate the transfer, 2) when it’s pending, and 3) when it’s complete. Since Ing and Emigrant don’t email me when the transfer is complete, I might not readily be aware of the transfer duration.
I put some cash in WT on 12/18, got a status report on the 21st, and it completed on the 24th. 6 days is a long time.
I already had an INGDirect account, but after reading all the posts, I just opened up an Emigrant account as well. Hopefully it all works out well 🙂
I don’t recall seeing a mention about http://www.savingssquare.com at 5.0% APY. I think the lack of discussion caused me to choose Emigrant over Savings Square, but they seem to be a solid option. I’ve saved them to my favorites for future consideration.
Can’t go wrong with ING. I’ve been with them since 2001…..and it just keeps getting better and better. They try to make it easy to do all your banking online, and have recently added a sharebuilder brokerage account that you can branch off of your savings acct. Best of all, they try to keep things SIMPLE. Their rates may not be the absolute highest, but good enough to keep me loyal. Also, the founder is a unique fellow who is on a mission to provide customers top rate online banking in a straight forward and honest manner without a bunch of marketing teaser rates and such. I look for ING to be the WalMart of online banking in the next 5 years or so….provided the electricity stays on here in America.
I have a high interest checking account (brokerage) someplace around 4.5% . It’s through my financial planner at Ameriprise. I like it because it’s a checking account. Yes I could find a better rate on a savings account but having 1 account and not worrying about transferring money is great. I have a debit/credit card and checks.
Update on UFB sign-up process:
For anyone interested in opening up a UFB account (5.22%) I signed up for my account on the 18th and sent in my initial deposit and signature card (required for them to issue your checks and ATM or debit card) on the 19th.
The check was received and credited to my account on the 24th and I received my debit/ATM card (also signed up for free checking so I could instantly transfer funds into my savings via ATM) on the 27th. Pin number came next day in separate envelope.
So the worst part is waiting for your check to arrive and post, but overall a good experience. (Although not as painless as ING) 🙂
@319 KEW
Washington Mutual’s Online Savings is fairly new. I don’t think it was available 6 months ago. If you will notice, you only get the high interest rate if you also have another account (checking I think) with WAMU.
I must admit – this does look like a pretty good option for me since I already bank at WAMU – this would give me that instant access to the high interest money by direct transfer.
Check the # of transfer restrictions carefully. WAMU seems to have those hidden.
I so far have 1 Orange savings account with ING direct. They are not the highest % interest right now but everything has been going smoothly with them and I enjoy their site interface and usability.
I also do still have many referral links left if anyone would like to contact me to receive a link (either for an orange savings account or the electric orange checking/savings account) to sign up for an account. You receive $25 for signing up with a min. of $250 or more. A nice little bonus for nothing! Just drop me an email at [email protected] and I will shoot one your way.
ING just gives you a feel good vibe. I’ve been with them for a couple years now and I’ve never had any trouble. The online interface is great, easy and trouble free. If anyone wants to open an ING Account and get an initial $25 deposit, shoot me an e-mail and I’ll send you over a “sign up” link! [email protected] (the trkrnr stands for track runner, I ran track in High School and College)
Has anyone tried Charles Schwab high yield checking account? If so what do you think of it?
Hey all!
I’ve been telling myself i’m going to open an online savings account for months now but still have not (I realize the interest I have cost myself) Was anyone else concerned of opening an online account at first? It’s the first real time I’ve ever set a money savings goal and reached it, now i’m afraid to do anything with it.
Hey Wayne, here’s the thing. Since 9/11, when planes were grounded and so were billions in checks/monetary issues, all banks have gone digital/electronic. At Walmart, they don’t even want a check anymore, just a scan of it. Having a not-always-friendly-face behind the counter at your local bank when you make a deposit/withdrawal is costing folks alot of money. If there’s a catastrophic event causing people to race down to their brick and mortar to withdraw all of their money, we’ve probably got bigger problems. And good luck getting all your money. I believe banks only carry what they expect they will need for an average day’s worth of withdrawals. Most transactions are just digital.
We used E-trade and were greatly distressed. Trying to get our money back OUT was almost impossible and took months!
I would steer clear of them for sure.
I have used ING, with no problems. Lower interest, but, I know I actually can access my money!
I just signed up for ING Direct’s Orange Savings account. Awesome! If anyone needs a referral for the $25 bonus for signing up and depositing $250 or more into an Orange Savings Account or Electric Orange checking account, let me know by sending an email to [email protected]
I just made someone else here $10 by signing up through their link they emailed me, so I can verify that it works. I got the $25 credit within 24 hours (I didn’t get around to check until now)!
Double Your Savings In One Year
This is a great idea for people who only have a couple of hundred dollars to start saving now.
ING Direct is a reputable bank, and above you can read many good comments on their stability and customer service. Open up an ING savings account(currently at 4.10%APY) with $250 through a link I can send you if you email me. ING will immediately deposit $25 in to your account just for opening it, and then offers you the oppertunity to earn $10 for every account that is opened that you refer.
So if you break it down, you deposit $250, and right off the bat earn 10% return on that. Then simply refer 2 people a month to double your savings in one year. OK I know every one hates affiliate programs, but hey this is a savings account, your not selling anything. Just sharing a savings tip, which people WANT that is why this blog is so active.
Lets say your refer 2 people a month
that is $25 the day you open it…
$20 the first month
$20 the second
$20 the third
and so on
equaling $265 by the end of the year. You will have doubled your money AND have earned interest on it throughout the year.
If you are interested in setting up this plan email me with your name and email address and I will send you an email allowing you to open the account and get the $25, I will also email you telling you how to set up the referrals so you can earn the $10 thank you bonuses.
[email protected]
UFB rate just dropped from 5.22% to 5.12%
Well, Brian…it had to happen eventually. But that is still pretty darned good compared to the others…..
My husband and I opened an ING savings account online in late 2006, and received a $25 bonus. But since then the interest rate has slowly been dropping and now it’s 4.1% instead of closer to 5%. I actually prefer dealing with Alliant Credit Union (formerly the United Airlines employee CU), and it is open to almost everyone (PTA, Lifetime Fitness members, etc.) and offers great rates on savings (4.85% APY), HSA’s (5.15%, highest I’ve found), home equity, auto loans, etc. I’m consolidating our accounts there since their rates are so great across the board.
I still have several referrals to give away. So if you want to start your savings well, send me an email and I will send you a referral. But do not forget that you will only be eligible to get the $25 if you make an inicial deposit of $250+. My email is, [email protected]
It is never late to start saving. Take advantage on ING bonus and start saving now.
Rodrigo
Wow, you guys have been so helpful! I’ve been wanting to set up a high yield savings account online for the past month or so but was a little unsure where to begin. Luckily I found this thread and between reading all the posts and recommendations and following the links, I feel pretty educated on the subject now!
I do have one question though, is there anyone who has experience with both the ING savings account and the Emigrant Direct savings account? I’m trying to decide between the two of them and I was just wondering if there was someone that could compare the pros and cons for me after having used them both.
My Better Half and I met with our new financial adviser last night. One of the many things I brought up was moving my emergency fund to an online account.
I mentioned learning about ING Direct from this website and asked for his recommendation. He said to do it. According to him, ING is the easiest to use, very popular among his clients, web-based, and, best of all, free. His own clients use it. He does not.
Why? He uses his own company’s online banking system. He himself has gone totally paperless, which was another one of my questions. He recommended going paperless, too.
I asked him why would he not use ING himself, but recommend it to others. Well, being an employee of his company, he gets a break on their fees, which could get steep for non-employees or for others, like us, who would simply not have enough money moving into the account every month.
I also brought up HSBC for comparison, but he firmly recommended ING. The only drawback to ING that I can see is a lack of ATMs in our area, but I can live with that.
Megan Said (on January 9th, 2008 at 11:26 pm)
‘anyone who has experience with both the ING savings account and the Emigrant Direct savings account? I’m trying to decide between the two of them and I was just wondering if there was someone that could compare the pros and cons for me after having used them both.’
We have accounts at both, opened around 2004-2005 timeframe, we drip-fed our ING account with a small amt each month to go towards car insurance, but since the rates were/are higher we used/do use EmigrantDirect most. I have never had a problem with either. I also have ETrade Complete Savings which has a higher rate than EmigrantDirect right now and have moved some $ into there. We don’t want all our eggs in one basket, though no problems with any of them to date.
So returning to the question I’d say from my experience go with whichever makes you feel better. They’re both FDIC insured to 100k and both seem to work as advertised.
I have accounts at Emigrant and FNBO. Emigrant @ 4.65 and FNBO @ 5.05. However, for me, Emigrant has been painless and easy to use, no complaints, everything truly handled online. Not so with FNBO. Not sure of dates, it just seems like it takes forever for FNBO to do anything, compared to Emigrant. My point is that I’d be willing to accept a .4% drop in rate to get the kind of service I get from Emigrant. At the time of opening these accounts, if ING had been just a little bit higher, I would have opened an account with them then. However, I’m impressed with ING and will probably open an account with them in the near future. I’d recommend opening an account with both. That way, you have the option of moving money back and forth for whatever reason, like rate changes.
I just signed up for ING’s Orange savings account using a referral from someone on this page on Tuesday night. It was SO easy, quick, and the $25 bonus was in the account the very next morning.
I have several referrals left that I can send out if you’re thinking you want to sign up and get the $25 bonus. You can sign for either the “Orange Savings” account or an “Electric Orange” account. Just send an email to [email protected] if you’re interested and I’ll send you an email with a link to apply. If you sign up online, you won’t receive the bonus. You HAVE to sign up through the link in a referral email. And remember, you must sign up with a starting deposit of at least $250 to recieve the bonus.
It’s totally worth it. Again, just email me at [email protected].
I opened an account with Etrade and 2 weeks later they were still trying to find my account and kept saying that I did not have account, even though I had an account number and a reference number.After several phone calls and several emails I decided that my deposit was not big enough for them to concern themselves with me.I emailed them finally and told them to forget trying to find my account, that I would go with someone else.They have TERRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE!!I let them know that,but as I said before my deposit was not big enough for them.I will go with ING or Ameritrade or anyone but them!!! Take my advice and don’t even mess with them!!!
Pamela,
That is terrible… thanks for the heads up!! If you still want to open ING drop me ans email [email protected]
and I can send you a referral. And I had to call ING because I lost my customer number and the rep was Fabulous! Polite, knowledgefull, helpful, and no ascent. (Sorry I hate calling places that you can not even understand what the rep is saying.) He even asked me about my weather in a polite, conversational security measure.
Have A great day everyone!! And earn your selves lots of interest this year:)
Alicia
I also signed up for an ING account using a referral from this thread. The process was quick and easy and I my 25 dollar bonus was in the account almost instantly. I have a few referrals to give out if anyone is interested. If you’re going to start a new savings account @ ING you might as well make some extral dollars in the process. Good luck and happy savings.
email me at [email protected].
I just happened onto the website today. I have had an Emigrant account for 4+ years. Currently in NY, but was living in LA during Katrina. Emigrant deposited $1000.00 into any clients account that lived in a zip code that was affected by the storm (not a loan…they stated that if the $ was not needed to donate it to charity). For anyone trying to decide between similar accounts, that says it all- they have a customer for life in me!
Thanks Maria. I opened the ING Electric Orange account and received the $25 bonus.
I have some referral links which I will gladly send to anyone that asks. All you do is open an Orange Savings or Electric Orange Savings/Checking accout with a minimum $250 deposit. You’ll get an immediate $25 bonus and I get a $10 referral bonus. It’s a good deal for all.
If you would like a referral link to get your $25 bonus, email me at [email protected].
I’ve had an ING Direct account for several years.
For me, the pros are the ease of use and the ability to have subaccounts (for example, one for saving for a car, one for vacation, etc.).
The cons are that you can’t link to your Fidelity accounts (even through the associated United Missouri Bank checking account) and the rate is a little lower than the most competitive online savings banks.
If anyone’s looking to put their money with a slightly smaller, though very secure, professional, friendly establishment with a high interest online savings account, take a look at http://www.nittanysavings.com (in Pennsylvania). Since I’ve had it for over a year now, the interest is always over %4.5 (now %4.65). The customer service is excellent and you do not have to be a Pennsylvania resident (I thought so at first).
I have been using emigrantdirect.com for over a year and half. It has a nice 4.55% rate plus if you use their no annual fee Mastercard you can earn extra savings. They will place 1.4% of all your credit card purchases quarterly into your savings account (requires $10,000 minimum in savings). It is a nice little extra and a great place for an emergency fund.
The only negative is that it takes a day or so for the money to transfer from your checking account into your Emigrants savings account. Other than that I have been very happy and recommend it to all my friends and family.
Has anyone had any experience WTDirect currently a 4.90% rate for accounts with a balance of $10,000 or more. Bankrate.com gives it a 4 star “Safe & Sound” rating and the their website states that it’s rate’s are consistently in top 5% of U.S. banks. I was just wondering why there hasn’t been many comments for this bank. Is there something I need to know before moving my money?
After reading most of these comments, I have decided to open an account with IGN. I just want somewhere to keep my money while I wait to either invest it or keep it around as an emgergency fund and get some good interest on it.
If anyone wants a referal, I’ll do it with the first person to leave their info after my post!
Email me at [email protected]
I’m a recent college grad. with no experience in finance and 27k in debt. I’ve just landed a decent (though boring) job paying 43k a year and am looking to being paying off my debt and start saving cash. I had exactly $73 when I got my first paycheck so I am really starting from nothing. Right now I have a MMA that I’m using to save money up with Chase paying .89% interest. After reading this, I see no reason why I shouldn’t move to someone like e-trade. Am I wrong?
James,
Yes definatly move your money to a high yield savings account online… the question always is which one? And the market is always changing and banks are always coming out with new offers, and raising and lowering their APYs.
I thought I would provide alittle insight in to which account to open for people that don’t have $10,000 to invest today.
I have recieved emails questioning whether it is better to open an ING account and get the upfront $25 and only 4.1%APY or open one with higher APY. So I did a little math and broke it down. This only reflects 1 year of earnings.
With the following banks and their current APYs you would make more in interest with ING unless you can open and mantain the balance I have listed here…
Etrade (5.05%) $2631.58
iGO Banking (4.9%) $3125.00
Citibank (4.5%) $6250.00
If you have the ability to open your account with more than the balance listed above, and maintain that balance for the entire year, then it is in your best financial interest to open one of the above listed banks. However it is interesting that you make the same return in one year with a $250 deposit into an ING Orange savings account. That is why I opened one for my personal savings, and still have my payroll in a higher yielding account (it is in the thousands per quarter).
If you are interested in opening an account with ING and receiving the $25 bonus, and the ability to earn thank you bonuses, just drop me an email and I would be happy to send you a referral email with a link that allows you to open your account. And if you are interested in Doubling Your Savings In One Year, I included instructions in how to do this in an earlier post on this board.
[email protected]
Hope you all earn lots of interest this year 2008!!!
Bless you all,
Alicia
James,
I can echo Alicia’s comments and her conclusion. The bottom line is that if you keep a substantial balance ($2000-$2500 or more) in the account, then you are better off with the highest interest rate you can find. However, if you need a revolving account with fluctuating balances, I recommend you decide which account will be most convenient in terms of accessibility and functionality. It is not worth one extra percentage point to hassle with an inconvenient website and/or poor customer service.
I have accounts at UFB Direct and ING Direct. UFB offers a higher rate (currently 5.12%), but it takes several days before deposits are available, and the funtionality is so-so.
ING Direct has a lower interest rate, but they definitely have a more convenient website. I have only had to call ING once. They provided fast, friendly service.
As stated in the previous post, you can earn bonus money by opening an ING account with a minimum $250 deposit. You will get a $25 bonus, and whoever sends the referral link will get a $10 bonus.
If you need a referral link, I still have a few available.
Anyone who needs a link can email me at [email protected].
Happy savings!
I very much agree with the statement in regards to E*Trade as I had a nightmare opening up an account with them. My original application was submitted online on Dec 17th. I called on the 21st to find out what the problem was and was told that I needed to send in my license. The holidays came and went and I heard NOTHING from E*trade. So I called on Jan 3rd and was told that there was a problem verifying my address. I found this amazing since I have a loan on a home, car, college loan, and any bill that reports to the credit agencies goes to this address, not to mention I have a superb credit score. I was told multiple times that I would receive a call back and multiple times was given the name and direct extension of the person I was speaking with. That being said, MULTIPLE TIMES I called and DID NOT receive a call back. Long story short, they have to cancel my original application and finally did approve me for an account.
The thing that I was amazed the most about is that throughout the entire process I did not receive ANY communication from E*Trade stating that something was wrong. I had to call every single time. If I knew this were going to be the case from the start, I would have saved the trouble and done business somewhere else. Now lets just hope that having a higher APY is worth it.
I’m a little surprised no one has mentioned Charles Schwab’s High-Interest Checking Account. I opened one a few weeks ago (my first online bank) and I am honestly extremely happy with it.
It has a slightly lower interest rate than some of these guys (4.0%), but all rates are variable and I’m looking for a bank for the long haul. It has:
– FDIC Insured (it’s not a money market)
– No min balance
– No fees of any kind
– full ATM reimbursements for all withdrawals anywhere
– Checking Account with physical checks sent to you free (I hear ING doesn’t do this)
– Linked to the brokerage and a really great web interface (if you don’t have one, like I didn’t, it opens one for you without requiring a balance).
They even assign a service agent to call you up and walk you through the process and any questions you have.
I’m frankly amazed a bank would be this generous. I wanted to keep a small balance at my old bank, but they didn’t even have a free checking account with no monthly minimum-let alone one with all the perks above-so I’m closing it and depositing exclusively with Schwab.
And in response to the dates left by Aaron, I opend my Schwab account on Dec 30th and by Jan 1st was up and running. The part that took the longest was probably the initial deposit check I sent through snail mail.
Yes…will be opening up a Schwab checking and an ING savings account immediately.
4.0 checking and 4.1 savings..and free atm’s..works for me.
Cya Chase.
Finance Monk,
I’m close to deciding on Charles Schwab myself, but there’s one small snag I can’t seem to recall right now. I think it has to do with transfers into or out of the account, or maybe deposits. At any rate, whatever this function is that I can’t remember, you have to call to have this done, you can’t do it online. A represenative said this should be available online in the future. Sorry for being vague, I’m hoping someone can fill in the blanks. I don’t recall it being a deal-breaker for me, just a slight inconvenience. If I have time, I try to dig around today to see what the heck I’m talking about.
This is actually a discussion about savings accounts, which is why Schwab hasn’t been mentioned. But I don’t think J.D. would mind this one time 🙂
I was questioning my math (from a previous post) last night in my sleep. But I checked it out and it is correct. Though my statement that “you would make the same return on a $250 deposit with ING” is not entirely correct. Let me clarify: The figures I listed are the breaking point were if you invest less than that amount you will earn more with ING, if you maintain that amount or higher you will earn more with the perspective banks. Here I will include them again…
Etrade (5.05%) 2631.58
iGO Banking (4.9%) 3125.00
Citibank (4.5%) 6250.00
If you want me to run the numbers for any other bank and APY just ask and I can do that for you.
Though this page has many posts with really negative experiences with ETRADE, and I have an iGO account, and it takes a long time to set up. ING was so easy in comparison!
Have a great day everyone!
Alicia
PS If anyone wants to get the $25 sign up bonus I keep talking about (it is the key to making the best return this year on accounts maintained at under the above listed figures), just email me and I will be happy to send one to you. Then from that link it will take less than 5 minutes to set up your account, and the $25 is deposited right away.
[email protected]
I would like to take your offer for the referal please. Do you have one that applies to ING?
and of course, you will need my email:
[email protected].
Thanks!
JDavis –
I just sent you a referral link from ING. If you open an account with a minimum $250 deposit, you will get a $25 bonus immediately, and I will get a $10 referral bonus. You must use the link to get the bonus.
If anyone else would like a $25 ING bonus link, I have just a few left. Send me an email at [email protected].
KJoe
I still have a few more $25 bonus referral links for an ING Direct account if anyone else wants one. First come, first served. Email me at [email protected] and I will send you the link.
Also, be sure to note in your email if you want a link for an Orange Savings account, or an Electric Orange checking/debit account.
Great discussion but please understand why folks like Countrywide and E-Trade are offering higher rates. These companies are in financial distress and need capital to keep them afloat. They can offer higher rates in order to attract deposits but it is very questionable whether they will be around in a few years. I understand that both are FDIC insured but do you really want to wait in line with everybody else who could potentially lose money with these guys? Just be careful with Countrywide and E-Trade. Most of the others discussed above are safe banks that might struggle during a recession but will still survive. Just remember – in most cases interest rates are indicative of risk levels. As with most things in like – think about the risk/reward payoff when searching for an extra 50 basis points in an online savings account.
Please go to www. Alliantcreditunion.com. Rates are 4.85% APY (and consistenly high with no small print gimmics), free checking, debit cards – minimum deposit is $5 which makes you a member. I have been a happy member for a year. Low loan rates,no fees, and great credit card rates (with rewards). Can do all banking on-line. Nationwide surcharge free ATM network (including deposit ATMs) Online bill pay and tie in with Quicken. Cool feature coming up is electronic deposit (scanning bar code and instant deosit into account from your home, need to be a member for a year, though) – and of course there is always direct deposit – you know the adage – “pay yourself first”.
What else?
Government insured – but called NCUA (for credit unions)instead of FDIC(for banks).
Business model is web based which keeps costs down – no brick and mortar. They are a cooperative/not for profit so have tax advantaged status. No shareholders – so all returns go directly to members.
Just opened up a CD for my Mom who sold her house. Had to be thorough with my recommendation to Mom, so I am sharing my learnings. Found their jumbo CD rates are 5.40%APY on deposits of $25,000 . No involvement in sub-prime, underwriting is sound, more than adequately capitalized.
24/7 telephone support.
If you are a member of Lifetime Fitness or a PTA or a host of other institutions – join Alliant- go to the website.
@ Linda,
Looks great. I tried to establish membership from every angle to no avail. I’m still going back and forth with Fidelity and Schwab.
Well,I’m a new comer and I narrowed my choices down. With $2,000 to start off an account I figured the money earned like this…
E-trade 5.05% APY earning $101.00
EmigrantDirect 4.55% APY earning $91.00
HSBC Direct 4.25% APY earning $85.00
If anyone opposes me using one of the three please feel free to leave comments. All cons are greatly helpful. I pretty much know all the pros.
Bennie, according to Alicia’s chart posted on January 16th, 2008 at 10:00 am, you would earn more at ING with your $2000 starting amount due to the $25 bonus. Since the HSBC rate is barely higher than ING’s and there have been plenty of negative posts on HSBC, I’d definitely take that one off the list.
Bennie,
I have no personal experience with HSBC, but I have read and heard many troubling reports. If you consider the boost that ING Direct can give you with a $25 account opening bonus (minimum $250 deposit), they may be as good as the interest from HSBC anyway.
You can also earn additional rewards by referring friends and family to ING. If someone you refer opens an account (through a link you send them), ING will deposit $10 in your account. Not huge, but when you are considering fractional percentage points you can actually earn more than accounts paying slightly higher interest.
If you would like to open an account with ING and need a link, shoot me an email to [email protected]. I will send you a link for the $25 bonus.
If anyone else needs a link for an ING Direct account and the $25 bonus, just send an email.
KJoe
This is starting to sound like an ING pyramid thread. ING is one of the lowest paying accounts out there, once you get past that initial $25 gimmick to obtain/retain customers. Good only for a quick investment, if that is what you are looking for.
I have had HSBC for a few years and, as they are paying lower right now, there isn’t much in there…BUT, they are one of the fastest to transfer and have more ACH ability than many of the others. When they rotate back up to the upper paying levels again, as they probably will, I’ll be making a deposit again.
If you have enough to tuck away to make internet banking worthwhile, just go with the higher APYs of a place that is FDIC insured and put it in there. As most have low required balances, I just leave tiny amounts in an account as I move the bulk to the highest paying account.
5.00% at UFB is almost 25% higher than ING. That is a substantial difference. Each $102.50 interest earned at ING would have been $125 interest at UFB. Over the 4 years I have had an account at ING, they have been consistently falling behind the others in their rates.
Today’s APYs:
4.10% – INGDirect
4.25% – HSBC
4.55% – EmigrantDirect
4.60% – Zions Bank ($1000 min..higher available)
4.90% – IGoBanking
5.00% – UFB
I have had NO problems with any of these 6 institutions.
Bennie,
You can read many negative reports on Etrad and HSBC… you will have to decide if the extra interest is worth it, that is assuming their rates stay up, I am not sure how long Etrade can hold out up there, I am sure they just wanted to hold out until all the “new years” resolutions savers come in, maybe even through tax season, then expect a drop.
Also it is ok to go for the “quick return” with ING, this market is always changing, rates continually changing at every bank. Most do not stay consistant for more than one year… so go ahead and pick which will make you the most THIS year, then relook at it in 12 months.
That is ONE reason I chose ING (also fabulous customer service, and super quick and easy sign up), I can make the fasyest and highest return with ING. I am not going to pick a bank based on what the rates MAY be over the next few years, who could ever predict that. And this is not retirement this is our emergency or vacation funds, for many of us.
Best of luck in your decision!
I wont even peddle my ING refferral links on this post:)
I do have a few left.
Blessings!!
Alicia
Bennie,
I see you did not include the ING numbers. With a $2000 deposit in the ING with a referral link you would earn $108 in interest this year. (Because of the $25, the 4.1APY and the 11 months of interest you will make on the $25.)
Honestly if I were you I would open 2 accounts. The ING and the one of you choice. You would earn the MOST this way, and you would be able to decide for yourself which works best for you.
And I don’t just say this to get a referral.
ALicia
[email protected]
Okay, folks: from this comment forward, I’m killing any referral e-mails/links. I’ve been leaving them in because I thought it would be good to spread the love, but Brad’s right: they’ve become a little too thick.
I’m not going to remove any current e-mails/links, just block new ones.
Good call J.D.
Then when I tell people how good ING is they won’t think it is just to make a quick buck.
Discover Bank has the higher rates on money markets and CD’s. Check there rates at discoverbank.com
Thanks Brad, Alicia, KJoe, and Jeff for all the helpful knowledge. I took in all the info and decided to go with what Alicia said and choose the one that will make the most this year. I may also open two. Are we able to pull out of the account and close it at any time or is it like a regular bank and you have to keep it active for 90 days?
Bennie,
I am not sure for all the banks but I beleive I read somewhere that I cannot withdrawl the the $250 or the $25 in the first 30 days. You should be able to access the amount you put in in excess of the $250 a few business days after it postes. But you will want to ask customer service for specifics on that. I encourage you to go ahead and call, the one I talked to was so friendly and helpful!!
Good night everyone!!
Alicia
Hey Hey ALL ING Direct Orange Savings Account holders… check it out, ING just uped the number of referrals we can give. Now it is 50!! That means we can earn up to $500, on only a $250 deposit. I’ll have to change my post because now you could TRIPLE your savings in one year:)
Just wanted to spread the word to anyone who has not logged on to their account yet.
Blessings,
Alicia
OOps It is still 25 for the savings and 25 for the electric orange. But they will be clearing all referrals that are already completed, allowing us to refer 25 new people. Still an exciting update.
It’ll be really interesting to keep an eye on all these rates over the next 24-72 hours since the Feds just slashed their rates.
I think ING will drop well below 4% and UFB has already dropped from 5.22% to 5.00% in a matter of 10 days. Ah well, I agree with everyone else–making a few bucks a day on my savings accounts is still better then getting hammered everyday with my mutual funds… :/
Hi everyone! I am so surprised no one has ever really mentioned KeyDirect, which is currently rockin an awesome 4.75% for a savings account which also allows you to write 3 checks/month (so like a checking account too with great interest). The check option is great because usually the biggest drag with these online savings accounts that don’t have ATMs or branches in your area, when trying to access your funds, is having to wait anywhere from 3-5 days to transfer funds back to your checking account where you then have to go to the bank to withdraw the cash or go to an ATM. With the check writing option, whatever you were trying to get immediate funds for (e.g. groceries, pay a bill, buy your grandma some slippers), you can just write a check immediately!
This post is already way too long, so for anyone who is interested and asks, I will then post more info (e.g. pros) as well as any honest cons I can come up with. But I have had it for about 6 months now and despite the negative customer service comments on bankrate.com, I have never had a problem and the perks and other details (which I will provide) are outstanding.
Give us the details, pros and cons.
I called in to ING Directs FANTASTIC customer service line today to find out the specifics on the referrals being cleared, and allowing 25 new ones. And they have cleared out referrals that signed up before Jan 9th. And wouldn’t you know I signed up on the 8th. I do still have a few left though. But for anyone who earned referrals prior to Jan 9th, those are cleared and you have the opertunity to enter in that many more.
Blessings Everyone,
Alicia
ING down to 3.65%.
Ouch! But I guess we saw that coming.
The service associate did give me a tip on referrals. If you have joint account, both holders can enter in referrals. That means 50 between the two of you!!
We will have to see what all the other banks do here… we will probably see some pretty major drops today and tomarro. Please all you rate watchers, keep us informed!!
Blessings
Alicia
I just signed up for FNBO Direct Savings with an interest rate of 5.05! I had signed up for Etrade a few days ago but today saw that they had lowered their interest rate to 4.40! Also, my ING Savings rate has gone down to 3.65 (i’m in the lowest tier). Just an FYI to all you folks shopping out there…
i’ve had my acct with HSBCDirect for some time, at least since 2002, and haven’t had any issues. placed the money i was saving to pay for my wedding in there, so it earned interest while things were getting finalized. the customer service was very helpful when i was changing my name afterward, too. their sign up process is a little lengthy, because they send everything via snail mail, but considering their security, it’s definitely something i’m ok with. chose them since i have a checking acct with HSBC, so it’s easy to just move some money over whenever i have an opportunity. not sure how long it would take for a bank to bank transfer with this, but i’d guess 3 or 4 days like everyone else.
also, when you sign up for the account, you have the option to ask for a debit card to be linked to the account (i decided against it, since i don’t need another card to lose!), so folks can have easier access to their savings.
Yah i am not happy about the ING thing .5% is crazy for them just to cut. I guess its all part of the business but they are about to lose mine.
I am a little disapointed that ING Direct dropped their rates again to %3.65 as I had just opened up an account earlier this month. However, just as others have said their customer service is great and the website is convenient.
Ok, thanx Bart.
So let me tell you all about KeyDirect, hopefully without too long of a post! As I mentioned, interest is currently 4.75%. Now to be honest, just 3-4 months ago when I signed up, it was actually 5.35% so they are one of those that were going through the “lowering craze” due to market issues, and perhaps it may dip again, but so far so good and 4.75% is still nothing to sneeze at!
I believe it was $50 minimum deposit to open, but after that, no minimum balance or weird tiers to get this interest rate. As I also already mentioned, you receive a whole book of checks, although you can only use 3 per month, but for me that is fine. You can also only do a total of 6 withdrawals a month (including those 3 checks), but again, no problem for me as my whole purpose is to save and invest, not take money out all the time! You can do ACH withdrawals at no cost so long as you initiate them through the other party (e.g. the creditor/vendor for an automatic bill pay, which I have 4 set up each month and they all go through smoothly and on time every month and no fees). Next, it takes about 3 business days for an online transfer/deposit to post and be available, but in my experience, that is the standard timeframe for most online banks. Ok, what else. For some reason, they are not offered to every state (the exclusion list is: AK, CO, ID, IN, KY, ME, MI, NY, OH, OR, UT, VT, or WA). That will obviously be the biggest con for anyone in those states. I will also admit that the initial application and set up process is a drag because you have to do some things by mail which takes some time, but it took a total of 7-10 days for me, which again, isn’t HELL! Also, guess what? You can make your initial deposit with a credit card/debit card payment, instead of having to transfer in or mail a check. Finally the website is very user friendly and despite 90% of the bad reviews for customer service, I have always had nice, helpful people.
Well, I have tried to cover most of the basics but would love any specific questions if I have forgotten anything.
Recent grad needing advice. I have about $2500 to put in savings till late this summer. Should i wait for the rates to stabilize before opening an account with any of the banks so i don’t end up with the bank that cuts rates the most? Is it not bad and does it not stay on your credit if you have too many saving accounts? kind of like credit cards?
Thanks
As a 21 year-old college student, I’ve realized placing my money in an online checking/savings account is a lot more profitable, and smarter, than just leaving it in a stagnant Bank of America account. FYI, I recently moved to Hawai’i, where there isn’t a SINGLE Bank of America branch.
I’ve only done a bit of research, briefly looked at ING Direct, FNBO, EmigrantDirect, and Schwab, and I’m still quite confused. I want to stay with BofA because of their ‘Keep the Change’ program, security, and customer service, but are there better options out there? I feel naive asking, but all this banking jargon is a little over me. I’d simply need an ATM/Credit card, quick deposits/transactions, NO minimum balance/NO NO NO fees/hidden scares, and reliability, as well as high APY.
I am not rich, by any means, and don’t have much to my name right now, but I’d like to start saving and building interest as soon as I can (I’m currently working full-time and taking a break from university). I’m currently looking at Schwab or FNBO, which, at this moment, is at 5.05%, but I realize these rates are extremely transient and could significantly drop tomorrow, for all I know. Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Kasey-
I have an account with ING and UFB Direct. Started with ING because of the great reviews–excellent customer service, easy sign-up process, user-friendly interface, etc–and all of them are true. The ONLY downside to ING is the rate–when I signed up about 7 weeks ago, it was at 4.3% and now its down to 3.65%. But again, that has to do with market issues more than anything else, and ING isnt interested in being the “rate leader” anymore. (for whatever reasons.) But if you want reliability and stability, ING is a no-brainer. You lose a little on your rate, but with the amount you’re putting in (less then 10K) the difference will be miniscule.
With UFB Direct, you get an ATM card that reimburses your fees if you use another bank’s ATM (which you will since there are no UFB branches in most states), and there’s a hassle with putting money INTO the account for some reason. I just linked it to my ING account and push money into the account via ACH transfers, but its takes 2-3 business days to post. And as I stated earlier, the rate has fallen from 5.22% to 4.50% in a matter of TWO weeks! But I use this more as an emergency cash source since you get the ATM card.
Do a google search of “FNBO Direct reviews.” I remember I was down to FNBO and UFB Direct, but went with the latter because of some issues I read about with FNBO. Hope this helps.
You won’t be able to set your eyes on a particular rate, as they are all moving lower at the moment. I have tracked the ones I’ve liked for a few years. All you can do is try to find the ones that generally stay at the top of the pack as opposed to those quick to lead the pack downward. Clearly, ING has been in the latter group for a couple years, while UFB, Zions and a couple others have historically fallen later and have less of a drop.
Now that ING has dropped into the 3.65% APY range, the several that are still at 4.50% APY and 4.60% APY are over 25% HIGHER in interest.
I haven’t seen much changing in their order over this period. My favorites are still UFB and Zions. Both have answered tons of questions online very rapidly and have stayed near the top of the packs…altho the packs are getting closer together.
Today:
Zions is 4.6% over $1000,
Emigrant is 4.55% over $1 (don’t think it is done falling),
UFB is 4.5% over $1,
iGoBanking is 4.5% over $1,
HSBC is 4.25% over $1,
ING is 3.65% over $1.
They all beat the 0.25% at some brick and morters… If you aren’t really looking for just a savings account, then carefully examine each account for what you need.
Zions has the standard limit of 3 checks allowed per month on their Deseret account, but you may also open a free checking account with them (no interest under $2500), and move money from one to the other online as needed. They also provide you with a free Visa Debit card and free bill-paying on that account. They accept mailed deposits or ACH transfers from another bank…but don’t do that internally. There is a $1000 minimum to open the Deseret account, but if you don’t have that to save, ist is hardly worth the effort as $1000 only will earn you $3.83 a month at Zions (or $3.04 at ING).
Yes, you can get a $30 bonus for each referral you make to Zions, but I’m not doing that….
ShoreBank still offers a 5% yield. You can link up to six accounts and make unlimited deposits and up to six free withdrawals per month. ShoreBank’s web site (sbk.com) is not fancy like ING’s or some of the other big banks. However, ShoreBank is a community development, environmentally friendly bank. If you’re socially conscious, this is where to put your money and get a great return that is not only monetary.
Charles,
I do not see any benifit in waiting. Most online banks pay on an average DAILY balance basis. So everyday counts, well probably pennies, but it counts. ING is still offering $25 which will make up for the cuts. Then if you are not happy with them or decide exactly which bank you want to go with after the market settles in to place, you can open another account.
And there is no penalty for having multiple savings account. In my understanding they do not even show up on your credit report, though an account like the ING Electric Orange Checking account would because it has a line of credit for a ready reserve.
Hope this is helpful.
Blessings,
Alicia
Thanks guys for all the input. I think that i will open one with ING and another with HSBC.
Do ING or any other online savings run a credit check when opening an account? If so, are the credit checks hard inquiries, and having too many may actually hurt the credit score?
Thanks.
J.D.,
I know you have killed the ING referral posts… they are still getting sent to our emails though, even if you are deleting them from the blog. Just wanted to let you know.
I’ve used ING for more than 5 years now – I’m VERY DISAPPOINTED that they are leading the pack in terms of lowering the interest rate. I’m seriously considering switching companies. Even though everyone is dropping, ING seems to be the worst in that respect. Anyone feelings the same way as me?
deerPhD:
My sentiments exactly. The first time they let Emigrant get way ahead of them, I sent them an email about it and basically got a response of: we consider lots of things as we set our rates, have a nice day…
I think they rely on catching folks with the $25 bonus who just stay there without looking at what happens later. They can pay those “bonuses” by penalizing the rest of us who simply maintain accounts there. If they didn’t pay them, they could pay us a higher rate. Since they get enough money for their purposes (loans and reserves) in this manner, they don’t seem to “need” more money.
Besides the Fed interest rate manipulations, individual financial entities go thru periods where they have cash flow issues and just “need” more money for various reasons (like making more loans to others and needing to increase their reserves). When they do, they send their rates up to attract it and those paying attention are able to benefit. I got a 5yr, 6% CD from my local credit union when it was offered for only about a 10 day period in July, 2005. It has not ever been offered since, so I expect it was just a very temporary cash need for the Credit Union.
Until ING develops a “need” by folks leaving them for greener pastures, they’ll continue to pay as little as they can (common sense Business 101). I never completely close accounts I have opened, just in case these needs develop and they change, but I’ve never brought money back to ING. That said, ING has CDs at up to 4.0% (5 yrs). This is pretty high in comparison to the other banks used here (at the moment).
Brad, I think you’re right on about ING. ING Direct has been a disappointment, consistently leading the pack downward.
i too am disappointed with their rates, i have been with them for half a yr, however, i am gonna wait and see what they do in that regards due to their excellent service.
I’ve been with ING for almost 2 years. I think when I opened my Orange savings account with them the rate was like 5.1% This just sucks seeing it drop month after month to a now pitiful 3.65%
I am strongly considering leaving them
If you want you’re initial check lost and no customer service what so ever, sign up w/ E*Trade. I have a $100.00 check floating around E*Trade somewhere and not one person that works there can tell me where it is. So, I had to pay $29.00 to stop payment on it.
I opened an online account with HSBC about a year back at somewhere around 5.5%. Since then, the APY has dropped 3 times, and is now at 3.8%. This doesn’t seem all that great, but understandable right now. Has anyone had a better experience with any other savings accounts?
HSBC is now down to 3.80%
David, that’s happening with all the other savings accounts. My HSBC Direct account was at 4.5% when I started roughly three months ago, and now it’s at 3.8% due to the federal reserve dropping interest rates. It has nothing to do with the the online bank we have!
i’m new to this online banking thing and wanted to ask a couple of questions:
1) why isnt anyone talking about WaMu? I guess they offer 4.25 APY and also have physical branches. Is there something i dont know?
2) How safe is keeping money in a bank which has only a website and no physical branch? Can someone share their experiences?
Thanks!
Hi, Aaron, Chris:
I opened an account with Amtrust Direct and was locked in at a rate of 5.11% for three months. I believe you can still get this rate today (1/29). After the intro, it goes to 4.6%, I believe. Still a very good rate compared to others. I know it’s only for 3 months at this intro rate, but while the rest are heading down, I can at least be assured it will stay this rate for a quarter of the year! Also, no min. balance, $1 min. deposit.
CJ:
I just checked out Amtrust Direct and they are at 4.6% but I didn’t see anything about the 5.11% introductory rate that you mentioned. Do you have to do something special to get that rate?
I too have been looking at AmTrust Direct and the 5.11% was offered only once you went through the account opening process. My only question is that I have read some unfavorable reviews about the bank and there service. Has anyone had any experience with them and can say one way or the other?
I called Amtrust Direct and was told the 5.11% deal ended yesterday. Bummer.
Do rate go back up once other companies start to compete again? I know E-Trade and Emigrant will compete alot of times
Here’s another one to add to the on-going list.
5.20% APR for their e-Savings
OneUnited Bank
http://www.OneUnited.com
Open an UNITY Gold e-Savings account with $1,000 min to earn 5.20% APR and that rate has been in effect since May 15, 2007.
I found them by using bankrate.com today.
Well both Paypal,and HSBC currently also have a mastercard/Visa logo debit card.
I use both.Paypal is currently earning a 4.29% interest,but my online checking at HSBC isn’t paying any interest,but it is free checking.
The only catch is you must do at least one transaction every three months with the HSBC account for it to stay as free checking.
So for a few minutes at least every three months you can either add a few dollars,or withdraw a few dollars and that handicap is fullfilled.So four times a year you must either add funds,or transferr funds,which isn’t much of a requirement,as it will help you to remember your account information.
HSBC has some of the most secure features to protect your online account.
A user must first choose their account type,then they must enter a user name,followed by a password,and then in addition the account holder must then enter their account security key that can only be entered using the mouse(no keystrokes to be recorded by hackers).
A failure of any of the above will prevent access.Also if you do not remember your security key you can reset the key if you successfully answer the security questions in which you set.If you fail to answer correctly after the third attempt,the reset feature will then be disabled.
I also have two credit cards issued via HSBC and I have never had any problems with them changing the rates,all customer inquiries have been prompt,and complete.
No real probs with ETrade. It does take a week or so to transfer money from my checking account, but it does eventually get there.
I’ve only called in once and the customer service was great.
Still, you guys all have me worried.
I’ll try to ride it out.
Ian
You ask if there’s any info we’d like to see added. I’d like to see a rating based on reader’s experience, where you could maintain a poll which asks each person to rate their experience based a number of useful criteria like ease of use, customer service quality, ease of contacting customer service, etc. You mention that GRS readers love ING Direct, but not why. It would be wonderful to have a link to point to people who say “I love it because…” or “I hated it because …”.
I opened an online FNBO savings account in December at 5.05% and got an email after barely a month that the rate dropped to 4.30%. Ouch! I’m looking for better options elsewhere, but won’t move until the Fed rate cuts settle down. Any insight on whether these accounts tend to go back up eventually and how soon? Also- what banks offer rates that lock in for periods of time and what sort of time frame would be about average to expect?
With US rates falling and Australian rates rising, a little inconvenience might net you a gain and reduced currency risk for holding some cash in an offshore account. Local rates here in Australia: 6.4% with ING and 6.9% with Rabo Bank.
I’ve had my HSBC account for just under a year, opened it with my tax refund last year back when the rate was 5.05%. It’s hard to ignore all the positive reviews that ING customers have. While I haven’t had any problems with HSBC, I haven’t done much other than automated transfers from my brick-n-mortar checking on payday.
Anyway I’m wondering if it makes sense just to open an ING account with a minimum deposit just to get the $25 bonus and maybe earn some $10 bonuses. What do you folks think?
Offshore accounts in Australia? Interesting idea. Is this legal for a US citizen? Are there Australian taxes to pay on the interest? I’d like to learn more about this idea. Anyone have any links to get educated on the subject?
Don, why not. It’s basically free money. If you want to get started, email me at [email protected] and I’ll send you a referral.
Brad, I’m with you. I’d like to hear more about the off shore concept.
Every 100 comments or so, someone points out that you really should add WaMu to the list. I’ve been with my high-interest WaMu savings account now for about five months and I’m very happy. The web interface is excellent, I make transfers regularly online, and also bank at the physical branches, and haven’t been hit by a single fee. Yes, you have to open a checking account, but I just put $1 in and never touched it again. I even named the account “One Dollar,” which makes for amusing email statements.
I know the personal finance blogosphere is all gaga about ING, but I really think WaMu gives you the same thing with a better rate plus physical branches.
I agree with cameron. WAMU rocks….
I’ve had an AmTrust Direct account for about 8 months now. The rate was a little higher when I first got in, but it’s really still pretty good compared to other banks. I can also make transfers to/from my checking account at Chase, which is nice (but only 6 transfers per month).
I have been with HSBC for a while now…their rate just dropped to 3.80%. Everyone’s rate seems to be dropping but it is hard to see an account go from 5% to under 4%. Today I opened a new account with OneUnited, it was really simple. I will keep both accounts open, I have no problem with HSBC other than their low rate.
I opened an account with ING last year because their interest rates were higher than those offered by other banks. Like Aaron, I am a bit dissapointed at the rate they are currently offering, but it is still higher than citi, chase, WAMU, BOA, and my credit union (just to name a few) without having to maintain a minimum/high balance. I love how easy it is to get arround their site and the speed in witch they answer your questions. I give ING an A plus
Check out these must-have websites everyone! Between the two, you get the lowdown on pretty much all the main banks, and each seems to be updated fairly often:
http://www.bankaholic.com/money-market
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/rate/mmmf_highratehome.asp?web=brm¶ms=US,416&prodtype=chksav&market=416&product=33&state=US&sort=3
Also, this is a helpful website for plugging in numbers to compare different rates over the long run:
http://www.dinkytown.net/java/CompareSavings.html
I posted earlier (#436) about my disappointment with ING. After reading some follow-up comments and doing some research, I decided to open with ETrade. Well, a week later and nothing happened, so I called today. After waiting 30 minutes on the phone (which NEVER happened with ING), I was told there was a problem with my application and it was a “good thing I called”. I canceled my application right then and there – If a bank wants my business they’ll contact me to work things out. Since then, rates continue to drop…so it looks like it’s ING for at least a little while longer unless something wonderful comes by.
Sorry for three posts in a row, but I keep finding these awesome websites. This one provides an “Interest Rate Chaser Calculator” in helping you decide whether it is worth moving your money to a new bank for just a minimal difference in rate, given the lost days of interest, instability of the new rate, etc.
http://www.mymoneyblog.com/archives/2006/10/the-ultimate-interest-rate-chaser-calculator.html
Does anyone have any additional info on One United Bank?????
DreaDrea, thanks for the rate chaser calculator. That’s exactly what I needed. I just have one more question for you all. How does the frequency of compounding factor into the equation? I’m thinking of moving a chunk of my money from ING to a higher paying site. I was thinking AmTrust Direct but they compound monthly. I also noticed that OneUnited Bank compounds quarterly. Thanks in advance for your guidance.
I just found this site that answers my own question:
http://www.mymoneyblog.com/archives/2005/09/interest_compou.html
APY means Annual Percentage Yield. So if Bank A compounds daily and Bank B compounds quarterly, but both have an APY of 4.25%, then the compounding period becomes irrelevant… because the end result is the same. That is why APY become the standard instead of just citing “the Interest Rate”. For example, Emigrant (when I last checked) had a 4.21% daily interest rate, but reports 4.30% APY as that is what you’d get if the deposit was left in the entire year. If they paid quarterly, they could advertise probably a 4.24% Interest rate. APY is the great equalizer to stop the games.
The caveat is that if the account isn’t compounded except quarterly, when you withdraw your money 60 days into the quarter, you can lose 60 days interest. You don’t actually have the money earned until you reach the 90 day mark.
For these types of fluid accounts, I’d stick to one that “compounds daily, pays monthly”. I’ve never seen one to actually pay daily.
Here’s a good site to explain it:
http://banking.about.com/od/savings/a/apy.htm
Thanks Brad. I was wondering if one would lose out on interest by withdrawing funds during the period and you confirmed it. I’ll stay away from OneUnited.
WHERE WILL I MAKE MORE UPDATE…
With the market changes this past week I thought I would update the “Breaking Points” for the savings accounts as I mentioned earlier on this board. Please read my earlier post #388 and #395 for further explanation. Remember the key though if you are investing less than the figures below is to do it through the referral link.
I have recieved emails questioning whether it is better to open an ING account and get the upfront $25 and only 3.4%APY or open one with higher APY. So I did a little math and broke it down. This only reflects 1 year of earnings.
With the following banks and their current APYs you would make more in interest with ING unless you can open and maintain the balance I have listed here…
Etrade (4.4%) $2,500.00
iGO Banking (4.2%) $3,125.00
Emigrant (4.05%) $3,846.15
HSBC Direct (3.8%) $6,250.00
Citibank (3.5%) $25,000.00
Capital One (3.5) $25,000.00
If you have the ability to open your account with more than the balance listed above, and maintain that balance for the entire year, then it is in your best financial interest to open one of the above listed banks. If you do not have at least $2500 (I don’t) to start off, then you will make a better return this year with ING Direct. That is why I opened one for my personal savings, and still have my payroll in a higher yielding account (it is in the thousands per quarter).
Blessings,
Alicia
If you do not have a lot to start saving, but you are interested in doubling your savings in one year (or less) you can read how it is possible in post #366.
I have always banked with Etrade (also have IRAs there), so I opened a savings account there when the interest rate was at 5% or so. The customer service is GODAWFUL. Lately, though, it’s gotten better, but I do believe that’s because there is an alert on my account. 🙂
Wow everyone seems to agree on this thread that the customer service at Etrade is very bad. I have read it several times on here.
Hi, I want to open a high yield savings account and noticed that AmTrust Direct offers an APY of 4.6%, does anyone have any comments on AmTrust? Also, is there a difference between Money market accounts and high yield e-savings accounts? many banks have different rates depending on which one you want to open…thanks
Hi Sylvia, I was tempted by the 4.6% at AmTrust as well, but read some very negative reviews of it on bankaholic.com. I am considering Savings Square (savingssquare.com) which is offering 4.5% APY, $1 to open, no minimum, no fees, and seems to have a user friendly site. However I can’t find any reviews of them anywhere. Anyone have any experience with this bank?
Karen:
How funny! I, too, was considering savingssquare. Of course, just 2 weeks ago it was 4.8% and now it’s 4.5% and will probably continue on it’s way down with the others. I haven’t seen anyone on this site mention it in all of the 500 posts, but I happen to find it through an internet search and all sites referencing it all pointed out how bankrate gave it 4 stars. So that was my first interest. When I went to the website, I found their site neat and user friendly as well. And I read all the FAQ and small print and was still interested.
But all this being said, as we have seen over the last 6 months, everything is changing and continues to change. Shoot, savingssquare could be 4.0% tomorrow! Or even worse.
I’m no economist or financial expert, but sounds like we all need to wait things out as best we can and see where the dust settles (if it does) before we make any big decisions. You should check out my posts on 466, 467, and 469 for some helpful sites on comparing banks, updated interest rates, and a helpful calculator for switching banks. I’m currently at KeyBank and have been for 6 months. See my detailed post on 426. The interest rate is now 4% but you have to look at multiple factors besides just rate.
Sorry for the long post guys!
Karen:
Also, here are some blogs/threads on savings square:
http://www.americanconsumernews.com/2007/08/banking-reviews-savings-square%e2%80%99s-no-minimum-online-savings-account.html
http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/messageview.php?catid=52&threadid=772455
http://www.savingadvice.com/forums/investing-banking/31608-savings-square.html
(especially towards the middle of the page)
These sites will of course be referring to slightly higher rates that SS had a few weeks ago, but they are helpful as to info about SS in general that you were looking for
DreaDrea, thanks for the great links! I have an account at ING, and I like them but they are now down to 3.4% which is disappointing. After reading about Savings Square they seem to have good reviews and one of the more decent rates at the moment, so I’ve started an application with them and I’ll let you know how I like them.
Is Oneunited a good savings plan? I see they are offering 5.15% APR with a minimum balance of $1,000. Anyone have this and think it is good, I need to get out of ING, ING just isnt cutting it anymore with the constant lowering of rates. I noticed Alicia did not have this on her lists of banks with top %, and I am not sure why since it is 5.15!!!
HSBC is now at 3.55%.
I also decided to open an account with Savings Square. I am not giving up on ING but I’m moving a decent chunk of money to get a better return. The application process with SS was quick. However, be prepared to answer questions about items on your credit report such as mortgages, auto loans, etc. They use this info to verify your identity. They also have an option to avoid using small deposits to verify your account by instead providing the ID/pw for the linked account. This seems a little scary but I opted to use it against my better judgement. From start to finish, my application was approved and the external account linked in less than 10 minutes. However, it doesn’t seem that I can access my account yet. I was provided with a reference number but I don’t have an ID/pw. I’ll add another post if there is anything significant to report.
FYI:
We are writing to inform you that based on the recent drop by the Federal Reserve, HSBC Direct has adjusted your Online Savings Account rate to 3.55% APY*. At 8x the national savings average**, you are still earning one of America’s highest savings rates.
All of these high yield accounts are going to drop the rates until the interest rates go back up.
But what I would like to say, is with high interest earning accounts there has to be other rates that are affected as well. I mean the lending rate will be higher, the cost to finance with cars will be higher as well.
Yes I would like to earn more with savings, but at the same time, I would like borrowing rates to drop. You cannot have it both ways. But 3% or so is better than all of your brick and mortar banks and most credit untions.
James, the thing to consider with OneUnited is that they compound interest quarterly. See Brad’s post #473 (Feb 1 2008) for a scenario on how you could lose out on 60 days of interest.
Thanks Jeff, yea I saw that. I am getting out of ING the rate is just too low. I have narrowed it down to 3, can someone help me pick one?
E-Trade* (have not heard great things about service, but does it really matter, savings are savings to not really touch often that being said I dont need to touch my savings for at least 6 months, if even at all in a years time, I usually save to save and dont want a way to withdraw with an ATM because that defeats my savings goal of not spending savings. This does have a GOOD RATE
IGOBanking
Emigrant
Would also consider any other ones you think are better? Like I said above, I do not need a ATM card and dont see myself making many if any withdrawals on this account for a year or so, if not longer, if that helps give you a background of my goals. I also have about $10,000 to switch into a savings account from my current ING direct account.
Looks like most of the dust has settled (for the minute). Zions ($1000 min) is still 4.18% APY and that is still close to the top of the 6 that I follow.
Only IGo Banking is currently higher at 4.20% APY. If you need the ability to initiate ACH to move things around, IGo is easier (with daily limitations that they will adjust for you if asked).
The Zions Deseret account, however, gives you a few checks (but no ACH initiation capability). They also will give you an additional free checking account with a debit card. Minimal interest in the connected checking account, but easy to move (online) from Deseret to Checking if you find you need a debit card or to write more than the few checks allowed on Deseret (3 per month I think).
Last I looked:
ING 3.40%
HSBC 3.55%
UFB Direct 4.00%
Emigrant 4.05%
Zions 4.18%
IGo Banking 4.20%
I’ve had no hassles to report with any of these…
James,
If you’re not needing liquidity, I suppose a CD would be fairly competitive interest rate-wise. I have accounts with FNBO, Emigrant Direct, and ING. Truthfully, ING is for my kids to foster an interest in savings. FNBO has currently settled down to 4.3%, and while setting up the account was a bit slow for my liking, that’s a pretty competive return and I have no issues to report. Emigrant has been a solid account for me. I think they have a track record for relatively strong interest rates. And I recently needed to move some money from there to my brick and mortar account, and it was there the next day.
Why is nobody talking about WAMU. Its giving 4.25% APY, debit cards, B&M presence in major states.
I’m with them for the last 2 months and extremely happy.
Am I missing something. I see savings rates are the same as 6mo CD’s. I would think you could get yourself a 2 year cd and get a much better rate then a regular savings account. Right now Country Wide is paying 4.9% on 6 mo cd’s. A regular country wide savings account is paying 4-5%. Whats the deal?
A 2 yr CD at Countrywide is only paying 3.75%. They also require a $10000 min deposit. The fact that the 3 month CD is 4.9% and then the rate goes down the longer the period tells me that they believe interest rates will continue to fall.
The deal is that on the daily rates, they can pay higher and cut it at any time…so they can promise you what the traffic will bear today, knowing that they can dramatically drop it tomorrow if rates fall.
A CD is just like a bet. I jumped on a 5 yr 6% CD when it was offered because I didn’t believe interest rates would go higher in the 5 yr period. I’ve won that bet so far as nobody went over that rate since I got it 3 yrs ago. If we were back in the late 1970s, when CDs got up to 15% with our wild inflation, I’d have lost the bet and had to take an interest penalty to convert it to the higher rate.
At this point in time, a 4.9% CD looks like a decent bet if you can lock up $10k for 90 days (that rate is for 3 months, not 6 as of this morning…6 mo is down to 4.75%). I have not researched whether that is the best 3 month rate out there…
That said, I am NOT a Countrywide fan. They are one of the lenders that participated in this risky lending that has now bitten the entire economy. I sure hope some regulators go after banks and mortgage brokers who assisted folks in getting these phony no doc loans with false, overstated applications.
What about paypal? Instant transfer, 3.72% as of today. ATM card for easy withdrawal. Does anyone use this?
I use PayPal, but have not read the fine print on earning interest on it. I guess I just did not believe it, honestly. And fees in PayPal will kill ya but of course many of us use it any because you have to online.
I have been with Emigrantdirect now for 2-years and I absolutely love using this bank. I have since had my kids open accounts. SO easy to manage and customer service is ALWAYS there. Their credit card (M/C) points added to savings account is awesome!! Interest rates are very competitive but I am so impressed with the ease of use and service.
Is IGO banking a good one to use, like I said I have ING but 3.4% is too low now. I was thinking about Igo or Zion’s, however with Zions it seems to get a good rate you must open a checking account with them as well. I dont want a debit card or anything, I dont plan on touching this savings for a while.
James:
iGo is fine…they have funny ACH transfer limits that they waive if you contact them directly…like so much in and so much out in a rolling 30 day period…. But at least they do have ACH initiation capabilities. Zions does not have the capability.
The high interest Zions Account, the Deseret account, happens to be classified as a Checking account in that you can write 3 checks per month…they give you a “supply” of about 6 checks is all. So it really isn’t a checking account per say. Just has a $1000 lower limit to get the good interest.
That said, I’ve just had a problem with Zions and am going to drop them (after intending to make them a main bank). Here is what happened:
I wrote a check for $5000 and decided to stop payment (escrow problem). Online, Zions warns you must have full and correct info to stop payment or they won’t be responsible. I wasn’t sure exactly what name I put in the payee line, so I called them instead of risking it online. The fella verified that a stop payment cost was $25, but a NSF fee would only be $21.
So I asked and he agreed, that my best course of action would be to simply move the money into another of my Zion’s accounts, forcing the check to bounce if the payee went ahead and tried to cash it. I moved the bulk of money to the other account after he verified that the check was NOT yet cleared. I also verified that I had NO overdraft protection so the check would indeed, bounce. Well, at the end of the day, the payee did submit the check (AFTER MY TRANSFER) and Zions cashed it anyway!! THEN they applied my transfer and that put me $4700 in the red. EXACTLY what they told me would not happen. They even charged me $24 (which they have reversed now) as apparently an NSF check that is paid actually has a higher fee than one that is just bounced.
Luckily, I did receive a check refund from the payee so I’ll not experience a loss here, but my protection was evaporated by Zions’ incorrect advice. This is the second apology I’ve received from Zions for one of their folks giving me incorrect information that could have cost me money (the first was telling me I had unlimited checkwriting with a Deseret account…and that is NOT true). I think that is enough for me.
Stupid Question Alert:
I currently have a portion of my paycheck directly deposited into my brick and mortar checking acct and a portion of my paycheck directly deposited into my b+m savings acct. If I were to open a ING savings acct (to use instead of the b+m savings acct), could I set up a similar direct deposit from my paycheck. Or, would I have to deposit the money into my checking acct and then transfer it to the online ING acct? (I’m also interested in hearing answers to this question that may apply to accts other than ING)
Hi James,
I do not know if you can have your pay check direct deposited into your ING savings accoutn (honestly I have never heard of a check being directly deposited into 2 seperate accounts, only into one and then an auto transfer to the other)
ING does have the Automatic Savings Plan (ASP)
Save more by saving more often! An ASP allows you to automatically have a fixed amount of money regularly transferred to your ING DIRECT account from your linked checking account. Simply select the amount, the account and how often you would like it moved.
There is also a $60,000 sweepstakes running for clients signed up for the Automatic Savings Plan.
You would DEFINATELY make more interest by putting your savings in ING or another online savings account then in your b&m bank!!
Blessings,
Alicia
James, you can split your direct deposit amongst multiple accounts, including ING or any other bank. They are all the same in that regard. ING has a direct deposit form available on their website but you can also use your employer’s form if they have one. You just need the bank’s routing number (ING Direct is 031176110) and your account number.
MidWest America Credit Union has the highest interest checking account rates in the nation, I’ve been looking for a while now.
They are offering 7.01% on accounts up to 25k, all you have to do is sign up for electronic banking statements, use your debit card 10 times a month, and direct deposit (or withdraw funds with billpay).
I sat down in the Credit Union and it was smooth sailing, and got good advice and got a hell of a deal.
Kelly Munyon is great- Charleston Branch
Highly recommend them.
My company allows deposits of my check into up to 6 accounts. Using either % or $ amounts. It’s a great feature since I have 2 checking accounts and just opened an online savings with Amtrust Direct. Now I don’t have to worry about transfers.
oh yea. washington mutual has a promo rate of 4.71 if you link a checkings and online savings.
i dont know if my last comment was posted buy it was concerning Mid west America credit union. It was fast and easy and the rate is 7.01%.
The rep also mentioned some other institutions with good rates:
Three rivers credit union
and lake city bank
please excuse the typos .
I Love ING, I have both accounts savings and checking. my experience is awesome!!! I recommend it to anyone. I spent hours on the computer reading positive reviews and my friends had this accounts like 5 years.. no problems at all. I could see ING had the best reviews always.
I’ve had my online savings with ING for about 8 months now and am very satisfied with their program. The direct deposit makes saving an automatic.
I believe a lot of these positive comments about ING are by ING employees. Seriously! Read them, they read like advertisements.
tgard933,
I have several ING referrals left also, but I did not think that J.D. was allowing us to offer them on this blog any more.
You’re correct, Alicia. And I’m deleting by hand any additional referral swapping. I appreciate the intent, but they’re cluttering this place up. I want people to discuss the banks and their rates, not pitch referral links.
Scott: I can see your point about the ING comments sounding like they’re coming from employees. However, I can assure you that I’m not an employee and I highly doubt the others are either. If you try ING, you’ll understand whey they get all of the positive feedback. I have only been with them for 5 months and I love it. I’m a little bummed about recent decrease in APY so I opened an account with Savings Square and it’s night and day. The ING website and process is far superior. As others have said, if your only concern is the highest possible rate, ING is not the place. If you factor in everything else, I don’t think they can be beat.
I understand that this board is for passing along savings tips. However I was wondering if anyone knows of a site where I could go to “advertise” my referals. Perhaps it would be possible to start another thread on this board with only referals for those people that may be interested in receiving the bonus. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?
I made the same suggestion to J.D. He said: “This is a good idea, actually. I’ll set one up this weekend.”
(I may set it up as soon as today. Stay tuned. I’m going to call it the “referral swap thread” or something similar. I’ll link to it prominently from here.)
Okay, I feel something needs to be said about the purpose of this blog. I respect JD’s right to control the content of this blog. That said, it seems counter-productive to start a blog with the purpose of helping people find ways to increase their savings returns, and then take away one of the best available means of increasing returns. What difference does it make if the return is from an interest rate or a referral bonus. With interest rates dropping like a lead balloon, I would think alternative ways to increase savings would be welcomed.
For the record, I do NOT work for ING. I never even heard of ING before reading about them on this blog. I opened an ING account from a link that Mary sent me (thank you, Mary) and received the $25 bonus. Since then I have sent several referral links to others. To date I have received $165 in bonuses (original $25, plus 14 of the $10 referral bonuses). I’m personally grateful for the mention of ING referral links on this blog, and I know others have benefitted as well.
To be fair, I also have a UFB Direct savings account (currently 4.0%). It pays slightly higher rates than ING, but as others have mentioned, the ING website is much easier to use.
Sorry about the long blog. I know J.D. intended this blog to become a forum for discussing various savings alternatives, and not a commercial for ING (although I noticed that ING’s advertisement is prominently displayed at the top of the page). I have just been a little surprized that in an effort to waive the flag of integrity, it appears we lost sight of the goal; INCREASING RATE OF RETURN.
KJoe, I’m not opposed to people swapping referral codes. In fact, I think it’s a good thing. However, this thread is not the place for it. I’ve received a number of complaints (both via comment and via e-mail) because the swapping clutters the actual discussion of rates. I don’t mind that people want to praise ING — I use them and love them, too — I just want to keep the referral codes out of this post.
J.D.
Thanks for your reply. As previously stated, I fully respect your right to control the content of this thread. In fact, you will note that I have not advertised any referral links since the date you asked everyone to stop doing it.
I just hope that the new post will not be hidden or difficult to find. In my opinion (for whatever it’s worth), referral bonuses are just another means to increase your individual rate of return. Everyone wins.
Thanks J.D.
I agree
I did not hear about ING till this thread, recieved a link from a post here, and now have earned like $265 …I more than doubled my Christmas money from my in-laws and in only one month.
So I owe you a HUGE thank you JD!! for operating this blog. And I understand, that you want to up hold the intergity of page, and also thank you for that!
I am still hoping to max out my bonuses and earn the other $260. But I want to do that by really educating people about the benefits of ING Direct, not by overwhelming a great blog.
I do want to add that ING bonuses should not be overlooked, I believe I have made a valid case on my other posts (#476)that you can NOT soley look at APY and go with the highest rate figuring you will make the most return.
Blessings,
Alicia
Noticed earlier mention of OneUnited online savings, currently advertising 5.15% for minimum balance of $1,000. Does anyone have any experience with OneUnited?
Dave: I know there’s over 500 posts here so it’s hard to find, but we have mentioned this bank before and the big small print is that they compound interest QUARTERLY. If you know anything about compounding interest, that’s not as good as monthly or daily (which a few have). So just meaning that you can’t just like at the percentage number being higher, but rather take it into context. Hope that helps.
Dave:
Also, check out this website which has very helpful user reviews for all the banks, including OneUnited. Doesn’t look good.
http://bankaholic.com/money-market/
Hey I think it was me who may have sounded like an ING employee. I am not but, in reply to someone who had a question I cut and pasted information from INGs site, in response. Sorry for the confusion, but I do not think that anyone here including my self, works for ING.
Also J.D. How is that referral swapper idea coming along? Are you able to make it happen? I have another bank that I would like to offer referrals for. They too are offering $25 just for signing up but with no minimum, and $10 thank you bonuses. They are a new fast-growing competitor of PayPal, without the killer fees. Again I will just need the email addresses of people who are interested. Will this be something I will be able to offer on there?
Blessings,
Alicia
DreaDrea and Dave,
You may want to take a look here: http://www.bankrate.com/brm/rate/mmmf_highratehome.asp?web=brm¶ms=US,416&prodtype=chksav&market=416&product=33&state=US&sort=2
According to Bankrate’s APY OneUnited is head and shoulders above everyone else, even though their interest is compounded quarterly. Unless of course I’m missing something.
By the way, I’m getting ready to set up an account with ING so if anyone wants to email me at tc.strait AT gmail.com with the referral that would be mighty nice of ya.
Hey T.C.
In order for the person referring you to get their $10 bonus, they will need to enter in your first and last name and email address. Other wise I do not think they will get credit. I say this because ALL the people I have entered in with just an initial and last name, either did not sign up OR I was not credited. If you want to email me you can find my email on my previous posts. Don’t worry, your info is safe with me, I have referred over 20 people and not spammed one of them:)
Hello,
Just thought you might want to check out this high yield interest list: http://www.thetaoofmakingmoney.com/2007/09/21/510.html
Also check out the highest yield bank (5.15%): https://www.oneunited.com/OnlineBanking/OpenAccount.asp
Talk to you soon.
Kevin Richardson
That list is very outdated???
Aren’t all high yield lists? But seriously, try the second url: https://www.oneunited.com/OnlineBanking/OpenAccount.asp you’ll be happily surprised.
Kevin
Hey maybe some one can help clarify this for me. I know there has been discussion on here of banks compounding interest daily, weekly, monthly etc. Does this really matter? My understanding was that the APY takes in to account all earned interest even the compounding for the whole year. Isn’t this why they use APYs to simplify the system and give us a number that can be easily and accurately compared?
Alicia: Read post #473…. It’s all there…and a link for more…
Thanks much… very helpful!!
FYI – Savings Square dropped today:
Dear Customers,
Thank you for saving with SavingsSquare.com.
Effective 2/19/2008 the rate offered on Square Savings Accounts is 3.93% with an annual percentage yield (APY) of 4.00%. The APY is variable and is subject to change at any time.
Thank you!
Customer Service
SavingsSquare.com
Thanks Alicia for the info on the ING Direct $60,000 sweepstakes for opening an Automatic Savings Plan/Direct Deposit. Just added that feature to my ING Direct savings account. Great! Mary Anne
I have found a way to be able to use the money I have in my savings account to pay the people I need to for the work they do for me online. I linked my savings account to my revmoneyexchange account. It is a payment processor competing with PayPal and rather then fork out the cash to advertise, they are offering $25 on sign up. The account is free, they do not charge fees, and it was really easy to sign up for and link to my account. It does not pay interest but it allows me to access my savings funds when I need to.
You can find out more…
http://www.internationalbusinesscash.com/recommends/CashToday
Blessings,
Alicia
I have been using ING for years now an use the Orange Checking as well. It may have a lower rate but the combo of earning interest on both checking and savings is great. Customer service is great and I really like that you can set up multiple savings accounts, I have a bunch for my smaller projects such as my christmas money and money I’m saving up for my vacation, and things like that. It’s great but I also have a Savings Square account for the money that just sort of sits there and is being saved.
I started using ING and have been very satisfied so far. I still havea few referrals if anyone needs/wants one. drop me a line @ [email protected]
Does anyone know if any of the online, high yield savings accounts will download directly into microsoft money. I currently have an INGdirect savings and checking. My only complaint is that I have to log into the site to manually download account info into Money. BTW I’m using Money 2006
I opened an ING electric orange account a year or so back. It’s fantastically easy to use and prefer it to my brick and mortar bank’s online service. It not only pays more interest, but the interface and bill pay is really simple. I have called their customer service exactly two times. Once when setting up the joint checking account, and once recently to see if I could open up a separate non-joint checking account.
Note to those who might want multiple checking accounts: ING only allows you one Electric Orange account. My current account is joint, so if I wanted to split it out and have individual accounts, I’d have to divest the current account and then open a new EO account separately. This is a bit of a pain, but not a major problem in my opinion. It’s something I couldn’t figure out from reading their website, so consider that an FYI for everyone here.
I have two savings accounts through ING. One is my main account, which I’m using now instead of my B&M because it pays better interest, the other is for the smaller/quick payments from what I occasionally sell on eBay and Amazon (payments go to PayPal, PayPal sends money to this account). When money comes into that account, I generally sweep it right into my main savings account.
All in all, I really, really like ING. It’s dead simple to use and I pay all of my bills through it. Never have I had insufficient funds, lost checks, or late bill payments. I usually stay on top of those things anyway, so it might be both a combination of ING and my own OCD. 🙂
One thing I’ll mention is that I have a much smaller account through Emigrant direct. I’ve never talked to their customer service folks, but the user interface is really simple and intuitive as well. I set up some automatic transfers to that account and just forget about it. It’s money to play with.
