Posted by Chuck on February 11, 2016
Savings Accounts

Published on February 11th, 2016 | by Chuck

250

Best High Interest/Yield Savings Accounts – Up To 5% APY (June 2017)

One of the topics we cover here on DoC is high-interest savings accounts, and lots of readers ask about which one of the many options they should choose. In this post, we’ll try to keep an updated list of high-yield savings accounts available, and we’ll break down which accounts to get first.

Overview

There are standard high-interest savings accounts that don’t come with limits or strings attached, and then there are ultra high yield options that are more involved and take time and patience to deal with. We’ll talk about both options in this post.

Bear in mind, all of the better alternatives have velocity limits, whether it’s $5k or $10k or $20k. You’ll never be netting more than $1,000 in annual interest from any of these accounts, and it’s usually much less than that.

For someone who is impatient or who finds it difficult to deal with multiple accounts or who doesn’t have any spare time, your best bet is to use the standard high-interest savings account options and forget about all of these velocity-limited accounts.

dollar bills high interest savings

Basic High-Interest Options

Leaving money in a regular bank account will usually get you a terrible interest rate, currently close to 0%. With a little research, you can find accounts that offer competitive rates. These are all ordinary savings accounts and are FDIC insured up to $250,000. They do not have any requirements to earn these rates.

These rates will fluctuate over time. Note: There is an advantage to a bank who has a proven track record of giving good interest rates since some of the top rates might be ‘bait-and-switch’ and rates will lower soon after signing up. Banks like Ally, Alliant, and Discover have been known to offer competitive interest rates for many years (the rate will fluctuate but it should always be a good rate).

Here are the best options available, rated highest to lowest:

Limited Options

Mega High-Interest Options – Nationwide

Let’s start with a list of all the mega high-interest options:

4%+ Options

3%+ Options

2%+ Options

More Restrictive Options

Mega High-Interest Options -Regional

Below are the regional accounts we’ve reviewed on the site. There are many more as well.

Which Account to Open First

There’s no clear-cut answer as to which order you should be opening these account as each one has advantages and disadvantages. Here is a plausible order that makes sense to me based on the details of these accounts. (This plan is for the nationwide options; check out if there are better regional options in your area as well.)

Insight Card – 5% (Link)

The Insight Card offers 5% APY on up to $5,000, paid out quarterly. Just be careful to avoid the 90-day inactivity fee of $3.95.

Northpointe – 5% (Link)

Northpointe is a nice option since they now offer the 5% rate on up to $10,000 with manageable requirements. (Until 5/1/17, it was only $5k, now it’s $10k. And there used to be a $500 debit card requirement which has been removed.)

There are some hoops to jump through to get the rate: (1) 15 debit transactions per month, (2) $100 withdrawal or deposit monthly. And remember to enroll in e-statements. The biggest issue really is that there needs to be steady debit card usage that looks like ordinary spend. Some people might not want the account at all for that reason.

Mango Account – 6% (Link)

Mango has the highest APY of 6%, but it comes with a $3 monthly fee which lowers its overall value to pretty close to Insight and Northpointe. Mango now requires an $800 ACH transferred to the account each month. You also can’t ACH the money out, and you’ll have to spend it down using the debit card. Some people might prefer to skip Mango and jump straight to Consumer’s Credit Union.

Consumer’s Credit Union – 4.59% (Link)

The Consumer’s account offers 4.59% on up to $20k. It does have some hoops to jump, though:

  • A hard Equifax pull for opening the checking account, and another hard pull (looks like a Transunion pull) for opening the credit card. Credit card is necessary to get 4.59% rate.
  • Put $1k per month on a Consumer’s credit card. If we assume you’d have earned 2% back on your regular credit card and you get 1% back with Consumer’s, you’ll end up losing $10 per month by doing this deal. (It’s not quite so bad since you can put $6k at the grocery and earn 3% back on that.)
  • Do 12 debit transactions (e.g. buy twelve 50¢ Amazon gift cards).
  • Remember to enroll in e-documents, do one bill pay per month, and access online banking once per month.

This Consumer’s account is better than the 5% accounts mentioned above in a big way since you can get a high-interest rate on $20k with a single account. Someone who has $20k to put in savings may prefer starting with this account versus the other accounts that have a $5k limit.

One American Bank – 3.5% (Link)

With One American you can get a 3.5% rate on up to $10k. Here are the drawbacks: (1) Unknown if there is a hard pull for opening (one tentative data point indicates that it’s soft), (2) 12 debit card purchases per month, (3) must login to online banking once per month. And remember to enroll in e-statements.

Evansville Teachers FCU – 3% (Link)

Next up is Evansville FCU which gets the same 3% rate on up to $15k. The drawbacks here are as follows: (1) Monthly direct deposit of any amount (ACH should work), (2) 15 debit card purchases per month, (3) must login to online banking once per month. And remember to enroll in e-statements. Just be aware that the they are somewhat Chex sensitive so if you’re report overloaded with many inquires in the past year you may be denied.

Lake Michigan Credit Union – 3% (Link)

Next up is LMCU which is very similar to the Evansville account with the same 3% rate on up to $15k. The drawbacks here are as follows: (1) Transunion hard pull, (2) monthly direct deposit of any amount (ACH should work), (3) ten debit card purchases per month, (4) must login to online banking once per month. And remember to enroll in e-statements.

Great Lakes Credit Union – 3% (Link)

Get a 3% rate from Great Lakes on up to $10k. Here are the drawbacks: (1) Hard pull to open, (2) requires monthly $500 direct deposit to get the 3% rate (ACH should work), (3) requires ten debit purchases per month which must total $100 (debit purchases need to be without a PIN).

