ING Direct vs Emigrant Direct Bank

[jeffrey]

ING offers a competitive 4.5%, has an extremely user friendly site and offers a bonus. For those who would like a free $25, simply click here where you can use a referral link immediately. You must be a US resident to qualify. There isn't an easier way to earn $25 for 10 minutes work.

Note: The $25 is only available with an invite from a friend and can not be received if you sign up directly from the ING site without using a referral link. There is now a $250 minimum deposit to qualify for the $25 bonus. If you want to open an account with less than $250 (as little as $1) you can also do this, but you will not receive the bonus $25

Emigrant Direct pays 5.05% and does not currently offer an "official" sign up bonus program, but you can earn a $10 or $20 Emigrant Direct bonus by signing up through us.

[2moretrees]

ING Direct vs Emigrant Direct Bank

I'm hearing a lot about both these banks lately. I know that ING is now offering 2.6% interest, but I hear that Emigrant Direct is offering 3% interest. If Emigrant Direct is offering a better interest rate, isn't it a better deal or am I missing something?

[FrugalTexan75]

Re: ING Direct vs Emigrant Direct Bank

The interest rate is a better deal, but they don't offer any kind of sign-up bonuses for new customers or for people that current customers refer. I have been considering moving some of my money to Emigrant Bank though for the higher interest, while still keeping my ING account. HTH

Keeping It Frugal in Texas,
Laura

[terry1156]

Re: ING Direct vs Emigrant Direct Bank

The $25 signup bonus is a huge deal. Emigrant offers a 0.04% higher interest rate which equals and extra $4 for every $1000 you have in savings. To make up for that $25 bonus, you'd have to place over $8000 in Emigrant for a year just to be even.

[Armywife]

Re: ING Direct vs Emigrant Direct Bank

I agree with terry1156 because Emigrant Direct is facing ALOT of problems- specifically when it comes to customer service. They've been flooded with calls and their customer svc reps have no idea what they're doing. I've been waiting for my "confirmation link" for over 3 weeks now

Mental note: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably IS

[34saving]

Re: ING Direct vs Emigrant Direct Bank

Thanks for the heads-up on Emigrant's customer service. I've been with ING for awhile now and have been very happy. I was tempted by Emigrant's higher rates though.

[PennyPincher]

Re: ING Direct vs Emigrant Direct Bank

I have not been tempted by the competition. ING has treated me well over the last 2+ years, and has a great record in the banking community. The extra .04% isn't enough to make me switch. I also love the set up of ING.

Just a thought...If you're interested in earning more interest, would you consider something other than savings? ING offers great investment opportunities, and enrollment is typically FREE if you have a savings account. It's outlined nicely on their site for conservative, moderate, and aggressive investors. You can set up automatic payments to your account, and the yields are historically higher.

[coffeebreak]

Re: ING Direct vs Emigrant Direct Bank

I signed up with EmigrantDirect about a month ago after I heard about it on FoxNews. I had to wait a couple of weeks for a letter with my account number on it but that was the only slow part of the process. Now I automatically upload an amount every month from my checking account and the data is automatically downloaded into Quicken. Even some short term CDs with high minimum deposits don't pay 3%.

I might sign up with ING just to get the $25. Let's see... 3% from EmigrantDirect and 2.6% from ING; hey, that's 5.6% return.

[midnight]

Re: ING Direct vs Emigrant Direct Bank

I might sign up with ING just to get the $25. Let's see... 3% from EmigrantDirect and 2.6% from ING; hey, that's 5.6% return.

Oh, how much I wish the math was that easy!!!

[PRICEPLUS]

Re: ING Direct vs Emigrant Direct Bank

Signing up with ING was simple and painless. The site was easy to use and you can have them take out a set amount for deposit every month if you so desire.

[coffeebreak]

Re: ING Direct vs Emigrant Direct Bank

Hmmm... ING has some fairly good short term CD rates:

http://home.ingdirect.com/products/cds_content.html

How is 3.7% for a 2 year CD with no minimum deposit and no fees? Are there better deals out there?

[coffeebreak]

Re: ING Direct vs Emigrant Direct Bank

The $25 signup bonus is a huge deal. Emigrant offers a 0.04% higher interest rate which equals and extra $4 for every $1000 you have in savings. To make up for that $25 bonus, you'd have to place over $8000 in Emigrant for a year just to be even.

Sign up for ING long enough to get the $25 then move the money to Emigrant and get 3% instead of 2.6%.

I am now signed up with both but I will be switching my ING 2.6% account to a 2 year CD at 3.7% with ING and keeping my Emigrant account at 3%.

[PennyPincher]

Re: ING Direct vs Emigrant Direct Bank

I'VE DONE IT. After being super pro-ING, I've gone ahead and opened an account with Emigrant. Thanks to you all, I did some thinking, and believe it makes sense. I wish that ING would just bring a higher rate to the table because they are so user-friendly and consistently good.

Nonetheless, now I have TWO online bank accounts. So much for trying to get my finances condensed! I do believe that ING will eventually adjust if they are losing business to Emigrant. Let's hope that happens for the sake of all of us!

[terry1156]

Re: ING Direct vs Emigrant Direct Bank

I'VE DONE IT. After being super pro-ING, I've gone ahead and opened an account with Emigrant.

Can you tell us how your experience signing up with them was? I've just read so many bad things and I'm hoping that they have improved their system, but I'm going to wait until I start hearing better things about their sign-up process before diving in myself.

[PennyPincher]

Re: ING Direct vs Emigrant Direct Bank

Here's where I'm at:

On Wednesday, I signed up online, relatively quickly. (Personal info, chose login, etc.) Then I waited for 2 small deposits to my checking account. These came 2 days after my application had been submitted. I confirmed the deposits today, and am now waiting on my account number to be sent in the mail.

My only disappointment so far is that my login will change. In my latest email it was stated that the initial login was just for registration, and I will need to reset it. (Of course, I chose a login that was easy to remember as all my others ~ oh well.)

I'll keep you posted.