All in all, I’m definitely one of those guys who wants to do everything online. I want online statements, bill pay, account information, etc. Not only have I eliminated a large amount of USPS mail, I’ve largely eliminated trips to the bank, trips to pay bills, trips to the mailbox (:)), etc.
I have $2000.00 that I want to put into a savings account for about 6 months. Which one would you guys recommend?
Thanks
With ING you will make about $59 total over 6 month. You would need an account to offer you 5.971% APY in order to make the same return. There is not one out there that I know of with that high of APY. Plus honestly , ING is so easy to use, customer service is fabulous. You can not go wrong… don’t take my word for it. Read through this page, people who have used to for years or days all love it. You will need a referral link to earn that full return. And there are lots of us that are willing to send you one, just look about for email addresses in prior posts.
Hope this helps.
Does anyone know how I can set up a custodial account in ING for each of my 4 children AND get them the $25 referral bonus?
Dear Charles:
I know this is not the answer you want, but it is the most truthful and helpful answer:
You need to pretty much read this entire blog (at least the last 1-2 months worth), making sure to visit the helpful comparison website links people (including myself – see #466, 467, 469) have posted.
After all that, as you’ll see, there is no right answer and the market keeps changing daily so a good rate today could be gone tomorrow. =(
My GUESS as to why ING is has lower rates is because of its privacy policy. I checked the privacy policy for about a dozen of the companies on the above list and ING was the only one that said by default it does not share, sell or have “joint marketing agreements” with other companies. You don’t even have to opt-out. There is an Opt-in policy for selling your name if for some reason you wanted to do that.
Banks can afford to offer higher rates if they profit from investing your money AND by selling/sharing your credit report.
Wow, I’m glad I stumbled on this. I was in the process (application page actually) on e*Trade getting ready to set up an online savings account. Figured I should poke around to look for rates and stumbled on this. Great find, lots of useful info. So, I’m wondering if anyone can give me some advice for my best option. About 2 weeks ago, I called boa and learned that I’m earning an appalling .2% on my savings. That’s a joke. So, I want to put it into something else. This is my situation for setting up a new account:
– $7000 initial investment
– Do not need to access money; completely separate from my checking (boa) and am just parking my money there
– Do not need ability to write checks
Basically, it’s just a place to put my money, not touch it, and earn better than the paltry .2% boa is giving me. ING sounds good, but so does HSBC and a few others. I just need no frills and ease as I won’t be accessing it much. Any clear cut winner, or suggestion? Thanks again for all the great info.
Cory, sounds like my situation…I had an ING account in college for a year but needed to close it to pay off tuition…have recently opened a Wamu high yield savings account and it has been great. (no minimums) My checking account only has $1 in it so I get the 4% APY and I don’t touch my savings nor need checks (just in case you need cash fast, you can link the debit card they send to the savings account). Website interface is nice and easy to understand, and you can setup automatic transfers from another account so you can essentially set it and forget it. You can also go to their physical branches near you, although I don’t find the need to do that. I think the only downfall is Wamu’s 3-5 day delay on transferred money showing up in the account, but since you are only using it as a savings account, it shouldn’t matter too much. So go to wamu.com and signup for the combo checking/savings account ASAP
I did my own experiment by starting a new account with HSBC, ING, Emigrant, and E*Trade all on the same day.
HSBC is great. Fast and easy to use: the only thing is when you logon, you have to enter a “security key” on a “virtual keyboard” using your mouse. It’s a pain and slows down the logon process.
ING is my favorite over all: The trial deposits were quick, they allow three linked accounts, and logon is quick AND secure. Plus, they have a referral program. Email me (gfarnam at gmail) for a referral link and get $25!
Emigrant was the fastest to set up by far! I started it Thursday afternoon and it was totally setup and linked to my checking account by Friday evening. My only problem is that you can only link two external accounts (not a problem for most people but it is for me).
E*Trade was a complete mess. The small extra interest is NOT worth it.
Has anyone checked out One United: https://www.oneunited.com/OnlineBanking/OpenAccount.asp ? (4.60%)
My fav is still WAMU!!!
Can someone update us of the “Referal Swap” thread? Has this been or will this ever be created? Or should I just do like comment #551 and say email me at (tgard933 at gmail dot com) to get an ING referal?
I am also curious about OneUnited. Does anybody have any experience with this company?
I have recommended ShoreBank in the past. Not only does this bank stack up well with the others regarding interest rates, ease of use, etc., they also ask for their customers’ feedback regarding how your deposits are used. I don’t know of another bank that does this. Below is a excerpt from an email I recently received from them. We’re all in this to earn interest. I also like to see my deposits used in a way that benefits others.
“Because ShoreBank is the bank that does both–giving you great rates of return along with maximum community and environmental impact–we want to know more about what matters to you. That means understanding not just your banking needs, but also what makes you passionate when it comes to how your deposits are used. Whether you are most concerned about economic development, interest rates, or conservation, please take this survey to let us know.”
I was wondering what people thought of HSBC. It seems pretty good, and was curious if anyone had any glaring negatives I should be aware of. The 3.55 looks quite good. My home bank (BB&T) has an e-savings program now, but its only a 2.75% APY I think.
Plus, I too was wondering about the referral swapping? I needed an ING ref. (miller dot shane dot a at gmail dot com).
Shane,
HSBC isn’t bad. I like that HSBC allows me to link all my other accounts to it (my 5th external account is pending right now). Emigrant’s limit is 2 and ING lets you have 3 linked accounts.
The only thing I don’t like about HSBC is that your logon includes a password that you type in and a password that you have to enter using your mouse on their “virtual keyboard”. It slows down the logon process, but I’m real big on ease and speed of logons and I’m getting used to it. I say give it a try and see for yourself. You can always close it later if you don’t like it.
Anybody know of a high interest account with a debit card that has a foreign transaction fee of < 2%?
KS, I’d check with Zions. I set up a Deseret account, which is actually a checking account (3 checks per month) and they also gave me a free regular checking account (that pays little) that is connected and has a free Debit card. Easy to transfer hunks of money from the Deseret to Regular for spending with the debit card.
I suggest them primarily because they are a fairly complete banking service and likely to have lower fees for your transactions than others…
I’m already a Citibank checking customer and I use their on-line bill pay for nearly everything. Seems like the 4% I would get with “Ultimate Money Account” from my existing relationship with Citi is a no-brainer. Am I missing something? I don’t plan on getting anyone else to sign up for ING, so the referral route doesn’t hold much appeal for me. However, I do like the idea of having something in a separate financial institution…
I’ve just started looking at online savings and stumbled on this thread when I “googled” online savings. I checked several of the suggested banks with the BBB online. Ing got a satisfactory rating, HSBC was not BBB accredited, and OneUnited that several people had asked about had an F rating. I will probably go with Ing because the rate isn’t that much lower than HSBC, my 2nd choice, and so many of you have commented on the ease of use. Glad I found you!
The new ING Direct referral swap thread is active. Please go there to exchange referrals. Do not do it here.
For the people asking about One United. I was ready to open a account, after typing in the words( Blogs on One United bank ) at Google,that changed my mind. No one had anything good to say about them.
still no link to FNBODirect? No minimum and 3.85% APY currently. The interface is not as ‘easy’ as ING so I hear, but I set my account up when they had the 6.0% teaser and with rates the way they are, it’s not worth it to me to move to a new account. I wish I could set up subaccounts but oh well, I’ll deal 🙂
I’ve generally been happy with Etrade and their customer service but my account balance is 6 figures so perhaps not all things are equal? I find that for transfers from Bank of America to my Etrade account, the Quick Transfer gets credited the next day.
Regading E*Trade:
After reading quite a bit of this page and doing my own research, I decided to try opening an account with E*Trade first. The interest rate was highest, and the complaints of customer service seemed less important to me (how often do I really call those anyway?).
That was about three weeks ago. I filled out all the info, got an email confirming that I had applied, and never heard anything from them again. They never withdrew from my checking, no more emails, nothing.
So I’m back to reading this page and researching. Maybe I’ll go with ING now – the ultimate safe bet here!
Taryn, Sorry to hear about your trouble; that’s exactly what happened to me at E*Trade. ING is definitely the best bet. Check comment #551 and I can get you an ING referral link. Good luck!
To those who are interested: You can’t transfer from Emigrant to ING or from Emigrant to HSBC. The one that DID work was from ING to HSBC. I’ll have to go from Emigrant to my regular checking at a brick-and-mortar bank to the desired online savings account (ING or HSBC). It will take longer but still able to do it all online.
If you live in the Baltimore, Maryland area, Provident Bank offers a HYSA through Provident Direct. The account is very similar to what the other banks are offering. The current yield is 4.50%. The twist on this one is that you can also access your money via a branch location in addition to transfers and an ATM card.
Regarding e-trade savings: post 569, 570. The same thing happened to me but i know why. My Driver License ID did not math the info I actually gave etrade. I did not hear nothing from them either nor took my deposit money, therefore I gave them a call, an a really nice guy explained to me all what happenen and helped me to solve it. Does the info you have e trade matches your divers license or id? also, its important that the name you are trying to open your account on etrade is the same name that credit report agencies have from you. That is how the verify who are you. I fix all that quick and my etrade account is awesome. . easy to use and secure. I love it. I deposited only $7 and the very next day I had already $7.03 wow~! I love the quick transfer option too.
Damn, Emigrant apy just dipped below ING for the first time that Im aware of. Emigrantdirect – 3.30% ING – 3.40%.
We’ll see what happens in the near future with ING but I jut might have to transfer my money out of Emigrantdirect.
Roger and everyone else,
I just want to point out that the difference between 3.30% and 3.40% on $10,000 over a WHOLE year is $10. If any of you are that concerned about $10 out $10,000 then seriously, we need to sit down and have a long talk about what’s important in life.
For the same reason that you shouldn’t flip out when gas goes up 10 cents per gallon, don’t be concerned when a rate drops. 3.30% is still a lot better than the 0.40% that most of our regular banks would give on a savings account.
The glass is half-full, ladies and gentlemen. Drink up!
=Gandalf=
I think the last message was mis-posted here. Would be better posted over on http://www.GetPoorSlowly.com...
10 cents a gallon? Yeah, it has only gone up 10 cents a gallon about 35 times in my lifetime… Sheeple with nonchalant attitudes don’t get rich slowly…they get poor, either slowly or quickly when they start to ignore “little” inconveniences like price increases or interest reductions and drink the koolaid…
Hi all!
I just wanted to take this opportunity to once again praise and promote KeyDirect bank since people continue not to mention it. Please refer to my previous posts 417 and 426 which detail the pros and cons. I’d also like to add to my pro list that you can sign up with KeyDirect for email alerts whenever a deposit or a credit is posted in the amount of whatever threshhold you tell them, which is pretty neat because then you know exactly when things are actually happening, and certainly if any withdrawals are happening that shouldn’t be.
Now of course, the rate has dropped down to 3.5% since I wrote those posts, but all rates have dropped over the last few months as we know, due to the current market issues. But this is still in line with most others right now, and by others I’m referring to the banks which don’t require a minimum opening deposit (or a very low one, $50 for Key Direct) AND NO MINIMUM BALANCE THEREAFTER, to compare apples and apples. But as we all know, you have to look at more than just the rate (customer service, checks, ACH, user friendly website, etc.).
Also, here are some helpful links I have posted before to always have the latest rates and 411 on the major online banks:
http://www.bankaholic.com/money-market
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/rate/mmmf_highratehome.asp?web=brm¶ms=US,416&prodtype=chksav&market=416&product=33&state=US&sort=3
Brad,
Thanx for being willing to disagree with me.
I was not being nonchalant, though I see how someone might read it that way. Nor was I “ignoring” the change in the rates. I was simply pointing out that such a small change is probably not going to make or break someone’s financial future. It’s easy for us to get caught up in the frenzy, and honestly, there are more important things to focus on in life.
=Gandalf=
P.S. Your disagreeing with me is part of a healthy debate, but I don’t see the need for sarcasm.
hey everyone i just signed up for ing and i really think it was a good choice. i am young and new to really paying myself so i wanted to ask everynone, do these rates ever go up instead of go down. seems like everyone is or was making comments a few months back about the decrease in rates. i enrolled for the 3.4% and i hope it can stay there for a while or even better go up. just looking for someone to clear this up for me. also is this just their introduction rate?
Jennifer, when I first created my ING account a few years ago the rates actually did go up several times. Of course, it seems they decreased more times than they increased, but I’m still earning way more than I would in a traditional savings account.
I don’t think 3.4% is an introductory rate, since that is the rate that I am currently earning as well.
Jennifer,
The rates do fluctuate up AND down depending on market conditions. I used to save with ING myself, but switched to ShoreBank back in November 2007. ShoreBank’s rate was 5.00% at that time and is currently 4.15%. Some banks are consistently higher than the average and some are consistently lower. Choosing a bank depends on what is important to you. When I opened my ING the rate was 4.75% and has since dropped to 3.4%. If getting a lower rate is worth it to you to have the use of a pretty orange web site, then ING is a good choice. I prefer ShoreBank because I’m earning more interest, and Shore Bank is a community development and environmentally concerned bank. They even survey their customers to see how we would like to have our deposits used. ShoreBank’s website is not fancy to look at, but provides the same functionality as other banks that are offering significantly lower rates. Just something to think about.
Mark
I’m sure you’ve all heard of Provident Bank? Anyone hear that it now has online accounts via Provident Direct?
http://www.provident-direct.com
Currently a whopping 4.5%, no minimum deposit requirement, no monthly fees, ATM card available, and no hard credit check during sign up. Sure, the rate is not guaranteed, but it has been this rate since November and just wanted to let everyone know about this bank.
Jennifer,
The rates have been going down due to the US being in a recession. The whole mess with sub-prime lending and the bearish stock market effect interest rates greatly as banks want to be a bit on the cautious side during recessions. Once the economy gets back on track, you can be sure that the interest rates will start heading up.
It really all depends on if the federal reserve decides to decrease or increase the federal interest rate. As of Jan 30, 08 the fed has set it at 3%. You can expect the interest rate that you earn from banks to be around that number, usually lower. Sometime in March (This month as of this writing) the feds will be meeting again to decide on if they will raise, lower, or keep the rate the same. Keep your fingers crossed for the rate to go up.
I can’t open any of these accounts as they ask for a street address and won’t accept a PO Box. I live in small town with no rural mail delivery, so everyone is provided a free Po Box by the postal service. This is actually not that uncommon, a huge part of Alaska doesn’t have carrier delivery. Don’t these banks understand that not everyone lives in Manhattan? I’ve emailed ING and Emigrant, with no response.
you should really try Emigrant, the 1.4% back is like an extra on the 3.3% APY, or at least get a debit/credit card with rewards, the banks offer good ones, better than APY offers, or adding up a lot
Is there anything bad about WaMu? There was some complaint about it, but I need some advice on whether to use it or not, if it does have hidden charges, ect.
Kind of new to online banking accounts. I noticed that Charles Schwab is not up there. Granted its currently 3.01%. Just wondering if anyone has ever tried them?
Bill,
WAMU is awesome.
I’m enjoying the great rates and the website interface is good too.
Thanks
When I opened my WAMU account almost two months ago I was very happy and the only thing I did not like was 5-8 days delay on transfers. But recently they charged me $10 excess activity which seems pretty stupid since I may have had only 10 transfers between checking and saving account as well as deposits! So all in all it is not FREE SAVING at the end, this fee is much higher than the interest they pay at least in my case!
Has anyone tried Amegy Bank of Texas? They market a high yield MMA, and have a bank online feature. There is a $1,000 minimum, but they do have brick and mortar banks here in Houston, and I am interested in building credit at a bank that may provide me a mortgage later. Anyone have any comments? Thanks.
WAMU is a great FREE checking account, have
been with them for over 20 years, Savings however is a little sketchy.. so I went with ING. two years now only bad thing is the economy
thanks sean and emmo, and I just think I will choose something different.
The NRA has a great Online banking option and the interest rates are high (4.0%). No minimums and best of all they will reimburse you any ATM fees you receive for using a local atm (like in the supermarket). I just found it a few mins ago and will be calling them come Monday AM. Plus they are real conservative so you know they won’t screw you (like Wells Fargo). 🙂
http://www.nrabankingcenter.com
Notice that the NRA online is just a different branding of the Huntington Bank… better known as UFB Direct. I have them and they are fine, but the current UFB rate is 3.85% APY, so I’m not sure if they are actually paying more with their NRA brand or it just isn’t updated.
I imagine they are all headed down again this week with the Fed cut.
Zions is still 3.87% up to 4.03% (based on balance) as of this moment.
Anyone heard of SmartyPig? Just read about it over at Wise Bread. I have been sitting on my Citi account for a while that has stayed higher than ING and etrade for some time. But today noticed it is down to 3.0% SmartyPig as of right now is 4.3%. That sounds like a number worth transfering, am I right? It’s backed by West Bank out of Iowa.
Looks like it the interest accrues quarterly, but in if you are really using this for a big savings goal, that is okay right?
On some of the earlier posts I saw people mention UFB Direct. I checked out their site today and they’re offering a 3.85% APY. Are they good to deal with? I’m new to this…
Thanks
UFB Direct (Huntington Bank) is just fine. I’ve used them for some time.
However, I doubt they will stay at 3.85% with the current rate cut. They’ve been at that rate and I imagine most of them will be falling quite a bit. As of this morning, Zions is still up to 4.03% on their Deseret account, but I expect that to change at any moment…
As is the usual case, ING is at the forefront of the downward path. They are down to 3.00% as of now, along with Emigrant.
HSBC is still 3.55% and UFB is at 3.85%, but do expect a drop, likely today.
Sean: how many activities did you make that caused them to charge you the extra $10?
As of today (3/25/08), Provident Direct (provident-direct.com) is still offering 4.50%. I wonder how long they can keep their rate so high.
Anyone here signed up with Provident Direct? Any opinions?
I just opened a WAMU account and the trick with the savings is you can’t have more than 6 transactions per month, HOWEVER if you use a WAMU ATM or go to a WAMU teller, you can make as many transactions as you need to (eg. transferring $$ from ckg to savings or vice versa; depositing, etc.) Mind you, this is as per the banker guy I opened the checking account with, so we’ll see.
Their web interface is seems pretty decent so far. Oh, if you’re new to WAMU and need to open the free checking first, if you want to start taking advantage of the savings rate ASAP, open the free checking at the bank, and deposit cash. (There’s a 7 day hold on check deposits for the first 30 days for new checking accounts.) Then after a day or two you can go online and open the savings and transfer your money into the savings account (leave at least a dollar!!). I opened the checking on friday afternoon and was able to create an online savings account that sunday.
I went with WAMU because there are brick & mortar branches if there are any problems or quick cash issues. And because there are physical locations, their online savings account is basically equivalent to using e-statments instead of receiving monthly statements in the mail.
I just noticed that HSBC Direct is now down to 3.05% from 3.55%. When the rate cut happened, I expected that. They are now a whole .05% higher than ING. LOL…
Seriously and honestly, in determining who I should put my pennies with, I decided to go with HSBC for two reasons. (I am currently saving sofa change…$5, $10 here…I do that enough times, I might do a higher amount more consistently).
Reason 1: I have a HSBC credit card. I am hoping to walk into a bank one day and beg them to refinance my 6 year 24% auto loan at a normal human rate. I pay the CC off in full and the auto loan I plan to have the value of the loan less than the value of the car after one year (a couple of grand here and there extra on top of my normal payments). It is my hope that I have a year relationship with HSBC with two of their products that I’ll be taken seriously.
Reason 2: With the HSBC ATM Card, in a true emergency, I can go to any 24 Hour Walgreens pharmacy and use their HSBC ATMs as well as go to a HSBC ATM in the next town. I don’t need the money I put into HSBC immediately and I am satisfied with the rate. I do appreciate the fact that if I ever needed the money immediately, I can just simply withdraw it, and/or transfer it to my regular bank (Bank of America).
I agree with Jo. I’m a satisfied WAMU customer as well.
The bank staff are fabulous as well.
Thanks
yeh WAMU just went down to 3.30%
I remember earlier that Shore Bank was touted as high interest and socially responsible…
They are in the news today for funding Reverend Wright’s new mansion. I am now not even remotely considering them as it appears to be both an unwise $10,000,000 line of credit extended in conjunction with the $1.6M house, and it certainly does not meet my definition of socially responsible.
I have accounts with ING Direct, FNBO, and Sharebuilder. While the Sharebuilder account offers a slightly higher rate than the other two accounts, it is a money market account and therefore not FDIC insured, so I keep the lowest balance there. Between FNBO and ING, I like FNBO better: It is easy to use and offers a slightly better rate of return on our savings. Customer service has been excellent at both ING and FNBO, but I did have some issues with Sharebuilder once last year that left me displeased with their service.
One thing in ING’s favor is that they begin giving you interest from the date of you begin the transfer (usually one day before the funds actually come out of your funding account) whereas FNBO does not credit you until two days after the money is withdrawn from your funding account. If you make frequent transfers, those two days add up so any gains from the better rate are negligible. I don’t know if ING limits your transactions per month: FNBO has a 1.5 million limit, not like that is a huge problem for me or anything…lol. Oh, and FNBO gives you an ATM card (regular..not debit) for the account, which is really nice!
Either way, any of them with decent service beats the .84% I get on our passbook (quick access emergency money) savings at the local bank.
I am new to all of this. But after reading all the comments above, I opened an Emigrant account first because the rates were slightly better in Jan. It is disappointing to see that the rates are at 2.75% now. I also have an ING account now that I love, just like everyone else, no surprise. I am wondering if it is worth chasing higher interest rates or should I just plant my funds where they are for now and hope that interest rates will go back up?
Anyone have experience or info on Countrywide bank? They offer 4.05% for 10,000 min balances. I might check em out.
Given Countrywide’s prominent position (named) in recent reports of the government’s investigation into the credit problems that are causing the Mortgage crisis, I personally do not trust that they won’t be going the way of other DISSOLVED banks.
http://getinvolved.pointofview316.com/2008/03/fbi-begins-countrywide-criminal-inquiry.html
Here’s a quote from the Yahoo link:
—Countrywide already faces federal and state investigations of its lending practices, as well as several lawsuits by investors and mortgage holders.—
Zions, UFB, HSBC are safer choices in my mind.
Dear M.R.
Good questions. Welcome to the blog! Check out my posts and helpful links above at #466, 467, and 469 which should help address most of your current questions. But the biggest thing for you to take from everything here is that there is no right answer due to the continuing ups and downs of the current market and repeated fed cuts. Also, whenever someone finds out that their bank has taken a huge dip in rate, they get all mad or take it personally, forgetting or not realizing that all banks are doing the same thing, again due to the uncertainty and volatility of the market.
you should really check out complaints about banks that seem good. they may seem the best, but many have good tricks up their sleeves, even if they say they don’t have hidden fees
I’ve got accts at Amtrust and more recently at Capital One. Both are easy to work with. It is disappointing that rates are up and down (mostly down) but that’s the case at all banks. Otherwise, both these accts were easy to set up and easy to work with and transfer money in and out to other linked accounts.
Finally looking into an online savings account. I’ve looked into Etrade, GMAC, and a few others. Read some bad things about Etrade and a lot of good things about ING. ING sounds great….if you have >$50,000 to deposit. If not, the current rate is only 1.74%. Any tips for young people like me just starting out? That means an initial deposit of <$10,000. Thanks!
ING Direct’s rate on savings is 3.00% as of 4/1/08, not 1.74%, and there is no minimum balance required.
Capital One’s High Yield Money Market rate is the listed 3.10%, but their Online Savings Account is 3.85%
Can anyone explain how the intrest on CD’s are distributed. Is it monthly? Thanks
What happened to CapitalOne on the list? It was #1 a couple weeks ago. It’s still the highest rate at 3.75% APY. This blog is how I found out about it and went with them. I’ve been happy so far.
Hey, Josh. Somebody pointed out I was being inconsistent with the banks that have scaled rates. I had Countrywide listed at 3.00% but Capital One listed higher. Both offer just 3.00% on balances under $10,000, so I put them both there in the list. I really should have a separate section for banks that offer different rates based on balance. (I think there’s another one that drops the rate if you don’t have a certain minimum balance after 60 or 90 days.)
Thanks for clarifying. I didn’t look further down the list. I just didn’t see the 3.75% at the top and thought it wasn’t there. The way you listed it is a lot more fair because many people wouldn’t be able to throw $10k in all at once.
Thanks again. And great blog, btw. I’m reading it more often all the time.
As of right now (this very moment), Savings Square is offering a 3.25% APY. I’m pretty sure that takes it off of the top of your list.
Also, I was looking at the ING Direct link, and it says that it will link itself to your bank account automatically. Does anyone have a bit more information on that for someone inexperienced in the mysteries of how that works?
Orga,
It’s like how paypal links to your checking. It’s not tightly woven or anything. Ing lets you setup automatic withdrawals from your checking, and lets you send your savings back to it if you choose. Just like paypal it can take a few days to happen.
We USED TO HAVE an ING Direct account. Had it for a few years and loved it. But we had a horrible experience with them recently. Our life insurance premiums are automatically withdrawn every month. We used to have them taken out of our ING checking account. Well, we sent in the paperwork to the insurance company asking them to stop taking the premium out of the ING account and to start taking it out of our regular brick-and-mortar bank. Unfortunately, the paperwork did not make it through the proper channels (they lost it!) and so the insurance company kept trying to take the money out of ING instead. (We didn’t have the money in ING because we’d made a recent large purchase.) The money wasn’t in ING, but the insurance company tried 47 times (!!!) to withdraw it, anyway, which of course costs ING every time they try and fail due to NSF. So instead of calling us to find out what was going on, ING just closed both of our accounts! WITHOUT TELLING US FIRST! That screwed up the automatic withdraw for our mortgage payment, not to mention a few other things. If they had called us, we would have known what was going on and could have taken care of it, but we didn’t find out until our mortgage payment didn’t hit. When I called ING to find out where our money was and what happened to our account, they wouldn’t tell me, even though I was a joint owner on the account. They would only talk to my husband. Needless to say, we will never do business with, nor recommend, ING. Ever.
Does anyone else use a Paypal money market account? It’s a nice place to park some money, especially if you make on-line purchases with vendors who accept Paypal.
To KB… I think I would be pissed more at the insurance company than ING. I’ve only had one overdraft on an account in my life, and it is easy enough to spot with a little due diligence on the part of the account owner, especially in the digital age (i.e., check your accounts after making any service changes with the account until you have seen that the transition has gone smoothly). When I overdrew, I did not receive a call from my brick and mortar bank, but I did get a notice of overdraft/insufficient available funds letter in the mail a few days afterward. Luckily, the only transaction during the overdrawn period was the one which actually caused the overdraft, but they did not call me. You may be expecting too much if you expect a phone call.
This should serve as yet another warning that “automatic” payments can cause all sorts of grief. Altho I travel most of the year, it is still easy to track payments. Most all my bills come via email notices these days, wherever I may be. I pay them with free billpay which comes with several accounts, including Zions free checking connected to their savings, which is still at 3.35% APY.
I’ve never missed a bill or payment, as I have a spreadsheet and know what to expect, but I would never, ever, give any company prior approval to take its payment automatically. Too much risk of problems getting them to stop, change, etc.
I am an expat living in Taiwan, where the interest rates are abysmal! Unfortunately because I don’t have a US account, I can’t open an ING or HSBC direct account… Does anyone know whether or not they accept transfers from overseas banks, if I was to, say, have my father open an account for me?
This is a recurring problem with being an expat, sometimes the intl. transfer fee is more than the interest I would make the entire year!
Has anyone else been in this situation?
Alliant Credit Union is paying 4% APY for its savings account. The minimum balance required to earn interest is only $100.Anyone can join by joining their local PTA or the National PTA ($25).They’re big into education- they award $10000 in college scholarships to their members’ kids every year.They’re able to pay better rates because they’re nonprofit. Whatever they earn is returned to their members in higher interest rates and lower loan rates.
A good, free, resource for comparing interest rates is http://www.bankbestrates.com
Savings Square is now 3.05% APY
bankrate.com has some good sites. I found igobanking.com thru them.
Hi,
I have approx. 19K which I like to use for a high interest. I prefer to have this money in Savings account which offer a high interest rate. I checked on Capital One website and they offers 3.75% APY for balance above $10,000. Can someone recommend your choice where to save this money at high interest.
Thanks in advance.
Great list!
You may also be interested in http://www.bankpig.com. Bankrate and other sites collect info on consumer accounts, whereas bankpig is for business money market rates.
Regards,
Bryan
E-LOAN is paying 3.75% on new accounts thru 7/31/08 than switching to a standard rate of 3.01% (if the Prime Rate stays where it is at) with a minimum deposit of $5,000.
https://savings.eloan.com/savings?user=grs
They also have some competetive rates on CD’s for 6 month – 2 year terms.
Check out this site for other bank rates as well
http://www.gotalkmoney.com
HSBC direct sucks. Just don’t go there at all. They have huge fees. The current APR is 3.01%. There are lot of restrictions in this chineese bank. Just 3 withdrawals per month. Fees are high-to get an account verification letter they charge $35.00. No checks provided. Online banking is very slow-it takes almost a week to get the full transactions and present balance to be reflected. And customer service is pathetic. I used to wait for 65 minutes for one call. I got relocated and wrote an email via their bank by mail and still they didn’t updated and they never called me or responded for that. Further after lot of troubles i closed the account and then they sent the money to my old address. Be cautious dealing with this bank.It just sucks. Their ACH transfers takes 7 days to happen. No human presence-u will feel that you have deposited money in some bank existing in some other planet.
If you don’t trust me-i am ready to share my account number also. It’s too much trouble with this bank-stay away from it.
Good that i went with WAMU and not with HSBC.
WAMU is much better than ING and Emigrant as well.
Thanks
Today i called them once again…but no progress. I already sent them the fax with the application to update the address plus my DL xerox but money is stuck with them…they are giving all sort of excuses that they haven’t received the fax etc…Dont go to them
I’ve had HSBC for some time. They are one of the fastest and easiest to use. No fees have ever been charged to me…and the limits of withdrawals are Fed regulations in the USA. Perhaps this person having difficulty is not in the US, but here, it has not ever caused me any grief. Their 3.05% APY is still among the highest.
With the slam of calling this New York bank a “chineese” bank, I think there may be some personal ax to be ground here.
Brad,
May be u r lucky. But have u ever talked to their customer service-today i have waited 1 hr. and 8 minutes on hold and then finally i hang up. I am very well in US. I have 3 accounts to do ACH transfer-one account got bad and then simply stopped all the accounts and taken away the ACH facility from my account. For everything they want the customer to fax over the documents and then customer has to follow up. It’s ridiculous. There is no acknowledgment or phone call from their side for status update. How is ur experience in terms of reflecting ur transactions and balance-it’s terribly slow website.
HSBC Worldwide is not a “New York” bank. It is based in London. There is a Hong Kong business, but I don’t think it’s affiliated with HSBC Direct. Perhaps it’s best to deal with our local banks.
JD,
Any reason you don’t list Provident Direct in the list? I opened a savings acct. in March and so far, so good — and I’m getting 3.5% as of May 19th…
JD – I think some caution needs to be applied when using online high interest account to park all of one’s cash. These are savings accounts for short to immediate term cash needs. They should not be mistaken for investments. I recently wrote about this in more details at my blog.
Personally I used HSBC and ING.
I’ve been doing some research on high yielding online savings accounts and here’s what I’ve found:
ING Direct – 3.0% savings, 1.75% checking
FNBO Direct – 3.25% savings, 2.5% checking
HSBC Direct – 3.05% savings, 2.25% checking
OnBank (new) – 3.49% savings, no checking
I personally have an ING direct checking account for the past year. Service has been great, convenient electronic check writing feature, bill pay, etc. I also have a HSBC savings account – so far so good, but I’ve been disappointed in the rates. They seem to keep dropping on a bi-weekly basis (slight exaggeration, I know). I’ve been keeping an eye on FNBO for the last year and they’ve been CONSISTENTLY higher in APY than HSBC & ING, so I’m considering opening up an account and moving my emergency stash (from HSBC) into this account. The electronic checking feature seems to be brand new, but if their rates are as stable as their savings rates, it’s not a bad idea to open an electronic checking account with them.
I also opened up an OnBank account recently (2 weeks ago) b/c of the high interest yield they’re offering – I needed to open up a separate savings account for a personal future business goal (100k+ within 4 yrs), so far, they’ve been phenomenal. The account opening process was easy, as soon as I linked my accounts; electronic transfers took no more than 1-2 business days – that blows HSBC’s transfer time away! Their site is about as (un)informative as FNBO’s, but I think that’s how they can give such great returns (low overhead and maintenance), though, when I emailed them their response time was within 24hrs. OnBank is a new branch of M&T bank in NY – at least I’ve heard of M&T, so I took a leap of faith. Will let you know how it goes in a year 😉
Anyway, between my boyfriend and me, we have 2 electronic checking accounts (both from ING), 4 savings accounts (ING, HSBC, OnBank, and UFBDirect), and then we have a joint credit union checking & savings account which is our brick & mortar bank to write checks & make paper check deposits when we need to, then we transfer that money over to our higher yielding accounts once they’re cleared.
You would think that this is really complicated to keep straight, but it’s not — once you understand the reasons for all these accounts 😉
And another note — UFBDirect is about the WORST account I have experienced! I opened it at the time for my bf b/c he needed a savings account and they had pretty good rates at the time, but there’s no electronic transfer feature (what’s the point of an electronic savings account if you have to mail a check every time you want to fund it?!?!?!) Their rates also plummeted as soon as the going got tough — it’s now down to 3.01%, at the time we opened it, it was one of the highest. I can’t close that account yet b/c I’ll have to pay early termination fees if I close within 180 days of opening. So, at the end of the summer that account is GONE! No big deal, we only have a grand in there.
And no, we are not putting all our money into savings accounts as an “investment” feature — we’ve already maxed out all our tax advantaged accounts (401k & IRAs). Until we can find any other good investments to pour money into, we’ll keep it in various savings accounts that are FDIC insured.
Ok, here comes way too much info…
I have a LOT of experience playing with US bank accounts. They are somewhat different from Canadian bank accounts, and after getting burned at BoA, I opened a large number of accounts to check out the features and offerings.
I also wound up gaming a lot of banks for the sign up bonuses…I made $670 in bonus money last year, and got $250 in giftcards (Home Depot, AMEX and Amazon). So I’ve opened a LOT of accounts because of that, too.
Here are my own thoughts for onling banking sites.
All these banks offer interbank transfers, more or less with the same time to transfer between institutions.
CHEQUING
Charles Schwab checking offers the best chequing interest rate I’ve come across: 2.01%. I have this hooked into my brokerage account, which is great. Their web interface is clunky and cluttered, but usable, and I can get all my ebills sent to that account and pay them right from there. It’s now my main chequing account. They send me boxes of free cheques whenever I ask, along with postage paid envelopes for sending in deposits. (deposits usually show up in my account within 2-3 business days!)
I don’t really like Ing, as I hate their cutesy and slightly confusing interface. However, the ability to write cheques online that Ing will then either email or print and snail mail for you is undeniably cool and pretty handy. I keep this account solely for this reason – I write the cheque and transfer the money in from another account (if the cheque is processed before the transfer, my overdraft catches it – no fee for that, either!) Their rate today is 1.75%.
SAVINGS/ONLINE ACCOUNTS MANAGEMENT
If you don’t use Quicken, HSBC and Compass banks offer the Yodlee service, which is basically Quicken online, as an account feature. Before I got Quicken, this was the bee’s knees – all my bank, brokerage and credit card transactions and balances, spending reports across all of them, auto-login links for most of the listed accounts, etc, etc. HSBC has much better interest rate (3.05%) than Compass (0.25%), but if you need brick & mortar Compass is better than average in having no fees, free cheques, and refunds of other bank’s charges for using their ATMs.
If don’t need Yodlee, WaMu’s online savings account is awesome. Not only is their online interface excellent and easy to use, but they have a great savings account rate (3.30% today). You have to get a chequing account too, but who cares? Their bank2bank transfers seem to take longer than average, tho.
BANKS TO AVOID
I only get accounts at these banks for the signup bonuses…
Chase (like to charge you out the wazoo for anything they can)
BoA (horrible service and mediocre banking products)
Wells Fargo (truly awful! worst products and rates EVAH EVAH)
Countrywide (worst web interface and customer service EVAH)
Done – whew!
need help… i currently have an ING Account.. and i am enjoying it. i just want to open another account with them coz of their great service.. the reason for this new account so that there would be money available for me when i need some where as the first one is something that i really wont touch..
so my question is can i open another savings account in ING with the same name, address, bank and all other information except that i’ll use a different email address?
coz im also opting for FNBO… i think they’re good, arent they?
need help please.. thanks.
ING usually has the lowest rates – they advertise the most. I’ve used FNBOdirect, and they are fine. At one point last summer, they had the highest interest rates (6.0%).
HSBC’s rate went back up to 3.50% today, June 2, and said it’ll be good through August 15, 2008.
The HSBC 3.5% rate is only good for 10 weeks. Hardly worth the bother to open an account or transfer funds as it will go right back down to 3.05%. I’ll just stick with my 3.3% at WaMu 🙂
Countrywide Moneymarket seems to be paying 3.8% for balances over $10,000 which I think is currently the highest offered by anybody.
Coulee Bank ( http://www.couleebank.net ) offers an incredible 6.01% APY with their Rewards Checking account. The rate is easy to earn. All you have to do is make 10 check card transactions a month, use e-statements, and do 1 automatic payment a month (they call it ACH). Coulee Bank pays 6.01% on the first $25,000 and 1.01% on anything above that. The best thing about this account besides the rate is it is FREE, you can apply online, and it is from a great bank with real people that answer the phone. And as they like to say, Banking Green has its Rewards. The Rewards Checking account saves paper and preserves our natural resources. No wonder I feel good about recommending this to everyone I know. Check it out. I guarantee you will love it.
Tony Roberts:
That *IS* an incredible deal – I just applied. (I wonder how long the rate will last?)
The application process was indeed quick and easy. The requirements are a bit of a pain in the keister, but hardly onerous.
One thing you didn’t mentione was that you get up to $20 in ATM fee refunds per month. Not bad 🙂
There is plenty banks with these reward checking accounts. I have mine with Charter Bank
paying 6.01% and it is easy getting the rate by just using your debit card 10 times like Robert says. Their account is located at http://www.turbochecking.com. I received my interest and atm rebate at the end of May.
ShoreBank is back up to 3.50% effective 6/4/08. …and please, no Rev. Wright comments. This is not a political forum, and I don’t see anyone holding any other banks responsible for their customers’ comments.
well after reading all these comments… i’m confused…. i’m a college student working full time to pay mt debts but @ the same time i feel like i’m taking some steps back… well my friend is using ING and i was wondering which one will be best for me… hope someone can help me…
I’m curious to know whether anyone else has any experience of Coulee Bank’s rewards checking. The rate seems great, but Tony Roberts’ comment is either an ad, a pre-written employee post, or that of a customer who is posting the exact same rave everywhere high yield accounts are being evaluated.
CJ: even if Tony Roberts is a bot or seeder, the post is still relevant. I have actually singed up for the account, so I will post back to this thread with a review when I’ve tried them out (account has been approved, just waiting for them to send me my login credentials)
I for one know these accounts are for real. I call them saving accounts on steriods. Look you put your money in and just do 10 small amount debit cards transactions and wow get the the interest and atm fees. My account is with http://www.turbochecking.com at Charter Bank and yes it just that easy. I have applied for another account at Midwest America Federal Credit Union http://www.mwafcu.org paying 7.01%. Will let you guys know how it turns out.
UPDATE: Just logged into my Coulee account for the first time, and was surprised – they didn’t advertise it, but I got a $25 account signup bonus! Neato, I feel like I’m playing Monopoly! “Bank error in your favour, collect $25”
The site seems to be pretty micky mouse in design & usability, tho – very obviously not the work of a skilled professional. Which is not surprising, really, as the pages are CFM (Cold Fusion, along with Dreamweaver and Frontpage, is a popular web dev tool / web app delivery platform amongst amateur web developers).
Customer service in answering emails is LIGHTNING fast. My two emails so far were answered within 20min!
More to come as events warrant.
Jennica:
It really depends on what type of account you’re looking for. If you want something that yields a decent amount of interest and provides ease of use with no strings attached, I’d go for ING – you can open up both a checking and a savings account and transfer money from one account to the other “instantaneously”. A lot of people find that keeping separate accounts for their checking and savings helps limit their spending per month so they can more effectively save for bigger ticket items (ie. Down payment for a house or car, dream vacation, etc). As with most/all online checking accounts, ING’s checking account allows you to set up monthly payments using their bill pay feature, saving you time and money.
The cool thing about them is that they show you how much interest you’re earning that month before you get your interest payment — instant gratification and positive reinforcement for saving more and spending less. I’ve had a checking account with them for over a year now and have not had any problems — very satisfied with their services. My only gripe is that I can’t set up quarterly payments (to my HOA) nor can I set up payments more than 3 months ahead of time, which isn’t a big deal, just a minor inconvenience. Oh, and the other downside is that you’ll still have to maintain a local bank account to make regular paper deposits or write checks (no paper checks w/ ING, though you can SEND a paper check through them) and to initially fund the ING account(s).
On the other hand, if you want to keep all your money in a checking account to yield the most interest and are good at managing your money (and won’t be tempted to over spend), then I’d say check out Coulee or Charter w/ the 6.01% APR checking accounts that a couple of the posters have mentioned. The rules don’t seem too hard to follow. Just keep in mind if you don’t make the requisite transactions per month (ATM transactions don’t count!), you lose out on those great rates. Also, you may be tempted to overspend just to get those rates, thereby reducing your yield. I don’t know much about these accounts, but I’m trying to find out more info. I’ve found several banks that have these offers, but most of them require you to be local residents to open an account. With Coulee and Charter (turbochecking.com) it doesn’t appear to be that way — I’m not 100% sure though.
There are pros and cons to all of these accounts. So, to reiterate, it really depends on what you’re looking for, what you want in an account, and how good you are at managing your money and controlling your spending.
Congrats on taking the first steps toward financial responsibility while still in college! It usually takes most of us years of frivolous spending and getting in over our heads in debt (after college) before we realize that we need to be more responsible with our money.
WaMu may pay decent interest, but I am out more than $19 even though they paid that interest, for fees they are continuing to charge my account. Watch out. WaMu is NOT recommended by this GRS reader! Avoid WaMu if you can!
You must be doing something wrong Maren. I’ve been with Wamu for about a year now and i’ve been enjoying the interest since then. I havent been charged any fees watsoever.. if youre talkin about the savings account with 3.3 % interest you must have the checking with it to avoid fees.
ING Direct is my personal favorite. You should mention that they give out $25 bonuses to new customers. You need to use a special link and deposit $250 though. There are some links here:
http://www.ingdirect25.com
Maren: what are these fees *for*? I’ve never been charged a single one, and I’ve had my account for about 18 months.
I’ve said this before, but if you’re interested in a free up-to-date comparison of the Top 50 best business money market rates (not personal), then check out:
http://bankpig.com/index.php/money-market-rates
Regards,
Bryan
I have been a WAMU customer for a long time. I like them a lot.
could anybody give me a referral for ING
Hi Jennica! Feel free to email me at [email protected] for an ING referral. I just need your full name and an email address to refer you.
Thanks!
Hayley
Wow, rates are flying down,
Looking back just 6 months back some rates are half as much!…
What are the best banks to bank with right now? Obviously with the highest rates…?
If anyone wants to open an ING Savings or Electric Orange Checking and receive a free $25 for $250 initial deposit just email me at [email protected] with your name and email address and I will send you the link via email (once you are a member there is an incentive to do this for $10 for each person that signs up to 25 people). The process is SIMPLE and ING has been great to me so far.
Another site to check out is http://www.onbank.com. It’s a relatively new site but offers a great rate (matches the top rates on bankrate.com).
ING Direct is the best.
They offer higher rates the longer you have bee na customer.
Our current rate is 4.35%.
After reading your site, I need to start reinvesting in myself (or my husband and I since we share one income).
Off to set up an automatic deposit.
Does anyone have an opinion of USAA’s savings accounts?
USAA has a wonderful site that is very easy to manage with some outstanding customer service. For an online bank, they’ve got some of the best customer service around. I initially signed up with USAA because they have increased rates for the more money that you have in their savings account. But with the economy dropping, our rates have gone from over 3% down to almost under 2% and we’re currently shopping around for something better.
I’m thinking of getting an account at Zions or Flagstar. Can anyone recommend one of those or steer me away? I’d also consider OnBank, although I’d prefer somewhere a little more established. HSBC sounds great, but since they’re in the middle of a promotion I’m scared I’d get to mid-August and want to move again.
For what it’s worth, here’s my experience so far… I’m very new to all this. I opened a high-yield account with Provident Direct in early May. At the end of the multi-day application process I managed to shut down the window with my new account number before copying it. There was no way to log back into the application, and no way to log into the account without a number. No email acknowledgement. I called the bank, they said I should receive a welcome packet with the account number via US mail. They couldn’t confirm if the packet was already sent because “the person who does that” wasn’t there. Anyway, the welcome packet arrived a few days later, and everything was fine. The welcome packet had a signature card that I signed, copied and mailed back the day I got it.
So now I’d like to put more money in the account. I log in, click “Transfer” and get the message, “No transfer accounts found.” After the multi-day security process I already went through, this was weird. I called the help number, and a nice woman spent a long time trying to track down the problem. She finally came back and told me to call another number. I called that number today. Now they tell me they never got my signature card, so they can’t transfer funds. Can I fax a copy of the signature card I have? No, they have to mail me another one and wait for me to mail it back. No other way to transfer money to my account at this point.
They’re very nice and the account has a good rate, but I feel like this is just way too time-consuming. I’m now looking for another high-yield account that is straightforward. I’d like easy money transfer in and out or free checks. I prefer for interest to compound daily, but I’d settle for monthly. Anyone has suggestions other than the ones I listed, let me know. And the Provident people really were nice on the phone, so if anyone’s had a better experience with their system, please post that too. 🙂
I decided to try ShoreBank (sbk.com) thanks to Mark’s recommendation above… makes me feel all warm and fuzzy, and the rate is as good as anywhere right now. Decided against Zions due to its ACH limitations. Flagstar’s account has great features, I’m just concerned about fallout from the mortgage mess.
ShoreBank allowed me to complete the application tonight using the logon info for the account I’m transferring from (vs waiting days to verify trial deposits in the account). Very handy. Only downside to ShoreBank is no checks, but I’m not supposed to be spending this money anyway. 🙂 I’ll post an update in a few months, or if I don’t then no news is good news.
So after some research into the the three “checking on steroids” accounts (Coulee, Charter and Midwest), I decided to go with Charter. My question is, what exactly does it mean to “Receive one direct deposit or ACH auto debit monthly.” I’m only 18 years old so I’m a bit new at these kinds of things. Thanks.
to kelly, in reference to your post on 6/17/08, i’ve been with ing for over a year, and my savings is 3.00% i have not seen anything about higher rates for longer term customers.
I also have ING referrals, both Electric Orange and Orange Savings. Email materdolorosa06 at gmail.com with first, last name and email address. You’ll only get the bonus if your initial deposit is $250.
Thanks for the info! What are options for non-US citizens/residents. I am from Kyrgyzstan, that is in Central Asia. Are there any good options for online savings accounts for internationals?
If anyone wants to open an ING Savings or Electric Orange Checking and receive a free $25 for $250 initial deposit just email me at [email protected] with your name and email address and I will send you the link via email (once you are a member there is an incentive to do this for $10 for each person that signs up to 25 people). The process is SIMPLE and ING has been great to me so far.
I have about 10 referrals left
Josh
I just completed opening an HSBC Direct online savings account. The process went ok except for one problem that I was able to resolve quickly with a phone call.
It tooks two weeks from when I submitted the application until today when I received my PIN in the mail for the ATM card and changed it.
The only problem was that I never received my temporary user id in an email. I was able to call today and get it and then use the temporary password I received in the mail to create my own user id, password, and security code.
The two times I called customer support they had excellent service. The second time I talked to someone in support was my mistake. I called the wrong number to change my ATM PIN code.
I’m thinking of opening an FNBO Direct online savings account also. Since it’s also $1 to open with no maintance fees I don’t see any drawback. Then when I actually have $ to put in my accounts and can spread it between them. In the back of my head I have a concern about someone hacking into my account and draining it lol.
i’ve been with FNBO and ING for over a year and never had one single problem.
I have a money market checking account with Flagstar and I love it. With this account I can do free ACH transfers from my local bank to my reward checking accounts at Charter Bank 6.01%, Midwest America Credit Union 7.01% and Tristone Community Bank 6.05%. These reward checking accounts are the hottest things going now people. Make those 10 small debit transactions and do your free ach deposit thru Flagstar Bank and get e-statements and wow. For good measure I take my $30.00 phone bill and do ach debit of $10.00 to each account.
Willie,
Thank you for the post. I am new to actually saving money (*blush*)so I am learning. It sounds like keeping my savings in a Midwest America CU reward checking account will get me twice as much interest as in the HSBC Direct online savings account.
The only thing I don’t understand about the requirements is the required monthly ACH credit/debit. What is that? How do I set that up?
Thanks.
Willie,
I got all excited for nothing. I can’t join the CU unless I live in that particular area.
John
John it’s simple. I’m from NC and I thought I couldn’t join, but on their website the rep. told me what I had to do to become a member for life. He told me to fill in the application online and print it out and mail it in with a check for $30.00. You have to be a member of a organization or employee of a company in that area of Indiana, which I wasn’t. He told me joined the Allen County SPCA as a member for $20.00 which they forward for you. You open a share savings account for $5.00 and I open the reward checking with $5.00. You have to send a note with the check informing them that you want to be a member of the ACSPCA.
When I first sent the printed application in they returned my check and a new application form for me to fill out again. I did and mailed back and the account was set up in 1 weeks time. The ACH credit is a deposit by direct deposit(payroll or soc. security check) or a ACH transfer from another bank. The Ach debit is when you pay a bill by having the biller debit your checking account(insurance,car payment). You have to supply the biller your bank routing no. and account no. Using the debit card to pay a bill is not a ACH debit. I use Flagstar Bank for my Ach deposits for all my accounts. It’s free and I have 7 accounts setup with them. Anytime you make a deposit thru the ACH system that requirement for the ACH credit/debit is fulfilled and I make small purchases ie. $1.00-$2.50
Willie,
I want to do this. Should I contact a representative by the toll-free number or by email first? I see that memberships in ACSPCA are $25 http://www.acspca.org/membership/
Thanks again!
John
I would call the toll-free number on the website because my membership was only 20.00 and MidWest paid for it when I joined thru them. Go to http://www.mwafcu.org and when your membership with ACSPCA is up for renewal you don’t have to renew but you are still a member of Midwest for life.
FREE MONEY!!!
If anyone wants to open an ING Savings or Electric Orange Checking and receive a free $25 for $250 initial deposit just email me at [email protected] with your name and email address and I will send you the link via email (once you are a member there is an incentive to do this for $10 for each person that signs up to 25 people). The process is SIMPLE and ING has been great to me so far.
I was authorized to give out another 25 referrals for anyone interested!
Josh
From Willie
“I have a money market checking account with Flagstar and I love it. With this account I can do free ACH transfers from my local bank to my reward checking accounts at Charter Bank 6.01%, Midwest America Credit Union 7.01% and Tristone Community Bank 6.05%…..For good measure I take my $30.00 phone bill and do ach debit of $10.00 to each account.”
Willie, I am working on this exact approach for my reward accounts. I want to do the ACH stuff for these accounts from a good savings/market account. I have HSBC now…would you recommend Flagstar over HSBC, and if so why? Also, how do you breakdown that phone bill payment into three ACH payments for your reward accounts? Sounds pretty swift, just not sure exactly how you do that. Thanks for your invaluable info! Stewart
Willy,
I was telling someone about the 7.01% Midwest America CU checking. He said it made him wonder how the CU could pay that much and wonder if it was in trouble (now or soon to be). Does he have a point?
John
In my humble opinion, a bank paying 3.5% to 4.5% these days is a bank looking to get a cash influx. Given that I just got a mortgage 60 days ago for 5.375% (30 yr fixed), if a bank was offering 7.01%, I’d be looking long and hard to see why.
In my mind, I’d consider them if they were beating HSBC (3.50%) or Zions (3.53%) by a little, like a half of a percent or so…about a 4.00% rate. But to double the “current high going rate” to 7.01%? Seems way too much to just need a short cash influx. They are really trying to get customers with that…and I’m with John. Why?
Many banks have exorbitant “account closure fees” if you don’t keep them open long enough. So if they drop to 2% next week and you are hit with a $35-$50 account closure fee, it isn’t gonna be pleasant. That’s only one area of concern I can think of…
Brad,
It seems like quite a few places give 6.01% reward checking http://www.money-rates.com/rewardschecking.htm
So I’m wondering if 7.01% should be considered all that much higher or not. And if so, does that maybe indicate the CU needs money too badly for some reason.
Thanks for the heads up on possible account closure fees. I’ll have to check that out more closely.
John
Those banks that offer these reward checking aren’t in trouble but they offer these rates because it’s cheaper for them to operate without the overhead by using more electronic technolgy. Check out these sites that help the local small banks compete against the large national banks. The companys are http://www.bancvue.com and http://firstroi.com/. I pay my phone bill with the 3 reward accounts by making partial payments from the phone company online billing by entering my banks routing and account no. The banks only charge you a closing account fee if you close the account in less than 3 months. I still say they are the best thing happening at this time.
Willie,
Thanks for the links. They were very interesting. It seems they can make so much more a profit by having people do online banking that one banker said “This is war” referring to enticing people away from their competitors.
I found a list of reward checking accounts at http://www.highyieldcheckingdeals.com/
Midwest America FCU gives the highest interest of 7.01% at the moment.
I see a local bank on the list. RCB Bank (Oklahoma) giving 5.10%. The only main difference between the two is that for the MAFCU account I need to do a monthly ACH Credit or Debit. Getting the extra 1.91% doing that seems worth it. I’ll call them later today most probably to get that going.
John
On these requirements for 10 transactions per months for rewards checking, please let me know if this would qualify… I go into my local safeway at the self checkout counter and buy 10 oranges… pay for each orange separately with the debit/credit reward checking card. Does this qualify?
Stewart,
No. Buying oranges like that only counts for an ING Direct Electric Orange account.
Just kidding. I would think that would qualify as long as those transactions cleared within your qualification cycle. There is a FAQ on http://www.midwestreward.com/
John
Has anyone tried Schwab Checking Acct?
Has anyone tried using the Schwab checking acct?
Sorry to be bit off topic here, but I am trying to find the lowest rate on a 30 year fixed rate home loan (I live in Colorado) and my wells fargo bank has really awful rates.
Any recommendations or online web resources would be appreciated.
And thanks for info about buying the 10 oranges (organic of course!)
Stew
Stew,
Did you try at http://bankrate.com/brm/rate/mtg_home.asp ?
John
Well, OT or not… I did look at Bankrate and found http://www.Aimloan.com . They were great. Lots of easy info online without ever having to identify myself. You can also look at and lock a rate 24/7. I used them to refi one house (They did as promised and were great in 10/07).
I went shopping for another house a few months later (04/08). I got a pre-qual letter from Wells Fargo (office next door to the realtor) and then when I found the house, I checked with Aimloan online and found the rate I wanted (5.375% fixed for 30 yrs paying a total of 2.2 points) and told Wells Fargo they could have my business only if they would match it. They shaved $1450 off of their myriad of fees, had me open a checking account with them to get the last $150 credit off, and did match it by removing that total of $1600 in fees.
Actually, I had no expectation that they would be able to match it and was very surprised there was that much “play” in all those application fees.
HTH…
In response to some other inquires I have been using Schwab checking for about 6 months now and I highly recommend it.
Setting up the account was not as automated as some (had mail certain documents instead of online forms and call about a few things) but if you ever call them the customer service people I worked with all helpful and easy to work with.
The web interface is also not the best. But its really my only complaint.
They send you free personal checks as well as envelopes to use to deposit checks by mail. There is also a useful Visa debit card which is made even better by the fact that Schwab refunds you any ATM fees that you may incur. There is also an online bill pay feature which eliminates the necessity of writing out checks.
Realistically they offer all of this because they want you to use their Brokerage service. But I’ve not used anything besides the checking account and there’s been no issue.
I just found this site and it’s full of great info!! I’m thinking about opening a rewards checking account since my bank is paying a measley 1% on my “high yield” money market right now. Can anyone tell me how to do this from out of state? How do I make the initial deposit and future deposits? Also, exactly what is an ACH debit? Can it be a debit into another bank account that set up to reoccur automatically every month or does it have to be to a business? Thanks for any help.
I’ve been with ING, HSBC, and now with E*Trade. When the banks were offering 5.05% APY, I got fed up that ING would not offer a competitive rate. ING will never offer a competitive rate compared to the other banks. Better customer service is not justification for me earning less interest.
So, I pulled my money out of ING and transfered it to HSBC. I found their security to be top notch, a little too extreme IMO. The system security measure that HSBC uses isn’t really common compared to other security measures that institutions such as BofA and PenFed use. It’s more of a pain in the butt really. I found it irritating to have to type in a password and then type in an additional password by using my mouse to click on the letters of a virtual keyboard.
Several months went by without transferring money to my HSBC account. I had opened a new checking account during this time and closed my old checking account. I forgot that my HSBC account was still linked to my old checking account. So, I tried to add funds to my HSBC account by performing a bank to bank transfer and (accidentally) used my old checking account information that was saved in their system.
Because I did this, they locked my account and prevented me from being able to transfer money into or out of my account. They told me that a 3rd party vendor is responsible for programming the part of their system that handles bank to bank funds transfers. They told me the only way I can unlock my account is by asking the financial institution of my old checking account to mail or fax a letter of proof to HSBC (to forward to this 3rd party vendor) proving that I did in fact used to be the person that owned my (old) checking account. I told them that this is absurd and that I do not feel comfortable having a 3rd party vendor obtaining information about my past financial institutions. They advised that the 3rd party vendor will not unlock my account until they receive this letter and that the only way around this is to close my account.
So, I closed my account and headed off for E*Trade. No problems so far.
SJT,
When you find the place where you want to open your account look at their website for a FAQ, and/or they should have a customer service phone number also.
John
My God! So many information…I do not know what to do. I never saved money, nor earned money trough interest. What brought me to this page? I was doing some research on how to save money for my little girl, which is 2 and a half, for college. I almost opened a 529 account, today, at Fifth Third Bank. What a mistake I would have done, right?! What if my baby decides not to go to college? What if she will get a scholarship? Why save money like that, when I can save it different, and in case she needs it, I will be able to give it?! I was thinking to open a saving account with WAMU, or close the 53 one and move to WAMU. The problem is that I have no closer location, and if I want to make a deposit I need to drive a long way. Also I have seen many post stating that I could do online banking. How should I do it? Keep the 53 and transfer the money from there into another one? A lot of counfusion here!
I was also thinking about buying gold, but I am so poor I can not afford even a 1 oz bullion. 🙂 Not right now, at least. I have done some research on gold as well, and found out that it is not a good choice right now. I am looking for a way to save money by throwing 100 monthly into an account, and let it grow for 15 years, without taking out a single penny. Any ideas? I was thinking about mutual funds as well, but I do not know anything about it. How about buying stocks at Walgreens, or Target?
Madalina,
I’m just starting to learn too. You want to do the following in more or less this order, with some overlap if you want:
1) Contribute the minimum necessary into 401(k) or Roth 401(k) at work to get the matching funds.
2) Have emergency fund (3-12 months expenses) in savings.
3) Pay off high interest debt.
4) Contribute to Roth IRA.
Only after the above, and other things like of course making sure you have insurance, then do crazy things like buy gold or individual stocks 🙂
John
John,
Your plan sounds good, but there are some other factors to take into consideration. Right now I am a full time student, I am 31 years old, and I do not work. I will graduate in December, and than I will be able to start working, and enroll in 401k. That would help me when I will retire. What am I going to do with my plan of saving money for my baby’s college? This was the initial idea, but I just did not want to open a 529 account which is specific for college. I want to have the freedom of disbursing the money different in case my baby will not need it. I am trying to pay off the high interest debt. To be honest I have a couple of loans that are high in interest, and I pay a monthly fixed payment. I do not have too much revolving debt. By July next year I will have all the revolving debt payed. I have 0 interest for most of them; 9.9 for another one and that’s it. The high interest ones are the car loan, and other 2 individual ones.(fixed payments-5 years)
I don’t know what I will do, but obviously I need to do something. 🙂
Thanks alot for your answer.
Anyone knows about http://www.checkingfinder.com ?
The website features online banks (member FDIC ones) with interest rates upto 6%.
I want to open account but not sure if there is a catch.
Thanks for any comment.
Yeti
Brad’s reply to me about about finding low mortgage rates:
——————————
July 5th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
Well, OT or not… I did look at Bankrate and found http://www.Aimloan.com . They were great. Lots of easy info online without ever having to identify myself.
I checked with Aimloan online and found the rate I wanted (5.375% fixed for 30 yrs paying a total of 2.2 points) and told Wells Fargo they could have my business only if they would match it. They shaved $1450 off of their myriad of fees, had me open a checking account with them to get the last $150 credit off, and did match it by removing that total of $1600 in fees.
——————————
Awesome advice dude!!! This is exactly what I was looking for!
If anyone knows of any other sites, links, resources to find low mortgage rates, please pass them on too.
BTW, I have signed up for Reward Checking accounts with Charter and Midwest Banks..swinging deals folks.. dont pass up on these.
And again many thanks to everyone’s advice here and especially to Brad!
Cheers,
Stewart
Stew,
Here is another link to info on mortgages http://www.hsh.com/
I have been successful for 3 straight months earning 6% on a reward checking account in Massachusetts. You can find the highest reward checking rates listed by state at Money-Rates.com. Remember to check the rate for being over the cap in case you have a large balance.
I’ve had an ING account for a few years. I’ve always found the login process awkward (need customer number and 10 digit PIN) so I don’t use it much – too many numbers, impossible to remember! I tried logging in recently and of course could not remember my PIN. I clicked “forgot PIN” and they were supposed to email me with an access code. The email did not come through so I called. The manager I spoke to was totally rude and unhelpful. He said they could not resend the email, all they could do is snail mail me a new PIN in 5-7 business days (!!) and until then the only way I can access my account is by phone and mail! He was just about the worst customer service rep I’ve ever dealt with – no apology for the inconvenience, instead he said the whole situation was my fault for forgetting my PIN – do they not realize they are dealing with human beings??
As soon as I can access my account again I will be closing it and transferring the funds. Any suggestions where to put the funds? As long as I will be moving it, I’d like to get a better interest rate.
I’ve had my ING account for 4 years and have never had a problem with them. In fact, I spoke with a rep the other day who was very helpful and courteous. I opened a second savings account because my bank is paying so little interest. I’m now working on opening a rewards checking with Charter. This site has been a great help in finding my way around the interest rates. Hoping to find a good CD rate out there soon. I saw some CUs that were offering as much as 10% on a 6 mo CD but you had to be local. Has anyone else seen these and know how I might be able to access one from out of state?
Spurred by your advice, I cashed in my spare change jar and opened two savings accounts with ING Direct last week – one to save for my upcoming wedding, and one to save for a house. Just $80 each to start, but I signed up for a direct transfer from each paycheck, so they’ll grow quickly.
Then, coincidentally, I got a letter from ING on Monday offering a $25 bonus to new customers opening a savings account – but alas! I wasn’t a new customer anymore! So I called ’em up today to ask if by any chance they’d give me the $25 anyway – and they did! $25 isn’t gonna change the world or anything, but every little bit helps. And it definitely goes to show that it never hurts to ask about things like that – worst they can do is say no, and they might even say yes!
To assess your current or new bank’s financial strength and stability, use Bankrate.com’s Safe & Sound tool, which employs 22 tests to rank institutions.
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/safesound/ss_home.asp
I’m new to all this. Do you guys consider a rating of 3 on Bankrate (that’s what ING has) satisfactory? Would you pull your money out if a bank’s rating went below that? I appreciate any tips.
Jody,
When you open the link it shows you the following ratings:
1 Superior *****
2 Sound ****
3 Performing ***
4 Below peer group **
5 Lowest rated *
I would say a 3 and even a 4 is okay if you are getting the interest rate you want. I personally wouldn’t put my money in a bank rated 5.
Now if I already had my money in a bank rated 5 I really wouldn’t worry about it if it was under the limit for FDIC insurance. If the bank did fail you wouldn’t lose anything. I would want some money in another bank though.
Does anyone have similar recommendations for CDs?
My (ING) savings account is starting to grow large enough that I think I could part with some of it for 12 months or more. Any tips would be much appreciated.
Morgan,
Here are some CDrates. http://www.money-rates.com/cdrates.htm and http://bankrate.com/brm/rate/deposits_home.asp
I don’t have any specific recommendations.
John
E-Trade just increased their APR to 3.3%
Hello All,
I’ve been referring back to this website for a few weeks now and its really been informative. I’d like to point my comment though, towards Willie:
“Those banks that offer these reward checking aren’t in trouble but they offer these rates because it’s cheaper for them to operate without the overhead by using more electronic technolgy. Check out these sites that help the local small banks compete against the large national banks. The companys are http://www.bancvue.com and http://firstroi.com/. I pay my phone bill with the 3 reward accounts by making partial payments from the phone company online billing by entering my banks routing and account no. The banks only charge you a closing account fee if you close the account in less than 3 months. I still say they are the best thing happening at this time.”
I’ve decided to go with Midwest, but have yet to pull the trigger. I’d like to pick your brain and see how things are going with your account. If you could drop me an email at [email protected] that would be great. Thanks guys!
Willie,
Please post a response here. I would like to hear how your Midwest acct is going. I’m getting ready to open one up here within a month or so.
John
I just found this blog and have found it quite informative. I have been using HSBCDIRECT.com for 8 months now. I have seen the rates dip from 4.XX+ to the current 3.50%. Even though this is the case, I must admit that I am extremely happy with my experience. However, the 3 day period to “move” my $$ doesn’t make me excited, one bit. I suspect the banks use this 3 day period to make an “extra” profit off our money. The saying “There’s no such thing as a free lunch” keeps popping into my head. And, since HSBC does not charge to move money back into my primary checking account, I am content. By the way my bank CALNATIONAL.COM offers 3.5% only if I depost $100,000+ with them for 9 months under there CD option. I’ll stick with HSBC.
Anthony
About 3 wks ago, I found this site and am in the process of opening an account with Charter bank. We are going to try to make this our primary checking accnt with our savings in it to collect the interest. So far, the process has been a little tedious. My husband and I both had to fill out an on-line application separately. They asked a series of questions at the end of that to insure you are who you say you are. We answered the questions, but they weren’t satisfied with the answers, so we had to mail in notarized copies of our drivers licenses. Now we are waiting for them to mail further forms to be filled out. I hope the 6% interest is worth it and that after the application process it will be simple to maintain. I’ll keep you updated.
Is there a big difference between interest compounded daily vs. monthly? I just opened a savings account with HSBC and was incorrectly informed when I spoke to one of their reps. He told me that the interest is compounded daily but indeed it is compounded monthly & credited monthly. I am currently with Apple Bank of NY (who compounds daily & credits monthly) and was thinking about transfering some or all of the funds. Thanks for your help.
Dominique:
Don’t quote me on this, as I had HSBC previously but no longer do and just going from memory. But what I remember is that they do in fact start accruing interest for you as soon as your money is deposited (or perhaps officially posted), but you simply do not SEE it until the end of the month. So in other words, the same as what you are saying your Apple Bank says. When I had ING, they actually SHOW you the interest applied each DAY which I thought was so great and neat, and so I think HSBC is doing the same thing, but for whatever reason, doesn’t post/credit it until the end of the month. Other than that, just call and ask them and/or read your good ol’ “terms and conditions”
Hope that helps..
Compounding daily means they take the interest rate .035 (based on HSBC’s current rate), divide by 366 days a year (leap year) and then multiply it by your balance at the end of each day. They do this every day for the whole month and credit the entire sum at the end of the month.
Compounding monthly means they take the interest rate, divide it by 12 and multiply by your balance at the end of the month.
Compounding daily is better in this sense because it takes the balance at the end of each day into account versus the balance only at the end of the month. But this only works if you like to take money out of your savings account throughout the month. If you plan to keep your money untouched, compounding monthly vs. daily does not make a big difference.
Hope this helped.
Mmoney: thank you for your input. You explained it very well and the info did help me very much. I will give HSBC a try and see how everything goes. Thank you to DreaDrea as well.
I just logged onto the WaMu.com site and it is offering a 3.75APY Online Savings account, thats pretty good in my book. Like is mentioned in the article, the catch is you have to open a checking account and cannot close it.
How high the rates will go? This means constantly carrying your nest egg in your arms from bank to bank and earning higher rates?
Another online saving account bank offering a higher interest rate than those in the list about is Kaupthing Edge.
To my amazement Kaupthing edge is currently offering 7.15% interest rate on their Fixed term deposit account with minimum deposit of £1000
That looks like the British version of a CD, not really a true savings account.
Have been happily following this thread for awhile now…very helpful..thanks to all! I have an Emigrant Direct account which today I see finally inched up from an all time low of 2.75% to 3.0%…hooray! Meanwhile I also opened an HSBC online savings for the 3.50% as an exsiting HSBC checking customer…not impressed with the process at all…WAY too slow all around ..they pale in comparison to Emigrant speed and ease wise. What a pain to add another funding account(my Emigrant one) to HSBC was tortuously slow with test deposits etc so I guess the “price” I pay is slow service. Oh well, not opposed to playing the moving game as needed so keep the feedback coming so I can continue to learn/benefit from your excellent comments.
Just wanted to chime in and say I have been extremely pleased with Schwab High Interest (Investor) Checking. Right now it’s at 2.01% APY. They fully reimburse ATM fees, send you free checks, have no minimum, allow online transfers to and from outside bank accounts with an easy setup procedure, and have great customer service online and over the phone. You also have to open a brokerage account alongside the investor checking, but I left the balance at $0 for brokerage. I was nervous about having to do my banking online, but I’m so glad I did.
I have been using both the checking and savings accounts from INGDirect and have been very satisfied so far. I have posted my review of the ING high interest savings account below.
http://www.lifeisnothard.com/money/increase-your-savings-with-ing/
I was just wondering if having an account at one of these places would be beneficial to a college student? I mean the amount of money I have varies month to month, but is it only really helpful if you have a nice chunk of change to put in there?
WAMU has declared war on interest rates. WAMUs in-branch money market rates are 4% now, that is right 4% and they are not advertised on the website.
You need to go inside the branch, and ask for it, and push the envelope. This interest rate is good for 12 months, by that time somebody else will be offering 5% and we should all be moving our cash positions from one bank to another, just like sector rotations in the stock market.
I assume, you know that the stock market has gone bust, and there is lot of cash on the sidelines waiting and earning 2-3 % and these institutions are frantic in grabbing those truckloads of cash.
I would avoid using WT Direct. I just opened an account with them & they are having fraud issues so they have locked all new accounts. I have no way to view my information or move money in or out…This is worse than the FDIC taking over, at least those customers can access their money after a few days. WT is showing signs that they aren’t sophisticated enough to handle this type of business & might have gotten in over their head. When I call they are unable to answer basic questions (like when will I have access to my account?). I have accounts some of the above companies & greatly regret trying out WT. As soon as I get access to my account I plan to move my money out & find a better bank.
I didn’t read through all the comments, so please excuse me, if my question was already answered: Is there a bank in the US, that would accept overseas customers without a residence in the US? European especially? TIA
Ok I’ve spent the last 2 days reading ALL the post. Since Jan I have been working as a contractor in Iraq. I make pretty good money, well let me refrase that. I make REAL good money, being as I’m only 25 with no degree and having spent 5 years in the Navy. Of course in the Navy all i was doing was racking up debt hence the reason I am over here now.