Memory Bank – 1.5% (Link)

Memory Bank offers a 1.5% APY interest rate for the first year on balances up to $250,000. I’m putting this one last since it’s only valid for one year and mainly worthwhile for someone with very high cash reserves, but for the right person it might deserve to be first.

Drawbacks: (1) Five debit card transactions, (2) monthly ACH transfer to the account, (3) rate only valid for one year.

Final Thoughts

In the end, someone who wants to have a lot of liquid funds can get pretty good interest rates if they are willing to juggle many accounts and requirements. Not all of these accounts are incredible deals due to the limits and requirements. Some people will find one easier than another depending on how easy it is for you to do debit card purchases, direct deposits, etc.

At the very least, it’s worth opening one of the basic high-interest accounts to get 1-1.25% rate on whatever money you have in savings.

We also did a write up to calculate what you’ll actually net dollar-for-dollar by getting each of these high-yield accounts instead of putting it in a regular 1% savings account, see High-Yield Savings Accounts: Profit per Account for more details.


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250 Responses to Best High Interest/Yield Savings Accounts – Up To 5% APY (June 2017)

  1. WUFinance says:
    February 11, 2016 at 9:46 am

    GE Capital Bank offers 1.05% with no cap, no other requirements and the online portal looks a little more modern than Synchrony.

    Reply
  2. Robin says:
    February 11, 2016 at 9:55 am

    I have found amazon reloads and even paypal purchases on ebay were not counting on my consumers credit union as purchases.

    Reply
  3. Owen says:
    February 11, 2016 at 11:23 am

    So a total of $3800 available per year, nationwide, $4080 for Michigan residents and $4200 to Missouri residents.

    There’s one more out there, it may be Michigan only as well but I’m not certain, Option 1 Credit Union, 4% on $10k, they require direct deposit and 20 debits a month. Good for another $400 a year.

    But… To get that ~$4k you sure have to put in some time to make sure to cover all the requirements. I think the biggest stumbling blocks are the $1k/month from consumers as well as their two hard pulls, plus 1 more from LMCU.

    All in all though it’s a fantastic way to make ~$333 a month, and all mostly risk-free (no ups and downs of the market involved. That’s $90k making 4.2% interest (for just the nationwide offers).

    Now I just need to find $90k+ somewhere to do this, lol.

    Reply
    • William Charles says:
      February 11, 2016 at 6:21 pm

      There are more high interest checking accounts than this, we’ll feature some more in the future.

      Reply
    • sam says:
      July 31, 2016 at 7:38 pm

      what? which bank? $90k can make you $333 a month? where? thanks!

      Reply
      • sam says:
        August 2, 2016 at 10:59 am

        I got it! First, many banks with high APY are gone!Second, you will become crazy to maintain all the requirements (direct deposits, debits transactions, bill payments ETC.) I think even $333 a month doesn’t worth it! You will lose money with Opportunity cost on spending with debit transactions also (for example spend $1 get 2 points back = 0.02% = 2% CASH BACK on credit card)! Plus money which you could gain if you put $90,000 in good saving/money market account with 1.25% APY a year!!!! – that’s $1125 a year!!!

        Reply
  4. Fiby says:
    February 11, 2016 at 11:28 am

    Typo for CCU:
    “This Consumer’s account is better than the 5% accounts mentioned above in a big way since you can get a high-interest rate on $20 with a single account.”

    $20k.

    Reply
  5. Catapult says:
    February 11, 2016 at 11:49 am

    When time comes to take out that $5000 from these prepaid card linked savings accounts – how do I do that? No amount of reading / research seems to clarify that

    Reply
    • Chuck says:
      February 11, 2016 at 4:44 pm

      We’ve written about this. One reader had an issue when ACHing out large amounts to a bank. ACHing out to pay a credit card should be fine. Others have not had an issue ACHing out to a bank either.

      Reply
  6. Bob says:
    February 11, 2016 at 12:39 pm

    I would like to ask a few Mint users to ask them to add Western Union.

    I have done this a few times with no effect.

    A few requests from others might do the trick.

    Thanks.

    Reply
  7. Elan says:
    February 11, 2016 at 1:04 pm

    I am surprised Everbank is not on the list of basic options. Their high yield checking has 1.60% APY on up to $100,000, and a money market with 1.60% APY on up to $150,000. Although technically it is only for the first 6 months, when my 6 months were almost up, I called and they allowed me to open a second money market account for another 6 months with the bonus rate. Note the opening deposit of $2,000 had to be “new money” from outside Everbank (ie mail them a check). https://www.everbank.com/banking/rates

    Reply
    • Owen says:
      February 11, 2016 at 2:35 pm

      I think the problem with Everbank is, that while higher than savings accounts, I think with that much money I’d be targeting my IRA and 401K vs getting a return of 1.6% on that much money. The return on that $100k is alright, but it locks up an awful lot of money.

      Reply
      • Elan says:
        February 11, 2016 at 3:19 pm

        Doesn’t lock up anything. It’s not a CD. I use it as my everyday checking account. S&P 500 down 10% in the last year. I’ll take 1.6% all day long

        Reply
        • Owen says:
          February 11, 2016 at 3:38 pm

          I could put it in LMCU at $15K for $450 a year or to get the same out of Everbank I’d have to put in $28,125.

          In that sense you have to keep a LOT more money in there to get the same return, essentially “locking” it up, sure it’s available for emergencies. But wow.

          Let’s move on to Consumers $20k is worth $918 a year, sure there are some opportunity costs there to maintain the interest rates. But still, I’d have to put $57,375 into Everbank to rival that return.

