Online Savings Accounts & Current Rates

[Ima saver]

I am bringing this back to the top for Jamreed to look at. These banks are good places for an emergency fund.

[lrjohnson]

Poundwise: Very nice, thank you. Excellent list A nice addition would be to note if any of these offer sign up bonuses. (It's what happens when you do excellent work...people offer suggestions.....sorry!!)

[Ima saver]

Yes, thank you poundwise!!

[sweeps]

Couple updates:

- Apple Bank offering 5.15% APY. (Source: Bank Deals)

- Emigrant Direct is reportedly going up to 5.15% as of 7/28 (Source: Bank Deals)

[Ima saver]

Thanks, sweeps!!

[poundwise]

Originally Posted by Sweepsplayer

Couple updates:

- Apple Bank offering 5.15% APY. (Source: Bank Deals)

- Emigrant Direct is reportedly going up to 5.15% as of 7/28 (Source: Bank Deals)

Thanks Sweeps! I made the update to include Apple Bank and will watch for the Emigrant change in the near future.

[poundwise]

Wow. I was impressed with Apple Bank's 5.15 and then I saw that OneUnited has raised their rate to 5.25 APY!

Very cool.

I hope some of the others follow suit and cross over the 5% mark and upward!

[MarianneJ]

Please note that OneUnited only compounds and adds interest QUARTERLY, as opposed to AppleBank which compounds daily and adds interest monthly...so you will earn more interest at Apple's 5.15% than you will at OneUnited's 5.25%!

[sweeps]

The 5.15% and 5.25% figures are the annual percentage yield, correct? If so, then the effects of compounding have already been factored in (assuming you hold the investment for a year).

[MarianneJ]

Oh silly me! Of course, you are correct, Sweepsplayer!

Thanks for clearing that up!!!

[fratkid21]

just a comment: one united bank is a bank for the african american community, can others bank there as well?

also, anyone concerned about ED's rating drop?

also, GMAC is now 5.05

[fratkid21]

sorry for duplicate info...

also of note: citi bank apparently has limits on how much you can withdraw per day and per month... also they charge a fee for withdrawal to your linked/external account, right?

[sweeps]

Originally Posted by fratkid21

anyone concerned about ED's rating drop?

I wouldn't be. If the bank really does fall apart, then you can simply transfer your money elsewhere. But I think it's a good reason to have your money in at least 2 different banks.

In fact I'm looking at Emigrant myself because of the whole 1.4% cash back credit card deal. I'd use my 5% cash back where possible, and use the Emigrant card for everything else.

[poundwise]

Originally Posted by lrjohnson

Poundwise: Very nice, thank you. Excellent list A nice addition would be to note if any of these offer sign up bonuses. (It's what happens when you do excellent work...people offer suggestions.....sorry!!)

Good suggestion, however, that could be hard to track. That is, many of the institutions that do offer some kind of sign-up bonus, do not do so from their site directly, but through referral links, etc.

Bankdeals link may be the best place to keep up with current trends and offers in this area.

I'll stick with maintaining a list of banks and yields.

[poundwise]

Originally Posted by fratkid21

sorry for duplicate info...

also of note: citi bank apparently has limits on how much you can withdraw per day and per month... also they charge a fee for withdrawal to your linked/external account, right?

I'm not sure about those specifics, but I did want to comment that the Citibank account seems to be the 'most messy' of all of the accounts/services.

They have tons of fine print besides that fact that you have to open a checking account too (unless you already have a Citi checking.) With so many other options, I personally don't see why anyone would go through the extra hassle of dealing with Citi.

[BTC]

Originally Posted by Sweepsplayer

Emigrant Direct is reportedly going up to 5.15% as of 7/28 (Source: Bank Deals)

Is that source pretty reliable? I wonder if the increase will coincide with the launch of their new website.

[sweeps]

Yes, I consider Bank Deals a reliable source for this kind of info. But note he was only reporting what another site was reporting (based on a letter that person received from ED), so we're dealing with 3rd-hand information here.

This may become a new tactic for the online banks -- advertising a rate hike to be effective sometime in the future, so people don't jump ship as much.

[Duchesse]

Originally Posted by poundwise

I'm not sure about those specifics, but I did want to comment that the Citibank account seems to be the 'most messy' of all of the accounts/services.

They have tons of fine print besides that fact that you have to open a checking account too (unless you already have a Citi checking.) With so many other options, I personally don't see why anyone would go through the extra hassle of dealing with Citi.

This may be true, so if you don't have a checking account or another affiliation with Citi, the other banks might be your best bet.

I have banked with Citibank for years. Citibank e-account launched only recently and the rate hike is recent. When I signed up two weeks ago because I already had a checking account it took five minutes including funding the account.

[fratkid21]

Originally Posted by BTC

Is that source pretty reliable? I wonder if the increase will coincide with the launch of their new website.

i got the mailer from ED today that the rate will be 5.15 as of 7/28.

[gavinmccallister]

Could this thread be made sticky so that it remains at the top of this section, if would be helpful it is a one-stop place to go to find all the savings rates in one place