Since I got to Iraq I have been putting 25% of my paycheck into a savings account at Airforce Federal Credit Union. I opened this account when I was in the Navy to save money and not have access to it but spent it when i was out of work for 4 months. Since Jan I have rebuilt it to over $10,000. After doing some research on how to increase my savings I found out my current savings only has a .5% APR…Yuck!!
After reading all of this I am looking at FNBO Direct, ING Direct and WaMu. I love my online banking with USAA and have had a checking account, credit card, and insurance with them for 7 years and just opened a savings account with them a few days ago (having been spending the other 75% of my checks to pay off credit cards, other bills, and shopping…Next month I’ll be out of credit card debt and can start saving some of that money too) so don’t plan on getting rid of them. I also have Navy Federal CU that I’ve had since I was 14. I keep the checking and savings with them just to get their really low loan rates and ease of payment from the accounts. Now I’m just looking to get a savings account that I’ll have minimal access to (i.e. I don’t want an ATM card or an ajoined checking…at this time). I have a credit card so no need to access the account right away either in case of emergency.
Any suggestions on which one I should go for out of the 3. Oh and I know that WaMu you have to open a checking with them but do you have to use it other then putting the $1 in to start? Will there be fees for not using it?
I know this is long but one more question? I’m not up to par on CDs? Are they worth the investment and what shoud I look for in gettin one? Or is an IRA better? I want to save and collect as much as I can while I have the money to do it at my young age! So where should I put the bulk of the money?
Thank you for all your help!
Cherie,
Sounds like you have a good plan. My husband is a retired CPO. Keep your NFCU account for the rates..it will really pay off when you buy a home or another car! We have checked loan rates and they have never been beat over the past 10 yrs. We also have an ING account. It pays 3% right now on a standard Orange savings. CDs aren’t giving great rates right now. Since you don’t want to have a checking (we just opened a high yield checking with Charter but you must use the debit card)I’d highly recommend ING. They are easy to set up on line, easy to use, easy to access. We’ve had ours for 5 yrs. Good luck with your goals. Two yrs ago, we started a 5 yr plan to get out of debt(we didn’t have credit card debt, but wanted to be out of all debt) as of today we have both cars paid for and will have the house paid in 30 mos. We paid double on one car, when it was paid, we took that double payment and applied it to the other car. Now that it is paid, we are applying that amount to the principal on our mortgage. Good luck.!
SJT,
Thanx for the info. My mom is also a retired CPO, MAC. I agree with the NFCU rates as I just refinanced my car with them last year and after comparing them and USAA for both auto and home rates they do have the best, although I did have a distubing issue with their credit card people today. I have been leaning more towards ING but also really considering FNBO as it has a higher rate at the time. Going to give it another day or two b4 I decide.
Congrats on gettin you debt down!!!
I was trying to get rid of the debt I accumliated in the Navy while working in the states but with the economy the way it is the job market was to competitive and I decided to take the easy road and just get it all wiped out in one year of being in Iraq. I’ve definetley learned my lessons with credit cards and budgeting so I’m using this as a great oppertunity to get on the right track. Now I just have to keep my boredom spending and bulk bargain shopping in check 🙂
Kelsey,
I think they are good accounts for everybody to have. I wish I had one while I was in college. Some of them dont require a minimum balance, and I figure any amount of interest you’ll earn on your money is better than nothing…which is what normal banks give you. Just do your research and find the one that best meets your needs.
I think you should all check out Norwich and Peterborough building society’s online savings account. It is a conditional 6.30% apr, i think that beats all of the others mentioned. I think it deserves a mention on this page… and a link
David,
Thanks, that is an impressive rate at N&P but you failed to mention that one must be a resident of the UK to open an account according to the website…
Hmmm…I JUST noticed that Emigrant has a new online bank called DollarSavingsDirect with a $1000 minimum for 3.75%. Seperate from Emigrant Direct which has a $1 minimum for 3.00% right now. FDIC insured. Interesting!
I’ve looked thru all the comments on this thread, as am thinking of opening my first on-line savings acct to catch a rate higher than the 2% offered by my local bank, and don’t see any concern about the problems or possible failure of banks like WAMU, Countrywide, E-Trade. Is that not to be worried about? Is FDIC supposed to be easy enough and fast enough to replace lost funds that it wouldn’t be a hassle? Is the thinking that a bank would not be allowed to fail? Thanks, to any who can offer thoughts.
Kab: I started to open an account at Emigrant’s new Dollarsavingsdirect account, but there are 2 things folks should be aware of. The rate is indeed 3.75%, but you need to open with a minimum of $1000. Secondly, in the first disclosure on the terms and conditions pages, it states that they reserve the right to hold a withdrawal request for 60 days before paying it. I emailed them and they said that was a New York State banking regulation and they also stated that they had never exercised that right in their 154 year existence.
I’m still not comfortable with that and continue to favor HSBC (3.50%)and Zions (3.56%). I think, tho, that HSBC is a NY bank and if this is indeed the NY regulation, I am NOT comfortable with that possibility of a 60 day delay there either. I’ll have to check their disclosures more carefully.
SmTwnGrl:
Either FDIC or NCUA (credit unions) should quickly protect you. They seem to take over failing institutions and re-open them 1-3 days later. I don’t worry at all about that…but economists are predicting many more failures in the banking industry…including an un-named large one.
If you can set up monthly direct deposit and use your debit/credit card ten times per month Bank of Little Rock offers 5.01% on their ultimate checking account.works for me!
Or if you make a bill payment using their online bill pay instead of a direct deposit you will get the 5.01% from Bank of Little Rock. They also refund ATM fees. I really like them.
I just recently joined with ING and it was really easy. I heard hsnbc can be a nitemare so I am glad I picked ING.
I received the $25 signup bonus immediately and am happy with the access to the website.
If anyone want to signup and get their $25 bonus as well let me and I can send you my ref link. Email me at [email protected]
Saw an ad for Dollar Saving Direct which is offering 3.75 APY but this is the exact same bank as Emigrant Direct which is offering 3.0 APY, same FDIC number 12054 . Anybody got any ideas on why they would do this? Also notice the most of the banks offering the highest rates on line are the ones in trouble.
I have had the Provident-Direct high yield savings account for several months now and everything has worked out great. The APY is now 3.75%, one of the best out there.
Does anyone know how to figure out which bank location to check out on the bankrate.com Safe and Sound feature when it does not list the online name, such as Provident-Direct, instead it lists many Provident banks by city. Thanks!
In response to the FDIC questions, my local bank, 1st National Bank of AZ. FDIC shut them down on a Thursday night and they were opened back up, under Mutual Bank of Omaha, on Monday. I’m still switching to a more stable bank, but it was nice that everything remained avaliable with only one day of downtime. Kudos FDIC…for once, a government program actually works!
I have been a customer of Emigrant direct for about two years now, and have been very satisfied with their systems and service. My *only* problem with them is their non-competitive interest rate, even after the recent rise to 3.0 from 2.75. So, I opened an account at both HSBC and at FNBO (both at 3.5 at the time I applied) to check them out, and based on the horrendously bad experiences I had with each institution, I can only guess that they have to pay a higher rate to overcome their many shortcomings. I have withdrawn what I deposited there and am looking again. Aside from gettign a good rate of return 9as we all are) the ability to easily open multiple joint accounts is key to me
I welcome suggestions
TJ Jackson: Could you give a little more detail about your bad experiences with FNBO? I opened a joint account after reading good things about them on Smart Money and so far the only bad experience was some panic when the money had been withdrawn from my checking account but did not show up in the FNBO account until the 3rd day. I’d like to know what kinds of things to watch out for. Thanks!
With FNBO the main problem is that 1) the signup process is very, very lengthy and problematic, with emails sent that include links that claim to take your application forward but do not. Requires a lot of manual intervention by their CSRs to talk you in.
and then, 2) when you’re ready to set up account number 2? You have to do it all over again, even though they already have all your data. No expedited setup for additional accounts.
I opened an account with FNBO Direct and didn’t have any problems.
I opened and account with both ING and FNBO last month…Although I had no significant problems per say it was a long drawn out process for the FNBO account…By day 3 I was ready to cancel it but I kept going forth and 11 days later I finally had an opertational account.
I opened an account (online) with ING Direct about 3 months ago…very easy, simple setup with linking my current Credit Union checking account. 3% isn’t the greatest, but it’s the rate I chose and it’s the rate that I got (and will continue to get). Adding my wife as a secondary and linking in our joint checking account was just as simple.
Thanks to all for the info about any snags with FNBO. So far I’ve only had a good experience and was especially happy to see the interest show up at the end of the month. I’m hoping now that there won’t be any problem when I go to transfer some of the funds to another account when I need to use them. I found moving money back and forth very easy with E*Trade, but am afraid now to make more deposits due to their weak financial state. (However, it has been reassuring to hear that FDIC moves in quickly and funds are available soon.)
I’ve also applied for an account with Bank of Little Rock to get their great rate (can put in up to $25,000) and just now received the application in the mail (it took six business days.) It is more trouble than enrolling totally on-line, but sounds like it should be worth it. The interest rate is 5.01%. The requirement is to use the debit card ten times a month. I got a very fast response from their Customer Service for a question.
I also applied to WAMU, but got declined due to their inability to verify the joint account holder. No reason I can see for that to have happened, but I’m not going to pursue it for .25% more.
Again, thanks to all for sharing info. It has made me feel a lot more secure about taking this step.
STG
The blog owner should take note of the new DollarSavingsDirect bank, which is a division of Emigrant Direct. Same great interface and customer service, but with 3 differences
the good
1) a much better rate (3.75% versus noncompetitive 3.0% at Emigrant)
the not so good
2) min to open is $1000
3) if balance falls below 1000 the rate drops to 1%
If you like Emigrant except for the relatively crappy rate and have a thousand or more to invest, take a look
https://www.dollarsavingsdirect.com
(No, I have no financial interest in either bank other than for my own savings)
Does anyone have an opinion on the Charles Schwab High-Yield Investor Checking account? I currently have a savings account with ING (love that) linked to a checking (& obligatory savings) account at Bank of America, but I’d like to enjoy a higher interest rate on the money that stays in my checking account as well. Does anyone have any suggestions? The 2.01% APY at Schwab looks pretty good- although their obligatory brokerage account is not FDIC insured, so I would probably keep a minimum balance in that anyway as most of my money would stay with ING. Thanks!
I’ve been quite happy with Schwab, and I have no money on the brokerage side, and haven’t ever.
Beth:
I was debating Schwab as well for the interest checking rate as an interst bearing alternative to my current HSBC checking. Looks pretty good to me but then I found Salem Five Direct high interest ONLINE checking account that pays a minimum 3% and higher depending on your balance – FDIC insured, free first batch of checks, bill pay, debit card, etc with a $100 min to open… application process online is short and quick BUT you have to MAIL your intitial deposit, cannot do a bank to bank tranfer to start, so far that’s the only downside. May want to check it out, no pun intended!
Peoples Trust is paying 4,00%. It is the best rate.
Thanks Bart, KAB, and Jackie! I didn’t know there were multiple options.. looks like I have some more research to do, but I’ll be sure to post my decision.
For people living in California, that People’s Trust rate is 0.4% not 4%. At least, that is the rate it quoted me when I entered my CA zip code in the rate checker.
For rewards checking I found a local bank offering 6.07% APY. Century Bank of Oklahoma in Pryor http://www.centuryofok.com/ has rewards checking with a minimum deposit to open of $100. Requirements are 1 automatic deposit or withdrawal, 10 check card transactions, and e-statements.
I wanted to share this website I found- I just learned the term “rewards checking” from these posts and suddenly found all kinds of options, listed either by APY or state. It’s definitely worth taking a look, I had no idea the rates for checking accounts are higher than the rates for savings. Perhaps this could be worthy of a new post or thread?
http://www.money-rates.com/rewardschecking.htm
Beth check this list out. These accounts work well I have 3 of them myself. Midwest America Federal Credit Union, Tristone Community Bank, and Charter Bank. I’ve had them for 3 months and have recieved the stated rate every month.
Midwest America Federal Credit Union 7.01% http://www.mwafcu.org/index.shtml
Community Bank of Pleasant Hill 6.10% https://www.cbphonline.net/index.html
TriStone Community Bank 6.05% https://www.moneymaxchecking.com/index.html
Lee County Bank & Trust, N.A. 6.01%
https://www.thebigaccount.com/index.html
Union State Bank – Bank of Atchison 6.01% https://www.mybankusb.com/p_checking_rewards.htm
The First National Bank of Wynne 6.01% https://www.fnbwynnerewards.com/index.html
Charter Bank 6.01% http://www.turbochecking.com/
Coulee Bank 6.01% http://couleebank.net/index.php
Hello Beth, here is list that you might be worth your time. Reward checking accounts.
Midwest America Federal Credit Union 7.01% http://www.mwafcu.org/index.shtml
Community Bank of Pleasant Hill 6.10% https://www.cbphonline.net/index.html
TriStone Community Bank 6.05% https://www.moneymaxchecking.com/index.html
Lee County Bank & Trust, N.A. 6.01% https://www.thebigaccount.com/index.html
Union State Bank – Bank of Atchison 6.01% https://www.mybankusb.com/p_checking_rewards.html
The First National Bank of Wynne 6.01% https://www.fnbwynnerewards.com/index.html
Charter Bank 6.01% http://www.turbochecking.com/
Coulee Bank 6.01% http://couleebank.net/index.php
Hi everyone I just stumbled on this page, very informative…so good job everyone. I was wondering if anyone knows if the $25 referral is still available for opening an ING account? The positive reviews have convinced me.
Lou,
The information I have printed out says that the $25 signup bonus with initial deposit of $250 with ING Direct was valid through 8/30/08. HOWEVER, I just logged into my account and it appears to still be going on.
Let me know if you want an Orange Savings Account or an Electric Orange and send me your email address to [email protected] and I’ll send you a referral.
John
Thanks John I just sent you an email
has anyone had any experience with the dollar savings direct
I believe the ING offer is good till 10/13/08
[email protected]
Folks, please do not swap referral links in this thread. If you’d like to give or receive an ING referral, visit the GRS referral-swapping thread.
I ended up opening a checking account with Charles Schwab. They just increased their APY to 3.00%, so my checking will earn just as much as my savings in ING. They reimburse all ATM fees without a monthly cap, supply free checks, and I can go to any of their brokerage branches to answer my banking questions in person, if necessary, which is comforting. I plan to take advantage of the “no minimum balance” option and leave the accompanying brokerage account balance at $0.00. And of course, the checking is FDIC-insured. Thanks to everyone for their input.. much appreciated!
I have accounts with Emigrant Direct and HSBC
both are Super. I have had great results with customer service both use live people. Their rates are always among the highest, very easy to transfer money to your local bank using the internet. My Favorite is Emigrant Direct they really helped me out during hurricane Katrina.
I am looking to open an account for my grandson. Does anyone know how to go about that? As far as putting it in his or my name. I just received the $25 bonus offer in the mail from ING. I had checked Banrate.com several months ago and ING was where I was leaning but now that I have read some of the comments I might consider HSBC. Does anyone have any thoughts? From the comments I have read ING seems to overwhelmingly get good comments overall. I guess my confusion is…since this account is for my grandson (he is only 4 months old) I was wondering about interest earnings. Would that be something that I would have to claim on our taxes at the end of the year? I am no financial wizard so maybe that is a dumb question. Does the account have to be set up in trust or something like that?
I’m very satisfied so far with Dollar Savings Direct, Countrywide, and Capital One.
It looks like Chase is still allowing customers to sign up for WaMu online savings accounts with a 4.00% APY. Overall, I’m pretty happy with my WaMu account with the exception of how long it takes to transfer funds into the account.
In a way, I’m relieved that us WaMu customers did get rescued, but I really hope that Chase doesn’t mess with the rates too much and give me a reason to look elsewhere.
I like capital one savings it is paying 3.55%. I can transfer the funds to my local account if I need to get to the funds. I looked up several of the accounts that was mentioned and the rates weren’t as high as most posted here.
After much reading on this blog I enrolled in both ING Direct and FNBODirect and am Happy with both of them. I had almost gone with WaMu for the 3.75% but I’m glad that I didn’t now that they have fallen. With the economy crisis going on do you think that these other banks will run into any problems? I mean I know i can’t just hide all my money under my bed but if one of my banks fell what would happen to my mony and the interest rates?
After checking out ING, HSBC, Capital One and FNBO, I went with Provident. They have the highest rate I could find right now (3.75%) and I’m familiar with the bank (I used to live in Maryland). Setting up the account was easy and hassle-free, $1 minimum, no fees, and the web interface is easy to use. Initial transfer took 2 business days, secondary transfer (much larger amount) took about 3 business days. So maybe not the fastest but for me the high rate is the priority.
Etrade review: Positive Experience.
I opened an Etrade savings account about two months ago. I think it is WONDERFUL how easy it is to transfer money from my other bank accounts. I am not sure about all the negative reviews above. They must have improved their service since then. I opened with just $25 (yes, the minimum is still just $1, but I figured why not, right?) I did not have to bother with any phone calls, but did have to sign one document and mail it back. No big deal IMHO.
Sadly, I opened my account after the markets began crashing, so I secured a paltry 3.3% interest rate. Still, that’s better than my “Max Saver” account at 53 Bank (a measly 0.5% interest!)
I still have my Etrade account, and rather like it. I put money in every week. Grow, money, grow. 😀
Anyone hav experience with EverBank? They have the following offer currently:
* 4.65%
* 3-Month Bonus Rate2
* 3.82%
* First-year APY up to $50K2
* Yield PledgeSM
Money Market Account
I’m with WAMU for the last 1 year and quite happy till now.
I want to prepare for a scenario if Chase decides to lower the rate from the current 4%.
I have 2 choices:
1. Capital one – 3.75% for costco customers
2. Citi ultimate savings – 3.5%
Which is better?
Thanks
KB… I looked at EverBank also, but opted for Provident instead because I felt like EverBank was playing games. Their bonus rate for 3 months is attractive, and their first-year rate is good, but the regular rate is currently 3.51% which is lower than Provident’s 3.75%. EverBank also has a $1500 minimum to open and to avoid fees, and it’s a money market so you’re limited to 6 withdrawals a month – whereas Provident is a savings account without those restrictions. Still, I was tempted too – so if you open the account let us know how it goes.
I just got my first full month statement from TurboCheck at Charter Bank. I opened the account about 6 weeks ago and have been waiting to see how things would go before posting. It was kind of a pain to open. Security questions on line weren’t clear so we ended up having to through the mail to get signed up. Took about 2 weeks. Pays 6% interest up to $25,000. as long as you meet their requirements which include at least one ACH transfer, 13 debit card purchases (this just went up for October), e-statements, and access on line account at least once a month. Since this is our savings accnt, we made small purchases with the debit card, had our ING transfers made out of this account, and then just transferred the money via billpay back into it from our regular checking account. For 6% that’s not too bad IMO. So far, we are very happy and it’s not too difficult to keep up with. We’d definetly recommend it.
I just completed opening an account with Provident as well. While the higher interest rate was a big factor, it was not the only important factor. I seriously debated between Provident, Shore, and ING. I liked Shore just as much but the higher rate won out.
The sign up process was one of the easiest ones I’ve been through. Now I’m just waiting for them to verify my bank account. From what I’ve seen so far, I’d recommend them.
Been a while since my last post, but I found a pretty useful link on bankrate.com – you can check your financial institutions’ independent rating at the following link:
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/safesound/ss_home.asp
Considering times are tough and we have no idea what banks are going down next, it’s nice to have some way of knowing whether or not you should put your life savings in any of these banks.
SJT – I’m with you, I started the process of opening up a Charter account back in July, finally got it open the last week of August (mainly b/c of the whole snail-mail issues). It’s not bad for 6% interest, I’m happy with that. But after I’d already opened the account, I found bankrate’s Safe & Sound star-rating site and found out that I probably should have gone w/ Coulee bank in Wisconsin instead – it has MUCH better rating that Charter (4-star vs. 2-star). But overall, I’m happy with the Charter account and I’m not going to change. Considering it’s FDIC insured for up to 100k, I think even if the bank went under our money _should_ be OK.
I’d also like to give an update on the other savings account I opened w/ Onbank.com (subsidiary of M&T bank in NY) – when I opened the account, their interest rate was 3.5%, now it’s up to 3.75%!! I really like that account – it was easy to open, easy to set up linked accounts, and when I do a transfer from them, it takes 1 day for electronic transfers from my ING & HSBC accounts, and 2 days to transfer from my brick & mortar credit union account. MUCH MUCH faster than HSBC! The only downside to this account is that it does not yet support Quicken (supports MS Money & pre-2004 Quicken versions). I also checked M&T bank’s rating and they’re rated 4-star (as is FNBO).
Hope this info helps you all!
This blog is great and very informative! I opened an Online Savings account at Huntington Bank about 6 months ago. The application process was good and the customer service was even better (had a question and they answered it within one hour via email).
https://www.huntington.com/
The rate is now 3.5% and you only need $1 to open. I have set-up something they call Bank to Bank transfers where I can send money to and from my other banks to my savings account.
I was also real impressed with their online banking. It is much easier to use than my current bank (Bank of America). I also have accounts at WAMU and Key, but plan to close both of them and just put it in my savings account.
do any of these high yield accounts support direct ofx connections for quicken/money? i can confirm that hsbc and savings square do not. does anyone have any input on this?
I just ditched my useless .4% local bank and moved my savings to FNBO. The opening process went smoothly, so so far, so good.
I have 5 children, and each has their own savings account. I would like to move these accounts from the local bank to a high yield account as well. I’m looking at FNBO and ING for these accounts. Can anyone tell me which banks offer an easy way to set up 5 different accounts, or do I need to go through the long, cumbersome opening process for each one? Thanks in advance!
John in RI,
Probably best to contact customer support. Don’t you have to be an adult to have the online savings?
John
So the Fed did an interest rate cut of .5% today, but did anybody notice Dollar Saving Direct is now offering 4%. This changed from this morning before the cut, it actually increased the rate.. I had an account with HSBC before and they would drop the rates right after a fed cut and then started offering temp teaser rates. Moved my saving to Emigrant Direct and now Dollar Savings Direct.On a blog recently saw that Emigrant and Dollar are owned by Banco Popular, just hope there is no funny business and will be going to FDIC to get my saving back.
btw Vanguard has a tax-free money market that is yielding 5.5% currently
I am trying Farmers and Merchants based in Ohio, which has a branch near us, offering a rate of 5.1 on checking (with 12 debit card uses a mo.) http://www.fm-bank.com/
I noticed this morning that the interest on ING savings accounts is down to 2.75% and 1.5% for the lowest tier on Electric Orange. Was sort of expecting that.
Also, Dollar Saving Direct is a division of Emigrant. $1,000 minimum on Dollar Saving Direct.
You know, these online banks used to be great. When I first put in to Zions Bank, it was 5.56%. These days, they are all starting to become less of a bargain than they were.
It pays to check into your local credit unions now for various termed CDs. The Golden 1 Credit Union in California has recently offered 5.5% CDs (55 month) and altho they are down to 5.35% today, they are still a great place to put funds if you are saving them for a while. Worst case scenario, you’ll lose 6 months interest if you take it out early.
As far as online banks go, I’m still favoring Zions Bank at 3.56% for my “loose” funds that I may need to take out.
Well my “loose” funds are in a rewards checking account at MidWest America Federal Credit Union paying 6.31%. When I started 4 months ago it was 7.01% and another at Charter Bank at 6.01%.Very please with both accounts. I had a cd at Indymac at 5.00% when it closed. Withdrew the cd no penalty and put it in Midwest account @ 7.01%. Interest went from $85.00 to $120.00
“On a blog recently saw that Emigrant and Dollar are owned by Banco Popular”
Both EmigrantDirect and DollarSavingsDirect are divisions of EmigrantBank in NYC; EmigrantBank is NOT now nor has been in the past owned by or affiliated with BancoPopular. What may confuse some is that prior to a name change this summer DollarSavingsDirect had been called BancoFortuna (no connection with BancoPopular).
The customer service at ING Direct is phenomenal. ING all the way.
A lot of very interesting comments on this blog! I am 72 and trying to find the best way to increase my net worth; (which is not that much), while staying as liquid as I can.
Thanks for all your comments, however since
March of 2007 a lot of negative things have
been going on. Nice swing upwards in the market today.
Thanks again,
Tom
I’m one of those who is trying to rate chase among some of these high yield savings accounts. (And I’ve done the math so I know it is worth the effort.) But do any of these banks offer online savings to another online savings transfer?
So far I’ve had luck linking my checking account with my online savings accounts, but no luck linking between online accounts. In other words if I have an ING Direct online savings account an HSBC online savings account, can I transfer money directly between the two? So far I’ve had to go from ING –> checking –> HSBC which obviously takes a few days longer.
Hello everyone,I’m kind of new to investing money into savings accounts with decent APY’s.I just wonder if anyone has ever gotten rich by just letting their money sit and collect interest.I also wonder if the APY is added on to your balance daily or just yearly.Because I did the math on $500 with an APY of 3% and if 3% of $500 is constantly being added everyday.Then within 30 days,the $500 balance that you deposited would literally double to almost $1000 with that amount still collecting interest and doubling to $2000 next month.Is this process right anyone?
Hey Alex,
I do not think you are right. If you find
out you ARE right, I will pull some of my
money out of the stock market and put it into
whatever savings account you are talking about. And, yes, it is true that you would
be able to make a lot of $$$ by doing that, but I think you are out on a limb waiting for it to break.
My wife put $20,000 into an annuity six years
ago and it is now worth about $25,000.
I love the stock market; especially now.
I still do not think that we have found the
bottom yet, but we are close. (Sorry); I
know I am not talking about savings accounts, but just had to put my 2 cents worth in.
Good luck,
Tom
Alex,
APR stands for ANNUAL PERCENTAGE RATE. That means you get it annually, not daily. Generally you accrue interest monthly which is added to your account balance and that money accrues interest, all of which adds up to your APY (yield) which may be a bit higher than your APR.
I just wanted to say that with your advice (and others), I’ve opened an ING Orange Savings Account. Let the savings begin!
Is Midwest with 7% interest Rewards Checking still going on? Anyone have feedback on Midwest..like are they easy to work with, have good online access, etc???
Getting ready to make my move on that one. Also looking at Charter with 6% for my next account.
Currently have HSBC with 3.5% savings and am generally pleased. Want to use that account for ACH style transactions required with Midwest (and all other reward checking accounts), as I have heard that is doable.
Thanks for this forum, you folks have kept the focus on real saving alternatives, versus scary wall street investments.
Stewart
HSBC Direct has gone down to 3.0%. FNBO Direct has gone down to 3.25%. I don’t know about Midwest. I went with a local bank that had 6.06% but that just went down to 4.41%.
Stewart, I have a turbocheck accnt and they are still giving 6% on that accnt. It was kind of a pain to open, but once we got it up and running, it has been easy to maintain. I just transfer money to and from other accnts using bill pay, which is free. They now require 13 debit card transactions a month plus at least one ACH transaction. Hope this helps you out.
Stewart, I have a account at Midwest and the rate is still the highest on a reward checking account at 6.31% APY. The account is great and I haven’t had any problems yet. I also have a turbochecking acct. at Charter Bank with no problems.
How does everyone manage the 10 debit transactions for MidWest America Federal Credit Union paying 6.31% and another 10 at Charter Bank at 6.01%. If you have both that is 20 debits per month and I don’t purchase that often. Any tips on how to swing this are appreciated b/c I would like to open both accounts. ty
Hey E:
“How does everyone manage the 10 debit transactions…”
Here’s my recommendation:
Shop at a grocery store that has a self checkout aisle. Get 10 items and scan each of them and pay for each them individually with your Midwest/etc debit card. Do 10 transactions. Sure, you will get funny stares from those around you, but hey…you got your 10 debit transactions for the month.
That’s what I plan to do when I get hooked up with Midwest and Charter rewards checking.
Stewart
Stewart:
I actually heard someone suggest in the past on a different blog that they were going to do that too. But I always thought that was too good to be true and that the bank MUST have some sort of small print minimal amount per purchase. So I would be all the more intersted to hear those who has successfully done this and if so, which banks. Also, to avoid having to review this entire huge blog, could someone be so kind as to post a current/updated link which perhaps lists all the banks that have this option. I know there are more than just the Midwest you refer to. I think the Bankrate and similar websites just list “regular” online banks like ING, HSBC, etc. that dont have the debit card requirements??
Can someone tell me how I can sign up with Midwest America Federal Credit Union? I see they come highly recommended, but they have rules that prevent anyone from outside their state (or service area) from becoming a member. Can I sign up even though I live in Kansas?
@E and DreaDrea…I do the same thing Stewart does with my Charter accnt. There is no minimum purchase as long as it is made with your debit card (it cannot be an ATM withdrawal). Since I use my Charter accnt as my savings accnt, I just add up all of my purchases and transfer that ammount via billpay from my regular checking accnt. This way I’m not depleting my savings accnt. I also have ING do an ACH transfer into their account to take care of that (like many of you I have specific accnts earmarked for specific things). Charter will only pay the 6% up to 25K. Once I hit that, I will open a second accnt. at Charter (you can have 2) and start again. It’s really not that hard. Hope this helps.
SJT… What is a “Charter” account. and when u say 6% is that the APY rating?
I currently have my money in an Onbank account. They are easy to work with, great customer service, and very neatly put together. I’m only at 3.60% APY, and I am going to look into something better within the future. I was thinking a bank CD or maybe something else with low risk ( knowing that the economy isnt at its tip top shape ). If you guys have segestions I would really love to hear them.
JCC…Charter is an online bank that offers a high yield checking account called “Turbo Checking”. The yield is 6.01% annually. There is a minimum to open of $50. They will pay the 6% up to 25K. There are certain requirements you must fulfill each month in order to qualify for the higher percentage rate. If you fail to qualify, you recieve a much lower (something around 1%) rate for that month. However, if you then qualify the next month, it goes back up again. IMO the requirements are worth the rate…you must make 13 debit transactions each monthly cycle, you must have at least one ACH transaction each cycle, you must access your account on line at least twice each month, and you must recieve e-statements instead of paper statements. See some of the posts above about how to meet these requirements with little trouble. I hope that clarifies things for you.
It sounds like Charter is similar to Midwest, but I think MAFCU currently offers a slightly higher (6.31%) interest rate. Also, MAFCU only requires 10 debit transactions per month.
No one ever replied to my last post, though(post 851), so I assume elgibility is not available to anyone outside of MAFCU’s service area.
You also want to keep in mind that about all of them do a soft or hard pull on your credit reports.
It bothers me that no one has answered Alex (839) completely. When you get 3.00% APY daily on $5oo, it does not mean that you get .03x$500=$15 daily. It means that you get .03/365 or .000082x$500=$0.0411 daily. I don’t think you would get rich very fast on that amount.
check out moneyaisle.com. You can put in the amount you want to deposit and banks will bid up the interest rate. Doesn’t cost anything and you are not committed to anything until you see the rate. fdic insured
If there are any Canadians here, the new TFSA is going be an interesting investment vehicle to look into. I did a review of the pros and cons of it on my blog, http://www.urbanspeaker.com. Check it out for an indepth profile.
Thanks for the post. I don’t remember how I found your site..but I did somehow while researching online savings accounts.
I am now a Google Reader Subscriber to your blog.
I signed up with FNBO for my online savings account. It’s super easy and a load off my mind to have it taken care of!
My money market was only getting around 1.8%…so this change will make me around $500 more this year. I’ve only been out of college 2 years so I’m still working on growing my savings.
Is anybody tracking the fluctuations of these various banks interest rates inline? I’d be interested in seeing who MORE CONSISTENTLY has a higher rate, as opposed to the flavor of the moment.
I would be cautious with opening a savings account with a really high interest. If the bank has one of the highest interest rates, then that means that they are taking a lot of risks (ex: WaMu). It would be a good idea to wait and see what happens because of the current situation with the economy and how the banks are merging with each other.
BG remember IndyMac. I bought a 7 mo. CD at 5.00 % APY. After 5 mos. FDIC took IndyMac and I had the option of withdrawal the Cd with no penalty, which I did. Deposited the proceeds in reward checking acct. at Midwest America Federal Credit at 7.01% but is now at 6.31%. So I would say now is a good time to seek out weak banks paying high rates because if they fail you are protected up to 250,000.00 dollars. If the FDIC takes over you have the option to withdraw your funds with no penalty.
I;m trying to decide between Costco capital one (3.66%) and GMAC (3.75%).
Can somebody tell me which is better?
Thanks
Anyone consider Capital One’s online savings account?
No, I don’t like Capitol One, I felt that they credit card tactics were less than ethical when I had one of their cards. I’ll never use them again. I’m using FNBO and ING right now, and I am extremely happy with both!
I am using Capital One’s online savings account. It is paying 3.55% it has been great and you can make tranfers between your other accounts with them.
Hey John,
Could you please explain your problems with
Capitol One in more detail? I have always
had a great relationship with them. Did not
quite understand the words “credit card tactics were less than ethical” when you
had one of their cards?
Not being smart. . .just curious?
I do not care to go into details, other than to say it was several years ago, when I was under a lot of debt and unemplyed for several months. I found them to be one of the more difficult, indifferent companies to deal with. During that time, our credit card companies took every opportunity to levy ridiculous fees and raise interest rates that they could to make money on my family when we were in our most vulnerable position, and it took us a long time and lots of financial pain to rid ourselves of them. My family has lived for the last several years without credit cards, and we are stronger financially then we ever have been, with NO debt at all and lots of cash savings. I am sure that their savings account is a good product, I just simply don’t care to be their customer again, or to ever hold a credit card again either. I understand that today, the term “business ethics” is an oxymoron, but some of the tactics that credit card companies employ are just simply dispicable, and should be illegal. I’m sorry, I don’t mean to rant, and I don’t want to turn this into a discussion about credit cards. Maybe a seperate discussion should be started about this sort of thing, because easy credit is much of the cause of our countrys financial woes today. Happy savings and HIGH, HIGH, HIGH interest rates to everyone!!!
Hi John,
Understand and glad things are going well for
you once again.
Best wishes,
Tom
I have an E*trade account, and it works wonderfully. I have all my savings and checking accounts registered with them, so when I want to make a deposit to or from the etrade account, it is as easy as selecting the account, entering the amount, and hitting go. You can also set it up to do recurring deposits, like an automatice deposit from your checking account, and it is just as easy as making a single transfer. I highly recommend the etrade accounts to anyone looking for one of these. They may offer a tiny, tiny bit lower rate than GMAC, but the ease of use is SO worth it!
Also, check out http://www.checkingfinder.com to find the best rates for online checking accounts. 6.10% from Community Bank of Pleasant Hill! no minimum balance requirement, automatic ATM fee refunds. All you ahve to do is use a direct deposit to the account, and make at least 10 transactions per month with your debit card. Pretty easy for 6.10%.
I am in the process of checking out Venture Direct based on earlier references. Anyone have any feedback on this bank. I think the rate is about 3.8%. Seems like a small operation and not sure about their customer service.
FNBO. Stable, secure, easy to use.
Love love love GRS!!! I checked out http://www.checkingfinder.com and will be moving my emergency fund from my credit union savings account earning squat into a high yield checking account at Community Bank of Pleasant Hill earning 6.10%!!! That is an awesome rate!
Kansas Joe,
I know it’s been close to a month since your last post, but if you’re still interested in setting up a high-yield checking with MAFCU, read Willie’s post #699 and surrounding posts stating how he joined while outside of their service area. I’m currently thinking about trying to set up an account with them as well. However, I’ll probably set up an online savings account first since as of today I only have a 2 non-interest free checking accounts (no savings) at local brick-and-mortar banks.
I was hoping some people might be able to give me some guidance on when and where I should start high-yield savings and or checking accts. To tell u a bit about myself, I’m in my mid-20’s and basically just recently started life in the real world(finished grad school,marriage,first real career (w/ 401k, currently at max. matched 4%), bought first home, etc. all in a period of about 3 months this past summer!) My wife and I both only have free checking accts. (no savings accts.) at local banks w/ no interest. Neither of us have any real debt other than our 30-yr 5.5% mortgage. Our plan is to save enough in the next 1-2 years ($10-15K, ~$500 minimum/month ACH) to eventually be able to each start Roth IRAs with max. annual contribution ($5000 each for 2008-09) as well as initially set up separate accounts or sub-accounts for emergency fund, future travel plans, etc. After spending the past few days reading all of these posts, I’m leaning toward an initial start with ING Orange Savings and Checking, despite their low rates, mostly because of the $25 bonus if still available (a previous post said it may only be available until mid-Oct) and because ING was consistently the most highly recommended throughout the posts, with a few exceptions. I am also considering UFBDirect (no ACH?), Emigrant (both American Dream and Dollar Saving Direct), OnBank, Provident, GMAC (a little afraid of General Motors problems), and ShoreBank due to their higher rates and/or good overall reviews. I was considering starting with ING to get the bonus and because it seems to be the best in terms of reviews and then transferring probably the majority of my $ to one of the other sites with higher rates that I listed. One thing I was also wondering is if I sign up with ING Savings AND Checking, could I get the $25 referral bonus for each? (Please don’t post referral offers, I know where to find them from several previous posts) I’m also planning on looking into high-yield checking such as MAFCU, Charter, and similar sites mentioned in previous posts with min. restrictions such as 10-13 debit purchases/month & 1 ACH/month, and e-statements but if minimums met, APYs of up to 6.3%
Any advice on if my plans sound logical or if I should definitely avoid any of the mentioned sites? (Hope I didn’t forget anything, lol)
Matt
Matt:
At your young age, I’d suggest you look at 5 yr CDs. You can keep your eyes open and get over 5% at many. My credit union (The Golden 1 Credit Union in CA) keeps making short term offers that last a week or two. I just recently got some CDs that are 5.5% for 55 months. Last year, I got some that are 6.0% for 60 months. Mine are in ROTH Iras, but you can have them in normal accounts, traditional IRAs or Roth Iras. Chasing the highest interest rate is good for money that needs to stay “loose”, but you sound like you are planning long term.
ING has been traditionally at the bottom of the pack in rates. I use primarily HSBC (because they do free ACH transfers in and out…today they are 3.0%) and Zions (because they are normally at the top of the pack…today it is 3.41% APY for a $1000 minimum…nothing else to do to earn it…and they will give you a free checking account if you want).
Brad,
Thanks for the advice. I’ll definitely look into local CDs. However, although long-term investment is definitely my goal, I’m not sure if I currently have the lump sum required to fund a CD or if I’m willing to wait that long before beginning a Roth IRA. I believe my wife and I currently make enough to put aside at least $500/month for short-term needs such as emergency funds and planned vacations as well as saving money to each start a Roth IRA in 1-2 yrs. with an initial max. contribution of $5000 each. I know that some Roth IRAs allow for less of an intital contribution ($3000/person in some cases) or even allow no inital contribution if you meet min. direct deposit requirements per month, but they also charge fees below certain balances (say $5K), so after doing some research, I’ve decided my plan is to just contribute the entire $10K max. (2 people) with our intial deposits in 1-2 yrs.
Any disagreements with my logic in either this post or post #881?
Matt:
Understand that Credit Unions generally have no fees on IRAs.
More importantly, you can open a ROTH account with some and add to it all year (until you reach the maximum). My particular credit union has a $500 minimum to open an IRA CD, and you can contribute $500 as you get it and open a new CD in the ROTH account every month if you like. You sure don’t need to wait til you get an entire $5000 to open one. You’ll be losing lots of tax-free earning if you wait. You may find a local credit union that lets you fund them for even less than the $500 min. But waiting until you get $5000 amassed certainly is not necessary.
Brad,
So you would recommend that I start my ROTH with CD investments? I had always planned on starting it with investment in a mutual fund (similar to my 401K) with someone like Vanguard or Fidelity. I’ve also read on several sites during my ROTH research, including in the following article:
http://ezinearticles.com/?Is-Your-Roth-IRA-Investment-Serving-You-Well?&id=1607143
that CDs are not a very good option for investment when it comes to ROTHs when compared to mutual funds or index funds. I realize that with today’s economy, this may not be true, but in the long run, my understanding is that mutual funds are the better choice. So, I guess my next question would be: If I were to start my ROTH with CDs, can I transfer my funds at some point to a company offering mutual fund investment if I wanted (I’m guessing credit unions don’t offer mutual funds?) with little or no penalty or fees, or would I just be better off keeping that ROTH account with the credit union and just start a new ROTH with someone else who offers mutual fund investment (while remembering to keep the total of the 2 ROTHs below the max. annual). BTW, your advice has been much appreciated!
Thanks,
Matt
Forgot to mention that I was planning on picking a mutual fund ROTH IRA investment with a target retirement of 2035 or 2040. Sound about right or does it seem to ambitious? (52 or 57 yrs old – national average around 62, which I think is also the earliest one can begin receiving Soc. Security)
Well, Matt… I’m older and I’ve seen how badly my mutual funds have been beaten up the last year. Maybe we’re at the bottom…maybe we are nowhere near there. CDs are traditionally low paying but very, very safe…as are all the banks discussed here, given the FDIC (for banks) and NCUA (for credit unions). It is all about your risk tolerance. Most folks here worrying about getting 3%-3.5% seem to be taking the safe road…or they’d put it into the market instead.
Yes, you can move things around from CDs to Mutual funds and back. (Of course, you must do that at the CD’s maturity time…or take a 6 month interest penalty on the long term CDs). If we get to Jimmy Carter type inflation where CDs pay 15% as they did in the mid 1970s, then you cash in the 6% CD, take the penalty, and get a new CD at 15%!
Since I am older and less tolerant of risk, I moved most of my mutual fund Roth IRAs into CD Roth IRAs over the last year.
Moving your retirement funds (401k, IRAs) is called a rollover. Read the IRS rules about direct rollovers vs indirect rollovers. Usually, the company currently holding your IRA will make a check out to the new company “for benefit of [your name here]” and mail it to you to take/mail to the new IRA trustee. That is a direct rollover. If you have them make the check out to you, different rules apply…usually you have 60 days to re-deposit it, but if you are rolling a 401(k), there are lots of issues as your company may deduct 20% withholding and that can really cause you trouble as you must make up that 20% from somewhere and redeposit it within the 60 days…and then get the 20% that was withheld back from the IRS when you file. If you don’t have another 20% to put in to take place of the withheld 20%, it will be taxed as an early distribution with an additional 10% tax penalty!
You can start more than one ROTH at more than one place…or move as you like. Just keep it under the maximum for the year. When working, I always maxed out my ROTH deductions before any other savings. Free earnings forever is the ticket!
All that 2035 or 2040 business means to you is that they will put your funds into a higher risk/higher reward group of funds now, due to the long range investment…and as the date gets closer, it will automatically get more conservative and the amount of stock mutual funds will decrease and bonds and cash funds will increase. It is just trying to make it simpler for you not to have to worry about changing which mutual funds you are in as your risk threshhold lowers.
Places like http://www.Troweprice.com allow you to do an automatic “asset builder” in one or more funds with a monthly minimum $50 automatic ACH transfer from your checking account (each fund). The advantage is that there is no initial deposit to come up with. It just keeps taking the amount you have set up. You can set that up as an IRA or just a regular mutual fund account. I think they might have an annual “small account fee” like $10 per fund…until you reach a certain amount in total.
I don’t know if this was mentioned but GMAC website says nothing about having a $500 min to avoid fees, It says no fees, maybe they recently changed it
I’ve had Etrade for well over a year now. I used for myself and for my company. I’ve been very happy. The website works great – easy to transfer in and out. And they have had high rates consistently.
But here’s the kicker – they have awesome security. My biggest fear is that some spyware keylogger gets my password and transfers out all of my money. I had a keylogger (spyware that records all of your account IDs and password and mails it to people in Russia, etc.) on computer in the past that my virus and spyware protection programs did not detect at first.
So why is it the security awesome – Etrade has the RSA key fobs that generate random codes every 20-30 seconds. You add this random code to your password – so even if someone gets your password, they cannot break into your account. This is what most large corporations use for access to their Virtal Private Networks. It is virtually unbreakable. I wish Bank of America and Fidelity had this.
Hey… For all of you looking for the HIGH INTEREST SAVINGS ACCOUNTS…
Please check out http://www.onbank.com
I have found it very easy to use, it has a steady rate of 3.60% APY… It is very fast, very easy, and everything is organized on the page. I called to ask questions and they have very good phone support as well. If you invest in a high interest savings account, this is one you should definently consider.
* No fees ( as long as you keep your statements online or its 10$ a month to get them in the mail)
* No minimum balance
* Online and telephone support
* Backed by a major banking company
Check out the website… the site is http://www.onbank.com . Let me know what you guys think.
John – post #869;
I understand your ‘concern’ about Capital One, they treated my wife and I poorly when we had Credit Cards from them. But did you ever think that you can use them, and their good interest rate, to get a little back from them. ?
Bill
I just closed my etrade savings account. They are so slow processing money that even after you jump through all there hoops to verify all your accounts, it still takes forever to access your money. It was a pain when I opened it, it was a pain verifying accounts, and my last transfer into the account, they actually subtracted the amount coming in, instead of adding it. When trying to get a hold of customer service, I had to wait for 15 minutes before talking to someone. Bottom line, I would rate the whole opperation a -1 on a scale of 1 to 10. I have since taken my money out and have decided it would be less headache to set up 6 month cd’s and renew twice a year, than deal with e trade again.
I have an account with FNBO Direct and I will be closing it. They charge $2.50 for transactions at ATMs that are not affiliated with them. The ATM that I used was free and never have I been charged for using it before with my other banks(i.e. Wamu, UFB Direct, HSBC, etc). This might be acceptable for some people but not to me. If there is no charge from the financial institution that I used(and there isn’t) banks should not charge their customers.
I’m giving up on iGo Banking. There is something going on there, I fear. Might be just poor customer service. I tried to add another bank onto the transfer screen a few days ago, and it will take me as far as letting me identify the bank I want, then select it, but then I get a blank section of screen…and it says “done” in the lower corner…before I have been allowed to enter in the account number to continue the process.
I sent them an email asking if the process was “broken” or if there was something else going on. I got a canned response (at least they addressed me by name) to call customer service, to which I responded that I had successfully added accounts before with no problem and I still simply wanted to know what was happening with the process and did not want to call them.
I received only another canned response, this time only addressed to “Valued Customer” with instructions to contact them by phone. I had another plan…I responded by transferring 99% of my funds out to one of my already existing linked accounts. That isn’t customer service. I get higher interest from Zions Bank anyway…they are still 3.41% APY.
I’m sorry to hear that Brad. I opened an account with iGObanking a little over a month ago and I haven’t had any major issues with them other than having to request a debit card(which is odd) and my funds taking a little longer to post to my account. I’ve found their customer service to be more than adequate, which is more than I can say for HSBC and WAMU
I just got an email from Charter Bank. My Turbochecking account APY will be dropping from 6.01% to 5.01% beginning on Feb 2. Anyone else seeing their rates dropping?
For those using venturebankdirect.com, do they charge to transfer money to and from other online accounts? Also how long does a transfer usually take?
Tom (#874)
All of the earlier mentions of Venture Direct were spam directly from the bank itself (or its representatives). They weren’t actual user comments. I only found out when somebody e-mailed me to point out that the IP address from all of the commenters in support of the bank were the same. Lame. I’ve removed all previous mentions.
https://www.zionsbank.com/ultimate_savings_id.jsp?zid=1349
I went to look at Zions Bank and did not find 3.41% like has been mentioned just a few days ago. Has the rate changed so drastically?
Yes, DY…it just dramatically dropped to 2.84% APY on Friday…..
Sad sign of the times. Zions has been staying near the top, so I expect others to head down too. iGo is still at 3.28% this morning…but as I’ve said, I’m not happy with their customer service and I have pretty much left them. I worry a bit about HSBC’s exposure to Madoff…but I see that even Zions received some of the (our) federal money.
Hi everyone! I’m a little confused about something and hope someone can help me, and quick as I’m trying to change accounts soon.
I have done a search through all these postings for anything on “emigrant” and have found nothing but excellent stuff (except for one post, but since it was 1 in a batch of 20, I’m not too concerned). So needless to saw, I’m very interested in getting an account with them.
I went to emigrantdirect.com and on the front page it says the account is called an “american dream savings account” and it is says the rate is 2.75%. In my further research and review of this blog, I saw something called “dollar savings direct”, which is apparently also a division of Emigrant bank. On this particular website (dollarsavingsdirect.com), on the front page it says the account is called “dollar savings account” and the rate is 4.0%. The layout, interface, etc. between emigrant.com and dollarsavingsdirect.com are virtually IDENTICAL, and it would seem that the only difference is that emigrantdirect/american savings has no minimum balance but dollarsavings is $1000.
So can anyone help shed some light on all this? One thing is for sure, if it is true that that emigrant bank simply offers two types or rates simply due to whether you keep a $1000 minimum or not, it would seem more efficient to so what other banks do which is to just have one website and just do different tiers. And so there must be some OTHER differences between emigrantdirect.com and dollarsavingsdirect.com
Thanks!
DreaDrea: I started with Emigrant, and still love the place for everything except their rate. I have since moved most of my accounts (those consistently over 1000) to DollarSavingsDirect. The only money I have left on DollarSavingsDirect are accounts well below 1000 those where the value fluctuates.
The only real differences are that your initial deposit must equal or exceed 1000 and your interest rate drops substantially if you ever fall below 1000. Thats it.
The only reason I keep any money at Emigrant anymore is because I like to use seperate accounts to segregate money earmarked for different purposes (car repair account, vacation savings, etc) and some of those accounts have balances lower than 1000. Emigrant remains a far better choice than a standard brick and mortar savings account for these purposes
Drea Drea. I also have an account with Dollar Savings Direct. At first I was a little worried about the bank not being big enough but after doing some research I found very good comments about them so I decided to open an account. So far my experience has been satisfactory. I have over 20k and this month I will be hitting $60 mark in interest. One cool thing I like about their website is that interest is compounded daily so you can see how much interest your money has earned daily and it adds up every day and resets itself at the beginning of the next month.
Dollar Savings Direct – http://www.dollarsavingsdirect.com is part of Emigrant Savings Bank, which started Emigrant Direct and it currently pays 4.00% APY. This is the highest I have seen as of late.
I opened an FBNO account a few months ago at 3.25%, and they have been great, but just this week they have reduced the rate to 2.8% just a heads up. I will probably be sticking with them unless i find something significantly better.
Most posters here seem only interested in bank rate comparisons, not the financial soundness of banks themselves. I have money with Emigrant Direct, but am very uncomfortable knowing it currently has a one star rating from Bauer Financial and Bankrate.com. It’s comforting to know this money is FDIC insured, but with so many 2008 bank failures, it still doesn’t sit well. Five star Grand Yield Direct (through Apple Bank for Savings) seems a better choice, but they do not accept trust-titled accounts.
Is there any online savings bank available for non-US, Canada, UK residents? I am a Filipino but I am living in Taiwan and I’d like to open a savings account that provides ATM cards. I hope you can share useful information. Thanks in advance!
I signed up for an Emigrant Direct account a year and a half ago when it was 5.5%. It takes a week or so to sign up because they make two deposits in your checking and you need to confirm them, but after that everything has been very easy. I have always received a live operator right away and have had no issues. I have transferred money back and forth several times. It can take a few days for the money to fully transfer. The web interface is very easy to use and makes sense. I wish they still had the rates of last year, but I can’t really blame them for that.
Can anyone tell me which institution has managed to keep fairly consistent rates over the past year? I opened a Capital One account about a year and a half ago when it was returning 5% but over the course of the past year it has consistently fallen every month and seems to have bottomed out at 2%. Anyone enjoying fairly consistent rates?
Zions Bank (2.84% APY) and HSBC (3.00% APY) seem to have been among the slower movers as far as rate movements go. iGo Banking has also been fairly consistent (3.08 APY).
I just noticed that Zions *finally*, without fanfare, has set up bank-to-bank transfers, allowing you to link other accounts to them, as do the other two. I am in the deposit verification mode, so I can’t say how well it will work yet. HSBC seems to be among the fastest group of banks as far as their transfers go. Zions will give you a few checks and a debit card.
@ gian: I’m a little shocked by your experience with Etrade. I have had zero problems with their service. The only transaction that ever took more than two days to clear for me was the initial deposit. Most of my deposits clear the next day and, if my math is correct, do actually begin accruing interest the same day.
@ Terry (#907) I am also wondering about the stability of banks. For instance Etrade is listed twice at bankrate.com; once for Etrade Bank (2 stars), and again as Etrade Savings Bank (4 stars). I’m not sure what to make of this.
Yeah, I’m kind of in the same boat, as far as wondering what banks have historically good stability, customer service, and high interest rates.
I’ve actually been using WaMu’s online savings account for a little over a year now. I opened the account when they were offering a rate around 5%, but it’s fallen dramatically since then, for obvious reasons. Now it’s at about 1.5%, which is less than spectacular.
I don’t think it makes sense for me to switch in the short-term, since I’m going to be pulling all my money out to make a home purchase, but I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations as to a stable bank for when I start rebuilding my reserves.
Thanks!
Sigh, HSBC just went down to 2.6%.
Yep, I just got the email from HSBC. I was upset when it went down to 3%, and I’m more upset now. Starting to shop around.
Yep — getting that HSBC e-mail is what made me come to this site to see what was the highest. But, every bank is being hit by this financial crisis. Fortunately, I locked in a short-term HSBC CD rate at 3.5%, but even that will expire in a few months…
DollarSavingDirect….4.00% cant beat it anywhere. Gets linked to your checking account automatically. I signed up 3 days ago waiting for them to deposit the two small amounts in my primary checking so I can verify it and to have it setup. Its part of Emigrant Bank of New York.
4.00% at Dollar Saving Direct is a good rate but unless you maintain a $1,000.00 balance, the rate is 1.00%. “You are required to maintain a minimum average daily balance of $1,000.00 in your Dollar Savings Account for the statement period in order to receive the advertised APY. In the event the average daily balance in your Dollar Savings Account falls below $1,000.00 during the statement period, your account will receive an APY of 1.00%.”
Thanks so much to everyone’s posts about Dollar Savings Direct. I am definitely very tempted to make the switch, especially at the start of a new year where everything can start fresh and truly have the potential to reach that full APY…but since the market continues to be so volatile right now, there’s obviously no telling what DSD will do this year or even the next several months, and certainly no guarantees that it will stay at or even close to 4% and not creep down to the low amount I currently have…hence making the switch not only just a hassle but useless/ineffective.
ah…the quandries of “rate chasing”!
Hi Everyone. So I saw someone mentioned Dollar Savings Direct in earlier posts and I was just curious if anyone has any experience with them? Are there any catches? 4% APY for online savings is pretty high THESE days… so i am just wondering if there’s some catch? Thanks!!
Jules:
Not sure which posts you read or how many, but sounds like you missed the key part that you do have to have a $1000 minimum balance (to open the account and during each month), which I guess can be considered a “catch”.
Also, see my last post #920, that while 4% seems great, it’s all about the market which continues to be volatile. So that 4% could easily be 3% next week or even 2%…there’s no guarantee. It’s not about which bank is “better”, or that if a bank suddenly drops its rate, it is a “bad bank”. If a bank drops its rate, it is because of more recent bad news in the market, not because that particular bank sucks and chances are, numerous other banks if not all will also go down accordingly, just maybe not all the same day.
Hope this helps.
no catch…unless you want to call the $1,000 minimum balance requirement a catch. Keeps track of all the interest as it builds up and I just got .21 yesterday in one day. That’s almost a quarter! 🙂
I’m getting very very close to getting DollarSavingsDirect. I went ahead and called them with a list of TONS of questions to hear from the horse’s mouth all the details that even their FAQ doesn’t explain.
So it is true they are through Emigrant Bank just like the AmericanDream Savings Account/Emigrant Direct is, but basically, the latter has more options (paper statements, more CD choices, no minimum balance requirement and some other things) whereas DollarSavings only has on CD option, no paper statements (has to be electronic which is totally fine with me!), and that darn $1000 daily minimum balance requirement.
Next, if you go below $1000 at any given time, the lower rate is 1%. But you are not stuck with that. As soon as you get back to $1000, it goes back to the 4%.
Although the interest does not “post” or become available monies until the end of each month, it does accrue daily and you can see how much, like ING does.
Also, it takes “2 to 4 business days” for a transaction to be complete, which is not bad as in my experience of having used 3 different prior online savings accounts, that is normal. I do not know of ANY online savings account that post immediately, only brick and mortar’s do that, and we all accept this slight downfall in exchange for getting an interest rate much better than the .02% the brick and mortar’s offer.
The other thing about deposits is that, even though it may take up to 4 business days for it to actually “be available” for use, as soon as the transaction “posts” which does in fact mean something sooner than the 4th day available prong, that means the transaction is kind of half way done and at the posting phase, the interest starts accruing already!
THE BIG THING is that for anyone who uses their online savings account to also pay a few bills here and there or otherwise withdraw funds out but not to your checking account, DollarSavingsDirect does NOT offer this. I’m ok with this and will just keep my other online savings account for my bill payments.
Also, no check writing, but no big deal. My other online savings account has that too.
The final thing is that the FAQ totally says that for the INITIAL deposit, you HAVE to send a check it, which I hate it when other banks have that rule as that further delays the application process not to mention opens the door to it getting lost.
BUT THE GREAT NEWS IS THAT the guy I talked to said that there IS in fact an option on the online application to just send an electronic transfer from your checking account, so you don’t have to send a check after all. I was a little skeptical, since the FAQ totally says otherwise, and I told him point blank I hope this is right and you guys should totally correct your website then.
Final thought is that of course, the 4% could be gone tomorrow/next week, etc. but as we all know, that is just the gamble we take. All I can say in response is that if they have currently been the highest for the last several months, that even if and when they go down, so will the other one proportionately and so while it may be less than 4% it will hopefully and likely still be somewhat higher than the competition, based on the history.
Anyway, hope this helps everyone! Sorry for the long post but I do believe this will be helpful…
Thanks for the long post DreaDrea. Good stuff.
As I noted earlier, Zions Bank has recently (apparently very quietly) added ACH capabilities…both in and out. I’ve had an account with them since the 5.56% days…
Anyway, I added links to a couple accounts. They were a little funny, in that instead of giving me the standard of two trial deposits to verify the account, they gave me two deposits and then took a withdrawal of the total amount! I thought that was funny (and a little cheap). They did the same thing to both accounts.
Anyway, once that was done, I made a reasonably-sized transfer from a brick & mortar credit union to Zions via the Zions ACH link. To my surprise, the deposit appeared in my account the same day as I made it! It took another 2 days for it to disappear from the credit union…gotta like double interest. They did apply a 4 business day hold to the transferred amount, but I received credit for it from the day it posted.
Zions seems to be growing and enhancing their internet operations. Now if we can only get the rate back up over 2.84%! I’m tiring of chasing rates and they’ve been pretty slow to follow the leader (generally ING) down…
Why are people complaining about the $1000 minimum at DSD in order to get the high APY. When you think about it, the only time your actually gonna make substantial money thru interest payments is when you have thousands of dollars in your account.
If you have $200 in your account, your not gonna be making that much money off interest regardless of your APY.
I’m not trying to be mean and I guess every penny counts, I just don’t see the benefit in spending my time constatly switching accounts to get the best APY unless I have at least 5k or so to put into that account.
Right on Jim!
And hey everyone! After a few detailed post by myself and others about the famous Dollar Savings Direct, I wanted to let you know that I opened one this weekend…just waiting for the deposit to post!
Also, in addition to the phone call I had with the helpful customer rep answering all of my nit picky questions (see #924 above), I had also emailed them the same questions since to see if I could get any of it in writing. They wrote me back within a day ON A SUNDAY afternoon and answered everything thoroughly. Also, you CAN fund your account electronically, and don’t have to send a check. They said the deposit should post within 2 business days. Way to go DSD!
=0
There’s a new choice in town, from a bank that has been in business since 1934! Paying 3.75% APY, guaranteed through 3/31/09. Bankrate gives it 4 stars.
Clear Sky, from Chesapeake Bank.
http://www.clearskyaccounts.com/
You can read more on this blog:
http://bankdeals.blogspot.com/2009/01/new-internet-bank-clear-sky-375-savings.html
I’m still in the opening process, but all seems well so far. As I have a fraud alert on my credit account, I had to talk with them on the phone, but seemed to be good customer service. Nice rate for a $1 minimum…and they allow you to set up internal ACH for up to three banks.
I don’t think anyone is “complaining” about DSD’s $1000.00 minimum. Maybe a lot of people don’t have “5K” to toss around. If I have eight or nine hundred dollars to save, I’d rather put it in an account that is going to earn 3.5% than in an account with a required minimum balance. I thought DSD could have been more up front about disclosing their minimum. It’s not in their FAQ or splash page. You have to go to the disclosure page to find any mention of the minimum at all. Most other banks with minimums are more up front about disclosure.
WHat about High Interest Checking acct options?
Like the ones listed:
http://www.highyieldcheckingdeals.com/
FLORIDA CENTRAL CREDIT UNION IS OFFERING 6.01% ON THEIR CHECKING ACCTs!
https://www.floridacentralcu.com/
Why wouldnt you go with one like this?
Also, is NCUA as trustworthy as FDIC?
Thanks!
JD
So, I’m seriously considering moving my money to Dollar Savings Direct. I have an on-line account that is paying 2.75% right now, but 4% would be much better. Can you open more than one account? (I like to keep certain monies separate).Can anyone tell me if I can link this to my ING account instead of my checking account? I just hate having so many accounts linked directly to my checking account where my paycheck goes!
Mark, are you KIDDING me? Right on the HOME page of dollarsavingsdirect.com it says it requires a $1000 minimum. In the second line under “account highlights” it says
“No Fees. $1,000 account balance minimum.”
No DreaDrea, I’m not KIDDING you. They must have updated their page since the last time I looked at it. Give me a break!
Excuse me DreaDrea. DSD’s home page states that their CERTIFICATE OF DEPOSIT has a $1,000 minimum. There is nothing on the home page or in the FAQ’s about a minimum on the Dollar Savings Account. No I’m not kidding. My comment stands.
Mark,
You are right, nothing on the homepage about a 1k minimum for the savings account. But when you sign-up, they do ask you for an initial deposit and they put, “Minimum $1000”.
Their home page is a little confusing in that some people may not be sure if they are signing up for a CD or a savings account. I myself was confused at first. I don’t understand why they even advertise the CD when that is 3.5% and the savings is 4%.
Hey Mark:
Sorry, I wasn’t trying to be mean, I was just already disappointed that people were hounding DSD for something that I didn’t find to be true and therefore was unfair.
However, I will say again that the “$1,000 account balance minimum” language on the homepage is in fact specifcially under the “accounts highlights” section, the account being the savings account being advertised. But as Jim points out, I can see how it can be confusing (and therefore stupid of DSD) to put their CD info on the same page, especially so close to the savings account info, so that it is hard to tell the difference between the two. Although, I will say that the CD section of the page does have its language of “$1000 minimum” which reinforces the idea that the earlier language towards the top of the page is for the savings account info.
But as for what Jim said that the info on the home page only says you have to have an initial DEPOSIT of 1K, but not that you also have to keep an account minimim of $1, I still beg to differ, based again on the quote above “$1,000 account balance minimum.” If anything, such language only tells you what your minimum always has to be and NOT what the initial deposit as to be.
Either way, I already so impressed. The online site is very user friendly (as a bit of extra secruity log in features with some people tend to hate, but come on people, it’s for your own ID safety anyway). Also, I opened it over the weekend, and my initial deposit (which won’t techiclaly be avaiable until later) is already accruing 4% interst as of yesterday, just 2 days after the weekend. Not bad!
DreaDrea,
I see what you are saying now. I was under the impression those “Account Highlights” referred to the CD since they are in the same ‘box’. But now I see they refer to the savings account, not the CD.
DSD just needs to remove that damn CD all-together!
SJT:
From the FAQ page:
At the present time, an individual may have up to two checking accounts linked to DollarSavingsDirect, including the checking account you used for your initial funding deposit. The name on the accounts must be the same as your Dollar Savings Account. We can only accept your personal checking accounts as linked accounts.
first off, whoever is complaining about the $1000 minimum for DSD (mark), get off it. they can have whatever catch they want and itll still be a much better rate than the bank down the street.
and im not sure where the confusion is coming from. the bullet points on their home page are CLEARLY for the 4% rate (dollar savings acct) above it. the CD, listed below those bullet points, clearly has its own seperate “MINIMUM $1000” quote to the right of it. this seems pretty straight forward.
and drea…you must not work in customer service or prob never worked in a call center. the reason im bringing this up is because its true, they need people to call in to secure their jobs. however, its just plain obnoxious when people like you call in 5 times a week. haha. im sure you take some pride in being the foremost expert on DSD in this blog, but give the reps at DSD a break. theyd thank you if they could.
its always a pleasure.
Daddy:
Last time I looked, the name of this blog is “Which Online High-Yield Savings Account is Best?” So discussing things like account minimums, interest rates, “catches” and things of that nature are exactly what people are supposed to be discussing here; if your not interested tune out and save your unnecessary comments for a situation where they are needed. FYI no one was complaining about the minimum on the DSD account, so before you blog, make sure you understand.
As for your comments to Drea, well you must not invest your money anywhere if you think her calls to customer service were unecessary. Everything she asked the customer service representatives were legitimate questions that anyone giving $1000 or more of their money to a financial institution would want to know. By posting that information here, she has prevented other people from having to call and ask for themselves.
Again, if you have no interest in the topic, then tune out.
Thanks Chrissi!
I was going to post to Daddy’s comments when I first saw them, but I figured it wasn’t worth and that I would just be bigger than that…and hoped deep down that overall he was just being sarcastic and not serious. Probably still may be true, but in light of your post (i.e. that the way you read it was a bit offensive too), then I would like to say:
Daddy, I’m sure you were just exaggerating with “5 calls”, but I don’t even understand/appreciate why you made the leap that it was several or even more than one? It was in fact just one call, probably lasted about 6-7 minutes, I’ll check my cell phone bill when it comes and shoot you a copy if you want (my sarcasm now). I did say that I had sent them an email too, just so I could have some things in writing if possible since you never know with these online banks and people saying one thing on the phone one day and a totally different thing another day and there’s nothing you can do about it.
Also, I may have to direct you to Merriam Webster, Wikipedia, or just about every common sense Joe Blow in the universe, but the last time I checked, the definition and purpose of customer service is in fact to answer our questions, so yes that is what I was doing. And by the way, ALL questions I asked where only ones that I could NOT find anywhere on their site or FAQ, or even yahoo answers. I purposely looked first because I do agree it’s a little lazy to just call without any sort of effort of looking, at least at FAQ.
And no, this is not a pride thing for me or that I’m thinking I’m the sh#$2@t for spewing out all this info to everyone. Like Chrissy said, this blog is to help people and I thought I would share my info, ESPECIALLY since so many have been asking about DSD lately.
Next, I have in fact worked in customer service in my past, and when I had such jobs, I had to deal with people asking questions, etc. and so it is my turn to be the customer and have someone else help me for once. Either way, Sammy was nice.
I do appreciate you agreeing with me that DSD’s website does in fact clearly identify the $1000 minimum and that people just need to carefully see the distinction between the savings account/CD on that page. But alas, my post in 936 above already addressed all that almost exactly…so I wasn’t sure what that part of your post added to the discussion really.
No hard feelings though. Just go get your $1000 and sign up for DSD already!
you two are cute. happy savings.
Well I have found my DSD account creation to be real easy. On Wednesday afternoon I signed up for an account and setup the initial funding. Checked the funding account today and DSD had already submitted the 2 small deposits used to verify my account.
Went to the DSD website, entered in the deposit amounts and I am off and running!
DreaDrea, do you know is this a pure savings account or is it money market? Just want to know if I am limited in how often I can withdraw funds without incurring penalties.
I guess it’s time to beat a dead horse regarding DSD’s home page. Anyone with a basic understanding of graphic design can see that the area INSIDE the blue box refers to the Certificate of Depoait only. The reference to the $1,000.00 minimum is INSIDE the blue box. The area ABOVE the blue box refers to the Dollar Savings Account. Nowhere in this area is a reference to a minimum. When you click the “learn more” button or the “faq” neither of the resulting pages state the minimum. Only when you click “account disclosures” in fine print at the bottom of the “learn more” or “faq” pages are you informed of the minimum.
Jim, per DSD’s account disclosures you are limited to six withdrawals per month. (https://www.dollarsavingsdirect.com/DollarSavingsDirectWeb/en/common/help/consumer/AccountDisclosures.jsp)
Drea, I read Chrissi’s post. I don’t see where she agreed with your interpretation of DSD’s website.
Whatever people.
I don’t think any of us are here to discuss web site design or how customer call centers work. We’re here to improve our savings rate. If you want to talk about call centers and/or web site design, there are plenty of other websites that cater to your interest.
so back to DSD, OK?
Regardless of all the argumentation here and whether nor not their website is designed the way it should be, the truth of the matter is they return 4% on accounts with balances at or above $1k, and returns 1% on other accounts, and there is a $1k min to open
I’ve been HIGHLY satisfied with DSD. Highly. I started at Emigrant and still have a few dollars there in accounts where the average daily balance does not exceed 1k. Emigrant’s 2.50 is still a heckuva lot better than my brick and mortar bank give me, and segragating purposed money into seperate accounts minimizes my need to do any seperate tracking. The remainder of my savings are ALL in DSD
Finally: folks, anyone serious enough to read this blog and all these comments should already have well over the 1000 min to save, and if you’re truly a saver, even 1 withdrawal a month is more than enough, much less 6.
I love beating a dead horse! lol Mark, no one has ever disputed that all the info on the homepage is inside the blue box and therefore APPEARS to only be pertaining to the CD (in fact, that is exactly why we said the page is poorly constructed and they should probably fix it). But as to whether that poor construction leaves people forever/permanently confused or that they cannot effortlessly otherwise find out what’s really going is NOT true. It’s certainly not rocket science that when reading all the stuff within that blue box, when it says stuff like “dollar SAVINGS ACCOUNT”, it is clearly talking about a savings account, not a CD. And if you follow the FAQ link from inside the blue box, it does in fact take you to the main FAQ that covers savings accounts for the first half and then CD questions towards the bottom.
As for my post to Chrissi, only my first paragraph was meant for her. Everythign from “Daddy,” and beyond was meant for Daddy – so it is Daddy who agreed with me on one thing
The one thing I just can’t understand though is that everyone seems to be so worked up as if DSD is causing people to sign up for their accounts blindly without knowing there is a $1000 minimum and they have already signed up and they are screwed. If one hasn’t already figured it out from the home page or happen to see the disclosures people have referenced, by the time they are actually completing the application, it requests your deposit amount and wont let you sign up without $1000 period.
Gosh, I hate to get back on topic here and forego the useless banter, but what are the best Reward Checking interest rates out there?
Was looking at Midwest and Charter a while back and I’m sure they have gone.
What say you? Thanks!
Swaj
@TJ Jackson
Yes, like I said in a previous post, your wasting your time jumping from bank to bank getting the best APY unless you have at least , I would say, 5k to invest.
I only ask about the withdrawals because I don’t want to be charged to take money out. What I usually do is put as much as possible into the savings account so as to get the most return on interest. So sometimes, unexpected things happen and I need more money in my checking. In those cases, I would need to transfer from savings to checking, which is the whole point of asking about the withdrawals. I don’t see the point in putting an extra 500 into checking “just in case” when I could have that money compounding interest daily. So I really shave my checking down to cover fixed bills.
I called Dollar Savings Direct today to see if I could link another on-line account, like ING, instead of my checking account, but alas, they said no. It must be a checking account. I opened a Huntington Bank Anywhere savings account a couple of months ago and then they dropped their interest from 3% to 2%, so I am going to move my money once again. I make it a habit to ask my local bank if they will match any rates I find. Until last year, they usually would. Now they won’t even consider it. Their loss.