          Now consider stacking 2 or 3 of the above and Everbank is looking more and more like a slightly better alternative to a savings account. With above accounts I’d have less money tied up than I would in one Everbank account.

          Sure 1.6% is better than nothing, and to some people not dealing with multiple accounts is very appealing. So, if you are the type of person to regularly have $60k in their checking AND you are the type that wants a hassle free return, Everbank is your bank.

          Sure, the S&P 500 is down, but I’m in my late 20’s, it’ll recover.

          Reply
          • Elan says:
            February 11, 2016 at 5:22 pm

            I agree, except on your final point about what type of person should use Everbank. It’s not all or nothing; you can have a mix of these accounts. I consider Everbank to be a basic option, an easy 1.6% on as little as $1 and up to $250k. The “mega high interest” accounts like LMCU and Consumers require a lot of maintenance, not to mention opportunity cost of losing cash back and min spend on all those debit card transactions, and the risk of missing the requirements one month. Personally I’d max out the Netspend accounts first as Chuck suggests, which just require one quarterly ACH to avoid the inactivity fee, and then use Everbank as your basic everyday account. 1.6% is better than the 1% on most of the other basic options.

    • William Charles says:
      February 11, 2016 at 6:25 pm

      Problem is you’re probably burning a ChexSystems inquiry every time you open a new account. I’ve added Everbank to the post anyway.

      Reply
    • Eric says:
      February 11, 2016 at 8:08 pm

      When you wrote a “second money market account” did you mean it was your 2nd “money market” account or that it was your 2nd account (1st was “high yield checking”)? If it was the former what would stop someone from adding another account every 6 months and maintaining that (relatively) high interest rate? I emailed Everbank a few months ago and never received a response which turned me off. Have they had good CS in your opinion?

      Reply
      • Elan says:
        February 11, 2016 at 11:09 pm

        I meant second money market account. I had a checking and money market both earning 1.4% (the bonus rate at the time). After about 5 months, I called customer service to ask them to bump me up to the new promo rate of 1.6% for the last month, and instead they told me I could open a second money market account and earn the 1.6% bonus rate for another 6 months. No idea if it would work a third time, but that’s what I’m hoping for. Their CS is better than most IMO; for example Discover charged me a fee related to a withdrawal from Everbank that got processed twice, and Everbank credited my account for the fee that Discovered charged me.

        Reply
    • Victor says:
      June 18, 2016 at 5:02 pm

      Update on Everbank: 6-month intro APY of 1.60% no longer offered; its been replaced by 1.11% APY for the first 12 months, then drops to standard rate (currently 0.61%). Makes the account less attractive, considering there are plenty of 1.00% options out there with no time limit.

      Reply
  8. Evan says:
    February 11, 2016 at 4:45 pm

    DoC, out of curiosity, how many such accounts do you have and how easy is it for you to keep up?

    Reply
  9. mike says:
    February 15, 2016 at 2:29 pm

    Hi Thanks for the detailed info. very helpful. one Question though. what to do with all that Amazon gift card if I purchase 15 or 10 fifty dollars amazon gift cards monthly to satisfied the requirements. that amounts to thousands of dollars of amazon gift cards monthly. any way to get rid of them beside spending them. Thanks

    Reply
  10. John says:
    February 15, 2016 at 6:25 pm

    Am I correct in understanding that as of 1/22/16 NEW INITIAL opening/funding of NetSpend accounts must be with a true direct deposit and not an ACH transfer (previously opened accounts excluded)?

    Does that also apply to Brinks & NetSpend/H-E-B since they are backed by Bofl?

    Also does that apply to PayPal prepaid since it’s backed by Bancorp?

    And, lastly, is it possible to get a 2nd Mango account? Thank you all so much.

    Reply
  11. Gina J says:
    February 16, 2016 at 9:48 am

    I’ve had the bulk of my savings parked at SFGI Direct (affiliated with Summit Community Bank somewhere in the midwest) for several years. Current APY is 1.06%. I don’t think there’s any limit on the deposit amount accruing interest.

    Reply
  12. SteveinPhilly says:
    February 16, 2016 at 11:16 am

    To me it’s a no brainer. EVerbank is paying 1.60% (highesty anywhere) for the first 6 month of their Savings account. Then it drops (as interest rates will probably go up) but then you look for another place. Meanwehile you get 1.60% FDIC insured. Max is $150,000

    Reply
  13. Kevin says:
    February 16, 2016 at 7:52 pm

    Can anyone give me a really dumbed down, child’s version explanation of how the NetSpend account works? I’m interested in setting one up for the 5% interest, but I’m getting bogged down in confusion as to (1) fees, (2) general setup, and (3) limitations on ACH transfers/liquidity. All these factors are making me fearful of moving any emergency savings into a NetSpend account.

    (1) Fees – I’m super confused about the fee structure. I read that there are fees for simply using the card and inactivity fees. Does anyone have a simple list of what fees the netspend account has? The important things that matter are fees for using the card, fees for paying bills with the card, and fees for doing transfers into and out of the card.

    (2) General setup – Am I right that you only need to open a NetSpend prepaid card, and then you automatically get a 5% interest savings account with it? And then, if I am correct, you transfer money to the netspend card, then transfer the money to the savings account?

    (3) Limitations on ACH Transfers/Liquidity – This is a big concern if I’m reading this right. My plan was to link my Capital One 360 savings account to the NetSpend card, and then move money onto it. From there, I would then move money back to Capital One 360 savings in the event something were to happen. Am I right that some people are saying that NetSpend won’t let you move money back to your bank account? If forced to pay credit card bills using NetSpend, am I going to get charged a fee just for paying bills with the card?

    Sorry for the long post, but I’ve spent hours reading up on NetSpend and while there’s some decent info out there, the information is confusing enough to discourage me from even considering using NetSpend.

