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For the past couple of years, I’ve maintained this list of high-yield savings accounts by hand. That worked fine for a while, but savings interest rates change often, and I prefer spending my time writing about personal finance.
I looked at Bankrate and a couple of other sites that offer automated rate tables. Each of these sites is great, but I actually liked what I saw at MoneyRates. MoneyRates monitors bank rates from over 200 banks and displays top 50 highest rates. I asked them if we could work together, and they agreed, so I’ve replaced my hand-updated list of savings accounts with the table from MoneyRates (below). You can find out who’s currently offering the highest rates on savings accounts by clicking on “See Rates.”
| 6 Month CD | 1.25% |
| 1-year CD | 1.54% |
| 2-year CD | 1.80% |
| Money Market Accounts | 1.21% |
| Savings Accounts | 1.29% | Savings rates provided by MoneyRates.com. |
Version of Original Post Below
The rates on this page are current as of 5 November 2009. Rates are low right now, but they’ll rise as the economic crisis eases. For more information about these banks, please see the 1500+ comments that follow this list.
I’ve heard a lot about online high-yield savings accounts, but I’ve never bothered to look into them. It occurred to me today that it’s ridiculous to keep my “web money” in a no-yield checking account at Wells Fargo. As my blog revenue grows, I’m throwing away money by not having my savings someplace that pays.
I did some research. I googled for “high yield savings account” and “money market account” and followed promising links (and ads) from the search results. Here are the offers that I was able to find with minimal digging. All of these accounts are FDIC insured and, unless otherwise noted, can link to other bank accounts (your local credit union, for example). CD Rates are maintained on a separate page.
Based on anecdotes from GRS readers, the first group of banks offer excellent customer service, great rates, and a good user interface:
- Everbank Savings Account offers a 2.51% 3 month bonus rate plus a 1.77% first year APY up to $50k on their savings account. There is a $1,500 initial deposit requirement. They pledge to keep yields within the top 5% of competitive accounts according to the Bankrate.com National IndexTM of leading banks and thrifts.
- WTDirect Savings Account offers a variable rate currently at 1.515% APY on all balances for first 60 days. Beyond that, accounts >$10,000 continue at the variable 1.515% and lower balances are adjusted to a lower variable rate. No Fees. FDIC Insured. No minimum deposit to open the account and no checking account required in order to get the high rate.
- ING Direct Electric Orange offers up to 1.55% APY, on their Electric Orange interest checking account on high balances. They feature a web interface, free bill pay, free ATMs at 35,000+ locations and an online application. No minimum. GRS readers love ING Direct. This is the bank I chose after doing my research.
- HSBC Direct Savings Account offers 1.35% APY, no monthly fees, web interface. $1 minimum to open. Named “best online savings account” by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance in 2006.
- FNBO Direct Savings Account offers 1.50% APY, with no monthly fees, no minimum balances, and “no strings”. $1 minimum to open. Named best online savings account by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine, December 2008. FNBO has also been rated as one of the safest of the major online banks.
- E*TRADE Bank Savings Account offers 0.50% APY, no fees, an automatic savings plan. $1 minimum to open. My cousin loves E*TRADE, and GRS readers seem to be warming to them.
This second group of banks is also worth considering. They tend to have stiffer requirements, more hoops to jump through, or lower customer reviews:
- Emigrant Direct Savings Account offers 1.30% APY, no fees, web interface. No minimum. GRS readers like Emigrant Direct.
- ShoreBank Savings Account offers 2.15% APY with no monthly fees and a $1 minimum balance. ShoreBank bills itself as a community development and environmental bank. Only two stars from Bankrate’s Safe & Sound rating.
- Presidential Online Bank Savings Account offers 1.25% APY on balances up to $35,000. Balances in excess of $35,000 earn 0.75% APY. no fees, ATM access, web interface. $5,000 minimum to open.
- Savings Square Savings Account offers 1.55% APY, no fees. $1 minimum to open. Electronic interface only. I’ve had a couple readers tell me setting up an account at Savings Square is a nightmare.
- M&T Bank Savings Account is currently offering 0.50% APY on balances with a $1 minimum to open account. Online only, geographic restrictions, rate and products may vary by location. Fees can reduce earnings on the account.
- Capital One Savings Account offers a variable rate, from 0.60% to 1.60% APY, no fees, free checks and ATM card, an automatic savings plan. $1 minimum to open. Rate is 0.60% on balances below $10,000.
- Bank of America Savings Account offers Tiered variable interest rates (for example, $10,000.00 to $24,999.99 earns a 0.50% APY). May be eligible for a 0.25% interest rate bonus by setting up a monthly automatic transfer of at least $250.
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.
March 21st, 2007 at 1:19 pm
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”.
March 21st, 2007 at 1:23 pm
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.
March 21st, 2007 at 1:26 pm
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
March 21st, 2007 at 1:28 pm
“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.
March 21st, 2007 at 1:28 pm
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!
March 21st, 2007 at 1:30 pm
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.
March 21st, 2007 at 1:34 pm
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?
March 21st, 2007 at 1:45 pm
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.
March 21st, 2007 at 1:50 pm
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.
March 21st, 2007 at 1:51 pm
Brad, President’s Choice is now in Quebec: http://www.pcfinancial.ca/
4% on balances of at least $1000.01.
March 21st, 2007 at 1:58 pm
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.
March 21st, 2007 at 2:01 pm
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.
March 21st, 2007 at 2:02 pm
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.
March 21st, 2007 at 2:08 pm
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.
March 21st, 2007 at 2:09 pm
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.
March 21st, 2007 at 2:19 pm
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.
March 21st, 2007 at 2:21 pm
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.