Swaj: Thanks for breaking up the monotony!
hey peoples. just to clarify, if anybody knows, we have to claim interest earned on only our savings accts that generate more than $10 in interest in the year, correct?
To be precisely correct, the BANK only reports amounts over $10.00 to the IRS. YOU, however, are to report ALL interest received on your tax return. I have $1.54 from an account that has a few dollars in it just to keep it open (in case it’s rates go back up). You can bet I’ll be reporting it to the IRS.
By the way, my new Clear Sky 3.75% savings account is open and running. Fast CS response and I’ve also opened up 2 sub-accounts with them. I have also linked (limit of 3) other bank accounts to them with no problem.
They have much more capability (ACH, $1 minimum) than the DSD account…and this 3.75% rate is guaranteed through March 31. But then, there’s nothing to argue about with it…LOL
SJT:
I already answered your question for you about whether you could link savings accounts back in #938 above!
Swaj,
To answer your question. Charter bank still offers 5.01% interest checking. They’ve upped their requirement and lowered the interest rate (from 6.01% to 5.01%) :-(. You have to have 13 debit (POS) transactions, 1 direct deposit (or electronic bill payment) set up, electronic statement, and access your account at least once a month to get the interest rate (up to 25k). I actually have a Charter account and have been pretty happy with it. But after I set it up, I found out that a local credit union was offering the same thing, but is a better rated bank.
If you live in the Tampa Bay area – I highly recommend Florida Central Credit Union – they’re still offering 6.01% interest: https://www.floridacentralcu.com/home/home
Another high interest checking account would be Coulee: http://www.couleebank.net/rewards_checking.php
They’re also offering 5.01% but you don’t have to be a local resident to sign up. Same criteria, but you only have to do 10 debit card transactions.
Those are a few I’ve researched on. As much as I like Charter, I think Coulee and Florida Central are both better rated than Charter (check out bankrate.com)
Hope this helps!
I don’t know if this matters to anyone but if you go to Bankrate.com and look at their rating they are giving DSD a one-star, which is their lowest rating. Here is a definition of their rating: “Bankrate.com’s Safe & Sound Capitalization, Asset quality, Earnings and Liquidity (CAEL)® is a proprietary, analytical product that assesses the financial condition of banks, thrifts and credit unions.”
Just something to think about. It seems like the lowest rated accounts on bankrate are the ones offering the highest rate…there is something to be said for peace of mind.
I am with SJT above and have an Anywhere Savings at Huntington Bank. They dropped their rate down to 2% but their site is real easy to use and has a high rating with Bankrate.
Just my 2 cents…happy savings!
This is the info on Clear Sky (from Chesapeake Bank) according to bankrate.com. Note the 4 stars. They do not have it listed in their tables yet, but if you do their search for your bank, you will find the rating:
CHESAPEAKE BANK
97 NORTH MAIN STREET
KILMARNOCK, Virginia 22482
STAR RATING 4
Predictive Indicator + (improve)
As of September 30, 2008
Federal Reserve System Identifier 214722
Swaj: I also have a Charter Turbo checking account and have been happy so far. The interest can’t be beat around here.
The only problem I have had is I can’t figure out how to transfer money BACK into my checking account. I’ve tried setting it up as a billpay, but it won’t do an electronic trasfer, only by check which can take several days. My bank, however, does electronic transfers to Charter. Right now I’ve got it routed through my ING (I feel like a money launderer:-) Does anyone else have this problem?
Drea: Must have missed your comment.
Drea: I had saved this post in my mailbox…I knew there was a reason I was calling. What happened to the original post?
Author: DreaDreaComment:SJT: Now that I am officially signed up with DSD, I can tell by loggin in that it does allow you to add multiple accounts. But it does appear that your FUNDING initial account defintiely has to be a checking account and also that the subsequent ones have to be checking accounts too. But since online stuff doesn’t always tell the whole story, it could be worth a quick free call to them and just ask – another thing I am also already impressed by is the excellent and helpful customer service and NO wait time at all). I’d actually be curious to know the “official” answer from a live person, so do post any follow up…
SJT: that is SO weird! I do remember writing the quote you have above, but as you said, that post is no where to be found? I did a “find” search and only find yours. anyway, I wrote it before I found the FAQ referenced in poast #938, so what I wrote that you are quoting is irrelevant now.
But still an oddity as to how you found that post. All I can think of is that you know how it gives you like 5 minutes to edit something after it’s already been posted? You would think it doesn’t email everyone about the new post until the post is final, but perhaps you got the email during that limbo phase for some reason and then I did edit it such that the old post became the new post #938.
anyway, no saving account links.
@ChicagoZab
I understand your concern about the low rating for DSD on bankrate.com. While I am not thrilled about it either, the bank is FDIC insured. So worst comes to worst, they go under and I have to wait a few weeks to get access to my money again.
Usually banks raise their APY because they need to attract more people because they need money. Cause they sure as hell don’t give you a high APY out of the kindness of their heart. lol
PS. You live in chicago? Where at? Im in Willowbrook/Darien.
I have two questions:
Does moving your savings account around “chasing higher interest rates” hurt your credit?
Finally, does ING still have the referral bonus thing? If so can someone send it to me? It seems very popular on GRS, even in our current economic state is it recommended?
Here are some more referrals…….
Remember, Bonuses are only paid for accounts that are opened with an initial deposit of at least $250. Initial deposit does not include bonus. The $25 bonus is available only for new accounts with a new Customer as primary owner.
Orange Savings Account
http://tinyurl.com/74pkd3
http://tinyurl.com/777pdd
http://tinyurl.com/7zc7m6
http://tinyurl.com/6sjth5
http://tinyurl.com/6sg859
Electric Orange Checking Account
http://tinyurl.com/84dfma
http://tinyurl.com/9qppxj
http://tinyurl.com/9b84qe
http://tinyurl.com/8dvvqr
http://tinyurl.com/8mhkne
PS: If you see this message….. We are very sorry we can’t complete your request at this time. Please try again later.
Just refresh the page or go back to my post and try another link.
Closing/moving checking and savings accounts has no affect on your credit score, as it is not credit.
I’m really tempted to signup for reward checking now. One place is offering 6.01APY with just 10 debit card transaction, 1 direct deposit a month, and online statements.
Jim: I have a Charter Turbo checking and I’ve been pretty happy so far. It only pays the higher interest up to 25k, but I think it’s worth the extra hassle. Plus, it comes with an ATM card so that you can withdraw directly from your account if you need the cash and they refund any ATM fees back to you. I keep track of the debit purchases I need to make and then just bill pay them back into the account out of my regular checking account. They recently dropped their interest to 5.01%, but since I don’t live near any banks offering a higher rate, it’s good for me.
dollarsavingsdirect.com offers 4% SAVINGS no fees, very easy to transfer! SO EASY. I have been there for 4 months!
What about Cross Country Bank or Southern Missouri Bank?
They are both offering 6.01% Checking Accts.
Does anyone have any experience with them??
Thanks,
JD
@Jim
I am in Streamwood….I wish I was in Florida!
@Jim
I am in Streamwood….I wish I was in Florida!
I also wanted to note that changing/moving accounts doesn’t affect your credit score but it can affect your Chex score. Depending on the application, you may be declined or reviewed due to your Chex score.
Great info…thanks everyone!
Is there any tales from Bank of the Internet? They have a 3.51% going on right now, plus they get 3 stars on Bankrate.com.
And is there any rule that banks should notify you their saving rate is changing? I’ve been with WAMU for years, and have never received any notification that my savings rate went from 5% to 1.15%!
That is why I found this forum and have been reading the past hour.
JT:
If your bank has a variable rate, they are not required to notify you of rate changes. I have watched my Capital One monthly statments for almost a year now and every month my rate has dropped point by point from 5% to 2.01%.
As for Bank of Internet, as long as they are FDIC insured your money is safe. Just read up on the bank’s website to make sure there aren’t any catches with the rate (i.e. min balance, a certain number of monthly transactions etc.)
Well, all the banks listed here (or most of them) are exclusively for US Citizens. Any suggestions for something international? Something probably open to people in India and Singapore?
Back in india, State Bank Of India offers 3.5% PA as a standard interest.
Fixed deposits go as high as 7-9% (ranging from 5-15 months).
What about Cross Country Bank or Southern Missouri Bank?
They are both offering 6.01% Checking Accts.
Does anyone have any experience with them??
Thanks,
JD
I’ve been trying to open an account with GMAC for the last two months. I’m not a US citizen so it is less simple than for citizens. But their service absolutely sucks! I got 4 different answers for the same question from different representatives!
It takes them ages to get back to you, and ages to process your requests.
I’d certainly NOT RECOMMEND GMAC.
ING just dropped to 2.4%, but I still love it. I have an Electric Orange checking which just makes a great setup with the 12 different savings accounts that I have in ING. The transfers are free and instant.
Love there customer service too.
@ The Happy Rock
Why would you have 12 different savings accounts? lol
After signing up with DSD 2 weeks ago, the one complaint I have is that the external transfers take forever to be available in your account. I transferred money on like the 15th and 16th and those 2 wont be available until the 23rd and the 26th.
Which would really suck if I needed the money because there is no way I can get my hands on it. My old bank has already released it to DSD but DSD has not officially cleared it.
Q. “Why would you have 12 different savings accounts?”
A. Because you can!! I happen to have exactly 12 ING savings “accounts” myself. This is the beauty of ING. I have accounts for Xmas fund, Vacation fund, Tuition, Emergency, etc., etc. The alternative is to have one lump of money and keep track yourself what is earmarked for what but this makes it much simpler. When you log into ING, the first thing you see is your list of accounts with their names (which you can assign), their balances, and a grand total. It’s a beautiful thing.
Jim:
I, too, have noticed this and certainly don’t like it. BUT…prior to signing up, I found out in my research that this was not an account that I was going to be able to use to do ACH debits to pay a few bills (which I was actually doing with my last online savings account) and so going into all this, I didn’t expect that I would be touching my money that often and therefore went into this as a true savings plan only. Anyway, it’s a small price to pay for such a high interst rate. Also, while it looks like almost a full week of waiting, it is actually just 5 business days (although they don’t start counting until the day AFTER you make the request, and that’s assuming you do it before 5pm!). Anyway, have you noticed though that the day after your request, it does show up in “current” balance and is therefore accruing interest?! And even tell you how much is accruing each day, even though it wont technically post till the end of the month. Finally, I think their online platform is very user friendly and informative with all the confirmations, scheduled transfers, current balance, available balance, etc.
I love my DSD. I have already made $2.30 in 2 weeks! That’s more than I would have made at my regular bank in my whole lifetime probably!!
To qualify for Southern Missouri Bank (6.01%) account – You have to reside in: Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, or Illinois.
@DreaDrea
No doubt I like the high interest rate. I just will have to be more careful with how much I put in there. Thats the one nice thing when I had WaMu savings and checking is that I could place nearly everything in savings and only when I needed to pay a bill did I move it out of savings and into checking.
Now I need to make sure I keep enough in my savings to cover any unexpected bills. Of course I always got credit cards, so I’m not totally SOL.
And yes, the money appears in my account almost instantly and I am collecting interest on it, so thats good.
@Jim
We use our credit card for unexpected bills. Our water heater broke this weekend and we put it on our credit card. Most credit card companies don’t charge any interest until the balance has gone through a full cycle (you’ll have to check yours to make sure when interest begins) so that gives us plenty of time to transfer money from our savings into our checking to pay off the credit card when the bill comes in. Of course, this assumes that the user will pay the balance IN FULL when it comes in. For anyone who has had problems in the past with “credit card addiction” this isn’t a good plan. But for most, it’s a good way to “use” credit to your advantage and give your money a few extra days to accrue interest.
I know I’m starting to sound like an advertisement for these guys, but I have now done several ACH transfers with my 3 Clear Sky Accounts and the 3 external banks I associated with them so I can comment about that process.
Not only are they fast, I got duplicate interest also! Each time I have used Clear Sky’s ACH transfer IN from another account, the money has posted later the same day to my Clear Sky accounts….even if on a Friday. When I watch the other account (that the money went OUT of) I see that it remains there for up to 3 more days before deducted!
Of course, when I moved a sum out of the Clear Sky account to one of my associated banks, they did immediately deduct it…but it also showed up in the receiving account the next morning.
None of the others I’ve tried come anywhere close to this speed of movement…much less the double interest. They also say there is a hold of several days when you transfer over $5000 from an external bank…but then when I did so, it told me the money WAS immediately available.
The only thing I found irritating at all was that you may only do one incoming and one outgoing ACH per calendar day (and it will stop you). There is a $10,000 a day withdrawal limit and a $50,000 a day deposit limit (in case you win the lottery). That irritation is countered by the 3.75% interest tho….
YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!!! DSD JUST DROPPED THEIR RATE TO 3.5%!!!
Think its time to look at that 6% high yield checking. Even if that drops, it will still be higher than 3.5%.
This is unbelievable, I have switched online banks 3 times in like the past month now. Gone from WaMu 4% to 1.5%, to OnBank 3.70% to 1.5%, and now DSD 4% to 3.5%.
I have substantial savings so its worth it for me, but still, its annoying.
Wow, thanks for the heads up. I totally would not have known if you hadn’t told me (I know it’s on the main log in page but I have become so accustomed to just logging in without paying attention to that).
Well, all I can say is that even in one of my earlier posts above (when I was contemplating whether to do DSD or not), I advised (to others, as well as myself I guess), that clearly no rate is ever guaranteed so the 4% could go down at any time, but since they were the highest at that point, chances are that if they did go down, so would others and so proportionately, they would hopefully still be the higher rate if history continued to repeat itself. In other words, but bumping down to 3.5% right now, I’m sure all the other ones that were 3.5% or 3%, are now like 2.5% and 2%!
Either way, I’ve still made $2.76 in interest in my brand new DSD account in a little over 2 weeks and that’s awesome! And even if you do have much more money in your account, my comment still stands that other rates are probably still lower so you are still better off. As for those high rate checking accounts where you have to make 10 debit transactions a month in order to get the rate, I suppose that is an option if you want to keep up with all that plus do actually make that many transactions a month. I don’t.
Here’s something I posted way back at 466. It’s two pretty good links that tell all the rates for just about all the main online banks and seems to be updated pretty often. Obviously DSD must have JUST made their change today as it still shows the 4% rate, but I have overall found these sites pretty up-to-date within a day or two:
http://www.bankaholic.com/money-market/index.php?product=33&sort=2&go_button=Go
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/rate/mmmf_highratehome.asp?web=brm¶ms=US,416&prodtype=chksav&market=416&product=33&state=US&sort=3
@DreaDrea
Yah, the reward checking requires an ACH direct depoist each month (can get that from my job), electronic statements only, and 10 debit card purchases a month. I think that is easy to do, I can knock of 5 of them with gas each month.
Well doing my excel calculations with a starting balance and putting in a set amount every month, with interest compounding daily, I would make an extra $423.98 dollars if I was able to get 6.01% (current reward checking rate) over 3.5% (current DSD rate).
Well, I can remember back when I suggested that MidWest America was easy to join paying 7.01% apy. My account is still looking good to me at 6.31%. But they have changed who can join from other states. I haven’t had any problems with the account at all. I transfer money via FlagStar Bank for ach requirements or make a $5.00 telephone bill payment . I make 10 -$1.00 gas purchases in about 1 or 2 days and that’s it.
Thanks Willie. I’m going to look into MidWest, but from the sound of it, I’m guessing i can’t join since I’m from New York. I predicted that DSD’s rate was going to go down very soon from 4% (to now 3.5%), because it didn’t make sense for their CD to offer 3.5% when the savings was offering 4%. It was only a matter of time :/.
By the way, for Midwest, you just make 10 $1 gas purchases, and that satisfies the 10 debit card purchase requirement?
-Shahed
http://FlashbaQ.com
Willie, if you make those gas purchases, isn’t it done by pin? i thought rewards checking has to be done by signature
Just got my “welcome” package in the mail from Clear Sky. What a pleasant surprise, they sent me an iTunes $15 gift card as a welcome. Beats an old toaster…LOL
Shahed, I use the credit option at the pump and you don’t have to sign or enter a pin number. If you use debit option you have to enter a pin. And you can use credit or debit for reward checking accounts. I use credit all the time because it take most transaction about 2 to days to withdraw funds from my account and I earn interest for those extra days.
Shahed, your logic is flawed.
DSD did indeed come down, but not because the rate on their CD was lower. It came down because rates on the market overall came down. You’ll note that when the savings rate came down, so did the CD rate.
The reason one would choose the CD at the slightly lower rate (and why DSD has it the CD at a lower rate) is that most folks are guessing that rates are still on the downswing. For such a person (assuming they can afford to lock up cash for a while) it actually makes sense to lock in a slightly lower CD rate, and smile while savings rates slide down even further
I need my cash liquid and accessible, so CDs really aren’t an option for me, but I can see why in this economy in particular they may hold great appeal to many savers, even at slightly lower rates
Banks in my country, Iran, give me 15-20% interest. I earn $500.00+ every 2-3 months on my $2000 balance. And that’s only on a $2000 balance. I did some calculations with greater #’s and you guys just don’t want to know lol.
Sorry not really related, but thought it would be interesting to throw that out lol.
I’m sure we’ll all just jump on sending money to Iran….. What could go wrong there?
Lots of good info here. Need suggestion for ‘small potatoes’ people like myself to put my money, without minimums to maintain each month, while battling back to financial solvency?
I’d second that request with an emphasis on non-US based users…
Mike:
See my post at #984
For a small investor, I’d suggest going with one of the deals where you get a 25-50 dollar bonus bonus for opening an account there. A 25-50 dollar boost in your savings is going to be a lot better overall than getting a slightly better interest rate elsewhere.
Other than that, I like Emigrant Direct. No minimums, no rate difference for different balances, no fees – simple and good. I’ve tried FNBO and HSBC and found their setup process and interfaces to be clunky, though they do tend to offer an ever-so-slightly better interest rate.
Right now Dollar Savings Direct offers the best bang for your buck. I switched to them about 3 months ago from ING-Direct Electric Orange. Although Electric Orange is technically an online checking account, I used it as a savings account because of the better interest rate it provided on balances $100,000 and above. That worked fine until ING started to lower their rates. It was then that I began to shop for a better rate and discovered Dollar Savings Direct. With them it only takes $1000 to get started, and they are currently offering 3.5% APY. It was 4.0% APY until yesterday. I consider myself to be a serious saver, and I recommend their bank to anyone to likes to see their money grow. I have been totally satisfied with their service. I’d rate them AAA+++. Go ahead and check them out. I am sure you, too, will agree.
As you all know from my many posts about Dollar Savings over the last severla weeks, I, too, am a strong supporter and couldn’t be happier with my new account. EVEN WITH the recent .5% drop, it is still higher than most I’ve seen out there.
Comment to TJ, I know you said you don’t want any minimums, but if you happen to have $1000 or could some how scrounge it up, Dollar Savings is actually a subsidiary of Emigrant Bank in case you didn’t know. So for all the reasons you like Emigrant Direct (another subsidiary of Emigrant Bank), you may want to look at Dollar Savings. But I’m sure the $1000 will be what makes the difference.
DreaDrea: I was answering the question about where to save if you have a smaller amount to work with (see Mike/994). If you have a larger amount, then yes, the small signup bonuses are not as good of an enticement.
If you look through my older posts, you will see that as soon as I knew about DSD, I started moving my accounts from Emigrant to DSD – see comments 787 and 902. I have also posted about how they are part of the same parent company. In fact, the interface the two use are almost 100% identical. So – yes, I knew all that already.
You have less than 1000 or expect the balance to occasionally dip below 1000? Go with some bank offering a signup bonus. Or if you want a no-fuss, easy (ie you dont want to jump the hurdles to get the bonus), steady solution, go with Emigrant.
You have more than a 1000 to work with an expect to keep it above that amount even with any anticipated withdrawals? Go with DSD (Dollar Savings Direct)
all imho.
Why no other comments about Clear Sky? I don’t understand why no one else seems to see it as a leader with its $1 minimum and GUARANTEED 3.75% thru 3/31/09. DSD is less interest and there’s that pesky $1000 minimum.
Hi Brad:
Simply put, while that rate may be guaranteed, it is only for 2 months, and so after 3/31, who knows what the rate will be and as you hopefully know, an APY of 3.75% will only mean something significantly if you actually have it for a reasonable period of time (like a year, but certainly longer than 60 days). Also, at this point, a difference between 3.5% and 3.75% is actually not going to make a big dent at all if you are only depositing minimal amount of money. That’s not judging you at all (as I used to also avoid high minimums) but just stating a fact that if you have $25 or even $100, then .25% is not going to really matter, and again, you wouldn’t even see a .25% increase depending on how long that 3.7% rate remained in place.
I’m not CPA or financial guru, so I am only loosely speaking about rates, compounding monthly/annual, APYs based on what I believe is the case and from experience.
Thanks and good luck!
That’s funny Drea Drea. DSD could be down to 2% TOMORROW, and yet you minimize a 2 month GUARANTEED higher 3.75% rate at Clear Sky? You sound like you think it might cost something to get the higher rate??? There is no bonus at DSD, and you do get a $15 iTunes bonus at Clearsky if that means anything to the account holder.
I bring up ClearSky as Mike (post #994), referred to himself as a “small potatoes” kind of guy and did not want to deal with minimums to watch each month. He also stated that he was battling back to solvency. In days when that was the case for me, I’d surely not have $1000 to invest in DSD. Clear Sky is clearly a better alternative than DSD, even if only for 60 days. Withdrawals are free…
I generally leave a trail of $10 deposits when a bank goes down…just in case it comes back up. Then I have no hassle of reopening a closed account. When Zions was king, at 5.57%, it had my money. Now it has the $1000 minimum as it is down at 2.79% and Clear Sky has the bulk. I like them, so I haven’t closed the account.
Emigrant’s (DSD’s parent) one star rating is also minor concern, noting Chesapeake Bank of Virginia (Clear Sky’s parent) is a four star bank.
Why in the world would anyone considering a NEW bank account choose DSD over Clear Sky? If you already had DSD, I concede you might consider it to be too much of a hassle to move your funds for only a quarter of a percent…even tho it is guaranteed for 60 days and DSD is not. It IS worth the hassle to me…but they won’t be keeping my funds after 3/31/09 if they don’t remain in the top tier of interest payers. Who knows…maybe I’ll go to DSD if they are still at 3.50% on April 1.
Pennies and 1/4% and time guarantees are what makes you “get rich slowly.”
@Brad
I actually just checked out the clear sky page earlier this morning while looking on a site that lists savings accounts with the best interest rates. I am tempted to move to it, but an extra .25% doesn’t equate to that much and I have already switch banks 4 times in the past few months, lol. Plus I know I’ll always have more than 1K so that is no problem.
But if DSD dips down more, I may just take the plunge.
@DreaDrea
Since you seem to be the resident DSD expert. If my account drops below $1000, do I get any fee’s charged? Or do I just get a crappy rate?
Also Brad, do you know if Clear Sky compounds interest daily or monthly? I know DSD does it daily so you are making interest on your interest.
A few comments
re: DSD vs Clear Sky on compounding
DSD does compound daily, but the key thing to realize here is that the declared APY includes the compounding method – so even with daily compounding, DSD is at 3.5APY. Said another way, the higher APY, the more you earn – compounding is already accounted for by the APY number. So Clear Sky with 3.75 will pay you slightly more, regardless of how they compound.
re: Why not switch asap to Clear Sky?
Well, let’s see
1) Clear Sky is brand spanking new – it has existed for less than a month, near as i can tell. I am only just now hearing about it. And I tend to want to hear about the experiences of others before I jump anywhere with my families savings
2) I’m happy and comfortable with DSD, and the difference in interest rates at the moment (0.25%) is not sufficient to warrant the work to move everything. If it was a 1% difference? I’d probably be checking them out. Yeah, DSD can change their rate at any time, but history has shown me that they do not do it very often, and when they do, it’s a reasonable change based on market forces. I seriously doubt the rate drops again by 4/1. Do you have the same level of confidence in Clear Sky’s rate sticking at 3.75? 🙂
3) I don’t want/need an iTunes card :-).
4) All my accounts are joint with the wife and every bank switch requires me to go through her yelling and screaming about having to remember where her money is :-).
5) Tho Clear Sky is indeed rated higher as a bank than Emigrant/DSD, I have been with Emigrant/DSD for about 3 years now and seen no signs of any troubles, and the funds I have are fully FDIC ensured.
6) All that said — I did check out the site just now based on the comments here, and indeed if I was out shopping for a high-rate savings account now, they’d be high on my list. I hope to remember to compare Clear Sky’s rate to DSD on 4/1 🙂
re: DSD’s rate on balance under $1000
No fees, but the interest rate drops to 1 percent. So – obviously, I would never recommend it to any saver keeping less than 1k in their account at all times.
Great posts guys! And Jim, thanks for the compliment about being a somewhat DSD expert. I was about to answer that question but TJ answered it for me (which by the way, TJ, great detailed post). That is exactly the kind of specific APY/compounding stuff I could not speak on in my post #1002, so good job.
Yup, I totally had to struggle to get the $1000, but I said to myself that it was a win, win if I could because I would have that much more money in my savings if I could get it. I am currently starting an “emergency” fund for baby savings (as I unfortunately do not have maternity leave and am not covered by FMLA) and would like to finally have a baby soon. So I started with $1000 two weeks ago and have moved over some nice additional chuncks from a couple pay checks and even with the .5% hit DSD took this week, I have earned $4.50 already. Amazing! And I absolutely LOVE DSD’s online, user-friendly interface. Anyway, it’s all going to boil down to people’s preferences, comfort levels, goals, amount of money to start with/maintain, etc., so in my mind, we are ALL right!
A couple people have posted about the 1-star rating of DSD and that is definitely unsettling and too bad, but so far I haven’t had any trouble (which isn’t much to say for only 3 weeks), but TJ says he’s had it for THREE YEARS and no problems which is assuring. Their customer service (by phone and email) has been excellent.
That all being said, and how much I’ve been promoting DSD all month, I am still so curious about the whole high yield checking accounts (currently 5-6%) with the usual “catch”/requirment of 10-12 debit/credit transactions per month or else you get something low like 0.5%. Some people are saying you can just do 10 very small transactions (even $1!) and it will still count. Seems to good to be true. Maybe it just boils down to will I be able to keep up with all that, plus be ok with people staring at me as I go to the store every day to buy 2 packs a gum and leave! lol I did notice that a lot of these high interest banks are Credit unions which if you know anything about those, you have to be a member and not everyone falls into the eligibility list. And for others, they are nobodies just like clearsky so it makes me nervous if they try to screw me over or have some small print thing I didn’t see which boots me back down to .1% such that transferring to them was yet another waste. But I am still researching! One even told me that THEY did not have a minimum on the 10 transactions but vendors have to pay for their credit card machines and pay for “batches” so if you went to the same store say 3 days in a row, they may end up running your 3 transactions, for example, as just ONE which could really screw you up! I am so thankful that credit union told me that. So that would then mean that I have to keep up with not only doing 10 small transactions, but spacing them out throughout the month. I’m a busy girl!
@DreaDrea
A lot of the high APY checking are credit unions that have stricter membership guidelines. But one of them I checked out and sent an email to told me that if I did not meet the membership guidelines (which I didn’t cause I had to be employed at specific places or be part of some group) I could mail them a check payable to a regional ASPCA chapter and I would become a member of that chapter, allowing me to join the credit union.
What is nice about these though is that they also refund ALL ATM’s fee’s. Where as WaMu does not charge fees, but I still get charged by the owner of the ATM. You must really be clear on the requirements because that is how they get you. They are banking (literally and figuratively) that people who sign up will not make the monthly requirements.
You need to find out what kind of transactions you need to make, as some require a “signature transaction” which means that you would need to use the card as credit and the purchase must be over $25. I say that because purchases on credit that are under $25, do not require a signature (at least in Illinois).
But the 6% and higher APY are very very very very tempting, aren’t they. Basically doubling DSD.
good points.
tell me more about the ATM fee thing. I don’t EVER use an ATM, just no need. Is that perk (no ATM fees/refund) really only important if you are constantly taking money out (which is the main reason for ATMs, right?) so in othter words if I never take money out, then it’s ok if I happen to choose one which doesn’t offer that?
Yes, I read about the signature required. I saw one that said debit swipe OR credit card signature transaction. Actually, why don’t I just share it:
https://www.unitedfcu.com/
It says 6.01% “GUARANTEED at least 2010”!!!
@DreaDrea
Well with these online banks, there are no branch offices anywhere. So when you go to an ATM, that ATM is managed by a different bank. Since your not part of their bank, they are going to charge you a fee for using their ATM. Fee’s ranges from $2 to $6. I’ve noticed fees are higher when you use an ATM near a big attraction, such as a casino.
Anyway, these places will refund those fees to you at the end of the month (assuming you have met all the requirements for that month). If you never see yourself needing an ATM (or not needing one more than once a month or something), then you will be fine with a bank that does not offer ATM fee credits.
Thanks Jim:
PS: I’m just so curious/confused. Why are people needing an ATM so often and taking their money out all the time if the whole point is to putting the money IN to save?
I mean, for an emergency OK, but other than that…
Personally, I only use the ATM for my regular checking, not for my savings. My paycheck is direct deposited to regular checking, so when I need cash, I use the ATM. In fact, the only account I can access with my ATM card is my regular checking
So, DreaDrea – I think the people who are needing ATM access are in fact using these high rate checking accounts as both savings AND checking – the accounts have to serve both purposes – the dollars are in essence intermixed. Which is fine, since the rates quoted here seem very high. Those of us who have seperated savings and checking do not need (or should not need) ATM access to the savings piece
Clear Sky does have a linkable checking account that refunds up to $20 in ATM fees, no monthly fees, free bill-pay, and a free ID Theft protection service. It has no required debit withdrawals, but its checking only pays up to 3.25%…and that is when the balance is over $25k! That would clearly be goofy, since you can transfer from the Clear Sky Savings to the Clear Sky Checking instantly. Why anyone would keep $25k in the checking for 0.5% less earning is beyond me. When the checking account is in the $0-$9999 range, where my checking account would be, it pays 2.50%. Since they move money so rapidly, I haven’t wanted to mess with their Checking account (yet) as I try to keep my other checking accounts pretty dry.
HOWEVER, since my current checking accounts earn 0.1% to 0.5%, I might just be tempted to get a checking account with ClearSky. At 0.1%, an average balance of $1000 earns $.08 vs the $2.06 I’d earn at Clear Sky Checking. No minimums to watch, quick transfer from savings to checking and then a nearby ATM withdrawal when I need cash. Hmmmm. While I am too lazy to keep track of a Rewards account requiring debits and such, this has a ring of “Get Rich Slowly” to it…unless they charge a fortune for Checks…LOL. Maybe I have talked myself into it.
im not in the bankrate loop that often. but i just noticed today that bank of internet (www.BankOfInternet.com) has the highest rate currently @ 3.51%…$.01 above DSD. they have a $100 minimum opening bal but no minimum bal to get that rate once the acct is opened. so, all you people who dont keep your accts over $100 have nothing to worry about.
anyway, one other thing…i read in a post a few weeks back (i think) that somebody had multiple accts with the same bank…i think this guy had like 10 diff accts with ING. im actually in the same boat…it makes it easier for me if i have diff accts for diff things. however, i have like 10 diff online savings accts. but my question is: how do you go about opening the same type of acct with the same bank? just call them and ask them to open another acct with the same type? or just go online again? i guess i never even thought about opening multiple accts with the same entity…but it seems like it would make things a little easier.
Clear Sky opened and linked 3 savings accounts for me. It would have been easier, they said, if I had done it all at once…but it was easy to add the other two. We have joint and individual savings accounts there. I did the same thing with Zions, but not the other online accounts. I’m sure it should be just as easy with any of them tho…
Clear Sky has good customer service. I am protected with a Fraud Alert on my credit, so I had to have voice communication with them in order to get the accounts started anyway. The CSR also mailed me her business card and I plan to call her if I decide to follow thru with getting a checking account. I was able to see that they provide a free “starter pack” of checks.
How long did you guys wait to hear from ClearSky? Applied, and waiting for response for 3 days now heh.
How long did you guys wait to hear from ClearSky? Applied, and waiting for response for 3 days now heh. By the way, thanks Willie. I’m new to this stuff and just realized that MidWest America doesn’t allow folks from New York, but thanks for the info.
I applied over the weekend…got the expected denial email on the following Monday, with a phone number to call. (Denial due to fraud alert on my name). 877-257-7594 is one of their phone numbers. Call ’em up and ask what’s up. Had to verify my identity, etc., then I funded it via ACH over the phone.
By the way, I moved more $$$ in this morning about 10 AM via a linked external account. It shows up in the account already…and it still shows up in the external account. I LOVE double interest!
They were just identified on 1/5/09 by bankdeals.blogspot.com as a new internet presence and I imagine they are getting pretty busy with that rate. Here is that link:
http://bankdeals.blogspot.com/2009/01/new-internet-bank-clear-sky-375-savings.html
@Daddy:
I have multiple accounts within my ING Orange Savings account. If you have ING, here’s how you create a new one:
1. From the main account screen, click “Open another account”.
2. click “OPEN NOW”
3. Select the type & click Continue
4. Give the new account a nickname (optional but highly recommended)
5. Select the account you’re using to fund the new account (can be an existing ING account or an external linked account)
6. enter the $ amount to transfer
7. click Continue
That’s it. You can do it in about 1 minute.
Addressing the Clear Sky Checking question about checks: This is a paperless account. No checks are issued with this account. I am an employee of Chesapeake Bank, the bank that offers Clear Sky Accounts. Just wanted to let you know. To find out more info about the account here is a link to the FAQ page: http://www.clearskyaccounts.com/faq/clearsky1.html Also, the number for a customer service rep is 877-257-7594. Please, give them a call if you have any questions. And, yes we have been extremely busy with this rate we are offering right now. Happy saving!
Looks like they have changed the webpage that offered the free “starter checks” when you opened the account. Must have been an error copied from a regular checking account.
Glad to see they are watching here….Clearly they are an “internet-savvy” bank. Hey, Paula: Do I get anything for touting your great bank! LOL.
Sounds like I’d need a checking account for only two reasons then: 1. Billpay and 2. ATM access. Wonder if I’ll be able to move money from savings to checking at the ATM…and then withdraw funds. If not, I guess I’d have to move it from savings to checking before I leave home, then use the ATM….
Paula
Give me 4.25 and in exchange require a 1k to open and min 1k at all times to earn interest, and keep all else the same as your standard acct, and you’ll earn my (and I suspect many other readers here as well) business. Check out the DSD/Emigrant model if your bank is interested in earning even more business.
HSBC just dropped their rate again to 2.45% now..the second drop in less than a month…
=(
DSD is down to 2.9%
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Just kidding. Ok, I had to lighten things up with a little joke. Sorry!
Not funny! When I read that, my heart skipped a beat and I was thinking, “God d@M*#% now I gotta open another account!”
You’re right, that was a little cruel. Sorry in advance to everyone. It’s Friday and I’m feeling a little goofy over here and I just couldn’t resist. I have DSD too so I definitely don’t want that to happen at all. But if it does, I’m seriously not going to be surprised, because again, it has nothing to do with the bank being a bad guy, but rather the horrible market/economy we are in, so if it goes down, it is simply because it pretty much HAD to, but if it’s currently the front runner now, my prediction is that others would go down proportionally and so it would still be a front runner. In other words, it wouldn’t make sense for it to go to down like .5 or 1.0, but the other ones to stay exactly the same…
@Drea – I have to admit I had to pull up the DSD site just to check…I was also surprised, and very pleased, at how long they stuck it out at 4% when everyone else was racing towards 1%
Is DSD going to make it on the list or does it fall under Emigrant? It’s a really simple interface and I’ve recently had a good experience with their customer service being very helpful.
On another blog, they note that Clear Sky is scheduled to drop its rate to 3.10% on Monday…for those who don’t get accounts open before then. Don’t know if it is too late now or not. We’ll see Monday…but the website still shows “3.75% annual percentage yield on new Clear Sky Savings accounts valid and guaranteed 01/05/2009 through 03/31/2009. Rate will vary after 03/31/2009 and may change without notice. Limited to $250,000 per customer.”
Wow Brad, that’s for the helpful (and unfortunate – if true) news. Although I would love to know what blog you saw this on and read it for myself. As we all know with blogs, they are just forums where anyone can post anything. You’d like to think someone is not going to post something like that unless it’s true, but you never know. And especially when Clear Sky says on their website “guaranteed until March”, how COULD they do this?
One thing is for sure, if this does end up being true, then all I can say to all those here who were almost coming to blows with us that it seemed a no brainer that we should leave DSD or wherever for ClearSky since it’s only $100 plus they say “guaranteed”, then it just goes to show that you never can tell with something that’s only been out for a couple months. I know Chesepeake Bank (which is supposedly the mother bank) has been around for EVER, but Clear Sky specifically was something new they launched and I believe only just a couple months ago…
@Danny
Yeah, the more I think about it, it was a cruel joke I did on y’all! I should have at least waited until April Fools, huh? Sorry bout that.
Yes, I was so surprised about the long-standing 4%. That was during the time that I was shopping rates and comparing on which bank I would jump to next and DSD seemed the obvious choice with their super high rate, but I was so skeptical and thought it was too hard to believe or would otherwise drop right after I signed up. So I made the plunge, only had 4% for like a week, and have had 3.5% ever since, which looking at all the other banks (except Clear Sky, which now I’m not so sure about anyway), I think DSD still comes out the winner.
And I, too, have had great customer service. You may have seen my earlier posts where I mentioned that when I was considering signing up and had TONS of skeptical questions, not only did they answer it all on the phone and nicely (I had a lot!), but I had asked all the same questions by email too (since I wanted to get it in writing) and they responded within one day (on a Sunday!) and answered everything in writing.
Anyway, I love my DSD! I continue to say that if it dips down again (which I wont be surprised, since we have to remember it’s due to the poor market/economy, not that the bank is out to get us), then I am almost willing to bet on the fact that other banks will also dip down accordingly such that DSD is still a little higher
@Drea – I have to admit I had to pull up the DSD site just to check…I was also surprised, and very pleased, at how long they stuck it out at 4% when everyone else was racing towards 1%
Is DSD going to make it on the list or does it fall under Emigrant? It’s a really simple interface and I’ve recently had a good experience with their customer service being very helpful.
@ Drea:
This is a most excellent blog: http://bankdeals.blogspot.com/
Well worth adding to your list to read.
Incidently, I saw that someone there asked a question this morning about Patelco, a large CA Credit Union. Looking at their website, I see that they have a 7.00% 12 month CD for NEW members. Heck of a deal if you fit their membership criteria. They are NOT listed by the raters, but I am sure they are NCUA insured.
Lots to learn at that blog….more diverse than what we talk about here.
Brad – checked the blog in question. Some interesting info on Clear Sky there – including that they are dropping the 3.75 effective tomorrow to 3.15. I guess they picked up the number of deposits they were targeting already. If the regular rate will be 3.15 – which is still pretty good in the greater scheme of all such online accounts (FNBO at 2.8, HSBC at 2.45, Emigrant at 2.4), etc etc – I’d guess that’s what your rate will be on 04/01.
To all – they key to getting your favored bank to keep it’s rates competitive is (unfortunately) to leave them behind when they lower their rates to a non-competitive position. Emigrant is at 2.4, so all my money is now at DSD (3.5). Fortunately there will always be institutions that hunger for deposits and will be willing to pay top rate to feed that hunger. Be willing to keep the market competitive by voting with your dollars. If DSD falls much further relative to the market overall, I will move on. Right now, they remain close enough to the top to hold my position
I, too, read the other blog that Brad shared with us. Definitely a good blog with updated interest rate info on many things (savings accounts, CDs, checking accounts), bank failures, etc.
Anyway, if I am reading the Clear Sky stuff correctly, anyone who has already signed up as of right now I think do still get the 3.75% because they locked in with the “guaranteed” rate, and it is only any new people (starting Feb 2 apparently) that can no longer get the the 3.75? In other words, unlike many of us who have X rate today, but if our particular bank goes down tomorrow, then we suffer and are hit with the new lower rate, whereas because Clear Sky chose to say “guaranteed”, I think those customers don’t get hit with new lower rate, at least not until 4/1.
Either way, I’m glad I didn’t make the switch (I was so tempted after the Clear Sky rally earlier in these posts). Because now it looks like I would have had 3.75% for two months and then probably 3.15% thereafter, whereas I could just have 3.5% the whole time with DSD, and so it probably averages out close to six of one half a dozen of the other…
I don’t think 0.25 is enough to move. 0.5 maybe. 0.75 almost definitely. Naturally, factos like interface and customer service and such have to be considered as well, but all things being equal I need to see at least a 0.5 difference to move, personally.
TJ:
As I’ve said before, I just leave a trail of minimum deposits when I add a new one, like my Clear Sky accounts. I won’t require Clear Sky to be .01% more than the others when they rate falls, but if they aren’t awfully close to the top, I’ll just head to somewhere like iGo Banking, which is still one of the higher…and they have about $10.50 of my money right now in an open account. One other bank has a lowly $1.24 in it….but it is still open!
I agree it is a hassle to OPEN a new account for .25%, but since I never CLOSE the old accounts, it becomes a 30 second effort to move money around with an ACH transfer online to where it works harder. I keep track of all of this on a spreadsheet (I’m really anal) and my recent movement has INCREASED my overall monthly interest by $65. I try to get that overall number as high as I can, like a game.
While banks may want loyalty, this stuff is just business. They get my loyalty with high rates and good customer service. Most of what I put into my new Clear Sky account is now earning 0.96% more interest than it was.
I don’t generally open accounts that mandate the $1000 minimums like DSD because I don’t want to leave that much sitting in a lowered interest account just to keep it open if I feel the need to “move on.” I’m making an exception now for Zions, because they were once king at 5.59%…seems like only yesterday. On April 1, I’ll be checking closely.
Since we are definitely in a declining interest environment, I have yet to move money BACK into a reduced account, but I still have hope. ING is the only one that I abandoned completely as they just went to the basement of rate-givers and stayed there.
Well, I like your approach overall, and if DSD had a fee for a low balance, I’d agree. However, they instead simply drop the interest rate to 1%. Given that you’re only going to keep a buck or two there, you’re going to earn essentially no interest no matter whether the rate is 1% or 5%….ie there’s not enough money in play. Also, if you are earning 65 dollars in interest a month, you most certainly have the 1000 to open said account 🙂
One difference you and I may have is spouse. Every time I move money, I have to get my spouse to buy in and re-acquaint her with a new set of accounts and security protocols. This represents a cost — not dollars, but wear and tear on our peaceful coexistence :-). Ergo, I need a little more incentive to jump companies. Nonetheless, I am always on the hunt, which is why you see me here 🙂
I guess all I am saying here is that given your approach (keep your money at the top rates and be mobile among the top rate payers) it is in your interest to open a DSD account at some point – probably on 4/1 when Clear Sky seems certain to go to 3.15. DSD is definitely among the leaders in rate paid at the moment. In the meantime, I certainly have to hand it to you, earning a quarter point more than I am
The $65 was the INCREASE by the tweaking done in the last couple weeks, primarily opening the Clear Sky account. Actually, I should tweak a little more as I tend to leave money in two old brick and mortar credit union accounts (in another state) because I’ve needed to get at pocket money with local “shared branch” ATMs. Once I get the Clear Sky ATM card in the mail that will fix that need, but still leave a need for a place to deposit those pesky little rebate checks that come in the mail. I also have a minimum account I opened at Wells Fargo last April because they gave me $300 off my mortgage to open it with them. I’ve just been too lazy to close it and move that $325 sitting there earning something like 0.2%…but the $300 was worth it, along with them matching a nice 5.375% fixed loan back then!
I am 60 and my spouse just gets a copy of the main sheet of the excel spreadsheet when she asks what’s going on. It is a hobby to me, I guess…with the unusual feature that this particular hobby actually pays instead of costs like all the others.
I do have an Emigrant account that is still open (not DSD). I’m pretty well set til April 1…then maybe DSD will be on the horizon…
Hey, I have a Wells Fargo Mortgage (relatively new – May of 2008). I don’t remember them offering that $300 bonus incentive for opening an account. Anyway, do you think that’s just offered at initial sign up or is that something they may be offering still today? I supposed I can just call them, but figured I would save a long, annoying obstacle through customer service wait times if you happened to know the answer.
Yes, I’m VERY curious to see what happens tomorrow, the first official business day of the month, especially with Clear Sky. I also wonder if for those who are currently “in the process” of Clear Sky sign up (since as we all know it often takes days if not over a week to get officially signed up/funded, etc.) if Clear Sky will do a dick move and say that if they are not an official, application all approved member by TOMORROW, then it doesn’t count. They would really get bad press if they did that, but banks have done similar horrible things before, especially when they are new kids on the block.
@Drea:
I scanned the internet, starting with bankrate.com and discovered http://www.aimloan.com as a really good place to shop loans. They will give you a quote with NO personal information. I actually watched it daily as we were looking for our house here. When we were ready to actually get the loan, I printed out their fees which were something like $5200 total fees/points for the rate I wanted. The local Wells Fargo service rep initially told me $6800 for the same rate when she had given me a pre-qualify letter. Then she started discounting everything from app fees, to appraisals, points, etc. to match it. Part of the deal was that she could get me $300 off if I went and opened the account…so I did. So it wasn’t like an advertised offer.
At age 59, I had NEVER “shopped” a mortgage like that before…I thought all were pretty similar…now I know better and you can bet I will next time! By the way, I did refinance the last house with Aimloan and they were great. They are NOT mortgage brokers, per se….they are DIRECT LENDERS which I learned is much better/faster/easier …although there is a 100% chance they will sell your loan once they fund you. Very fast closing, minimal effort and they even sent a notary to our house with the papers to sign!
This time I was just trying to help out the local Realtor’s friend at Wells Fargo and gave them my business for that reason.
I do agree that it would be a PR failure for Clear Sky to change rates for folks who are in the application process this weekend. I sure hope they do not do so.
Just to be clear – the 1000 min at DSD is only a min to open the acct.
After you open the acct, you can drop the balance to 0.01 if you want. No fees, no penalties.
All they do is reduce your interest rate to 1%, which in this case has no real effect, since the idea is to leave a very small amount in simply to keep the acct open, with no intent of earning any interest
I can see where it would not work for Brad if they required that the account STAY at least at 1000 – but they don’t.
Doesn’t anyone think it’s weird (and concerning) that ClearSky doesn’t show up on the typical lists and charts, such as the ones I posted in #576 above (bankrate and bankaholic). Just curious…
Not really, DreaDrea. They’ve only existed for 30 days, so not everyone knows of them. The guy running this blog has not bothered to add a number of good choices to the list at the top, even though we’ve talked about them a lot, including but not limited to DSD.
@TJ: Good point. I really wasn’t thinking about leaving just a small amount in DSD. Thanks.
@Drea: It started on 1/5/2009 and I don’t know how rapidly Bankrate adds new places on their listing. This is the Chesapeake Bank of Virgnia… DSD wasn’t listed the moment it began either, so I imagine there is just a bit of lag time.
On another note, ClearSky is indeed listed at 3.15% this morning but their checking is still 3.25% (at the $25,000 level) as of this writing. Hopefully someone who was in the application process will tell us if they honored the 3.75% for them. They must still be working on the page, as there is still an asterisk at the 3.15% APY, but I could find no meaning attributed to the asterisk…and no guarantee date at all.
Leaves me to wonder what happens if I add money to my account…will it earn 3.75% til 3/31/09…or will the added money earn the lower rate? To do the latter sounds like an accounting nightmare.
LOL… Paula may be reading here… The asterisk is now gone.
Well I took the plunge and began to process of getting a reward checking account at 6.01APY.
I know rates may drop, but I would be shocked if they dropped lower than the highest savings account APY. My requirements are simply (1) direct deposit or bill pay, online statements, and (12) debit card swipes (they didn’t even list restrictions, such as ATM’s not counting)
In any event, I figure I can get to 12 swipes a month without really going out of my way. I buy groceries 4 times a month, get gas 4 times a month, and I know I go out to eat at least 4 times a month. So that is 12 right there.
In addition, not only will I be making more interest on money I previously had in savings, I will be earning interest on additional money that I normally had to keep in a separate checking account for bills and stuff. Basically how I have it setup now is most of my money is in DSD and then I transfer so much into a standard checking account each month to pay bills. But with this new rewards checking, I can keep ALL my money in the account, so I am earning interest on an additional $1 – $2k.
Mother F$#!!2ckers! I can’t believe Clear Sky actually did it, without skipping a beat! I was actually up late last night after 12am (which is technically when Monday began) so I went to the website and it still said 3.75%. So I was like, ok, it’s only 12:30am, give them some time. So then when I went to work at 9am I checked again and it STILL said 3.75%, with the asterick (which by the way Brad, the asterick was not at the bottom of the page as you said, but if you simply clicked on it, would take you to another page that did still say guaranteed until 3/30/09).
So then I get your post that, apparently sometime after 9am, they have in fact done the 3.15% that someone had so kindly warned us about (thank you mystery poster on bankdeals!!), and the asterick (and guaranteed language) is now gone. In other words, even the lower 3.15% is apparently not guaranteed.
Wow, I’m so glad I didn’t take the plunge and my instincts and gut reactions were correct.
I’ll stick with DSD for now and see what happens.
JIM: That all being said, I’m STILL so tempted to do the High Yield checking. Which one did you go with — is it one of the ones available to everyone, even if you have to sign up for something, or just a credit union for locals?
@DreaDrea
Its a semi local one, only available to Illinois, Missouri, and Iowa I think. I actually just got an email from them today requesting some documents. Glad to see quick customer service.
And with the Clear Sky I believe they took the asterisk down because they were just doing an intro deal. Whoever signed up early will get that 3.75% until 04/08. But anyone who signs up now at 3.15% is not guaranteed that rate for any amount of time.
So for people like Brad who signed up, he will still get that 3.75%.
I’m checking out online rates on bankrate.com. How come DSD only has one star for a rating? Their APY is 3.44 and I’m reading good things about them on here . . . just wondering why their rating is so low.
We’ve had ING direct (4 stars on bankrate.com site) for about two years and find they have great customer service, super easy website, easy transactions. We lost 1/2 the money we had in Vanguard (stocks and bonds) since December and just moved everything out. We’re looking to sit this money in a savings acct till things start to move in a postive direction. Obviously, we’re looking for the highest interst rate possible. The past few months have sickened me. We didn’t have a ton of money but losing half just sucks. Now we’re waiting for hyper-inflation to kick in. Anyone remember the 80’s? I seem to recall 15% and 18% return on money.
@Jo:
It was 1976-1980…. We had a weak president who had no respect around the world after the Iranian hostage situation. His party also had control of both the house and senate for the 4 years of his presidency. 18% mortgage interest and 15% CD interest abounded. That couldn’t happen again….oh….wait….
DSD is 3.50% APY…not 3.44% APY…. Even with the low rating, they are still FDIC insured.
@Brad
Well relatively speaking, isn’t that how it is now? Mortgage rates are around 5.5% and CD’s are around 3.5%.
Just checking in to see how the DSD Blog was coming along today…errr, I mean the high-yield savings account blog.. 🙂
Brad: Jo probably just mispoke. DSD does have 3.44% but as their interest rate. Yes, the APY is $3.5%.
Jo: As for DSD’s low bankrate star rating, yes, that continues to baffle me and make me wonder what their standards are for making those assessments, because not only I, but others on this blog, have stated only good things from them so far. They are even open SEVEN days a week from 8:00am to 11:30pm!!
By the way, here is the detailed email response I got from a DSD customer rep, just ONE day after I emailed them and on a Sunday! Nice to have stuff like this in writing:
Dear ____,
Thank you for contacting Dollar Savings Direct. We truly appreciate this opportunity to assist you.
Dollar Savings Direct launched August 8, 2008 withAnnual Percentage Yieldof 3.75% and interest rate of 3.68%.The current Annual Percentage Yield (APY) is 4.00% andthe interest rate is 3.92%, which was effective as of October 08, 2008. As yourmentioned, our interest rates are variable and can change at anytime.
Dollar Savings Direct andEmigrantDirect are subsidiaries of Emigrant Bank. We do offer a higher interestrate because we a paperless account and require the $1,000 minimum balance.
Thereare absolutely no fees associated with this account. You are limited to SIXwithdrawals and unlimited deposits every month.
Inorder to ensure the most secure online banking service possible, Dollar SavingsDirect does not allow third party debits from your savings account. This account is a non-transaction account andcan not be used as a ‘Bill Pay’ or an external fundingaccount.
Withdrawals from your savings account can be made bylogging into your Dollar Savings Direct account and scheduling a transfer toyour linked external checking account.
You are required to maintain a minimum average daily balance of $1,000.00in your Dollar Savings Account for the statement period in order to receive theadvertised APY. In the event the average daily balance in your Dollar SavingsAccount falls below $1,000.00 during the statement period, your account willreceive an APY of 1.00%. Once you bring the balance back up, the APY andinterest rate will go back to the advertised offer.
It can take from 1-4 business days for your account tobe opened and funded in it totality, if youchoose the ACH electronic transferoption instead of mailing in a physical check.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at 1-866-395-8693. We are here to assist our customers seven days a week from 8:00am to 11:30pm Eastern Time.
Once again, thank you for contacting Dollar Savings Direct.
Sincerely,
Steven
DSD interest rate is 3.44% and APY is 3.5%
Well Jim, with 30 yr fixed mortgages, hyper-inflation would be good for us savers… just very awful for younger folks trying to buy a house.
The two items will always be relative to each other (new loans/cds). When I was younger and didn’t have a fixed mortgage, it was awful to see those mortgage rates (I had no money to save).
Inflation clearly has very different impacts on folks, depending on what stage of life they are in. Although it would be personally beneficial to me to see the rates move up into the teens, it would really hurt my kids and grandkids. I don’t need a new mortgage, so only the good side of the equation would affect me. The grandkids would only have the bad side of the equation affect them.
@Brad
I think I understand you know. The high mortgage rates would only be balanced out if you also had money in savings that was collecting interest whose APY would come close to balancing out the high mortgage APR.
But for people buying a home with little to no savings, a 12% mortgage would kill them. I’m fairly young 26, and just bought my first house about 5 months ago. Now with all that is happening, I am trying to save as much as I can so that in the event I lose my job, I have that 6 month emergency fund to keep me afloat as I look for a new job.
I have both the max savings and complete checking from ETRADE and I’m very happy with most of it. However, I live in northern va where they are located and have a few actual ‘brick and mortar’ locations. Their quick transfer is great if you do all of your banking inside etrade, but if you have any external accounts it can take a while to get money credited to your account.
I would probably not recommend this to everyone, but if you either get most of your money in direct deposit form, or are otherwise in the DC area where you can talk to a real, live person if something ever goes seriously wrong, their rates pretty much can’t be beat. I really like that my check card refunds me for ATM fees unlimited times per month – I can use any atm in the country without a charge.
You have it Jim. You are now probably locked in to a fixed rate mortgage, so you are sitting pretty for inflation to come along and float the savings interest rates.
Kinda off subject, but Roth IRAs are wonderful vehicles to hold your savings. I have maximized them since they started in 1998…but I retired in 2002. Since then, I have managed to get most Traditional IRA and 401(k) funds converted into Roth IRA CDs. There is now enough in the Roth IRAs, which are earning an average of 5.75% APY TAX-FREE, to pay for the mortgage.
HOWEVER, I have a 5.375% fixed mortgage, tax deductible, so it really costs me only about 4.75% after taxes. So it would be dumb to pay off because I am actually earning MORE than I am paying…and living in the house! Once the CDs mature, it may be a different story. if can’t find a CD that pays at least 4.75%…
Roth IRAs have several huge advantages as savings vehicles. A) Everything they earn from day 1 is tax-free; B) If you get short and need to withdraw from it, you may do so without penalty…since you’ve already paid taxes on the money you put in there (this only applies to your contributions, not your earnings…they are subject to the normal 10% tax penalty if you take them); C) you are not required to take withdrawals beginning at age 70-1/2, like the other retirement plans.
Can’t praise ROTH IRAs highly enough. Everyone should get the IRS publication and see what great retirement and savings vehicles they are.
A Roth CD is the ultimate place to have your savings because it is not earning tax-deferred, it is actually earning tax-free!
Anyone have any comments or experiences with SavingsSquare? It has been mentioned a couple times on this blgo way back when (just do a search and find above), but not for several months now. I don’t see it listed on any of the charts/lists we have been referencing, but it is currently 3.3%. This is lower than DSD, but I only mention it because it has no minimum requirements, so all those who still find the $1000 DSD requirement insurmountable, I thought you might want to check this out again…
http://www.savingssquare.com/
FNBO just dropped to 2.6%. Sigh. I still love them, but… sigh.
Anyone familiar with Broadway Federal?
http://www.broadwayfed.com/
4.08%
Found at:
http://bankdeals.blogspot.com/2008/11/513-online-savings-account-at-broadway.html
Broadway gets good stars, 4 from bankrate. I think DSD gets 1 from bankrate not due to poor customer service, but because of evaluation of their financial reports — e.g. they are in danger of bankruptcy (though FDIC).
For anyone interested, ING Direct Orange Savings is down to 2.20% APY.
If anyone is interested in getting the $25 bonus with a new ING Direct Savings account, let me know by e-mailing me at kaozity[at]yahoo[dot]com and I can send an invitation.
Folks, please keep referral swapping out of this thread. Here’s a thread devoted to the practice.
Hey Doug, thanks for the new info! No, I had not heard about this bank and now I’m intrigued and wondering if I should take the plunge. I read both the main website for that bank, plus the bankdeals blog you referneced which has some further info and customer feedback. I was surprised at one of the posts someone put about no customer service number to call, hard credit check pulls, etc. I found right on the bank website itself a VERY helpful FAQ that provies their phone number, even an email address which I am about to email all my skeptical questions to, and says they don’t do hard pull just chex.
here’s the direct link to the FAQ:
http://www.broadwayfed.com/generalfaq.htm
So, TJ (and all those fellow DSD’ers out there), what are you thinking about possibly looking at this bank?
As soon as I saw the word “fee” I was done with Broadway. Read the link Doug provided in it’s entirety: http://bankdeals.blogspot.com/2008/11/513-online-savings-account-at-broadway.html
@DreaDrea
Thanks for the suggestion for those poor schlubs among us who can’t scrape together the $1000 minimum required for some accounts. I have not tried SavingsSguare, but have been pleased with ShoreBank since opening an account there in November 2007. ShoreBank’s APY is currently 3.15%. Along with the relatively high interest rate, ShoreBank bills itself as a community development and environmental bank. I like the idea that my savings can be used to help others. Also, I’ve read here that many of the banks do not notify their customers when their rates change. ShoreBank notifies its customers of rate changes (up or down) via email. I’ve always had positive experiences when calling customer service. They have a small bank feel, but very personalized service.
http://www.shorebankdirect.com
Actually, I did read the link in its entirety, which is where I was referring to the CSR numbers, credit pull stuff, etc. I don’t actually care about the fee for lower balances because I do not plan to ever drop below $1000 because I am now doing a baby savings fund, but I hear what you’re saying for others, especially those who like to leave that trail of low balances in banks just in case.
I’m more worried about the fees hitting an account that goes down temporarily. For example, let’s say I have one acct where I keep my vacation fund. The fund exceeds 1k, lucky me. The Jackson clan goes on vacation, and I drain the fund down below 1k upon return to pay for all the vaation expenses. Bam! – 10 dollar fee?
I don’t mind my interest going down as much, but if you hit me with a fee – you’re done
…and someday, DD, you’re gonna have that baby and subsequently drain that fund.
Re #1048
Is this really the place to engage in Jimmy Carter bashing? Are you saying that the Iran hostage situation affected interest rates in the USA? That was 30 years ago. What has the most recent administration done to contribute to today’s financial fiasco? How much “respect” around the world does the most recent administration have following Iraq/Guantanamo/etc.?
TJ: Again, I hear you about the fees, and it’s not nice and I respect that you wouldn’t want to mess with that if you have a potential you might go under, even if temporarily.
As for my baby, yes, when I have it, I will defitniely drain my DSD fund (assuming I still have DSD by then!!?), but I would probably just close it at that point if necessary and not be worrying about a low balance.
Anyway, I have just sent a very detailed email to CSR at Broadway Federal (like I did with DSD – see my post #1051 above, but catered to Broadway stuff and after reading their particular FAQ), just to see if they respond and if so, what they say! I already got a “read receipt” from a Ms. Lanette Roberson, so I am hopeful for a response and will let you all know!
Well, for all you who were recently trying to sell us on BankofInternet because of it’s rate of 3.51% which is “higher” than DSD, although just a mere .01%, BANK OF INTERNET HAS NOW DROPPED DOWN TO 3.15%! That must be the new low “popular” rate amongst banks, because isn’t that what ClearSky dropped to?
Anyway, glad I didn’t jump on any band wagons just for .01% more (BofI) or even .25% more (ClearSky), since they have fallen. Sure, DSD may eventually disappoint me and drop again, but so far it looks like it’s one of the few high ones, and so even if it does drop I’m thinking it will still be one of the front runners.
Of course, there is now that Broadway Federal thing that Doug mentioned. I’m very anxious and curious to see how CSR answers my emailed questions. I may in fact make that switch…maybe…
Could someone please convince ms why DSD is such a good deal?
It is never ever talked about here and certainly appears to never be plugged, advertised or promoted on this blog…
🙂
Hi Swaj:
Are you kidding me? Never ever?? You must not have done a search/find on your page, but we have been talking DSD for the last couple weeks! And posts go back as far as 767, 770, 787, 901, 902, 918, 924, just to name a few. Sometimes it’s talked about as “dollarsavings” all one word, sometimes “dollar savings” two words, and sometimes “DSD”. Just use the FIND function. Control F
But the bottom line since I’m sure you don’t want to do all that extra work since you are coming in after the fact:
It’s got pretty much the highest rate right now 3.5% (and even in this volatile market, has pretty much remained the front runner among them all…even when it goes down, so do the others but lower making it still a little higher). That’s pretty much the main reason. The other incidentals are that it has a easy, user friendly online interface and those who have posted here have had great CSR experience. The only DOWNSIDE has been that you have to have a $1000 balance or else it kicks down to 1% or whatever for that particular month, plus you cant do any ACH withdrawals/bill pay. But for me, I had a $1000 plus I’m not trying to withdraw or bill pay, I’m trying to save, so this didn’t bother me.
More on DSD, I emailed them directly with any questions/concerns I had before signing up and they emailed me within a day even on a Sunday with answers! As we all know it’s hard to get CSR to commit to stuff on the phone, so imagine getting it in writing!
Also, FAQ:
https://www.dollarsavingsdirect.com/DollarSavingsDirectWeb/en/common/information/LearnMore.jsp
But I’d like to assume you at least got that far and already found those on your own and read them
@ Drea:
It was an attempt at sarcasm from Swaj… See his post #1050.
Oops! Ok, sorry swaj. Since that post was so long ago, plus I always get honed into just one thing, I thought you were serious!
My sincerest apologizes. lol
No need to apologize DreaDrea. I guess I am just in need of some Reward Checking blog chatter… that savings stuff at 3.5% is too low for me
So does anyone have any recommendations for the best rate, highest balance, best service Reward accounts? I really want to store my savings into something with a solid 5 to 6%, with little hassle of course. 🙂
Thanks
I wanted to let everyone know that while it seems to take quite a bit of time for deposits INTO DSD to fully take effect and be truly “available”, I just did some small test withdrawls (.01, .02) and so long as requested before 5pm, they were IN my checking account the next day by midnight!
I mention this as some people seemed to express a concern with being able to get their funds quick enough if and when necessary…
Glad to hear Swaj is OK with us discussing high interest savings accounts in response to a blog post about high interest savings accounts. Thanks Swaj.
Anyone use igobanking.com (Flushing Savings Bank)? They are offering 3.08% and have a 4 star rating with BankRate.com.
I still have an account at iGo Banking. They are fine. I had occasion to talk to their CSR once and they took care of my issue quickly (I wanted to withdraw more than normal daily allowance…and they authorized it without problem).
BUT, there are better choices, most notably to me is Clear Sky, even at 3.15%, as they immediately credit deposits, have great CS, and even have a high paying linked checking account with NO GAMES to play, free billpay and $20 worth of ATM fees returned each month… (2.5% for $1-$9999, higher rates for more money). You just missed a 3.75% lock with them til 3/31/09…
Then Drea has also told you about DSD at 3.5%. Read a few of the prior posts.
Bottom line: Simply that 3.08% is less than 3.15% or 3.5%…but there isn’t anything wrong with iGo Banking.
It looks like DSD dropped to 3.2% APY today. At least their website now says 3.2% APY. After logging in, my own account there still says 3.5% APY but is that accurate? If so, how long will the 3.5% last when they are advertising 3.2%. Probably a few days at most. I think most of these banks offer high rates until they get enough depositors, then lower the rates to the market’s average high-yield rate or close to that. With Emigrant (who owns DSD), it probably depends on how many mortgage loans they can write, since Emigrant is primarily a Metro NYC mortgage bank (as is Flushing Savings Bank who owns IGObanking). Then they look to maximize the spread between the depositor’s interest yield and their mortgage interest rates.
DSD has gone down to 3.2%, how the mighty have fallen…
How are we doing on the Rewards Checking front, is Midwest still the king of the hill at 6.3%?
I am also still looking at Charter which is only 5% but has a good tie-in with wells fargo (my bank), apparently they can share the same ATM cards.
Any comment on how anyone is doing with those services, or if they would recommend any other high yield reward checking service?
Thanks,
The Swaj
Well I might as well start stuffing my money under my mattress the way the rates are going down. At least I know I will have it and wont have to wait to get it when the bank collapses and the govt comes in.
Yeah, looks like Dollar Savings Direct figured out it could drop to 3.2 and still be one of the highest rate payers out there – and it still is. I understand the move – heck, if I managed that company I’d have probably done the same exact thing – even though it pisses me (as a saver searching for a high rate) off. Ah well. Just makes me look a little harder for a suitable replacement
I just found out today that my DSD savings account that I opened on 1/30 has a 5 day hold on newly deposited funds. Also, if your account drops below $1,000 they will reduce the interest rate to 1%. Just something to be aware of.
Well, all I can say is that I made plenty of posts that I certainly expected DSD to eventually go down (not because they suck, but because the market calls for them to go down along with everyone else), but that I still maintain that this is not going to now make me jump and move my money (AGAIN!) because it does still continue to be the front runner, even if only by a slight margin. Just check the updated charts we are always referencing (bankaholic, bankrate, etc.).
Now if it went below 3%, and in fact close to 2.5%, I MAY have to reconsider things, but not if by going to say 2.5%, everyone else dipped down too, probably a little below that.
But sure, the High yield checking accounts are clearly much higher, but it’s not even comparing apples and oranges. I’m still on the fence about it and tempted, but a lot of the ones that have high rates don’t offer it to my state or you have to qualify to be a member and I don’t. But more importantly, I simply don’t make that many debit transactions a month and wonder about the whole making 10 $1 transactions whether they would eventually catch on or I would lose track or that “batching” thing would happen that I referred to earlier and somehow I would miscalcuate and get screwed.
But either way, moving monies around only to see the rate drop again really doesn’t make any since and it could very well be that staying with the same bank (unless it dropped to something crazy like 1%) makes the most sense. See my post about rate chasing from a while back: #469.
I’m still waiting to hear back from CSR via email on Broadwayfederal. In the meantime, I’m stickin with DSD, but will continue to research and ponder the high yield checking accounts some more
Hi JB:
I hope you aren’t just finding out about the lower rate penalty for funds under $1000 AFTER you signed up? Anyway, yes, all of us who have been discussing DSD over the last several weeks already knew that, as it is one of the things that hinder some from wanting to open it.
As for the “hold” on your funds, just to clarify. As far as I know, ALL online savings account take X amount of business days for the transfer to be complete and your funds “available”, some are only 3 days, and DSD happens to be 5…and remember, these are business days, not calendar. BUT, the big thing to know is that pretty much by the second day (assuming you made the requested before 5pm), the deposit has in fact been loosely “posted” to DSD and you actually start accruing interest from the second day on, even though the funds are not technically “available”.
Hope that makes sense…
Have anyone heard or opened a account at Christian Community Credit Union at http://mycccu.com/personal/? It looks like it is available for anyone and they have CD’s for 36,48&60 months at 5.00% apy and a 7-18 mo. at 4.00% both with $1000.00 minimums
@ Willie:
This is NOT a government insured credit union! Frankly, I’d not send them any of my $$$! No NCUA, No FDIC….only a private insurance Company called ASI. In the last financial crisis, in 1991, one of the 10 Private Credit Union insurance companies failed. The NY Times said there were 9 left at the time, with no coordination between them to assist each other in case of loss.
Of course, every time a bank fails and there are uninsured deposits because someone put more than $250,000 into a single account, I am astounded at folks not paying attention. Lots of folks do engage in risky behavior and I consider privately insured credit unions not worth the risk…particularly when their rates aren’t that great. I’d give them $1,000 if the rate was 7%….
Here’s a little of the NYTimes article:
“But in Rhode Island the private insurer failed to spot problems that were severe enough that 11 of the 35 credit unions it insured have been found by Federal authorities to be insolvent or deeply troubled. One key problem was regulations allowing the privately insured credit unions to make up to half their loans for various kinds of businesses. Nationally, business loans account for less than 1 percent of all credit union loans.
Depositors in credit unions and the nine other deposit-taking organizations insured by the Rhode Island Share and Deposit Indemnity Corporation are vulnerable to losses. The state government, which had oversight responsibility for 35 credit unions and 11 other institutions, including banks insured by the insurance corporation, has not promised to cover any possible depositor losses.
Indeed, none of the states that allow local credit unions to operate without Federal deposit insurance have pledged state money to repay depositors should the insurance plan fail. “
Thinking about trying the Evantage Bank High Yield Checking account and was wondering if anyone had any feedback on them. They give 5.25% and the only hoops are that to have 10 monthly check-card transactions..with no minimum to open or to sustain the account.
Been a reader for awhile, and already have an ING account at painful 2.2% rate that keeps dropping.
DD: In post 1057 you asked about Savings Square, posting their rate as 3.3. They are today down to 2.9. Who will win the race to the bottom? *sigh*
TJ: Wow, thanks for the update. Yes, “sigh”!
Today must have been a busy, common day for many banks to make a drop.
Well, I guess this continues to solidify my current position that I’m not going anywhere (yet) except MAYBE a HY checking account if my research eventually satisfies me, and that I’m glad I’m with DSD for now with the slightly higher rate than the rest (for now) and because keeping $1000 is no prob for me.
I now feel like instead of watching the damn stock tickers on the market which go up and down like every minute, I am finding myself go to the bankrate and bankaholic charts listed above like every hour to see what bad news is now waiting…
My problem with the high yield checking is all the life changes I have to make. First, none of the banks are in my area, ergo I am stuck using foreign atms, and then I have to pray that the new bank will indeed pay every cent of the foreign atm charges. Second, i don’t use debit cards because they are so insecure, but damn near every one of these accounts requires double digit debit card transactions each month. Finally, most require I direct deposit there. These are HUGE changes in my life versus the simplicity of the online savings accounts, which pretty much quietly earn me interest without me having to worry if I jumped through all the stinkin monthly requirements each and every stinkin’ month.
All that said – if one of my local well-established banks ever offers one of these accounts, I will certainly give them a loooooong look. Has not happened yet.