    Reply
  14. Steve says:
    February 16, 2016 at 9:10 pm

    I looked at the “subject” like here which was about “Savings Accounts” (which I assumed was banks. Seems the postings are not in line with subject. There should probably ne a new one about Net Spend – and those interested in it will find the info they need.
    I did post what I think is the answer to the posters question – unless yiou can find an EASY 1/60% on FDIC insured “BANK SAVINGS Account” elsewhere. Minimum is $1500; max $150,000. Not one finance article has mentioned this. They push Ally which I have a few $ in but they are only at 1.01%

    I’m going to unsubscrive from this thread as it’s changed direction.

    Reply
  15. calwatch says:
    February 18, 2016 at 12:39 am

    If inflation gets higher, I-Bonds are also an option for higher earnings with little risk to principal. I max out the $10k every year.

    There’s also the Paypal savings account, which has the benefit of being able to be funded with PP Cash bought at drugstores, although I have not really explored that angle and everyone is rightly concerned about Paypal shutdowns – although would that be the case if you were putting money into an account and not taking it out? $4.95 fee means it goes at the end of the list.

    Reply
  16. BeeHappy says:
    February 24, 2016 at 11:06 am

    I just opened a Netspend prepaid card/account two weeks ago ( around 2/10/2016) . I did ACH transfer from Capital one 360 and then move $2,000 into its savings account. Does it qualify for 5% interest? or has it thu payroll direct deposit? I was not able to get any answer from their customer service. per your website, it seems that we have to do payroll direct deposit after 1/23/2016 to earn the 5% interest in savings account. But since the savings account is available for me when I log in, does it mean I am qualified for the 5% interest? I don’t want to wait 3 month to find out if the interest has been posted. Thank you!

    Reply
  17. Dirk says:
    March 7, 2016 at 6:22 am

    i only get mails thru my PO Box (USPS). there’s no field for a separate mailing address when applying for these cards. how should i proceed??? am i SOL? or..sign up and call right away to give them my mailing PO box? do you guys think that would work?

    Reply
    • Chuck says:
      March 7, 2016 at 3:12 pm

      I don’t know if you can sign up with a POB address.

      Reply
      • Dirk says:
        March 15, 2016 at 5:02 am

        i see. i tried anyways. i cheated though. I added my POB next to my physical. we’ll see in a week if i get the mail. *fingers crossed*

        —

        btw can you add Main Street Bank (MI)? or any opinion about them? $25k @2.25% seems pretty good to me.

        Reply
        • Justin says:
          June 26, 2016 at 12:42 am

          Not sure if you’ll see this because it’s old, but I use a P.O. Box, and the work-around (surprised no one at the Post Office ever told you this…) is to use the physical address of the post office, followed by “Suite XXXXX” for your box number. That’s how I get UPS and FedEx delieveries.

          Reply

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  21. JT says:
    March 29, 2016 at 8:01 am

    Nicolet Bank offers 3% APY on its Real Rewards Checking account:
    https://www.nicoletbank.com/personal-banking/checking-products/real-rewards-checking/

    ACH direct deposits and REDCard work. Thanks.

    Reply
  22. Ken says:
    March 31, 2016 at 4:10 pm

    Anyone else get an error for Netspend that they’ve already ordered a card when they haven’t?

    Reply
    • Chuck says:
      April 7, 2016 at 1:08 pm

      You never ordered any? Usually, those emails come if you ordered one brand (i.e. Brinks) and then within 24-hours you try ordering another (i.e. Netspend).

      Reply
      • Ken says:
        April 7, 2016 at 1:15 pm

        It was a message when I submitted my info. Looks like I have to put my unit number on the 2nd line or I will always get that error. I’ve gotten 2 NetSpend and 1 WU accounts so far and have been waiting 30+ hours between apps.

        Reply
  23. LB says:
    April 7, 2016 at 10:37 am

    Data point: I only had a single hard pull for opening my Consumers Credit Union account and Visa card.

    Reply
  24. Tom says:
    April 7, 2016 at 8:18 pm

    UPDATE ON CONSUMER’S CREDIT UNION:
    Kroger transactions no longer processed as charges, even if you choose the “credit” option. They join Walmart and McDonalds who do the same, so does Amazon unless you change your account settings. For those unfamiliar, only “credit” (POS) purchases count toward the debit card transactions requirement.

    Reply
  25. Ken says:
    April 8, 2016 at 2:05 pm

    I signed both myself and my wife up for the Ace Elite card, and both times neither of us received any kind of confirmation email. Did anyone else not receive anything from them?

    Reply
  26. Ken says:
    April 14, 2016 at 10:49 am

    Can I move the full $5k in a single ACH into the Netspend accounts and then move to savings to start earning the 5%?

    Following up, it doesn’t look like I’ll get the $20 referral bonus even though I’ve never had one of these cards before. That’s too bad.

    Reply
    • Tom says:
      April 14, 2016 at 11:38 am

      Yes, as long as the financial institution you are transferring from has a daily transfer limit that high. Withdrawal ACH’s from Netspend cards are usually limited to $1500 every 24 hours.

      As far as your follow-up, same situation with me. I have never been associated with anything connected to Netspend or affiliates and they managed to weasel their way out of paying it to me.

      Reply
  27. vadim says:
    April 20, 2016 at 12:35 pm

    Insight link doesn’t work anymore

    Reply
  28. TK says:
    May 4, 2016 at 10:12 am

    GS Bank has a cap of 250k per customer.

    Reply
  29. Cody says:
    May 6, 2016 at 3:52 pm

    Datapoint: Ally activated my Brinks Savings on 5/6/2016.

