Just switched from Capital One to Ally

[disneysteve]

How does this work exactly? It says you have to leave the money in until 1/15/19. Let's say I have $20,000 in the account right now and during the promotion period I deposit another $5,000. But next month I take out $2,000. Will that count against me or will I still get the bonus as long as I don't take out at least $5,000?

I just contacted Ally via online chat to answer this question. As long as any withdrawals don't exceed the amount you already had in the account prior to the promotion, you will get full promo credit for the new money. So if you have 10K in the account and add another 10K, but then next month take out 10K, you'll still get full credit (and a $100 bonus) for the 10K of new money you put it. The withdrawal will be considered to have come from the old money, not the new money.

So if you can shuffle around some cash, you can get yourself a nice 1% bonus up to $1,000 ($100,000 deposited).

[Petunia 100]

I switched to Marcus last year, can't recall why now. As of today, they are paying 1.95% on savings, must have $1 in the account to earn that rate. No sign-up bonus, that Ally sign-up bonus is rather sweet.

[scfr]

I just contacted Ally via online chat to answer this question. As long as any withdrawals don't exceed the amount you already had in the account prior to the promotion, you will get full promo credit for the new money. So if you have 10K in the account and add another 10K, but then next month take out 10K, you'll still get full credit (and a $100 bonus) for the 10K of new money you put it. The withdrawal will be considered to have come from the old money, not the new money.

So if you can shuffle around some cash, you can get yourself a nice 1% bonus up to $1,000 ($100,000 deposited).

Just make sure you signup for the Payback Time promo through the Ally link, get the confirmation Email from them, and then follow the next steps in the Email ... BEFORE you transfer any funds.
Also, as someone who frequently pursues bank bonuses, I recommend that you document everything, get as much as you can in writing (take screen shots of the offer details, etc), and then calendar follow up dates.
Most banks are great about paying the bonuses when they say they will, but I encountered one where I had to do some pretty aggressive follow up. This will be my first time dealing with Ally, so I'm hoping for the best.

[disneysteve]

Just make sure you signup for the Payback Time promo through the Ally link, get the confirmation Email from them, and then follow the next steps in the Email ... BEFORE you transfer any funds.

Yep. I'm all signed up. Now I just need to gather some cash. I'm not going to go too crazy. I've got about $2,000 I can put in right now and after I get paid on Thursday I'll have a couple thousand more. I don't think I'm going to bother moving things around from other accounts. But I'll take an extra $40 or so for doing virtually nothing.

[msomnipotent]

Ok. I saw a post on bogleheads where someone did similar deposit timing and called Ally. They were given the bonus money.

Thanks. I will check that out on Monday.

[disneysteve]

Thanks. I will check that out on Monday.

Customer service is 24/7 I believe.

[msomnipotent]

Customer service is 24/7 I believe.

Thanks for letting me know, but I will probably be out and about all day today. Monday is my "Bills and Business Day".

[Drake3287]

I almost missed this 1% Ally deal! It wasn't until I saw an ad on TV over the weekend that I checked it out. I guess it should have had it's own topic here. I had $100,000. sitting in a Money Market account at another online bank so I quickly set up a new Ally account and transferred the funds. Easiest $1,000. I've ever made.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I did the ally bank and it was sort of a pain. I'm leaving it until February 28th and then moving it back.

I am considering opening a different account.

[disneysteve]

I did the ally bank and it was sort of a pain. I'm leaving it until February 28th and then moving it back.

I'm curious what aspect of dealing with Ally you found to be a pain.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I'm curious what aspect of dealing with Ally you found to be a pain.

I had trouble putting money into the account. I ended up using their mobile app to deposit two checks on 10/29 and 10/30 and just leaving it in the online savings instead of the CD I was hoping to open. I had tried to transfer money online using the routing numbers but it wasn't working. Either way I'll switch back to capital one later. I like my bonus but unless they get outstripped by interest I"m okay with Capital one. Although I will say I was eyeing HSBC.

[Drake3287]

Both my daughter and I opened new Ally accounts recently for that 1% special and so far everything with the transactions has been smooth. Still have a small Capital One 360 account though.

[Jluke]

CapOne Money Market is at 2% ($10,000 minimum though)...

CapOne 12 month CD is at 2.6%

[kork13]

In the last couple days, I got an email from Pentagon FCU (they hold my mortgage), and they're offering a 2.71% 1-yr CD. That's actually rather tempting -- it's almost as high as the new I-Bonds (currently earning 2.83%). Depending on how much cash I find myself with over the next few months, I may jump into some CDs. I'm buying up I-Bonds first, but once that maxes out, PenFed's CDs might be a good option.