TJ: I totally agree, and why I continue to remain on the fence about it all. But in response to what you wrote, I will tell you that I have definitely seen some that allow credit transactions, they don’t have to be debits, but you do have to read the small print and see. Also, I have yet to see one that does not provide the “refund of all ATM fees” perk, although the cut off is usually $25, but again, that’s only if you use ATMs. I wouldn’t plan to use ATMs unless I needed to pull money out and the hope is I wouldn’t and I’m trying to save, but the few times I did, I’m sure it would be covered under the $25. Next, you said that you don’t want to have to do a direct deposit. Most require a direct deposit OR an ACH, which could just be as simple as an electronic payment of one of your utility or cell phone bills. But as for the biggest thing you mentioned about not wanting to switch banks and change your life, I tend to agree, but on the other hand, at 5-6% interest, perhaps it is actually worth running all the transactions you normally run out of your current account instead through the new higher one and just close the other one (or keep it open with one buck if you want), and with all your usual transactions going in and out of the other one, I would have to assume you could reach 10. What do you think of all that? I think I may have just talked myself into it!
I’m sure this has been posted here before at some point, but have you all gone to this link where you can enter in your state to see which high yield checking accounts are available to you??
http://www.highyieldcheckingdeals.com/2008/03/high-yield-reward-checking-by-states.html
PS: I just found a credit union in my state (NC) for 5% where they require 13 transactions instead of 10, but NO direct deposit and NO ACH!! Interesting…
also, united federal credit union which is available to several different states. Check our their website:
https://www.unitedfcu.com/
They are offering 6.01% “GUARANTTEED UNTIL AT LEAST 2010”!!!!!!!!
Again, this is a credit union, but they sure do have a LONG list of companies you could be affiliated with to see if you qualify. And apparently, per a CSR I just spoke to 3 minutes ago, you don’t have to currently work at the company but at ANY time in your life, “even if only for one day”!!
Anyway, here I am totally promoting it, and it’s available in my state, but I totally don’t fall under anything on their huge list of affiliations/companies. =(
The reason they have to offer the ATM refunds is these are tiny institutions with few is any ATMs of their own. If I were to go with one of their offers, every single ATM I’d ever hit would hit me with a fee, and I’d have to pray that a) I qualified every month for the 20-25$ fee refund, and also b) that the fees charged in total would never exceed 20-25$. Two fees of 10$ each (not out of the realm of possibility at all) would wipe out the credit, even assuming I earned it for a given month. Since I direct deposit, I depend on ATMS to get cash when I need it, so this would be a *constant* source of worry. I suspect I am not the only one in this boat.
anyway, enough bitching. sorry. It’s definitely a work for your reward arrangement, and quite profitable to those willing and able to jump through all the hoops.
@TJ
No bank in the US charges an ATM fee of more than $3. At this point in time, a $10 ATM fee is “out of the realm of possibility”.
http://abcnews.go.com/gma/story?id=4196835
@Mark,
I get charged $4 at the ATM in the casino. And thats just from the bank who owns the ATM.
Mark – I was charged over 10 twice in the past 5 years, and by that I mean the total of the two fees charged – one for the atm “owner” and the other from my bank. So – sorry, your info is incorrect. Further, the article you linked to does not state what the maximum is, it only mentions a few specific bank’s fees at the time the data was gathered to write the article.
I stand by my original statement.
No need to apologize, TJ. Not all ATMs are owned by banks. Private ATM network operators may charge more than $3, I don’t know. Show me a bank that charges more than $3.
Whatever. Your info is wrong.
Ok, enough fighting like children over who’s right or wrong concerning atm fees. Back to the topic, has anyone done any business with Bank of Ripley?
They are offering a reward checking acct earning 5.26% and reimbursement of atm fees and the only requirements are 10 debit transaction, electronic stmt delivery, and that you login to your online account once a month. Seems simple enough, but have never heard of this bank before.
That’s what I thought…
More Clear Sky stuff: I got my ATM cards today and called to activate them. Surprise! A real human being answered the phone for activation. I learned a bit more.
1. Having opened the account when the rate was guaranteed to be 3.75% APY til March 31 allows me to add even more funds through that date and they will all receive that 3.75% rate (until then at least)! She said there was a $250,000 limit (No worries of me exceeding that!). They assured me that they plan on remaining competitive.
2. Opening a linked checking account gets the debit card issued, and then you can access either the checking or the savings account at the ATM. You don’t have to move money from savings to checking online…and then take it out of checking. Much smoother, but without a checking account linked, they don’t issue an ATM card.
3. ATM fee reimbursement is usually automatic, but if a fee slips thru un-noticed, they will take care of it when you point it out.
4. They are not, at this point, wanting to do IRAS through the internet. They only do those through the “bank side”, not the “Clear Sky Internet side” and so you’d need to walk into a branch.
Not a “reward” checking account…but you can’t complain about no fee, free bill-pay, reimbursed ATM fees and at LEAST 2.50% interest with no debit transactions required.
I’m interested to know if anyone has experienced any problems with Dollar Savings Direct? I’ve read some horror stories on other blogs about mistakes they have made and don’t make too much effort to correct.
As such, I have been looking hard at ING Direct, which offers 1% lower APY, but seems to have solid customer service and a very simple-to-use online interface. Not to mention that you can get in on a $25 referral sign-up bonus, which can amount to more than the 1% APY difference over a year on smaller accounts, and you get it immediately!
I would be interested to know what everyone thinks about my dilemma of perceived safety vs. the highest rate!
Evantage only has a 5.25% rate for the first $25,000.
After that, it’s a 2.25% rate.
See:
http://evantagebank.com/indexcompare.html
I haven’t seen anyone post this yet, so it must have happened today. ClearSky down to 3.05% (from 3.15%). DSD still at the top of the lists, although yes, you do have to have $1000 min…
Brandon: I’ve only had DSD for a month now, but if you look at some of my posts above, I have had nothing but excellent service and banking experiences (even had customer service answer 7 bullet point questions VIA EMAIL and ON A SUNDAY! that I had sent before considering opening an account since I wanted to know all the fine print, etc.). There was someone else on here but I forgot the name who has had DSD and/or Emigrant (the mother bank) for much longer and also no issues and only good news to report. We still remain baffled why they only get 1 star. But so long as they are FDIC insured and I, myself, am getting good customer service and bank experience, then I am satisfied and shop by the rate, currently the highest.
The Evantage offer (#1108/John) mentioned above is reward checking with the usual hoops to jump every single month through to earn your rate for that month. It is not an online savings account. No biggie, just a clarification.
The intriguing savings account of the moment (IMHO) is Broadway Federal at 4.08% APY
TJ: Thanks for reminding me about Broadway Federal. You may remember I mentioned I sent them a detailed email (it has now been a week) with all my anal questions (just like I had done with DSD who had totally responded, quickly AND thoroughly). I have just reforwarded my email again with the following tag:
“I am just resending this since it’s been about a week and I haven’t heard back yet. I apologize for sending so many questions, but your website did say we could contact you and I did try to find out my answers from the site first. Anyway, your bank rates are very competitive right now, so I hope you can earn my business by answering my questions at your earliest convenience. Thank you so much in advance.”
I actually have FOUR email addresses for them now! The main customer service one shown in the FAQ, two actual individuals’ email addresses listed on their website (although they are for other departments, not online savings accounts but too bad!), and when I got a read receipt last week to my original email, the read receipt was yet another individual’s email address. So I have emailed all 4 of them just now. I’m sure they love me! not. But what are they going to do, spit in my food? Spit in my account?
Been reading these forums today, and have found this info benificial.
I have a simple question:
I have had a WaMu online savings account since it was above 4.00%, and is now at 1.00%
I am looking to switch it into something that is higher, yet liquid.
Say I have $25,000 dollars that will be used for a mortgage in the next couple months. Which is the best route to go where my money is safe, collecting a good rate of interest, and is easily accessable and liquid?
Package it all up in brown butcher paper and mail it to me 🙂
ok, kidding……..my real answer is that if it is just for a couple of months I’d jump through the hoops for that two months to get the maximum interest from one of these reward checking accounts. I’d judge you’ll earn between 55 and 65 dollars more per month in interest on the stated principal amount than if you went with any of the better high interest savings accounts. Better still since it’s only for a couple of months, you won’t have the jump through the hoops all that long
If you’re not interested in jumping through all the hoops, I’d point to Everbanks promotional rate of 3.51 for 3 months. If you don’t move on this issue for a week, ask again – some banks are changing rates every week at this point
Yall are a hoot. I must say as a new saver this information is very helpful! I’m a 20 somethin saver who is really looking to get the best savings account out there…of course with little hassle.
I recently have a checking account with ING Direct (love it) and Savings with Emigrant and Etrade.
Does anyone know if Emigrant and Etrade compound daily?
I don’t have a lot of money, but what I do have I want to make sure I’m getting the most out of.
I will continue to keep track of the responses to see if I need to make any moves.
I’m glad I’m not the only one moving funds around like a gypsy!
“John126”: sounds like a Bible passage! lol
Anyway, I wish it were a “simple question” as you say.
To the contrary, unfortunatley there is no easy answer here, simply because of the volatile economy right now (especially today; have you seen the news and the stocks!?). In other words, no one can say who has the best rate, because it has pretty much changed weekly if not daily. As for liquidity, every online savings account is going to liquid, it is only CDs that are not, without penalty. Although, that being said, at least CDs are a guaranteed rate. Then there are the high yield checking accounts we have all been discussing recently. Great high rights (5-6%), but lots of hoop jumping and paranoia as to whether you are meeting all the rules for each month, and when you don’t, boom 1% or even less.
Man, I wish I had $25,000! Way to go! Hope you can turn it into $26,000 or something!
TJ:
Why is Everbank not on the main bankrate or bankaholic lists? I asked the same reason about ClearSky and the answer was because it was relatively new…but Chesapeake Bank (their mother bank) has apparently been around for decades so technically it’s not new. Also, DSD is new (CSR confirmed by email it was opened last Sept), yet they are on the list.
And Broadway Federal not there either, but that’s surely new…
just wondering
The reason that some banks are not on certain websites is because you have to pay to be on them. So, banks choose who they want to pay to have their info listed based on traffic, clicks, etc. There are a few sites out there that list for free, but sites such as bankrate.com have a pay per click advertising deal similar to the search engine pay per click deals.
Thank you all for your replies. I’m young in a sense, just turned 27. So as far as the 25K it’s basically life savings and all I have, other than an IRA and 401k, which I can’t speak of those as a growth investment right now 🙂
I was looking into the Capital One Online account at 2.63, for the simple fact that they have some kind of reputation, versus some of these smaller firms, like the DSD, which does look tempting for what I’m trying to do……
This is to all the people who are truly serious about saving money. If you are looking for the best online savings account, then you must put your money with Dollar Savings Direct. You are stupid, if you don’t! At the moment, I have nearly $350,000 in a joint savings account with them. And, as long as they keep offering the best interest rate, I plan to continue saving with them until I reach the FDIC insured limit of $500,000 for joint accounts. At that point I’ll start another savings account with a differnt bank that provides a decent return on my money. ING-Direct used to be the best, but now the crown goes to Dollar Savings Direct. My advice is to know the FDIC insured limits for the type of account you are planning, and put your money with Dollar Savings Direct.
Paula: Thanks for the info, I did not know that. If I remember correctly, you work at ClearSky/Chesapeake? Anyway, I guess I would say that even in these crazy times where even banks are failing, they still are “richer” than us individual people so I think it’s pretty cheap if they don’t want to pay to be on those lists, not to mention how else are they going to get their advertising out so we know about those great rates??!
Angelo:
Yes, it seems like a nobrainer, and for those with $350,000, or even $1000, your advice is good. But this blog is called GRS, and many many people don’t have the $1000 requirement and that’s why they can’t do DSD. Some have said, well if you’re only investing with basically pennies then you’re not going to get much return with another bank allowing a lower minimum. True, but certainly some have a somewhat substantial amount like $500 or even $750. But just not $1000 and so DSD is out.
PS: Since you have so much money, can a borrow a couple bucks? Like $100,000 or so?
lol
@Drea:
Certainly seems to me that Clear Sky must have been VERY successful in attracting new deposits WITHOUT having to pay places like Bankrate.com for advertising them. After all, they were able to essentially drop their big effort (3.75%) to attract new deposits in about 35 days. I’m personally much happier that they spent the money on giving me more interest than sending it to websites for promotion.
I note the checking maximum interest has also dropped, but the minimum 2.50% still remains as of the last time I looked.
I recently signed up for Clear Sky just to check them out.
Agreed about DSD. It’s more about the funds than anything. 🙂
I opened up a Bank of Internet savings account but I regret doing so. If I have to make deposits manually through the mail why are they called Bank of INTERNET?
I tried email support to find out how to make a deposit. The email customer support was useless so after 3-4 rounds of email I had to call to get full & correct information.
To withdraw my money I just learned that since my bank doesn’t initiate ACH transfers I will have to either use an ATM and pay ATM fees to get my money out, or pay $7 to have a check made.
I was going to add $900 to it to make my balance $1000. But instead I’ll wait 90 days to avoid the $25 account closing fee then close the account and get my money back by using the ATM card I suppose. There is also a $2/mo dormant account fee for accounts inactive for 1-yr.
Oh John, that really sucks! Especially that you now have to wait 3 whole months to avoid yet another fee.
Well, let this be a lesson learned by all that you really do have to read all the small print and call/email customer service and make sure you understand all the ins and outs….
BEFORE you sign up with a bank.
You may have seen my posts above where I sent a detailed email to DollarSavings CSR with probably like 10 questions which depending on how/if they answered was going to help me determine IF I even signed up. They did, and so I did.
Yes DreaDrea,
I have online savings accounts with Clear Sky, DSD, FNBO Direct, Venture Bank Direct, HSBC Direct, and ING Direct.
I’m happy with them all and haven’t had any surprises. My mistake was assuming that Bank of Internet would be similar to them, so I didn’t fully check it out, partially because others in this blog recommended it.
I learned the hard way.
Here’s some negative for Zions Bank. They were really high paying for some time, however the negative comes from the following:
1. When they drop their rates, they do not bother to tell you. The GOOD internet banks send email notices. They need to get going on this one if they hope to keep a decent reputation. They’ve had multiple rate drops with no notice to me.
2. Not only do they drop rates, but they have also played with the levels. At one point, they had tiers of interest levels, based on account balances. Then they dropped the tiers and made it all one rate. The latest insult was to drop their rate to 2.627% and require $2500 minimum to earn any interest…but now today I see it is back at $1000 to earn anything.
All these changes with NO contact to me as a saver. I HAD substantial amounts with them, but no longer. They’ve sent me several generic emails that they were going to have some webcast (I don’t work for them, I don’t care about their webcasts), so it is clearly easy for them to send notices out if they want to. This seems like they dropped the rate and hoped no one would notice. That is NOT the way to earn business on the internet. Hope they learn and become more open with their actions.
Brad:
Wow, #2 really sucks. Not cool at all.
As for #1, while I can’t say I’ve had every single online account or even a substantial amount, I have had 5 over the last 2 years and in my experience, not that many send you email notices about dropped rates (pretty much seem to be the only one I remember doing it, maybe ING? – it’s been so long, I defer to our ING gurus on this blog).
But my point being that Zions shouldn’t get slammed for #1 necessarily, but rather #2.
HSBC, Emigrant, ING all have sent me emails in the past when the rates changed. These are usually something like “gee, here’s the new rate. Sorry it’s down, but we’re still among the best…” That sort of thing.
I can’t recall if iGo did notices or not…I think UFB does not.
So, most of my account experiences do notify. I hope Clear Sky is still listening and decides to notify too. We shall see (but I won’t be seeing until 4/1/09). 😉
Unbelievable. DSD is down AGAIN today, now at 3.05. I am actively shopping for a new bank now. Based on a quick search, probably Everbank for 3.51 promo rate, and after 3 months, back to shopping. *sigh* Sadly, even at 3.05 DSD remains among the non-promo rate leaders. Emigrant (their parent company) remains at 2.4.
Update: Everbank charges fees for low balance, so they are out of my consideration. Sorry.
I’ve been a conservative saver, preferring brick and mortar banks to the internet. I finally decided to take the online plunge and joined E*Trade.
I chose E*Trade because I called their customer service and thought they were great. The representative didn’t rush me, answered all my questions and even took a suggestion down (I thought they should have a cancel button once you started the sign up process on their website). An added bonus is their rate is better than ING Direct (my second choice).
However, so many people have been praising ING Direct I was wondering if I should sign up with them instead. Is the lower rate worth the security of a well established internet bank? I don’t want to chase interest rates, I want to choose a bank and stick with it for the long haul. So, for everyone out there…long haul savings ING Direct, E*Trade or something else?
One last question, GMAC bank. Any one use it?
TJ: Once again, thanks for the update. I never would have known if you hadn’t mentioned it. I try to go at least once a day or something every other day as I am trying to work, but this was the day I missed so yeah, that sucks. But I’m only disappointed, not pissed or surprised. In light of the ridiculous financial stuff over the last 2 days (and well, the last 6 months), I have already expected that things would go down again. But as I continue to say, DSD STILL continues to stay at the top, even when it goes down! woo hoo
AmericanCliche: I have accounts with both ING and Etrade. ING is by far a trustworthy choice for any option you decide to go with.
I personally use Etrade for savings though because of their rates. I’m more willing to run the savings around…so far so good.
As an overall bank (checking and savings) I would go with ING though. The easy layout is what I like best. The fact that so many use it and praise it is also a nice comfort. I also like the referral program!
If you need a referral to earn $25 in opening a savings or checking feel free to email me your email at [email protected]. 🙂
American Cliche: I strongly recommend ShoreBank. No, their web interface is not pretty to look at like ING’s, but their APY is consistently near the top (currently 3.15%). I started saving online with ING, but switched to ShoreBank in November 2007. ShoreBank always notifies its customers of rate changes via email. It only takes $1 to open an account and there is no minimum required to receive their best rate. Also it’s FDIC insured, so your savings are safe. Like most banks, ACH withdrawals are limited to six per month. Why settle for lower rates just to get a pretty web interface? ShoreBank’s web interface is fully functional. Transfers take the usual 3 days. If you have a social conscience, ShoreBank’s community development and environmental focus make it a good choice.
Some big+odd+bad+good news for Clear Sky customers – and yeah, we were right that they had quickly met their goal for deposits 🙂
http://bankdeals.blogspot.com/2009/02/clear-sky-stops-accepting-new-customers.html
@TJ:
Wow, all I can say is poor Brad (who I believe is the one who recently signed up for CS). Wow, that is so unprecedented and never heard of. Not accepting new customers is one thing (and still not cool), but not even allowing the current ones to make deposits??? Yeah, guaranteed rate of 3.75% for one more month, but on whatever your currently stuck with, which may only be $100! Oh, that sucks. I mean, I supposed they can just close their account and start elsewhere (assuming there’s no penalty for early termination, which SOME banks DO have!). But still, the hassle of having to switch again.
I guess it just goes to show that you can’t just shop by price/rate and relatively “new” banks (or spinoffs of an older bank) can be suspect. My gut feeling was not good and so that’s why I didn’t do it, thought I was VERY tempoted because of the rate.
On a funny, not so funny note, whenever I check my email and see that there is a new post from GRS, I cringe to see what it is, since 3 out of 5 times it’s about the latest drop in a rate, sometimes even mine (DSD)! Perhaps we can go back to talking about Jimmy Carter again or something. lol
@Drea:
LOL…Thanks for your concerns, but I got over 90% of what I wanted to into the account so far, just sitting there earning its 3.75%. I usually start these new accounts with a small sum and then do a quick deposit and withdrawal of small amounts to see how smooth it works. They were fine, so I moved what I wanted pretty quickly. No regrets there.
Regarding this freeze, let me assure you that they ARE handling it with great customer service and a very quick response to a final concern I had this morning.
As the Bank Deals weblog notes, stodgy old banks are quickly learning the power of the internet…and with the market like it is, there is a lot of loose cash looking for a safe place to go. So long as Wells Fargo and others get away with paying the pitiful amounts they do (all the while asking for “bailout money”), internet accounts will flourish. Note, if you will, that Chesapeake Bank reports that it did NOT stand in the government’s taxpayer ripoff/dole line. I remain happy with them. Here is a paragraph from their email:
“We recognize that this decision will raise more than a few eyebrows, particularly at a time when financial institutions are under a great deal of scrutiny. But for more than a century, we have operated through sound banking principles (we did not solicit nor did we receive any of the federal TARP funds, for example). However, given the many millions of dollars that have been deposited over the past few weeks in Clear Sky, we are at capacity for online deposits. We regret that we had to take this action.”
Really, this is completely understandable. They likely doubled their deposits. They can’t just sit on them and pay us the good rates…they have a lot of work to do to put those funds to work for their side of the ledger!
Mark and Savegirl:
Thank you for your suggestions and sharing your experiences with different internet banks. I wish there were more forms like this for investors/savers.
I ended up going with ING and E*Trade. Both these banks offer lower interest rates than many others. However, I looked at ING and E*Trade’s rates over 2008 (as the Fed lowered prime rates). What I discovered is that ING and E*Trade offer competitive and stable rates over time. For me, long term rate stability is more important than being a rate leader. Other banks, especially smaller ones, went from being the rate leader to completely being the rate loser.
I’m still curious about GMAC bank. Has anyone used it? It has a 4 star bank rate rating (bankrate.com) though it’s affiliation with parent company GMAC scared me away.
Finally, Dollar Savings Direct seems to be mentioned a lot on here. What’s the verdict on DSD? I’ve read some posts where people are transferring out while others are transferring in.
ACS:
Still love me some DSD (yes, you have to have $1000), but it made me start saving more which meant more interest and money in the longer run. Even though it has gone down about 3 times in the last 45 days, so has all the other banks (again, the ECONOMY, not the BANK issues) and it remains the front runner each time. I still have yet to figure out why it only has one star on bankrate, but I don’t care and it’s FDIC. No ACH or auto pays, but I’m not trying to ever take out, just save save save.
I’ve had ING, then HSBC, then KeyBank, now DSD. I’m chillin for a while and see.
I heard a lot of good things about ING Direct, but wonder why is its interest rate is so low now compare to other banks…
btw, I just opened an ING account. 🙁
TinCan:
I was wondering the same thing all day 🙁 I had logged in after finally getting the account setup and was going to deposit the rest of my savings when I noticed the rate dropped from 2.20% to 1.85%.
I haven’t noticed drops from any of the other big sites, maybe they are coming? I would think about Dollar Savings Direct, but they’ve had, what, 4 rate drops in a month?
TinCan & Brandon,
I left ING for ShoreBank in November 07, and am very glad that I did. ShoreBank’s APY is currently 3.15%. $1 to open. FDIC insured. Community Development and Environmental focus. Why settle for lower APY just to go with a ‘big name’ bank? Check them out: shorebankdirect.com
Brandon:
You are right that DSD has gone down several times in just the last month, but as I have said previously, it is not necessary fair to call them out in particular for that when it is simply due to the poor economy/market right now, not because they just suck as a bank. And in fact, all banks have dropped left and right, and still DSD is at the top, even at the low 3.05%. Just look at the charts!
DreaDrea is right. Rates have been falling across the board, not just at one particular bank. It’s just that DSD has had a series of decreases in a short time period. I see on DSD’s web site that they are claiming “America’s Highest Rate” at 3.05%. I’m getting 3.15% at ShoreBank, so I’m not sure their claim “America’s Highest Savings Rate” is correct. Oh wait, there’s an asterisk. *Highest Nationally Advertised Annual Percentage Yield for day of deposit to day of withdrawal savings accounts with no fees and $1000 minimum.” So it’s the highest rate with a $1000 minimum. OK. You only need $1 to earn 3.15% a ShoreBank. I’m not trying to prove anyone wrong. I just think we should all have accurate information.
@Mark:
Yes, that’s a bit decieving of DSD to word things like that with an asterik. But I will also say that ShoreBank may be 3.15% today, but I’m certainly not going to run and change things for a .10% difference only to have them drop on my anyway a week later. Unless it’s like .5 or .75% difference, I’m stickin with my DSD for now…
@DreaDrea:
I would do the same thing. One-tenth of one percent isn’t enough to change banks for.
Beware Etrade. They have glitches in their fund transfer programming (severe lack of forethought and not interest in fixing it). I thought I’d use them for both savings and stock purchases until I found this out the hard way. When you transfer $ to them, they will sometimes place extra holds on your account — against funds you’ve already had in your account and to which you should have full access. In the process, your projected balance is adjusted accordingly, which can be downright frightening when you added $ and they project LESS money in the account. You then get the luxury of spending days (business, of course) waiting for them to process your research request and not telling you what happened…after which you get to initiate another to follow up on the first. I won’t waste my time dealing with them again.
Emigrant dropped from 2.40 to 2.05 today
HSBC dropped from 2.45 to 2.25 today
Bank of Internet dropped from 3.00 to 2.80 yesterday
ING dropped from 2.20 to 1.85 yesterday
OMG TJ I can’t believe it! Thanks for the udpate. I saw the post and was expecting to see DSD on your list, but alas, I just checked too and so far so good.
But only a fool would think that they wont follow suit by the end of the day/week. And if/when they do, I will continue to say what I have said to death on this thing that I bet they will continue to remain the front runner (although there is of course the $1000 minimum).
I’m still too nervous and busy to keep up with the HY Checking Accounts so I’ll stick with my DSD for now…
ING’s latest rate is now so low, even my local credit union beats them. Of course maybe my credit union is just slow to update their rates (certainly they have a lot less money at stake) and will be following ING’s lead any day now.
e*trade’s “quick transfer” center is not as it appears. it takes forever for a transfer to be completed!
Do Not Open an account with Shore Bank! Their customer service is AWFUL! Representatives have no idea what is going on and are basically useless. People who do know what they are doing apparently are too busy to answer customers in a timely manner.
DO NOT OPEN AN ACCOUNT WITH THIS SO CALLED BANK.
If you do – well you can’t say you weren’t warned!
H&R Block Bank supposedly dropped from 3.25 to 1.75 on the 17th. In one single day.
Sometimes you win; sometimes you lose. I’m still awfully glad I moved quickly to Clear Sky…and quickly got all my funds transferred into the accounts there. That 3.75% APY is awfully nice to have for another 40 days or so. I sure hope they are able to stick with the top of the pack.
They are still at 3.05% online with 2.50% checking…both with $1 minimums. That is still respectable in these times.
I should point out that I had funds en route to them at the time of their closing the 3.75% promotion, and they did honor it when the en route funds got there after the closing. I can’t say enough positive about every customer service person I’ve spoken with or emailed. Always fast responses, always helpful, and always very friendly folks.
I have to agree with Jah. just reading the agreement with shore bank and the tone of it made me uncomfortable. It was like, We will do whatever we want when we want and we don’t have to notify you. You can withdraw your money anytime unless we find it harmful to us.
What? Most banks at least try to sound respectful to you. Wise up and treat us right or go down………
A lot of people have been praising Clear Sky savings accounts. Does anyone use their checking account?
Thanks a lot for this list. I just feel that the interest may not make it worth using savings anymore as compared to just last year(Where interest was at 5.5%+ with some places!)
OMG everyone! So you may have saw that I posted way up earlier that I had emailed a BUNCH of questions to Broadway Federal Bank (http://www.broadwayfed.com) which has been advertising 4.08% for like a month now! I have just now received an email response and they took the time (at 8pm last night) to answer each and everyone of my questions. This will be a long post, but I’m sure some may appreciate it:
MY EMAIL:
I have read through the FAQ on your website, although that was under the umbrella for “online banking” which doesn’t necessarily cover the 4% anniversary account specifically, but just online banking questions in general, which is other reason I wanted to verify some things by email.
1) I know that rates are subject to change and that your current rate is therefore not guaranteed. But can you tell me what your current rate is as of today, how long it has been at this rate, and what it was before then? If you have had several rates during 2008, please provide them all
1. Our rate for today February 19,2009 is 4.00 % 4.08 APY.
This account originally started in December of 2007 at that time the rate was 5.00 % with and apy of 5.13, it remained at that rate and APY until November 26,2009.
At time the rate was adjusted to what it currently stands at on today.
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2) Your FAQ lists multiple options on how to deposit money to the account. I believe all your branches are in California, so since I am out of state, I would assume the branch and ATM options are not available to me. Mail would seem to take a long time, plus risk losing checks in the mail. So I am looking at the direct deposit (ACH) and phone transfers through Goldphone. By direct deposit/ACH, are you referring to me being able to electronically transfer funds from my checking account (a non Broadway Federal checking account in my own state) to my Anniversary Account and if so, are there any fees for those?
With respect to the phone transfers through Goldphone, is that also an option where I can verbally over the phone (I guess with routing number and account number info provided) request that funds from my own checking account be transferred to you and if so, are any fees for this option? What are the hours of operation for Goldphone?
2. Good phone transfers are only for accounts that are currently held at Broadway Federal Bank.
In regards to the ACH method,we don’t do ACH transfer on request they have to been processed on a frequency i.e monthly, weekly , bi-weekly etc.
Or you can contact the financial institution that you want the funds to come from or go to and give them your account number here along with our routing number (322070145) and have this transfer the funds to or from the account. There is not a charge either way
2b. Gold phone is an automated service that is available 24 hours a day, however ACH transfers cannot be processed through gold phone.
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3) With respect to withdrawals, there appear to be the similar options as with deposits, with some additional ones. In addition to just Broadway Federal ATMs (which again I wouldn’t have access to since I’m out of state), it seems to say that ANY ATM with a VISA symbol will work. So just to confirm, I can go to any ATM in my state and withdraw money from this account? Your website also says “may not be surcharge fee”. Did you meant to put there “may be a surcharge fee”?
If I didn’t want to do an ATM, I see the Goldphone option, but I don’t see any ACH options – so I cannot request an online banking transfer from my Anniversary Account to my personal checking account?
3.Yes you can make withdrawals from any ATM that bears the logos on the card, however you will be subject to a 1.50 fee by Broadway Federal Bank and whatever fee that’s will be accessed by the ATM owner.
There is a link on our website where you can enter your zip code and it will provide you with a list of surcharge free ATM’s in your area.
3b.If you decide to open a free checking account with us these accounts can be linked using Online Banking and you can transfer the funds between those two accounts there is a limit of 6 transfers per month with the Anniversary Savings Account.
The ability to link and transfer monies to other account outside Broadway Federal Bank is not available on our site.
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4) Assuming the answer to number 2 and/or 3 above is that I can in fact move monies between the Anniversary Account and my personal checking account, approximately how many business days does it take to transfer monies from my checking account to your account, and vice versa? Does it differ depending on whether it is ACH or Goldphone? Assuming it takes several days to officially “post” or be “available” for use (like other similar online banks), is it true that sometime prior to that actual date, that once the money is in process of being deposited (even if not technically available), that it is earning interest?
4.This option is only available if the funds are being transferred on a frequency i.e monthly, weekly , bi-weekly etc.
If this option is selected you will generally receive credit within 2 business days. The ACH option is not available through gold phone.
Well if we place a request on today we will receive our credit on tomorrow even if the other account has not been debited.
Those funds are placed on hold for 5 days when we ininate the transfer.
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5) If my balance ever goes below $1000, what is the lower interest rate? And is that only for that month? For example, if I go below $1000 in Feb, but am back up to $5000 in March, do I kick back in to the 4%? Are there any fees associated with a balance under $1000?
5. If the balance fall below 1K your rate will be .40, this is only when the balance is below the 1k. If the balance goes 1k or more the rate is automatically adjusted to the 4.00% If the balance fall below 1K there is a 10.00 fee.
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6) Your FAQ website says that you do NOT run a credit report, only ChexSystems. However, in the terms agreement during the first page of the application process says “we may obtain a report from a consumer-reporting agency” and in fact, I heard from a customer who did in fact go through the application process successfully that in addition to Chex, your bank did a HARD PULL on their credit report. Please advise as to the correct information here.
6. No only chexsystem.
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7) I see from your website that you offer Bill Pay, although that appears to be for your checking accounts only. I currently have some of my bills paid by automatic debit from the current online savings account I have with another bank. First of all, do you allow such transactions from this type of account and if so, is there is a limit per month or any limits/restrictions on the amount of money withdrawn/paid out at one time (on one day) and is there any cost for each such transaction? Some banks only charge a fee if you are specifically asking the bank to initiate the ACH or the pull, but in my case, I just have my creditor/Lender make the request so they are really initiating the ACH from you.
7.Bill pay service is not available with the Anniversary Savings Account. There are 6 transfers you can make on this account per month either internally or externally.
There is not a limit on the amount that can be transferred per day however,
With the ATM card you can only take 300.00 a day in cash from any ATM, The fees associated with these withdrawal are given in #3. There are no fees associated with the ACH Transfers.
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8) Are there any penalties for closing the account at any time?
8.There are no penalties associated with account closing.
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9) The terms agreement language during the application process states that “There may be monthly or transaction fees for accessing your account(s) through the Internet as referenced in our current fee schedule. ” I could not find the current fee schedule online, but is this saying that it cost money to use your online banking? If so, how much?
9. There are no fees associated with using the online banking system at this time in the future if fees are introduced you will be notified in advance.
Thank you again for clicking with Broadway Federal Bank
Latorya Mitchell
Online Banking Center
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-DreaDrea
@ jah + slipperyzipper
I have two HYS accounts with ShoreBank. On the occasions I have called customer service, the representatives have always been courteous, police, respectful and friendly. My questions were answered promptly and accurately. I’m sorry you had a different experience. I still strongly recommend this bank.
Mark, I did not say they were rude to me personally. I am sure they are very professional. I was commenting on the language in their posted agreement. Did you read it? The tone of it was unsettling to me.
Folks,
I’m so sick of what I’ve lost in my IRA (Vanguard) and then how low the rate has become in ING after rolling the IRA funds over to them! I need to park them somewhere better or just stay and sweat it out…not sure. I also have savings funds that I might as well play the interest rate game with…why not? I just about lost a good portion of sweat equity in a flash when I could have squandered it and enjoyed what I wanted!!! This sucks. This is just as bad as when my ex took me for everything I had in the divorce. Starting from scratch was not fun and now I have to do it again!
Who’s paying top dollar at this time?
Rant off. Obviously new and desperate user.
@sz
Of course I read the terms and conditions before opening an account. Having read terms and conditions for other banks as well, I found nothing out of the ordinary in ShoreBank’s agreement. JD, I believe it would be a disservice to your readers to remove ShoreBank from your listings. Re #1152, Jah’s comments are vague. There is no reference to a specific incident that would cause such a negative reaction. Without the poster siting specifics, it’s difficult to take the comment seriously
@ DOKK:
I can understand your frustrations. If you are talking about IRAs or other money that you won’t need for a while, then I’d suggest you favor CDs instead of these savings accounts. They can all change rates tomorrow and that is their nature. CDs won’t change unless the term expires or the financial institution gets taken over by another bank. Given the current economy and the current rates, I would likely stay at 2 years or less for a term. I do have 5 year stuff, but that is about half over.
If we get to hyper-inflation again, you can always redeem the CD, take the interest penalty, and start a new CD…if the rate difference is worth the penalty.
I’d look to local Credit Unions for their specials and keep an eye on http://bankdeals.blogspot.com/ as they report on all kinds of accounts. This thread is good for money that needs to remain relatively loose, but not long term savings. Hunt and you can find 4% CDs…but they aren’t as easy to find as they used to be.
Good luck!
ps: Be sure your selected bank/credit union has a high rating…3 stars or better. If the FDIC or NCUA takes over the failing institution, your CD can be called and you will be frustrated again as you have to search for a new CD.
DSD is down to 2.65 from 3.05
What is happening in a nutshell is that folks that were in the stick market are selling off and finding money market accounts for the security and principal-maintenance of savings accounts, and that demand is driving the rates down quickly. Not only because banks are finding they can keep pulling in deposits no matter how low they go, but they have to invest that incoming money in increasingly lower-return investments themselves and therefore cannot afford to pay out higher rates.
so – it’s gonna get much worse before it gets better, folks.
@AmericanCliche:
You asked about Clear Sky Checking account. I have one. They do not use ANY paper checks…all free bill-pay, ACH or ATM (electronic activity only).
The reason I opened it (with $1) is that it gives me an ATM/Debit card…that does not come with a savings account only. The accounts are linked. Now I can get at my money ($300/day limit) by a local ATM. I can leave all “loose” money in my savings account and then go get my pocket money as I need it. I tend to get about $200 at an ATM for pocket money…and then go back to the ATM whenever it gets low. That much cash lasts me quite a while, as I try to use my rebate AMEX or VISA for most purchases. Anyway, they will refund up to $20 a month in ATM fees. The checking did drop from 2.5% to 2.25% Yesterday, but only my one lonely dollar is affected.
@TJ:
Yup, I agree. It’s still headed downward. With all the tinkering going on in the economy, FDIC and NCUA are the only safe places for our funds…and banks are getting flooded with cash. Supply and demand. Getting uglier daily.
DOKK:
Welcome to the savings bunch!
Check out my posts at 466, 576, 984 with the main links that have the going rates for tons of banks (usually updated almost daily).
But that being said, as also stated ad nauseaum on this blog is that in this very very very very very very very very volatile market right now (especially what we’ve seen over the last month and days alone), there is really no telling which bank is the “best” to park your money at right now or how has the best rate because it keeps changing like every day!
TJ definitely is correct that CDs are like the only best bet right now. The only drawbacks of course or slightly lower rates, cant touch your money for a somewhat long time without penalty for early withdrawal, and the usual up front deposit you have to open it with.
TJ:
What do you think about the whole broadwayfederal thing, in light of my recent posts and them still advertising 4% on their site? And it’s not even a hoop jumping high yield account either. I know I have continued to tell people it’s not worth rate chasing right now especially for .1 or even .5, but now that DSD is down again, this would almost be a 1.5 jump! And even if broadwayfed then went down, it couldn’t be any worse than the 2.65 I’m now getting with DSD.
Just wondered what you thought, since you are another fellow DSD’er on here that I know about!
Thanks for the support peeps. I recently rec’d. a flyer from USAA guaranteeing 5% in a rollover IRA CD. I went to the website today and no such deal now. It’s at 3.5% if I leave it for 7 years. I’m going to look into a 2 year CD at my local credit union. Good info here folks!
I’m now considering just getting a CD because I’m so sick of all this nonsense with the daily savings account rates!
So then the question becomes where should I get a CD? Looking at the usual comparison charts on bankrate and bankaholic, it looks like the top rate right now is 3.9% with Flagstar (but it’s for 5 years), and if that’s way too long, then the top rate is DollarSavingsDirect 3.0% (16 mon), GMAC 2.9% (1 year) and GMAC 2.6% (6 mon).
Has anyone found anything different/higher??
Look locally at your credit unions, Drea. They are generally better than the nationwide stuff you find online. Bank Deals is very good at keeping track of CDs. Here is where I’m putting my Roth IRAs (that are currently sitting temporarily at Clear Sky).
http://bankdeals.blogspot.com/2009/01/350-11-month-cd-at-la-financial-credit.html
This isn’t anything particularly special, but it is local to me…and it gives you a better idea as to what rates are out there. 3.5% for 11 months is good to me these days. I would not give anyone my money for more than 24 months for that rate, and 3% plus is not that hard to find in a CD (this week).
Would it be useful if I tried to compile a list of current CD rates, just as I compiled this savings account list two years ago?
@JD – sounds great! Did you even have to ask?!
J.D.–
I’d love to see a list current of CD rates.
Also curious to know if anyone here has tried moneyaisle dot com. (I heard a radio ad for it on Friday and thought, why didn’t I think of that?) I’m not spamming for it, just genuinely curious to know how well it works.
I tried Money Aisle, using 2 different states and two different terms. Very poor interest rates. Not a worthwhile expenditure of CD search time. Best 18 month I found was 2.75%…best 5 year was 3.51% (for $12,000).
@JD. Great idea. When/if you do, please include whether the CD can be held as an IRA…and whether you can open it via the internet/mail…vs a trip to an office across the country…
DSD dropped to 2.65%!!!!!
Thank-god I have completed the process of signing up at a local fed union at 6.01%APY (1 autopay, e-statements, 12 check card transactions per month)
Now I just gotta start moving all my money out of my various accounts, lol.
JD: I am just now noticing that our comments started over at 1 again and older ones are by hyperlink. Kudos to that idea as it always irked me to have to scroll through so much stuff to get to the latest comment!
By the way, a CD chart would be great, but just so everyone knows, they are already available on the same sites I’ve/we’ve been referring to (bankrate and bankaholic) which are updated every couple days and therefore pretty accurate.
@Jim: That’s cool about your high rate with the credit union…many of us simply don’t have those available in our state and/or meet their special eligibility requirement of association affiliation or location, although there are some 4.0-5.0% high yield checking accounts available to me, if I an up for the transaction requirements…still debating that one.
PS: TJ already told us about the recent DSD drop back in comment #14 above on Saturday.
http://www.emigrantdirect.com savings account currently 2.5%, 1$ minimum also opened another bank called dollarsavingsdirect.com currently 2.65% with minimum $1000. Both of them allow you to transfer money to your checking account with in a day, I am very impressed.
@DreDrea
Hm. The comment pagination thing was something I had planned to implement, but not yet. And I didn’t mean for the comments to be trimmed down this much. I’ll have to see what I can do to find a happy medium.
Okay, I found the setting. I’ve bumped comments per page to 200. Let me know if that still seems like too much. I know that for this page, 50 would probably work, but there are many ongoing discussions that reach 100+ comments on the blog, and I don’t want to force people to page through to comments too often.
JD: Good point and thanks for the readjustments.
PS: I just saw this on a random google search. I’m certainly not considering it or promoting it, but kind half tempting, eh folks?!! Yes, I know, not FDIC insured, hence the reason not to do it…but that rate, ooooooo!
http://www.capitalbankmexico.com/cdrates.html
@Drea:
Just in case someone actually wants to jump on that, the entire country is at war with the drug cartel…and I wouldn’t put $10 in a Mexican bank these days. The political landscape is far too volatile down there these days. Safer putting money in an Iraqi bank (Warka Bank) and similar returns…
@Brad, ok, cool, what are the links to some Iraqi banks?!! kinda serious…
http://www.warka-bank.com/inner.php?type=0&id=5
It’s at the bottom of the page. But look at the rates for USD. Not so similar returns.
Convert your USD to IQD if you are going to invest there. If you are gonna engage in high-risk CDs outside the country, their 1 yr CD is 10%…if you have converted. The 5% rate for a 1 yr CD in USD isn’t shabby these days. All of this is just outside of my risk tolerance, however. It was just an example. If I were serious, I’d probably go with a safe country like Australia:
4.2% for a 3 month CD; 4.5% for 3 yrs at Commonwealth Bank Group.
Here is a helpful link for rates around the world:
http://www.financialcenter.com/cd-rates/
United Federal Credit Union has an “interest plus checking” account with a rate of 6.01% through at least 2010. Is it too good to be true?
Also, it is insured with —“Your savings are insured to at least $500,000; a combination of $250,000 provided by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), a U.S. federal government agency, and $250,000 by Excess Share Insurance (ESI), a private deposit insurance company.” Is it safe?
Hello, folks! Just wanted to put in my 3.75% worth. LOL! I am no banking guru, and it was just by dumb luck that I went online looking for a high yield savings account when I did. At the time, the two top contenders were Clear Sky and Bank of Internet USA. I opened an account at both. In short, Clear Sky has been very easy to work with. I sent an e-mail on Sunday at 17:30 expecting a response the next day – got a response 1/2 hour later! I have been impressed with every aspect of dealing with them. Bank of Internet USA, on the other hand, has been so-so on responses – not bad, not good – but as someone pointed out earlier, dealing with them by snail mail for deposits has proven to be ridiculous for an internet-based operation. I will likely set up an ACH link from Clear Sky to Bank of Internet, so I can withdraw all funds and focus my efforts on Clear Sky. I can’t say they are the greatest thing since sliced bread, but they’ve made a believer out of me!
I don’t have an answer yet on what to do with my DSD account, other than I’m actively looking for a replacement and will move them when i find that replacement
In the meantime, I found a frequently updated list of nationally available liquid savings accounts at FatWallet, and it is sorted by APY descending. It is a labor of love rather than a commercial venture – the institutions are not paying to be on the list
You’ll note DSD has almost fallen out of the top 20, holding on to 17th by .05%
so: http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/finance/783099/?start=1
That first post is a “summary” of user-provided info, and there are tons of posts after that discussing rate changes, which are then used to update the summary, etc.
The summary post handily includes links to the bank websites so you can quickly confirm the rates haven’t changed since the last update, which you should definitely do given how quickly the race to the bottom has gone of late.
Enjoy.
FNBO dropped to 2.4 today
I see Clear Sky is STILL closed to new accounts today. What a crazy world…a bank has too much money and can’t take in any more….
Just got my Clear Sky monthly statement…put a smile on my face. Makes it clear that guaranteed rates are something to RUN and grab whenever they come up these days (from FDIC/NCUA insured places).
I hope they figure out where to loan all they took in so they can reopen before 4/1. If they don’t, the rate likely won’t look too pretty at that time.
I believe everyone is referring to Clear Sky a branch of the Chesapeake Bank.
On the Clear Sky site today (2/25/2009)
the on-line saving rate is 3.01 % with an APY of 3.05 %. In the later park of 2008 invested in an on-line account with Venture Bank offering 3.6 %, today they offer 2.48 %.
Well, try not to gloat too much, Brad 🙂 Hehe. Now, let’s see if we can’t figure out what you’re gonna do come 4/1 — heck, for the rest of us poor b@st@rds, it is already 4/1 🙂
I noticed that Broadway Federal Bank has a 4.08% APY on savings accounts. Does anyone know anything about them?
Never mind – it was too good to be true. Found the following info for Broadway Federal (from Bank Deals)
“I have an account with them. They did a HARD pull and Chexsystems on me few months ago. Customer service is very bad. You must mail picture ID and prove residence. ACH is very slow and they put random days of hold on the money deposited, from 2-6 days.
If it wasn’t for the high interest rate, I would never open anything with them. When the limit of deposit is reached, for sure the rate will go down by at least 2% points.”
Another reader provided the following account details:
* It is a tiered account. Balances under $1,000 earn an APY of 0.40%.
* There is a monthly service fee of $10 if the balance falls below $1,000 any day of the month.
Do folks never read the threads before posting a question?
See Post #158 for everything you could possible want to know about Broadway…..
Hi all;
I tried to read everything you guys and gals wrote but it was just tooooooo much reading for my simple question:
I have an ING account. They have not anything really to warrant me leaving them, but I figure I need to have my money work for me. My question is, is it worth the extra work and hassle of leaving ING for higher interest?
Thanking you all in advance
@Antoine:
Only you can decide that. Depending on how much you have in savings, if doubling your interest gets you another $10 a month…and you have time to play with it, well, go ahead. I’d open another account because I’m retired and have the time to play. If you have enough to make $200 more a month, certainly move it! ING was the first out there (or near the first), but it’s rates are now in the basement as it must have a large enough customer base that it no longer needs to attract new money. That, and many folks don’t take (or have) the time to move their money…so they let it languish at ING’s terrible 1.85%.
Like I said…up to you, whether it is worth it.
@Brad and Jackie;
Thanks Brad, I was just about to refer Jackie to that very same post about broadway fed (which I authored! thanks for the props), but you beat me to it.
Anyway Jackie, I know that person does say it was a HARD pull, but the customer service told me IN WRITING it is only Chex and NO hard pull. Also, at this point, I am so desperate in trying to find a good rate, I could care less if there is a hard pull on my credit report (since my score is pretty good right now anyway) if it helps me get a nice new account.
Anyway, I’m still debating about joining them, but very seriously considering!
We’ve discussed high yield checking accounts many a time on this blog – nice high rates but you have to do 10-12 debit or credit transactions (depending on the bank) AND estatments AND one direct deposit or ACH per month. Someone recently mentioned AmericaNet which is 5.25% as of today. And while they still require the 10 transactions, they are the first HYC account I have seen that does NOT require a direct deposit or ACH per month! Just in case anyone didn’t know.
http://www.americanetbank.com/indexcontact.html
@DreaDrea and Brad
Thanks for sending me to DreaDrea’s incredibly detailed Broadway Federal Post. I found it extremely helpful!
I don’t think I’ll risk putting my money there, mainly because transferring money in and out sounds like a bit of a hassle.
Right now I’m thinking of going with Shore, but I’ll do a little more research.
Btw – I noticed Regal Financial offers 3.25% APY but w/ a 2,500 min. deposit and the stipulation that “the APY may change after account opening.” Sneaky!
FNBO, you’re breaking my heart. But at least you’re not the cheap floozy that ING is.
@ Brad…
Thank you for your input. It really made sense. I am a full time college student now and about to become a teacher. I am trying to teach myself the “art of saving”. ING at first seemed the place to be because of the high interest but you are right about how now that it has become so dominant that the interest has gone down.
I am going to look at all the banks most of you have posted on here.
Thanks again
@Antoine:
These rates are just like insurance. I check each renewal to see where my best deal is. I’d pay a smidgen more if I got great service from an agent. I’d pay a little more if the cheapest had a political agenda I disagreed with. My feelings about financial institutions are the same.
Zions was a nice, friendly bank when they got into this internet stuff, now they have screwed up my account twice, with the second one leaving me with a negative balance that is sitting there. They initially acknowledged my protest but have now left it alone for a week. Guess it was all too much for them. Don’t think I didn’t take note of Zions on the TARP list as having taken $1.4 BILLION taxpayer dollars.
I am hoping Clear Sky, who has been VERY responsive, VERY friendly, and VERY beneficial financially…will continue in that vein once April 1 gets here. If they don’t, I’ll have to go on the hunt again. For them, it is all about making money for their stockholders. I respect that. For me, it is about making money for me. They need to respect that. Hopefully, this will continue to be a win-win relationship. BUT, no hard feelings if we need to part ways because one side or the other can’t win. Chesapeake was NOT on the TARP list, by the way.
I had a good relationship with ING. Never a problem except when I considered them for a home refi…that department was a bit confused. They just don’t pay me enough to be in business with them right now according to their rate.
As I’ve said before, I usually leave a trail of $10 or less in accounts in case they and I can enter into another win-win situation. I did close my ING account as I had watched long enough to see that they were consistently staying low and more interested in buying new customers with those $25/$10 referral deals than paying their loyal customers whatever money they had set aside to do that. Just more of my 2 cents….
We’re gonna have to stop referring to previous comments by number and instead by date and time going forward…..
Also….Clear Sky down to 2.85
@TJ:
Hadn’t noticed that. You are right….
@JD:
Do you really think this is better? I didn’t have a problem running the slider down on the right side of the window…to get to the most recent post. This is actually more cumbersome, as when I read comment #1 here, I had to go to the link to see exactly which “pearl of wisdom” Antoine was referring to… This “thread” is more like a blog unto itself…LOL.
I agree with Brad. For the novice, it could seem time consuming and cumbersome. But for anyone who knows you can just do “CTRL F” for find and then type in whatever you want: ING, or DSD, or DreaDrea (that’s me!) and it brings you right there and then keep hitting next to continue to the next ones.
On a separate note, it would seem that while any day can be a rate drop day, things certainly seem to really happen at the beginning of a month. I am strongly considering watching like a hawk as to what goes down on Monday/Tuesday and if DSD is one of them, while I predict it will still be one of the front runners over all amongst regular online savings accounts, I may take that as my cue to make the switch to either a HY checking account, a fixed CD, or maybe that broadway fed if it’s still 4%. I also wanted to wait out the month on my DSD before pulling my monies out, because the way I read the terms, it says if your minimum goes belong $1000 at any time during the month, then you get the way lower rate for the ENTIRE month. So I would not be surprised that even though it says I’ve currently racked up say $10 in interest over this month, if I were to pull my money out today, just my luck they would count that as still effective for February and then give me the .1% or whatever it is and so when it’s time to post my $10 I thought I had, it will only be like a $1 or something. Probably thinking this too much through, but I figured if I just waited until officially March 1, I’d feel better.
I finally beat TJ to the punch.
Broadway federal just dropped today to 3.5% everyone!
As I mentioned in my last email, end of month/beginning of a new month seems to be the highest time for changes/drops, so I’m sure a lot of otherwise will drop soon too. =(
Clear sky is kinda funny. They dropped the 3.75% to 3.05%…if they were to accept new customers, which they aren’t. Now they have again dropped the posted rate to 2.85%…again, if they were accepting new customers, which they aren’t.
I confess to not really understanding what they are doing there. I thought when they went to 2.85%, that the “Apply” link would stop sending you to the page that says:
“Due to an overwhelming response to Clear Sky Banking, we are no longer accepting applications. Our capacity for any more deposits has been reached. We anticipate this to be a short-term situation and we look forward to serving you in the near future.” …but it doesn’t. They still aren’t ready for more money. LOL.
Just kinda funny… I suppose they are trying to break it to us gently once April 1 gets here…instead of showing a fall from 3.75%….
Hey Brad, yeah that is kinda funny but I think you hit the nail on the head and that come 4/1, the rate will in fact be 2.85% (or whatever it has further decreased to at that point), but what a steal that they are in fact honoring the 90-day 3.75%. Good for you!
Also, if you really are so curious, and people have been raving so much about their friendliness, great customer serivce, etc., you should just call and ask. Perhaps they can’t answer a question like that on the phone, but they may surprise you, you never know
I think they probably still read our comments here. I just wanted to say that I thought it funny…and to save others from going there to click on the “apply” link…as they aren’t ready for ya yet!
I don’t need to bug them. I’m sure they are just trying to let their website “keep pace” with the rates…if they were ready for more money…
If this is an example as to where they will be…with iGo at 2.10% and Emigrant at 2.05%…I like it!
Clear Sky:
Dormant Account $10.00 per month
Close out account within 90 days of opening $25.00
http://www.chesbank.com/disclosures/schedule_fees.pdf
I have an ING account. Was doing some research and I was looking at other banks, since ING’s rates have gone down, ClearSky seemed interesting until I found SmartyPig.
The savings account is setup be more social and interactive format. Each account is opened with goals in mind. You can make your goals private or public (with options like having your saving account info on your Facebook, and having your friends give you advice)
SmartyPig’s APY is at 3.25%. You only need $25 to open and account.
I also found this website if anyone is interested:
http://www.bestcashcow.com/cash_equivalents/savings.html
I’d be hesitant. SmartyPig is NOT a bank. It “partners” with West Bank. There seems to be quite a bit of transfer delay built in, and I’d suspect that may be where SmartyPig is earning it’s money. So if it somehow has access to your money en route in or out of your account, I see a potential for a problem.
SmartyPig CLEARLY says it is PARTNERING with West Bank…not “a Division of.” West Bank does have a 3 star rating.
Might be good…but I’ll wait before thinking about them. SmartyPig has to be getting something out of this…since it isn’t the bank..and the bank does not offer these “high” rates.
Antoine,
Thanks for your info on this. Everything helps at this time. As Brad states, though, I’d be hesitant too. When I read their blurb in FAQ about how safe it is, they talked about anti virus and the quality of McAfee et cetera. They know the real question is, “are you guys FDIC insured or not?”! THEN they say they are partnered with a bank that is FDIC insured…but hey, we want to know about ‘them’, not their partners. Let’s be careful! Keep up the info though…very much appreciated.
As of today (three phone calls) GMAC does not have any fees (period) for their accounts unless you have more than 6 transactions in a month. Their website is really user-friendly, their phone support is fast and thorough and their rates seem great so I think they’re getting my tax refund this year. Thanks for sharing your research.
Thanks for this post – it was very helpful. After checking this post and bankrate.com, I went with GMAC, because it seemed they had a consistently higher rate than a lot of others. However, I’m a student with little credit history, and my credit score didn’t meet the requirement so I was denied. While I appreciate that banks want to to secure my identity, its also frustrating that, just because I’ve chosen not to have a credit card until now, I’m not able to get a high-yield savings account. I’ve applied for a credit card, but in the meantime, do you know of any banks that are safe, yet don’t do a credit check?
Is there a specific reason why you chose ING savings vs. the higher-yield FNBO? If so, please let us know! Thanks so much.
@Ashley
At the time I chose my account, I wasn’t aware of FNBO. It’s only recently that they’ve been added to this list. I plan to look at them later this year (probably in May).
DSD down to 2.50
FNBO down to 2.40
JD’s own savings at ING Direct just dropped to 1.65 as well
So what savings are still above 3%? I think reward checking is looking more and more attractive all the time, at 5% and above.
Discouraged to see my ING went down from 1.85% 2 weeks ago to 1.65% now. Lower and lower it goes. I’m looking at FNBO (2.4%) or HSBC (2.25%) but am wondering if they’re also just going to sink their rate…trying to figure out if it’s worth it or not. Anyone got a POV on that? If you had $18K in savings, would you think it worth it to seek out better rates? At that amount, is it worth hopping around? Thanks.
Well TJ (and all), I finally did it. I just transferred my money out of DSD, ironically even before the recent drop today – I simply waited until my February interest had posted over the weekened, and then initiated my withdrawal. AND BY THE WAY…while it does seem to take forever for DEPOSITS to fully take effect (although remember that interest is at least accuring during that time), I made this withdrawal on Saturday, not even a bank day, and the money posted to my checking account last night at midnight in the “avaiable” column, so it basically took just 1 business day to get my money!
Anyway, as for where I will move the money too, sadly I have just spend it all (had some unexpected bills come up, plus paid off TWO whole credit cards from my debt managament program – woo hoo!), actually, that’s not sad at all and awesome.
but I am in fact now back to $0 savings and looking for a new back. But I earned a nice $18 in interest with DSD just by having it since mid January – not bad, even with all the drops since then!
hmmm, now a CD, HY yield checking, or the current highest savings account…hmmm…..
@SJ & Cory
ShoreBank’s APY is still 3.15%. That’s nearly double what you’re earning at ING. Their rates are consistently near the top. No rate decrease since 1/22/09. $1 to open. No minimum for 3.15% rate. I opened my account with them in November 2007 and have been very satisfied overall. I opened a second account at ShoreBank a few weeks ago. Cory, if I had $18K in savings, you bet I would seek out better rates! I’d do it today.
Anyone checked out Redneck bank???? Goofy name…apparently Bank of the Witchitas???? From FatWallet….
I’m thinking come April 1, I can expect about a 50% cut in my interest…..
Did anyone else notice that the ING ticker that shows how much interest they have paid to account holders has disappeared? Maybe because these days it doesn’t see much action … :-/
I’m disappointed that Etrade has lowered their rate (again) to 1.95 APY. Oh well I guess, considering that the other banks all are lowering their rates too. Think I’ll look into the local credit union.
How often is it smart to open/close and and open another savings account? What are the pros/cons?
@ MattA
Not ALL the other banks are lowering rates. ShoreBank last lowered its rates on 1/22/09 and is still at 3.15%.
OK, so all the savings rates are going below 3%, for the most part.
Who here is doing the rewards checking? I am looking into West Bank… they have 5% return with a maximum of $50K, with the usual requirements (debit trans/ach/online banking).
I have not seen an appreciable downturn on the Rewards Checking interest rates, yet… should we see these go down, like ING, DSD, etc?
Are we better off going hi-yield CD at this point?
Keep up the good work people.
I am giving Shorebank a try, and will report back. Damn you DSD.
@ TJ Jackson: Shorebank’s “safe and sound” rating is two stars. Just an FYI. Let us know how it goes. I’m considering switching there as well.
I’m a little concerned about ShoreBank and Broadway… They seem to both be focused on “Community Reinvestment” in impoverished areas (Chicago & Detroit). Seems to me to be higher risk banks…but paying higher interest. Just curious… We all know where the Community Reinvestment Act has put banks recently…
I’m wondering at what point I will just put the cash in a mattress or bury it. Certainly I would do that at 0.5%…and I’m not yet sure where my breakpoint is going to be. This economic stuff is starting to really, really scare me.
Has anyone ever tried Everbank? I’ve heard a lot of good things about them, but wanted to hear firsthand.
@ Nicholas:
Here is something I posted way back last year that may help you out:
This provides an “Interest Rate Chaser Calculator” in helping you decide whether it is worth moving your money to a new bank for just a minimal difference in rate, given the lost days of interest, instability of the new rate requiring yet another move, etc.:
http://www.mymoneyblog.com/archives/2006/10/the-ultimate-interest-rate-chaser-calculator.html
Wow. As a smaller savings holder one (that would be me) has to ask at what point it becomes worthwhile to move from one ibank to another. I’m seriously considering the move but the frustration for cents on the dollar is almost as unpleasant as seeing the rates drop. I’ve left my money with ING for the past two years and am now simply too scared to look at the interest rate drops anymore. However, considering the fact that seeking a higher rate is what led me here to you guys in the first place it only seems obvious that I’ve had it. I am now going to research what the highest CD returns are. It really SUCKS being poor. Any CD advice offered is much appreciated, people.
Thanks
JD:
Did you ever reach a consensus/decision about rethinking the multiple page comment arrangement? Someone else mentioned that not only can we no longer refer back to a comment number (since the old ones are gone and because there are now tons of #1s, tons of #2s, etc.), but it’s just annoying to have to go back page by page to find stuff. I thought it was only like spread over a couple pages, but found it was tons when I just recently tried to go back and reference one of my comments from like 6 months ago.
For those who were adverse to or otherwise bogged down by having such a super long page with everything altogether, I had indicated that with a simple CNTL F, you can do a “search and find” whatever topic or word you want to quickly jump to comments in question, so a very long page should be irrelevant and that should not be the only reason to break it up into several.
If anything, perhaps you can hve more comments per page and/or keep the original numbers (not have a new #1…) on each page.
Just my 2 cents, which is what my savings basically amounts to at this point! =(
Manhattan Jim:
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/rate/high_ratehome.asp?params=US,416&product=15
OR
http://cdrates.bankaholic.com/index.php?product=15&sort=2&go_button=Go
You can keep choosing tons of options (6 mon, 1 yr, 2 yr, 18 mon, etc.). Very neat.
These same websites have savings account lists too.
Here’s yet another handy website everyone!
http://www.dinkytown.net/java/CompareSavings.html
For all of you wondering why you should move – it’s to keep banks competitive. If ING (for example) loses a bunch of deposits, and it is clear that the reason is they lowered the rates too much, this will crrate pressure on them to raise the rates to recapture some of that lost deposit money. If on the other hand folks remain complacent, the banks will keep lowering rates without any reason to stop…..we all need to move our money to the high rate payers to get the low rate payers to keep their rates competitive
Another way to look at this: the 3.15 that Shorebank and a few others pay is roughly DOUBLE what players like ING are paying at the moment. DOUBLE. Meaning you are earning HALF what you could – or rather, from my point of view, SHOULD – be earning right now.
Those of you concerned about Shorebank’s rating should take a look at America Net’s 3.10 return instead: http://americanetbank.com. Very good financial rating.
@ Brad
With due respect, please explain: “We all know where the Community Reinvestment Act has put banks recently…” I’m not clear on what it is that we “all know”, and I’m trying to understand your concern. I’m no expert, but I have done some reading on the subject and learned that basically, empirical data suggests that subprime excesses came mainly from institutions not regulated by the CRA.
However flawed the CRA is perceived to be, it’s far better than the practice of redlining which exacerbated the impoverishment in areas of Chicago and Detroit making the CRA necessary.
Perhaps ShoreBank’s, Broadway’s (and possibly others) mission of providing community development and environmental loans is helping them to pay a decent rate on savings. Socially conscious savers may prefer to keep their money in institutions such as these.
In any case, the accounts are FDIC insured.
@Mark
ShoreBank = 2 stars
Broadway = 1 star
Enough for me to hesitate. As far as socially motivated savings, I’d participate in that is some communities…like in AZ or the midwest, but not where these banks are located.
You are certainly free to interpret the CRA as you like. I’ll continue to look at it as one of the major causes of the banking collapse. No, I don’t expect your agreement.
Thanks for the info Drea. Further, I think TJ is on to something. We should minimally be calling our respective institutions (ESPECIALLY ING as it’s mine )to express concern over plummeting rates and to advise we see higher rates at other banks and are considering a move. My experience with ING during “fatter” times was that they were non-chalante. I bet that’s changed now. I plan to ring them this morning. I’ll share with you this afternoon.
@Drea
Yeah, I agree. The “paging” comments is probably more trouble than it’s worth. I’ll expand everything back to the way it was. If people have problems with this, please let me know!
@Manhattan Jim & TJ
I second your comments. I started my online banking with ING, when they were at 2.2%…before the climb. Then when Emigrant stepped up higher, I contacted ING a couple times by email, politely asking them if they were planning on raising their interest rate to be competitive. Non-chalante is a good description of their response. They simply said they take a lot of things into consideration when setting their rate. They never did meet Emigrant’s rates, instead they put out their customer-collection efforts into $10/$25 rewards.
There is so much money looking for a safe place to hide in these times, that without massive rate-chasing, we are doomed to lower and lower rates until inflation kicks in. Chesapeake (ClearSky) is our classic example of a bank that had no idea what kind of an avalanche of money they would get. They are STILL not wanting any new customers…incredible.
So move, move, move if your chosen bank isn’t responsive. These aren’t like CDs where there is a penalty involved…and leaving minimum balances as you go, in case the bank raises rates and wants you back, doesn’t reflect bad on your credit (not talking about opening…just not closing).
Emigrant down to 2.00 from 2.05. The silver lining is that even though the dropped, they’re trying not to drop below that “psychologically important” 2.0 level.
The main problem now is the gov’t is basically strong-arming banks into offering artifically low mortgage interest rates (4.5%) which is forcing banks to cut savings rates. Gov’t sees this as win-win since it gives more incentive to people not to save, but to spend, which they hope will save the economy.
Unfortunately we’ve been down this road before just a few years ago when savings rates bottomed out around 1%. I think now is the time to make a stand, and if your bank drops rates below 2%, then transfer your money to a short term treasury bill. If everyone who has money in banks did this, suddenly the banks would be drained of a whole lot of money, and be forced to raise rates back above 2%.
Now it’s true that treasury rates suck more than bank rates, but the whole idea here is to take our money away from banks in order to force them to raise rates back to some minimum level, and if that means I need to suffer low treasury rates, so be it. After all, the banks will continue to reduce rates so that sooner or later they will be comparable to treasuries, so why die the slow death. Really, if we could get people motivated to do this, it would work.
HSBC down to 1.85 from 2.25
Oddly, Clear Sky (which is still not taking new deposits) is up from 2.85 to 3.05. If they aren’t taking new deposits, why raise rates? Weird.
Do we need to revise the title of this page to “Which Online Mediocre-Yield Savings Account is Best?”
Looks like Reward Checkings are still holding in the 5% range.
SJ
It’s exactly why I come here to read this, SJ.
@1245 JD to my 1238
YAHOO!!!!!!! Thanks JD and I do hope that everyone agrees, especially after reviewing my “case” for it!
take care…
JD – I’m giving up on ING. While I love the website interface, and the sub-accounts feature, the interest rate reductions are killing me. I’ve been watching FNBO for a few weeks now, and the frequency and expediency of their rate reductions is lower than ING. I opened a FNBO account this morning, pulling my funds directly from ING.
DSD dropped to 2.25 today
and yes, I was wrong, thinking that they’d remain a rate leader as the overall market dropped. wrong wrong wrong wrong. so very very wrong.
Anyone know how I can sue them for advertising “america’s highest rate”? I’m thinking something more along the lines of “america’s fastest dropping rate” would be far closer to the truth
Rumor has it FNBO will drop their rate soon, too, Phil.
Remember: All of these rate drops have more to do with the economy. When things improve, the rates will improve. I’m willing to stick it out with ING Direct because I like the features.
Does anyone know of another bank that has a similar multiple accounts feature to ING? I like being able to manage everything from one screen.
While I took out everything from my ING savings (except ten bucks to keep it open), and it’s wallowing in Wells Fargo checking at this time, I did leave my ING IRA in there since I recently rolled it over from Vanguard (REIT)! I’m considering a USAA CD for the IRA and I was reading here about all the places to put my savings into until I realized that my 2009 quarterly estimated tax payments are due soon, and I have to pay off the Sears washer and dryer that I got for 6 months no interest no payments, and oh yeah, that credit card advance that I used to purchase a car that’s due soon (no interest for one year but jumps to 21% if I don’t pay off! So that means that I’ll just have to leave it all in checking and rebuild later. My point is: don’t move your money even if it’s getting anemic rates until you know where it’s gonna be parked. I prematurely took mine out then procrastinated and lost some interest these past few weeks.
@JD:
Both Zions Bank (who I am not recommending) and ClearSky (who I do recommend whenever it reopens) allow for multiple savings accounts. I have three in each…mine, hers and ours. I do not know if there is a limit…three is all I needed. I have not tried to open more than one in the other places I’ve had accounts…but those were easy to open.
I think we all see the value of guaranteed rates…even if for just a couple months. Wish I knew where the bottom of the rate slide will be.
anyone still considering broadwayfederal?
Did drop from that awesome 4% down to 3.5% but been therefore awhile and still much higher than pretty much all of them right?
And remember my previous detailed post that gives the full 411 on all the account features, perks, and restrictions/rules.
Me, I finally took all my money out of DSD but had to end up using it to pay off a couple credit cares in full which was awesome so I’m back to zero savings but cut my debt ALOT, which is a different type of success.
I’m hoping that by the time I have some actual money again to even both depositing, things will have someone bottomed out or be a little more clear as to where I should go…
Emigrant, DSD, FNBO, and HSBC all allow for multiple accounts as well as joint ownership and can be viewed on one screen. Easy to set up additional accts on DSD and Emigrant (who use the exact same web interface), but very hard to do so on HSBC and FNBO. Do not take any of this as me recommending any of these 4.
FYI… Provident (which recently merged with M&T) has now cut it’s rate from 2.8% to 2.1%. Over the past 6 months Provident consistently stayed higher than ING, HSBC and others, but I’m taking this announcement to mean that M&T will not keep this going. At this point I’m definitely looking for other options.
Currently, it looks like GMAC has the best rate? 2.65% and only $1 to open (although, I’d say that’s a bit deceiving since it looks like you also need to have $500 minimim to avoid $7 monthly service charges), but $500 is not so bad.
But that being said, the rate could (and probably fricken will!) drop tomorrow or this week, as the market continues to spiral downward, so there’s just no telling I guess. But I suppose my point is that GMAC has seemed to be in the front runnings over the last couple months? Do others agree or have another favorite that has stayed amongst the highest, even as it has gone down with it’s neighbors?
Still tempted about Broadway federal!…
http://www.broadwayfed.com/ Hanging strong at 3.5% for now. $1000 min though, but that’s ok with me.
@ DreaDrea
To answer your question, ShoreBank has consistently been among the highest rate payers. Their rate is currently 3.15%, the last drop being on 1/22/09. $1 to open, no minimum, no fees for low balance, 6 ACH withdrawals per month, 3-4 day transfer time. I’ve had an account there since November 2007 (when the rate was 5.75% (ah the good old days) and just opened another in February 2009. Same userID and password to access both accounts on one screen. See shorebankdirect.com for details. It has been pointed out that ShoreBank only got 2 stars on Bankrate. However it is FDIC insured.
I have mentioned ShoreBank on here several times. I was hesitant to answer your question, because I didn’t want to sound like a ShoreBank cheerleader, but decided I should share my experience. I hope it’s of use.
@ Mark: nope, nothing wrong with a male cheerleader! lol
Thanks for the info.
Yeah, I do remember the shorebank posts now that you point it out, I just didn’t remember who it was. I also tend to over look stuff that doesn’t make it onto the main websites I search for the current rates (bankrate and bankaholic) but I forgot that someone said one time that not all banks advertise there, which I continue to think is strange because how else will people find out about their good rates plus they can afford it, even though the banks are “poorer” then they once were, I’m sure whatever the fee is to advertise on those lists must pale in comparison to the amount of business they would attract and generate.
