ING - Electric Orange (High Interest Checking Account)

[fake_usa]

You've probably all seen this but if you havn't here it is...



Electric Orange is here!
The new account from ING DIRECT that
delivers the access and convenience of checking with the earning power of savings.


It's everything you'd expect from ING DIRECT:

It pays high interest
5.30% APY on every dollar for balances of $100,000 or more
5.05% APY on balances between $50,000 and $100,000
3.00% APY for balances up to $50,000
A MasterCard® Debit Card for purchases
Free ATM access at more than 32,000 locations nationwide
Free Bill Pay
Send money securely to anyone for Free with Electric Checks
(Annual percentage yields apply to your entire balance. All listed rates are variable and effective as of 11/29/06.)

Here's how to open yours:

Go to ingdirect.com and login with your Customer Number and PIN,
Click on 'Open an Account',
Then click on Electric Orange (you must be logged in to your account to see it).
Getting started is that simple!

Electric Orange - the checking account that thinks all your money deserves to make money.

[sweeps]

It's ironic that someone with $50,000 or more is better off keeping their money in their ING checking account than in their ING savings account.

[fake_usa]

Yeah i know, it's a pain in the ass to open another checking account just to get a higher interst rate. I wish ING would just apply this rate to their savings accounts.

[lucasrd]

funny, i logged in and don't have that option under "Open Account"

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by fake_usa

3.00% APY for balances up to $50,000

Why would anybody do this? There are so many places now paying 5% and above. Why open an account only paying 3%? :

[lucasrd]

where can i get a checking account that pays 3% ??? I thought that was good for checking

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by lucasrd

where can i get a checking account that pays 3% ??? I thought that was good for checking

Just keep the bare minimum in checking and keep the rest in a high yield account. As needed, transfer money into the checking account.

[safari]

3% for a checking account is really good. It makes sense for people who need to keep large sums of money in their checking account and have high recurring expenses. Since I usually keep less than $2,000 in my checking account, I prefer to have an account with a local bank, even though it pays 0% interest.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by safari

3% for a checking account is really good. It makes sense for people who need to keep large sums of money in their checking account and have high recurring expenses. Since I usually keep less than $2,000 in my checking account, I prefer to have an account with a local bank, even though it pays 0% interest.

I guess that makes sense. I'm just not one of those people who needs to have that much in my account. Plus, I've got so many auto-payments set up with my account, changing it would be a royal pain. It isn't worth the few dollars a year I could earn in interest to change accounts.

[risknothing]

This must not be available to me. yet

[Ima saver]

I have to keep large amounts in my checking account and it only pays .0075. so I keep most of the money in a money market account paying 5.25 and just transfer it over to the checking account a few times a month.

[lazytom]

Originally Posted by lucasrd

where can i get a checking account that pays 3% ??? I thought that was good for checking

Here: http://presidential.com/

"Presidential Bank's Checking PLUS account pays 4.50% APY on balances up to $25,000."

[lucasrd]

lazytom, thanks for the link...i've never heard of this bank...are they any good? Their website looks kind of hokey and small-time if you ask me

[fake_usa]

Everbank's Freenet Checking rates are also pretty good, plus you get a 3 month 6.01% introductory rate.

Everbank                         VS            Electric Orange                                     
Over $100K, 4.41%                              OVER 100k,  5.30%
$50K-$99.99K, 4.00%                            50k-99.99k, 5.05%
$25K-$49.99K, 3.60%                            0-49.9k, 3.0%
$10K-$24.99K, 3.30%                            0-49.9k, 3.0% 
under $10K, 3.25%                              0-49.9k, 3.0%

[lazytom]

lucasrd, I've had a checking account (and also a Premier Savings account) with them for a couple of years and never had any issues. But then, I mostly use it as a savings account - just leave the money there and hardly ever touch it. I do have one recurring payment set up in their billpay system and that works fine, too. Also, I've had incoming wire transfers from abroad processed through then and there have never been any issues.

Yes, the website is really ugly, but as a bank, I think they're fine.

[risknothing]

does anyone know if the transfers from the ING Savings to the Checking are immediate or if they take a day or so?

[LivingAlmostLarge]

yeah, but you'll be charged ATM fees if you need cash. Like an e-bank, they don't charge an ATM fee, but the ATM you are using will. So if you withdraw cash you'll be hit.

[tinapbeana]

Originally Posted by LivingAlmostLarge

yeah, but you'll be charged ATM fees if you need cash. Like an e-bank, they don't charge an ATM fee, but the ATM you are using will. So if you withdraw cash you'll be hit.

check into credit unions in your area: they frequently don't have ATM fees. and the ATMs at Publix supermarkets also have no fees.

[risknothing]

I'm just talking about transfer between checking and savings on ING's website.

[BTC]

My checking account is with an internet bank and there are a number of ATM's in my area, and nationwide, where I can transact business free of transaction fees.