    I had worked my way to card # 4, the Brinks prepaid. I was interested to see if it truly did need a DD as the 3 Netspend cards had a seemingly “broken” savings account requirement and they could be opened immediately (Opened in March-April 2016).

    I decided to do 4 ACH tranfers and see if any counted as a direct deposit; enabling the savings. The four I planned on testing were Ally, PNC, Huntington, & Chase.

    Due to timing, the Ally hit first… and bingo! It registered as direct deposit. I just wanted to let others know that they may have luck with an ACH instead of a traditional DD to activate the Brinks savings.

    Reply
  30. Harrison says:
    May 22, 2016 at 2:12 pm

    Are there any limitations on the number of accounts that can be signed up in a given day/week/month per individual or household? I want to say I remember reading a comment before about 1/week/household but can’t seem to find anything and am starting to question my own sanity on the matter.

    Also really appreciate the post on this. having a place to put $35k that earns approx 5% is a very attractive proposition.

    Reply
    • Chuck says:
      May 22, 2016 at 2:24 pm

      Check out the Netspend posts – those have some limits. One per 24-hours, IIRC. Other prepaids don’t have limits. But too many new checking accounts can incur chex inquiries and can be bad.

      Reply
  31. Ken says:
    June 1, 2016 at 7:22 pm

    Got terrible news today. All Netspend family cards will now only pay 5% interest on balanced UNDER $1,000. I just, JUST finished getting $5k to all of my Netspend accounts last week and then they pull this crap. Ughh, what a PITA.

    Reply
  32. Erik says:
    June 1, 2016 at 7:38 pm

    Same here; got my 5K into all cards about 1 month ago. I wonder if Insight and Mango will follow suit..?

    Reply

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  37. Lauren says:
    June 17, 2016 at 5:16 pm

    UFBDirect is down to earning just 1.00% APY for $25,000+

    Reply
  38. Ken says:
    July 1, 2016 at 10:31 am

    Time to pull out all funds from all 5 Netspend family accounts. Please make a new post about the best way to get all funds out as quickly as possible. I know some of these prepaid accounts have max withdrawal rules, but they don’t share them publicly. Lots of us could use this info.

    Reply
    • Chuck says:
      July 1, 2016 at 3:30 pm

      I wrote a bit over here http://www.doctorofcredit.com/netspend-neuters-5-apy-savings-account-effective-july-1/

      I’ve been ACHing the money out without an issue. I kept it under $2k but others had success even with more.

      Reply
      • John says:
        July 20, 2016 at 6:36 pm

        I had no prob ACHing out $4000.00 each out of 4 accounts. I figured for now, since there all set up automatically, I would leave in the $1000.00. I read in one under “Terms” that you must close out account by reducing bal to $0.00 then writing their customer service and returning card(s). I don’t want to accrue any dormant fees by just reducing ll to 0.00$ and then get a bill in the mail. Does anyone know proper way to close NetSpend acts. Also, does anyone ok if one can have more than one Insight card? Thanks all.

        Reply
  39. Tomtoo says:
    July 1, 2016 at 1:39 pm

    $1500 max withdrawal per 24 hours via ACH pull last time I tried. Reminder…transfer funds from savings to your card before attempting any withdrawals.

    Reply
    • Tomtoo says:
      July 5, 2016 at 10:35 pm

      Please disregard the $1500 max. Many are (ACH) pulling higher amounts now. Chuck, feel free to delete the above, I don’t want to cause confusion.

      Reply
  40. Erik says:
    July 1, 2016 at 2:01 pm

    It was time to pull out $4K today (7/1/16), as the Savings now only pay interest on amounts up to $1K

    I had linked all my Netspend accounts (5 different types) to my bank. I simply set up five $4K ACH withdrawals for 6/30/16, which withdrew $4K from all cards on 7/1/16.

    Note that I didn’t want to loose interest for the last day, 6/30/16, so I transferred from savings to the card a few seconds after midnight on 7/1/16 (CST). The withdrawals took place a few minutes later.
    (It may not have been necessary to cut it so tight because the interest for the quarter which ended 6/30 actually posted before midnight)

    Reply

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  42. sam says:
    July 5, 2016 at 12:45 am

    Check this site – and its Savings and Money Market Accounts!
    https://www.depositaccounts.com/moneymarket/

    Reply

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  47. Ricardo Guimaraes says:
    August 6, 2016 at 12:02 pm

    Capital One 360 now has a 1% money market account. They’re doing a slow rollout – found the info on FatWallet.

    Reply

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  51. John says:
    August 20, 2016 at 3:29 pm

    I’ve enjoyed All America Bank’s MMA with 1.25% APY on up to $35,000. It’s available nationwide and was a soft pull for me. It’s my understanding it’s the same as Redneck Bank. Here’s more details: https://allamerica.bank/mega-money/. Hat-tip to Fatwallet where I discovered it: https://www.fatwallet.com/forums/finance/783099/. Thought it would be a good addition to your basic savings list above. Thanks

    Reply
  52. Erik says:
    September 1, 2016 at 3:38 pm

    Main Street Bank: 2.25% & $50 Amazon Gift card:

    Main Street Bank offers 2.25% APY* on balances up to $25,000.
    (https://www.msbmi.com/personal/checking/kasasa-cash.html)
    Have at least 12 debit card purchases post and settle
    Be enrolled and receive eStatement notice
    Have at least 1 direct deposit, 1 automatic payment (ACH), or have 1 bill pay post and settle
    I have opened several accounts.