Anyway, thanks and I think I just may do shorebank. Even though there’s no minimum, it takes money to make money so I’m going to wait until I have at least a couple hundred dollars, if not more, to deposit which will probably take 1-2 more paychecks and hopefully by then, the bank savings rates will have all moved again a handful of times so that I can maybe better see who is the front runner at that time…
I know this site is supposed to talk up favorite online savings accounts, but so many people here seem oblivious to safety. For instance, so much previous banter about Emigrant and DollarSavings Direct (same bank), yet read the latest news about them: http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20090301/FREE/303019961
Sure, they are FDIC insured if they go belly-up, but do you really want to fool around with one star banks in the first place? And there are more and more of them! Please, readers, before putting savings anywhere, consult with bankrate.com or bauerfinancial.com first.
Terri:
Thanks for your post and concerns. Overall, you are definitely right and if anything, I would not advise going with any non-FDIC banks or very very brand new banks even if FDIC. But as for DSD and their unfortunate one-star rating, we actually did know about that and bantered about that as well. I had my account only since Jan and another guy for several years (or at least the umbrella of Emigrant) and have had no problems and specifically had good experiences and we had remained shocked and disappointed that they have been slapped with a one-star. On all the sites I have seen that give them one-star, they fail to mention the reasons (such as poor Customer service, or long time to open, or bad website, or bank not permitting things it said it would on account features, etc). Out of all those possible examples, I have not had any bad experiences and in fact have had some very positive ones if you have read all the posts in full.
But anyway, like I said you do have a point to an extent, but not solely because of a one-star rating
DreaDrea: the star ratings are for financial soundness, ie fewer stars = more likely to close down/go out of business. Has nothing to do with their customer service etc.
Shorebank has a similarly low rating, so similar worries
Email from ShoreBank:
We want to provide you with the latest updates on your High-Yield Savings Account. Effective March 10, 2009, ShoreBank will lower the rate on your account to 2.80% APY* (2.77% Interest Rate). Your ShoreBank Direct account continues to offer the unique combination of a strong rate, convenient 24-hour online banking, FDIC insurance, and environmental and social returns.
OMG ajith!
Thanks for the post. I was totally thinking of taking the plunge with SB. But will now hold off…
Nice.
So long Shorebank, and onto AmericaNet
For those of you who have finally had enough of the sinking rates of savings accounts, Flagstar Bank is offering 3.25% on a 48 month CD. Not much better than the .5 – 2.00% that savings accounts are offering right now BUT its a CD so the rate is locked in for the 48 months. Hopefully that gives this dismal economy enough time to start recouperating!!
For those that want a shorter commitment…the 12 month or 18 month CDs are 2.2% and 2.7% which is still probably more than the saving accounts will be offering in 12 or 18 months.
TJ: Did you try opening with AN yet? I was kinda leaning towards a HY checking account at this point, but again have just continued to be so worried that I wouldn’t be able to keep up with all the transaction nonsense (as I already do all my current purchases with my credit card through my local bank because I get excellent reward points through that. But when you, my fellow DSD’er!, said that’s where you were going to go next, I said what the hey, I’ll try it too – we can be in this together! No minimum balance so no skin off my back if doesn’t work – I can always close it.
I just wanted to say that I am already so impressed with the application process and customer service so far. The online app took about 5 minutes and said I was approved right then. I got an immediate email to say they were processing everything. I funded with the trial deposit thing, and the way my bank works, even if you can’t actually see a deposit in the “posted” column, if it has in fact been made such that your “avaiable balance” is higher, you can call to ascertain the amounts. So I signed up with AN yesterday and just today, my avaiale balance was .32 higher so I called my bank and found out that it broke down to .02 and .30 and I logged in to AN and entered it and now thigns will be processed that much quicker.
I had a couple questions for AN during the process and have had to call 2 different times – each time, it barely rang a full ring and someone picked up live right away! No waiting, no music. Wow! and they were nice too, and helpful, always a plus.
I also like this partuclar HY checking account vs others because it only requires the 10 transactions and does NOT ALSO require an ACH or a reoccuring direct deposit, which makes my life all the easier, since I plan to keep my current checking account with my paycheck being deposited there. I now just have to wait for my actual debit card to come in the mail (they said about 7 days which oh well, no big deal) and then I’m off to go make 10 VERY TINY transactions each month. And speaking of that, I just got off the phone with AN again today to verify what truly counts as a “point of sale” transaction and they said you could hit the debit or credit button, so long as you are using those machines at the store and it’s not the ATM or buying something online. And I said “is there a minimum?” and she not only said “no”, she went on to say “it could be as little as a penny!” Very surprising to see someone working for the bank giving me ideas (even though this is the idea and plan I had all along), but couldn’t believe she actually said it. Of coruse, what can I find at the store for only a penny, but that’s besides the point!
Finally, their monthly cycles goes from the 3rd Wed to the 3rd Wed, so this was a perfect time to start. I should have my card by the end of next week just in time for the March-April monthly cycle to start my 10 transactions…
Interesting. I have indeed applied at AmericaNet but am not as far along as you, mostly because I cannot access my email from work and because all accounts I open are joint (wife and me).
From someone who went through the Washington Mutual failure, I can say that my accounts never missed a beat…I can’t say if it works the same with other bank failures. So for me, a bank failure is low risk, losing money to inflation is a bigger risk.
On that note, has anyone tried out http://www.gulfbank.com? They pay 5.51% APY on their interest checking account.
Does AmericaNet offer online bill pay?
Hi everyone! I’m a long time reader, but never posted. Belated thanks for all the information and advice.
Like a lot of you, I’m considering switching banks. But I’m interested not just in their current rates, but in how well their rates have held up over time, compared to other banks.
I just found this website, which I thought people here might be interested in (and as far as I can tell, has never been posted here?). It lists the historical rates of many online banks, so you can see how steady their rates have been over the past year or two.
The blog post was here:
http://www.thesunsfinancialdiary.com/personal-finance/online-savings-account-interest-rates-history/
The full spreadsheet can be found here:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=p0eRnqOCYtMjFoCyr3xiBbA
Yes, AmericaNet does offer online billpay. In fact, you are prompted as to whether you want it or not while fllling out the savings account application.
Oh….and Broadway dropped to 3.05.
@Sara:
Thanks…that is a great spreadsheet. I don’t think we’ve talked about the top bank there…. First Trade Union Bank Savings.
I haven’t talked about First Trade Union Bank because the price of entry (2500) makes it hard for me to try out. Yeah, I have 2500 but I don’t like committing that much just to give a place a try. Also, the review on Bankdeals (http://bankdeals.blogspot.com/2009/02/300-18-month-cd-325-internet-savings.html) leaves it a little unclear as to whether one can easily transfer money to and from this account.
john
safe and sound ratings are 4 stars, seems to be a good one
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/safesound/commmm.asp?fedid=459130
guys, have been getting to this site lately and its interesting to see the info by all the contributors, appreciate it, one thing I dont know is when a bank says its FDIC insured, how do we really check it? is there a site for it?
ia answered my own question folks..here you go…always check the bank here http://www2.fdic.gov/idasp/main_bankfind.asp
even if they claim theat they are FDIC insured..
FWIW, I updated the spreadsheet that sarah posted to color the top three rates for each period, to help see the history better. Google docs didn’t like the conditional formatting, so here is a link to the file.
http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/157588/Online%20Bank%20Interest%20Rates%20History_colors.xls
@ Jogh:
Darn! I hadn’t heard about gulfbank! But I do see it requires 12, not 10, transactions plus the usual ACH or direct deposit which is no problem for some but I’d rather not have to do that. I guess I’ll take my chances with the slightly lower rate with AmericaNet (5.25%) since the more I’m spending on extra transactions (even just two), then the amount of money spent on such transacions would likely outweigh the savings I would get with just .25% extra interesr over the course of an entire year
Hey DreaDrea, I am thnking of doing AmericaNet also. Have you signed up with them yet? I really like that 5.25%. I noticed for gulfbank, you have to be Louisiana resident. SJ
from america net (looks like they have a limit on how much u can transfer out of the account, what if I want more than $500 to transfer to my other checking account?), alos u have to wait for 30 days to even transfer money… not good…
Geat news! Now you can transfer money between financial institutions online!
Transfer money into or out of your All America Bank® accounts from any other bank, savings and loan, credit union, or brokerage account. This is just one more way All America Bank® is making it easier for you to take care of your business!
This is a discretionary service provided by All America Bank®. Some restrictions apply. To become eligible for Bank-to-Bank Transfers, you must have your account open for at least 30 days, have an All America Bank® VISA® CheckCard, and make deposits totalling at least $400 every 30 days. No other action is needed on your part other than maintaining your eligible account in good standing. And it’s FREE! There is a $500 limit per transaction. If you need your limit increased, you can contact Customer Service and make a request. Please contact customer service if you have any questions or concerns.
Bank-to-Bank Transfers is part of the Bill Pay service. So, you must be signed up for Bill Pay, whether or not you plan to use this convenient service, in order to access Bank-to-Bank Transfers. Once you are signed up for Bill Pay, login to your checking account and click on the “Click here for Bill Payment” link at the bottom of the page. Then click on “Bank-to-Bank Transfers” and follow the instructions.
In-House Transfers
It’s fast, easy and convenient to transfer money between your All America Bank® accounts!
No prequalification is necessary. Just login, click on one of your accounts, click on “In-house Transfers” on the menu bar at the top of the page and schedule your transfer.
Logiclife:
Your post confused me a bit? You are quoting stuff from “allamericabank”. That is a different bank.
I was talking about americanet bank.
Anyway, I just called my favorite friendly CSRs that I raved about in a prior post and they answered on the spot that there is actually a limit, but it is $1500 per day, not $500. She also said that if you get checks, you can always write a check for whatever amount you want.
SJ: thanks for point out about the residency requirement for Gulf. Good, I didn’t miss anyting by doing AN instead. As for whether I signed up yet, weren’t you responding to my detailed post #1272 which says I did? Or did you just mean, what is the status of my app? Only been one day so still processing, but so far, defintely approved, and my trial deposits have already been verified as i mentioned…
DReaDRea
ACtually allamerica bank is a parent bank for Americanet bank. I also called the CSR at americanet bank and I was told that if I want to get more than $1500 I need to get permission from the surpervisor and they get an OK from the parent bank AllAmerica bank. However you cannot go beyond $5000 for a transfer.
SO if you close your account you get a check from them OR you can write a self check to urself..
also more info from my research on the net..looks like redneck bank, evantage bank and america net bank , all these fall under of the same family of banks. However, the three banks have separate FDIC charters.
Each bank has different charters according to the FDIC:
All America Bank (FDIC Cert # 20093)
Bank of the Wichitas (FDIC Cert # 4198)
Southwest State Bank (FDIC Cert # 4195)
one real weird thing is if you go to any of the redneck bank, evantage bank and america net bank and click on contact us they all show a PO box address, all in mustang OK…so that confirms these are related one way or the other
one thing I cant digest it, what the heck is this PO Box for a bank..i dont ccare if its an online bank, whats up with the PO Box…very fishy..
1212 @ Brad
Have to agree with you wrt SmartyPig . I read in the other SmartyPig blog here that it takes a week to tx the money to SmartyPig! what??? what kind of technology they are using??? delivery by snail?? not good…little strange….
also, the americanet bank gives 5.25 APY only on the first $10K…so never mind.. IAm sticking to GMAC…interface is pretty st fwd and clean. transfer takes 24-28 hrs, good.. if americanet had given 5.25 APY on higher balance I would have jumped the ship..now I see the fine print its not even worth it for a $100 bucks difference in interest for 6 months (5.25 VS 2.65 APY in GMAC) with all the restrictions americanet bank has..
so my search continues…
Emigrant Direct just broke the 2% barrier big time, now just 1.8%, just like ING, E*Trade. Like I said earlier, it’s just a matter of time, probably 6 months, till they all are down to around 1%. Maybe we can all pool our money into a new bank and lend money to someone who wants to buy a house at 4%!
It isn’t so much a matter of whether you make an additional 100 (or whatever) or not – if you leave your money at the lower interest paying institutions, they have no incentive to do anything but drop rates to increase their profit. Banks are counting on us consumers “giving up” and accepting lower rates. and right now, as a group, we are.
If GMAC becomes the leader, at whatever rate is the leading rate at the time, I’ll join you. At the moment, it is just a half point or so off the leadership spot.
As far as the 10k/25k thing on AmericaNet- thats on the checking account. The savings account has no such limit I am aware of, and in an case, you could always open a second account if your savings exceeded the FDIC insurance limit.
Hehe, it must be nice to have so much damn money that a 10k checking limit bothers you 🙂 I wish I had that “problem” 🙂
AGree..chase was giving me .75 % on my savings account..unbelievable, I closed it after I came across this blog and opened GMAC online, ( I cant believe I didnt do the research before opening a savings account, my fault). U r right, I think if we as a consumer stick to one bank even after they switch to low rates , banks would start playing with the consumer (look at all the bail outs)..
so far I have not see any consistent high yield savings account (unless i missed) so Iam sticking to GMAC for now, unless there is a better savings account with less restrictions. looks like americanet gives 3.10 APY on MM, not worth switching to it for that difference in my opinion esp with the restrictions they have..
like any other person iam just trying to make some little extra money thru’ interest (and ofcourse pay those damn taxes on that) on our hard earned money.. 🙂 :)..as right now Iam not ready to invest the money for longterm in stocks/bonds or whatever..and neither iam an expert in that..for now..
OMG everyone, I just found out the stupidest thing about Americanet bank!
So for my initial funding deposit, I only put in $5 because I was inbetween paychecks and actually didn’t have much in my checking account but also because whenever I try a new bank, I am so skeptical and worried about my money that I don’t want to take any chances.
Anyway, I was lovin AN so much so far. I filled out the app on Monday, already had my trial deposits made and verified Tuesday, got an email today that says my deposit has now been made, and even though they said it will now take 2-3 business days to get the next official email and welcome letter with my account number etc., I decided to just call for the heck of it and my new account number was already available by phone. THEN, I found out this.
That there is an automatic THIRTY DAY hold on any incoming and outgoing bank to bank transfers! Meaning, that I now have my $5 with them, but I can’t deposit another couple hundred or even thousands if I wanted to!!!!! Only if I do a wire transfer or initiating ACH from my own bank (which I don’t know about you all, but my bank charges fees for those so I never do those and always just use the interface of the actual online savings bank). So, had I thoroughly read the disclosures when I first applied, she said that I could have made my funding deposit more than $5 at that time, but now that it’s done, I cant do another electronic deposit (through them) for 30 days! And also, even in the application process, there is a $1000 funding limit.
So…even if I wanted to run out as soon as I get my darn debt card and do my 10 required transactions, I couldn’t, since I only have $5 in my account to spend; I don’t even think $5 will get my 10 transactions of a pack of gum each! So I’m either getting TOTALLY bad interest for a month, or if I can find a way to do 10 transactions for $5, I’ll get 5.25% but only on $5! And in fact less since I will have to spend that $5 to do the transactions and my balance will actually be 0! 5.25% of 0 is 0!
The only good news is that there is NO fee or penalty to close the account and now I’m wondering if that’s what I’ll do. I wonder if I could open up a new account (after closing the first one) even though I’m the same person, in which case, I would just fund it with more money the first time.
UGH!!!!!!!!!
READ YOUR DISCLOSURES!!
DreaDrea
thats terrible, I dont remember seeing a disclosure like that however I will check 2nite..boy, I think I made the right decision..
also, I believe you can open an other rewards checking. but not sure if there is a 30 day restriction or wait time on it too..man they make it too hard for you to make some money.. too many catches…
not surprised…but little disappointed…
Logiclife:
by the way, we have all been recently talking about AN becuase of their 5.25% HY checking account rate, not the mere 3.01% savings rate
Err, uhm, no.
I’ve been talking about AmericaNet due to their 3.10 rate on the savings. Sadly, their 3.10 (not 3.01) rate makes them one of the rate-paying leaders at the moment. I will probably try the checking out at some point, but I am still not a fan of jumping through hoops each and every month for a better rate.
Also no to the 30 day thing. Sorta.
I talked to a CSR and the 30 days is not ongoing, it’s only for the first 30 days after you open an account….said another way, its like a new customer probationary period. After 30 days, the restriction is lifted.
Moreover, you can still put money in or take money out via check, or via another bank doing the pushing or pulling of the money, even during that first 30 days. The 30 day limit only applies to using AmericaNet’s tools to do so. You can initiate the transfer via another bank w/o encountering this limit.
Yeah, it’s irritating. Yeah, I’d prefer they didn’t do that. But they pay 3.10 and I’m going to commit to rate leaders from here on out, no matter how small the difference.
Hopefully, when I check my personal email from home tonight, I will have been sent my online banking info, and I can more fully check them out.
TJ:
Actually, I did know that the 30 days was just for the first 30 days, but I’m still mad because that’s 30 days of lost interest. Also, I did also say in my post that I know I could pull it from my own bank (ACH, wire whatever), but at $10-$15 fee, that would surely negate any beneficial interest I would have received with the 5.25% rate, so why pay a fee? That’s true about the checks, but who wants to mail in money and earn no intersted during that 7-10 day lag? Finally, I don’t have other banks to initiate the transfer from. I don’t have a lot of money, so it’s best for me to just keep all my money is one or two accounts, my main checking and some online savings account. So I sure don’t have other accounts sitting aroudn with enough money worth transfering some out to AN.
But anyway, I’m just venting at the situation, not you!
I don’t know what I will for now. Perhaps I will in fact just wait the 30 days. Of coruse, by then, who KNOWS what rate they will be offering, or other banks for that matter!
Looks like the BEST rate out there right now is 5.01% APY at “Bank2”, according to ratebrain.com
I have $$ in an E*Trade savings account. Should I be concerned it’s trading below $1 and may be removed from NYSE?
Whatever reason you want to find to be concerned would be justification. Lots of bad press over the past few years about E*Trade. Just do an internet search on “etrade problems” and you’ll get a hint of them…
Drea: no problem. Just sayin — the 30 day thing is more of an inconvenience than a real issue.
Hi Manny:
Thanks for the post, but AmericaNet bank is still higher than that at 5.25%. Also, I assume you know that this Bank2 which of course no one has really heard of or posted about so we are already skeptical, is just like all these other high yield checking accounts where you have to do 10 transactions a month with a debt card and have a reoccuring direct deposit. In fact, AN is one of the few that doesn’t require the latter, just the 10 transactions.
I got fed up with the rate drops at ING and started looking around at other banks, too – and thanks for all the helpful posts on that! But I ran across a couple things to be wary of:
1) Credit inquiries: Local banks (and maybe online banks) may very well pull your credit report, even though you are simply opening checking/savings accounts, and not asking for a line of credit. This counts as a hard inquiry on your credit report, and too many of those will lower your credit score. A teeny increase in interest may not be worth a drop in your credit score if you are considering financing a big purchase (e.g., house, car) soon. The two local banks in my area that I checked out would both do a hard inquiry, even though I offered to show them a copy of my credit report, because it is standard practice. However, when I opened my account at ING, they did not pull my credit report. So if this matters to you, ask the bank before you submit your application.
2) FDIC insurance: A bank I checked out yesterday told me that if a bank is taken over by the govt, FDIC has 99 years to reimburse you for your account. Now, I don’t see this being a real issue because that kind of delay would cause a real panic, but just wanted to pass on the info. I will keep my money spread around 2-3 banks just in case, so that I always have access to some cash (assuming that they don’t all fail at the exact same moment).
Trini:
Thanks for the helpful info. I did know about the credit checks, but some of them do what’s called a “soft inquiry” or some do “Chex” only, so yes it’s good to find out ahead of time.
Anyway, based on what many people have been writing lately and just the market in general, basically everything sucks and we should just put it all under our mattress, spend it, and give up!
I like Pilm’s idea in poast #1291!!
When in doubt, Drea, always pay off debt
GMAC dropped
WHAM!!!!!! what a shame! I move to GMAC and it dropped!! I wish I have more apetite to take more risk..(I already have some money stuck in the investments which are really down right now..)
iam so frustrated that I am not getting atleast 3+ APY on a savings account consistently…this is ridiculous!!!
agree that paying debt is always a lot better than earning a petty interest , in most cases…unless you have some debt (not too much though) like me for which I have 1.99 % APR for life (paid no transaction fees) , which I put the account on autopay for minimum every month..I think i did the right thing..no point in paying it off if the interest rate is for life..i would rather have some extra cash for any unforeseen stuff..unless iam missing something totally here
Check fatwallet for a very good list of better paying institutions. The chart on the opening page of this thread is frequently updated
http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/finance/783099/?start=1
If you don’t like AmericaNet, take a look at Danvers.
Folks, it ain’t rate chasin’ at this point – it’s take the money away from the non-competing rate payers, pressuring them to keep their rates competitive
i checked with FDIC wrt americanet and this is what I from them
Thank you for contacting the FDIC. In your email you asked the following:
“Is the bank by name americanet a legit bank? I wanted to double check if Americanet bank,the parent company is All America Bank is a FDIC insured bank. They say its FDIC insures its deposits. One thing I wasnt sure why the contact us section in the bank has a PO BOX in OK state. Please advise if Americanet bank , an online internet banking.”
Each FDIC-insured institution has an FDIC Certificate Number. You can verify that your bank is FDIC insured by going online to the FDIC website and accessing our Bank Find Directory at http://www4.fdic.gov/idasp/main_bankfind.asp. However, not all internet banks are listed on the FDIC website as they are often not independent banks; Internet banks are often divisions of FDIC insured banks.
AmericaNetBank.com is a division of All America Bank which is an FDIC insured bank and has an FDIC Certificate Number of 20093. According to the disclosure on All America Bank’s website, AmericaNetBank.com and All America Bank are the same financial institution. The disclosure can be found at the following link:
Accordingly, your funds will be insured as deposits at All America Bank
Please be aware that if you have deposits in both All America Bank and through AmericaNetBank.com, your funds are deposited in the same FDIC insured institution and will be added together to determine your maximum allowable FDIC insurance coverage.
Thanks Brad. To be more direct, what happens to an online bank/brokerage such as E*TRADE if it is dropped from trading on NYSE? And if this is close to occurring, how could bankrate.com give it 3 or more stars?
Logic Life:
Thanks!
TJ @1308
Thanks for the link TJ.
@1294
“I cant do another electronic deposit (through them) for 30 days! And also, even in the application process, there is a $1000 funding limit.”………
OK that $1000 funding limit even in the app process is what I call ridiculous, so basically they are trying either to give almost ZERO $ interest (If you incidentally put less money) or put a cap on the interest (by limiting initial funds by $1000).
Actually, looking at all this, i dont feel compelled to consider ANet. However I will ahve to see what restrictions they have on a MMA..
LogicLife,
I inquired today about AmericaNet’s Mega Money Market account transfer limits, here is my question and their reply:
—– Original Message ——
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
CC:
Sent: 03/12/2009
Hello,
I have a question about the Mega Money Market account. Can you tell me if there are any limits on inbound or outbound ACH transfers for this account?
———————————–
(their reply)
Transfers are limited to $1500 a day.
I also contacted CNB Ohio about their High Yield Savings Account, and they said no transfer limits whatsoever!
But their rate did drop today, down from 3.0% to 2.8%. I suspect they have reached their goal for funds, so now they can start cutting the rate.
Tx Pilm
Pilm – those limits only apply if you initiate the transfer there. If you initiate at some other bank, there is no such limit
Trini:
FDIC 99-year to pay you back is a myth:
http://www.bankrate.com/cbsmw/news/DrDon/20080506_fdic_myth_a1.asp
When interest rates eventually go back up, is it safe to assume online savings banks will automatically raise your rate? I currently use HSBC and can’t recall rate ever going up during last couple years… just down.
Not a safe assumption – you’ll need to monitor. After all, as long as they are gaining or at least not losing) deposits, a bank is motivated to LOWER rather than increase rates, more specifically lowering the paid rate increases their profit margin.
The fatwallet post I mentioned earlier is an excellent basic monitoring tool
On a related note – lots of folks mention bankrate as a reference, but go look at their list of top rate payers – barely 1 in 5 banks (if that) is even listed. This is VERY incomplete data. I like their articles at times, but as a reference, not so much.
I believe Bankrate’s listings are paid advertizing by the banks. I asked them something about why ClearSky wasn’t there in an email and got a response (that I didn’t save) that I thought was something to that effect…
I haven’t posted in this discussion for awhile mostly because my computer wasn’t displaying the page comments for awhile. I spent a good hour reading through everything I’ve missed. Right now is a tough time to be a saver, that’s for sure.
My recommendation is to choose a bank you like and stick with them until the Fed starts increasing rates. If your bank lags behind once rates go up then it may be time to consider a change. For now, all banks will continue to lower rates.
Every bank is hoping that you all follow AmericanCliche’s poor advice. After all, if you remain in your foxhole no matter what, they can lower their rates without fear of losing you, and ergo they gain incentive to keep lowering rates right to the ground.
Danny @ 1318: Thanks very much for the info! I am amazed that the manager at the bank had fallen for the myth … and it doesn’t do much to inspire confidence in the bank.
There was a lot of great information in that FDIC newsletter; thanks again for sharing.
Why did FNBO Direct drop from this lists group 1 to group 2?
@Joe (#1325)
FNBO dropped because I was asked to de-emphasize them. In retrospect, removing the link de-emphasizes them enough. I’ll bump them back to where they were, but leave the link off until they’re prepared for increased traffic.
ok why I did I not get an notification from GMAC when they dropped their rates from 2.65 to 2.5?? isnt it a law or something?
@LogicLife:
Nope. A few of them do let you know, most do not. Just another thing to remember about a particular bank as they head back up (eventually) and we can shop again.
Well I see that Clear Sky dropped to 2.50% this morning…if they were accepting new customers…which they still are not (and not any new deposits either).
Checking (with no activity required) also dropped to 1.85%.
Strange times, but if that is an indication of what they expect to do, they are still in the top tier of ratepayers.
My first Internet account a few years ago was with ING when it was the new star at 2.2%… Hopefully we are near the bottom again and it will head up soon….
TJ, the Federal Funds Rate is at historic lows. Banks don’t have an incentive to raise rates because the rate at which they can borrow from each other is so low.
I DO AGREE that people need to monitor their banks; if their bank fails to increase rates while others do it’s time to leave. However, the trend all around is rates are going down.
I don’t see a point to rate chasing at this time. The low Fed rate will keep downward pressure on rates regardless of consumer actions.
You are assuming that banks do not value their current deposits. You are also assuming that any bank can get a loan for any amount of money any time they want. Neither is true. Your advice remains very, very poor. If you don’t want to listen to me, that’s fine – instead hear what the bankrate blog has repeated for two weeks now:
“I mentioned this last week, but it’s worth repeating. With all banks cutting rates, it may seem hopeless to switch now just for what may be a temporary hike in interest rates. Just remember that this is what banks are hoping people will think. Competition is an important factor that is preventing rates from falling to near zero percent. The more we are willing to move our money, the more competition there will be.”
I’m with you TJ. No sense in having a defeatist attitude and merely giving up. At least in this little corner, there is such a thing as supply and demand…if not of money, of customers. There is still some capitalism left…
Not sure if I would keep switching if the banks would do a credit check. I wont be surprised if they start doing it to deter the desertion, or may be not..bad logic?
It costs money to do a credit check, and banks are increasingly aware that consumers know about credit reports and credit pulls, and they are moving the soft pulls, ie ones that do not affect credit.
In any case, if one has that concern they should call the bank and ask about the credit check if any that will be run, and simply avoid using banks that run hard checks. The reviews on bankdeals also generally have hard/soft pull info you can check in advance.
If a CSR tells you they do a hard pull, tell the CSR that this has cost the bank your business…..the more the business lost for running hard credit checks, the more incentive they will have to stop the practice.
On somewhat related note – I have been wondering why the heck a bank would even bother doing a credit check to open a savings account. I could understand if it were a loan or even a checking account, but savings? There’s no reason to do so on a savings, and yet they do. B@st@rds.
Emigrant down to 1.65
DSD (America’s Fastest Dropping Rate) down to 2.05
So, I’ve been shopping around for a few days, looking to move my money out of ING…it’s at a level that even a slightly higher rate would result in a couple hundred bucks difference over the year. I’m thinking GMAC since they’re still at 2.5%, which is just shy of 1% higher than ING is giving me. Can anyone using GMAC speak to their usability and linking? is it all pretty straight-forward and easy to use? The website design seems simple and user friendly. I just want to be sure b/c that’s one thing I’ve really like about ING…how easy it is to use. Thanks.
Cory:
You ask some good and valid questions. Only problem is that it’s all been asked before, specificaly about GMAC, among others. I know 1300+ posts are a lot to weed through, but all you have to do “Ctrl F” and type in whatever you want like GMAC and keep hitting next and it will jump you to every single post about this.
On a side note to JD, that is probably why we have so many posts is because people do tend to end up eventually asking similar questions because they are new to the site and other new people to the site go ahead and answer them…
There was a post about this on this Get Rich Slowly post.
Similarly the site Bargaineering has a whole article about why rate chasing isn’t worth it.
My point is right now isn’t a good time to chase rates. You have a large risk of switching banks just to see the rate drop. Then you’ll be forced to switch again. In the meantime, you sacrifice interest.
My advice to new comers: Find a bank you like and stick with it until rates start going back up. When rates start moving up, see if other banks are worth the switch.
TJ the irony is I’m actually supporting your argument. I just disagree that switching in this environment is worth it.
1338
I agree with NOT frequent switching, in the end you loose since you loose the interest on the money that is stuck b/w transfers while at the same time we may think that we are teaching the banks a lesson.
I guess in the end whatever you do look out for yourself/your money rather than the “loyalty” to the bank.
*shrug* you’re both content to be wrong, then. The banks love you. Enjoy.
I just got to know that some community banks indeed do not have any residency restrictions. I think the trick is to find them! I will try atleast apply for openining account(s) through checkingfinder.com, where some banks with high APY participate and you can open an account online with those banks.
Looking for a online savings account that can have an unlimited number of accounts linked to it, with both “push” (transfer to another bank) and “pull (transfer form another bank) capabilities. Rate paid does not matter, needs to be 0 or 1$ minimum with no fees. I already know HSBCDirect allows for all this, but I’d rather get a higher rated bank for this purpose. Does anyone know of a well rated online bank that has all this?
Reason I am asking: some of the better rate payers have less functionality in their software, but they are happy to let you push and pull money out of their accounts via ACH using someone other banks online system. So having one bank act as the “hub” and the other bank to pay the higher rate works well.
I actually spent a good part of the day thinking about banks and competition. TJ has a point.
In the end, frequent switching of banks isn’t something I want to do. Am I loyal to my current bank? Hell no! I’ll ditch them when I find another bank I like better. So far I haven’t found that.
I like monitoring this forum, because I don’t want to miss out on a good opportunity (like I did with ClearSky accounts).
In the end, the best financial advice is the advice that works for you as an individual. TJ’s advice works for him, mine works for me. TJ, let’s just agree that our philosophies differ.
BREAK
USAA allows for FREE pulling and pushing from its online interface. That said, the bank has a limited membership scope.
Does Charles Schwab checking offer the same sort of free push/pull service? I was thinking of switching to Schwab because it offers a 1% rate on checking without all the crazy requirements a lot of credit unions require.
I just joined with ING last month and so far I’m very pleased with it. Aside from the very user friendly interface, very nice customer service and easy transfer options (takes about two days for it to transfer to my checking account), the real reason why I love ING and selected them was because of this one simple reason.
Recently due to financial problems, my WAMU account was closed and I was reported to ChexSystems. Fortunately I had another bank account that was in good standing and so was able to still use it. But ING is the ONLY option I found that would allow me to open a savings account without any hassle or checks, so even though I’m still trying to get my ducks back in order, I feel that they were the only ones that would take my money, so like Julia Roberts, I’m like to the other online banks, “Big mistake. HUGE mistake!” lol
Viva ING! 😀
While I am still in the process of working out things with Americanet, I can now report back on Shorebank. I’ve worked with about a half dozen different institutions now (so I am certainly no expert but I am also not a novice to this) setting up online accounts, and can say with absolute certainty that Shorebank has by far the worst online setup and the worst customer service I have yet encountered. Without going into the excruciating detail, let me just mention three items that give you the flavor of my experience:
1) the online account CSR (they have a seperate phone number and CSR crew just for this acct) did not know the address of the website, and had to look it up. She put me on hold for about 2 minutes to do so.
2) applying for the account (keep in mind this is an online acct only) is a seperate application from the online banking application which is in turn a seperate application from the one you have to enter to link to the same bank you funded the account with in the first place….three applications each with their own set of days of waiting for confirmation and they have to be performed sequentially….account setup and funding first, online banking only after the account is setup, and account linking (including linking to the account you already used to originally fund their account – no no no they don’t have that one set up for you already) only after online banking is set up. Each application requires you to multiply enter the same information over and over again, info they already have.
3) the account can only be closed online – so if you are unhappy with the web stuff like I am, the only way to get out of it – is via the website. The CSRs are unwilling to close the account in any other means.
Simply put…..a horrid experience.
TJ:
what did you mean by still working things out with AN? Did you ahve any problems? Or did you just mean waiting for the long process of mailing out welcome letters, debit cards, etc.?
I’m still so impressed how all my electornic and email notification aproval happened within a couple days, my trial deposits were all taken care off within a day, I got my welcome letter within one week, and my initial deposit posted in one week. Still waiting on the debit card though, it is true that in the initial application, I forgot to check that off (stupid that they make you speicficlaly check it off that you want to “receive further information about extra service” like debit card, bill pay, etc.) because by not checkng it off, they therefore had no intentino of sending me one. After reading someing you may have posted when you first signed up, that made me think and so I called back after the fact to get that “requst” in and so that is probably what delayed things a little longer.
I will explain all that when everything is set with America Net, Drea. Let me remind you that I need two things that I don’t think you do: each account must be joint, and I need multiple accounts. Both have slowed things down. The “30 day probationary period” deal has also slowed things down. No biggie.
@TJ
Wow. I’m really sorry to hear you had such a horrid experience with ShoreBank. I’ve had an account with ShoreBank since November 2007 and must say that my experience was quite the opposite. Prior to moving to ShoreBank, I had an Orange Savings account at ING. I decided to switch to ShoreBank after seeing a news report explaining the bank’s community development and environmental mission. At that time both banks were paying about the same rate. For me, it felt better to have my money in a socially conscious institution rather than a Dutch conglomerate. I know this is not important to everyone. The icing is that since I switched, ShoreBank’s rates have consistently remained near the top, while ING’s have taken a long slide.
ShoreBank’s set up process did have more steps than ING’s, but that’s a one-time event. I did have to make a phone call to customer service, and my problem was resolved with that call. The CSR who put you on hold for two minutes to “look up a web address” was clearly in the wrong. She may have just needed a minute to collect herself. Customer service is a stressful job and often companies do not provide adequate training.
ShoreBank’s GUI is not as pretty to look at as some of the other banks — it looks very “off the shelf”. This does not affect its functionality.
I just wanted make note that for every dissatisfied customer, there are probably many who are satisfied (including me). I even set up a second account at ShoreBank in February. It went smoothly and was linked to my existing userID.
Does Charles Schwab checking offer the same sort of free push/pull service? I was thinking of switching to Schwab because it offers a 1% rate on checking without all the crazy requirements a lot of credit unions require.
It has been a while since I was with Schwab, however, when I opened an account with them, I got everything opened and setup and then after a month I got a letter from Schwab saying that they were closing my account due to my credit history. Why didn’t they do their homework to begin with on the front end before opening the account instead of putting me through all of that hassle?
My advice? Stay away from Schwab!!!
Joey
ING dropped to 1.50%. I’m disappointed…I’ve been preaching the idea of staying put, but it’s hard to justify staying put with a 1% difference between ING and GMAC. That 1% is a big difference for me.
That said: I’m considering Capital One, GMAC or FNBO. Leaning towards GMAC, but I’m concerned about their exposure to GM’s problems.
JD: Do you plan to stick with ING or switch? If you’re considering switching which banks are you looking at?
I have FNBO, UFB, ING, and HSBC.
UFB was great while it lasted (ATM card, free linked checking, etc) but rates started extremely high, but dropped to basically nothing now.
ING was my first–great CS and user interface, but rate is way down also.
Switched to HSBC–basically, I know it will always be higher than ING and has been around for just as long, so at least I know my money will be safe. (sign-up process is a bit tedious, but the UNLIMITED external links to other accounts is great)
FNBO seems to always have a competitive rate, no complaints, EXCEPT during sign up they ask for the DATE OF ISSUANCE for your Drivers license, AND DATE OF EXPIRATION–I know most people have the latter listed on their license, but not the former. you need BOTH to process your application.
So overall, very happy so far with FNBO and HSBC has filled in nicely for my ING.
I’m still wondering what will happen with Clear Sky on April 1. I check pretty much daily to see if they are taking new applications…and they aren’t…but the listed rate is still 1.85% for checking and 2.50% for savings.
I imagine they may be planning on remaining closed to applications until the week of April 1 when they see how much of the 3.75% deposits they received will disappear out. I just hope the current 2.50% is where they will be…
Re an earlier post: the way I look at it, the difference between 1.5% and 2.5% isn’t really a 1% difference…the 2.5% is actually a 67% better rate! Each $15 of interest becomes $25!
That’s an extremely good point, Brad
Moving from a 1% account to a 2% in effect doubles your profit. Moving from the 1% to a 3% (there are a few left ) fully triples your return.
1350 @AC– I have GMAC and the interface is pretty no nonsense UI. EVen a caveman can do it kinda thing.
I thought about their problems with GM or whatever but I believe it was spun off, anyways it is FDIC insured and for what its worth Bank rate gives it 4 stars..
I said I would review America net when I was ready, but….well, they told me originally I could have multiple accounts there, which is important to me because I prefer to segregate funds by purpose – general savings, emergency fund, vacation fund, etc.
Today, they explained that they only allow one savings account per social security number. No real reason, it is simply an arbitrary policy of theirs.
So unfortunately, I have no further use for them.
I noticed that right now Redneck Bank has a 3.10 APY on their ‘mega money market’ account. Is this the highest interest rate that’s out there at the moment? I’ve looked around a bit and I haven’t seen anything (other than credit unions) that’s higher.
On a sidenote: I opened an account with Shore Bank and found that things went pretty smoothly. The APY dropped shortly after my acct opened and they sent me an email about it – which was great.
One more thing – I bank predominantly with Citi. Is anybody else getting really antsy about what they hear in the news?
It looks like Charles Schwab has started offering a savings account recently and currently advertise 2% interest (this is separate from their high-yield checking account, which is currently at 1%). I haven’t opened one, but I’m considering it based on the positive experience I’ve had with Schwab checking.
Also, while opening a Schwab checking account requires you to open a brokerage account as well, I don’t believe (though I can’t offer a link at the moment) one is required for a savings account.
Moving on to Alliant Credit Union.
I applied today, went with individual rather than joint to speed the process up, and will report back here with how it went when it’s all set
Well, the “If we were taking money…or even applications…but we’re not” savings rate at Clear Sky is now down to 2.15%…dang near the 1.85% of the lowest checking account tier.
well, it was nice (for you, hehe) while it lasted. ah well.
knock on wood – the race to the bottom seems to have slowed this week
Well…it is still going on til next Tuesday…LOL. Now I have to join the fray searching. Looks like it they keep it at 2.15%, it will remain near the top? I admit that I haven’t kept up on the leaders…just the leading problematic ones that I will avoid.
The top is at or just above 3%, see post 1308
aside: GMAC and ClearSky both dropped in the last couple of days
Wham!!! there you go again GMAC!!! If these guys drop below 2 Iam done with them
I haven’t heard any mention of Dollar Savings Direct, but they have been competitive. Although they’ve dropped steeply since I joined (from 4% to 2.05% in a matter of weeks), they’ve been a good bank to work with.
Cash Cow:
You’ve got to be kidding me. There are probably upwards of 100-200 posts on this thing on Dollarsavingsdirect. I do know there are 1365 posts on this thread, but you can easily do a CNTL F for a find box and then type in whatever word or phrase you want and jump to each and every time that word/phrase appears on the page. It is sometimes “dollarsavings” as one word, sometimes “dollar savings” as two words, and sometimes “DSD”.
Anyway, the reason know one is talking about it recently is that it is no longer one of the higher rates, and based on the track history, will go down again sometime soon. But more importantly, it requires a $1000 balance with most people don’t have up front and so that’s what it’s not even an option for many.
Here’s an email I got from Clear Sky this morning. I really do like these folks….All above board and friendly…
The purpose of this email is to inform you that your Clear Sky Savings Account, currently at 3.75% annual percentage yield, will convert to 2.15%* annual percentage yield beginning April 1, 2009. While we are still not accepting new applications, you may resume normal deposit activity to your account. Clear Sky Accounts’ goal is to offer a competitive rate along with exceptional customer service to make banking easy and profitable for you as a saver.
Clear Sky Accounts at Chesapeake Bank would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your business. We realize that some of you will be taking your money to a higher rate account come April 1st, and some of you have enjoyed our customer service and ease of use and a small rate difference will not sway you.
To those that need to move on, thank you for your business and may your savings achievements continue to be prosperous. To those that choose to stay – thank you! We will continue to provide exceptional service and make banking easy. Please, let us know if there is anything we can change or do better.
Please, don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions. Send us an email at [email protected] or call us at 877-257-7594.
*Savings rate is variable and may change without notice.
I recently opened an account with Evantage, which is the same basically as the Americanet people have been talking about here. My question is in regards to the 10 transactions. Can these be online purchases or must you use the card and physically swipe the card? Anyone know for sure?
I think moderation must be on or something….
So I posted essentially the same thing twice and probably have a duplicate post above this…but I can’t see it to delete it…..sorry…
I also posted it again once I saw this message. Maybe it was too long or something. Anyway…A nice email from them telling me the rate will be 2.15% and I’m free to add more deposits but no new accounts for folks yet. A very nice and open email…not sure why it won’t post here…
Hi All,
I appreciate this forum. I actually stumbled upon this conversation while googling for info on HY Savings accounts after logging into my ING Direct account and seeing the rate at a dismal 1.55% APY.
To me, the ease of use at ING is a huge plus. The access to money is a breeze, I consistently move money from ING to checking as I am a commissioned sales person with direct deposit into ING and my own “weekly salary” I pay myself from there to checking. In essence, all overage becomes saving and everything in checking belongs to my 2009 budget. I also have accounts linked for projects and vacations. This allows me to move money around my budget into a specific project and still show it depleted from my account as I transfer it back from checking into my ING Project account. Anyway, that’s a benefit for some, not so much for others. My point is, I am trying to put a monetary value on this fluid, user friendly account because as it stands even if I could go from 1.5 to 2% it would mean a difference $500 to $700 in interest this year.
I know there are a lot of posts on here and that I should really read them all (I read March 2009 only) but if there is anyone out there who has switched from ING to another back for a higher rate and who can surmise that experience for me, I’d greatly appreciate it.
Post 1369 refers to Clear Sky. I sure don’t know what happened to the three other posts I made, copying their email to me. Maybe there were some prohibited characters in the email that caused the server to reject them with no comment…
ShoreBank’s web interface leaves a LOT to be desired.
you have to verify the account fro which you initially fund the account TWICE. That is you must verify it again once the account is created.
the preference page has a separate submit button for each preference. clinking one of then CLEARS ALL THE OTHERS.
The transfer funds page takes to you another page containing a link to external transfer service for which you will have to register separately.
When you add an external transfer account you have to find the ABA routing number in a pull down list of all numbers used by that bank… immediately after you type in the one you want to use.
The list goes on and one…
but they pay well, and presumably spend little on things like ‘user experience’.
How much is your time worth?
Quote: “I know there are a lot of posts on here … but if there is anyone out there who has switched from ING to another back for a higher rate and who can surmise that experience for me, I’d greatly appreciate it.”
I changed to CNB which currently pays 2.3%. Took about a week to get everything squared away. They did trial deposits fast, just 1-2 days. Also have electronic signatures, so you don’t need to mail anything in. The difference in rate (2.3% vs 1.5%) is $0.67/month/$1000. So if you have $10k, you’d get an extra $6.7/month. That said, I really doubt CNB will remain at 2.3% more than a few more weeks since all the banks will continue to lower rates till they get to 1.0%. Noticed today that WT Direct cracked the 2.0% barrier, down to 1.76%.
DSD *finally* removed the “America’s Highest Rate” slogan from the main page of their website. About freakin’ time. For some odd reason, they did not choose my suggestion as the replacement slogan, ie “America’s Fastest Dropping Rate”
Midwest America Credit Union gave notice 3/31/09 that the 5.11% on their reward checking was dropping to 3.51% apr. I transferred out via FNBO leaving my balance at $0.01 and now heading over to Charter Bank’s Turbo checking for 5.01% apr.
@1364
I have to take my word back, I just logged into my GMAC and it still shows 2.5 APY…ha! they still like me I guess
Wow, thank you for updating this! I passed this link to my partner who is looking for a new savings account.
FNBO dropped 1.90%
To those hesitant about smartypig, I looked in the FAQ, and it says:
“Your SmartyPig account is held at West Bank, an FDIC insured bank.”
So the account is actually with West Bank and FDIC insured.
I started an account here last month, and as for as depositing money, it takes 3-4 days to electronically transfer from my local checking account. This was posted to my checking account within one day, and shows up in smartypig in about 3 or 4 days. This is similar to other online banks.
I have not withdrawn money yet, but the site does say it takes 5-7 days to transfer money out of smartypig. I guest ill find out about this soon enough.
Caution – the accounts at smartypig work a LOT differently than a normal online bank account. read their documentation carefully before jumping in.
Has anyone looked at Reward Checking accounts?
I am just about to open an account with a 4.51% APY and the only conditions are 10 debit purchases a month, accessing online banking once, and direct deposit.
:
Welcome to the blog. Yes, we have talked about high yield rewards checking accounts to death on this thing, among other regular savings accounts. I know there’s a ton of posts, but just do a CNTL find and you’ll see. They ALL have somewhere from a 10-12 transaction requirement and offer about 4-5% so that’s nothing new. Also, most also require an online statements and EITHER a reoccuring direct deposit or ACH payment. I have actually found one doesn’t even require that, just the 10 transactions plus has a better rate than the one you said.
Check out americanetbank.com 5.25% for a couple months now.
PS: the big thing is that for most of these accounts there is NO minimum to the transactions so you could apparently do 10 transactions for like $1 each… Just hard to keep up with it all and many just dont want to . When you dont, you get a ridiculously low rate like 1% or sometimes even less.
Enough reading, time for action.
Has anyone opened a MMA account with Evantage, Redneck or AmericaNet? What has your experience been? Have you asked for the bank-to-bank transfer facility and did they make it available without any fuss?
I have searched the forum but there doesn’t seem to be anyone’s experience in relation to this bank, oops three banks. 😉
Appendum to my post above and before I get it pointed out to me. There are several posts abouting setting up and the whole 30 day thing but not about the day-to-day operation. Any thoughts?
I only have a regular online bank with Netspend. However I receive 5% APY. I was told that there’s a $10,000 limit for my account. However, if I reach $10,000 I’ll surely look into these accounts above. BTW: if you sign up with Netspend, call up and tell them CortneyR sent you. You’ll get $5. 🙂
NetSpend looks WAY too scary for me. Your monies will be held at unnamed FDIC banks? Poor website info…wikipedia info simply looks like an advertisement….like possibly your post???
I made a small deposit when I first opened a savings account online with Venture Bank Direct. The next time I checked my monthly statement my balance was $30,000 over what it should have been!
I know enough that when a bank makes an error like that, that it’s not my free-windfall-money-to-spend-yippee! So I emailed them and they immediately corrected it.
It was fun to see a big balance like that though, for a day.
Brad, where did you get the information that Netspend holds your monies at unnamed FDIC banks? Their website states the following: “All-Access Savings Accounts are issued by Inter National Bank, member FDIC.” Just curious. Seems like a great rate.
This is what you find on Wikipedia now:
“The commonly used industry terms for products such as “Stored-Value Card”, “Prepaid Debit Card” or “Prepaid Credit Card” are somewhat misnomers because the products do not actually store value within themselves, they do not provide the prepayment of a service such as long distance, nor do they have a credit component. Even though the cards have a Visa or MasterCard emblem they do not report to credit bureaus like true credit cards and therefore do not contribute to building or improving a cardholder’s credit history. Rather prepaid debit cards allow for the depositing of funds that can be drawn upon at anytime. Prepaid debit cards are analogous in function to check cards or debit cards issued at banks and credit unions and some brokerages. In fact, the monies for prepaid debit cards are actually housed at FDIC banks. The primary differentiation is that the processing company, “Netspend” in this case, is allocating funds to individual cardholder accounts in their system vs. the actual bank’s system. The bank is used as an omnibus account of sorts for all funds.””
On the main NetSpend page, they say there are connections to 2 banks for the debit side and, indeed, 4-star Interbank for the savings aspect.
So, if Wikipedia is right, and they are internally allocating your savings to YOU out of THEIR FDIC insured account at Interbank, it is clear that if the bank failed, you would NOT be covered unless ALL depositors had, in total, less than $250,000 in the ONE account that NetSpend has at Interbank. Even if some or all of that is wrong, NetSpend is NOT a bank and is not, in and of itself, FDIC insured…according to this info.
Here is the wiki link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NetSpend_Corporation
It’s your money. There is enough “hinky-ness” to this to my way of thinking, that I didn’t go any further in exploration. I think it is too late to get into a Madoff account. That purportedly paid well, too.
I found good comments here about MMA / Savings account. A quick question – Is MMA Savings account (eg with Chase) are FDIC secured up to 100 K ? Does anyone know a place to look at the definition for different type of accounts ? Thanks in Advance.
Manny – some are, some aren’t. Each has to be checked individually. Make sure you know the answer before applying for your account, much less sending in any cash.
Bradley C, Schwab savings account looks good to me too. But you can’t apply online, you have to actually send something in the mail. Kind of shocking that you have to do this in this day and age… but I guess it is because it’s so new.
ShoreBank down to 2.45% APY:
“As the economic climate changes in unprecedented ways, your deposits at ShoreBank continue to help rebalance our economy and create a healthier environment. To pursue this mission despite these tumultuous times, effective April 9, 2009, ShoreBank will lower its interest rate on your High-Yield Savings Account to 2.45% APY* (2.42% Interest Rate).”
My dear John letter from Provident Direct:
We wanted to let you know that we will change the High Yield Online Savings Account APY to 1.25% effective April 17, 2009.
Sincerely, Chris Baker
Vice President, Providentdirect
They were paying 2.1%. All I can say is … C’ya!
Just wanted to let anyone interested know that I opened an account with Savings Square almost a year ago. The setup process wasn’t too difficult, though I may have had to call them to set up the funds transfer.
Anyway, I forgot my username and password long ago, and I finally called them today, and everyone was really helpful and friendly. I’m back in my account again, and all my money is there. I know the rates keep dropping, but I just wanted to say, I’m pleased with their customer service.
Darby Direct has a 3.00% APY Savings Account, according to http://ratebrain.com —
What do folks think about Darby Direct? Is it legit?
Not sure about Darby Direct.
However, ratebrain is well known to be an absolute piece of crap
Some info on Darby here:
Rated 2 stars (below peer group):
http://www.bankrate.com/rates/safe-sound/memorandums-memos.aspx?fedid=446336
Financial statement:
http://www.bankrate.com/rates/safe-sound/financial-statements.aspx?fedid=446336
But 3.0% (as long as it would last) if pretty darn good, and they are FDIC insured. Be nice to know if they are on the FDIC problem list that they keep hidden.
I opened a rewards checking account with Americanet Bank on Sunday and it was setup and ready by Thursday with no problems. I didn’t have to mail in anything and they send you your account info through secured email. I have already set up bank to bank transfer with 2 outside banks. It says each person can have up 2 accounts. Their rate is 5.25% up to $10,000 with just 10 debit card transactions and receive electronic statements.I’m thinking about opening a 2nd acct. to get the 5.25%.
I’m looking at Fnbo 5 year cd at 4.00%. Do anyone know of any bank with higher rate for a 5yr. cd? With the way the rates are dropping it might be 5 years before they go back up.
I signed up for Addison Avenue Credit Union Rewards Checking account (had branches in my hometown, but they are nationwide too). The requirements to receive the 4% for this RCA:a dozen debit transactions (either pin or signature), 1 ach deposit or withdrawal, and all statements via online. Cost $5 to join this credit union. As per all credit unions, backs up deposits to $250K by NCUA (FDIC sister). The deposit limit is $25K and you can have up to 5 accounts! I figured how to do the debit requirements rather painlessly: when I fill up my car at the self serve, I will pump and pay a dollar at a time with my debit card, 12 times, and voila… 12 debit transactions fulfilled. Feel good making a little more money in these tough investment times and in the safe harbor of a credit union. Cheers to Reward Checking Accounts!
“I figured how to do the debit requirements rather painlessly: when I fill up my car at the self serve, I will pump and pay a dollar at a time with my debit card, 12 times, and voila… 12 debit transactions fulfilled.”
I hope I don’t get stuck behind you at the gas station!
Pilm says:
We wanted to let you know that we will change the High Yield Online Savings Account APY to 1.25% effective April 17, 2009.
They were paying 2.1%. All I can say is … C’ya!
——
I’m with ya. I signed up because they were paying 3.75%, which at the time was the highest I could find. Since the M&T merger was announced the rate has been in a freefall. I can get better rates than 1.25% at my local credit union (which is where I moved the money FROM!)
Jon
why is ratebrain a piece of crap? are the rates wrong?
Just an FYI: my husband and I opened an account with Shore Bank at the end of March because of their 2.8% rate. We were very impressed with their PR and everything we read about them, so we decided to give them a try. They’ve been a bit disappointing so far.
First, their option to open an account online is by no means instant or even fast. We are still waiting for our login info from them, even after contacting them twice about it.
Also, almost as soon as we signed up, they dropped their rate to 2.45% (this is as of 4/9/09). We understand that given the current economic climate, these things happen, but that was horribly discouraging.
Anyway, I’ll update you when we are able to actually see our finances online with this bank, but we’ve already decided if it doesn’t happen by the end of the week, we’ll be closing the account.
I opened an account with Shore Bank also on April 1st. Figures shortly after I did I got a notice their rates will drop on the 9th to 2.45 apy. So far it has been the slowest of all the banks I have used. opened on the first, they do a deposit check twice on your linked account and you also have to register with an outside service to do the transfers. They did not take my first deposit till the 6th it did not show up till the 10th. I made two more transfers and they have only taken one and it has not shown up yet.
I know someone reported this in an earlier post, but I did it out of frustration for all the low rates out there. It’s the 13th! jeez at this rate I will miss at least a half a months interest. The whole experience has been very irritating compared to other accounts I have opened. I hope their rates make it worth the time I put into it.
Shore, If your listening, work on your interface and speed things up!
Shorebank was (of the dozen or so online banks with which I have dealt) by far the worst setup experience I have had for an online bank. Hands down.
I have never signed up for an online savings account before and really am tired of getting less tahn 1%. I was curious though, before I pick which account to open, if the rates in the account I open will go up once the market starts going back up or if once I sign up for an account, the rate only stays constant or drops.
@ Janie & slipperyzipper
As a Shorebank account holder since November 2007 and an account holder at other online banks prior to that, I read your posts with interest. I agree that Shorebank’s set-up process isn’t the most streamlined. I was able to get a problem with my initial set-up solved with a single phone call to CS. Remember that account set-up is a one time, not a recurring, process. Once it’s set up, you shouldn’t have any more problems. Funds transfers I’ve made through Shorebank (and I’ve made several) have never taken more than three days to post.
At 2.45%, Shorebank is still near the top of the list of ratepayers. I’ve noticed over the past year that Shorebank’s rates have dropped less frequently and at smaller increments than most other banks, usually decreasing less than one half of one percent per occurrence. The last two rate decreases were 0.35% each.
Even considering the relatively slow set-up process at Shorebank, I’ve been a very satisfied customer overall.
Jason: the rates on online savings accounts do change over time, but overall the average rate paid is a lot higher than “under 1%” – and naturally, I’d recommend you pick a higher rate payer rather than a average one. The rate is rarely if ever guaranteed, tho in some cases a bank will guarantee a certain rate until a certain date, usually as part of a promotion.
The remainder is purely my own opinion: I expect rates to rise when the overall economy improves, tho I have no idea when this will occur. I suspect rate increases will lag the recovery.
I recently have been looking into an internet savings account. That search brought me here. This may be a dumb question but will the apy go back up once the economy changes? Im 21 now and am looking for a place to build for the future(family and home).
I opened online savings account with HSBC Direct when its interest was 1.85%. I have heard people sayings its interest was around 5% at one point of time so yes it keep changing but these accounts are always a better place than a non-interest bearing checking/regular savings account.
Reliability of the bank and interest rates are two of main factors in deciding a bank but I also considered how may I withdraw money if I happen to need it immediately. As in electronic transfers do not always gaurantee immediate availability of your money. For example HSBC Online Savings account comes with an ATM card, there is a 6 times limit for withdrawing in a month but you can atleast have th emoney if you need it immediately.
Hope this helps.
Also, there are numerous high yielding checking accounts. This link may help you locate one you are most interested in:
http://www.highyieldcheckingdeals.com/2008/03/high-yield-reward-checking-accounts-by.html
The rates are pretty impressive but all of them come with added requirements.
Interest rates for online savings accounts typically follow changes in the federal funds rate (FFR), so if the fereral reserve bank (FED) ever decides to raise the FFR from the present ~0% to, say 1%, you will probably see a simliar 1% increase in online savings rates from whatever they are at the time. But while the FED rate changes are essentially instantaneous, savings rates tend to lag these changes as banks watch one another to see who changes first (kind of like gas stations changing prices, when one does, others follow). Unfortunately I don’t expect the FED will change rates any time soon (this year) unless they must do so in order to sell treasury notes/bonds/bills to investors.
what’s with smarty pig? it has one of the top rates, but you have to play the “set a goal” game why can’t they just have a regular savings account? also, you have to close the account to get money out. i opened an account for the rate. will see haw it plays out.
Frank: that’s a question to ask the Smartypig folks, not us. They do definitely have a whole different game going on over there.
Frank, feel free to ask any questions you like. Thanks for sharing your experience with Smartypig. Please do let us know how it plays out.
*shrug*
I didn’t mean he couldn’t ask us questions, I just mean that for a “why” question, specifically why Smartypig (or any organization) does things a certain way, the real answer would have to come from said organization
My apologies for not being more clear
You know, I am starting to wonder…after seeing the NetSpend model…where your money is actually lumped together with others’ money in an account at a bank. I wonder if any others, like Smartypig, are similarly structured. I looked over the website and the language isn’t conclusive to me that you have your own account at an FDIC insured bank. For example, it says: “SmartyPig accounts are held at West Bank and are insured by the FDIC up to the maximum allowed by law. At present FDIC insures up to $250,000 per account holder.”
Those two sentences are normally taken together, to mean that your account is insured to $250k….but if you really look at them, the first sentence says the money is at West Bank….and the second sentence merely recites the FDIC rule. I’d expect a clearer statement, like, your SmartyPig account is held at West Bank and is insured to the FDIC limit, currently $250,000.
The difference may be subtle, but if the SmartyPig accounts are held comingled like NetSpend…it could bite you. Maybe someone will examine this further.
I’m still at Clear Sky altho today it is down to 2.05%…
I have a few questions regarding this post.
You mentioned that, after doing some research, you chose ING Direct. How did you settle on that vs its competitors? Do you another post that details your decision making process?
How/why do these banks provide high-yield savings accounts? I know the standard answer is that they have no bricks nor mortar to pay for, but I have seen other such virtual banks (at usaa.com and at thrivent.com, both of which are fairly conservative organizations), that offer yields closer to that of my local savings bank.
What does your local bank offer for a savings account?
(Please be sure the rate you are quoted is for a savings account and not a CD, or a checking account)
Is your local bank FDIC insured?
What is the name of this bank?
Patrick?
As it looks more and more likely that GM will go into bankruptcy, what if anything does that mean for GMAC bank? Right now they have one of the highest rates I could find (2.25%) but I’m wondering if any potential headaches are worth the .35% interest difference from FNBO. I noticed also that Bankrate gives GMAC 4 stars for stability, which makes me think the potential GM bankruptcy is not a big deal…
After much deliberation, I ended up going with GMAC. Their current APY is 2.25%, which beats my bank’s APY of 1.21% handily. Hopefully the switch is worth the hassle.
I am settling in with Alliant Credit Union
No minimums to open, multiple accounts allowed, joint ownership allowed, ACH both push and pull is available, and excellent 24 hour phone service
And a near-the-top rate: 2.75%. You do have to have a minimum daily average balance of $100 to earn the 2.75 rate, but any serious saver has that and well more.
My only issue with these folks is that transfers are kinda slow. But I can live with that.
TJ:
I never heard of Alliant, thanks for the info. I’m confused though. You said there is a min daily balance requirement of $100. I agree that $100 is reasonable, but in reviewing the FAQ on the website, it says:
“Is Alliant Checking really free of monthly fees?
Alliant Basic & High Rate Checking have no monthly service fee or minimum balance fee, unlike most banks.”
Also, you forgot to mention that to get the high rate, you have to sign up for estatements (totally no big deal, but definitely something for people to know about up front) and also that a monthly direct deposit is required (another one that might not be a big deal for most, but some people are unemployed, don’t have direct deposit options through their work, etc.).
And now two questions:
1) You said the transfers take how long. How long is long? Just curious. Also, are you counting how long it takes to actually posted and be available for use (often fairly long at any instutition) or even just for the request to go through and to start gaining interst
2) I did not want to read through all the disclosures, small print and assume you already did. Are their any fees to use their debit card or if so, are they then reimbursed like those High Yield Checking accounts do?
3) no required 10 transactions per month right??
DreaDrea: I recommend following the list on Fatwallet, Alliant is featured prominently there. Fatwallet’s list is well-maintained by volunteers, ie Banks do not pay to get listed like they do on Bankrates.com and other such sites.
The excellent Bankdeals blog also has a lot of good to say about Alliant.
I’m not doing checking. I’m doing savings only. I have no input on or experience with their checking account.
All the stuff above about checking is irrelevant to me. Sorry.
Also, I do not need a atm card – I would never draw on savings for quick cash in hand – so again, sorry, no idea.
Transfers seem to be taking 3-4 days. When you initiate a transfer it says to expect a 3 day wait, so there’s no deception involved, but I think 3 days in this electronic age is more than a bit slow, and I have seen other online banks be much faster at this.
I have made the big leap and signed up for a Reward Checking account with Addison Avenue Credit Union.
Pays 4%, max up to $25K per account (you can have up to 5 accounts). Requirements are 12 debit transactions, 1 ACH transaction, and electronic statements.
The nice thing is they were in my hometown in Colorado so don’t have to jump through hoops with online security and credit checks. They are backed by NCUA, equivalent of FDIC, bur for credit unions. They are nationwide and charge a $5 fee for membership, anybody qualifies.
I get my 12 debit transactions out of the way by pumping a dollar of gas and paying with my Addison Avenue debit card. I do this 11 times and on the 12th time I fill up the rest of the tank) Ach transaction is a small monthly transfer between my wells fargo account to Addison Avenue, easy…
So far very satisfied, hopefully the rates wont drop for a bit, still holding at 4%. Will keep you posted. Thanks to this blog for keeping me enlightened with these high yield rates. Keep up the good work!
JD – do you have another topic about Reward Checking where reward checking accounts could be commented on? They’re really two different animals and discussing both in one comments block is getting confusing
TJ: I agree!
SJ: That sounds great, but FYI, AmericanetBank (which I have commented on a lot above) is still offering their whopping 5.25%, plus it’s only 10 transactions, plus no requirement for any type of direct deposit/monthly auto pay, plus no sign up fee (even though yes, $5 is very low and a one time fee for yours).
For thorse who don’t even know what the whole deal is about High Yield Checking accounts, check out this link:
http://deposits.interest.com/deposits/high_yield_checking_accounts.html
But as for an actual blog like this one, I would be interested.
TJ/Drea/
its been a while,however i have been busy with family duties, however I wanted to let you guys know that I opened a chcking acct with First arkansas bank and trust which gives 4.44 APY with some req’s like 10 debit transactions, one ACH or online bill pay and e statements…
downside is it took almost 2 weeks to finally get account activated. intially u cant put more than $175 in to the account. but they give 4.44 APY upto 50K…
you applyonline and Iam not sure about the hard/soft check on credit but you will be asked to verify your identity with some questions based on your credit history.
GM going bankrupt is scary news for GMAC account owners. I am almost to the point of withdrawing all my funds.
AmericaNet will be dropping their rates dramaticly on May 5, both checking and savings
PLEASE NOTE
If you’re interested in rewards checking accounts, please see my article about making the most of your checking account.
Brad, did ClearSky just drop their rate again? I read something about this on fatwallet….
Clear Sky was briefly at 2.15% and then dropped to its current 2.05%.
They have also now installed a tiered rate, so that over $250,000 only earns 0.50%. Not a problem for me (or any sane person who knows the FDIC limit of $250k).
They still don’t want any new customers, so I guess all the money didn’t depart on 4/1. Sure is strange to see banks pay LESS interest the more money you have with them. Weird times we live in.
Still such a great deal if you can figure out a way to qualify…
United Federal Credit Union High Yield Checking Account at a whopping 6% and it says right on their website “guaranteed until at least 2010”!!
http://www.unitedfcu.com/Interest_Plus_601_Checking_353.html
Check out my previous post at #1097 on more…
DreaDrea – JD asked us to post stuff about checking on a different comment block. Please see his note at 23 April 2009 at 12:18 pm
Hi all,
I’ve been following this thread for a while now. Thanks for all the information.
@TJ – is your comment on AmericaNet dropping rate on May 5 true? I was about to open an account with them.
United gives 6 % APY only up to 25K….fyi
TJ, I’m with you…but some folks just don’t seem to want to hear that the discussion of checking accounts go elsewhere….this is a thread about High-Yield SAVINGS accounts….. I’m glad JD put it elsewhere, but he’s gonna have to come here and delete/moderate posts to get compliance it looks like.
If I were interested in pumping my gas $1 at a time for 10-12 times (and hope the bank wouldn’t rightfully get pissed), then I’d go to that OTHER thread and see which one paid best. But I’m interested in High-Yield Savings accounts…which means THIS thread.
Well! Clear Sky appears to be open for business again! The http://www.clearskyaccounts.com/ link to Apply is now working. Savings is 2.05% APY and they have a suite of other accounts, all paying decently.
Oh Brad you don’t have to pump gas at $1.00. I pump mine at $.38 to $.52 cents for 10-12 times in less than 2 days to get it done for the period and I’m done.
United at 6% guaranteed till 2010 sounds really sweet, I am going to check it out and let you know the details.
Collin:
Yes, it’s true. I have AmericaNet right now and got the same notice. It will be going to 4% on May 5. Still not bad, but not as good as 5.25%! Those sneaky little bastards however are still advertising 5.25% on their site. Can you imagine the poor fool who didn’t have this heads up by reading these blogs, signed up on May 4, and then got screwed on May 5?!
Anyway, we are not supposed to post about HY Checking Accounts here anymore (different blog for that) but since you asked the question, didn’t want to leave you lingering…
Thanks DreaDrea. I’m actually interested in their Savings rate, or was it MM? Do you know what that will be reduced to?
Collin:
In answer to your question, here is the email I got from them on 4/27. At least we know they are one of the few which not only alert you of a change, but someone in advance:
Dear Customer:
Thank you very much for choosing AmericaNet Bank as your financial institution.
During the last few months, we’ve experienced a tremendous growth of new
customers opening Rewards Checking and Mega Money Market Accounts. Due to this high demand, we subsequently must change the rates of our Rewards
Checking and Mega Money Market Accounts, effective May 5, 2009.
The new rates are as follows:
Rewards Checking
4.00% APY* on daily balances less than or equal to $10,000.00**
1.00% APY* on daily balances greater than $10,000.00**
Rewards Checking accounts limited to two per Social Security number.
Mega Money Market
2.00% APY* on daily balances less than or equal to $35,000.00
1.00% APY* on daily balances greater than $35,000
Mega Money Market accounts limited to one per Social Security number.
Important: Please note that since the rates are changing in the middle of the
monthly statement cycle, your next statement will reflect a “blended” interest rate combining the higher rate during the first part of the statement cycle and the lower rate during the last part of the statement cycle.
Should you have questions about your account please contact us.
Sincerely,
Wade Huckabay
President
AmericaNet Bank
*APY is Annual Percentage Yield
**When Rewards Account requirements are met, .25% APY if requirements are not met
DreaDrea:
This is makes no sense:
“During the last few months, we’ve experienced a tremendous growth of new
customers opening Rewards Checking and Mega Money Market Accounts. Due to this high demand, we subsequently must change the rates…”
Reward Checking accounts were created to compete with the big banks, and require virtually no overhead, its all electronic. Guess they got too much money and customers using them there the banks…
They lowered the rates because – like every high yield saving/checking rate – interest rates are plunging in all financial sectors. Duh!!!
DreaDrea:
This is makes no sense:
“During the last few months, we’ve experienced a tremendous growth of new
customers opening Rewards Checking and Mega Money Market Accounts. Due to this high demand, we subsequently must change the rates…”
Reward Checking accounts were created to compete with the big banks, and require virtually no overhead, its all electronic. Guess they got too many customers opening accounts…what a krazee notion!!!!
They lowered the rates because – like every high yield saving/checking rate – interest rates are plunging in all financial sectors. Duh!!!
I just switched from Provident/M&T (1.25%) to FNBO (1.90%). I was tempted by GMAC’s higher rate (2.25%) but was concerned about GMAC’s future if GM goes under. Once I get this account funded for “emergency cash” levels (6 months of expenses) I’m going to investigate CDs and even possibly investment accounts to try to get a better rate, at least until rates go back up.
Hey JP, here’s what I heard from GMAC yesterday. I was also concerned about GMAC’s rates in the near future but this e-mail looks like assuring enough:
Dear ******,
Thank you for choosing GMAC Bank. GMAC Bank is a separate financial entity from the General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC) and General Motors (GM). If GM would file Chapter 11 Bankruptcy it would not affect GMAC Bank because we do not share our assets with the other divisions under the GM umbrella. And, more importantly, GMAC Bank is FDIC insured.
GMAC Bank is committed to being competitive with our rates for both our Money Market and Certificate of Deposit accounts. Rates are determined by a myriad of disciplines including, but not limited to: what the marketplace and industry are doing, the climate of the economy, and GMAC’s management.
GMAC Bank Customer Care Advocates are not notified of future rate changes. Please keep in mind that the Money Market Account rates are variable and are subject to change daily. When opening a Certificate of Deposit the rate is locked in on the day the account is funded.
Our rates can be reviewed from our website at http://www.gmacbank.com. Select “GMAC Rates” from the menu on the left of the homepage, and then click “Check Today’s Rates” in the center of the screen.
For further assistance please give our Customer Care Department a call and we will be happy to assist you with your banking needs. Our toll free number is 1-866-246-2265. You can reach us Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 9:00 pm and Saturdays from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm EST.
Thank you,
KChristianson
Customer Care
GMAC Bank
Effective as of Friday May 1, 2008
GMAC Bank has “Raised” the 12 Month CD rate to 2.80% and for the record I do not work for GMAC Bank.
I’m hoping to open a savings account with obviously (surprise) a great interest rate. I’m finding it frustrating to wade through the all information and in some cases, misinformation.
My question is “Which bank would you give with to open a new savings/MMA account if you had to stick with it for 1 whole year?”. As has been mentioned a zillion times on this page, chasing around for better interest rates every other week may not be the best option for everyone.
Appreciate your inputs.
Hey Shiva, I believe you should go through some pain for your satisfaction. To suggest you a few from my experience:
1) FNBO Direct
2) GMAC
3) HSBC
4) Ever Bank
5) Shore Bank
Of course there are many other banks too with nice rates but these are the few which have been able to maintin higher rates. You may also want to check MoneyRates:
http://www.money-rates.com/savings.htm
I will suggest you to also go through all the comments here, atleast hose made in 2009.