March 21st, 2007 at 2:33 pm
Your Countrywide APY is incorrect. It’s 5.4% only if you have a $50,000 minimum balance. For
March 21st, 2007 at 2:35 pm
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.
March 21st, 2007 at 2:42 pm
I’ve been using HSBC for about the past year. No complaints, it has really been a nice account. Very security focused as well.
March 21st, 2007 at 2:44 pm
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.
March 21st, 2007 at 2:46 pm
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.
March 21st, 2007 at 2:49 pm
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).
March 21st, 2007 at 3:01 pm
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.
March 21st, 2007 at 3:04 pm
Great article, I’d like to see similar about the variety of IRA options that are out there.
March 21st, 2007 at 3:12 pm
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.
March 21st, 2007 at 3:12 pm
[...] customer to ING Direct since the day I opened an account with them. Since that day, several other online savings accounts offering a higher APY have surfaced. Although the rates are higher elsewhere, I have stuck with ING Direct because I am [...]
March 21st, 2007 at 3:15 pm
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.
March 21st, 2007 at 3:25 pm
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.
March 21st, 2007 at 3:37 pm
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!
March 21st, 2007 at 3:44 pm
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?
March 21st, 2007 at 4:01 pm
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.
March 21st, 2007 at 4:09 pm
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
March 21st, 2007 at 4:10 pm
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.
March 21st, 2007 at 4:35 pm
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.
March 21st, 2007 at 4:40 pm
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
March 21st, 2007 at 5:04 pm
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.
March 21st, 2007 at 5:09 pm
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.
March 21st, 2007 at 5:31 pm
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.
March 21st, 2007 at 5:34 pm
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.
March 21st, 2007 at 6:04 pm
I use Amboy Direct 5.25% APY up to $19,999. 5.35% paid for $20,000 and up. FDIC insured.
March 21st, 2007 at 6:04 pm
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.
March 21st, 2007 at 6:14 pm
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.
March 21st, 2007 at 6:35 pm
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).
March 21st, 2007 at 6:48 pm
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?
March 21st, 2007 at 7:20 pm
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.
March 21st, 2007 at 7:53 pm
>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”.
March 21st, 2007 at 8:49 pm
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.
March 21st, 2007 at 8:57 pm
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.
March 21st, 2007 at 9:11 pm
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.
March 21st, 2007 at 10:15 pm
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.
March 21st, 2007 at 10:44 pm
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?
March 22nd, 2007 at 12:32 am
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.
March 22nd, 2007 at 12:47 am
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
March 22nd, 2007 at 5:55 am
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…
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:24 am
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.
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:55 am
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.
March 22nd, 2007 at 8:00 am
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.
March 22nd, 2007 at 8:11 am
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.
March 22nd, 2007 at 8:40 am
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.
March 22nd, 2007 at 9:14 am
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.)
March 22nd, 2007 at 9:27 am
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.
March 22nd, 2007 at 9:38 am
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)
March 22nd, 2007 at 9:47 am
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.
March 22nd, 2007 at 9:58 am
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.
March 22nd, 2007 at 10:04 am
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.
March 22nd, 2007 at 10:37 am
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…
March 22nd, 2007 at 10:54 am
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.
March 22nd, 2007 at 10:58 am
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
March 22nd, 2007 at 11:05 am
@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.
March 22nd, 2007 at 11:08 am
I have both ING and virtualbank. VB seems to follow the fed closer and they have worked well for me.
March 22nd, 2007 at 11:10 am
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.
March 22nd, 2007 at 11:14 am
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!!
March 22nd, 2007 at 11:17 am
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.
March 22nd, 2007 at 11:20 am
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.
March 22nd, 2007 at 11:23 am
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.
March 22nd, 2007 at 11:28 am
If you qualify, USAA has some of the best rates around.
March 22nd, 2007 at 11:33 am
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.
March 22nd, 2007 at 12:03 pm
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.
March 22nd, 2007 at 12:28 pm
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.
March 22nd, 2007 at 12:47 pm
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.
March 22nd, 2007 at 1:05 pm
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.
March 22nd, 2007 at 1:31 pm
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.
March 22nd, 2007 at 1:34 pm
A great site for tracking the best rates on savings accounts, cds, money markets, etc is Best Cash Cow.
Enjoy.
March 22nd, 2007 at 2:54 pm
[...] read more | digg story [...]
March 22nd, 2007 at 3:04 pm
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!
March 22nd, 2007 at 3:56 pm
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…
March 22nd, 2007 at 4:33 pm
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.
March 22nd, 2007 at 5:16 pm
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.
March 22nd, 2007 at 5:22 pm
[...] Which Online High-Yield Savings Account is Best? ? Get Rich Slowly (tags: blog finance finances management money saving investment savings budget interest) [...]
March 22nd, 2007 at 6:12 pm
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.
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:05 pm
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.
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:10 pm
[...] a post over at Get Rich Slowly with each bank and their respective rates. The article, titled “Which Online High-Yield Savings Account is Best?”, made the front page of [...]
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:41 pm
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.
March 22nd, 2007 at 8:21 pm
Great article! I have been looking to move from my bank’s MMA to something better, there are some great options…
March 22nd, 2007 at 8:32 pm
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%
March 22nd, 2007 at 9:16 pm
ING FTW
March 22nd, 2007 at 9:30 pm
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.
March 22nd, 2007 at 9:45 pm
[...] High-Yield Savings Account is Best? Filed under: Uncategorized — recar @ 4:45 am Which Online High-Yield Savings Account is Best? online savings rates over 5%[business & finance] [news] [world & business] [...]
March 22nd, 2007 at 9:47 pm
+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 $$$.