    Here is my referral code link (we each get a $50 Amazon gift card)
    https://share.msbmi.com/qy4y9455hlwy40604

    Reply
    • Ken says:
      September 1, 2016 at 5:46 pm

      Erik – I don’t know if you were aware, but they will close your account if they think you’re just in it for the high interest. And it’s definitely one account per person for the higher rate.

      This account is intended to be the account holder’s primary checking account in which payroll transactions and day-to-day spending activities occur. This includes, but is not limited to: grocery, gasoline, apparel, shopping, dining, and entertainment transactions. Commensurate with the spending activities identified above, we expect the accounts debit card to be used frequently throughout each month and for transaction amounts to reflect a wide dollar range. Small debit card transactions conducted on the same day at a single merchant and/or multiple transactions made during a condensed time period particularly near the end of a Monthly Qualification Cycle are not considered normal day-to-day spending behavior. These type of transactions appear to be conducted with the sole purpose of qualifying for the accounts rewards and thus will be deemed inappropriate and transactions and will not count toward earning the account’s rewards. Main Street Bank reserves the right to determine if the account is being maintained for a purpose other than day-to-day, primary use. Account holders who persist in making debit card transactions in a calculated and limited fashion in order to meet their monthly qualifications may have their account converted to a different account or closed.

      Reply
      • Erk says:
        September 1, 2016 at 7:13 pm

        @Ken,
        I have had no issues yet, and I have had my accounts for more than half a year (knock on wood!).

        I have had a pleasant experience with Main Street Bank.

        Definitely not as difficult as One American Bank!

        Reply
  53. Erik says:
    September 1, 2016 at 3:40 pm

    @Chuck,
    I just posted a referral link to Main Street Bank (2.25% up to $25,000 & free $50 Amazon Gift card). It awaits moderation. I hope it is OK to post here? Is there a better place to post such referrals?

    Reply

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  57. Mser says:
    December 9, 2016 at 4:10 am

    Provident CU offers a 2.01% checking account up to $25K. Pretty easy requirements – a DD of some sort (I send $10/mo from another bank on repeat basis) and $300 in debit purchases (I buy a MO at beginning of month).

    Reply

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  60. Yuriy G says:
    December 15, 2016 at 10:44 pm

    Randolph Savings Bank offering 2.75% on up to 25K Reward Checking. Requires a 2.5K monthly direct deposit, 10 debit POS transactions, and enroll in e-Statements. Also no ATM fees if you meet the requirements. The checking account is called Apex Checking. I just signed up 3 months ago and so far so good! Interest is added at end of statement period. 60 day grace period before you must meet conditions. If conditions above not met, you are charged $10 month along with .01% APY only.

    Reply
    • Erik says:
      December 16, 2016 at 1:17 am

      Does a monthly ACH Deposit count as Direct Deposit?

      Reply
      • Yuriy G says:
        December 16, 2016 at 1:25 am

        Per branch managers, yes. And per customer support, yes. However, I’m only now starting my third full month so we’ll find out for sure. I expect this to be fine though. I’ve been doing an ACH from my Ally account to qualify.

        Should mention, getting a debit card appears to require visiting a location (they print debit/ATM cards at their bank branches) so I’m guessing this limits this deal to MA only and people who are willing to go to a location.

        Reply

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  62. Don L says:
    December 27, 2016 at 5:16 pm

    Perhaps not worth mentioning because of the $1000 cap (like Netspends), but multiple comments on the BECU [WA Only] page mention 4%.

    http://www.doctorofcredit.com/wa-becu-100-referral-checking-bonus-parties-no-direct-deposit-required/

    https://www.becu.org/everyday-banking/checking-and-savings

    Reply
  63. Mike H says:
    January 1, 2017 at 9:10 pm

    Alden Credit Union still showing as Nationwide on this page. MA only according to the link.

    Reply

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  65. Superchurn says:
    January 18, 2017 at 2:07 am

    Another option for Oregon is Advantis CU. https://www.advantiscu.org/checking-and-savings/checking-accounts.html

    1.75% APY on up to $25,000 with requirements

    Reply
  66. Superchurn says:
    January 18, 2017 at 2:27 am

    One other interesting option for those in Oregon.

    KaiPerm CU offers 6% APY on up to $1000
    https://www.kaipermnw.org/da.php

    Reply

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  69. Eileen says:
    January 29, 2017 at 10:29 am

    Popular Bank has 1.15% APY for balances over $5K. https://www.populardirect.com/products/savings/high-rise-savings

    Reply
  70. Eileen says:
    January 29, 2017 at 10:32 am

    SFGI Direct has 1.06% APY, and I don’t think there is any upper limit. http://sfgidirect.com/

    Reply
  71. Vince says:
    February 1, 2017 at 3:50 pm

    Are the interest you accrue from Insight taxed? They don’t say anything about providing a 1099 on their site.

    Reply
  72. John Galt says:
    February 2, 2017 at 9:58 am

    This seems? like a ‘good’ deal:

    CITBANK
    1.05% APY
    Bonus $15-149,999k=$100
    Approximately 120 days to get the bonus
    No account closure fees, minimum balance fees, etc.
    https://www.bankoncit.com/savenow-direct/?utm_campaign=CIT_HYSA&utm_source=bankoncit&utm_term=homepageslider&utm_medium=homepageslider&utm_content=HYSA

    Am I missing something? Anyone with experiences?

    Reply

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  75. Aahz says:
    February 17, 2017 at 1:16 am

    DCU is actually 5.12% on first $750

    Reply
  76. Alex says:
    February 23, 2017 at 8:46 pm

    Chuck, may want to add https://www.purepoint.com/, 1.25% online savings, $10K min, no max

    Reply
  77. John S says:
    March 6, 2017 at 10:38 am

    I didn’t notice this on the site but Premier Members CU (open to all with a $5 donation) has a decent MMA, reverse tiered. First $2000 earns 3%. https://www.pmcu.org/moneymarket/

    Reply
    • William Charles says:
      March 6, 2017 at 7:48 pm

      Good find, will do a dedicated post.