My list, in order of preference after some time with each of them, is:
1. Clear Sky Savings
2. HSBC
3. iGo Banking
Scored by overall experience, not chasing the last 0.10% of a rate… Customer service, higher rates, ease of setup, ease of ACH transfers are some of the overall experience I am rating here.
My list of “never agains” is:
1. Zions Bank (added fees, screwed up account transactions twice)
2. UFB Savings (added a fee for no reason after probably a year of a low balance to maintain the account)
3. ING (got too big and thus were able to be the leader in lowering rates with their opening bonuses and the “sell it to your friend and earn $10” campaign. They also screwed up an attempted refinance with their Orange mortgage.)
I am neutral on Emigrant Direct (and by extension, Dollar Savings Direct).
I’d never go to a bank I knew took Tarp funds (Zions for one). Clear Sky proudly boasts that they did not take any, by the way. I’d never go to a bank that had a 2 star or less rating, as there have been something like 29 bank failures already this year, and I know the $$$ will be safe, but I don’t want the hassle of FDIC involvement in returning my money.
Just my 2 cents….
@Brad: Nice suggestions wrapped in your reply Brad. Did you ever consider GMAC or Darby Direct? I am with HSBC currently but willing to shift to earn a bigger chunk somewhere else 😉
Darby Direct is now open only to customers living in Georgia
@Aniruddha:
Just never used GMAC…so no comment there. I think Darby Direct is a newer one, but it is now closed to new accounts unless you live in Georgia.
The bulk of my savings is at Clear Sky with their 2.05% rate…after collecting that fat 3.75% for a couple of months. Their package and customer service has been great. I opened up a free checking account with $1 and that got me an ATM/Debit card where I can access the savings and checking at any ATM…and they reimburse up to $20 a month in fees. I have made several sub-accounts with them and they let me link several banks…and even free bill-pay. They turned out to be a VERY complete bank for me, while staying in the higher tier of rate payers… Now that they are *finally* open again to new customers, it is meaningful to comment on them….
Darby is the first bank this year to give me any good news, promising to hold interest rates at 3.0% until the end of September, sweet!
Aniruddha:
my husband and I are looking to come out of the dark ages and into the the online savings world. we have a high yield checking at our local bank but their savings is paying .5% so we are ready to get w/ someone that is paying some interest. my husband is thinking GMAC and I was looking at FNBO. thoughts?
@Aurelia:
I would suggest you to consider a few things apart from interest rates:
1) is the bank FDIC insured?
2) how long they have been maintaining this high rate becuz you dont wanna keep switching banks?
3) how fast can you access(withdraw) your money?
Both FNBO and GMAC have maintained the rates for a fair duration now. FNBO was also awarded by Kiplinger but GMAC’s rates are higher.
I recently received response from GMAC’s customer service (comment #1452) assuring GMAC is not going to sink with GM but yeah I understand your concern of sticking with a safe bank. Please also find out how you can access your funds in both cases.
FNBO is not a bad choice at all if you decide not to choose GMAC, but you might wanna consider creating a simple CD ladder with GMAC as its CD rates are pretty good right now (1-year @ 2.80%).
Also keep checking MoneyRates.com. I am with HSBC Direct currently (@ 1.65%) and planning to switch to GMAC.
Just saw this on CNN/Money’s website today:
GMAC
Total assets: $189 billion
TARP money received: $6 billion
2008 results: $1.9 billion in profits
Stock performance: N/A
When the government agreed to a $6 billion infusion for privately held GMAC late last year, it was a godsend for the beleaguered auto finance firm. But conditions have hardly improved since then. General Motors, which owns a significant stake of GMAC along with private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. At the same time, domestic auto sales remain a fraction of what they were just a year ago. The company recently said it would resume making loans to people without top credit scores, but it remains to be seen if those efforts will help GMAC get back on track.
——–
Right now there is a .35% interest rate difference between FNBO and GMAC. On $10K that’s comes out to $2.92 a month difference.
I decided that wasn’t enough to justify being concerned about GMAC’s future, so I went with FNBO.
When TARP funds are accepted by a bank….my business goes elsewhere if I find it out. A bank does not deserve my business when they steal from me as a taxpayer. Call me rigid, but there needs to be some folks who understand the principles of Capitalism these days.
Clear Sky was very proud to proclaim they did not take any of the “free money” being sent out and I appreciate them for that.
From their press releases:
“Further commenting, Szyperski noted, “In addition to the fact that we currently have a very strong capital position, very strong loan loss reserve, and are approaching a year with record earnings, we do not feel that taking these funds from the TARP bailout is in the best interests of our shareholders. The strings attached to the TCPP money allowing the Treasury to issue common stock warrants as well as the ability to unilaterally change the agreement at any time, was of great concern to us.”
“We will continue to serve the credit needs of our communities as we always have,” commented Szyperski. “Though the TCPP does serve a need in the overall financial services industry and can be used by other financial institutions, we do not feel it is in the best interests of our shareholders nor our communities. We continue to stand on solid ground with respect to our capitalization, asset quality, earnings, and core banking operations. We are successfully weathering the current downturn in the economy and are well-positioned for the continued growth throughout our market.”
Hooray for that kind of thinking. No GMAC Bank for me. Thanks for that piece of info.
I must say, though GMAC’s rates are still high one can’t be sure of their stability. In addition to JP’s comments I found this on CNN: http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200905051031DOWJONESDJONLINE000413_FORTUNE5.htm
I am thinking of locking some money in GMAC’s CDs and then continue my search for other better names. Right now FNBO, Clear Sky, Ever Bank and Shore.
UFB Direct, which used to be a high rate payer, has set up a fee schedule and claims to have sent it to everyone. I don’t think so, as meticulous as I am about my banking. They took my $1.25 as they charged me a $5.00 charge. Here was their reply to me when I asked what happened:
“Both the Absolute and High Yield Money Market Savings accounts require a $10,000.00 monthly average balance to avoid the monthly service fee. This change went into effect on 1/1/09. Notification of this change was mailed to all customers in November of 2008. At this time, your account has been brought to a zero balance and closed. If there is anything else we can do for you, please contact us.”
All that and a 1.05% rate….No thanks. Funny, if it went into effect that long ago, how come they only charged the account one time?
30 mins ago CNN published GMAC’s posting of $675M loss http://money.cnn.com/2009/05/05/news/companies/gmac_earnings.reut/index.htm?postversion=2009050513
I need to be careful now :O
30 mins ago CNN published GMAC’s posting of $675M loss.
http://money.cnn.com/2009/05/05/news/companies/gmac_earnings.reut/index.htm?postversion=2009050513
I need to be carefull now :O
I would argue against Everbank for any saver on the basis that not only do they have a required minimum (which by itself isn’t so bad) but also a large monthly fee, both of which were just recently raised, see: http://bankdeals.blogspot.com/2009/05/higher-monthly-fees-and-minimum-balance.html
I hate fees with a passion. Make your money by investing the principal I give you, ok? Don’t give me an interest payment then take it away with a fee. No No.
Did anyone notice the shorebankdirect(dot)com phishing site? They almost had me fooled for a second. Luckly my application was not final yet and I didn’t know my user name and password yet.
Scott, Are you saying that shorebankdirect(dot)com is the phishing site? Or are you says that there exists a phishing site that looks like shorebankdirect(dot)com?
I thought shorebankdirect(dot)com was the fishing site. Now I’m not sure. I did a lookup of who owns each domain name and it references the same address, but different contact information. Links on shorebankdirect(dot)com point to sbk(dot)com.
It seems suspicious that the login prompt is the first thing you see. I’m paranoid that it exists to try and steal your username and password. I’m going to try and confirm with the bank if they own that site or not.
Is anyone considering Flagstar Bank? Or at least does anybody has something to share about their services or policies?
They recently bidded for me on MoneyAisle (https://www.moneyaisle.com/Default.aspx) for 2.20%.
shorebankdirect.com and sbk.com are both owned by ShoreBank. shorebankdirect.com is not a phishing site. I’ve been using this bank since November 2007 and you can access your accounts using either site.
@Mark, you right. I had sent an email to them yesterday and they confirmed they own both domain names. Sorry for the false alarm.
Honestly, it annoys me that banks use multiple domain names. One of the first things you learn about for secure web browsing is to make sure you are pointed to the correct domain name. Banks that aren’t consistent and training their customers to be fooled someday.
@ Aniruddha
I have an account at Flagstar. Never had an issue. The account was easy to establish and the rate has been steady.
@ Scott. I know it can be confusing. sbk.com takes you to Shorebank’s main corporate site. shorebankdirect.com is a short-cut directly to online banking.
Just opened an account with Heartland (2.30%) and I must say, this is one of the most confusing banks in which to open an account. There are so many email confirmations, secure email responses, etc.
If I had to do it again, I would never do it.
(Just wondered if the adm of this site could put some of these posts on another page. Quite a lot to look at on one page.)
Actually Alice, we had JD (the admin) try that before and too many people didn’t like it. The problem became that there were only like 25-50 comments per page and you would have to spend an exorbitant amount of extra time to go from page to page to page to page to page to page to page (seriusly, that many times!) to find stuff and follow comment threads. Also, it was hard to reference prior posts by number because each page then started back at #1.
I have continued to say that the answer is very simple if it is too much to read/weed through all on one page: just do “ctrl F” to initiate the find function. You can write in the box whatever key word you want, such as the name of a bank, a concept, a topic, whatever, and then click next and it will take you to every single time that word appears. Very neat and efficient.
Just in case someone didn’t notice, GMAC is now Ally Bank. Visit http://www.gmacbank.com/.
There are some new prodcuts in certificate domain.
The new moneyrate.com system is quite dumb. I select savings accounts and <$10.000 but the second one is for an account with 100,000. This page is now worthless and is removed from my bookmarks.
HSBC Direct Online Savings is now 1.55% 🙁
Just a heads up on my new Addison Avenue Reward Checking… just made $110 last April on that sweet 4%. Thanks to everyone on this blog who pointed me in the right direction. Peace out!
FNBO is now 1.65%. And I just transferred all my online savings there. SIGH.
Still better than the 1.25% I was getting at Provident/M&T.
Has anyone heard about or have comments on Heartland Bank?
(Wonder if there is a possibility of posting these threads with the latest threads posted first? Just a suggestion.)
Thanks
Emigrant Direct down to 1.55%, guess they only care to stay ahead of ING (at 1.5%), but there are several others better now!
ShoreBank will lower the interest rate on your High-Yield Savings Account to 2.05% APY* (2.03% Interest Rate), effective Thursday, May 21, 2009. We understand the lower rate can impact your financial situation and we thank you for continuing to bank with us.
Damn, here we go again….the race to the bottom has restarted
This is not the “High-Yield” Savings Account blog of yore, could we rename to “Mediocre-Yield”…?
Oh the humanity…
Bankdeals is listing 2.75APY at Wilshire Savings, and this bank has fairly strong soundness ratings
I am probably going to move my money here for 90 days
http://bankdeals.blogspot.com/2009/06/everbank-increases-3-month-promo-rate.html
TJ:
if I’m not mistaken, the minimum balance requirement for Everbank is a whopping $5000 (way more than virtually most regular posters on this blog ever have on hand for these type of accounts). So I was surprised why you mentioned it, unless I missed something?
Also, it says you have to fund the account with a check (great delay and risk of lost in the mail) or wire (usually a fee), no ACH. Also, the site you referenced says the transfers are exteremly show, 4-6 days. Finally, one person said they do a hard pull on your credt, although that’s not as big a deal to me as the other things mentioned above.
3% is defintely a good rate, and guaranteed for 90 days, but at what cost?
ACH is not an option for initial funding. Initial funding must be done by check or wire transfer
My bad, DreaDrea – allow me to detail this a little more
Incoming wire transfers are (according to Everbank) no charge
I have more than 5k in savings, but that is an excellent point, and one I should have mentioned.
It should be well known by now that I hate hate hate hate fees….but I avoid the fee in this case due to the amount I’d deposit.
The slow transfers are not a big deal to me because I do so few of them. If I put money into savings, it is my intention that it stays there for a long time. Sure, I like quick transfers like DSD has as much as anyone, but it’s not a deal killer.
In any case, my main objective is to ensure that the low rate payers lose my money, and the high rate payers gain it, encouraging everyone to keep their rates competitive. Those of you with money sitting in liquid accounts under 2% and at the same time are complaining about how low the rate paid is are part of the problem – by letting the low-rate-paying banks hold your money, you’re creating incentive them to keep their rates low. You’re enabling their behavior.
(and no DreaDrea – I’m not saying you are one of these “enablers”. I’m addressing any reader here who fits that description)
I agree with TJ. It doesn’t make any sense to keep your money in an account that is paying less than 2% at this time. Don’t reward these low-paying banks by keeping your money with them. I’m still getting 2.05% at ShoreBank. If it falls below 2%, I’ll start looking for another place to park my $$$.
I concur. I have 99% of my funds at ClearSky earning 2.05%. Under 2%, I will search elsewhere. Simple supply and demand. If you tolerate 1.5%, that’s where the rates will all head. If everybody falls below 2%, I’ll take it out and put it in my local credit union to at least support my community.
Brad:
I like your idea of local support. I have done just that with local credit union using their rewards checking, at 3.5% interest for now.
TJ: thanks for the clarifying info. Kudos to you (and I’m jealous!) that you have such a nice chuck to invest, but yes from what I have read over 1000s of posts is that the majority of people don’t have that kind of money and even balk at a $1000 or $100 minimum.
Also for clarification, when I was mentioning the annoyance/fees involved with funding the account, I meant the INITIAL funding, but good to know about subsequent funding.
Not to be pissy, but please discuss rewards checking elsewhere…..those accounts are a different animal and require the account holder to do certain things each and every month to earn the interest stated. See comment 1435 from JD (the operator of this blog)
DreaDrea: Thanks, it’s taken me a long time and a lot of sacrifice to do this.
Also, agreed there are a lot of small-balance savers on here
……but…….
If I was advising someone with 1000 or less to save, I’d advise them to use a different tactic: open an account that offers a cash bonus. Let’s say there’s a 25 dollar bonus to open an account – ING (for one) seems to do this kind of promo fairly often. On a thousand dollar base, thats an instant 2.5% return (higher if the principal is less than 1000, obviously) and the 1.5% interest (what ING Direct pays right now) earned over a year on top of that is just gravey – overall return would be slightly better than 4% in this case. Obviously, this tactic works better the higher the bonus is.
If you only have a little to invest, look for this kinda of deal once or twice a year, and move your cash accordingly.
Please Note: I say once or twice a year. Obviously, one could potentially do this a dozen or more times a year if one really stayed on the hunt for such deals (albeit many of them require you to keep your principal in their account for some stated period, such a 90 days or so) but I think this is abusive and eventually some credit bureau will figure out how to detect such behavior and make it affect your credit report — and quite probably they already have. Lower credit score will cost you in hidden ways, like higher insurance rates. So I don’t recommend doing that
With a larger chunk to invest, it’s better to hunt for the best rate
TJ: Not to pissy (your words, not mine!), but since the vast majority of those on here are in fact the small investor times looking for very low or no minimum balance accounts, hearing about a great bank with a great rate but which requires a whopping $5000 minimum balance to get it is NOT any more helpful to those on here then hearing about the awesome high rate rewards accounts that you keep correctly reminding should be discussed elsewhere since it doesn’t apply to most here. In other words, for the same exact reasons we don’t want to hear about the high rate rewards accounts, we also don’t want to hear about accounts with super high min balance requirements and neither type is practical to about 80% of the people on here.
Hope that makes sense. But again kudos to you, seriously and some day I do hope to have a nice chunk like that so I can do exactly what you are doing, so please don’t get me wrong…
DreaDrea: I’ll respectfully disagree, and instead offer up that in such a case of a high min opening amount requirement, I’ll simply disclose it from now on when I mention it. Mind you, I still prefer low or no min balance requirement accounts, all else being equal.
The topic here is the “best online high yield savings account” and what will be best for a person with 1000 to save is simply different from what someone with 100000 to save. (and no, I have nowhere near 100k, just using that amount as an example)
So — both are relevant, but yeah, high min opening balance requirements should be disclosed, and that was (as I said) my bad.
Approaching this from an entirely different angle, and taking your 20%/80% estimate as a given for purpose of this discussion, should the 20% be ignored simply because they are in a minority?
@ TJ & Drea:
I have to agree with TJ on this one. High yield savings (not checking) is the topic. Most savings have some sort of issues that need to be discussed here, rate not being the only consideration. Issues such as simplicity of opening/moving of money/minimum (and maximum) balances are all relevant aspects of the savings accounts.
I doubt many here are gonna report their savings amounts and your 80% estimate is what we called a WAG in the working world. You have absolutely no way of “guestimating” that number.
I agree with TJ (and JD) that reward checking is a completely different subject…but a simple minimum balance for an account is a valuable thing for 100% of us to know, and there is no reason to keep some bank from being reported here just because some won’t like the criteria.
Good point guys! And you are right about not fair to leave out the 20% majoirty, TJ. Being a racial minority myself, I defintely know what mean.
ok, happy savings!
Wow, happy I dropped by after some time. I hadn’t given it much thought, but these final few posts made me realize I’m sort of rewarding ING for keeping my money there. It’s been at 1.5% for some time now and has left me feeling like I’m not getting the best rate. I don’t want to get into specifics, but the amount in my ING is >$20K so I think at that amount, any increase in % by switching to another account is worthwhile. I’ve been reading about Ally since I considered GMAC some time ago, so perhaps I’ll finally get down to business and switch…reward them for offering a higher rate, and moving my money from ING who clearly doesn’t want to be a savings leader. As always, thanks for the information.
@Cory: Ally has dropped its rates to 2.05%(grrrrrrr … ABA) If you have >20K EverBank might be another good option for you … be sure to find out specifics of their conditions but first three months you earn 3.01% 🙂
Clear Sky is still open to new accounts and is paying 2.05%. Easy folks to deal with and they’ve been great. Also, if you open a checking account for $1 with them, you will get an ATM card giving you easy access to savings and checking. They even reverse up to $20 in ATM fees a month. No fees or nasty rules…AND they did not take any stolen taxpayer dollars! (No Tarp funds.)
http://www.clearskyaccounts.com/
@Aniruddha: Thanks for the heads-up.
I went over to EverBank and don’t see savings…just a MMA. Forgive my ignorance, but is that the same thing as a traditional savings? I didn’t think it was, but am open to being wrong about that. For instance, when they show their comparison, they compare it to Ally’s MMA @ 1.9%. But Ally has online savings @ 2.05%. So, different types of accounts? Interesting that they don’t offer a traditional online savings account…at least not one that I could find.
@Corry: You are correct, I tend to use MMA and High Yield Savings accounts loosely (my bad!). EverBank has Yield Pledge Money Market Account and the 3.01% is their bonus rate for the first three months and after that 2.00%. Few conditions you should know are minimum balance of $1500 to open a new account and minimum $5000 average daily balance.
Wow this is amazing. just the site I was looking for that i can talk to people and discuss what mma or savings account I should go for. I’ve been searching online a lot and looking for the safest high interest rate mma or savings account and i wanted to get your guys thoughts and opinions on where I should go or point me in the right direct. I’ve been looking at ally bank and dollar savings direct but I wanna know if theres something better out there? Thank you 😀
Dannyb: go look at http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/finance/783099/m11499567/#m11499567
However
As has been brought up many times in these comments, the rate is not the only important thing to consider. For example: Everbank charges fees. DSD has a 1000$ minimum and when you withdraw your funds, you only get the interest paid up through the end of the previous month. HSBC has fairly poor safe and sound ratings. Some don’t allow a joint owner. Others have no online banking….or if they do, it can take a month or more to get set up.
etc, etc, etc.
Every institution and account has it’s “warts”. Check the bank and the account terms/conditions/features out fully before you make your choice.
I strongly advise going back a year (or more) on this topic’s comments and reading forward to get an idea of the experiences of others.
Thank you very much for your help. I’ve been browsing through the all of the posts and there is alot of good information. correct me if i’m wrong but I thought i was on a site a few nights ago that had an account that compounded the interest monthly. so 2% on 1000 as 20$ a month? Is it monthly or is it for the entire year?
DannyB: No.
Read the following for a basic explanation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compound_interest
If you were paid 20 dollars a month on 1000 dollars principal, thats basically 24 percent interest, and no legitimate organization is paying anything remotely like that on a savings account
If the quoted APY is 2%, and they are paying you interest every month (as most of them do) then you can expect to see about $1.70 a month in interest, for a total of around 20 dollars over the course of a year. This relatively low reward is why I strongly suggest that starting savers go for accounts where they pay you a bonus to open the account, as the bonus will often match or exceed what you could hope to earn all year long in interest at today’s rates.
Two examples:
http://bankdeals.blogspot.com/2009/06/75-bonus-for-opening-checking-account.html
http://bankdeals.blogspot.com/2009/06/ing-directs-25-savings-account-bonus.html
Thank you very much and excuse my ignorance. That is completely ridiculous lol I don’t know why I thought that. Thank you for clearing that up for me. Yea I think i’m gonna check out ing or ally for my account
Hi everyone! I’m actually thinking of opening an online savings account either with HSBC or ING but I am working here in Riyadh and I’m not sure if the same rules, rates, issue about safety, etc. will apply to me. Banks here are not offering any savings account…only current accounts with 0 interest. Please help. Thanks.
RossB: I’m afraid that my only frame of reference is working and living here in the USA, so the only help I can offer is: call them and ask. I’m sure it has come up before, particularly with the well-established online banks like the two you mention here, so they should be able to give you the answers you’re looking for.
Can someone please tell me the good and bad about Smartypig? Kinda hard to beat the rate. Have had an account with Etrade, HSBC, and DSD. Am tired of “awarding” them with my money for lower (and constantly falling) rates.
@ M Alford:
We’ve been thru that at least once. As big as this blog is, just have your browser do a search for smarty or smartypig. Plenty discussion here already.
Brad, thanks for the help!!!
Read the following article and the comments that follow it
https://axis-monolith.live/smartypig-a-goal-oriented-savings-account/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
It’s a different animal – pun intended – than the other savings accounts you mentioned. be sure you understand the differences (and there are a lot of them) before proceeding
My opinion – it is a less like a savings account and more like a CD that accepts (requires?) additional contributions.
i have had an account with s pig for several months. their rate has not changed.
the thing is, you have to play their game, as if you were trying to save for a future purchase (when you have reached the target amount). or, you have set up an account for the purpose of others contributing to your goal.
so, i deposited $1,000 and picked a fictitious amount as a goal, and have $33 taken out of my checing every month. you can withdraw at any time, but it has to be the whole thing. also, you can open up other accounts for separate deposits. when you reach your target amount, they send you all of it.
that is my understanding of how it works. it is still the best savings account rate around.
I have a savings account with SmartyPig right now and up to now it was a 3 % APR but i just got this message today:
Effective June 22, 2009, the APY (annual percentage yield) on SmartyPig accounts will be 2.75%. This is an APR (annual percentage rate) of 2.72%. While interest rates have been trending lower, we believe this is still an extremely competitive yield for an account insured by the FDIC. Thank you for being a SmartyPig customer. We appreciate your business!
2.75% is still pretty good, but I wish I started one earlier…
FNBO has lowered their rate to 1.50%. Depressing… this is the same as my local credit union, so there is now no benefit for me to move my money online.
Now that Evantage and Shore are both paying an anemic 2% I’ve opened up a fourth (sigh) account with Provident NJ. They’re guaranteed to keep their 3% for three months, so it’s a little bit like opening up a CD. And the minimum to open is just $50.
So far I much prefer their interface to either Shore or Evantage and have found them much smoother to work with.
Anybody found a CD of less than two years with 3% or more?
Amidst interest rates closing in, Ally’s No-Penalty CD might be a good alternative to your savings funds. It’s 2.15 at present, and being a CD this rate will be locked for the 9-month term. Being No-Penalty makes it no-problem to withdraw the money whenever a need arises. Jim’s post at Bargaineering throws more light on this: http://www.bargaineering.com/articles/ally-banks-no-penalty-cd-rate-arbitrage.html
So I’ve been doing a lot of research on high interest savings accounts and high interest rates and what I’ve come to find is they are generally around 2%. My girlfriends parents went to a credit union and are being offered 4.5% apy on a checking account? It’s with Numerica and I was wondering if you guys had any thoughts or comments on that? How come I’ve searched for “high yield savings account” or variants of that on Google and nothing above a 3% comes up, but they can find 4.5%. I just feel like there’s something fishy there and wanted your guys’ input. Thank you a lot 😀
Dannyb:
It is most likely a HIGH YIELD Checking Account your inlaws found, which require 10-12 debit or credit transactions a month and usually one direct deposit or ACH per month. Those type of accounts ARE 4% and up these days.
Those are now on another blog, but prior to the swtich, there is a PLETHORA of comments on them here, just do a CTRL F to do a search on this page…
@Dannyb: I don’t think Numerica should smell fishy Danny 😉
I use Credit Union National Association’s website when I am in doubt of a CU. Here’s the link to Numerica’s details: http://www.creditunion.coop/cu_locator/cu_detail.php?id=12112298
4.5% it is, this indeed is a great account, I haven’t looked at the condidtions though! Usually checking account with certain stipulations are offering such high rates these days, many of them are availabe only “locally” and this might be the reason Numerica is not listed among other nationally available high yields savings accounts. Also consider tracking http://bankdeals.blogspot.com/ for other local banking deals.
Let us know if you find any “nationally” available high rate. Happy Savings 🙂
You guys are just so helpful, I can’t quit coming back with more questions lol XD. I’ve gotten all of my checking accounts in order and was about to open an online savings account to store away all my extra money to start accumulating interest. I was planning on going to Ally bank but when I went to sign up I noticed their rate at 1.98. they were at 2.25 and they keep going down. How do you guys feel about that and what would you recommend instead. I’ve searched and look up a lot of info but I just want to hear it from you guys as to what bank has an account with a good interest rate and is safe for my money. Thanks so much for all of your help so far 😀
We talked about Ally a while back… they were GMAC, which obviously was not in the greatest financial condition. I’m more comfortable with FNBO or HSBC (both around 1.5%). The difference in interest is about $4 a month on $10,000… for me that’s not enough to justify going with Ally and worrying about them failing. Granted the account is FDIC insured, but I’d rather not have to deal with the FDIC – and find another bank in that situation – if I don’t have to.
That said, I am carefully watching rates right now. 1.50% is miserable – no better than the rate at my local credit union – so I’ll be leaving the online banking world altogether unless rates improve soon.
Rates are unfortunately still falling. Be willing to move your funds to one of the best rate payers. Yeah, its a pain in the butt, but it helps keep competition alive……my bank is dropping to 2.0 on 7/1 and will lose my money
ING fell from 1.5% to 1.4% on July 3, 2009.
Ally is down to 1.95% now I see,still holding a slim edge over HSBC and Emigrant at 1.55%.
Dollar Savings Direct is hanging in at 2%…
Tennessee Commerence Bank is currently offering 2.30% on their online savings.
https://www.tncommercebank.com/PersonalApplicationForms.asp
I like the interest rate, but there are a few problems you have to be willing to live with if you go with a savings account at Tennessee Commerce Bank
see: http://bankdeals.blogspot.com/2009/06/competitive-savings-account-and-cd.html
Examples
1) the application is not all electronic – there is paperwork to be mailed in – so opening the account will be slllllloooooooowwwww
2) you only get one free withdrawal per month. They charge you a fee for all other withdrawals
3) They charge a fee for low balances
4) they pay less on dollars in excess of 100k. Fine for low end savers, not so good for high end savers
The rate at Dollar Savings Direct fell 15%!!! today, from 2.0% to 1.7% (Emigrant also plunged to 1.4%, matching ING’s terrible rate). Now WT Direct beats em at 1.76%, as well as CNB at 2.0%, AmericanNet at 2.0%, Darby at 2.25% (Georgia only), and Ally’s no penalty CD at 2.00% or Ally’s savings at 1.95%. I have accounts at all these banks except Ally and have found Dollar Savings Direct no better feature wise with maybe the exception of AmericanNet. Needless to say I put in a transfer notice with DSD this morning, moving everything to Darby.
Separate note, anyone notice a site certificate problem with Ally Banks CD or savings application page?
For those that use Ally… how do you like it? I’m thinking of going there to open up an online savings account.
When I had looked in the past I was thinking of going GMAC as I was most impressed with their rate and website.
How does the website (user interface once logged in) compare to others?
I like the idea of “sub-accounts” with ING, and have heard good things about them on all levels. Do other companies use the idea of sub-accounts?
I’ve also heard good things about GMAC / Ally. I’m not concerned about the GM connection some have mentioned.
I’ve also considered Emigrant, or possibly Dollar Savings and FNBO… trying to decide between these, but I keep coming back to Ally with a decent rate.
Wondering what others think about the user experience, interface, ease of use, etc… Once I pick one, I will probably stay with them for a long time, unless service or rate dive terribly.
Thanks in advance,
KB
With rates diving into the dirt at this point, I’m finding it hard to recommend anyone who isn’t offering some kind of bonus – after all, a small cash bonus – 50 to 100 bucks – now compares rather favorably to the interest being paid for a few months at the current rates
@KB:
I opened online savings account and some CD accounts will Ally in May 09. No doubt their rates are better, though they don’t have simplifying features like sub-accounts but the interface has all what’s needed. IMO putting too much emphasis on things like interfaces, etc. isn’t worth it when rates are going down day after another.
My experience with customer service has also been good so far. Make sure to consider Ally’s 9-mon No Penalty CD … hope that helps
Discover Bank is only mentioned in one post above (coincidentally # 411). Has anyone had experience with them? DSD has finally dropped well below the leaders to the point where I’m willing to explore the competition.
I always thought Discover was primarily a credit card company, but it appears they’ve been around since the 1930s which makes me feel better. Their rate is also holding at 2.00% (for now and at least the past year according to the sun’s financial diary).
regarding Discover Bank – check out this recent review: http://bankdeals.blogspot.com/2009/07/discover-banks-new-limited-penalty-free.html
Hey everyone,
Since Everbank has a 5k minimum for mma, how would one transfer money out of them once they fall below like everyone?
How can we avoid the monthly fee incase we want to move somewhere else?
Thanks guys.
KB- I opened one with Ally in May when rate was higher, but I am happy with them all around so far other than the dropping rate. Also have one with Emigrant for a long time, they have a great site and excellent customer service in my experience…now if their rate would just go back up I would really be happy, otherwise I am considering moving what I have left in it elsewhere.
All –
I discovered quite by accident this morning a new online HY savings that I had not heard of before today nor do I see any past posts about here. It has peaked my interest…may peak yours as well..it’s SFGI Direct which is a division of Summit Community Bank in West Virginia, owned by Summit Financial Group. Rate is 2.25%!(today anyway!)
Minimum $25 to open and a $25,000 limit to your initial deposit, FDIC insured, seems pretty straighforward form my initial investigation, going to check it all out further.
Anyone already familiar with them or the parent bank and if so how do you like them?
I went to Bankrate’s website about a month ago and just now and HSBC has, both times, had a 3 star rating, not a 2 star rating.
Am I missing something here?
Whoa! Shorebank raises rate from 2% -> 2.15%
“We are pleased to announce that ShoreBank is raising the rate on your ShoreBank Direct High-Yield Savings Account to 2.15% APY* (2.13% Interest Rate), effective Tuesday, July 28, 2009. Now your High-Yield Savings Account deposits will earn even more for you while they continue to strengthen communities and create healthier environments. “
Good to see the occasional bank raising rates. There have also been a few new offerings in the 2.25 to 2.50 range. Maybe the race to the bottom has finally started to turn around……knock on wood, everyone
Please read the Bankdeals piece today – about WHY Shorebank raised it’s rates – before moving any money there
http://bankdeals.blogspot.com/2009/07/shorebank-direct-online-savings-account.html
I opened the on-line savings with Discover bank. Their service is extremely slow. I registered on-line but they haven’t sent me the password for more than one week, so I can’t still check the balance. In addition, I requested the Discover CD which matured be transferred to the savings account. Again they haven’t done so for more than a week. The money is somewhere without any interests for one week. The phone consultant said the money will be transfered on the CD mature date. He didn’t know what he was talking about!
TJ
ShoreBank’s ratings for safety and soundness are consistent with the news. BauerFinancial gives the bank one star (troubled) and Bankrate.com also gives the bank one star (lowest). Both ratings are based on 3/31/09 financial data. The deposits in the savings account are insured by the FDIC (FDIC Certificate # 15640).
as long as its FDIC insured whats the problem?
Whats the problem?
Let’s see – two banks offer you more or less the same rate, but the one that is just a tad higher is about to be closed down such that while you wont lose money, you may lose interest while the account(s) transition, the bank taking over may not honor the rate you were paid, your CDs may terminate and you lose that nice rate lock, and you may have to make a million and a half phone calls to get your accounts all straightened out, and then you have to learn the new banks interface
No loss of principal (FDIC insurance) is a good thing.
Not going through the hassle of a bank closure is also a good thing.
In addition to all that and not related to the original point – Shorebank’s online interface and setup are HORRID. Read the user comments on the following thread: http://bankdeals.blogspot.com/2007/11/review-of-shorebanks-new-direct-high.html
Not to mention that the receiving bank quite likely will not pay a competitive rate, and you’re then back to shopping for a bank again. If you’re keeping score, that’s three bank setups: Shorebank then the receiving bank then the new bank
@ TJ
I feel like I have to weigh in on this ShoreBank discussion.
I opened my first account at ShoreBank in November ’07 and another in February ’09. I have encountered no problems with this bank. Is their web interface HORRID? Of course not. It’s graphics are primitive, but it has never taken more than 3 days to post an ACH transfer. The web interface is fully functional. ShoreBank’s rates have been consistently higher than most other banks. I read the comments on “Bank Deals”. One person warns of a “terrible security hole”, but provides no details and posts the comment anonymously. Anonymous comments carry no weight with me. In the unlikely event the bank fails or is taken over, I’ll deal with it then. I’m not scared by rumors. I’m sure I won’t have to make “millions” of phone calls in order to get things straightened out.
I have been pleased with my experience at ShoreBank.
np, Mark. We disagree on the interface, and that’s fine. There are many other comments on Bankdeals other than the one you highlighted, and many are very negative.
Has anyone had experience with Bank of Internet? It says it’s FDIC insured and looks legit, but it’s offering 2.25% on and Advantage savings. Since it’s higher than others listed, I’m wondering if there’s a catch (bad service, etc).
Kelly
I do not have experience with Bank of Internet myself, but there a number of problems pointed out on the bankdeals review of this account, enough that I decided not to move my money there, even at 2.50%. And yes — they dropped from 2.50 to 2.25 a mere two weeks after making the original offer.
The bankdeals review: http://bankdeals.blogspot.com/2009/07/bank-of-internets-new-advantage-savings.html
If it sounds too good to be true… I don’t have much money but I’d like to keep it and that security issue worries me. Time to start over. So far SFGI and Clear Sky seem interesting.
Hi Kumar:
We actually have already talked the High Yield Checking accounts to death on this blog months ago so this is actually nothing new.
Please scroll above/do a “find” search if you are interested, but JD has in fact created a whole other blog for that. It’s just a different animal (with all the hoops, etc.) and has it’s own following and plethora of separate posts.
Hope that helps
Hang on, everyone – we’re experiencing yet another round of dropsies – yes, that plunging sound you hear is of dozens of online banks dropping their rates yet again this week, as the race to the bottom continues. Prediction: We will be lucky to have any rate payers at all at or above 2.00 (with most majors below 1.5) by the end of this month
I just signed up with SmartyPig last night, and lo, this morning:
“Dear SmartyPig Saver,
Beginning Monday, Aug. 17, we will be reducing our APY to 2.01%. Historically, we’ve initiated less-frequent drops so as to enable our customers to earn as much interest for the longest possible amount of time rather than knock 10 or 20 basis points off here and there. By visiting here, you’ll find that we’re still offering one of the top rates in the country. Add the social aspect of our system that allows friends and family help you to reach your goal, and our cash boosts of up to 6% from some of your favorite retailers and travel companies, and it is easy to see why people saving for specific goals are still, far and away, earning the most money for their money with SmartyPig.
There are still no fees. No time limitations. This is not a special for new money. And SmartyPig is not restricted to residents of only certain states. Our APY is still higher than the big boys – in most cases, much higher. And we aim to always be extremely competitive when it comes to the rate we offer.
We are doing everything in our power to make your SmartyPig experience one that is not only positive and worth sharing, but completely transparent. This is why instead of burying this change somewhere in your account summary we wanted to reach out beforehand, and why we invite you to voice your comments and/or concerns on any of our channels of communication: Twitter, Facebook, Get Satisfaction, our Blog, etc.
At the end of the day, we want for nothing more than our customers to get the best deals possible. We want to help reverse the credit-card mindset of “buy now, pay later.” And we want to remain the best way to save for your wedding, family vacation, new TV, emergency fund or the future of your children. We think we are. But we cordially invite you to tell us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week your ideas on how to make SmartyPig even better.
Your using SmartyPig is greatly appreciated. And as always, good luck with your saving goals!
Sincerely,
Michael Ferrari, co-founder
mferrari(at)smartypig(dot)com
@mferrari”
I don’t know if you guys so this but Huntington Bank has a money market promo for 2%. You have to have a minimum of $20k but that is a pretty good rate right now.
Thanks for the info about Huntington Bank. I’ve heard pretty good things about them. However, I wonder how long that rate will last – I’m worried that I’ll go to the trouble to switch (from FNBO at 1.5%) only to have Huntington drop to 1.5% a few weeks later.
That’s exactly what FNBO is hoping you’ll do – nothing – so they can keep your funds at an uncompetitive, profitable (for them, that is) rate. I’m not saying go Huntington, but I am saying their are better rates out there at good institutions,and you should let FNBO know how you feel by taking your funds and leaving. If enough folks do that, they will be pressured to raise their rates
Dont reward low rate-payers with the benefit of keeping your funds…..move to a better rate payer.
Be careful at Huntington. I had money in UFB Direct, then moved it to a better rate and left a little there to “keep the account open.” They recently added a low balance fee and ate up everything and told me I owed them!!!
That was enough for me to close them and not consider them again…
Interesting side-by-side comparison (Discover vs. Smartypig):
I recently opened 2 onlline savings accounts about 15 minutes apart from one another. One was with Discover (with which I already have a CD cooking) and the other was with Smartypig (new customer).
I transferred opening deposits from my ING account at the same time on the night of August 13th.
Today (Aug 18, with a weekend in between), both my opening deposit and my first recurring monthly deposit posted to my Smartypig account, and that money is now on its way to earning 2.01% APY. Gimmicky, yes, but they kept their word. I also received a few emails from them in the meantime confirming the initiation and posting of each deposit.
On the other hand, Discover appears to have disappeared my deposit. I received a single email from them on the 13th saying that my deposit had posted (?), and I could now view and manage my account online. The log-in link on the email brought me to an error page, and my pre-existing ID only shows the CD that I opened in April.
Yesterday morning I sent Discover a note through their online message center and I have yet to get a response.
So, as much as I liked Discover when opening the CD, as far as online savings accounts go:
Smartypig 1
Discover 0
Not defending Discover here, but Smartypig only pays interest once a quarter, and I believe you are paid no interest for the current quarter when you withdraw, sorta making it like a series of 90 days CDs.
TJ and JP – I talked to someone in customer service at Huntington and they expect the 2% rate to be out there for some time. I also asked about UFB Direct and apparently they are very separate from Huntington.
Anyway I think I am going to get one of the 2% MMAs. I will let you know how the app process goes.
Thanks for the feedback on Huntington!
@chicagozab (love the name by the way!).
Um, sorry to tell you but just because a CSR said the rate should stay for awhile doesn’t mean it will and in fact I’m surprised someone was even willing (stupid enough) to say that on the phone. Clearly the rates differ as often as daily and tied to the market, so unless it’s an actual fixed promotional deal (which of course some banks have), there is no guarantee or even worth it for them to say that they “think” it might be that rate for “awhile”.
You are absolutely correct and that is why I didn’t press the issue. Heck, I don’t trust anyone that says the rates will be XXX for XXX of days unless it is in writing!
Oh well, I guess I will just chase the rates like the next person. My wish is that the market takes a turn and by the time the 2% runs its’ course it will be time for a higher rate…lol.
Ok, thanks for clarifying! I couldn’t tell if by get one of the MMA rates, you mean one with Huntington or in fact somewhere else.
Yeah, things suck. Basically what I decided to do, since I’m a small investor anyway, is just gave up on saving for now and have been using all my extra disposable income to pay down my credit card debt and finally contribute a reasonable amount to my retirement. Especially with respect to the debt, it’s a big piece of mind to be working towards getting rid of that, instead of earning maybe $10-$20 a year in interest in a savings account for the next big event in my life (be it a child, house, emergency, etc.). So far I think I made the right choice, especially since online savings accounts were like 5% when they first came out and now 1.5-2%. Anyway, I paid off $20,000 in debt in 2 years, pretty exciting…
@TJ
I did not know that about s-pig. Thanks for the heads up. I will have to make sure I don’t withdraw right before the end of a quarter.
Drea – paying off debt (other than mortgage) is the very best thing to do. Good for you. Just remember to keep making payments – this time to your savings instead of your debtors – when your debts are paid off entirely.
After reading a lot of posts on this website (which has been very helpful) I was wondering what anyone/everyone’s opinion is regarding a High Yield Savings vs. High Yield Checking. Is there a benefit in using one or the other to save money? I know several of the high interest checking accounts require X amount of debit card uses, direct deposit, or bill pay/month whereas savings do not, but can anyone give me some pros and cons? Thanks
For those interested in high-yield checking accounts, please visit my page on rewards checking. Rewards checking accounts are a great option for many people, but they’re a different beast than savings accounts…
Has anyone tried Discover Bank? They’re offering a 2.00% APY on online savings account for deposits $500 and up.
You don’t mention Allstate Bank anywhere getting 1.6% right now! Allstate rocks!
1.6% rocks?! ShoreBank pays 2.15%.
I’m really liking Ally, for what it is worth.
I Still have a shore account, just got off the site and a few others checking my status. I was reminded what a PIA this account interface was to set up and use. I hope someday ING will get their rates back up, the most user friendly interface I have used.
I am currently with Discover Bank @ a 2.0% rate. I don’t have any problems with them. They seem to be very responsive and professional when I need em.
Has anyone tried an American Express savings account? They’re currently offering 1.85%.
http://personalsavings.americanexpress.com/
Has anyone checked out AllstateBank? Rates at 1.58%
There are a few banks paying right at or very close to 2 percent. Anyone regularly checking these comments should have their money at one of these institutions.
I have no idea why one would want to check out an institution like Allstate paying well below the most competitive rate, unless there is a cash bonus tied in or some other additional inducement beyond the rate
I’ve had an online savings with ShoreBankDirect for several years.
I admire their commitment to community and global issues.
The bottom line is that my balance goes up when the rates do, and down when they are not competitive.
However, recently I’ve been concerned by their severely downgraded ratings and a warning/reprimand Shore received from the FDIC in July about inadequate reserves.
So, I opened a savings with American Express (currently @ 1.85%APY) without a hitch.
It’s 30 basis pts. less than Shore, but the peace of mind is worth it to me considering it’s $20-$50K, and any disruption to immediate access could be problematic.
Will wait to see if Shore can make it through this rough time, and will re-deposit my liquid assets if appropriate.
Well, there’s an example of “some other additional inducement” – but at least you ended up with an account somewhat close to competive at 1.85, as opposed to the account paintman brought up
I just recvd an email from Shorebank indicating they are reworking their online banking interface. Anyone tried it?
Hey all, just wanted to say that I just signed up over at American Express Personal Savings. The application was very easy…now I just have to wait to see how easy the rest of it is. Per usual, it will day 2-3 business days. I am currently with ING, and while I like the ease of their interface, I just couldn’t stand by and watch the rate sink any further. Since being with them a little over a year ago, the rate has dropped 4 or 5 times…maybe 6. With it now at 1.3%, I felt AmEx, at 1.85% was worth the move, a full .5% higher. I think folks above have mentioned it before; vote with your dollars. I couldn’t reward ING any longer with my money as they continued to drop my rate. Not sure if I alone can make a difference, but it’s nice to know I’ll earn a little more in interest by taking the 5 minutes to fill out the application. Good luck and happy rate hunting!
HSBC dropped again yesterday …1.35%
Back in July I discovered SFGI Direct, a division of Summit Community Bank in West Virginia, owned by Summit Financial Group. Been watching them and rate has remained steady at 2.25% and is among the top 3 online savings rates right now according to ratebrain.com. Minimum $25 to open, $25,000 limit to initial deposit, FDIC insured, seems pretty straighforward.
Anyone already familiar with them or the parent bank and if so – how do you like them overall?
Kab: SFGI is not accepting applications per http://bankdeals.blogspot.com/2009/07/competitive-online-savings-account-at.html. As an aside, Ratebrain is a very, very poor resource for rates
Cory: excellent.
TJ,
I just tried ShoreBank’s new interface. Same functionality — greatly improved graphics.
Stay away from ProvidentNJ direct. I should have got the hint when it was nothing but problems signing up. Got suckered into the 2.75% for 90 days promotion. Well they dropped rate to 1.5% and now as of Sept. 29 they put a 2G daily external transfer limit in effect. Except guess when the idiots sent out the notification…Sept. 30, the day after the policy went into effect!! Also they conveniently picked 2 days prior to interest being posted to the account just in case you were thinking about pulling out. Trying to get my money out of there, getting no help on phone, no response to my nasty emails. Still waiting for a call back from a supervisor. Have Shore bank also. No problems yet but not happy about all the warnings. I think i’m willing to give up a little interest in return for safety at this point. Looking into Amex at 1.85%.
Amex has a high yield savings that gives 1.85 APY!!!
The problem with a lot of high yield savings accounts is that you have to jump through so many hoops every month to get that high interest rate. If you can find a set it and forget it account that maybe pays a little less, it’s probably worth it. For instance, my local bank pays 3% and I have to do nothing but keep my minimum balance of $5,000. Hard to beat that!
what local bank is paying 3%
we all want to know.
Just an update with my new AmEx Personal Savings, if anyone is interested. I’m a week in and have already noticed one thing that has me a bit alarmed, and one suggestion that I made to the rep today. First thing is the information provided on your account page. Coming from ING Direct, the one thing I really liked was that they gave you a daily running tally of the interest you were earning. I don’t know about anyone else, but I found this to be a really nice feature. It let me track my progress and really provided visual proof that my money was earning and that I’d be getting that money at the end of the money. Sure it wasn’t a lot on a daily basis, but it still provided that sense of accomplishment. Well, that feature is not there for AmEx. There is no way to track what you’re earning. I called to confirm this. The way it’s set up, it will just be a surprise at the end of the month once it gets deposited. Again, not make or break, but I much preferred being able to watch my money grow. The other thing that’s got me a little peeved is how soon your money is available to you. I deposited a large sum last Monday into my AmEx. As of today, it still wasn’t available. It showed in my account, but the funds aren’t available. I don’t recall how many days it took with ING, but I called today and AmEx said it is 6 business days before deposited money can be accessed. Who knows…maybe it was the same at ING (perhaps someone can confirm?), but 6 business days seems like an awfully long time to have those funds tied up. Oh well…I guess it’s all part of the hunt for a higher rate. Pros and cons I guess.
Um, I’m sure no banks are paying that high right now without some sort of hoop jumping (high yield checking) or a very significant minimal balance such as 5K that GE miller mentioned. Some people have even balked at $1000 so….
@Cory.
I, too, had ING back in the “olden days!” when they were the only one around and loved that feature. But gotta tell you, now that I’ve been to MANY others, it’s not common and so having it post at the month IS unfortunatley normal and nothing horrible or unique to AMEX. but I will say that just because it doesn’t post or show until the end, doesn’t mean it’s not accruing daily (unless of course the terms and conditions say otherwise).
as for how long it takes for moneys to post/be available (which are both different by the way), every bank does differ but I have seen it as long as 5-6 days. But I will also add that while the money may not be avaialble that soon for withdrawal (which why would you want that anyway, you just put the money in there plus its for savings after all), it does show up in your balance sooner to which interest is usually acrruing, again depending on the bank
cory
I always liked ING check post 1576
Drea
Ill take the min to get the 3% right now
I still dont think anyone is paying that though.
@ GE Miller. It’s the high yield checking accounts, not the high yield savings accounts that have hoops to jump through.
@ Cory. I understand your post about seeing how much you’re earning on a daily basis, something that ING did but that AmericanExpress does not. Even the much-maligned ShoreBank web interface gives accrued interest-to-date information. Plus they are currently still paying 2.15%.
I doubt the alleged 3% account is available nationally
I doubt the alleged 3% account has no strings attached (CD-like terms, limited balance, no FDIC insurance, is actually a reward checking account on which he is unaware of the hoops) whatever)
I doubt the person making the claim about the 3% account will return to provide details, the most important being the name and location of the institution involved
I doubt the person making the claim understands what this thread is about since he claims that high yield savings have hoops to jump through, yet in truth it is reward checking accounts that have this issue
All that said, if it really does exist and is available to me and is liquid and is FDIC insured – I too am quite interested in the details
TJ
BINGO
I changed to Everbank about a year ago with a recommendation from my cousin after HATING Bank of America for screwing me over multiple times. This month I’m actually closing all Bank of America accounts as they’re charging me to take my own money out of my savings account, and then more just to have my checking account open!
I do really like Everbank, their rates are AWESOME, but they are only online. deposits need to be mailed in (they provide prepaid envelopes) but they also refund atm fees so you can get to your money whenever at $0!
the website’s http://www.everbank.com
Turns out the fellow who posted the claim about the 3% savings rate runs his own personal finance blog. I left him a message on the blog asking for details, so we’ll see. If I am wrong here, I will be very happy to be wrong 🙂
Has anyone set up an acct with either Clear Sky or Ally Bank lately? I have an acct with Shorebank, but it really wasn’t that easy. Altho it’s the firt time I opened an acct online. Just looking to set up another savings account and don’t want to go with Shore Bank at this time. Thanks.
I have accounts at Ally and Shorebank. Both were very easy to setup, and both are easy to manage on-line. I transferred almost all of my funds into the Shorebank account because it pays more interest than Ally (almost half a point). Not sure why Ally went from 2.25 down to 1.7 in a couple of weeks, almost like a version of bait-and-switch. Shorebank is currently the best at 2.15.
Not sure if you Shorebank account holders have read all the warnings about Shorebank – I will not be surprised to read they’ve gone belly up any day now. Could go either way, but even if they had decent service and interface to go with their very good rate paid, I would not myself be willing to take the risk of having to go through the process of setting up with yet another bank after the FDIC gets around to mailing me the check for my funds, and the loss of many days if interest
TJ Jackson – where are you reading “all the warnings” about Shorebank? I have one account there and I’ve really liked them so far. I found it smooth the whole way through.
I set up another account at Tennessee Commerce Bank when they had 2.3% and they’re still paying it to current account holders even as you continue to put more money into your account. But they’re not taking any new clients for that rate. The website is horrible but the account is paying!
TJ and others
where are you getting all this bad news about shore bank, I just don’t see it. Please respond asap have an interest.
Shorebank has a ZERO star rating at Bauer Financial – this is their lowest possible rating
http://www.bauerfinancial.com
Bankrate.com has it at a one start rating, the lowest rating given by Bankrate. In it’s summary, it describes the bank as in “significantly below average financial condition.”. You should read the full report found there.
http://www.bankrate.com/rates/safe-sound/memorandums-memos.aspx?fedid=141734
Bankdeals mentions that they likely raised their rate in late July in order to raise capital that regulators asked them to raise.
http://bankdeals.blogspot.com/2009/07/shorebank-direct-online-savings-account.html
Check out the steady increase in the troubled asset ratio for Shorebank at http://banktracker.investigativereportingworkshop.org/banks/illinois/chicago/shorebank/
In July, the State of Illinois and the FDIC sent a cease and Desist order to Shorebank, ordering them in essence to stop unsafe and unsound banking practices.
http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/enforcement/2009-07-07.pdf#
There’s more, but I think the point is made.
@ TJ. The research you cited regarding Shorebank appears sound. However, I choose to “take the risk” and keep my savings at Shorebank. I can only speak for myself, but my reason for doing so is that I choose to support organizations that have a focus on social concerns. Shorebank claims to support community development and environmental issues. Getting a higher return on my savings is the icing on the cake. Since deposits are FDIC insured, the only risk is having to set up an new account at a different bank — something easily done with a few keystrokes. I’m not jumping ship just yet.
@TJ: You can only warn some folks so much. Thanks for the research…. I’m keeping my funds with ClearSky…it’s a bank I want, not a social program on the ropes with a nice FDIC takeover DELAY to be expected when my money is needed.
TJ
thanks for the reply!
np folks — whichever decision you make re:Shorebank. I just figured you should have the info to make an informed decision. It is a very good rate compared to the rest of the market, to be sure.
good to see you are still checking in here, Brad – thought we had lost you.
Locally, I’ve been able to find very high rates on rewards checking accounts at credit unions and banks that beat the best savings account rates. An added benefit is that you only have to keep one account instead of a separate checking and savings. I’ve used Communication Federal Credit Union for the past year and the rate has been very stable and easy to attain. Here are a few deals I’ve found locally:
4.25% APY: http://www.comfedcu.org/services/checking.asp (scroll down to Free Performance Checking Account)
4.10% APY:
http://www.rcbbank.com/index.cfm?objectid=30166C10-F8C6-E230-84355E38B48BF108
3.71% APY:
https://www.fnbba.com/InterestChecking.aspx
Once again everyone, the moderator no longer has us post stuff here on rewards checking accounts, specifically the ones that have the “rules” in order to get those rates. This is because those are simply not equally comparable to regular ol savings accounts. There is a whole other blog for that now.
The point of THIS blog is looking for the best rate for just a regular savings account with pretty much no requirements other than maybe a minimal opening deposit or ongoing balance. See:
https://axis-monolith.live/making-the-most-of-your-checking-account/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
FYI — ShoreBank has a new web site and still a great rate.
Dear Customer,
We are delighted to announce that we are transforming your ShoreBank online resources to empower your wealth of possibilities. When you visit us online at http://www.sbk.com, shorebankdirect.sbk.com, or log on to ShoreBank personal online banking on Tuesday, October 27, you will see a fresh look with new features and navigation all in one website!
Your new features include ways for you to:
Log on to online banking. You can now log on to online banking from any page on http://www.sbk.com. Just locate the ‘Log on to online banking’ section under our logo, select ‘Personal / ShoreBank Direct’ from the menu and click ‘Go.’ Then enter your User ID and Password, and ‘Log On.’
Discover nearby ATMs and branches. Did you know ShoreBank is part of a national network of ATMs? Try our new mapping feature and find the most convenient banking location for you.
Manage your account. In one click, order checks, request debit cards, electronic statements, enroll for online banking or for online bill payment.*
Learn more about ShoreBank’s unique mission. We are the first bank in the country founded with an express social mission. Now you can grow wealth while seeing, through customer stories, how we are increasing the wealth and well being of communities.
Get Connected. Read our blog for tips and information that will help you redefine what is possible for your finances and for your future.
Find anything else. Quickly find what you want with our easy-to-use search bar.
Please note that you may experience temporary disruption on our websites as we release these new features to you. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Thank you for your continued partnership with ShoreBank in our triple bottom line mission.
Sincerely,
Your ShoreBank Online Team
hey shore! how about just a rate bump?
hey shore!
we would have been happy with just a rate bump.
Transfered my funds from Shore to Amex. By the time my first deposit cleared they dropped their rate just like everyone else has done…….I give up!!
JL – that’s exactly what they hope you do – leave your money with them simply because you have given up, no matter how low they drop that rate
The best thing you can do to fight this is to vote with your feet. Take your money – every cent of it – elsewhere – to one of several better rate payers. Otherwise, you help create incentive for said bank to CONTINUE to drop rates
Think about it. Let’s say you are the CEO of a big bank, and your profit margin goes up when the rate you pay on savings goes down. You then drop the rate a little, and note over the next 30 days that few if any depositors are pulling their deposits. Your job is to maximize the banks profitability, so why wouldn’t you drop the rate again and see if you still keep virtually all of your deposits?
Anyone who wants banks to keep rates competitive needs to be willing to send the signal “you lower your rate, you lose my money”. Only when enough depositors send this signal will the race to the bottom stop.
@TJ… You are 1000% correct. It isn’t personal with those guys, they just attempt to maximize profits as is THEIR job. That is the same reason I go to the store and buy what is on sale. I figure when I see oranges at $1.49 a lb, I’ll just wait until they fall to $.49 a lb before I buy any. To do otherwise (like leaving money in a now poorly-paying account) just encourages them to think that the market will bear them taking more profits. Not from me.
TJ- Thanks for your response and I agree. The thing is I have been online bank “hopping” for a while now. The last being Shore. I got nervous about the warnings but they continue to be the highest. Just for principle, I will take your advice and move out of Amex….but to where? Everyone is 1.7 or less now.
I’m still happy with ClearSky….currently 1.75% APY with a $1 minimum. Open up a Checking account with them too, and you get an ATM card for access to your money (either account)…and they reimburse up to $20 in fees monthly. You can link up to 3 banks with them. Free billpay, too.
JL: Not nearly everyone
http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/finance/783099/
These are national options. You may well have local options as well
TJ, thanks for the link. Has anyone dealt with either SFGI direct or Alliant CU?
JL: read the following, including the comments that follow them
http://bankdeals.blogspot.com/2009/07/competitive-online-savings-account-at.html
http://bankdeals.blogspot.com/2009/09/alliant-credit-union-increases-cd-rates.html
Arrgh. Recently left ING for AmEx and they just lowered their rate. Time to change again I guess.
Shorebank dropping their rate to 1.95 on 11/4
wow talk about short notice. oh well time to dump them anyway.
I’m keeping my savings at ShoreBank. Even at 1.95% they are still among the top rate payers and, over the past two years, consistently have been.
I had just opened an account at shorebank (within the last month), but now that they dropped their rate, I’m wondering if I should leave. I don’t have a large amount of savings to move (under a couple thousand) so is it worth it to go from 1.95% to SFGI at 2.25%?
(I’m not sure how to calculate the difference in actual interest paid, so I’m not sure if the difference will be in cents or dollars…) Any advice would be appreciated!
Thanks!
RLK, to calculate the interest you will earn, multiply your savings by the APR and divide by 100. For example…
Shorebank $1000 x 1.95% /100 = $19.50 per year
SFGI $1000 x 2.25% /100 = $22.50 per year
The above example are for $1000 and aren’t accounting for compound interest, but it gives you the idea that if you have $1000, then you will only get about 25 cents more per month by moving.
Just navigated over to SFGI to check and noticed they’re down to 1.85% too. Bummer.
Hi,
Does anyone has experience with AMEX high yield savings account. They seem to be offering 1.70% currently.
http://personalsavings.americanexpress.com/savings-product.html
Please let me know
George
I had Amex at 1.85. When they dropped to 1.70 I withdrew everything. At the moment, I have Capital 1 High interest savings at 1.75. Has to be opened at a branch. Some limitations on external tranfers.
Sadly, 1.70 looks good to me right now. I’m at FNBO, which is down to 1.40%. I’m watching to see if anyone else has thoughts on AMEX.
I am completely disappointed at FNBO. I joined them when they where offering 3% rates and rode them down all the way to 1.4%. I finally made the switch to a credit union that has been offering competitive rates throughout its history. Right now they’ve kept their rates steady at 2%. I don’t want to give out their name because I don’t want a bunch of new customers joining and allowing them to lower the rates.
“I don’t want to give out their name…”
I found it anyway and opened an account. Thanks for the heads up. Let’s hope they keep their rates at 2% (or higher!)
“I don’t want to give out their name…”
I found it anyway and opened an account. Thanks for the heads up. Let’s hope they keep their rates at 2% (or higher!)
I’m in, you cant hide Mike.
If you bank with Ing or another online bank, how do you make deposits? Ing has 35K+ ATMs, but few (if any?) accept deposits.
@ ybl. The most common way to make deposits it through bank-to-bank Automated Clearing Houre (ACH) transfers. You link your funding account to your savings account and can then initiate transfers betwween linked accounts. ACH transfers generally take 3-4 business days to process. Another option is to do it the old-fashioned way and mail your deposits in the form of a paper check. Many banks provide prepaid envelopes for mailing deposits. Given that ACH transfers take 3-4 days, mailing in a deposit wouldn’t really add that much time to the process.
I mailed ING a check last Thursday and it showed up in my savings account Monday morning, so it’s pretty quick, but as far as I know ING doesn’t offer postage free envelopes, gotta put a stamp on it myself. Since I don’t get many checks the lack of convenience and cost of a stamp is acceptable for me.
Shorebank is dropping from 1.95 to 1.70 tommorrow
I had an ING Direct account for several years, but I recently cancelled because they don’t allow OFX direct connect. I am looking for an online savings account with OFX connection support so I make use of automatic downloads. Does anyone have a recommendation?
Shorebank just dropped their rate paid to almost half of what they were recently – 1.09% for accounts under 100k
Everbank has a minimum monthly balance or you are charged $8.95.
“In any month that your average monthly balance falls below $5,000, an $8.95 monthly fee applies. Fees may reduce earnings. Interest rates and APYs mentioned are accurate as of 1/15/2010 12:00:00 AM.”
Has anyone seen this 10% bonus offer at Capital One online? They basically add a 10% bonus, based on your interest earned, to your balance if it is $15K or above. That seems pretty enticing, especially when you consider they offer 1.55% right out of the gate, which is higher than my AmEx personal savings at the moment. Could be worth a look for folks with savings over $15K.
a few nationally available savings accounts are still offering at or very close to 2% straight up.
I prefer a straight 2% like that over 1.55% plus another circumstantially awarded 0.155
Regarding the Capital one offer, it does seem good on that base rate alone. Min Balance is $2500 to get the 1.55% rate. Also, if you have a personal Capital One credit card, you can qualify for the bonus with one transaction on that card per month if you don’t have the $15k balance. Business cards do not qualify (I asked). The fine print also reports that the bonus is not credited to your account until 4-8wks after the end of the quarter.
1% is high yield. Ouch. Talk about being killed by inflation. It’s only good for emergency money, but it’s NOW WAY to get rich, slowly or at all. It’s 1% better than using the mattress. To preserve my car replacement fund, I have invested in GLD, and I am wondering if I shouldn’t invest my long-term emergency fund in GLD too. I’ll let it be eaten by the inflation monster because I don’t want to rely on the stock market at all when I need my long-term emergency money.
Ally introduced its No Penalty CD (@2.15%) last year and I engaged some funds in it, now I feel I took a right step then 😉
AG: I like no-penalty CDs to an extent, but they are not as flexible as savings accounts, which is what is being discussed here
Charlie Boy: As I said, 2% savings is available nationwide if you look, and there may be local deal that are slightly better. 2% > 1% > mattress. Gold is a subject for another thread…..JD, do you have an article on investing in Gold?
Ajith Antony: if you have to jump through hoops for the bonus, and you’re ok with that, why not just jump through a few more hoops and pick up the 3-5% you can get with a reward checking account? Assuming your savings are 25k or less, that is, since most are capped at 25k or so Naturally, thats a different topic than the one discussed here.
second comment to Charlie Boy: Keep in mind that this article was written (and ergo titled) back when rate paid on savings was in the 4-6%-ish ranges. Also keep in mind that relative to the 0.005%-ish earned on the typical standard brick and mortar savings account, 1% is high yield in a relative sense. 2% doubly so.
Part of getting rich (slowly or otherwise) is padding one’s bet. That which you invest should optimally not be money you cannot afford to lose — which in turn means everyone has some level of savings that they need to hold liquid – capital preservation being more important than growth. A 2% pure liquid savings account meets that need for most of us. Would we like to earn more? Sure. Would we take on more risk to get more? I’m sure some of us would, but many would not. I wouldn’t. In the meantime, money that I can afford to lose is invested elsewhere, in higher risk categories, with the hopes (prayers, even) of higher return. I therefore feel your statement about such accounts having nothing to do with getting rich is wrong, in that it fails to address the need to keep some capital secure and safe.
Great points… the stock market crash in the Fall of 2008 taught me the need to keep my 6-month emergency fund somewhere where it wouldn’t be affected by such an event. Now that it’s established and earning 2%, I can invest other $$$ and (hopefully) earn higher returns – but if I suffer a loss there I still have the 6-month fund to fall back on if needed.
Can anyone point me to these 2% savings accounts? The only ones I could locate were Crossfirst. That requires at $25K minimum to get that rate. There’s Smartypig, but I don’t like their whole gig…the social aspect and working with retailers. I just want a savings account at a bank. Bankrate gave me Colorado Federal as the highets, but that’s at 1.7%. Just having a hard time locating this rate. If I could, I’d happily move my cash from my 1.5% AmEx personal savings. Thanks for the help.
*update* silly me…I used the little slider above and found a few. Ridgestone looks like a good rate, but I must admit to a little bit of apprehension when parking my money with a bank I’ve never heard of. But I guess I wouldn’t be the first person.
Has anyone used Smartypig?! Any feedback?
Looks like the best with 2%.
May be a little annoying and gimmicky but it’s still a savings account.
Cory Says:
January 23rd, 2010 at 5:55 pm
Can anyone point me to these 2% savings accounts?
————————————————-
American Net has been at 2.0% for a long long time. Not easy to transfer money to and from (so check their restrictions carefully), but an excellent rate if you don’t need quick easy access to your money.
http://www.americanetbank.com/homepage.html
Cory/Rachel/Pilm: Smartypig has several issues with it that prevent me from even considering them, starting (but hardly ending) with the fact that they only pay interest once every three months.
For top savings accounts, start with the fatwallet thread (http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/finance/783099/?start=1) and then when you’ve picked one, do some additional research, starting on depositaccounts.com
Beware of Everbank. I just closed my account there this morning. They have, I believe, about the worst web site I’ve ever tried to navigate at a bank. It’s very difficult to find things, and harder to still to accomplish things like setting up external accounts, etc. Additionally, their customer service is ornery. I would steer clear. I’ve always been happy with ING Direct and Emigrant Direct.
Brian: are you happy with the rate ING/Emigrant is paying?
@Brian: You enjoyed 3-month bonus rate of 2.25% at EverBank, didn’t you? 🙂
HSBC Online Savings is down to 1.20% :-O
Been with E*Trade for almost a year. Just got a message today from them that they are transferring all accounts to Discover Bank (an arm of Discover card). So scratch E*Trade Bank off the list.
Ally now down to 1.39 %, they spend lots on ads and never notify when the interest is changing, it just keeps dropping. Amex is still at 1.48%, good website and service and way less publicity.
2% liquid is still available from reputable, stable institutions – I’m talking pure liquid savings with no strings – not a CD, not a reward account with monthly hoops to jump through – savings.
2% – don’t settle for less
Not yet
Reply to – 2% liquid is still available from reputable, stable institutions
OK so where do you get 2%, that is not a CD ?
BAI: read the last 50 posts in this set of comments
Pc Financial is the best bank online in Canada for a savings account. 4% interest in the savings account on balances over $1000 no fees on anything, and you can use any CIBC atm in canada for free. I really don’t understand why everyone doesnt use it.
1.
For example, CDIC does not insure:
* foreign currency deposits (e.g., accounts in U.S. dollars)
CDIC insured up to 100,000.00 CAD total
2.
I am not a Canadian citizen
Does anyone here have any experience with Stonebridge Bank? They are offering 1.25% on their money market (with $1,000 to open). I know there are some higher rates online but this is convenient for a relative who wants to use a local “brick & mortar” bank near Philadelphia. Thanks!
Just saw that the rates have dropped again with on-line savings accounts, Ally and Amex both at 1.29%. The financial media is talking about interest rate hikes and inflation where as the real story has been dropping rates and probally deflation. Hope these rates will start to climb back up and give us a decent rate of return on savings.
I would be curious to see a study of the ratio between savings and lending rates over the past 10 years. Banks place a minimum rate (usually 4%) on lending rates, but it seems there’s no such minimum on savings rates. I would think that the ratio has changed in recent years resulting in a greater profit margin for banks.
Still, everyone is saying rates will creep up… so I would think there is an opportunity to lock-in a low lending rate now and then enjoy higher savings rates for years to come. We’ll see I guess…
My friends at ClearSky are still at 1.49%/1.50 APY. They just dropped from 1.54%. I’ve stuck with them since their initial offering and they are consistently at the top of the heap. Sad the top is under 2%, but then my recent 30 yr fixed refi at 4.375% will hopefully last while rates head back up for savings…
As a few comments below this one, I just noticed my rate at AmEx dropped to 1.3% today, gone is the 1.5%. Sheesh, guess it’s time yet again to look around. I could live with 1.5% but 1.3% doesn’t distinguish from any of the other big banks, so I’m going to vote with my dollars and move it.
America Net only pays 2% on the first $35,000. If you have $100,000+ the average rate plummets to 1.33 or lower. Not a solution for big depositors frustrated with Ing, et. al. plummeting rates.
You can always open a second savings account with a 2.00% APY at Redneck Bank for balance up to 35,000.00
website http://www.redneckbank.com
I bank at Chase and the interest rate is only .75 but I did get a $100 bonus for opening an account.
I have a few thousand dollars and it is not in a savings account. Where should I put it? Into a CD perhaps? It’s not a lot of money and I’m not sure what to do, but I know that I can do something to get me started on my journey of personal finance. Thanks!
Tina… it kind of depends on a lot of other factors. If you have high-interest debt like credit cards it may make sense to pay that off first – unwise to earn 2.5% on a CD if you’re paying 18% on debt. You “save” more by eliminating the debt. Step 2 would be establishing a 6-month “emergency fund” savings account. This is a “just in case” fund that you try not to touch except in a crisis. Very nice to have because it gives you some security should you lose your job, etc. Personally I like to keep this liquid so I can access if if necessary. Rates are low now but are likely to go up in the next 6 months to a year, so locking into a rate in a CD might not be the best approach anyway.
Step 3 would be making sure you are saving for retirement – true no matter what your age. Put the extra $$$ into your 401K at 80/20 stocks to bonds and you’ll earn WAY more than you’ll earn in CD or saving account over the long-term.
If all those things are accomplished and you still have a few thousand laying around that you won’t need for a while, then maybe it’s time to consider a CD. Do something with it, though… if you just have the money laying around not earning interest that’s a waste. Most of us here are trying to squeeze every penny out of our savings – I have a few very low interest rate accounts in banks that I use for everyday bills and such. I don’t leave a penny more in those accounts than I need to because I want to maximize my interest.
GOOD LUCK – you’re in a good position having some extra $$$ around in this economy!
I am confused by your list of banks with good interest rates on savings accounts. Most of those listed require a $10,000 minimum. However HSBC online savings only requires $0.01 and gives a rate of 1.10%. Smarty pig gives 2.15% and only requires a $25.00 minimum. Why aren’t they listed? And finding these two did not require much research by me. What is going on here?
Smartypig is a good idea delivered poorly.
There are severe restrictions compared to a traditional savings account and the previously mentioned 2.15 rate does not apply in many cases – for example, your rate on the ENTIRE balance is 0.50% if your balance is 50k or greater. They only pay interest every 3 months, and I don’t believe they pay anything for partial 3 month periods.
I doubt anyone reading this thread would be well served by Smartypig in it’s current incarnation.
HSBC is a more traditional style account but you can get far better rates than what they offer. They ceased being even remotely competitive well over a year ago, perhaps 2.
This is for anyone using or considering American Net Bank, be very very careful! I put $5000 in an American Net Bank savings account because they offered a 2% rate. Every quarter I’d go online and check my account. Well, come to find, after my one year anniversary with American Net Bank they began to charge a $10/month fee. American Net Bank did not provide any notice whatsoever when they started stealing my money. It wasn’t until I logged on recently for my quarterly account check I found $20 missing. After invesitigation I found that after one year, if you don’t add more money, your account is considered dormant, and American Net Bank starts penalizing your account $10/month every month until you add more money. Almost seems like extortion to me! I’ve used at least a dozen online Savings accounts and have never had money drained from my account like American Net Bank is doing! No bank has ever penalized me for leaving my money in their account! But American Net Bank does! Beware, beware, beware! American Net Bank is a sham and ripoff.
