Best High Interest Yield Online Savings Accounts

Posted in Deals & Savings, Finance by Elliott Back on August 3rd, 2008.

I don’t have a savings account, let alone a high-yield checking account, or an account linked to a money market fund. That’s right, my current annual percentage yield (APY) is a fat 0%. Say that you have a balance of $10,000, and the average rate runs around 3.5%, then you’d be losing $1,877 over the next five years. If you could put in $2,500 a year for the next five years, you’d lose $2783 in essentially free interest.

The Best of National Banks

3.75% APY from WAMU savings

WAMU’s free savings will get you a 3.75% APY, but it comes at the cost of having to setup a linked checking account:

The advertised APY applies to Online Savings only when opened online with WaMu Free Checking or linked to other WaMu checking account. If your checking account is closed for any reason (by you or us), or transferred to another kind of account, standard APYs/rates apply. Online banking and online delivery of statements also required. APY does not apply to WaMu Free Checking Account.

3.50% APY is offered from HSBC savings

Open a savings account with HSBC and you can get a 3.50% APY. There don’t appear to be any other requirements or minimums. Note the offer expires 09/15/08.

3.30% from E*Trade

I like the “>E*Trade High Interest Savings; not only is the yield nice, their online integration top notch, but their terms are quite reasonable:

Annual Percentage Yield is effective 8/3/2008 and is subject to change. A $1 minimum deposit is required to open a new account. Withdrawal limits apply. Online statements required.

3.09% from the Discover Money Market account

Signing up for a Discover Bank Money Market Account will win a nice 3.09% APY, but require a minimum deposit of $2,500. Their FAQ has some pointers:

An initial deposit of $2,500 is required to open a Discover Bank Money Market Account. A minimum average daily balance of $2,500 must be maintained in order to avoid fees.

Local Banks to Check Out

5.01% APY comes if you use them as your primary checking

Northern Federal Credit Union offers a 5.01% APY on their checking account, although you need to sign up for a plethora of additional banking services:

* Receive a direct deposit or conduct an ACH debit
* Receive monthly e-statements instead of paper statements
* Make 10 or more purchases using your debit card (excludes ATM withdrawals)
* Login to Virtual Branch online banking at least one time per month.

Data Table

APY	Bank	Minimum	Credit Check	ACH	Terms
5.01	Northern Federal	1	N	Y	Direct Deposit, estatement, 10+ purchases, online login once/mo
3.75	WAMU	1	N	Y	Requires linked free checking account
3.5	HSBC Direct	1	N	Y	None
3.3	Etrade Complete Savings	1	N	Y	$25 opening bonus
3.09	Discover Money Market Accounts	2.5k	N	Y	None
3	ING Direct	1	N	Partial (Outgoing only)	None

Other Great Resources

Here are a few links that might help you find the best deals on savings and checkings accounts with great interest rates:

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 3rd, 2008 at 9:28 pm and is tagged with free checking account, high interest savings, high yield checking account, money market account, money market fund, discover bank, national banks, e trade, apy, bank money, wamu, annual percentage yield, top notch, free interest, next five years, savings accounts, initial deposit, padding, pointers, hsbc. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback.

Viewing 6 Comments

Craig Mullins 4 months ago 1 point
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Man, I miss the 5% I was getting with ingdirect & emigrantdirect. I sure hope these small rates go up soon.

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Cameron 3 months ago 1 point
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Every time I see a blog discuss WaMu's savings account, bloggers add the caveat that you must also open a checking account with them--as if this is a major ordeal. It's not. I have $1 in my WaMu checking account. It's the $1 I opened the account with. In fact they let you name the accounts and I literally named the checking account "One Dollar."

I've been with WaMu for about a year now (obviously not for the checking), and I've been very satisfied with the saving account. Just because you have another checking account doesn't mean you have to use it!

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jarrad 3 months ago 1 point
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Dont forget about Citibanks Ultimate Savings Accoun. Its only at 2.25% right now, but you dont need a checking account and they let you do free money transfers between banks. You also dont have any minimum balance requirements. Another one to check out on the local side (if you live in the New England states) is M&T Bank's Money Market Savings Account. There is no minimum and money can be transferred between accounts with them. I use both and I have had no issues.

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Tool 3 months ago 1 point
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It's interesting that a lot of financial bloggers focus on the high-yield savings accounts and money market accounts, but very few discuss other options such as short-term bonds and cash-management accounts offered by investment firms. I've been a big fan of ING Direct for years. Not necessarily the highest interest rates, but the difference amounts to pennies anyway.

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http://www.savingstoolbox.com/

Savings Toolbox 3 months ago 1 point
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ING Direct does offer full outbound and inbound ACH Transfers... I transfer money from their website in and out all the time...

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http://www.savingstoolbox.com/

JosephSBK 2 months ago 1 point
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ShoreBank, the bank that I represent, has a High Yield Online Savings Account that offers a competitive 3.50 APY with a $1 minimum balance. There's no need to open a checking account, there's 24 hour online accessibility, it allows you to link up to six of your accounts for electronic transfer, and is FDIC insured. For more information about this account please visit http://www.shorebankdirect.sbk.com.

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http://www.shorebankdirect.sbk.com