      Reply
      • Michael Banks says:
        March 13, 2017 at 10:55 pm

        Premier is a good CU. I was a member for many years while in Boulder, CO. The negative is that it is restrictive on who is allowed to join. You must live or work in Boulder, Broomfield, Jefferson, Adams, or Denver Counties. Alternatively, there are a handful of companies including IBM, Medtronic, Boulder Health, and Lexmark that can join regardless of location.

        Otherwise, excellent customer service with a small town Credit Union feel. You are treated as a person not just an account number.

        Reply
  78. TygerHawke says:
    March 16, 2017 at 1:38 am

    I have a couple more options for the regional section – specifically Washington state:

    https://www.inspiruscu.org/ – 7.00% APY on $500 in Savings and Checking – $1000 total

    https://www.obee.com/Everyday-Banking/Savings/High-Interest-Savings – 7.52% APY on $500 in savings

    Reply
  79. Steve says:
    March 17, 2017 at 10:49 pm

    The Honor CU one is officially 2.5% APY on up to $10k now.

    Reply

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  81. Johnny says:
    April 5, 2017 at 11:35 am

    Is there any reason Santander isn’t on this? They give 1.2% on any balances above 10k and dont’ think there is a maxi.

    Reply
    • Jon says:
      May 20, 2017 at 7:07 pm

      Can second this. They offer 1.2% on anything more than 10k, anything less than 10k earns an abysmal rate, which works out on average 1% on a total balance of 50k. No hoops to jump.

      The rates seem to be region specific. I was told this is for NY-NJ-CT.

      Reply
  83. calwatch says:
    April 25, 2017 at 1:33 am

    Alliant has also joined the 1.05% club. Very easy to use interface which is why I stay a member even though nominal rates are higher elsewhere.

    Reply
  84. Ken says:
    April 25, 2017 at 12:35 pm

    New Buffalo is now available nationwide according to comments on that post.

    Reply
  85. Revil says:
    April 30, 2017 at 7:57 pm

    Here’s an account you can add to the list:

    Cornhusker Bank Power Checking. 3.5% on up to $15,000.
    https://www.cornhuskerbank.com/Power-Checking.aspx

    Requirements:
    18 minimum Visa Debit Card transactions
    Direct Deposit
    E-statements

    Reply
  86. Jason Frederick Buckman says:
    May 1, 2017 at 2:39 am

    USALLIANCE Financial has a savings account that gives 3% on the first $500. As a bonus, the checking account gives you your monthly credit score.

    MyLife Savings
    https://www.usalliance.org/banking-products/MyLifeSavings

    MyLife Checking
    https://www.usalliance.org/banking-products/mylife-checking

    Reply

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  89. Kevin says:
    May 6, 2017 at 8:28 pm

    I’m seeing CIT Bank at 1.15% now.

    Reply
  90. Brian Pine says:
    May 6, 2017 at 8:47 pm

    Self-Help FCU (credit union) is now at 1.26% for money market savings, just raised recently from 1.24%. Only need $500 minimum in account to earn this and only $5 membership fee for anyone to join. No special terms or catches etc to get.

    Reply
  91. PT says:
    May 6, 2017 at 9:31 pm

    For Basic Savings Accounts, can you clarify if you are only listing nationally available accounts OR if any of those listed are geo limited?

    Star One credit union is 1.10% for money market savings ($50+ is all that is needed to open&earn, no monthly fee, and is the only account required to open). BUT they are limited to people who live/work Santa Clara County in California OR are employees of corporate sponsors.

    Reply
    • William Charles says:
      May 6, 2017 at 9:45 pm

      We are just listing nationally available accounts, I guess we can list regional specific but probably only if they are higher than the top national rate? Interested to know what readers would like to see.

      Reply
    • Chuck says:
      May 7, 2017 at 3:39 pm

      If there were to be a regional account that’s better than most/all national options, we’d probably list is separately at underneath. Assuming there are numerous national options the same or higher, I’m thinking it’s not worth adding such a regional option.

      Reply
  92. yoyo says:
    May 8, 2017 at 1:31 pm

    Update: Capital One 360 has rate increased to 1%.

    Reply
  93. az says:
    May 9, 2017 at 5:47 am

    Whether there is a spreadsheet that can let me choose Soft pull + Bonus + Credit funding + National or CA then it can be sorted by Bonus or Credit funding or APY?

    Reply
  94. Revil says:
    May 15, 2017 at 4:57 pm

    Another high yield low balance account in Washington state (but it’s very regional, not even statewide)

    https://www.peoplescu.org/accounts/savings.shtml
    5% on up to $750. The only requirement is to maintain a $100 minimum daily balance all quarter long.

    https://www.peoplescu.org/membership/index.shtml
    Who is eligible to join?

    If you live, work or worship in Clark, Cowlitz or Skamania counties, you are eligible to join the credit union and gain all benefits of membership.
    Family members are eligible too! No matter where they live.

    Reply
  95. Ken says:
    May 19, 2017 at 3:43 pm

    Barclays just announced that they increased their rate from 1% to 1.05% on their savings account.

    Reply
  96. Moon says:
    May 19, 2017 at 5:10 pm

    GE Capital – 1.05% APY
    Goldman Sachs Savings – 1.05% APY

    GE Capital is GS Bank. GS acquired GE Capital and changed the name a few months ago.