Do you mean AmericaNet rather than American Net?
ie http://americanetbank.com/ ?
TJ, yes, AmericaNet bank is the culprit. Thanks.
Corrected:
This is for anyone using or considering AmericaNet Bank, be very very careful! I put $5000 in an AmericaNet Bank savings account because they offered a 2% rate. Every quarter I’d go online and check my account. Well, come to find, after my one year anniversary with AmericaNet Bank they began to charge a $10/month fee. AmericaNet Bank did not provide any notice whatsoever when they started stealing my money. It wasn’t until I logged on recently for my quarterly account check I found $20 missing. After invesitigation I found that after one year, if you don’t add more money, your account is considered dormant, and AmericaNet Bank starts penalizing your account $10/month every month until you add more money. Almost seems like extortion to me! I’ve used at least a dozen online Savings accounts and have never had money drained from my account like AmericaNet Bank is doing! No bank has ever penalized me for leaving my money in their account! But AmericaNet Bank does! Beware, beware, beware! AmericaNet Bank is a sham and ripoff.
Quick question for the rate chasers out there: When you change banks do you close the account at your existing bank or do you just leave it empty in case the rates change and you can come back to it?
Ha,ha…I just found this site and was excited to start reading the comments of people getting 5% at online banks…..until I realized I was looking at comments from 2007!
I just started looking because the Capitol One account that I have has dropped to 1.25%. I have about 22k that I withdrew from my equity line to safeguard it as I heard some banks were taking away excess (unused) equity line credit no matter your credit score. I thought it would be better to pay .5% on the money and keep it available if I needed it.
Only my equity line is at 3% so now I’m paying 1.75% to safeguard that money. It’s not feeling as smart but I wouldn’t want to lose it by putting it back in my E-line. Does anyone know if banks are actually shutting down E-lines to the amt owed?
I guess I should look into short term cd’s?
This info is very useful. I am searching for today’s high yield accounts. Which seem to be topping out at 1.55%. Anybody know any good business accounts?
MH,
I am not sure about small businesses, but the company I work for has a relationship with a national credit union (FME Credit Union; http://www.FME.org) that offers 5%APR on a Savings if the entire direct deposit of any one job is deposited there.
You won’t be able to use your debit card on a daily basis, but if you like to use cash, or would trasfer your monthly budget out once a month, this would be a great option.
I opened and have been using smarty pig for a few months now, and just wanted to put in a good word for them. I’m 24, having just paid off my student loans I’m also debt free, and ready to focus on savings.
I’m earning income in a foreign country and therefore unable to use traditional retirement accounts, Roth IRA, 401k etc… So I wanted a high yield account with a good website, no fees, and no crazy balance requirements.
The trappings of the social aspect, the “goals” and retail card withdrawal may be off putting for some, but the social aspect and retail cards are just options. Skip them if you don’t like them, I am.
The goals are just sub accounts, and don’t lock you or your money into anything. They can be stopped and your money sent back to your original bank account whenever you choose. Including all accrued interest, even if it’s before the quarterly interest payout.
I think it’s a great service if you’re just getting started at saving, and of course, there’s that interest rate.
MRC: it looks like the direct deposit cash is only allowed to sit in that high yield account for one month or less, after which it transfers to more standard account with a much lower rate paid. Nice rate, clearly, but severe limitations.
Tristan: I think my biggest gripes with Smartypig are the fact that they only pay interest once every 90 days, and that you are stuck with predefined contribution amounts. For me, some months my money is tighter, and I cant make a deposit, other months are more flush and I can drop off a good sum. I also need to make partial withdrawals a times to cover big unexpected bills, like when my AC unit went out a month or so back. Smartypig sorta assumes you will have x to save each and every month, and wont need to withdraw til the supposed goal is met.
@TJ
I think the service has changed since you last looked at. They don’t have predefined amounts for the automated contribution anymore, you can set them to whatever number you like, or choose not to have automatic payments and all, adding money when you can.
You can also transfer money between goals now. I have one main goal I just call savings, with a high ending dollar amount and a distant future end date. This is where I have my automated deposit go, and where I add cash when I can. If I need something, like a new AC unit I can create a new goal for it, transfer out of the main account, instantly reaching my new “AC unit” goal and cashing out. I will admit the ACH transfers still take forever and the couple days that your money is in limbo is going to be unacceptable for some.
Also, just as an example I was looking at going with Sallie Mae cause they compound daily and also have a good website from the reviews I’ve read. But if you use a compound interest calculator where you can set the compounding frequency you can see that the higher interest rate affects your money more than the term of compounding. So I went with Smarty Pig. Maybe I wouldn’t have in the past and maybe doing some things is a bit more difficult than a vanilla savings account. But you’ll be earning extra money for that extra work.
I’m glad it meets your needs, but I think there remains a great deal of inflexibility in the Smartypig program, enough to not make it worth it to move money from a 1.5% account (with full liquid flexibility) elsewhere. For me, at least.
How are you liking waiting 3 months to get paid your interest?
@TJ
Ok, dude, it’s not for everyone, especially if you have a bank you like already. Again though, I don’t have to wait to get “paid” my interest. If I stop a goal I get it all right away.
In any case, it’s savings, I don’t see myself dipping into all the time. I see myself letting it compound and I am liking getting paid more.
No problem
I just don’t want any of the readers here to mistake a SmartyPig account for a regular savings account. It is worth noting that this thread is about savings accounts.
I agree that the higher interest rate makes it worth looking into for any saver – and I have, I assure you – but it’s important to understand all the differences between this account and a normal savings account rather than just plunging in for the higher rate.
After all, readers can get an even higher rate by investing in a long term CD, but the reason we are in savings is we dont want that restriction either.
I just came here to put in a good word for the service, which is listed along with the other savings accounts in the main post at the top of the page. This is because when I came to this thread looking for information there was a lot of older info about it that wasn’t accurate anymore. It gave me pause, which I’m thankful for because it made me research some more, but it almost scared me off.
I agree it’s important for future readers to understand the differences so they have accurate information from which to make decisions. So let’s discuss them.
You still seem to be concerned about the interest. Different banks handle it differently, even ING only adds your interest at the end of each month and it’s hard to argue that it deals in “30 day short term CDs” instead of savings. Maybe you require the few cents you earn everyday to be transferred out separately from your principal. So in that case a daily compounding account is the way to go. On the other hand monthly and quarterly compounding accounts are fine for many.
You can transfer your money from smarty pig anytime, with no fees or penalties. If you’re transferring the balance of a goal you can receive your interest in full at any time as well, also with no fees or penalties. I haven’t found any CDs that offer that.
I’ll admit they have a very different overlay for managing the money than a regular savings account. They say “goal” instead of sub-account for instance. But as far as I can tell it does do all the same basic things as any other account.
I hope you understand I’m not attacking you or hold any ill feelings to you. Like you I’m trying to provide information for future readers.
Again, np Tristan. This has been a good, informative, and spirited discussion by my reckoning.
And there’s at least one person lurking (me) and interested in the conversation. I’m going to look into the SmartyPig account when I have time. It might fit my needs as I have $20K or so to park somewhere and I’m not likely to need it without at least a week or two warning.
Thanks for the conversation,
John
I have a 6 month emergency fund sitting in my saving account. i would like to do something with it but I’m not too familiar with the different options. I’m looking for something safe and accessable if needed. Should i look at high yield accounts? If so, which one is receommended?
Robby,
This is the challenge that a lot of us face. My attitude is to keep the 6-month fund easily accessible in a savings account, then put any additional savings into more aggressive options (after retirement, college planning, etc).
All you can really do is shop around for the best rate. I have my money in two different credit unions which seem to have higher rates, fewer nuisance fees and better customer service than most banks.
Shop around… if you find a great rate, let us know!
Wow, WT Direct increased their rate! OK, only from a paltry 1.16% to a measley 1.21%, but still, it was an increase, and I haven’t seen that in awhile. Of course they are not the best you can find either, but hopefully this is a sign of things to come.
I decided to keep any money I am not investing (in retirement, 529 or separate investment accounts) and that I don’t need for 3 months in Ally’s 5-year CD. It currently has a 2.89 APY and only 60 days interest early withdrawal penalty. So if you’re not going to need your money for 3-6 months you’ll likely beat any of the online savings accounts.
Plus Ally has a pretty high online savings with very little “hoops” through which to jump, so it’s ok for me to park 3-6 month money there and then buy CDs on a rolling basis. I’ll probably end up with a bunch of CDs, but they’re all on one online banking site, so I don’t mind.
The FDIC took over Shorebank today. They had fairly high rates for a while (maybe last year?), but I never put any money there.
This was entirely predictable. Part of the Chicago political system. When it first came out, there were warning signs that it was not on firm ground, despite a few folks proclaiming it was a wonderful “socially responsible” bank. I think it has been tied to the proposed global warming stuff as an entity that stood to make a lot of money. Sometimes if it looks too good, there is a message there.
@ Brad. And doesn’t it feel wonderful to say “I TOLD YOU SO”?
@Bob: About that time, this blog was barraged by folks FROM BANKING ENTITIES trying to act like they were just happy customers and not employees. That kind of behavior came from more than one place, and I don’t recall if the person(s) touting the “wonders” of Shore bank was actually an employee or not. But the message to all reading here is that sometimes the information presented is anything but simply someone’s opinion. Me, I’m retired and was never in the banking industry. I am still happy with ClearSky.
On the plus side, Urban Partnership Bank (ShoreBank’s successor) just raised rates.
“Urban Partnership Bank is a new bank and we know you need time to get to know us. To make your transition a little easier, effective today, August 27, the APY* on your online savings account will increase to 1.20% APY for balances under $100k and 1.25% APY for balances at $100k and over.”
I changed banks three times during last 4 years trying to catch the highest rate, but made a conclusion that I will be better off by choosing one bank with the highest rate and stick with it.
Of course, I will be monitoring the rates, but jumping from one bank to another doesn’t make sense in a long run.
Tatyana – after you choose that one bank, if it lowers its savings rate to 2 or more percentage points less than an otherwise comparable competitor, are you still better off at the first bank? I ask this in full realization that right now, in this economic climate, that kind of spread doesn’t (for the most part) exist.
I think one should always be on the lookout for a better deal, albeit one should fully evaluate the better deal and the institution offering it before making a move
I did not see smartypig mentioned.
Smartypig is mentioned several times in the comments. It is not truly a savings account in the normal sense — it is sort of unique with a number of advantages and disadvantages when compared to a normal savings account.
i sampled a few of your posts, and i notice that you don’t include emigrantdirect. is there a reason? i have an account there and consider moving. their rate is so low now only 1%
My very first online savings account was with Emigrant Direct, actually. I still like their interface. The reason I left was because they dropped their rate so much, whereas at one time they paid among the highest rates out there. Since then I have also learned they are not stable financially, but if they were still a rate leader, I’d count on FDIC and still be with them. If best FDIC-insured rate is what you want, check out http://americanetbank.com/, which is at 1.75 as I type this.
Does anyone else use Smartypig.com? Their rate is 1.35% right now. It recently went down, but it was originally at 1.75%.
What the big investors do is deposit their money in other countries where interest rates are higher . I happen to live in South Africa where interrest on money market is currently at an all time low of 6 % . There is of course a perception of risk in this , but history has shown the risk to be minimal.(perhaps even less than US banks).There is of course currency fluctuations to consider but the trend has been flat for some time with not much inflation differential (Inflation currently at arround 3.5 % in South Africa).
Would I put my money in a South African bank if I lived in USA ? Probably not , but the “big investors ” are doing it in spades . (Its called the “carry trade” ) and they are making buckets of money doing it.
*shrug*
personally, I’ll stay out of currency speculation and stick with insured accounts, at least with my core personal savings
I’ve done carry trades (just for diversity and security) for several years and never thought anything of it…but this year the IRS is cracking down on US citizens with overseas accounts. If you report your account on your 2010 taxes this year (need to complete Schedule B and then an additional form) they won’t prosecute you for not reporting the account previously. But if you neglect to do it this year and they find it, they are threatening jail time and big fines.
I suspect that a lot of people doing carry trade haven’t been paying US taxes on the interest…
Just something to keep in mind. It’s an extra hassle and not for everyone.
Their rates are all less than inflation? So you’re losing money by “investing”?
The big question is: Can you become rich or build financial freedom using an account that pays 5% interest per year?
To those talking up currency exchange speculation: I dont think such investment strategies are germaine to the topic. I doubt the blog author would ever recommend any high risk propositions for anything but a very small portion of one’s money, if any at all.
To the “so you’re losing money by investing” comment – I don’t know which post you are responding to, so I will respond simply that earning 1.2% (or whatever) in a interest bearing account may not mean you beat inflation, but it sure beats the alternative, ie earning no return at all
To “way to wealth guy”: savings and frugality moves one in the right direction. No matter what the rate of return, the first thing is to find a way o save, and the more you can save, the faster your advancement towards being “rich”. 5% can absolutely get you there **IF** the underlying saving activity is strong enough. Conversely, if you save nothing, no readily available interest rate will get you there. Also – please point me to the 5% account you are claiming here. I – and most readers here, I’d imagine – would love to earn anything remotely close to 5%, assuming you are staying topical, ie the vehicle in question is a federally insured savings account. So…..ante up, WtWG, or are you just blowing smoke?
Right you are, TJ. I’ve quietly stuck with Clearsky and they are still at 1.15%. Annoying, but well over Chase’s 0.1% or 0.01%, whichever. I just hope they pop rates up some as the housing nonsense starts coming to an end in 2012 (5 yrs after the last of the stupidly easy no-doc loans take their 5 year bump up and the last round of foreclosures finally happens). Most all of my 5.5% and 6.0% 5-yr CDs are about gone. Who’d have thought we would be extolling the virtues of a 1.15% daily rate!
I too would like to find the 5% interest claimed…
TJ… good comments.
I’d add just one thing… I think the “high yield money market & high interest savings account” discussed here is just a part of your overall savings and wealth strategy. For me, this is my 6-month emergency fund and is more about security than wealth-building. I don’t want to take risks with this money – it’s there for me should I need it, should funds be short one month or if some unforeseen disaster hits. Those of you who have such a fund know how good it feels to have it – you always have that to fall back on if needed. No sleepless nights worrying about money. 1% is lame, no question. But this is money I need to be secure, no-risk, and available anytime I need it. In other words, a SAVINGS account.
Now… as far as “building wealth” goes, there is my 401K, which is invested moderately aggressively (roughly 80/20 stocks to bonds) and earned just over 10% last year. I can be more risky with this money since I am over 20 years away from retirement. I also have a college savings account and a secondary savings account with a smaller amount of extra $$$ that I’ve invested somewhat aggressively as well (as I can afford a short-term loss with that money as I don’t foresee needing it in the near future.)
So while I’m always interested in a higher interest rate on this savings account, I’m not willing to trade risk for greater return on this money. So no shady oversees accounts for me.
Brad: good to see you are still listening in here. Agreed on all counts. Still pimping ClearSky, I see, they should pay you commission :-). I’m at Alliant, and they have been very satisfactory in all respects except of course that they need to pay me lots more interest *grumble grumble whine whine*
Jon: agreed that the savings is only a part of the equation in terms of building wealth. Agreed also that the best use is ones liquid emergency fund, and thats exactly what I use it for. That said, that single “part of the equation” is _the_ topic of this thread. The overall blog is about building wealth, absolutely agreed, but this single thread is specifically about high (hah! hehe!) interest savings accounts. I suspect the blog owner has other threads about 401k optimization and so forth and so on. But its all good.
I just opened an Amex savings account at 1.15%. I see some comments on here talking about 5% APY accounts. Am I missing something or is this just the way things are right now, capping at 1.15%?
If you look at old posts from before the start of the “Great Recession” (2007) you’ll see mentions of savings rates of 4-5%. For us savers here, we think of that as the good old days. Hopefully we’ll get back there soon.
For now 1.15% is about as good as you’re going to do.
Lapeer County Bank and Trust in Lapeer MI has a “Green Rewards” checking/savings account that earns 2.51% APR. Limit in account is $50,000 but can open more than one. There are certain items have to meet each month: on-line bill pay (only one a month), use debit card 12 times a month, anthing over 50,000 is less % rate. Check it out at lcbt.com
I’ll be happy to be proven wrong, but it appears this bank requires a local visit to open said account.
Wow, I picked a bad time to be in a financial crisis. If you have any more advice for my financial situation, which you can see at http://www.budgetssuck.com I would love to hear it, thanks.
Have you looked into http://www.smartypig.com ? Their interest rates are listed: http://www.smartypig.com/disclosures/truth-in-savings-account . Currently they offer a savings account with interest rate of 1.343%. This looks good to me, but I really have no credentials when it comes to evaluating financial-related anything.
SmartyPig has been brought up time and time again in the comments to this thread, but truth be told, it really isn’t a savings account per se. Anyone interested in Smartypig had best read the documentation carefully before leaping in.
Smartypig has lowered their rate substantially in the last 24 hours
I’ve had a smarty pig account for more than a year. I moved my ING and Ford interest advantage monies to smarty pig. It is now at 1.35 APY. It was earning more (over 2%) when I signed up, but still outperforms Ford Int Adv & GE Int plus, and is FDIC insured in addition.
I have not taken money out of smarty pig yet, and hopefully it will be as easy as making contributions. I see it no differently than my ING savings. I will stick with smarty pig until either I reach the $50,00 max to earn this rate, or 12 month cd’s begin to out shine 1.35 APY.
Smartypig rate is falling to 1.10% in a week or two
http://www.depositaccounts.com/blog/2011/06/smartypig-announces-major-rate-cut.html
I remember back when savings accounts were 5 percent, wasn’t too long ago. This is why I don’t understand people’s savings habits though, because with a little planning ahead your savings dollars could be earning 4 or 5 percent tax free.
Every day you don’t earn interest on your dollar is opportunity lost.
Josh,
See my post 1719 above. For me, one savings account is money that either I will need short-term (to be transferred to checking to pay bills), while the other is my 6-month emergency fund. In both cases, I need to be able to access this money on a regular basis. Thus the savings account. My long-term savings and retirement accounts are a different story. On these accounts it’s all about maximizing return over the long haul.
Jon
Josh: just what exactly are you talking about regarding 4 or 5% tax free? Please elaborate.
When I first opened my account 5 or 6 years ago the rate was clost to 5%!!! Nows its a joke at 1.00%? I hope the rates go up soon.
My Amex on-line savings just dropped to less than 1%. I agree with Tony its a joke. The interest rates on savings have continued to drop and it happens quietly without any media attention.Now it looks like the fed wants to keep interest rates at zero for years.
I closed my ING account when I found out Capital One bought them. No way am I doing business with those barbarians *again*! Once burned and all that… Now considering Ally among others.
ING is great! You get a $25 bonus for opening an account there. This site has a bunch of links to get one: http://sicksaver.blogspot.com
Without agreeing on whether ING is great or not, what is true that it is going away – being bought by a competitor. It will no longer exist as ING, probably (just a guess) by the end of the year
Since late 2007 Internet HSY rates have dropped steadily from above 5% to 1% at best currently. Everybody seems to be complaining about this, and rightly so. For a better understanding of the reasons behind this change, I urge you to watch Charles Ferguson’s brilliant 2007 documentary film, “Inside Job”.
Forget savings accounts – these rates don’t hold a candle to the rates you can get at rewards checking accounts. I’m getting almost 3% at an online bank just for using my debit card and getting direct deposit.
Now, with the upcoming reduction in fees, that might change, but for the time being, you can get far higher rates for your first $10-25K in savings with rewards checking.
Ryan – no fair bragging about the interest you are getting if you don’t name the bank…share the wealth!!
I got a few letter from the local credit unions along the same line. 3% for 3 months, but you’ll have to use the debit card at least 12 times a month. This is too much trouble for me because we rarely use the debit card. Just call around your local banks, you should be able to find reward checking accounts that pay good interest.
Julie,
The bank I signed up with is, unfortunately, no longer accepting out-of-state signups via internet. However, there’s a general program called Kasasa that will direct you to available banks in your area. Check out their website for banks and credit unions.
I looked up the Kasasa website and found a few banks in the Houston area that were providers. I bank with Amegy and get 1.50% with my rewards checking. They’re competitive with the local Kasasa providers. 10 transactions, direct deposit, online statements, log in once a month.
It’s a pretty good deal, beats CDs. I’m hoping the money that the government supplied, which found their way into the stock markets, start finding their way into main street!
@YPMoney
I still am sticking with ING, until their service or changes in policy gives me a reason to change. I love the ability to create sub-accounts, and I already have my primary bank accounts linked. Until rates (or if they ever do) begin to go back up, I won’t change. I would say until rates rise above 1.75%, I will stay with ING Direct.
I’m new to ING (I account being funded from my “normal” checking account twice a month), but I haven’t set up any “sub accounts”. Is the “sub account” any different than just opening “another account” with them? I don’t have a need just yet for one, but I’ve been curious about the terminology used here. Thanks!
The “subaccount” is really just another account that’s linked to your login. You can access them all in one place and easily move money between them.
Thanks!
One drawback with the subaccounts (really just new linked accounts) is if you want to have a joint account, you have to go through the process of making each of the accounts “joint” separately.
Just to note…
Ally bank also offers “sub-accounts” – the feature is NOT specific to ING.
But I do agree, no reason to jump ship just because of a change, wait and see what happens, and be prepared with a backup bank if necessary. That’s smart for any changes in any business (for example, what I did with Wachovia/Wells Fargo).
*Disclaimer: I use Ally bank and I have 12 “sub-accounts” with them that I link to USAA and enjoy the service with both banks. I do not make money from them beyond the dismal interest rate. 😉
I always think it is funny when people talk about ING “sub accounts”. They are just additional savings accounts, which all banks offer. ING is nice because you can Nickname them, but more and more banks are offering that feature, too (all of mine do, at least).
You can do subaccounts with Capital One online savings too. No big deal.
I’ve had my savings at ING for nearly 10 years. When I opened the account, the rate was over 6% – oh, the good ole days. The thought of moving is not appealing (I didn’t realize they’d been bought out, which really bums me out). Like @strongside, I’ll keep it there until something changes.
But, like @Ryan, I keep a hefty sum in my credit union checking account because it earns me nearly 4% for balances up to $20,000. When they started that, I moved funds back to it from my ING account in order to take advantage of the much higher return.
I think the key is just being aware of your options and what’s available to you. For me, moving to a new bank for a .1 or .2 % increase just isn’t worth the time or hassle. I’ll need a better reason.
Wow, I hadn’t heard of ING Direct being acquired by Crap 1. I guess it’s time to move that account. I’ve had an account with Discover for longer than any other banking/checking/credit card I have, so they seem like a natural place for me to go. I’m less worried about .14% than I am about doing business with a company I am comfortable with.
My husband and I currently have the bulk of our savings with WTDirect and think they’re great. However, WTDirect was recently bought by M&T Bank which has very low interest rates according to its website. We’re considering switching to EverBank primarily because they’re a smaller bank and they’re also based in my hometown of Jacksonville, Florida.
I’m with Ryan. We can’t justify moving our money to a savings account when we’re earning 3.5% in our rewards checking account. So, for now, we’ll just pile our emergency fund and all other savings into that one account. I don’t forsee a spending problem (having access to all the money making us feel like we can/should spend more) so we’ll take the interest!
I recently moved my liquid savings from the big-name bank where I have my checking (because I move a lot, and need something that’s everywhere) back to a credit union in my home town. The rate is higher but still abysmally low (about .4%).
To answer the question at the end of your post, the factors that weigh into my decision are the interest rate, my personal beliefs, and the convenience of the account. Having my money at a credit union fits in better with my beliefs, and though it’s out of state for me, I can access the money pretty easily. I could get a better rate at an online bank but it would be less convenient, and 0.8% more in interest is only like $80 per year per $10k… not all that significant. Having my savings at the same bank as my checking is most convenient which is why I did it that way for so long, but the rates are bad and I don’t particularly want to support them anyway.
Has anyone used SmartyPig’s retailer gift cards? I went to the link and it seems like you could earn a few quick dollars on a planned purchase if you set up a goal, quickly funded it, and then got the gift card to pay for said purchase meanwhile pocketing the cashback. Anyone have any experience with this?
Be careful with that. Once your money is in SmartyPig, you have to wait a few days to use it. From depositing $$ in the account to gift card in hand can easily be 2+ weeks. You will likely miss sale prices, unless you can do a return/rebuy.
I agree with some other posters that the rewards checking is the way to go. I’m going to do direct deposit and use a debit card anyway, so why not get 3-4% interest?
Also, many of the banks who offer the higher interest rates for rewards checking are smaller banks with excellent customer service.
The big caveat is that many of these banks cap the rewards balance at 25 k or less. My husband and I each have separate accounts to allow us to have up to 50k if we want, which is more than enough in cash for us.
To quote you J.D. “The government doesn’t want you to park your money in savings; they want you to stimulate the economy by shopping or by putting your money into the stock market.” That’s exactly why I’m building as much savings as possible right now. When interest rates rise, and they will rise as sure as the sun, then I will be sitting in a good position to take advantage of rising interest rates. I use Emigrant Direct, the last one on your list. I’ve had them for a long time with no problem so I hate to change.
I worry about Ally- they are GMAC finance returned.
I am wondering IF the American public will go for another bank bail out if internet banking falls apart.
THank you for the list – I guess I had better start hunting.
This must have been a lot of work. Thanks JD!
I’m sticking with ING until they give me a reason to leave. I don’t carry a large enough balance in my savings account for 0.20% to make more than a few bucks of difference, and the account is very convenient for me at the moment.
I hope this encourages some people to start saving though!
You can get 5% by paying off mortgage loan
Not necessarily – once you factor in the loss of the tax deduction, the “return” of paying off your mortgage decreases. I’m not advocating for or against this option, just pointing out the math is a lot more complicated than this statement implies! (As I think JD has addressed in at least one article before.)
I currently have my savings in the Ally Bank 5 year CD earning 2.4% APY. I know 5 years is a long time, but if I need to get to the money, I only have to pay a penalty of 60 days of interest to break the CD. I did the math, and the large difference in interest rates cancels out the 60 day penalty in only 5 months. In other words, if I keep the money in the CD for 5 months, the interest I earn will still be more than what I would have earned with a 1% APY online savings account even after taking out the 60 day penalty. Anybody looking for a savings account that is willing to not touch the money for 5 months should look into the Ally 5 year CD.
These accounts seem hard to justify unless one is able to replace an existing bank relationship (move checking and whatever else).
A $20k balance would earn all of $200/year, half of which is available at most retail banks. Doesn’t seem worth the time of dealing with a new bank.
I’ve really been looking forward to this post since ING sold to Capital One. Like others, I’m going to leave my money with ING until something changes, but I’ll definitely flag this for future reference. Thanks!
J.D., Good article and I have actually been waiting for this from you since I saw that ING was being sold, knowing how you like them. You don’t say if you plan on moving from ING or not though? My wife and I have an ING account and love it, but I don’t know if I can deal with Cap 1.
Yep, if Cap One keeps INGDirect as it is, I’m going to reward them for doing the right thing. If they start making (bad) changes; good-bye.
We found a local bank that offers high interest checking. They pay 3% on balances up to $30,000. We have to use the debit card 15 times a month, use online bill payment, receive our statements electronically, and have at least one direct deposit, etc. But this is all stuff we do anyways. The best part is that we get reimburdsed for ATM charges up to $25 each month.
We found our bank through checkingfinder.com. The main page just lists a few options when you type in your zipcode. Use this link to find more banks in your region
https://www.checkingfinder.com/national-directory
I think we should note, that I bonds should also be taken into consideration, as they’re paying out around 4% (variable on inflation).
And with the Fed’s super secret screw china monetary policy, inflation may stay where it is or go up in the next 2-5 years.
I don’t use my ING account, and haven’t for years. I have a high yield checking account at my local credit union (scu.org) that gives me 3% (It used to be over 5 a couple years ago). It’s way better than all the options you presented. Of course, it does require me to use my debit card 12 times per month, but who doesn’t do that anyway? Oh, and I have to get my statements online. Again, who cares about getting paper statements anymore?
I just use my 12 transactions per month, then switch over to my credit card to earn 1-5% cash back on the rest of my purchases. I earn interest in my checking account during that time, and get 1-5% cash back for using my credit card (I pay my cc off 100% each month). This is the best situation I can think of, and it’s worked out really good for us for about 3 years now.
I will be closing my ING accounts because of their buyout. I’ve had a secondary checking account at a Credit Union that I would use to deposit cash and paper checks and then transfer money to ING. But interest rates have been so low for so long that this extra step serves no purpose anymore. Besides, I am getting the same savings rate at the Credit Union as I am at ING, and am actually getting negligibly higher rates on the checking.
Even though CapitalOne has never done anything to screw me over personally, I do not consider them to be an ethical company and would rather preemptively take my money elsewhere.
Ha, I’ve been waiting to open my first online savings account and I’ve been tracking the purchase of ING– Now that I know it’s the C1 vultures I’m not going anywhere near it.
Interest points aside, Ally (formerly GMAC, now divested from General Motors though GM still owns part of it) looked good last I checked, though it’s also part owned by Cerberus Management which supports political causes I dislike (e.g., Dan Quayle is a spokesperson). Hmmm…
Sarah’s arguments in favor of her credit union (currently post #7) might sway me to remain local, after all…
What irks me is that these rates can, of course, change without warning and pretty drastically. We got an FNBO Direct account in May when rates were near the best @ 1.1%. All of the sudden they’ve dropped to .85%, but is it worth jumping ship, getting another savings account (and associated credit check) and transfer all our money just to have it happen again? Not in our opinion.
My wife and I have been with Ally (formerly GMAC) for about 5 years. Absolutely LOVE them. Fantastic customer service and competative rates. I like to have a seperate account for every goal, so right now we have several accounts there. When a CD matures and you renew it, they give you 0.25% loyalty bonus on the new rate- wohoo!
Would recommend them to anyone.
I agree. My husband and I have been with Ally for over two years. We both have savings, checking and CD accounts with them. Their rates are very competitive and their customer service is top notch.
I’ve been using flagstar for a few years now (don’t see them on your list) – at 1.1%. They’ve been good to me, so I’m going to be sticking with them for a while…
I’ve tried using the rewards accounts, but I can’t get myself to use the debit card 12 times in a month. it’s too stressful.
Probably quite irrationally, I refuse to bank with anything called SmartyPig.
I remember (and I’m not that old) when bank names were meant to convey stable, solid, dignified institutions. Not that they were all that, of course.
I still think “First National City Bank of New York” is preferable to “Citibank”, but I guess I’m weird.
And here I was going to recommend Red Neck Bank as my favorite high interest checking account! Their website is hilarious, but their interest rates and customer service are seriously good.
A big draw for me was getting to use a debit card with “Red Neck Bank” in big letters.
DO NOT PUT YOUR MONEY IN THE BANK!!!
Interest Rate at bank: 1.5% at best
Rate of inflation: 4-5% (what government tells us…probably more)
You will be loosing your purchasing power if you put your money in the bank.
Don’t be dumb.
Good point. What do you recommend? What’s growing reliably faster than inflation?
Umm… so by not putting your money in the bank you earn 0% on it. You’re losing MORE in that case.
I guess TIPS is the best way to guarantee you at least don’t lose ground against inflation, but those lock money away for X number of years, losing the flexibility & security of cash in the bank.
So where do you put your emergency fund then?
you don’t need an emergency fund because you can always use a credit card or home loan if you lose your job
The 12 month rise in the consumer price index to May was 3.6%. Most of that was from energy (see: gas prices near you). “Core” CPI, not including food and energy, rose 1.5% over that period.
In other words, no, inflation is not 4-5%.
I use a mixture of things. A “dividend rewards” checking account that basically gives me 2.5% if I use the debit card 12 times. I also have target savings accounts that I put in my fidelity brokerage account. A low risk allocated mix of ETFs that stays in cash during major downturns yields 5+%
I use ING for just a tiny little fun money account as they hold your transfers forever and their interest rate is not the best. I use SmartyPig for savings as their interest rate is good, and I’ve just switched over to PerkStreet for cash rewards debit card purchases (2% for the first 90 days for a new account, then 1% after that). Do remember, your 1.00% on a savings account is ANNUAL, the cash rewards on the debit card is monthly as you use it, so on my first $400 put on the debit card I’ve earned $5 on the $250 spend (2%), so if I figure the interest on what I’ve actually transferred to the card, I’ve actually earned over 1% ($5.00/$400) (read 12% a year) for the month as opposed to the (more or less).001% (read 1% a year) I would have gotten from a savings account for the month. I’ll take the money from SmartyPig when I need to spend it, and transfer it PerkStreet and get paid for using my money. Who needs credit cards?
Do you mean 1.25% ($5/$400)? Still better than 1% APY, but not nearly as good as 12%
You make a good point though as to the importance of compounding interest. When comparing accounts, be sure to compare APY which will give you the amount of interest you will earn over the year, including compounded interest.
Thanks for this JD. Like others, I am looking to drop ING now. But, before doing anything, I am waiting to see what https://banksimple.com/ has to offer.
They sound pretty cool. I got all excited and signed up for a beta invite, before I realized a smart phone is required. Oh well.
I’m having several problems with my savings situation.
First of all, I LOVE ING Direct. I cried when they got bought by Capital One, as my husband and I have both had terrible experiences with them and I absolutely cannot trust them. I have not decided what to do. I think I will leave my savings for now (not sure about checking) and watch like a hawk for the slightest change in service. If they just take over ownership and keep their slimy paws off, it might be ok. (Like Disney buying Marvel, but with even worse potential consequences.)
Second, I did a little research myself on some of these other banks. I don’t have the patience of JD, but I looked around a bit. Every one has terrible reviews. Ally, which looks good from the outside, has pages of people complaining that their money got held hostage in some banking limbo when they tried to make a payment or a transfer or something. Who wants to sign up for that? All the banks I looked at had the same problem.
Except one: American Express, a company I could actually bring myself to trust. The problem? I can’t get their personal savings site to load on my computer. No idea why. Do you have to have an Amex card to get an Amex savings account? It might be worth it…
Ely –
I just opened up my AmEx Online Savings Account simply because this was the company that seemed to be the most stable, long-lasting company out there.
Also, I talked to other friends of mine who were with AmEx and were very happy with their decision. One of these friends is a pretty high-powered business man who does tons of research before doing anything in the financial realm, so I figured if it was good for him, it should be good enough for me too. So far, I am happy with my decision.
Am am not currently an AmEx Card holder, and I was able to sign up just fine. I would say to try the site again (maybe the site was down for maintenance?) or double check that you have the latest updates to your particular browser. I have heard that some older browser platforms are not compatible with some websites these days.
Emigrant Direct has proven very easy and reliable to use over the 4+ years I’ve had an account. For the most part over my account history, the interest rate has closely paralleled ING Direct except for the past few months.
And just because you’ve heard of AmEx doesn’t mean there aren’t older, more ‘established’ companies on the list. For instance, Emigrant Savings bank is the oldest bank in NY, founded in 1850 by Irish immigrants.
Great info from the reader comments about high interest checking! I just checked my credit union’s website and they have one with no minimum balance. The interest rate is competitive. You have to have at least one electronic deposit and five debit withdrawals each month and no paper anything, but I pay everything online and use my debit for all purchases that don’t require cash, anyway.
Husband just got laid off, so probably won’t be opening one immediately, but definitely in the near future.
Does anyone know if the ING Retirement portion was bought out by Capital One? I have ING Orange Savings account but I have a 401K set up with ING as well.
Also, why the hate for Capital One? What happened for most of you to dislike them?
Before it was EXPLICITLY illegal, Cap1 engaged in predatory lending. They would sell low-balance credit cards to people with bad credit and poor money management skills, and then load the card up with fees – which were in the fine print but not mentioned during the application process. The new credit card user would then get smacked with an over-limit fee THE VERY FIRST TIME they used the card. And every time they used it, until they get a statement and realize what’s happening, hundreds of dollars later.
This happened to my husband years ago, so I’m not making it up. His card with a $250 limit was carrying an almost $800 balance by the time he declared bankruptcy – he put maybe $50 on it, accumulating the rest arguing with “customer service” over their questionable fees. After his bankruptcy, someone else sued Cap1 and won, with the court forcing them to change their fee structure, and new predatory lending laws coming out afterward.
If you think it’s OK for smart corporations to take advantage of poor and stupid people, go right ahead and do business with them. I find it unethical. Also, even though they now operate legally and offer apparently legitimate banking products, I would always be waiting for the other shoe to drop, wondering what the consequences would be if I ever screwed up even a little bit. I don’t think I could ever trust them to do right by their customers.
I’m still in the phase of paying off debt, so the best “saving” I can do (now that we have an EF) is making those payments. Guaranteed minimum 10% return. 🙂
@ Beth, I myself have had a good experience with Capital One – in fact, it’s the one credit account I am maintaining – but I have only used them as a credit issuer and not as a bank.
Not sure if you’re following Ramsey’s method, but if you do, you still need an emergency fund in cash while you kill the debts.
He recommends putting it in breakable glass or something, ha ha ha. The fund is anything from $1000 to 6 months in living expenses… but even $1K is too much for me to keep hidden at home (I’m paranoid about burglaries), so for me the bank is the way to go.
The emergency fund is actually so you don’t have to keep credit cards for emergencies (especially in case Capital One happens to wrong you at some point). It’s worked for me.
I don’t agree Capital one is a bad choice. I have account with them for over 2 years. In saving as well as interest checking. When ING was paying 0.9% Capital One pays 1.1%.
I had a problem with bank of america account, as it got accidentally frozen, while lookign for alternate chekcing accounts, I found interest bearing checking account from capital one bank. And, I glad that I started looking, for alternative.
The whole journey is documented in my blog, which might be helpful for other readers.
http://onecentatatime.com/have-a-second-checking-account/
I do what a lot of others do here w/ my cash savings: i have 2 high interest reward checking accounts (so I can keep up to 25K in each and earn interest) and now I’m going to open up a 5 year Ally CD. Savings accounts seem like a bad idea, when you can go w/ either of these options and get significantly more basis points.
I also use two different rewards checking account to store my savings. First Bank & Trust in SD and NARFE credit union in VA. They started out at 3.5 – 4% interest, but over time have dropped to 2- 2.5%. Need to have one direct deposit, electronic statement and 10-12 debits per month per account.
I don’t know how the interest rate is going to affected by new legislation effective July that will limit the amount of debit card fees the banks can charge merchants. This money making on the debit fees is how the banks can offer higher interest rates to their depositers.
The website below shows some of these types of accounts available. Some may only be for people that live in that state, others will allow out-of-state residents to apply.
http://www.depositaccounts.com/checking/reward-checking-accounts.html
I researched this about a year ago when we were looking to move away from Chase and one of the local credit unions. We have accounts at 2 banks so that not all our eggs are in one basket. Our short list consisted of:
– USAA
– Alliant Credit Union
– HSBC
– Discover Bank
– Everbank
– Emigrant Direct
– ING (now glad didn’t do it)
We have our main checking/savings now with Alliant (1.15%) and are pretty happy with them, though it is a bit tedious to get the accounts set up. A bonus with them is can use many ATMs (even more convenient than w/ Chase) and can even use some ATMs for deposits. Also have a smartphone app for deposits, but we don’t have a smartphone.
I’ve seen some state credit unions with quite high interest rates as well (currently as high as ~3% ?) — sometimes the only requirement being a resident of the state.
I think any of the above would be fine. Ally was briefly considered, but I didn’t like their history, so eliminated them due to that.
I have been with Ally all these years and have 10 sub accounts (essentially separate accounts under same login that you can nick name). We are saving for our first home downpayment so have some good cash parked in savings. For the first $25k, we use a rewards checking that pays 3.5%. You can find rewards checking that accepts online sign ups via (1) Kasasa (2) http://www.depositaccounts.com/checking/reward-checking-accounts.html (3) https://www.checkingfinder.com/ I like depositaccounts the best, but the other ones sometimes have a few accounts that don’t show up on deposit accounts, so it is good to check all three. Won’t take more than a couple of minutes. But with these accounts you do have to make 10 debit card transactions. For me anything less than $4 I put that in this card. Works out well. Some people pay a bill in $1 increment. For me, just the regular purchases works out well.
I’m getting 4.5% with my rewards checking account. I can’t understand why more people in the personal finance community aren’t jumping on this boat?
My bank is Florida Central Credit Union.
I agree, when I heard about ING being bought the first thought it lead to was “NO WAY,” followed by my wife saying “Um… NO. We will close that account.” We were totally in agreement within like 3 nanoseconds, without even discussing it. That is when you KNOW that a company has really ticked some people off! CapOne has no insurance of ever winning most of these people (like us) back, either. Wow.
Jerry
For what it’s worth, I have several online accounts with Discover Bank. They never make the highest echelon of any “top rates” list, but they’re always close, and more to the point their rates have remained steadily higher then average for years. Easy, well-designed website and clear graphics are extra plusses.
I have two accounts plus a credit card with Capital One. I’ve never had a problem with them. Had a late payment last month, and they removed the fee when I called (I’d never had a late pmt before) and said “Oops.” I also have a CD with Ally, which I like, and had $ in Everbank until they raised the minimum. Everbank also delayed so long in setting up my account that the interest rate went down before they could get everything settled so I just said forget it. Also have a rewards checking at a C.U. that we keep at the maximum amount to get the best interest rate. I love Smarty Pig generally. However, what I don’t love about them is that I can’t put any of the accounts into our trust rather than my individual name. I don’t understand why, but they wouldn’t do it when I set up the accounts. Maybe they’ve changed that now. Anyone know?
The fact that this discussion is picking up again is encouraging – that likely means that an economic recovery is occurring enough to where people are able to save decent amounts.
Regarding savings method – I use rewards checking + the Quicken “savings goals” function to keep it separated in my books. This gives me a good interest rate, plus my savings is an automatic “overdraft protection” since it sits in my checking account.
Costco has a favorable savings account rate, as well as other interesting financial products for members. Their savings is 1.15% with a $60/$20 bonus for Executive/Gold members on a $5K deposit & quarterly bonus interest on $10K+ balances. I’m considering switching from ING myself!
oops-Costco uses CapitalOne!
I plan on taking a wait and see position relative to the purchase of ING by Capital One. I expect no immediate change other than being bombarded with offers. I have a Capital One credit card but have refused to use it in over three years due to a dispute on a late fee. I refused to pay it and they refused to remove it. In the end, I paid it and wrote them that I would NEVER use their card again. The account remains open and they get no money from me. If they change the ING services inane way, I’ll be gone!
To answer this question:
“.. we will be accumulating a considerable amount in our account every month. We could probably go without touching this money for years, so we’re interested in the highest-yield accounts/markets. What would you recommend?”
– Pay yourself. If you have any consumer debt (credit cards, auto loans) or student loans, you get a “guaranteed return” of whatever the interest rate on the debt is.
– Fund retirement accounts. If you’ve got piles of money coming in, then put away as much as you can for as long as you can. The power of compounding will work for you over the 40ish years till you retire. Pick aggressive funds (stocks) since you aren’t going to touch the money for decades. Also, eventually kids will come along … or a layoff … or a few bad years. And you’ll likely need to back off the contributions somewhat. So get it in now so it can grow.
– Have some fun before you get all settled in. Take some trips with just you and your husband. Soon enough it’ll be soccer schedules, school schedules and a whole different life. Make some memories as a couple.
– You could also consider trying to pay off your mortgage early. Way early. But balance that with the other considerations above. You certainly don’t want to waste your youth working for a house!
Since it’ll probably take a bit before Capital One changes policies for ING Direct customers, I’m taking a wait and see approach.
I’ll look at all the different options, but we’re in no rush to switch right now.
*WOW*. I did not realize that there were ANY interest-bearing checking accounts that did not require a large deposit… For example, my credit union only offers interest-bearing checking (0.05%)with a minimum $2500 balance (it goes up in tiered amounts to a max of 0.60% for a $100,000 minimum balance…) I had never heard of NO-minimum interest-bearing checking before… MANY THANKS for this post!!!
Other than a small amount of savings in the credit union account, what I have is kept with ING. I too think Cap One has a shady reputation, but I will give them the benefit of the doubt and wait to see if they jerk things around. (Organizations, like people, can improve; with both, while I want to know what was done in the past, I’m much more interested in knowing what is done now.)
Jumping to a new account for a couple of interest points won’t really help me, as I’m at Dave Ramsey’s baby step #1 of just barely getting a $1K emergency fund, so I’m not going to move unless/until I have to. When I do, though, I will definitely check out these checking accounts. MANY THANKS again for sharing this info!
I haven’t researched the liability one has with these rewards checking (in case someone drains your account after grabbing your account number), but isn’t maintaining a high balance in a rewards checking account really dangerous?
Personally I’d be more inclined to keep $30,000 in a lower-yielding savings than having it all exposed in a single checking account that the banks require I have 12+ debit transactions from each month. Your card & account number is spread all over the place.
This is my thinking exactly and it’s why I’ve never opened one of these. You make more in interest, but you’re also increasing exponentially your risk of identity theft, and many ATM cards do not come with the same consumer protections that credit cards do.
That’s an excellent point and one I hadn’t thought of. Thinking now maybe my credit union savings account is the best place to park my emergency fund, even if the rate is pitiful, if ING craps the bed. Thanks for the insight.
I have had savings account with ING for the past 5 years. I really like it there due to a major factor that they don’t charge fees. I will wait and see if that changes before I go changing banks. Most banks charge fees unless I have a direct deposit of over $500 monthly and/or minimum balance. I just want hassle-free account where I don’t have to worry about any of those.
However, I do have an account with Chase which has a direct deposit so I am safe from their fees. I did have a savings acct with Chase, but I closed it and opened another savings at ING due to Chase charging fees to my second account. Let’s hope that ING or any other online bank will not start charging fees.
If anyone has information on other banks that don’t charge fees, please let me know. I want to start looking in case changes take effect at ING.
Oops, what I meant is that I know the article above mentioned some banks not charging fees. I mean if someone knows of other banks that weren’t mentioned in the article above. I would appreciate the info. Thanks! 😉
How awful you think things are going to get over at ING Direct now that Capital One has it?
Tim, I am not going to give Capital One a chance…they screwed me once, not letting it happen twice. It won’t be the same because they currently don’t offer anything close to what ING has.
Has anyone else used the UPromising program linked to the SallieMae savings account? I have tried to, but it doesn’t seem to work; they don’t seem to credit the purchases unless you contact them and even want you to mail them receipts. I’ve spent an embarrassing amount of time on this, and it seems all they are really interested in is in collecting data. The program sounds good, and it is why I signed up with them, but I’m thinking about moving to a different bank.
I have been an ING Direct customer since 2003…and have loved the way they do business, the ease of access, the quick transfer between accounts, etc. Unfortunately, like others, I was not impressed with the news they were bought out by Capital One. It is my understanding this is because of overseas bailout funds they took and had issues with (per a link posted on Facebook by a friend). This has made my respect for ING drop dramatically and I choose to do business with people who are tops and act that way in every way! I had a horrible experience with Capital One and I will not be a supporter of them. I have spent the last two weeks researching Savings Accounts and ways to utilize my money to earn decent. ING used to have GREAT interest rates and were always #1, but in the last few years, that has changed. I enjoyed the blog post and I have not read all the comments, which I hope to do later to glean any insight from others.
Now is the time to buy stocks which pay dividends. The price of many of these stocks have stabilized (before they were just really good bargains), and they are reliably paying up to 5.2% dividends. For people who may need cash at some point, the advantage of the stable price is that you can sell at around the same price you paid, and you will only have ‘lost’ the cost of the purchase and sale of the stock. Assuming you held onto it long enough to have been paid dividends – shich happens every three months.
I just realized I left out an important caveat to purchasing stocks. Stock purchases should not replace a readily available cash savings. Stocks are for purchase after you have your 6 months to 2 years of emergency cash saved. Anything beyond that can be used for stock purchase, or however else you choose to invest/park your money.
1% is a joke. If you have any credit cards then you can easily get over 12% on your money by paying it off.
If you have a mortgage then you can get a guaranteed return of 5% on your money by paying back the money you borrowed from the bank to buy your house. 5% beats any CDs or 30 year gov bonds.
Stocks are unpredictable and the market or the S&P 500 went down -37.22 percent in 2008 which is take many years to recover from.
With stocks you have to pay corporate income tax, capital gains tax and dividend taxes which will diminish your return.
Better to invest in your own home than in wall street.
Stocks are not as unpredictable as you say – if you do your homework. Homework which admittedly takes alot of time. I look for stocks which have completely regained their value from pre 2008 levels, which pay regular dividends ( you can look up historic dividend payouts), which have cash on board, and which show support when the price rises. Corporations, rich people, institutional investors, and regular people need a place to put their money, and these safe stocks are one of the places where they are puttting their money. Buy stocks you want to hold onto, and when the price goes down buy more. If only I had had more money when the prices were seriously depressed!
As for your point about taxes. A stock sale may result in capital gains taxes, but many people can offset that. But it does not diminish the overall gains. Until we start having inflation and the cost of borrowing money goes up with it, we won’t have any good way of making money with the money we save using traditional savings.
Thanks for the list! Im curious, no credit unions made the list, couldnt find any? Or didnt look for any?
I use Smarty Pig. It’s been wonderful and although the site at first doesn’t look legit (it’s geared towards young adults and so it looks more like a social networking site than anything) but i’ve had only positive experiences and a pretty good interest rate compared to other banks (and yes, it is connected to a bank and FDIC insured). Check it out.
I closed my ING account yesterday, transferring the money to Wells Fargo for now. I’m making some investments with USAA and will incorporate the modest amount of ING money into that transaction. This dovetails with my desire to have my financial accounts streamlined. I’m a USAA member and have my insurance policies and credit card with them, so a set of investments with them is part of my plan.
We use a short-term bond index fund from Vanguard for our emergency savings. Yes, the share price fluctuates, but not much. And it has grown about 4.5% annually last 10 years. The graph is a pretty stable upward trajectory.
https://personal.vanguard.com/us/funds/snapshot?FundId=0132&FundIntExt=INT
I don’t know why nobody ever mentions Mango (mangomoney.com)!
They’re offering 5.1% APY on balances up to $5000. Not the best choice for all of your savings, but they’re FDIC insured so it doesn’t hurt to get a little extra return on some of your money.
My husband opened an account with them several months ago and loves it.
Thanks, J.D., for this great list! 🙂
I was super excited to read Stefanie’s questions at the beginning of the post. And I was especially eager to see what everyone’s suggestions might be regarding where Stefanie and her husband should keep their house savings for the next 15 months…
I might have missed it, but it felt like part of her question (i.e. “Should we put [our house savings] in a traditional savings account with our local bank or should we invest it in a money market, CD, or online savings account?”) got lost in the excitement of the post’s focus. Or, is it simply that an online savings account is the answer?
that is a depressing news, ING direct going to Capital One, after 7 good years with them, I will have to move my money to either Discover or American Express. Had capital one credit card back in 2006, Customer Service was below average.
I have been a customer of ING Direct since 2002, and I have never had a problem, but I can’t say the same for Crapital One.
I was forced into being a customer of Crapital One Bank when they bought out North Fork Bank a couple of years ago. Up until the time that I finally cancelled my accounts, I had nothing but problems with them. In fact, I still cringe whenever I pass my old Crapital One Bank branch! As far as I’m concerned, the creeps who run this company are corporate thieves and they are vile, contemptuous, reptillian creatures. I will NEVER give these reprehensible creeps another chance to screw me again!
Since the announcement of the buyout, I have withdrawn all of my money from my ING Direct accounts, and since it is such a pain to close them, I will leave the accounts with a zero balance until they are finally closed.
I have “Discovered” (pun intended) that Discover Bank will pay AAA members a .05% bonus over their regular online savings account yield of 1.15% for a total yield of 1.20%.
https://aaa.discoverbank.com/aaa/index.html
Honestly speaking, there are little differences between all the high-yield banks out, but what’s for sure is that a difference of .15% is better then nothing. We might be in a bad period in this area, but, I would much rather transfer my ING holdings to a 1.15% APY rather then an APY that is around .75%. Every little bit helps.
Savings accounts are the worst place you can put your money. The interest rates are extremely low, and guess what, inflation averages at 7% per year. So if you think you’re actually growing your money, no matter how slowly, think again.
although i use multiple different strategies to save money. I will share the following. I am currently using a method called the CD ladder. I am also going through Ally Bank (which i would recommend to anyone). Anyway, i have 5 different CD’s. A one year Cd, a two year cd, a three year cd, a four year cd, and a five year cd. Every time one of those cd’s matures, i reinvest the profits into another 5 year CD to create a ladder that never end. This method seems to work, but im sure i can find a better strategy. What do y’all think?
FYI
Ing is in the process or has been acquired by Capital One and the process should be completed by the end of the year.
Ing’s Electric Orange checking is also nice, the Orange Savings Account currently offers a better rate.
Ing also has Sharebuilder.
Sharebuilder, for new accounts, sometimes has incentives on My Points.
Look for changes as the Capital One acquisition nears completion.
Ing’s customer service people assure me that they will continue with their popular approach to online banking: great customer service, easy to use website and decent (if not the greatest) rates. Capital One will not mess with success.
I say wait and see, no need to panic now. Right now Incredible Bank has the best online checking/savings account rates I have seen.
ING recently started providing checks (50 for $5), something that makes an already great checking account even better, but I won’t be ordering any until well after they are merged with Capital One, first because of the probable name change on the checks, but secondly because I figure Capital One will do something to screw ING checking up (though I doubt they’ll do anything as gross as Wells Fargo and they ridiculous $3.00 debit card fee)!
The Colorado Federal Savings Bank is terrible. They never send you notice or confirmation email or mail. Nothing from them! But they charge all kinds of hidden fees at the end. There are many hidden fees!!! Don’t only look at the rate. They will charge you extra fees at the end. They won’t tell you till you move your money out of their bank!
Hello!
I’m 19 y/o, from México. I’ve been following your blog and newslater for a while now. I’ve found your posts to be highly educational, besides being entertaining. haha keep Blackberry.
I have a question. For what I understand, Savings accounts in the US yield more interest than the ones available here in México(although i haven’t really researched much yet). I’ve heard about online savings accounts… what’s the difference between them and “offline” ones? Can I apply for one from México? And are there any US banks in méxico that I can go to and create a savings account?
Thank you very much!
The previous comment on investing overseas is NOT about currency speculation. I wish I currently had the guts to do the same.
As a South-African living in the USA I have some insight into what the poster was saying.
The South African currency is one of the most volatile, but yet stable currencies. Why do I say that? Well it can lose or gain 10 or 20% within a few days, BUT it moves within a certain range and it bounces in that range.
A few months ago the currency was 6 ZAR to the USD, now it is 8 to the USD. Couple that with the fact that interest rates in the country is 6 to 10 times what it is in the US and you get the scenario where say you invested now at 6% with currency you buy at 8 ZAR to the USD. When it goes back to 6 – 6.50 to the USD, you can make a 25 – 35% currency profit on top of the higher interest rate.
So typical wisdom would be, invest when the dollar is stronger, pay out when the dollar is weaker.
Personally I don’t know why the ZAR always return to strength. After Mandela the country has only been run by greedy criminals and it is getting worse. Maybe it is the amount of money foreign investors push into the country, maybe it is because mineral resources seem to shine when other instruments don’t?
J.D. have you considered using a brokerage account as a “savings account”?
I only ask, because I think of it this way. if you open up a brokerage account, deposit fund into it, purchase dividend only stocks that are yielding relatively high rates, then why not?
Obviously, it’s not quite the same, because there is a lot less risk with a Savings account. But let’s say you picked something like PFE or KMP or SDRL as the stock (or a mixture of them). PFE is paying about 4% in dividends, KMP about 6% in dividends, and SDRL almost 7% in dividends.
So, instead of using the “DRIP” (Dividend ReInvestment Plan), simply have it go back into your core account, and take the cash out just like a savings account.
Just a legit question…..why would anyone use a bank which is a corporate for profit when you can use a credit union that is a non-profit who would have the member’s best interest in mind…pun intended?
It depends on your goals. I use USAA for most banking, and Ally for Savings. USAA has great customer service and I like their loan and insurance products a lot. Ally is my go-to for savings as it has very competitive interest rates on savings accounts. It CD accounts are competitive and flexible as well.
I have couple of credit union accounts, but I I don’t use themas there isn’t a financial benefit to doing so.
We’ve reopened comments on this post as of today. If you have any questions or know of a great rate being advertised, please submit a comment.
What about GE Capital? I noticed that they’re offering .90% APY with a daily compounded interest that’s paid out on a monthly.
Any thoughts or feedback? Thinking about moving my money…
testing 1 2 3
I must say that I’ve fairly recently chosen to go the different route of a High Yield Savings account.
I’m choosing to use a Brokerage Account and dividend stocks to provide a much higher yield on my savings.
Is it riskier? Yes. But I don’t like the idea of making a minuscule amount of interest on $3k-$5k, just to be crazy safe. Comparing the $50 I earned for holding a somewhat risky dividend stock for 1 quarter (or 3 months … actually only held it for 2 months), I had to invest $1,250. Just like a savings account, if I don’t need the money that month (or the next 3 months, it sits in the cash portion of the Brokerage account until I can purchase other dividend stocks or I need it.
Do I sleep comfortably? Yes
Do I have tons of money in the account? No
Why? It would have taken me 5 years to have received the same amount of “interest” that I did within the brokerage account.
Is it taxable? Yes (capital gains tax if held 366 days or more – but then again, savings interest is taxable too)
Is it a good choice for everyone? Not particularly, but if you play with a fake portfolio of dividend stocks on the Internet, and most importantly do NOT lie to yourself about how well you did, you may be able to do the same after a year or 2 of playing with the fake portfolio.
PS: Yes I do have a savings account still, but only maintain $1,000 or so in there as a very quick way to transfer monies if I need to cover a bill in our primary checking that we weren’t expecting.
To Chris at 28 August 2013:
Consider buying short term bonds from a website like Zions Direct. You can probably find tax free muni bonds paying 1% to 2% for a bond that matures in 6-12 months and higher for taxable bonds. Safer that stocks because you don’t have to watch the stock price. Barring default which is extremely risk you get your money back at maturity. You can buy in as small as $1,000 but probably need $5,000 to be serious about this.
Actually, a US Treasury account acts as a decent savings account if you’re saving the money LONG TERM (5 years or more).
Any US citizen can have a treasury account and if you bought I-Bonds in past years, those would still be earning ~2.77% today. They used to have both a fixed component and an inflation component, the fixed component never changes in it’s lifetime.
Also, while the interest compounds as usual, taxes are deferred until redemption. Bonds can be partially redeemed in any sequence, allowing you to control your tax situation in the future. They’ll redeem right back into the checking account you bought them with.
Very true, but if one didn’t put money into I-bonds, then they’re looking to catch up. More than 8%/yr in dividends and really not having to watch the price of the stock is not that bad at all if you’re in it for the dividends getting paid out. Example: Pay $44/shr, get $3.64/share back over the entire year. Get any price appreciation in addition to that, and it’s icing on the cake.
Thank you! Huge strategies
What’s the deal with Emigrant Bank? They have emigrantdirect.com (0.50%), dollarsavingsdirect.com (0.55%), and now mysavingsdirect.com (1.0%)!
Excellent blog here! Also your website loads up fast! What host are you using?
Can I get your affiliate link to your host? I wish my website loaded up
as fast as yours lol
Ally was rated the “Best Online Bank” by Money Magazine in both 2013 and 2013. Perhaps, a typo.
However, I really like the articles and advice shared here on Get Rich Slowly! Thank you and I wish you all the very best with everything you do in life.
[Editor’s Note: Thanks, Janny. I’ve made the correction to the post. Ally was rated the best online bank in both 2012 and 2013.]
There is no such think as a high yield account anymore. They might come back later this year or in 2015, depending on the fed reserve’s interest rate policy.
We’re in a borrower’s market, not a saver’s market. I hope that this changes soon, but until then, do exhaust yourself looking to get returns that might get you an extra latte at Starbucks a year. Expect no interest on ‘short term’ savings. Instead, focus on lowing expenses, increasing income and investing wisely for the long term.
SmartyPig pays 1.0%. It’s just a little trickier to use since it’s goal-based, so you need to have two goals set up to make less than a complete withdrawal.
Their bank, BBVA Compass, has an interesting option called Build My Savings: http://www.bbvacompass.com/buildmysavings/
Depending on starting balance, monthly deposit, and the term (6 – 36 months) you can earn 1% at the low end up to 6%. Of course, the main factor that determines your interest rate is the term you commit to, but just 12 months with a modest $500 opening deposit is enough to hit 2.75%.
While I don’t completely disagree with most assessments that there aren’t high yield accounts much anymore, I’d have to say that there are, however they are not the traditional form of high yield accounts. Consider a brokerage account that you can either invest in stocks/bond/funds, and earn 2% and up.
Yikes. No wonder Americans complain about “high interest” savings accounts.
Interest rates are so close between the banks I deal with that I focus on the vehicle rather than the bank. For example, putting my money in a tax-free savings account yields a better return than a regular savings account because of the tax savings. Just food for thought 🙂
That’s why IO love this blog and keep visiting it to get more information to save my personal finance. This blog post really shows the path to have a great financial health. Thanks for all the information on Savings account. However, I’ve a question now. I have two bank accounts – one at Barclays and another at American Express Bank. I want to open another saving a/c at either Ally or GE Capital Bank. Is it permissible? How many savings accounts can I have?
You can have as many savings accounts as you would like Martha. Although you might be better off limiting the number for a few reasons. Assuming you don’t need to spread out your funds to be fully FDIC insured, it would be easier to track only having one or two accounts and you might be entitled to betters rates depending on the amount of money in the account (dilluting your savings among several might put you in a lower tier in terms of rate or other benefits at the bank). The better option might be for you to find the best bank/rate and set up different savings buckets within one account – a lot of banks let you do this now.
Thanks for the reply Mike. That definitely helped.
I received really poor service from Ally when they hit the market. Instead, I use Discover’s online savings account. As of today (04/03/14), ANY savings amount is getting 0.85%. No checking account, auto deposits, or other hoops to jump through. It isn’t much, but it should be on your list!
I don’t mind a blog making money, but this post is misleading. The primary goal seems to be to put affiliate program links out there for us to click on. A small disclaimer in a side bar usually does the trick, but when the entire article is stuffed with money making links for you, you need at least a reference to this being an advertisement in the article.
The fact that it says “Advertiser Comments” isn’t enough? They also list it looks like dozens of banks that aren’t advertisers which is a lot more than what some other sites do…
I don’t see it on this list, but I have been very pleased with Lake Michigan Credit Union. They pay 3% when you meet their requirements and you don’t have to live in Michigan. It rocks!
Savings accounts are still good for short term savings and at least part of your emergency fund.When you are retire, they are probably a good place to hold distributions.
Joe – not sure that is fair. I have researched this endlessly and these are the best deals right now. Perhaps you can show otherwise. I am open to learning .
The best savings account I’ve found is from Baxter Credit Union (www.BCU.org). They have a rainy day account, which restricts you to two withdrawals per year, but starts out paying 1.25% the first year and doubles to 2.5% on year 2+.
You can start the account with $1000 and add up $500 per month with a minimum of $25 required per month to keep this active. Also, you can’t withdraw for the first 90 days after opening.
No. I don’t work for BCU but I have been a member since my original credit union was purchased by BCU several years ago.
It’s the highest savings rate I’ve been able to find anywhere. Unfortunately, the rate is only good on balances < $25,000.
This is a great vehicle to start and build up that emergency fund!
There is NO WAY I’m putting my money in ANY bank at these absurd rates.
CC’s are still at 18-30%. They are ROBBING people.
I’ll keep money under the mattress, actually a home safe!
I’ll eat the inflation, as I know I won’t have to fight to get my money back when this whole thing goes Kaplooyey, And it will.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t a 0.7 to a 0.9 percent annual yield doesn’t even scratch the surface of annual inflation?
We actually review our interest rates and various accounts on a yearly basis, and then we all play them off each other 🙂
I haven’t checked in here for a while because I thought it
was getting boring, but the last several posts are
great quality so I guess I’ll add you back to my everyday bloglist.
You deserve it my friend 🙂
I use 2 on-line money market accounts for liquid savings, and I am happy with both of them:
1. Sallie Mae Money Market: 0.9% interest and it comes with free checks. I use this for my emergency fund, and never touch this money.
2. Redneck Bank (www.redneckbank.com) Mega Money Market Account: Redneck Bank is the online division of Bank of the Wichitas, and this account also has 0.9% interest rate.
The difference is the Redneck Bank account comes with checks and a Visa Check card, so I use this for my Home Funds (HOA dues, house repairs, etc…) because with the checks and check card it’s more convenient to make payments from this account.
I have never had a problem with either account and overall, I am happy with both of them!
I’ve an account with Barclays. I’m looking to open another one which I plan to use as an emergency account. It seems GE is good. Can anyone give me any idea?
I am looking into money market account for each of my four children, who each have between $900 and $1200 in a current savings account earning .02%. GE Capital above does not offer custodial accounts. Any ideas for a higher yield savings account that does?
Not sure why you show Sallie Mae as yielding .80%. Your link shows a .90%. I’ve had a Sallie Mae savings account with them since December 2012 and they’ve had a .90% yield 4/12/13. They also offer an initial free 25 checks when you open the account even though it’s not considered a checking account.
Hi Doug,
The yield of .80% is specifically for the high-yield savings account (as of October 3, 2014), which is the focus of this particular article. The .90% yield is for the money market account. But thank you for checking the rates and mentioning the confusion. Hopefully that will clarify it for others as well!
Best,
Linda Vergon
Editor for GetRichSlowly.org
SmartyPig (online savings only) is offering 1%
This is a list of my top recommendations to save money over time, and end up rich. If yous start this at 30, trust me by 60 you will be very comfortable. I:
1. Invest in diversified low cost funds such as Vanguard. Match your investment mix to your age and risk tolerance. I am about 70%equities and 30% fixed income.
2. Get life insurance. Stay away from expensive whole life insurance. Get term life from a place like LifeAnt for about $20 a month. Watch Suzey Orman or Dave Ramsey sometime if you have not heard of buying term and investing the difference.
3. Set up a revocable trust for a tax efficient transfer of assets.
4. Put at least the maximum amount in your 401k that your employer will match.
5. Save between 10-15% of your income every year for retirement in total.
Save yourself a lot of money and just do everything you can yourself. Google financial planning fees sometime and see how much they take away from you over time.
Thank you for allowing to comment in this page. GRS is my favorite personal finance blog. I keep on tracking and visiting it for the latest update. Good thing I found this page after I read the latest post today.
Savings account should be lessen if you want to maximize the growth of your money. A savings account can’t help you fight the “inflation” unless the rates are higher than inflation.
If an inflation rate is 4%, then a savings account should earn more than that. If not, pull out your savings and invest your money in any investment vehicle earning higher than inflation rate.
The rule of thumb is at least 3% above the inflation rate. So, if an inflation rate is 4%, then, your investments should at least earn 7% or higher. (e.g. stocks and mutual funds).
Just sharing my POV. Thanks a lot. Keep visiting GRS.
The best savings account I’ve found is from Baxter Credit Union (www.BCU.org). They have a rainy day account, which restricts you to two withdrawals per year, but starts out paying 1.25% the first year and doubles to 2.5% on year 2+.
You can start the account with $1000 and add up $500 per month with a minimum of $25 required per month to keep this active. Also, you can’t withdraw for the first 90 days after opening.
No. I don’t work for BCU but I have been a member since my original credit union was purchased by BCU several years ago.
It’s the highest savings rate I’ve been able to find anywhere. Unfortunately, the rate is only good on balances < $25,000.
This is a great vehicle to start and build up that emergency fund!
Unless you’re going to jump through the hoops needed to get a rewards savings or checking account (x number of direct deposited, y debit transactions per month, z average account balance, etc), I don’t think it makes sense to spend your time looking at different savings accounts. With rates this low, you’re paying yourself far below minimum wage just to make an extra 10 cents in interest per year. I found a place that offers the services I need, is convenient, and doesn’t charge fees for the things I need; anything else would be a waste of my time.
Kinda disappointed to see this filler post show up again.
UFB Savings, $25k, 1.25% APY. Totally online. The GRS banking thing is ok, but there are better banking “aggregators” out there.
Nice definitive post. I live in the UK and rates are slightly better. I have an emergency fund bank account with instant access which is paying 3% on balances up to £20,000. This means that I’m earning £600 per year in my emergency fund which is great to know. I wish rates would start rising sooner than later.
Over at http://www.depositaccounts.com/banks/barclays.html, a user said Barclays plays games w/their displayed rate. At the time the rate was stated as 0.90%, but he found out that it was really 0.888896% APY. I haven’t investigated but maybe their 1% is really 0.99 (??)… But it does get them to the top of the list… ho hum. It makes a difference for many reasons; if you keep your own records, plus its a little sneaky so you gotta wonder what else…less transparency and sneaky practices shouldn’t be rewarded with our dollars. This was a first for me. I thought what we saw is what we got, APY-wise… so we could compare financial institutions.
Getting a good rate is important, but isn’t it as important that certain features exist…like Capital360 does not have transfer/payable on death.
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/payableondeath.asp
https://www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/news/cnfall10/estateplanning.html
Ally’s was GMAC financial. If there is another auto/finanical crisis like 2008 will Ally be affected more due to auto loans? Do you assume all sites are just as secure? What about customer service? Do you look at financial soundness? Are these teaser rates… or does the finanical institution have a trend of offering higher rates? Is the test for “best savings account” just the APY? I know writing about APY’s is fun, but….
Any way you could start tracking the movement of these scores? I realize it has to do with the Fed rates, but former ING now 360 savings frequently brought down the savings interest rate as other banks kept it up (eg, Ally Bank). Essentially I’d like to know which online savings accounts aren’t just trying to get me in the door and are actively doing there best to keep their savings rate high. A consistency index score maybe.
Hi Chad,
Our bank review pages include a tool that lets you compare the savings account interest rates being offered by a bank over the last year. You can even add more banks to the tool and see how their interest rates compare against each other’s rates over the last year. It’s pretty nifty!
(Each of the bank reviews include the tool, so just pick the bank you want to read about. Here’s the link to the bank review pages: https://axis-monolith.live/bank-reviews/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
But your idea of an index is a pretty cool idea. I’ll look into that. Thanks for your comment and idea!
Best,
Linda Vergon
Editor of GetRichSlowly.org
What about MySavingsDirect? They have the highest yield of all of them at 1.25 APY and no fees or minimum balances. You didn’t mention it. Do you know anything about them?
Mimi,
Thank you so much for stopping by — we will investigate and get back to you!
Best,
Katie
I just opened up an account with Pure Point Financial and moved all of our savings there, and I would highly recommend to anyone. It’s currently the best rate on the market at 1.25%, and I was very pleased with how easy the account setup was and easy the web interface is to navigate. I’ve been a bit of an interest rate chaser, bouncing between CIT Bank, UFB Direct, and Popular Direct (the last of which has TERRIBLE customer service and flexibility), but I’m loving Pure Point so far. Several of the popular financial blogs and sites have put out recent reviews if you want to use the Googles to do some research.
I’ve had a Capital One 360 account for ages, and if you have more than $10k, you can get 1% interest there permanently (iirc, Ally Bank’s offer is an introductory offer that drops after a year).
Good.
Barclays has a Dream Account with a 1.05% apy and additional incentives for not withdrawing for 6 months as well as making consecutive deposits for six months. I am wondering why you didn’t mention it?
This is a good starting list. But which institution is the overall best, and why?