    Reply
  98. PT says:
    June 3, 2017 at 12:09 pm

    Self-Help credit union (Money Market Savings) is now 1.31%, up from 1.26%.

    That’s 3 steady monthly increases the last three months (1.24%, 1.26%, 1.31%).

    Reply
      • Yu says:
        June 5, 2017 at 11:12 pm

        Chuck, do you know is there a hard pull on credit to open this account? Thanks.

        Reply
      • PT says:
        June 5, 2017 at 11:24 pm

        Just to clarify, there are technically two Self-Help credit unions with slightly different websites because they serve different areas, but they are under the same Self-Help organizational umbrella. The Money Market Savings usually tracks the same between them, and the certificates are the same or nearly the same.

        Self-Help FCU – serves California, Florida, Chicago areas mostly
        Self-Help CU – serves North Carolina area

        Both are currently 1.31% on Money Market Savings. I track FCU since that is what I have.

        Reply
        • Yu says:
          June 5, 2017 at 11:55 pm

          Thanks PT. How long have you been tracking it? I was wondering if it always have competitive rate.

          Reply
          • PT says:
            June 6, 2017 at 12:43 am

            Since last October when I opened it. It was still strong at that time, but not quite the 1% of others. Since January, it started to exceed the Alliant and Ally rates and keeps increasing.

            Here are the rate jumps on the Money Market Savings at the FCU:
            1.31% – 2017 June
            1.26% – 2017 May
            1.24% – 2017 April
            1.03% & 1.04% – 2017 Jan; went above 1% of Alliant & Ally

            0.87% – 2016 Dec
            0.78% – 2016 Oct; opened account

            Only need $500+ to open (+$5 fee to join if you are not in certain areas) and has no monthly fees or other issues, though has only basic features. Just ACH push money into it from elsewhere. OR like Alliant, deposit a check (or cash) from most CU ATMs in the country.

      • Chuck says:
        June 6, 2017 at 9:57 pm

        Ah, didn’t realize it was limited to just a few areas. I’ll remove it from the list, but thanks for pointing out anyway.

        Reply
        • PT says:
          June 7, 2017 at 10:23 pm

          These are their main service areas with actual branches, yes.

          BUT as far as I can tell, though, you can join for the $5 membership fee if you are NOT in one of those areas OR if you are part of one of those areas, but don’t qualify for $0 membership as per the charters. I live near a branch, but still had to pay the $5 fee.

          I will get this issue clarified before revisiting it.

          Reply
          • Yu says:
            June 7, 2017 at 10:38 pm

            Do you how they decide the eligibility for free membership?

          • PT says:
            June 8, 2017 at 12:23 am

            Here is what the application says (Self-Help FCU which is their “main” credit union). #3 is what you use if you don’t qualify for free membership due to employer, where you live, or family who are members. Also, a number of their branches are NOT in the free areas, so you have to use the #3 option anyways even if you live where a branch is (which was my case). They also accept mailed in applcations for those who don’t live in an area with a branch.

            “Check Mark the Appropriate Membership Eligibility Status”
            1. Select Employee Group or Association
            2. Places of Service
            3. Center for Community Self-Help membership ($5 membership fee required)
            4. Immediate family member of numbers 1, 2, or 3 above

            Yu:

            Here are the locations with free membership

            Live/work/etc in California Counties of:
            Kern, Tulare, Kings, Fresno, Sonoma, Napa, Solano
            Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Plumas, Sutter, Tehama

            Live/work/etc in California Cities of:
            Oakland, CA – certain Community Development Districts
            SF, CA – certain underserved areas

    • William Charles says:
      June 8, 2017 at 12:16 am

      Are they nationwide?

      Reply
      • PT says:
        June 8, 2017 at 12:58 am

        William:

        They have physical branches now in 6 states (see below). Both credit unions allow you to be eligible by paying the $5 membership at the time you apply so there is no location limit, and thus available nationwide. You can also mail in your application.

        Self-Help FCU:
        California
        Florida
        Illinois
        Wisconsin – new

        Self-Help CU:
        North Carolina
        Virginia

        Reply
      • Yu says:
        June 8, 2017 at 5:19 pm

        Looks like you can apply online via Self-Help CU .

        Reply
  99. larry says:
    June 5, 2017 at 11:14 pm

    Seriously, we are now posting high yield accounts with $750 ceilings? Deposit accounts dot com has better short and long term offerings for “stuff” like this. Locked up over 3% for 5 yrs in some accounts and others only did 6 months.

    Reply
  100. Calvin says:
    June 12, 2017 at 6:20 am

    Well, keep finding more options.

    NC, CA only
    https://churner.co/2017/06/12/alliance-credit-union-5-apy-membership-savings-review/
    5% APY for first $1000
    *I qualify for membership, but wondering is it hard or soft pull and allow credit card funding?

    https://premierbanking.com/life
    5% APY up to $5000 (20x debit/mo)

    Reply
    • Chuck says:
      June 12, 2017 at 2:37 pm

      The Alliance limit of $1k is a bummer, but still good to know.

      The Premier one is very interesting, but seems limited to those living near their branches in Iowa. I’ll post, thanks

      Reply
  101. ML says:
    June 20, 2017 at 10:36 am

    Barclays is now 1.15%

    Reply
  102. Ken says:
    June 20, 2017 at 2:45 pm

    Fed just raised rates so hopefully there will be across the board rate increases, and hopefully it will keep current rates from decreasing.

    I can confirm that Barclays is now 1.15%.

    Reply
  103. stacker says:
    June 22, 2017 at 5:12 pm

    Can a bank cancel FDIC insurance and then immediately file bankruptcy and steal all the money from their customers? Or are there safeguards in place? I can’t find an anwer on the FDIC website.

    Reply

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